Necro Mage Read online

  Necro Mage

  A STONEBLOOD SAGA NOVELLA

  BOOK 6.5

  Copyright

  NECROMAGE© copyright 2019 Robyn Wideman

  Published: Dec 2019

  Publisher: Magicblood Media Corp

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  Author notes

  1

  Quinton

  Quinton sat at his work desk, exhausted. He’d just finished creating a new mana-stone. The first one he’d created had been stolen, and he felt that his creation was too important to just abandon. However, this stone would be his secret. No one could know about it until he understood it better and, even more importantly, until he could prove who’d stolen the first one.

  The musician, George Mavane, was a two-tongued snake, he was sure of it. The problem was that he had Sharon’s ear, and had made himself a hero by killing Ellis Long, the man who’d murdered Quinton’s uncle Verin and his love, Lilliana Clairmont. Supposedly the deranged Ellis had murdered them while Verin was proposing. The timing, and the fact that George happened to be right there were beyond suspicious. Everything about George rubbed Quinton the wrong way.

  From his lies to the way he’d manipulated Sharon into trusting him. George had skillfully worked his way into Sharon’s life and she now trusted him. Quinton loved how loyal and dedicated Sharon was, it was a great trait, but in this case it was terrible. George had created a wedge between them, one that was going to take time to fix. But before he could fix that he needed to prove that George was up to something nefarious.

  Quinton wished Nathan Stoneblood was there. His cousin, while sometimes wild and impetuous, was intuitive and smart in ways that Quinton wasn’t. If anyone could sniff out George’s plan and right things with Sharon it was Nathan. However, Nathan had his own crises to deal with. No, it was Quinton’s job and he’d do it, somehow.

  The new mana stone was smaller than the last one. It was only the size of a small gem, too large for a ring, but perfect for an amulet. However, an amulet was easy to spot, Quinton wanted to keep this one hidden, so he’d had an ironworker create him a belt buckle with a hidden compartment. Quinton slid the new mana-stone into the compartment and put on the buckle. It fit perfectly. The buckle was plain compared to the intricate ironwork his cousin Nathan could do with his earth magic, but plain was the point. Quinton didn’t want anyone paying any attention to the belt.

  Satisfied that it was secured and hidden. Quinton moved onto the next thing on his agenda. George Mavane.

  …

  Quinton spotted George coming out of the Crown and Anchor. It had taken a while to track down the musician, but luckily the man had spent most of the night drinking and socializing.

  Now that the hour was late, he was finally leaving. He was on the move, and from the sneaky furtive sideways glances as he left the building, he was up to something.

  Keeping to the shadows, Quinton followed George.

  The musician’s pace increased and he started going through back alleys. Quinton, nervous that he’d lose him, picked up the pace. He’d never tried to stalk someone before and didn’t know the techniques. He just knew that he needed to keep close.

  For a few minutes, he couldn’t see George at all. Frantic that he’d lost him, Quinton moved faster.

  Suddenly, he turned a corner and ran right into the man. “Uh, good evening, George.”

  “Young Quinton,” George said. “What brings you out into the streets as such a late hour?”

  “Oh...uh… I was just on my way to Sharon’s house.”

  “Well, I seem to be lost,” George said. For effect, he put his hands on his hips and looked around. “Maybe you could help me out of here?”

  Quinton didn’t know what to do. George put an arm around his shoulders and began to walk next to him. “Uh, ok, I guess. Where are you going?”

  “The wall,” George said. “I had it in mind to take a walk along the wall.”

  Quinton relaxed. It seemed George believed that them running into each other was accidental. But to be safe, Quinton kept one hand free, preparing to cast a spell if things weren’t as they seemed.

  They kept walking until George leaned over and whispered menacingly into Quinton’s ear. “I wouldn’t bother with that.”

  Startled, Quinton tucked his hands into his pockets and looked up innocently. “Uh, what do you mean?”

  George chuckled. “Oh, come now. Look around. There’s no one here. There’s no need to maintain this charade.”

  Quinton looked around. They had left the housing district and were strolling through the deserted warehouse district close to the wall. There was no one around.

  “As I was saying, I wouldn’t bother with magic. It won’t work, thanks to this handy little thing.” He took a small box out of his pocket and held it up for Quinton to see.

  “I don’t understand,” Quinton said. He was confused. What did George mean his magic wouldn’t work?

  George chuckled. “I know you don’t, but I’ll explain”—George lashed out and struck Quinton across the jaw, dropping him down to one knee—“after I have a little fun.”

  George dropped the box on the ground nearby and went to work methodically beating Quinton.

  Quinton fought back with everything he had. He struck George several times, but the older man was deceptively strong and a far superior fighter. His vicious attacks knocked Quinton down repeatedly.

  “I don’t know why they don’t teach you a mixture of fighting and magic,” George said as he squatted down to talk to the beaten boy. “Without magic, you are nothing.” He picked up the little box. “Want to see what’s inside? Of course, you do.” He undid the clasp and pulled back the lid.

