Oathkeeper (Schooled in Magic Book 20)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “Emily.” Void sounded oddly displeased, although it didn’t seem to be directed at Emily herself. “Take a seat.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Emily said.

  She sat, trying not to fidget like a little girl. The geas itched at the back of her mind, demanding she insist he drop everything and attend to her. She met Jan’s eyes and noted he looked bored, even though there were sorcerers who’d sell their souls - literally - for a look inside Void’s tower. She wondered, suddenly, why Master Lucknow had brought him. Had he hoped Jan would spend time with Emily? Or... or what? It was rare, vanishingly rare, for one magician to visit another without calling ahead. Void would have all the justification he’d need to tell them both to go away. Or simply pretend he wasn’t in residence.

  The maids wouldn’t have opened the door without permission from their master, Emily thought. They probably have orders never to allow anyone into the tower when he isn’t there.

  She twitched, uncomfortably, as Master Lucknow spoke about reports from the borderlands and other warning signs. Emily could barely hear him as the itching grew worse, as if a swarm of midges had somehow gotten under her dress... the thought somehow made it even worse, nearly unbearable. She found herself shifting from side to side, grinding her teeth together to keep her mouth from opening. She simply couldn’t keep still.

  “Emily.” Void’s voice was cold. “Come with me.”

  Emily felt herself blush - again - as she followed him into the next room. Her heart sank as he closed the door, a privacy ward slamming into place. Void might be very understanding and tolerant when they were alone, treating her as close to an equal as possible, but he couldn’t show her anything like that kind of tolerance when they had company. She felt as if she were in trouble, even though she had an excuse. Void had every reason to be angry at her - and no way to know what was really bothering her.

  “Emily.” Void met her eyes, evenly, and pointed her to a chair. “I assume you have an explanation for acting like a child?”

  “Yes,” Emily managed as she sank into the chair. “I... I need to start from the beginning.”

  She watched him as she gabbled out the whole story, starting with the battle in the mountains six years ago. Void didn’t seem surprised, either by the encounter with the Unseelie or the oath she’d sworn to them. She wondered, suddenly, just how much the Grandmaster had told him. No one else knew what had happened. She’d thought the Grandmaster had kept it to himself...

  “They want me to reignite the Eternal Flame.” Emily struggled to remember what had been said, in that dreamlike world. “Seek out the Heart of All Things, in the Castle at the End of the Land. And reignite the Eternal Flame.”

  Void started to laugh, humorlessly. “Is that what they want you to do?”

  Emily blinked. “What’s so funny?”

  “A very strange coincidence,” Void said. He started to pace the room, his previous irritation gone. “What do you think the Eternal Flame might be? Something you’ve reignited in the past.”

  Understanding clicked. Emily kicked herself, mentally, for not seeing it earlier. “A nexus point.”

  “Yes.” Void turned to face her. “A nexus point in the heart of the Blighted Lands, with an extremely powerful and dangerous necromancer sitting on top of it and several more within a few days walking distance.”

  “... Oh.”

  “Yes.” Void chuckled. “The Castle at the End of the Land was built on top of the nexus point, centuries ago. No one knows who built the castle, or why. Like Whitehall” - he winked at her - “there are aspects of history that have been lost in the mists of time. The nexus point died well before the first necromancer infested the castle, snuffed out... well, that was before my time. I don’t believe anyone knows what happened to it.”

  Emily shivered. “The nexus point at Heart’s Eye was used to carry out experiments,” she said, slowly. She didn’t want to remember just how far those experiments had gone. “What were they doing at the Castle at the End of the Land?”

  “We don’t know,” Void said. “The Blighted Lands are littered with old buildings and structures, some dating back well before recorded history. The necromancers have moved into them like hermit crabs, turning them into fortresses...”

  “And then losing them to other necromancers,” Emily said. For all their power, necromancers didn’t last very long. Shadye had been a necromancer for fifteen years - or so most sources agreed - and he’d been counted as one of the older ones. “What about the Heart of All Things?”

  “I don’t know,” Void said. “It could be connected to the nexus point. A number of old structures are, as you know better than me. Or it could be something else, something that was never written down... I’ve never heard the name. It could be anything.”

  “They wouldn’t ask me to do the impossible,” Emily said. “Would they?”

  Void said nothing for a long moment. “Many years ago, there was an up and coming sorceress who was destined for great things. Everyone knew it, particularly her. One of her superiors, fearing the competition, tricked her into swearing an oath that could never be completed. She had to give up her career and devote herself to trying to complete the oath.”

  Emily blanched. “I thought that was impossible.”

  “You can’t force someone to swear an oath,” Void said. “But you can trick someone, if you’re careful. It’s been done.”

  “How?” Emily wanted to stand and pace herself. “I thought it couldn’t be done.”

  “There was a magician-thief who once signed a contract obligating him to move a painting from one room to another,” Void explained. “Unfortunately for him, the rooms were actually several hundred miles apart.”

  “I see.” Emily shook her head. “And... what happened?”

  “Oh, he had to complete the oath,” Void said. “It didn’t go well.”

