The Journeys of a Different Necromancer by James J. Crofoot Page A

cage
chamber woke Thomas. He saw Season open her eyes as well, and both
looked to see a girl enter carrying a plate of food in either hand.
Her clothes looked to be in the same condition as the rest, the
dress might have been yellow once. Dirt and grime covered her from
head to foot.
    A man with his white shirt opened to the waist walked behind
her carrying two torches. He replaced the torch already in the wall
with the unlit one and lit it.
    “ The chief’s woman is very sick so you’ve a reprieve for a
time,” the man said. “Stand up and give me your hands so I can
untie you to eat.”
    They did as told and the girl pushed the plates into the
cage.
    “ Eat, and do it quickly,” the man said. He then laughed. “I
sure wouldn’t want to be you, knight. The chief’s gonna be in a
foul mood come tomorrow or the next day. That woman of his is gonna
die, for sure.”
    When the prisoners finished their plates, they were told to
stand with their hands toward him again.
    “ Let us keep our hands free,” Thomas suggested.
    “ What? So you can untie our little cage. No thanks,” he
replied. “Now put your hands up here, or I’ll come in and see how
much cuttin’ I can do.”
    * * *
*
    “ Hey.”
    Already half-awake from seeing torchlight through his eyelids,
Thomas opened his eyes all the way. He couldn’t be sure how much
time had passed, long enough for their torch to be out though. He
nudged Season with his foot and her eyes snapped open.
    The girl who had accompanied the open-shirt man knelt at the
side of the cage.
    “ I’m awake, I’m awake,” he said, blinking a couple times.
“What’s going on?”
    “ You know the way out, the way here,” said the girl. “You’ve
got to help me.”
    “ You’re not one of them?”
    “ No,” she said. “They took me several months ago.” A smile
came to her lips. “They tried to sell me, but I got a bad temper.
Look, they blindfold everyone they bring here, but you found them.
You’ve got to help me.”
    “ Get us out of this cage, and I will.”
    “ I will if you promise to help. I’m not risking it unless you
can get out of these mountains.”
    “ Yes, yes. I can get us to the road. Not get us out of
here.”
    The girl produced a dagger and started cutting the ropes
holding the branches together. “I’ve tried to run a few times, but
I can’t find my way out of these damn mountains.”
    For an instant, Thomas remembered Xavier mentioning other
forms of magic that didn’t need material ingredients, like the soil
from a grave, but Thomas never asked to learn much of those and
Xavier never offered to teach them.
    The girl cut a few ropes, creating an opening. Season and
Thomas stood and backed up to the cage branches so the girl could
cut their bonds. They crawled through the opening the girl just
made.
    “ Give me the knife,” Season said, reaching out her
hand.
    “ No, this is mine. Now be quiet in the tunnels,” the girl
said. “They drink themselves into a stupor most nights, but some
are still light sleepers. This way.”
    She led them through a labyrinth of tunnels and Thomas knew he
would never have found his way out if not for the guide. When they
started passing comatose bandits, the girl put the hand holding the
dagger up for them to stop. Carefully, she stepped over the tangle
of bodies. One snorted quite loudly and turned over. They froze and
stared down at him. He did not wake up so they started moving
again.
    Season kept her eye on the man and did not watch her next
step. A woman’s leg was sticking out and Season tripped over it to
land on her hands and knees. The woman opened her eyes for a brief
second and then closed them again. They snapped back
open.
    “ They’re escaping! Wake up,” she screamed.
    The girl ran, taking the torch.
    In the light of the low burning fire still going, Thomas went
back to help Season to her feet. The bandits woke and started
yelling as well. A couple stumbled around, turning their heads
around,