Awakening: (The Necromancer's Legacy Book 1)

by Henry Andrews

  "Well, now that it's all taken care of, time to get going. Where is the underworld?" Liu-Ken asked. "Aurora, get ready."

  "Can I just have a few minutes alone with them?” the boy asked. “I'd like to say goodbye properly."

  "Yeah, but be quick. We are at the end of the hall, waiting. Come on, Aurora. We better give them some space," Liu-Ken said. Before they left that room, he withdrew another gold coin and offered it to the boy's sister, "It will be difficult not to have him around. I know this won't make it any easier to miss him, but it gives you a few extra days to govern yourselves," he said.

  The group's eyes had now the same bright color as the coins. The fascination for the mysterious man grew. Who was he? He, who pulled gold coins out of his pocket as if they were nothing, with a delicate smile and a body shrouded in remnants of a long battle. They thanked him as he and Aurora headed towards the narrow corridor. They both waved to the young men and women, wishing them good luck. They had not yet reached the end when they heard the voice of the new member rising in pitch.

  "You have to protect them now that I won't be there, okay? I trust you. I promise to come back as soon as I can," he said to the other three boys. "Don't cry! Be strong," he added to one of them.

  Sorry and crying mixed in an amalgam of sounds. Farewells were like that; as sad as they were hopeful. There were always those who dreamed of life before facing death.

  "Why did you accept it? I thought it would be better if it was just the two of us," Aurora whispered.

  "So did I. But after what happened to us, I realized we could use some extra help. And the boy has potential if he is truly willing to invest in it and, truth be told, nothing like the desire to save someone to push someone to its limits," Liu-Ken confessed. "I hate to say this, but we can't do it by ourselves," he said.

  "I finally have someone to train with whose result won’t always be my defeat," Aurora said and laughed before joining her lips into a thin red line and locking her jaw. "How are you? Don't lie to me."

  "Honestly? I'm devastated. The battle wore me down and using Kagu's power weakened my body. I've been absorbing some of the mana around, but I'm so tired it's going to take time. There is nothing I can do now. Let's move on. I think he's coming."

  "I heard what you said to the Kagu. About not leaving me before the blood moon. What’s that?" Aurora asked, her eyes staring at Liu-Ken's.

  "This is no time to talk about it. You have plenty of time, don't worry too much about it," Liu replied, avoiding a concrete answer. "Are you ready yet, boy?" he asked the group's new member, who was just steps away from them. He grabbed his spare dagger and offered it to the boy.

  "Yes, absolutely. Let's go," he said. He rubbed the cloth sleeve over his eyes, wiping his tears. The area around his eyes reddened slightly. He thanked for the dagger and stashed it under his clothes.

  Chapter 28

  They were back on the streets with their heads bowed down and their eyes on the ground, ignoring glances and whispers. They followed in the boy's footsteps until he entered a larger alley than the one where they had met, an aroma of a sweet perfume lingering in the air. He beckoned to approach a poster with the edges trimmed and the black letters smudged.

  "Now what?" Liu-Ken asked.

  "Are you ready?" the boy said. "I guess this is it. I've only seen one man do it once," he said and lifted the poster by one of the tips, pressing one of the stones in. The stone receded and a dark green metal door opened meters ahead of them.

  "A secret passage? I've never seen anything like it," Aurora said, with her mouth wide open and her shoulders slumped down beside her body. The closest she had come to something so mysterious was the small basement in her village lighthouse. The sand was used to conceal the rusty brown handle that gave access to a wooden ladder and consequently to the place where Aurora had spent many moments, from sharing horror tales with her friends to her first kiss when she was sixteen years old. She still remembered that tender and cozy moment, without ever prolonging it. The boy's thick red lips were replaced by the image of his hair stained red and Aurora was then forced to distract herself.

  "Aurora, are you okay?" Liu-Ken asked her, seeing her standing still when he and the new boy were already at the door.

  "No, I'm sorry. I was just surprised. Let's move on," she said and looked at the stone. It was back to normal.

