Oathkeeper (Schooled in Magic Book 20)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “It won’t stay on the other side of the mountains,” Master Lucknow said. “And once the necromancers do break through the mountains, there will be no time left to take precautions.”

  Emily nodded. She’d met King Jorlem of Alluvia, although it had been very brief and she didn’t remember much. But she could understand his concern. Alluvia was the kingdom directly north of Whitehall, in nominal control of the northern side of the Craggy Mountains. It would be the first target if the necromancers came over the mountains, and the first to fall if they came with overwhelming force. Alluvia was considered one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Allied Lands, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop the necromancers. There was no way they could even hold out long enough to buy the others time.

  She let out a breath. She understood the problem all too well. The kingdoms had a very limited view of the world. The necromancers might as well have been on the other side of the world, for all the kings and princes saw of them. A few hundred miles was an impassable gulf as far as they were concerned. The idea of travelling so far in a heartbeat was a fantasy. It was hard for them to comprehend that the necromancers might break through the mountains and just march from one end of the Allied Lands to the other, burning everything to the ground as they passed.

  Magicians have a bigger view of the world, she thought, numbly. But they have their own problems.

  “I understand,” she said. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You have influence,” Master Lucknow said. “People listen to you. I want - I need - you to talk to your friends, to convince them to help prepare defenses before it’s too late. We can - we will - do things to slow the necromancers down, but we can’t stop them. They’ll break through the mountains, sooner or later, and we have to be ready. I need you to use your influence to convince the councilors, and the monarchs, to listen to me.”

  Emily frowned. It was hard to believe, sometimes, that she had influence, that people would care about what she said. Alassa would, but anyone else...? It was hard to believe. And Alassa would have her own problems too. Her kingdom was trying to rebuild after a bitter civil war. She couldn’t dispatch an army to Alluvia without risking her throne. Who knew? Her neighbors might take advantage of the crisis to press their claims to disputed territories along the border.

  “I can try,” she said, slowly. “I don’t know if they’ll hear me.”

  “Make them listen,” Master Lucknow said. “The fate of everyone is in the balance.”

  “I can try,” Emily repeated. “What’s happening so far?”

  Master Lucknow tapped the map. “So far? Very little. General Pollack has been tapped to command the army, when it’s assembled, but even that is political. King Jorlem wants his son to have a position within the command staff, preferably the deputy commander. The only reason he’s prepared to settle for deputy commander is that General Pollack is a Knight of the Allied Lands.”

  “And therefore a neutral choice, as far as everyone is concerned,” Emily said. “I know him.”

  She kept her expression under tight control. General Pollack’s oldest son had died during the last war, died after he and Emily had walked into a necromancer’s lair. And Emily had been dating his second son at the time. She thought the general respected her, but she didn’t think he liked her very much. It would be hard for anyone to lose so much and not cast around desperately to place the blame. She wished she’d thought to send Casper back to his father before it had been too late. But she knew he would have refused.

  “Yes.” Master Lucknow nodded, stiffly. “Once the army is assembled, we hope you’ll stay with us.”

  “We shall see,” Void said. He cocked his head, warningly. “Emily is an apprentice, after all.”

  “Her apprenticeship isn’t quite as important as stopping the necromancers,” Master Lucknow sharply pointed out. Emily had never heard anyone take that tone with Void before. “As you know better than I do.”

  “Quite.” Void sounded oddly unconcerned, as if his mind were elsewhere. “My apprentice and I will discuss the situation, then let you know the decision.”

  Emily felt a hot flash of irritation. She might be his apprentice, but she didn’t belong to him. And yet, in a sense, she did. He was her master, at least until she graduated or they parted ways. She couldn’t leave the tower, let alone join an army and fight in a war, without his permission. She calmed herself, drawing on her experience to swallow her anger. Void would understand. He was just making a point. And... she wondered, suddenly, if he’d join the army too. She was sure he’d find a way to make his presence felt.

