Alice looked at him blankly.
“Summoning magic is used to bring living beings to you. Humans, animals, monsters can all be summoned provided you know the correct formula.”
Usually, he thought, recalling his own many failed efforts. “It’s one of the more complex forms of magic and one of the most difficult to master. It normally requires a summoning circle and a magical inscription meant to represent what you are summoning. However, if you make a contract you can automatically summon your familiar without bothering with those.”
“Are we back to that again? I’m your wife, not your servant or familiar.” She began to deliberately stomp away.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“Away from you! Don’t chase me anymore.”
“Alice! I order you to stop and come back here right now!”
She sent him an icy glare from over her shoulder and kept right on walking.
I really did screw up the contract. Even so he was in no mood to have her defy him like this. “Concalo.”
Suddenly she was standing right back in front of him face to face.
“Stop doing that! I don’t feel like talking to you right now!” She turned around and started walking away from him yet again.
“I can keep summoning you back to me all day if you like.”
She continued to walk away.
“Concalo.”
She once more appeared in front of him.
“Will you stop that? I really don’t want to talk to you right now!”
“I don’t understand why you are upset. What did I say that was so terrible?”
“How can you even ask that?”
“Obviously I am asking because I don’t know!”
“If you don’t know I am not telling you!”
Waldo’s mouth opened and closed. His back was still hurting and he was starting to get a headache. Through their bond he could tell her anger was rising though he still had no idea why. “You do know that makes no sense at all don’t you?”
“I thought our special connection was supposed to help you to understand me.”
“Obviously magic has its limits.”
Her back stiffened and her eyes blazed. She was looking down at him and he got the very clear sense she was wondering just how far she could send him flying.
“If you bring me back one more time I am going to kick you… hard.”
With that she left, at a slow deliberate pace, as if daring him to do it.
As she walked out of sight he did not try to bring her back.
XXX
In Castle Corpselover
Enver opened a single weary eye in response to the pounding on his door.
“Open up vampire! I want to talk to you!”
It would be him. Enver thought wearily.
The windows to his quarters were bolted tight, but Enver knew it was still daytime. His body was sluggish and longed for sleep. He wanted to stay right where he was, in his nice warm bed.
The pounding on the door did not let up.
“Open up! You damn blood sucking leech! I’m not leaving until you answer me!”
Enver sighed. When the idiot got something lodged in his teeny tiny little mind he never let it go. I wish Lilith would let me kill him and have done with it.
Tossing the blankets aside he slid out of bed and smothered a yawn as he shuffled to the door. He didn’t like dealing with people during the daytime. Vampires were considered among the most powerful creatures in the world, but they had one glaring weakness. During the daytime they were unable to access their full strength. They were vulnerable and lethargic. Contrary to certain folk tales sunlight was not lethal to a vampire. (Not that sunshine was anything to worry about in Alter.) Enver could still transform into his vampiric form if he wished, but he would remain weaker than normal and sluggish. Like most of his kind he tried to remain hidden during the day. Unfortunately, some people refused to leave him be.
Enver opened the door. There was an irate zombie standing on the other side. “What do you want you walking piece of rotted meat?”
Walter glared; he was almost always angry these days. “I want to know why you helped him.”
Enver smothered another yawn. “Who?”
Seeing Walter become angrier was amusing. Enver understood the zombie was here now because he thought it gave him some sort of advantage. They both knew the vampire could easily tear him apart when it was night time. Even at this moment Walter could not do anything. Enver’s room had been warded by Lilith. Walter could not enter without being stuck in place like a bug in amber. He could snap his jaws but he couldn’t bite.
Enver found him to be pathetic; loud, annoying, and pathetic.
“Don’t play with me. You know who I mean. Why did you help Waldo on his quest?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I want him to return. After all, how can I eat him if he dies in some far off place?”
“If he makes it back somehow I will blame you.”
“How terrifying.” This time when Enver yawned he did not bother to cover it. “Why are you so excited? The Council sent him off on a fool’s errand; there is no hope for him. He will either die or realize his cause is forlorn and settle down somewhere. He will never come home again. Your mother knows this, though she has not said so out loud.”
“If he’s doomed why help him at all then?!”