  Liu-Ken placed his hand in the middle of the door and shoved it. Despite its size and rusty appearance, requiring a new painting, it did not make a sound when it opened. Once again, a wide corridor appeared before them, the walls lit by several burning torches that stretched out along the way. Mice ran from one side to the other, their little paws stepping on the dark puddles, some of which were overflowing.

  "Isn't it strange?" Aurora asked. "This doesn't look so good, but I can't say it reeks. There's a soft scent lying in the air," she said, as they walked forward away from the door.

  "Soft scent?" Liu-Ken asked, intrigued. "What are you talking about? Damn it. I think the battle left me in a worse state than I thought," Liu-Ken said.

  "I can smell, too. A soft touch of sulfur and roses? Or sunflowers?" the new boy said, breathing in hard, frowning his nose.

  "COVER YOUR NOSES!" Liu-Ken shouted. "Quick! It's a weapon..." he was saying when his throat closed, preventing him from continuing.

  Then paralysis followed. All three fell to the ground, unable to speak or move. Their eyes remained open and they could see everything without being able to rebel. Drops dripped on their faces, stopping at the edge of their closed lips. Fat, hairy rats rubbed against their clothes, their sharp teeth ripping them apart as much as they could, looking for skin of which they could feed. They were only chased away by the many steps that were drawing close.

  At least three pairs; two big feet marching as if there were no tomorrow and one calm behind them, not in a hurry for what was going to happen. Liu-Ken tried to raise his head to see who they were but before he could even move it, someone covered his face with a black bag and tied him with a tight rope around his neck and his arms behind his back. The three of them had their faces covered and were dragged across the bumpy ground, their butts scraping on the rocks, their shoulders bumping into the walls.

  The boy, not having the same survival experience as Aurora and Liu, found himself in distress, his irregular breathing sucking the little air he had inside the bag. His face swelled, his eyes moistened, and his chest did not stop still. His survival instinct was unleashed and, with the adrenaline that was now running through his body, gusts of wind burst around him. The torches' flames rippled in all directions, eventually hitting one of the men who was transporting them.

  The man took off his clothes and threw them on the ground, stepping on them until the fire disappeared. The other two looked at him. The burning smell filled the tunnel. In the background, there was already light, a bright yellow light, reflected in the metal objects scattered on the ground.

  "This boy..." he said, the thick, threatening voice resounding through the little boy's bones.

  "Don't kill him. Open a little bit of the bag. Let him breathe. Let's go on," the man with velvet steps said. His voice was peculiar; calm, not too high or too low, but enough to catch the attention of all who heard him.

  The man obeyed him. The boy could finally breathe. The already protruding veins calmed down again, as did the meridians, and the chi stabilized. The three members of the group continued to be dragged along the way until the surface changed to something smoother and softer. The men lifted them and ordered them to continue, their fists closed, thrusting their backs. The sound of metal being stepped on and kicked, bumping into other pieces of the same material, buzzed in their ears.

  "Wait here," their boss said. He knocked three times on a metal door and waited for a nasal voice to authorize them to enter, "Leave them inside, and then you can return to the main entrance," he added, opening the door and entering, placing himself in the right corner opposed to the entrance.

&n
bsp; The men did so. They threw the three bodies to the ground and left. The slender man removed the ropes and bags and walked to his boss.

  “Am I still free tomorrow, boss?” he asked, covering half of his chef’s body and his whole face.

  “I’ve asked you to not treat me like that. We are friends. Your family needs you. Take as many days as you need. There will always be a place for you here,” the man replied before addressing Liu-Ken. "Good to see you, old buddy," the nasal-voiced man said sarcastically, sitting on a cushioned chair, swinging to the rhythm of the rings he had on his fingers tinkling over the wooden arms, his nails scraping off its barbed curls. The other man moved to a corner.

  "You..." Liu-Ken said, the breathless breath. "What's all this show for? You knew I'd come to you," he said.