  “Of course.” If Master Lucknow was irked, he didn’t let it show. “I have other meetings, as you might expect, but a letter to my apprentice will find me.”

  Void nodded, summoning a maid with a wave of his hand. “Maddy will show you to the door,” he said, as the redheaded maid stepped into the chamber. “We’ll be in touch.”

  “Of course,” Master Lucknow repeated. There was a hint of icy politeness in his tone. “I look forward to your letter.”

  He stood and bowed. Jan followed him, looking as if he wanted to say something. Emily promised herself she’d write to him as soon as possible. She couldn’t say anything now, not in front of both masters. Void wouldn’t be pleased if she contradicted him in public. They had to show a united front.

  Just like the Allied Lands, she mused, as Maddy escorted the two men out of the room. And...

  A thought struck her. “It isn’t a coincidence, is it?”

  Void didn’t have to ask what she meant. “That your oath would be called in, at the same time a necromantic army starts massing on the far side of the mountains? If that’s a coincidence...”

  He shook his head. “No, it can’t be a coincidence. And that’s worrying, don’t you think?”

  Chapter Six

  EMILY HAD HOPED TO DISCUSS THE matter - and Master Lucknow’s request - as soon as they were alone, but Void refused to be drawn. Instead, he sent her back to her rooms to shower and change before joining him for dinner. Emily suspected that meant he wanted time to think about the request before they talked, although she doubted he’d say no. The necromancers posed a clear and present danger to the entire world. And he’d spent much of his career helping to keep them in check. He wouldn’t say no to a request for his apprentice’s help.

  She mulled it over as she changed back into her apprenticeship robes. She’d never really thought of the necromancers as cunning, although Shadye had displayed a certain animal sneakiness and Dua Kepala had figured out a way to retain some of his sanity after the transformation. That might have been a mistake. She’d honestly never considered the possibility of them literally carving a pass through the mountains, even though she should have. There’d been roads - and tunnels - carved through mountains on Earth. They’d even dug a tunnel under the English Channel. There was no reason the necromancers couldn’t do the same. They had to be stopped.

  And quickly, she thought. I could use the nuke-spell...

  She scowled. The devastation would be immense. God alone knew how many innocents would be caught in the blasts. And everyone would want to know what she’d done and how. Even if she hid behind the Sorcerer’s Rule, there was no way to keep other sorcerers from trying to duplicate the spell. Sooner or later, they’d figure it out or come up with something just as destructive. And then all hell would break loose. The nuke-spell was just like necromancy. A relatively low-power sorcerer could unleash horrendous devastation, if he was prepared to pay the price.

  “My Lady.” Silent stepped into the room, her eyes downcast. “The master is waiting for you in the dining room.”

  Emily glanced at the clock, then nodded. It was later than she’d thought, even though she’d returned earlier than planned. She’d meant to eat and chat with Frieda, then teleport back to the tower just before midnight. She picked up the chat parchment, scribbled a quick message to Frieda to make sure the younger girl had reached Whitehall safel
y, then headed down the stairs to the dining room. Void was sitting at the table, looking pensive as Maddy carried a tray of food into the room. Emily felt her stomach growl as she took her seat. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry. But then, she wasn’t sure how much she’d eaten at Dragon’s Den.

  And I owe Frieda for the dinner, she recalled. I’ll have to repay her somehow.

  “There are three necromancers involved in the affair,” Void said, motioning for her to start eating. “Two of them are fairly standard necromancers, little different from Shadye. You can read their files later, if you wish. The third - Rangka - is a little more dangerous. He worries me.”

  Emily glanced at him. “You?”

  “Me,” Void confirmed. “The other two - Bersuit and Gerombolan - were fairly low-power magicians before they started experimenting with necromancy. Their stories were pretty straightforward. They wanted greater power and they were unwilling to work for it. Rangka, on the other hand, was a powerful magician who thought he could handle necromancy. He was wrong.”

  Emily shivered. “I understand.”

