The Necromancers

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

“Our country is facing a crisis, and we need magicians. Do you want to help?” asked the soldiers’ leader. Now I was interested. It’s funny how perspective changes everything; I feel different about him now that I know more. Even the way he looks at me is not so jarring.

“What do I get as payment?” I tried to look nonchalant so I could bargain. I actually preferred jobs with a lot more pay. Of course there would be risks, but such is life; risks made it more exciting.

“Well . . .” My blatant demand made him hesitate, but he quickly recovered. “The king himself will talk with you about it! Come with us!”

I followed the soldiers and felt very eager suddenly. I had achieved my childhood dream—leading a fleet of guards on the street. Even if they weren’t real guards, no matter, I would pretend they were.

The palace wasn’t hard to find. We got on a boat and before long, we had reached the palace exterior. Someone who may have been a greeting official received me, guiding me to a garden-like space. He told me to “Wait for me to announce you” and abandoned me; I’d not have tolerated it if I didn’t think the upcoming payment would be great.

Just as I was waiting aimlessly (or as I’d described, like an idle ox) for that palace lackey who was delayed by some official rule or another—I knew royal rules were tedious; I had no idea how tedious—there was a voice behind me.

“Are you a magician?”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it almost made my heart and stomach merge, or more precisely, it made my heart jump into my stomach. Someone had come up to me without my noticing! I reacted instantly and darted aside, a powerful mantra jumping into my mind. I never underestimated enemies who could get this close. Even if they didn’t mean harm, it was a threat!

The mantra quieted in my mind when I realized a girl stood in front me.

“Are you a magician?” the girl asked again. Innocence was written in her eyes. She looked to be fourteen or fifteen, an age when girls became teenagers, but her eyes told me she was more like a four or five-year-old in maturity. Maybe she wasn’t good at ambushing, but I was too anxious to be on guard earlier.

“Yes!” I answered and turned around, hoping to see that official. Was I here to babysit her? I was not a nanny!

There was no sight of anyone else, so I had to turn around and look at the girl again.

She watched me with flickering eyes, seemingly having made up her mind. Her expression gave her away, like the way a child would, and while biting her lips and using a voice she probably thought was stoic but I found to be ridiculous, she said:

“Can you teach me magic?”

Her request was so direct, it shocked me. I recovered quickly. Who was this kid? Her clothes—a dress which would have been elegant on a grown-up, but adorable on her—her smooth hair, and her porcelain-white skin, told me she was from a royal family. It didn’t matter to me though; if she was an adult, I liked to differentiate who was a commoner and who was a royal, but kids were all equally annoying to me. I turned around, wanting to get away, in case a vicious old lady came out later; in my experience, one usually followed the other.

Something held onto my robe. I looked down and saw the kid’s hand was tugging on my clothes and wasn’t letting go.

“Can you teach me magic?” she asked again, her tone holding no room for refusal.

“In another three years . . . no, five years, I could teach you some bedroom magic.” I wanted to use a lewd joke to make her run, but she didn’t understand.

“Bedroom magic? Another five years? No, I want to learn right now! There’s no time for another five years!” Her hands held on.

“You’re too young now!” I couldn’t get away with my usual methods with this hothouse flower, so I tapped my knuckle on her forehead, and while she yelped in pain, pulled my robe free. 

I walked a few steps, hoping she would not follow. To be honest, I felt happy having bullied someone.

Too bad even a royal garden wasn’t big enough. The annoying youngster caught up to me. I stopped, knowing I couldn’t get away now.

“I’m already fifteen! My grandfather said he’d teach me by now. So I can learn magic now. Teach me magic, please!”

Please, you’re at most a five year old; if anyone just stalked a stranger and begged to learn magic, their age would be only five years old . What do you think magic is, playing house? I didn’t say my thoughts out loud, knowing they wouldn’t convince her, so I turned my head around.

“Please teach me?” she begged again, watching me with hope. It looked like I had to resolve this since I got into this quandary in the first place.

“Why don’t you look for your grandfather? I demanded. “Why are you bothering me? I won’t teach you!”

“My grandfather . . .” She looked like she was in tears, and that made me panic. I wasn’t afraid of rumors, but if I made a little girl cry, it’d be mortifying. It would be mortifying to all magicians.

“He’s gone!” She stopped her tears, while I could feel sweat rolling down my back. I hated kids crying; it was torture to me.