  Quinton saw his mana-stone. He’d been right, it had been George the whole time. He gasped and lurched forward to grab the box but George caught him square in the jaw with a left jab. Quinton fell to the ground, clutching his face.

  “I see you recognize your little stone,” George said. “Brilliant object. Thanks to you, I was able to create this powerful dispel rune. Does that surprise you? I imagine it would. You probably scanned my aura for any sign of magical influence.” He stood over Quinton and shouted down at him, “Didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” came the defeated response.

  “And it probably threw you for a loop when you discovered my skill with a lyre and my angelic voice are both magically enhanced.”

  Quinton winced as he took a deep breath, George had broken several of his ribs and every breath was a painful struggle. But George’s mocking words stung almost as much as the physical pain of the beating. George had played them all.

  “Your magic out here is so primitive compared to what we use in Korazon,” George said. “Even though I’m not what you would call an a’kil, I don’t let that limit what I can do. It doesn’t hurt I have very powerful friends who can make me things. It was simple enough to mask the magic of the rune with the magic of the lyre. Doesn’t that make you feel inferior?”

  “You belong in the seven hells.”

  George kicked him in the midsection several more times. Quintons ribs felt like they were on fire.

  “Lord Zellox gave me a stone similar to the one you made, though not quite as powerful. It was meant to disrupt any enchantments on a doorway or entrance, anything like that,” George said, then his grin grew wider. �
��Thanks to your little rock, this little rune can dispel all the enchantments on this big fancy wall.”

  Quinton groaned and blood poured from his mouth as he muttered a few unintelligible words.

  George looked like he was going to kick him again, but instead he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Quinton’s mouth. “Say that again.”

  “What do you want?”

  “My orders were to kill Nathan Stoneblood, but since he’s nowhere to be found, I’m going to destroy Elderwood instead,” George sneered. “My army and mages are on their way here as we speak. All of your people will be dead or slaves by this time tomorrow.” He paused and walked over to the boy, placing a heavy boot on his back as he bent down to mock him. “You will be dead.”

  “The queen and the rest of the army will be back to defend the city,” Quinton said, though it was difficult to make out, thanks to his swollen mouth. “Your plan will fail.”

  George laughed. “Doubtful. No one outside the city has any idea what’s happening right now. I’ve made certain of that. Once we control the wall, they will have no choice except surrender.”

  “That won’t happen,” Quinton grunted.

  George patted Quinton’s head. His hair was slicked down with blood. “Of course, it will,” he said. “Just look how easy it was for me to kill the commander of the Guard. It’s almost ridiculous how bad the security is in this place. I tainted the entire milk supply, and no one was the wiser.”

  “And the chickens?” the boy groaned.

  “Oh, yes! That was a beautiful bit of craftsmanship.” George was getting very excited. “While I had many clever and exciting capers in this city, my favorite was probably when I stole your stone. It was brilliant. I bet you can’t figure out how I did it.” He didn’t wait for a response before he continued. “When I was in the holding cells, I snuck out and across to the magic school. It was so easy. I even stopped for a snack along the way and no one was the wiser. On top of it all, I even made a few coins playing cards with the guards.”

  “You won’t get away with this,” Quinton groaned. “Nathan will get you.”

  George delivered a few swift kicks. “Where is he now? He’s abandoned you.” He kicked a few more times, until Quinton didn’t move. “No one can save you now.” He then leaned over and poured a small vial of liquid into Quinton’s mouth.

  …

  Quinton woke and looked around.

  George was gone.

  The last thing Quinton remembered was George standing over him, putting something in his mouth.

  Poison.

  Knowing that he had little time left, Quinton crawled to a wall, and forced himself to his feet. He hobbled his way through the city towards the castle. He needed to get to Sharon. She needed to know the truth. If she believed him, everyone would. There was still time to stop George. He just needed to get to Sharon.

  He struggled until a city guard stopped him.

  “What the hell happened man? Who did this to you?” the guard said. “I need to get you to a healer.”

  “No time,” Quinton said between gasping breaths. “Get me to the castle.”

  The guard hesitated, but then realized who Quinton was. “Yes, sir. Immediately.”

  He took Quinton and held him up using his shoulder. Together, they made their way to the castle.

  Another security guard stopped them at the castle. “Who goes there?”

  “It’s Quinton Albet. He’s hurt.”

  “I’ll get a healer,” the guard said and took off running.

  The first guard took Quinton inside. “Who do you need? I’ll fetch them.”

  Quinton shook his head. “This is far enough. Go the gates, warn them danger is coming. Don’t let anyone leave.”

  The guard nodded and took off.

  Quinton struggled and made his way towards Sharon’s room. He fell just before he made it. However, he kept going until he was at her door. He banged on the door but his body was so weak he barely made a noise. He kept trying. Scratching and hitting the door. Anything to get her attention.

  The door opened.

  Sharon stepped out. “By the gods,” she gasped as she saw Quinton’s broken and bleeding body lying on the doorstep. She looked around, but there was nothing except a dark trail of blood leading to the door.

  “She rushed to help him. “Quinton can you hear me? What happened?”