  “He knows far more magic, and magical theory, than either of the other two,” Void said. “He was a diligent student, unlike most necromancers. I think he may have found a way to use advanced magics, despite being a necromancer. It wouldn’t be easy, but he probably has the discipline to make it work. He’s certainly survived twenty years as a necromancer. He couldn’t have done that if he weren’t capable of channeling magic properly.”

  Emily scowled. Twenty years as a necromancer... it was almost unprecedented. “He might start throwing overpowered advanced spells at me, instead of overpowered basic spells,” she said. “I see your point.”

  “Yes.” Void took a bite of his sausage. “It’s not easy to cast advanced spells. You have to build up the power to cast them and the discipline to channel the power without overloading the spellwork and accidentally destroying your spell. Necromancers are rarely capable of such discipline, which is why so many of them resort to flailing around like madmen. They could be handled easily if they didn’t have the raw power they needed to survive their own mistakes. Rangka might have reached the next level of necromantic power.”

  “And he had the imagination to suggest cutting a path through the mountains,” Emily said, slowly. “What else will he devise?”

  “I wish I knew.” Void shook his head. “The politics are... not good.”

  He leaned back in his chair, looking tired and frustrated. “The Allied Lands were never keen on the idea of building internal lines of defense. The northern kingdoms saw them as a waste of money, the southern kingdoms feared their existence would give the north a chance to decline to send help if the necromancers invaded. And there were very real fears of the fortifications freeing up troops to fight border wars and other concerns... in short, Emily, it won’t be easy to convince them to take the threat seriously. They can’t look past their own minor concerns to see the overall threat. Lucknow wasn’t wrong. You might be able to convince them to take the threat seriously.”

  “I can try,” Emily said. She considered it for a moment. “What do the... the other folk want?”

  Void let out a humorless laugh. “Rangka is sitting on top of the nexus point they want you to reignite,” he said. “And that cannot be a coincidence. They want you involved in the war.”

  “But why?” Emily remembered where the Unseelie Court hid and frowned. “Do they feel threatened by the necromancers?”

  “It’s possible,” Void said. “It’s also possible they want something else. Not that it matters, I suppose. You have to reignite the nexus point. How do you intend to do it?”

  “I don’t know,” Emily said. “The last one... I pushed Dua Kepala into the nexus point. This time... I could charge a battery, slip it into the nexus point and take control, then turn the nexus point on the necromancers. We could win the war in a single blow.”

  “If you can get to the nexus point without being killed,” Void pointed out. “Rangka’s fortress is supposed to be the most heavily defended stronghold in the Blighted Lands. Do you think you can get inside?”

  “I think I don’t have a choice,” Emily said. “Or do I?”

  “No.” Void met her eyes, evenly. “Do you want to help?”

  Emily hesitated. “I don’t know if I have enough influence to convince the kingdoms to build an army,” she said. “But I have to try. If we fail, if they come through the mountains, we have to stop them before they start rampaging across the Allied Lands. If we meet them on the near side of the mountains...”

  She scowled. It wouldn’t be easy, no matter how many troops and combat sorcerers were sent to counter the threat. The necromancers could just keep throwing warm bodies at the defenses until they were crushed by the sheer weight of their numbers. The artificers were making newer and better guns all the time, but they’d never be able to keep up with the demand for bullets and gunpowder. And if the necromancers managed to poke a hole in the defenses, they’d punch through and win the war. A passive defense was going to be about as useful as the Maginot Line if the necromancers found a way to outflank it.

  We need a more active defense, she thought. An idea was hovering at the back of her mind, stubbornly refusing to come into focus. Some way to take the initiative for ourselves.

  “You can try,” Void said. Emily dragged her attention back to him. “But the kingdoms won’t take the threat seriously until it’s far too late.”

  His expression darkened. “They don’t see the bigger picture, Emily,” he added. “And they’d sooner keep the lid screwed on tightly than risk allowing some of their subjects to escape.”

