told me you were coming and that you looked
like you needed a good meal.” As he said his minion’s name, the winged, fluffy,
black kitten appeared on his shoulder. When I set my staff on the table and
reached for the roast, Magnus smacked my hand. “Didn’t your mother teach you
not to put your staff on the table?”
“No.” I hadn’t had a staff when I lived at home, but
my mother would smack me or my brothers if we ever left our wands out of reach,
especially if someone else could take them. She often made us duel so that we
could learn to protect our wands from being taken during a fight. I picked up
the staff and leaned it against the back of my chair.
Asiago and I sat and immediately started eating. “So,
you’re a wizard, right?” Asiago asked.
“Yes. My name is Magnus. It has been a while since
I’ve seen a necromancer.”
“We seem to be getting rare. I’ve heard of you,
though. Didn’t you disappear?”
“I was trapped by a chimera.”
“Oh, wow. Those are scary.”
“Why would Veronica kidnap her own mother?” I asked.
“For the same reason your mother wants to kill you,”
Magnus answered. “A sorceress can steal another’s power by killing them. However,
a sorceress cannot steal light magic. That is why your mother didn’t kill you
when you were young; she thought you only had light magic.”
“That’s why she encouraged my brothers to torture me.
That’s what Merlin said. She thought she could push me to be dark, but that
just made me want to help people.”
“Right. Veronica tried to kill Livia when she was
young because she wanted her mother’s power. Livia felt responsible for her
daughter’s cruelty, so she locked away her dark magic in a crystal. Veronica’s father
was not a hero, but he wasn’t a terrible man, either. I don’t believe Veronica
killed him, I believe she blackmailed him or possibly entranced him to make him
return her to Caldaca. She found out that Livia removed her magic and killed
Sonya. I don’t know why she killed Sonya, because Sonya was pure of heart.
After that, Livia was very afraid of Veronica, so she gave me the crystal. I
didn’t believe Veronica was a serious threat, but it appears I was wrong.”
“If we give her the crystal to save Livia, would she
be unstoppable?”
“No one is unstoppable.”
“You can’t just bring her the crystal,” Asiago said.
“I always trust a sorceress to be a sorceress. If she can get both, she will.
The sorceress will stab you in the back.”
I shook my head. “Not any sorcerer I know. We are
ruthless, but we keep our word.”
“We?” Magnus asked.
“Sorry. Sorcerers will tell you what they’ll
do to you if you break your end of the deal. And they never under-deliver.”
“Sorcerers will get close to someone to kill them, or
switch sides for a better price,” Asiago argued.
“Right, that’s why you pay a very high price to
sorcerers. My mother has switched sides before, but the client knew that was a
possibility from the start. If she stabbed people in the back, she wouldn’t get
any business. Nobody is going to pay a sorceress who doesn’t keep her end of
the deal. You just have to pay her more than your enemy would pay her. I’m not
saying I trust Veronica. I’m thinking we should take the crystal as a backup
plan. We can come up with some way to sneak around Veronica to free Livia.
Maybe we can use the zombies.”
“I don’t suggest you raise a zombie,” Magnus said.
“Actually, there are already some zombies. Asiago
accidentally raised an entire cemetery.”
Magnus nodded. “Let me guess. You sneezed during the
ceremony and you don’t have their names, so you can’t control them?” he asked.
Asiago shoved more roast in his mouth and shrugged.
“Is that a common thing?” I asked.
“My best friend when I was a child was a necromancer,
and he did that a dozen or so times. It really wasn’t his fault; he was
allergic to dead bodies.”
“A wizard and a
like you needed a good meal.” As he said his minion’s name, the winged, fluffy,
black kitten appeared on his shoulder. When I set my staff on the table and
reached for the roast, Magnus smacked my hand. “Didn’t your mother teach you
not to put your staff on the table?”
“No.” I hadn’t had a staff when I lived at home, but
my mother would smack me or my brothers if we ever left our wands out of reach,
especially if someone else could take them. She often made us duel so that we
could learn to protect our wands from being taken during a fight. I picked up
the staff and leaned it against the back of my chair.
Asiago and I sat and immediately started eating. “So,
you’re a wizard, right?” Asiago asked.
“Yes. My name is Magnus. It has been a while since
I’ve seen a necromancer.”
“We seem to be getting rare. I’ve heard of you,
though. Didn’t you disappear?”
“I was trapped by a chimera.”
“Oh, wow. Those are scary.”
“Why would Veronica kidnap her own mother?” I asked.
“For the same reason your mother wants to kill you,”
Magnus answered. “A sorceress can steal another’s power by killing them. However,
a sorceress cannot steal light magic. That is why your mother didn’t kill you
when you were young; she thought you only had light magic.”
“That’s why she encouraged my brothers to torture me.
That’s what Merlin said. She thought she could push me to be dark, but that
just made me want to help people.”
“Right. Veronica tried to kill Livia when she was
young because she wanted her mother’s power. Livia felt responsible for her
daughter’s cruelty, so she locked away her dark magic in a crystal. Veronica’s father
was not a hero, but he wasn’t a terrible man, either. I don’t believe Veronica
killed him, I believe she blackmailed him or possibly entranced him to make him
return her to Caldaca. She found out that Livia removed her magic and killed
Sonya. I don’t know why she killed Sonya, because Sonya was pure of heart.
After that, Livia was very afraid of Veronica, so she gave me the crystal. I
didn’t believe Veronica was a serious threat, but it appears I was wrong.”
“If we give her the crystal to save Livia, would she
be unstoppable?”
“No one is unstoppable.”
“You can’t just bring her the crystal,” Asiago said.
“I always trust a sorceress to be a sorceress. If she can get both, she will.
The sorceress will stab you in the back.”
I shook my head. “Not any sorcerer I know. We are
ruthless, but we keep our word.”
“We?” Magnus asked.
“Sorry. Sorcerers will tell you what they’ll
do to you if you break your end of the deal. And they never under-deliver.”
“Sorcerers will get close to someone to kill them, or
switch sides for a better price,” Asiago argued.
“Right, that’s why you pay a very high price to
sorcerers. My mother has switched sides before, but the client knew that was a
possibility from the start. If she stabbed people in the back, she wouldn’t get
any business. Nobody is going to pay a sorceress who doesn’t keep her end of
the deal. You just have to pay her more than your enemy would pay her. I’m not
saying I trust Veronica. I’m thinking we should take the crystal as a backup
plan. We can come up with some way to sneak around Veronica to free Livia.
Maybe we can use the zombies.”
“I don’t suggest you raise a zombie,” Magnus said.
“Actually, there are already some zombies. Asiago
accidentally raised an entire cemetery.”
Magnus nodded. “Let me guess. You sneezed during the
ceremony and you don’t have their names, so you can’t control them?” he asked.
Asiago shoved more roast in his mouth and shrugged.
“Is that a common thing?” I asked.
“My best friend when I was a child was a necromancer,
and he did that a dozen or so times. It really wasn’t his fault; he was
allergic to dead bodies.”
“A wizard and a
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