Life

by Rosie Scott

  Cerin blinked rapidly at me, looking a little confused. “Okay. I'm following, Kai, but I'm struggling to see where you're going with this.”

  “I'm trying to make a point, Cerin. As I told Azazel earlier, the leeching spell translates to absorb energy from life. Not absorb life. Just energy. Which leads me to believe that if a body is overloaded with energy from any source, it may be possible to obtain what we know of as a leeching high. And if that body gains a high, it should have access to immortality. With or without the person knowing necromancy.”

  Cerin nodded slowly, finally realizing my direction of thought. “But if they don't know necromancy, how would they absorb the energy?”

  “How else?” I asked. “The element of life.”

  “Life mages are extremely rare,” Cerin argued before a small ironic smile lit up his face. “Especially now that Glacia is underwater.” He hesitated and frowned. “Wait. You're saying that a life mage would have to give this person enough energy to obtain a high. You know that you have to absorb the energy of multiple people to get access to a high. One life mage is incapable of this; they'd eventually pass out. And even if they were capable of it, givara la mana gives energy at such a slow rate that obtaining a high might as well take hours. It would be impractical.”

  “Sure, if givara la mana was the spell I meant to test in such a way. But it's not.” The more I talked about this, the more excited my voice became with the possibilities that sprung to mind. “The life spell I created charges, Cerin. I could have given Azazel the entirety of my own high that day, but I knew I needed enough in my reserves to finish healing his wounds, so I didn't. But what if I had?”

  Cerin was quiet for a few moments. He finally smiled, looking at me with a face of excitement and disbelief. “If you're right about this theory, you could be just on the cusp of the greatest magical discovery ever made.”

  My own grin matched his. “I could be wrong about this, but by the gods, I hope I'm not. It would take a powerful life and death dual caster to pull it off. The rarest of all mages.”

  “And two of which are sitting in this room,” Cerin mused happily. “As if you don't gather followers quickly enough already, people will want to follow you simply so they can have immortality.”

  “Let's not get ahead of ourselves,” I protested lightly. “We don't even know if it'll work. I need to test it in battle. Until then, this should remain between you and me, Cerin. If I voice my theories to Azazel just for them not to come true, it will devastate him all over again.”

  “But if they do come true...” Cerin trailed off.

  “If they do come true, we could offer our friends the greatest gift of all: life.”

  Thirteen

  The underground army spread over the grasslands of Monte like a plague of black and blue. There were so many Alderi here it was as if the land itself could not contain them. Thousands of shadows dotted through the first few layers of the Griswald Forest, proving more were in wait. As I walked toward the woodland, I heard the sexual enthusiasm of hundreds of men and women alike as they participated in the one thing the Alderi loved most.

  Calder stood at the edge of the forest with one shoulder leaning against a tree, watching over his army with pride while smoking. Just feet away was Kirek, her face one of bewilderment and disgust as she struggled to understand the scene. The two vastly different reactions happening so close together amused me greatly.

  “Is this an army or an orgy?” Kirek asked, crossing her arms and glaring over at Calder for an answer.

  Calder straightened against the tree and reached up to his mouth, slowly removing the cigarette. He looked over at Kirek and blew ferris smoke her way, watching as it billowed into her face while she said nothing. Once the smoke dissipated and left only air, Calder replied dryly, “Both.”

  His answer made me chuckle out loud, making my presence known. To Kirek's credit, she greeted me before leaving. Calder grinned charmingly at me as he pulled himself away from the forest, closing our distance.

  “Wanna join?” He questioned, throwing a hand back toward the party.

  “I'll pass,” I replied, waving away the ferris that was offered to me.

  “I assume you're already satisfied,” Calder mused. “You've always been good at raising the bones of necromancers.”

  I chuckled. “Be careful with your wording, love. You are now a necromancer yourself.”

  “Maybe I was talking about me,” Calder replied, laughing as I smacked him on the arm. “How'd it go last night with Cerin?”

  “We talked things through.”

  “And the sex?”

  “Fantastic as always, Cal, thanks for asking,” I rambled, feigning irritation.