”Is he dead?” I think I understood. Her grandfather must be pretty old if she was this age, so no surprise if he died. But why leave behind some weird promise, which was trapping me here?


“Can you teach me magic?” Her earnest gaze made me shake my head.

“Why not?” She was ridiculous to not understand the reason. Fine, I would make up something to tell her.

“Magic can only be studied by people of certain bloodlines.” I realized my mistake as I finished talking.

“I am! My grandfather was a magician, even though my mom isn’t. I should have the bloodline!”

“I’m a wandering magician; I won’t do anything without being paid!”

“I don’t have money, but . . . would something expensive work?” she suggested shyly, stunned.

“What kind of things?” I was greedy. May the gods forgive me; I actually wanted to swindle some pricey baubles from a girl. I figured all royals were rich, so maybe this girl had some priceless antiques around. I actually did something so lacking in self-respect at that moment.

“Like this?” She took out a bangle. The giant blue jewels on it almost blinded me with their glamour.

“Blue gems? These are huge!” I looked over the gemstones. I didn’t obsess over money or jewels, but gemstones of this size made me drool. To a regular person, blue jewels were the same as any other jewels, but to magicians, blue gemstones amplified magic. They may not be helpful in battles, but in magic research or experiments, they were essential, and giant blue gemstones were even rarer. I was traveling now, but one day, I’d tire of this kind of life, and now, this gemstone had made me pause.

“Why do you want to learn magic?” I put down the bangle and asked. I was questioning her but really just wanted to distract her.

“All magicians were defeated by that necromancer, even my grandfather. There’s not a single magician left in this kingdom, so I want to learn magic to fight the necromancer!”

“You’ll die!” I told her, then chanted my mantra in a low voice. I'd stolen many things with this trick, even though it was a despicable thing to do.

“I’m not scared. My grandfather told me I was gifted, and I could be a great magician. As long as I learned magic, I could avenge him and the others, too.”

She kept talking, but I hardly listened. I focused all my will on the mantra, and when I finished chanting, a hologram bangle appeared in my right hand. It looked the same as the actual bangle; as long as it wasn’t attacked, it’d stay this way for twenty-four hours.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

“Our country is facing a crisis, and we need magicians. Do you want to help?” asked the soldiers’ leader. Now I was interested. It’s funny how perspective changes everything; I feel different about him now that I know more. Even the way he looks at me is not so jarring.

“What do I get as payment?” I tried to look nonchalant so I could bargain. I actually preferred jobs with a lot more pay. Of course there would be risks, but such is life; risks made it more exciting.

“Well . . .” My blatant demand made him hesitate, but he quickly recovered. “The king himself will talk with you about it! Come with us!”

I followed the soldiers and felt very eager suddenly. I had achieved my childhood dream—leading a fleet of guards on the street. Even if they weren’t real guards, no matter, I would pretend they were.

The palace wasn’t hard to find. We got on a boat and before long, we had reached the palace exterior. Someone who may have been a greeting official received me, guiding me to a garden-like space. He told me to “Wait for me to announce you” and abandoned me; I’d not have tolerated it if I didn’t think the upcoming payment would be great.

Just as I was waiting aimlessly (or as I’d described, like an idle ox) for that palace lackey who was delayed by some official rule or another—I knew royal rules were tedious; I had no idea how tedious—there was a voice behind me.

“Are you a magician?”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it almost made my heart and stomach merge, or more precisely, it made my heart jump into my stomach. Someone had come up to me without my noticing! I reacted instantly and darted aside, a powerful mantra jumping into my mind. I never underestimated enemies who could get this close. Even if they didn’t mean harm, it was a threat!

The mantra quieted in my mind when I realized a girl stood in front me.

“Are you a magician?” the girl asked again. Innocence was written in her eyes. She looked to be fourteen or fifteen, an age when girls became teenagers, but her eyes told me she was more like a four or five-year-old in maturity. Maybe she wasn’t good at ambushing, but I was too anxious to be on guard earlier.

“Yes!” I answered and turned around, hoping to see that official. Was I here to babysit her? I was not a nanny!

There was no sight of anyone else, so I had to turn around and look at the girl again.

She watched me with flickering eyes, seemingly having made up her mind. Her expression gave her away, like the way a child would, and while biting her lips and using a voice she probably thought was stoic but I found to be ridiculous, she said:

“Can you teach me magic?”