  “I’ll have to find a way to convince them, somehow,” Emily said. She still found it hard to believe she had influence. The monarchs probably regarded her - and her innovations - as a very mixed blessing at best. The gunpowder weapons she’d introduced had turned their world upside down. What did it mean for kings and princes when a commoner held the power to kill in his hand? “If they’ll listen to me...”

  “You can try,” Void echoed. “But you’ll have to head into the Blighted Lands alone.”

  “I know.” Emily shuddered, remembering the walk into the Blighted Lands. “Unless I can convince someone to travel with me. Last time...”

  “The Grandmaster walked with you,” Void said. There was an edge to his voice that bothered her. “And he died shortly afterwards.”

  Emily nodded, feeling a flicker of guilt. If she hadn’t carried the cursed object into Whitehall... she shook her head. It hadn’t been her fault. The Grandmaster had inspected everything they’d found in Shadye’s fortress before allowing her to take the small collection back to the school. No one had realized the danger until it was too late. And the Grandmaster had died for his school...

  Something clicked in her mind. It was hard to believe, but... she’d seen enough clues over the past few years. “Were you... were you and the Grandmaster brothers?”

  Void’s lips thinned. “Yes.”

  Emily blinked. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Half-brothers, technically.” Void took a sip from his glass. “Our father had a lot of magic, an inquisitive mind and a complete lack of scruples when it came to carrying out experiments. His family practically disowned him, which gives you some idea of just how dangerous his experiments were becoming. My brothers and I kept pushing the limits until... well, we went too far. Hasdrubal lost his sight. The other two lost their lives.”

  He took another sip. “Hasdrubal devoted his life to the school. He climbed the ladder until he reached the very top, then sat there. He learnt some of the right lessons from what happened to us, although not all of them. If he’d killed Gennady, instead of expelling him...”

  “Gennady?” Emily had heard the name before, but she wasn’t sure where. “Who’s he?”

  “You met him,” Void said. “You knew him as Shadye.”

  “I knew he’d been expelled,
” Emily said. Inwardly, she was reeling. “What happened?”

  “It took us a while to put the pieces together,” Void said. “He was... he was from the Cairngorms. He was never a very powerful magician. It didn’t help that he was lacking in basic skills, like reading and writing. And he had a very hard time of it at school. He didn’t have anything like your connections, or your friends. Eventually, he tried a forbidden ritual and got expelled. A couple of years later, he resurfaced as Shadye.”

  Emily frowned. “What was he doing before he resurfaced?”

  “We don’t know.” Void shrugged. “I suspect it doesn’t matter.”

  “I hope so,” Emily said. She looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry about your brother’s death.”

  “We weren’t that close,” Void said. There was a warning note in his voice. “We might have been brothers, but we didn’t have that much contact.”

  Emily had a hundred questions she wanted to ask, but she didn’t quite dare. Why had Void sent her to Whitehall? Why had the Grandmaster taken her in? Why had he accepted - even encouraged - the belief that Emily was Void’s daughter? And why had he never suggested that Emily might be his niece? And... just what had they been trying to do? Emily could think of a handful of rituals that might kill some of the ritualists, but none of them were precisely good. Most of the rituals were downright horrific.

  “Our father thought we’d share magic, perhaps even souls, if we were born together,” Void said, more to himself than to her. “But I think he was wrong.”

  “Why?” Emily looked up. “Why did he think it was even possible?”

  “There’s no such thing as magical twins,” Void said. “And he wondered why.”

  He finished his dinner and pushed his plate to one side. “You have my permission to put your apprenticeship on hold and leave the tower, if you want to involve yourself,” he said. “I will not order you to involve yourself.”

  “Thank you,” Emily said. She wasn’t good at reading social cues, but she was insightful enough to understand the previous subject was now closed. She could have kicked herself for bringing the subject up, although... it had honestly never crossed her mind before. “Will you be accompanying me, when I head to the Eternal Flame?”