  "Yes, but I needed to be cautious. The last time I helped you it did not go very well," the man said and diverted his light brown frizzy hair to his wide shoulders, revealing a glass eye. It was like looking in front of a dirty mirror, one whose reflection was an empty one. "I heard about your little prank uptown. So, a necromancer... Wasn't the first time enough for you?" he added and yawned. "it's her daughter, isn't it? Her eyes are the same. Dark as pitch in the night and yet delicate," he added.

  Liu-Ken spat on the floor. "As I recall, your enthusiasm was one of the greatest among us. Nobody made you do anything! And, yes. It is her daughter. The man to whom we entrusted our lives," he admitted, pausing to take a deep breath. "After all we've been through, have you joined the Kaji school?"

  The man stopped the chair. He hit one of his fingers furiously against the wood until blood flowed through the gaps in its wooden feet. He threw his hair back. He had a deep, dry scar that went from the corner of his right eye, which was still there, to his cheek. His lips were cracked until the moment his long tongue waved through them. A fine trace of saliva ran down his bearded chin.

  He let out a laugh, catching all the presents by surprise. "Oh! Liu, I see the years go by, but you still judge all those who have moved on," he said and stood up, strolling to his left corner, "I don't work with them. Nor will I ever do. But I realized that not liking them does not mean I can't take advantage of their incompetence in exchange for a few gold coins," the man said.

  He got up and stopped by a bookcase full of copper and gold objects, bronze padlock boxes, and glowing metal weapons hanging on the surrounding walls. The room was lit by a multi-armed chandelier, each with a candle, staggering on the ceiling, trapped by a black wire so thin that it would not be surprising if it ended up falling on anyone.

  Aurora and the other boy had no idea what was happening and had no choice but to trust Liu-Ken. Aurora exchanged a long look with the slender man, who was still in the same corner, black hair halfway down his back, fingernails of the same color, and a faint blue color on his eyebrows.

  "Is this what you're looking for?" the man asked, removing a yellowish scroll from inside a purple metal box with golden arches.

  "No. I'm not thinking of doing it this time," Liu-Ken said, looking at Aurora.

  "Do what? Will you tell us what's going on?" Aurora asked, trying to free herself from the strings that held her arms and kept rubbing against her wrists, scarring them.

  "Then you didn't tell him everything, did you?" the man said and laughed. He put the scroll back and closed the box, keeping the key in one of his luxurious cloak pockets, made of the most expensive silk in existence, the violet color with not a single crease or stain.

  Aurora looked at Liu-Ken. "What haven't you told me?"

  "It doesn't matter now!" Liu-Ken replied. "Are you thinking of removing these ropes? It's not like we can just run away from the city without being seen.”

  "You're right," the man answered. It only took a brief head nod for the other man to address the three members of the group and remove the ropes. He took them and rolled them up, placing them on a chair in his corner. "Tell me, what have you come here to do?" he asked, as the three stood up.

  "I need a wagon, horses to pull it, and a couple of supplies," Liu-Ken said without even hesitating.

  "You know nothing is for free in this world," the man said, sitting down again. Noticing that it was possible to see the round shape of his belly in that upright position, he bit his lip and leaned over.

  "I am prepared to pay. I have gold coins with me," he said.

  "I expected more from you, Liu. You know there are things far more valuable than gold coins. It's not like I'm short of money as you can see from this humble office of mine," he replied, emphasizing the humble word with an ironic tone, "I've got something on my mind."

  "What do you want?"

  "Tell her the truth. Tell her what you wanted to use the scroll for. Tell her how willing you were to risk all our lives for the man you loved," the man said, his voice rising, tapping his fist on the varnished wooden table, spilling the bottle of fresh paint. The liquid flowed to the edge, falling to the valet-blue marble floor as if it were a black waterfall.

  "Don't do this," Liu-Ken shouted. "Don't bring him between us," he added, walking to the table. The man picked up the ink bottle, putting it back on its feet, and looked at Liu.

  "You did it yourself when you lied to us all. Karma is finally hitting you," the man replied, seriously, with his eyes on Aurora. "I and many others supported your father when the revolution began. We were willing to die for him, to die for the ideal we all believed in. This man you think is your friend never cared about our future. The only reason he was on our side was because of your father. You never admitted that you nurtured more than friendship and companionship for him, did you?" he asked, his eyes moving to Liu-Ken.