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “How'd everything go with Maggie?”

  “Swimmingly,” Calder replied. “All three times. We were limited with positions since I'm half her size, but—”

  “Calder.” I laughed abruptly, holding out a hand to stop him. “I don't need all the details. I just wanted to make sure you two got along.”

  “Ah. Well, yes, considering.”

  “Good. I don't want you to hurt her.”

  “You don't want me to hurt her? She could've crushed me!” He protested.

  “I'm not talking about physically,” I insisted, though I was amused by his train of thought. “Maggie wants commitment. You don't offer it.”

  “Oh, she knows that, love. We're just having fun.”

  “As much fun as you and Kirek were?” I asked him, which caused Calder to burst out laughing so hard his cigarette flipped out to the grass. He stopped just long enough to grab it off the ground, before going back to smoking.

  “I don't know if you want to hear my thoughts on Kirek,” Calder admitted.

  “I want to hear your honest thoughts on all the Sentinels,” I replied. “We all have to work with them, and you've yet to meet four.”

  “Well, considering what I know of the others I have yet to meet, let me inform you that I've already completed your request.”

  I was momentarily confused. “My request?”

  “The word,” Calder replied pointedly, reminding me of his promise the day before to send a messenger to inform the assassins that Tilda's contract took precedent.

  “Ah. Thank you.”

  “Don't mention it, love.” Calder threw his stub of a cigarette to the ground, crushing it beneath a boot as we walked. “As for your other nosy little request asking for my opinions on your new Vhiri friends...I like Altan quite a bit so far. I look forward to spending more time with him. I'd like to get to know Zephyr in more ways than one. And Kirek...”

  I chuckled after some silence had gone by. “Uh-oh.”

  “Have you ever seen something so beautiful you just wanted to take a bite out of it?”

  I frowned. “No.”

  Calder continued, “And then, just as your mind starts to wander...it opens its mouth.”

  I laughed so hard at that it embarrassed me. Calder grinned, pleased to amuse.

  “You got anything to do today, love?” Calder asked me just as we reached the southern outskirts of Monte. Dwarven civilians and Vhiri soldiers traversed dirt streets between stone buildings to our left, and rolling grasslands leading to Olympia were to our right.

  “I had something to do today,” I told him. “Got it done on my way to find you.”

  “Anything interesting?”

  “I commissioned a gift for Azazel from a dwarven jeweler,” I answered him.

  “Truly?” Calder grinned at me. “That must have cost you a hunk of gold.”

  “It did. The jeweler wasn't going to charge me given the circumstances of the takeover, but I insisted. I want the work to be genuine, and I don't want to give the dwarves more reason to hate us.”

  Calder nodded along, agreeing with my reasoning. “So what's the special occasion? If I remember right, Azazel's birthday is in Red Moon.”

  “The 3rd of Red Moon,” I replied. “No, it's
not a birthday gift. More of a gift of friendship. Just because. Azazel and I met on the 23rd of New Moon. In just four days, it'll have been exactly seven years. He's sentimental about that kind of thing, and he's not having the best day today.”

  Calder grimaced. “Is it because of me?”

  “No. Not really.”

  Calder chuckled dryly. “Be honest.”

  “I am being honest. Azazel was really touched by your apology. He's said no harsh words about you since then. But this morning he came to me asking to learn necromancy. I tried teaching him. He couldn't learn it. He walked off, and I haven't seen him since.”

  Calder sighed. “That's a shame. I almost feel guilty for learning it. I didn't mean to brag about it last night. I was just excited to tell you.”

  “I was excited to hear it,” I replied. “Don't apologize. I'm extremely happy for you. It's a life-changing event. Anyway, why are you asking about plans? Did you have something in mind?”

  “I have someone I want you to meet,” Calder said. “He's been looking forward to meeting you.”

  “Sounds like someone important to you,” I commented.

  “He's really skilled at what he does.”

  “What does he do?”

