Defiant Necromancer (Book 2 stubbing July 3)

Tybalt approached Eldest Isak and the children as the new clergy filed out of the desert plain where he and the others had been performing all their exercises.

As she saw him walking toward them, Mariella joined him, while Dero and Kistana continued to stand off on their own a bit further off in the sand, as they had been while Tybalt trained the beastfolk and spoke with his clergy for the first time.

“Nice to meet you children,” Tybalt said as he drew close, smiling at them and trying to pretend for a few minutes that he wasn’t a walking calamity in the making.

“We wish that it could be under better circumstances,” Mariella added with a small, sad smile of her own. “But we’ve been asked to take care of you after we get married, and we’re looking forward to spending time with our new family.”

Tybalt put his arm around her waist and gently squeezed the fire mage close.

That was really good, he thought. Not just the words, but the delivery. He would tell Mariella later, she seemed like she would be a great mother.

“Why did you pick this pale human?” asked one of the older ibex beastboys, probably twelve years old. “He’s hardly older than we are, and he’s a - a human!”

One or two other children out of the dozen nodded in quiet agreement with the boy, not making eye contact with either Tybalt or Mariella, while Eldest Isak looked aghast. As Tybalt looked on, the Eldest’s face darkened with annoyance.

“Stefan, how dare you be so rude to the generous couple?” he asked after a moment. “Do you know how rare it is for someone like Lord Necromancer to come along? How valuable it could be to have him to mentor - ”

“Eldest, would you let me?” Tybalt asked, his voice brimming with quiet authority.

Isak’s forehead creased with slight surprise, but then he nodded.

“Please, forgive them,” the Eldest said quietly, then stepped aside.

“Young Stefan, was it?” the necromancer asked.

The boy nodded with a frown.

“Do you know what happened to your parents, Stefan?”

“They were killed by filthy humans,” the boy replied with a snarl. “Like you.”

“That’s right,” Tybalt said, nodding. “They died when the humans came to kill beastfolk. Do you know why they died?”

“Be-Because…” The child’s voice trailed off. He didn’t know.

Because they were weak, the necromancer thought. Fuck, I might have killed them myself for all I know. The average villager poses no threat to the average soldier.

Of course, he wouldn’t say those words out loud to this twelve-year-old.

“Because they couldn’t defend themselves,” the necromancer said. “It’s a problem for most people in all four tribes. That’s why the Councils of Elders for the tribes asked me to help train their able-bodied adults. My fiancee - who you will call ‘Lady Mariella’ or ‘ma’am’ - and I are two of the stronger humans from the Kingdom, but we chose to fight to protect the fox tribe’s village these weeks past when the Army attacked it. That means we made enemies with those other humans, which is bad for us. But it’s good for the beastfolk, because now you have us on your side, fighting for you, and Mariella and I, plus the people we surround ourselves with, are strong. Now - ” He raised his voice slightly - “as much as you might hate me and my kind, and I’ll never pretend you don’t have good reasons for that, think about this like you’re making a choice. Not that you have a lot of options, but would you rather be taken care of by a nice beastfolk family…” The boy started to nod before Tybalt finished, “Or would you rather learn from a pair of powerful mages who can train you and put a weapon in your hand?”

That stopped Stefan’s nodding in an instant. The necromancer watched him carefully, eyes narrowed. He had read the boy correctly, he was almost certain of it. There grew within him a deep thirst for vengeance. Tybalt recognized that desire in the child as he recognized it within himself.

I just have to nourish it and direct it. Not every day. Just once in a while. Remind him that his family has not been avenged. That he needs strength for that. Strength that I can help him achieve. He’ll always remember the man who trained him and taught him how to fight so he could pursue his goal.

“Y-You,” the boy replied, swallowing, his face tense. “I-I mean, you, Lord Necromancer.”

Tybalt nodded. “Well, then, I look forward to getting to know you, Stefan.” He reached out, grabbed the boy’s hand, moved it firmly up and down, and then looked up. “Is there anyone else having doubts? Don’t be shy.”

The children all shook their heads.

“All right, let’s get started,” Tybalt said.

“Um, children, why don’t you bring out the items you brought to show Lord Necromancer?” asked Eldest Isak.

Tybalt looked up and saw the old man was smiling now, looking at him and the children.

What did they bring?

Stefan answered that for him by pulling a dead lizard out of his pocket.

“Eldest Isak said you could make dead things move again, Lord Necromancer,” he said quietly, his voice expectant. “That you might… demonstrate for us?”

“Oh,” said Tybalt, giving the boy a small smile. “Well, yes. Everyone put your… dead things on the ground in front of you. I’ll first repeat the lesson I gave the adults earlier, and then I’ll show you something fun.”

He went through the basic mana manipulation lesson he had given the adults earlier and then ordered the children to try finding their own source of power within.