  He grinned. “It may, or it may not, be a coincidence that they demanded you repay your oath today,” he said. “Do you know why Master Lucknow came here?”

  “No,” Emily said. She couldn’t help asking the next question. “Every time I asked if someone could visit, you said no. I thought you didn’t like guests.”

  “I don’t.” Void turned away, his voice lowering slightly. “He wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t felt it was urgent. I wouldn’t have let him in if he were given to exaggeration.”

  He smiled. It didn’t touch his eyes. “And Emily... he came to see you.”

  “Me?” Emily shook her head. “Why me?”

  “I’ll let him tell you,” Void said. He reached for the door, then stopped. “Do try and look like you’ve been chastised. I have a reputation to keep.”

  Emily had to smile. “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter Five

  EMILY DID HER BEST TO LOOK like someone who’d been scolded as she followed Void back into the living room. Master Lucknow glanced at her once, then returned his attention to Void; Jan shot her a sympathetic look before his own master nudged him, none too gently. Emily promised herself she’d make it up to him as she took her seat, studying Master Lucknow with interest. He was a Charms Master, Void had said, but he was also something more. She thought she could sense odd magic surrounding him as he leaned forward.

  “I believe my apprentice may be interested in your proposal,” Void said. “Perhaps you should start from the beginning.”

  Master Lucknow produced a scroll and unfolded it carefully. Emily frowned. It was a map, showing the Craggy Mountains. The northern side was elaborately detailed, complete with tiny drawings showing the location of Whitehall, Dragon’s Den and a number of other places she’d been; the southern side was vague, barely showing any detail at all. What little detail there was had been drawn in pencil, allowing for hasty modification as circumstances changed. She felt her frown grow deeper as she studied the map. Someone - Master Lucknow, she assumed - had penciled in a cluster of notes on the southern side of the mountains. It was hard to be sure - the scaling was terrible - but t
hey looked to be a few short miles from Whitehall.

  “The Blighted Lands,” Master Lucknow said, by way of introduction. “It’s impossible to produce detailed maps, geographical or political, of the region. Everything keeps changing, to the point that a map will often become outdated before it is even printed. The terrain is mutable; the necromancers themselves are locked in a constant battle for supremacy. Even the more... sedate... parts of the landscape can change at terrifying speed.”

  Emily nodded. She’d been to the Blighted Lands twice. The landscape had looked like a foretaste of hell, the ground burned to a cinder and covered with ash. She’d heard stories of people who lived in the Blighted Lands, slaves to necromancers, but she’d never visited any of their villages. A life of constant fear, from birth to death... she shuddered. The necromancers were utterly unpredictable, capable of turning on even the most loyal of their servants without warning. And the parts of the region that weren’t dominated by necromancers were almost worse. She’d heard the tales of unwary travelers who barely escaped creatures out of nightmares.

  “The region south of Whitehall was once controlled by Shadye,” Master Lucknow said. “After his death - after you killed him - it was left untouched for several years. This surprised us, but we weren’t ungrateful. We took advantage of the pause to establish defenses further south of the school. Recently, however, a necromancer has claimed the territory. We have done our best, since then, to keep an eye on him.”

  “They were scared of Emily,” Void said. “Not without reason.”

  Emily colored.

  “We believe so,” Master Lucknow said, a little stiffly. Beside him, Jan winked. “It’s also true that this particular region is surprisingly barren, even for the Blighted Lands. There’s an orcish breeding pit, but little else. Shadye devastated the handful of known villages before he met his doom at Whitehall. There was little to gain by taking the territory and a great deal to lose. Recently, as I said, that has changed. A necromancer has moved into the territory.”

  “But keeping his distance from the Inverse Shadow,” Void commented. “Wise of him.”

  Master Lucknow looked irked. “Since then, that necromancer has forged an alliance with two other necromancers. Our general assumption was that the alliance wouldn’t last long enough for us to alert our superiors, as necromantic alliances rarely do. One of them will always betray his allies, sooner rather than later. This alliance, however, seems to have lasted several months. They’ve actually been working together pretty closely. That does not bode well.”

  Emily nodded. It was rare for two necromancers, let alone three, to work together. Their very nature made it difficult, if not impossible. And yet... a chill ran down her spine. If they managed to work together, they might win the war. A lone necromancer was vastly more powerful than any known sorcerer. Three of them, working together, might be able to break through Whitehall’s wards, destroy the school and push through to the Allied Lands beyond. Shadye had come within inches of winning. Three of them...

  “They’ve been massing their armies here,” Master Lucknow said, tapping a spot on the map. “And we don’t know why.”

  “But you have a theory,” Jan said.

  “Yes,” Master Lucknow agreed. “I do.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes. It was hard to be sure, but the spot on the map looked to be at least sixty miles from Whitehall. It would take weeks to march the army to the pass and advance on the school... she shook her head. The necromancers could make their orcs march for weeks, if they wanted. Logistics would be a pain, but she doubted the necromancers would care. They’d have no qualms about making their servants eat their dead comrades. Orcs could eat anything. And once they were through the mountains, they’d rampage across the Allied Lands.