Her request was so direct, it shocked me. I recovered quickly. Who was this kid? Her clothes—a dress which would have been elegant on a grown-up, but adorable on her—her smooth hair, and her porcelain-white skin, told me she was from a royal family. It didn’t matter to me though; if she was an adult, I liked to differentiate who was a commoner and who was a royal, but kids were all equally annoying to me. I turned around, wanting to get away, in case a vicious old lady came out later; in my experience, one usually followed the other.

Something held onto my robe. I looked down and saw the kid’s hand was tugging on my clothes and wasn’t letting go.

“Can you teach me magic?” she asked again, her tone holding no room for refusal.

“In another three years . . . no, five years, I could teach you some bedroom magic.” I wanted to use a lewd joke to make her run, but she didn’t understand.

“Bedroom magic? Another five years? No, I want to learn right now! There’s no time for another five years!” Her hands held on.

“You’re too young now!” I couldn’t get away with my usual methods with this hothouse flower, so I tapped my knuckle on her forehead, and while she yelped in pain, pulled my robe free. 

I walked a few steps, hoping she would not follow. To be honest, I felt happy having bullied someone.

Too bad even a royal garden wasn’t big enough. The annoying youngster caught up to me. I stopped, knowing I couldn’t get away now.

“I’m already fifteen! My grandfather said he’d teach me by now. So I can learn magic now. Teach me magic, please!”

Please, you’re at most a five year old; if anyone just stalked a stranger and begged to learn magic, their age would be only five years old . What do you think magic is, playing house? I didn’t say my thoughts out loud, knowing they wouldn’t convince her, so I turned my head around.

“Please teach me?” she begged again, watching me with hope. It looked like I had to resolve this since I got into this quandary in the first place.

“Why don’t you look for your grandfather? I demanded. “Why are you bothering me? I won’t teach you!”

“My grandfather . . .” She looked like she was in tears, and that made me panic. I wasn’t afraid of rumors, but if I made a little girl cry, it’d be mortifying. It would be mortifying to all magicians.

“He’s gone!” She stopped her tears, while I could feel sweat rolling down my back. I hated kids crying; it was torture to me.

”Is he dead?” I think I understood. Her grandfather must be pretty old if she was this age, so no surprise if he died. But why leave behind some weird promise, which was trapping me here?

“Can you teach me magic?” Her earnest gaze made me shake my head.

“Why not?” She was ridiculous to not understand the reason. Fine, I would make up something to tell her.

“Magic can only be studied by people of certain bloodlines.” I realized my mistake as I finished talking.

“I am! My grandfather was a magician, even though my mom isn’t. I should have the bloodline!”

“I’m a wandering magician; I won’t do anything without being paid!”

“I don’t have money, but . . . would something expensive work?” she suggested shyly, stunned.

“What kind of things?” I was greedy. May the gods forgive me; I actually wanted to swindle some pricey baubles from a girl. I figured all royals were rich, so maybe this girl had some priceless antiques around. I actually did something so lacking in self-respect at that moment.

“Like this?” She took out a bangle. The giant blue jewels on it almost blinded me with their glamour.

“Blue gems? These are huge!” I looked over the gemstones. I didn’t obsess over money or jewels, but gemstones of this size made me drool. To a regular person, blue jewels were the same as any other jewels, but to magicians, blue gemstones amplified magic. They may not be helpful in battles, but in magic research or experiments, they were essential, and giant blue gemstones were even rarer. I was traveling now, but one day, I’d tire of this kind of life, and now, this gemstone had made me pause.

“Why do you want to learn magic?” I put down the bangle and asked. I was questioning her but really just wanted to distract her.

“All magicians were defeated by that necromancer, even my grandfather. There’s not a single magician left in this kingdom, so I want to learn magic to fight the necromancer!”

“You’ll die!” I told her, then chanted my mantra in a low voice. I'd stolen many things with this trick, even though it was a despicable thing to do.

“I’m not scared. My grandfather told me I was gifted, and I could be a great magician. As long as I learned magic, I could avenge him and the others, too.”

She kept talking, but I hardly listened. I focused all my will on the mantra, and when I finished chanting, a hologram bangle appeared in my right hand. It looked the same as the actual bangle; as long as it wasn’t attacked, it’d stay this way for twenty-four hours.