  “I put him in charge of collecting blood samples of the creatures of Hammerton while we're here,” Calder said. “The beastmen have never had access to the wildlife here before. He's great at his job because he's dedicated and interested in the science of it all.” Lowering his voice, Calder continued, “But I'd like to be there when you meet him. He's...unique.”

  My lips curled up into a hesitant smile. “Should I ask what that means?”

  “No, because I couldn't tell you if I tried. I'll let him explain everything.” Calder wiggled his eyebrows at me in question. “Shall I fetch him?”

  “Sure.”

  While I waited for Calder to find the man in question, Cerin found me through the patches of buildings and came over, waiting with me as we enjoyed the warm weather. Nyx soon wandered over, raising a black eyebrow at me as if in accusation.

  “What's wrong with Azazel?” She asked me curiously. After I explained the situation to her, she said, “Ah. Well, he wouldn't talk to me about it.”

  “Where was he?” I asked her.

  “Sitting on the coast. Watching the ocean.” Nyx pursed her lips to the side. “I think he thinks too far into these things. I'm not gonna live forever, either, but I don't really care.”

  “Because you live in the moment,” I commented. “You never cared much for long-term thinking.”

  “No,” Nyx agreed. “I'll worry about the future when I get there.” After I huffed in amusement, she added, “Why do you guys look stuck here?”

  “We're waiting for Calder to introduce us to someone,” I replied. “Somebody weird, apparently, since Calder said he wants to be there when we're introduced.”

  Nyx chuckled. “I like the sound of that. I'll wait with you guys.” It wasn't long before Nyx narrowed her eyes to the west and said, “Well, hell-ooo to the new guy.”

  I followed her gaze. Walking toward us from the Griswald Forest next to Calder was another Alderi man, his skin tone even darker than Nyx's. It held no blue or purple tone of most Alderi; instead, it appeared to be a mix of black and charcoal gray. His eyes were entirely black as well, and he wore similar clothes to Calder except his were all black. I assumed that he was a beastman since the clothing would be cheap and simple to replace if he needed to transform while dressed.

  Hanging from the man's belt were an array of weapons—no, perhaps they weren't weapons. They were knives that appeared surgical in nature, hanging alongside vials with caps. A dark canvas knapsack draped over one shoulder, and I could tell it was full of supplies since it bulged with contents and pulled down the man's shirt sleeve just a bit with its weight. Beneath his hood, I could see no hair. Either he liked the style, or his choice of blood-kin had balded him.

  Calder appeared just the slightest bit hesitant as they came to stand before us. “Kai, this is Mirrikh Sly, dealer of anything caustic and foul. Mirrikh, this is Kai Sera.”

  One corner of Mirrikh's mouth lifted as he reached out his right arm. He had long, exacting fingers, and as I shook his hand, I noticed that the skin of his arm was scarred. Not just by cuts, but an entire section of it seemed to have been melted and healed and re-burnt.

  “It's nice to meet you,” I greeted.

  “Is it now?” Mirrikh's voice was closer to a whispered hiss, reminiscent of Hades's. It was somehow rough and secretive all at once. His black eyes rolled over me suggestively, and when I tried pulling my hand away from our shake, he held it firm.

  “Mirrikh,” Calder reached over, tapping the man on his arm. “She is taken.”

  Mirrikh bit his bottom lip and glanced over at Cerin. “By the pale one?”

  “By the pale one,” I affirmed.

  “That's a shame,” Mirrikh chuckled roughly and smiled at Cerin as he finally pulled his hand away from mine. “Don't do anything to piss her off, pale one. I'll be there before you can blink.”

  “His name is Cerin,” I said, glancing back to see my lover's eyes were guarded. “And you, Mirrikh, are as libidinous as the Alderi come.”

  “Interesting wording for such a statement,” Mirrikh replied with a smile.

  “Perhaps that's why I chose it,” I said.

  “I like you.”

  “That much is obvious.” I chuckled and crossed my arms over my chest, where Mirrikh had been eyeing a little too closely. “Now, Calder tells me you deal in the testing of blood? It seems to me you would rather deal with the spreading of seeds.”