  His face was beaten to where she almost didn’t recognize him. He groaned as she rolled him over. He was still alive but barely. She moved to get her healing kit, but he grabbed her hand before she could and mumbled incoherent words.

  “What did you say? Can you say it again?”

  “Geo—”

  “What?” Sharon asked, but she already knew the answer. “George? George Mavane? He did this to you?”

  Quinton nodded his head slightly. “…Stone,” he muttered as his eyes fluttered closed. He wanted to tell her about what George had done. The city was in danger. He needed to tell her, but he was fading so fast. “He has my st…”

  “Stone? Do you mean your mana-stone?” Sharon asked, but there was no reply.

  2

  Kiana

  Kiana Clairmont sat in her room. The last few days had been bittersweet. They’d arrived in time to save Elderwood from attack, but only to find out her mother was dead. Not only had her mother died, but she’d died on the day her boyfriend, Verin Albet was going to propose. Kiana had lost her mother and her new father all in one day. It only got worse when her good friend Quinton had been murdered.

  Today were the funerals. The city was in mourning, and Kiana wasn’t ready to face any of them. It wasn’t just the loss of her mother, Verin and Quinton that was eating at her. She was from Pailtar, and she’d lost loved ones before. As painful as that was, she could cope with death. What was bothering her was the feeling of helplessness. There was nothing to do but bury the dead and move on. Kiana was a person of action and all this sitting around and crying was making things worse.

  A knock on her door startled her. “Come in.”

  Rose entered the room.

  “I’m almost ready,” Kiana said.

  “I’m not here for the funeral, I need you to come with me, quick.”

  Kiana jumped up. Rose’s tone and facial expression matched the urgency of her words. Something was amiss. “Let’s go.”

  Kiana followed Rose through the castle. Parts of the castle were still under construction, as it had been carved out of the mountain using Nathan Stoneblood’s earth magic. Later carpenters and other mages had come along and worked on improving the rough sections. It still amazed her how Nathan could cut through stone with his magic. They went down a series of corridors and then at a locked door.

  Rose knocked on the door.

  Lady Avera opened the door, glanced around and then hustled them into the room.

  “Kiana. How are you doing?” Lady Avera asked.

  “Fine. I mean I’m sad, of course. I can’t stop thinking about it, but I’ll be OK.”

  Lady Avera gave her a hug. “Just know you are part of our family now. Verin’s love for the both of you will never be forgotten.”

  “Thank you, Lady Avera, that means a lot. Now can you tell me why we are meeting in a storage room next to what smells like the stables?”

  “I need you to keep a secret. No one outside this room can know about. Do I have your word?” Lady Avera asked.

  Kiana nodded.

  Lady Avera moved sideways, and pointed. On the other side of the room was a wooden crate. “This going to sound strange, but inside that crate is Quinton’s body.”

  “What?”

  Rose leaned in. “He’s not really dead.”

  “He’s not really dead?”

  “He’s not really alive either,” Lady Avera said.

  “I don’t understand,” Kiana said.

  “Neither do we,” Lady Avera said. “Something happened when George Mavane attacked Quinton. His spirit stayed connected wit
h his body.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Ava told me,” Rose said.

  Ava, Rose’s dead sister. It sounded strange, but Kiana knew that Rose had a spirit-stone that connected her to her older sister. She was able to talk to her, just like Hanna Halfblood, Nathan’s northern cousin, was able to talk to the spirits. Nathan also had a spirit-stone connecting him to Ava, but his powerful connection to the earth seemed to block his ability to connect to the spirit world. Only on special occasions could he get a clear connection with Ava. “Ava says Quinton’s spirit remains here?”

  Rose nodded.

  “Not only that. After Rose told me what Ava said, I checked Quinton’s body,” Lady Avera said. “I found that he had a mana-stone hidden on him. I didn’t touch it for fear that it might be why his spirit stayed. I used my magic to put his body into a magical stasis.”

  “Why would you do that? Oh, wait. You think he can be brought back?” Kiana said.

  Lady Avera nodded. “It is possible. Bringing back the dead is normally considered dark magic and too dangerous to attempt, but this is a unique case.”

  “We need a necromancer,” Kiana said. Necromancy was frowned upon in many societies, but in Pailtar, where she’d grown up, all the dark arts were fair game. “I don’t know if any necromancers came to Elderwood.”

  “None. Your mother and I spoke about it before. She was very open about which magic users came to Balta and then on to Elderwood after the attacks on Pailtar. She also said the remaining necromancers in Pailtar weren’t true practitioners. That they were mostly mages who dabbled in the dark arts when opportunity presented itself.”

  Kiana nodded. That sounded about right. Pailtar had been the home of the Thieves’ Guild and home to all sorts of shady mages and warriors. Pailtar wasn’t a black and white kingdom, it was a place where everyone lived in the gray. Both Kiana and her mother had been members. “If not Pailtar then where would we find one?”

  “Arkoma,” Lady Avera said.

  “Oh.”

  Lady Avera sighed. “I know, but I know of no other place where we might find the help we need.