  "Shut up!" Liu-Ken shouted, leaning forward, laying his hands on the table, and lowering his head. "I... I loved him. He told me that he knew he was going to die in battle, that the only way to leave the world a better place was to destroy the whole Kaji school and himself. The fight to end all fights. He was never the same after accepting Yin's power. Little by little, her power was intruding into his consciousness, taking away his free will. I wanted to use the scroll to deprive him of his necromancer powers. I wanted to block all his chi and close his Dantian. It was the only way to save him. But I was discovered before I could do it and exiled. Is that the truth you wanted me to tell?" Liu-Ken looked at the man, his face twitching, his fingers tapping on the wood.

  "Better," the man said. "The girl had a right to know that you're not as good a person as you make yourself look. Deep down, you just care about yourself. And you know the worst? You keep doing it. This is not her revenge. It's yours and the girl will have the same fate as her father.”

  "That's enough!" Liu-Ken shouted, the strength of his voice blowing all the papers off the table. He stretched out his hand and closed his fingers around the man's neck. His face swelled, purring, his eyes began to turn until the other man stepped in.

  The man at the door took two steps forward, removing a wooden stick from his back, and hitting Liu-Ken in three of the wounds he had on his chest. Liu let go of the man's neck, falling to his knees on the floor, gasping. Aurora and Bo had yet to get up.

  "Moving on," the man with the luxurious kimono said, looking at Aurora. "I'm an old friend of your father's, Quan-Qan. If it were another person, I would not help, but your father saved me from a miserable life. I'll give you a chance to get supplies and a wagon with the horses included. One of you must enter my ring and win a battle against my champion. There's only one catch... You can't use your chi. Only your feet, fists, and head. Choose who will fight and here my great employee will be kind enough to direct you to the arena," he said. He opened a black metal box he had next to him and removed a plump cigar. He snapped his fingers and a faint flame lit it up. Grey smoke scattered throughout the room after he had blown it, "I forgot to tell you. You have five minutes until the next battle begins. Time is running out."

  Chapter 29

  Bo looked at Aurora. He would not mind getting into the ring, he would even voluntee
r to do so if he believed he had any chance of winning. However, he knew it would be a waste of time. He was a boy with enough physical skills to carry boxes for an entire day, but when it came to a battle, he was useless. The little he knew he had learned in skirmishes with the older men who dared to be bold with his sister or with the other young girl in his group, and in which he almost always ended up on the ground, bruised, bleeding from his lips.

  "I'm going," Aurora said.

  "Will you fight for him then?" Quan-Qan asked, lowering his gaze on Liu-Ken who had not gotten up yet.

  "Not for him. For me. Maybe this really is his revenge. Maybe he's using me. But he taught me enough to be able to hold my own in that ring. With him, I learned to control my chi and how to lift..."

  "I’ll fight," Liu-Ken said, meddling in. "Aurora, we can't risk it."

  "You don't think I can do it?"

  "These men have years of experience in hand-to-hand fighting and martial arts. They are not cultivators. They belong to Yulin, the martial arts community within the underworld. They will not be as easy as you might think. Without using your chi, you will not stand a chance. That's the truth," Liu-Ken said and stood up, "I’ll fight, Quan-Qan. Take me to the ring,"

  "Is that your final choice?" Quan-Qan asked, eyes on Aurora.

  Aurora yawned and frowned, trying to stay in control before answering, "Yes, it is. I hope you know what you are doing. You look like a mess. Take care," she replied, mad at her mentor.

  "I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth. I didn't want you to know like that," Liu-Ken told her, his shame frustrating his ability to look Aurora in the eyes, "I can handle it. I just have to go beyond my limits.”

  "I don't think you even wanted her to know," Quan-Qan said. "Well, you can take him," he added, lifting two fingers, and signaling for his employee to take Liu-Ken.

  The man tweaked his hair before asking Liu-Ken to accompany him. He opened the door and walked away so that Liu would go through first. He kept the staff close to his leg throughout the transition.