  Mirrikh grinned charmingly at me. “This version of me would, beautiful. You'll have to forgive me. I'm unable to keep my inhibitions in check for the time being.”

  “Version of you?” My eyes moved from Mirrikh to Calder and back again.

  “Ah. Alastor here has not explained me to you.” Mirrikh glanced over at Calder.

  “I'm not really sure it needs explaining,” Nyx piped up beside me. “I'm willing to dive into some danger. Kai's taken, but I'm sure as hell not.”

  Mirrikh chuckled roughly, pointing at Nyx while asking Calder, “This is the one you said was Achlys's kid?”

  “One of them,” Calder replied. “You know Achlys had over a hundred of them.”

  “Do you all have a moment?” Mirrikh asked us, before pulling the hood back off his head. As I'd thought, he was completely bald. Now that the hood was off, I could see more burns lining the side of his neck. “I'd like to tell you how I got here.”

  “Go right ahead,” I encouraged.

  “I'm a native of Quellden,” Mirrikh began. “I worked as an alchemist ever since I was a youngling two centuries ago. I have a wild imagination, so I created new kinds of potions all the time. Making discoveries, all that. Since I was a slave, I only had to work when they told me to, but I worked all the time. In my free time, I was obsessed with poisons. I was just thirty or so when I created a time-release poison that would wait for the better part of an hour before it started to dissolve the organs from within. It got me noticed. Needless to say, my master traded me out for a different slave, handing me off to the assassin's guilds in exchange for a nice stack of gold.

  “I worked for the assassin's guild for the better part of a century. Creating poisons, developing them. On one fateful day, I was pulled into a secluded room and told I had a special request. From none other than Queen Achlys herself.” Mirrikh raised an eyebrow at Nyx.

  “I killed her, you know,” Nyx commented, grinning with pride.

  “That's impressive, considering,” Mirrikh replied. “So Achlys told me she needed me to develop something unique. She wanted a time-release poison that'd stop the heart and be untraceable in the bloodstream. Whoever she wanted dead must've been close to her, and they must've been an heir. Not many Alderi have autopsies performed, after all, so traceable poisons are not usually a concern. It used to be that you ha
d to be female and you had to be from the royal district to even qualify for an autopsy. Who gives a shit about anybody else?

  “The most interesting part, though,” Mirrikh continued, “is that Achlys tells me if I pull this off for her, she'll do me a favor. Says she'll take me back to her tower and fuck me. Sounded like it was gonna be a semi-permanent thing, too, like she wanted to keep me in one of the cages nearest her bedroom and bring me out whenever she felt a little frisky. She made it seem like I should thank her for this. And I did, because I know how to play nice.”

  “I think it's interesting Achlys liked you at all given your appearance,” I commented.

  Mirrikh nodded, appearing happy I'd mentioned it. “I'm a little dark, don't you think? Achlys was a hypocritical bitch. She treated the darkest Alderi like shit while secretly wanting all of us in her bed. Dark-complected Alderi like me were always discriminated against. Even the women. Most of the darkest Alderi were forced to stay near the edges of Quellden, like just looking at them made Achlys feel sick. In reality, she couldn't trust herself around us. Maybe I was just a little too attractive to pass up.”

  “There's a case to be made,” Nyx commented helpfully, to which Mirrikh chuckled roughly.

  “So,” he continued, “I developed the poison Achlys wanted. I just developed a little more of it. Achlys brought me back to her tower, tested it on a slave there. When he dropped dead of a heart attack, she was true to her word. She marched me right up that tower as the heirs acted like they couldn't see what was happening, and we had a raunchy good time in her royal chambers. So good, in fact, that she wanted to get drunk with me and do it all over again. She pours the ale, I pour the poison. Just like that—” Mirrikh snapped his fingers “—I found out that Achlys kept illusionist guards in her chambers at all times. The invisible bastards saw the assassination attempt and put me in chains. Achlys was pissed, but she didn't order me killed. She ordered me to be tortured. She must've thought she was so smart, too, because she wanted me to be tortured to death using my own creations.