Most of them had no luck looking for their mana core, so Tybalt gently went around, tapping a finger to each of their chests, probing with his own mana - carefully scrubbed of his natural pestilence and undeath affinities - to help them feel where their power lay.

When he was done, one little foxgirl started moving mana out from her core and into one arm. She stared at the limb - glowing brightly from her point of view and that of the mages, invisibly to everyone else.

“What’s your name, little one?” Mariella asked before Tybalt could speak.

“I-I’m Milu, ma’am,” the ten-year-old said, suddenly meek.

“Well, no one but me and the other mages here can see it, but Milu is moving her mana just like Tybalt told her!” the fire mage said in an excited tone. “Well done, Milu. This is great for your first time!”

“You’ll have to… show me that later, Milu,” said Stefan in a tone of slight envy.

“All of you will get it soon,” Tybalt said.

The Elders said talent runs in these children’s blood, after all. Milu grasping the most basic thing so quickly is proof of that. The others will be doing the same soon. She can’t properly control the movement, but the fact that she can make it at all is a major step.

Mariella helped the girl get control of her mana and return her energy to her core before she poured enough in her arm to be a danger to herself or others, while Tybalt gave some instruction to the rest of the children.

“You are not to practice this on your own yet,” he said. “Mana is extremely dangerous if you don’t know how to use it. This energy is connected to your life force, and if you misuse it, you could kill yourself. I just wanted all of you to get a feel for it right now, and when we meet again, I’ll help you develop some basic skills in moving it around.”

He felt the temperature in the air drop a little as the children all swallowed and looked at him fearfully. They hadn’t realized they were learning something so dangerous. Only Stefan looked more excited than anxious. He alone seemed to have realized that mana itself was the weapon that Tybalt had been speaking about putting into his hands.

“Now I’ll show you guys something cool,” Tybalt said, very deliberately changing the subject to fix the mood. “In order from left to right, each of you bring me your dead thing, and then the rest of you, form a ring to watch.”

A little girl named Nadya was first, and she had a small mouse for Tybalt.

The necromancer, moving slowly, narrated his actions as he reached out with his power to the mouse.

“My mana is specialized toward pestilence and undeath,” he said. “I’m pushing my mana into my hand right now, and…”

He explained the whole process until the mouse twitched and jerked in his hand. The group of children recoiled and then cried out in excitement as the little creature ran around in a little circle on the top of his palm. Its movements were a little clumsy but just as quick as they had been in life.

“Now that I have raised this zombie mouse,” Tybalt said, “I control its actions. As long as I remember to give it orders, it will do what I want. Watch. Right now, it’s going to run up to the top of my head.”

The mouse dashed up Tybalt’s sleeve, hopped onto his shoulder, scampered up the back of his neck, and finally peeked out from just above his hairline.

“Gross!” exclaimed one of the younger girls, who was shushed by Eldest Isak.

“This is what necromancy is like,” Tybalt said firmly, resisting the urge to laugh at the child’s outburst. “Who here wants to know more?”

All of the children raised their hands except for the girl who had called it gross a moment ago.

“That’s all right,” the necromancer said, speaking before Eldest Isak - who looked annoyed again - could say anything. “You can learn from my fiancee instead.” He smiled and looked at Isak. “It takes all kinds, don’t you think? Young…” He looked at the girl, and she lowered her head before responding.

“Um, Kalina, my lord,” she said.

“How polite. Anyway, I bet young Kalina will be a fine mage one day, or at least an expert mana manipulator, and she doesn’t have to practice necromancy to be useful to the beastfolk.”

“As you say, Lord Necromancer.” Eldest Isak still looked slightly ruffled by the children’s disrespect toward their new benefactors - Tybalt wondered if he treated his own grandchildren this way, or if perhaps he was just a little grumpy today - but the old man gave Tybalt a grudging smile, apparently pleased at how the necromancer was handling the little ones.

Applause came from somewhere above, and Tybalt looked over to the nearby mountainside. There were Victoria, Vidalia, and Andric, clapping for him or for the little girl. A moment of observation made it feel clearer which. Victoria looked pleased with the scene, but her eyes were focused on Tybalt. Vidalia gave the necromancer a very distinct, smouldering, breed me now look. And Andric’s expression was bittersweet as he glanced back and forth between the scene at ground level and the two women with him.

“How long have you guys been back?” Tybalt called up to them.

“Not long,” Andric replied.

“Long enough, though!” Vidalia exclaimed. Her sultry expression had changed seamlessly into an innocent smile. “Lucky kids!”

“She’s right,” whispered Mariella, her voice breathy and excited. “You’ll - um, you’ll be a great father someday.” She entwined her arms around his. “I… I can’t wait.”

The necromancer felt a sudden surge of strength flow through him, and a moment later, he knew why.

The necromancer had almost forgotten about the quest. Yet in a moment when it was far from his mind, he had somehow completed it.

Tybalt looked at Mariella, who looked back at him with an expression of extreme affection.