“Because it cost me nothing, and as I said, I would like him to survive though I certainly do not expect it.” The frail, human looking vampire, narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Why do you care so much?”
“Mother makes me sit to her left. She keeps the seat to her right empty. That means she still considers Waldo her heir.”
“So?”
“So until he dies she won’t acknowledge me. I need his death to secure my future.”
“Your future?” He cackled. He laughed right in Walter’s face. “Your future! Ha, ha, ha!”
“What is so funny?”
Wiping a bloody tear from one eye Enver let the chortles die down before answering. “The idea that you have a future. You really believe it though don’t you? That your mother will elevate you to heir, and that one day you can be head of the clan.” Listen to me you walking corpse. There is no future for you, none. You only exist now because even a woman as cruel and wicked as your mother loves her children.”
Shaking his head he continued.
“The dead cannot rule the living. You know that don’t you? It’s one of the lessons every member of the Seven Families is taught. Your chance to rule the family died with your body.”
“If Waldo is gone mother will have to choose me!”
“Are you really that self-deluded? ‘If the tree dies plant a healthy branch.’ There are other branches of the Corpselover family and other candidates she could choose from. All of whom would be better than a walking corpse like you. Forget leading the family; it will never happen. Go torture and eat a few slaves and settle for that. That’s as much as a hunk of rotting meat like you can hope for.”
“You’re wrong. Mother will choose me.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Don’t bother me again.” Enver slammed the door shut and headed back to bed.
XXX
Waldo finally found her shortly after the horrible ball of fire had left the sky and it was beginning to darken. Alice had another camp fire going. There were two skewers over the flames, each with a small animal speared through. The scent of the cooking meat was making his mouth water.
Alice was just sitting by the fire as he approached her. Waldo was not picking up any emotion from their bond. He couldn’t tell if she was happy or still upset, only that whatever she was feeling now was not felt strongly.
“I knew you were coming, I could tell right where you were, like when you were in the river.”
Waldo nodded. “If it weren’t for the bond I don’t think I would have found you at all.”
“I suppose it’s a good thing we can always find each ot
her.”
Waldo came to a stop ten feet away from her.
She was just sitting there in the tall grass eying him. She didn’t look or sound angry; she also didn’t seem very pleased to see him.
“I don’t know how to deal with you. I’ve seen the way my mother handles her familiar and I thought that was proper. I thought I was treating you well, but you acted as though I was insulting you. I would like us to have a good relationship, but I am not sure how to manage that.”
“I guess that’s fair, I’m new to this too and I suppose I’m not sure how to handle you either. I want us to be close too darling.” She motioned toward the fire. “Are you hungry? The squirrel should be about done.”
“Sure.”
He took one of the skewers. The animal appeared to be staring back up at him. Having been at a dinner table with Walter however he did not have a squeamish stomach. He bit into one of the legs and tore off some of the flesh. The meat was a bit chewy, but tasted good. As hungry as he was he was just glad to be able to eat something.
“It turns out it’s very hard to make a fire. It was much more trouble without your help.”
“Then next time I’ll be sure to help.”
The two of them ate together quietly.
“Please don’t compare me to your mother,” Alice said between bites. “No woman wants to hear that.”
“My mother is the most powerful witch in Alteroth as well as one of its greatest beauties. Comparing you to her is no insult; on the contrary you should feel honored.”
“That is not the point. What girl wants to think her husband is matching her against his own mother? It’s completely embarrassing. Please don’t do it again.”
“All right.”
Alice fidgeted a bit. “When I asked you before about… you know. I was just hurt by what you said. That’s all. To be told by your husband that you are not beautiful, I wasn’t expecting to hear that.”
“When did I ever say you weren’t beautiful? The only thing I said was that your breasts were nice.”
Alice narrowed her eyes and Waldo felt her anger rising again through their bond.
“How do you expect me to act when you say such hurtful things? I happen to be a succubus, the incarnation of lust! I am willing to give myself to you completely and forever. Can’t you at least pretend to find me attractive?”
“What are you talking about? Of course you are beautiful to me! You are as lovely as a river of fire flowing through blackest night. Your beauty is so complete and obvious I didn’t think it needed to be commented on.”
She blinked. “That’s… very sweet of you to say. Do you mean it?”
“I do. I think you are lovely. Isn’t it obvious?”