  She looked up. “You think they’ll attack Whitehall?”

  “It’s possible, but I don’t think so.” Master Lucknow met her eyes. “I think they understand that taking the school is going to be difficult, if not impossible. I also think they know their alliance might shatter... will shatter... when they reach the nexus point. I think they have something else in mind.”

  “Go on,” Emily said, slowly.

  “They’re digging,” Master Lucknow said. “I think they’re trying to carve a path through the mountains.”

  Emily blinked in surprise. It seemed incredible. She’d spent enough time in the region to know the Craggy Mountains were practically impassable. Even the boldest and most daring of her fellow students had hesitated to climb the higher mountains... she found it hard to wrap her head around the concept of cutting a road through the region. It would have been possible on Earth, but here? She shuddered. The necromancers had more than enough orcs to carve a road right through the region, if they wished. And then...

  “They’ll bypass Whitehall,” she said. “And flood into the Allied Lands.”

  “I believe so,” Master Lucknow said. “Whitehall was the cork in the bottle, the only thing keeping them from invading. If they’ve managed to find another way to get around the mountains, which I believe they have, it’s only a matter of time. I think we have months, at best, before those three necromancers lead a full-scale invasion of the Allied Lands.”

  His words hung in the air, dark and cold. Emily stared at the map without seeing it. She’d been in the wars. She knew how hard it was to stop an orcish charge, with or without a necromancer in command. There were no solid defenses on the northern side of the mountain, nothing capable of stopping the orcs from plundering the countryside and charging on until they reached Zangaria. She sucked in her breath, unwilling to comprehend the scale of the looming disaster. Whitehall would be isolated, cut off from the remainder of the Allied Lands. Kingdom after kingdom would fall, unable to establish new lines of defense before it was too late. It would be the end of everything.

  “There’ll be no hope of saving the people,” she breathed.

  “No,” Master Lucknow agreed. “The cities have walls, true, but they’re nowhere near strong enough to stop an enemy prepared to pay the price. And beyond them, there are few defenses that will slow the orcs for more than a handful of days. The Allied Lands were never keen on internal fortifications...”

  “Politics.” Void spoke with an arctic certainty. “The monarchs didn’t want their fellows asserting themselves. If they’d built forts along the inner mountain ranges...”

  “But they didn’t.” Master Lucknow seemed to be repeating an old argument. “And even if they had, they wouldn’t be enough to stop the orcs. Not for long.”

  Emily understood. The locals could build something akin to the Great Wall of China, but it wouldn’t be enough to do more than slow down the orcish horde. They would clamber over the dead bodies of their fellows to overrun the wall and take the fortresses. Then tear it down. And... she shook her head. A necromancer might be able to blow a hole in the wall if it wasn’t warded from one end to the other. The logistics of establishing an internal line of defense - quickly - would be impossible. As long as the orcs could advance on a broad front, they could outflank and isolate any defensive strongpoints.

  She considered it for a long moment. There were options. There were quite a few options. But they all had risks...

  “We need to act fast,” Master Lucknow said. “They could do a lot of damage before they’re stopped.”

  “If they’re ever stopped,” Void said. “Our greatest fear was that they’d find a way to overcome their... problems... and break into the Allied Lands. And now it looks like they have.”

  “They can’t work together for long, surely?” Jan put in, looking pale. “Can they remain united long enough to tear a hole through the mountains?”

  “They might.” Master Lucknow grimaced. “I don’t understand how they’ve managed to remain united for so long, but... we have to assume they’ll stay united long enough to get their hands around our throats. We dare not assume otherwise.”

  He scowled. “One of them might have figured out a way to leas
h the others,” he added. “We know they overpower their spells. If they’ve cracked that barrier...”

  “Unlikely.” Void spoke with calm certainty. “Even a relatively weak necromancer would have a natural immunity to compulsion spells. Subtle magics wouldn’t impinge on their mindsets. Brute force might work, but it would be extremely difficult to keep the spell in place. I doubt any necromancer could master the art.”

  “It only takes one,” Master Lucknow pointed out. “And some necromancers are more capable than others.”

  They shared a look, with something unspoken hanging in the air. Emily frowned, wondering what Master Lucknow was unwilling to say. Something he wanted to keep from the apprentices? Or something else? She promised herself she’d ask Void as soon as the meeting was over. He might not answer, but she trusted he wouldn’t lie. He’d tell her to mind her own business if it wasn’t important.

  “Anyone capable of casting such a spell wouldn’t be fool enough to experiment with necromancy,” Void said. “I think we have to assume they’re working together of their own free will. And that their alliance will last long enough for them to win.”

  “Quite.” Master Lucknow didn’t sound pleased. “Lady Emily, I need your help.”

  Emily felt her heart skip a beat. “What do you need?”

  “The White Council has not heeded my concerns,” Master Lucknow said. “King Jorlem of Alluvia has taken me seriously, as you may imagine, but the other councilors have not been so receptive. They’ve been reluctant to declare an emergency, let alone do anything that might help. The whole issue is...”

  “Political,” Void snapped. “They’re happy to ignore the problem as long as it stays on the other side of the mountains.”