“From a lot of men, yes. From you, no.”
Waldo shrugged. “I apologize for not being as apparent as most men.”
For some reason Waldo could not begin to understand that bought a giggle from her. “That’s all right darling, I like that you’re different.”
She got up from where she was seated and came over to him. Without warning she placed a kiss on his cheek and settled in next to him, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping herself about his arm.
“You really are very strange,” she whispered. “But I like you.”
She felt warm and comfortable snuggled up against him.
“I like you too Alice.”
In response she squeezed his arm a little.
“Let’s try and find the road again tomorrow.”
“Yes darling.”
Chapter 15
Different Dances, Different Offerings
That night Waldo fell asleep with Alice by the fire. They had no blankets, so the two of them simply laid down in the grass. She’d put her head on his chest and rested against him.
“We need to keep each other warm. We’re married so this is all right. It’s normal.”
It was summer time and the night was warm. With the fire going it was actually pleasant.
Awkwardly he slid an arm around her. “I suppose it is. Good night Alice.”
“Good night darling.”
He closed his eyes and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
XXX
In Castle Corpselover
Walter was seated in his usual place, to his mother’s left. Directly across from him was an empty chair.
On his plate was a live suckling pig with its legs and snout tied with twine. The animal struggled and twisted against its binds. Even with its mouth tied shut it gave off high pitched squeals.
Normally this would have added to Walter’s appetite. He enjoyed seeing the terror in his victims, whether it was a pig or a human slave. Tonight though, all his focus was on the empty seat in front of him.
“Is something wrong?” Lilith asked from the head of the table. She was calmly eating a steak and lightly sautéed mushrooms. She was used to Walter’s eating habits and the helpless animal’s cries bothered her not at all.
“Why am I still on your left?”
Lilith took a sip of red wine before answering in a very polite tone. “I think you know why.”
“Waldo is never coming back, he is a dead man.”
“A dead man? Interesting choice of words considering the source.”
“Are you making fun of me mother?
“No, I just think you should be a little less certain about things. Your brother is alive and well, and I have every hope he will return one day. Until then, or until I am certain he is gone, that seat,” she nodded to her right. “Belongs to him.”
“When Waldo dies, what then?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions. The answer is obvious.”
Walter directed a furious glare at his mother. She had no trouble at all meeting it.
“You won’t choose me will you? Even though I would be your last surviving child, you won’t make me your heir.”
Lilith gave an annoyed shake of her head. “The dead cannot rule the living. You know that. There are laws that even I cannot break.”
“Would you if you could?”
“You are starting to annoy me.”
“You broke one of the rules for Waldo. You’re not supposed to give someone coin when they set out on their First Quest. You didn’t do it for me but I know you did it for him.”
“I didn’t do it for any of my other children either. You and the others went out on normal First Quests. Since the Council cheated I did too. I did the best I could for Waldo like I did for you and the others.”
“That’s not true! You could give me what I deserve, what’s mine!”
Lilith spoke very softly. “Lower your voice when you speak to me.”
Walter sat back and obediently lowered his head. “Yes mother.”
Lilith spoke quietly while checking her own mounting anger. “I did the best I could for you. When I found your body I sewed up the hole in your chest where your heart had been torn out. I washed your corpse and wrote the runes on your skin with my own blood. I offered up a sacrifice and called upon the Dark Powers to return your soul. I saw you open your eyes and live again. You are still able to use some magic and retain most of your memories. You can think and feel. You are a superb zombie, but you are a zombie all the same. You cannot father a child. You cannot work the deeper magics. You cannot take my place upon the council. I have already given you all that I could; do not ask me for any more.”
Lilith returned her attention to her meal.
Walter got up from his seat and left.
XXX
When Waldo woke the next morning Alice was no longer at his side.
She had the fire going again and a couple fish already speared and cooking.
“Good morning darling.” She said cheerfully. “There’s a little stream over in that direction if you’re thirsty or want to wash up.”
“Morning,” he said yawning. He could see the horrible ball of fire was already up in the unnatural blue sky. “I think I’ll do just that.”
Wand
ering off about fifty feet he found the little stream. It was only five feet wide and could easily be walked across. Kneeling down he cupped his hands and drank as much water as he could and then washed his face.
The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) Page 16
