Necromancer Falling: Book Two of The Mukhtaar Chronicles (32 page)

The person—he or she, Nicolas couldn’t tell—was wearing a black cloak with a voluminous hood, pulled low to hide his or her face.

The person lifted their hand, and Nicolas expected to see a gun. Instead, they pulled their hood back.

The man was about as tall as Nicolas, with brown hair. And if Nicolas had to guess, he’d say the man was older than him, though not by much. It was the way he moved that was unnerving. Feline. Graceful with a side helping of whoop ass.

Nicolas stood and sent a command to Kagan to be ready for anything.

Toby growled and backed away, and Toridyn walked over to calm him down.

“Poor dog,” the man said. “Missing some legs. How in the hells does he keep himself up like that without breaking his own back?”

His voice wasn’t gruff, as Nicolas had been expecting. There was something almost
noble
about it, and there wasn’t anything malicious or sarcastic in his tone.

“There’s nothing wrong with my—” Nicolas stopped himself. Turkey with four legs. Cow with six legs. By Erindor standards, Toby
was
missing two legs.

The man raised his hands and Toby growled louder. “Didn’t mean to offend.”

“Just stay where you are,” Nicolas said.

“I don’t mean you any harm,” the man said. He took another step forward and Toridyn’s penitent seized him.

“The man said
freeze
, punk,” Toridyn said. He stepped toward the man. “One more move and you’ll make my day.”

“Easy, there,
Five-O
,” Nicolas said. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“I found them like this,” the man said.

“Which is exactly what
I’d
say if I killed a bunch of people and got caught a few minutes later,” Kaitlyn said.

“It’s a little too close to Blackwood to get robbed,” Toridyn said.

Nicolas stood and faced the man. Toridyn had a good point.

“There’s a few too many valuables left for it to be a robbery,” the man said.

“You understand him?” Nicolas said.

“I’ve had cichlos acquaintances,” the man said.

Nicolas looked down at the dead men, and for the first time he noticed their coin purses were still there. Curious, he pulled the tarp back from the top of the trailer.

Cooking supplies and bedding. And no room for anything else.

Whoever this guy was, he was right. Nothing had been taken. At least nothing obvious.

“There’s an army headed this way,” the man said, “and I don’t think they’re planning on taking prisoners. You’re a Council Magus. You must know
something
about that.”

It took Nicolas a moment to remember he was dressed in Council robes.

“Suppose I am,” Nicolas said. “And you know more than you’re telling me.”

“I’m trying to help. We can’t stay here. We
have
to get to Caspardis.”

Nicolas nodded at Toridyn, and the undead cichlos released the man. “Keep an eye on him, Tor.”

Nicolas drew more ambient necropotency into his well, just to be safe.

The man lowered his eyes and walked closer. An odd expression passed over his face, as if he were arguing with himself—he ground his teeth and pursed his lips. He pulled a small object out of his pocket and looked at it in disgust. He was anxious about something.

“You prefer adda, or adda-ki?” the man asked.

“That’s an odd question,” Nicolas said.

“It can tell you a lot about a person.”

“Why not just ask?”

“I just did.”

It was almost as bad as talking to Siek Lamil. Nicolas had a feeling this guy wasn’t going to quit until he got his answer.

“You’re making a great effort to get on our good side, here,” Nicolas said.

“Please,” the man said. “I asked politely. Wasn’t I polite?”

Nicolas glanced at Kaitlyn, who pursed her lips and shrugged.

The last time Nicolas saw an adda-ki, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances.

“Adda,” Nicolas said. He shook his head, incredulous that not only had the question been asked, but that he took the time to answer it.

The man tossed the object in the air, and Nicolas could see it for the first time. A small, silver coin. When the coin fell, the man caught it, flipped it over, and slapped it onto his opposite wrist.

“Adda it is,” the man said. He seemed relieved, as if a weight had been lifted.

The man strode past Kagan, nodding as if not to be rude. He either didn’t know Kagan was dead, or he didn’t care. And he smiled at Toridyn!

“Name’s Aelron,” the man said, extending his hand.

“Elrond?”

“
Ael
ron.”

“Sorry,” Nicolas said, taking the man’s hand in a firm shake.

“Why is that so festering hard for people?” Aelron asked.

“Nicolas,” Nicolas said, giving Aelron’s hand one last shake.

“That’s the second time I’ve heard that name in as many days. Suppose that makes your name more common than mine.”

“I still haven’t met another Nicolas here.”

Aelron gave him a quizzical look. “I thought you were a Council magus. Isn’t the new archmage’s name
Nicolas
?”

Nicolas had two choices. He could tell this stranger who he was and hope he wasn’t a whack job, or he could play it safe. It was moments like these he wished Mujahid had come along. Mujahid could be crotchety, but he could see around corners Nicolas didn’t know existed.

Of one thing he was certain; Kagan would have lied. And that was reason enough to tell the truth.

“It is,” Nicolas said. “I mean, I am. I mean…I’m him. Nicolas Murray.”

Aelron lost his smile.

Aelron stepped forward until he was inches away from Nicolas.

Nicolas prepared a command for the necromantic link, but could Kagan cross the gap fast enough?

Aelron’s lip trembled as he balled his hand into a fist.

Take him!

Kagan lunged.

Nicolas prepared a bolt of necropotency.

Aelron dropped to one knee and struck his chest with his balled fist.

“Archmage,” Aelron said.

As comprehension dawned, Nicolas ordered Kagan back.

Sonofabitch!
I
almost killed the dude!

“Please,” Nicolas said. “No need for that now. I’m just a guy with a fancy hat.”

Aelron glanced up at Nicolas as if he were looking at an alien.

“Well, I don’t have the hat with me,” Nicolas said. “But you get the idea. Go on, now, stand up!”

Aelron stood and took a step back.

“We’re headed to Caspardis as well,” Nicolas said. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone. I…had a bad experience there.”

Aelron took another step back and massaged one of his temples. He pulled the coin from a pocket in his cloak, flipped it, looked at Nicolas with something akin to sadness, then put it back in his cloak.

“Sure do like playing with your money, don’t you,” Nicolas said.

The blank expression again.

“Despise it,” Aelron said. “I despise everything about it.”

“Okay,” Nicolas said. He shared a glance with Kaitlyn.
This guy’s brisket ain’t done smoking yet.

“Would you mind some company?” Aelron asked.

“You seem like a nice guy and all,” Nicolas said. “But this is sort of a…family trip.”

“If I had to guess, I’d say this was your first trip away from the Pinnacle. I can’t, in good conscience, let you make it alone.”

Kaitlyn gave Nicolas a look that made it clear she wasn’t happy with the idea.

What do you think?
Nicolas asked through the necromantic link.

An image of a squad of soldiers growing stronger with each new member returned from the link.

Strength in numbers, huh?

Kagan seemed to think it was a good idea, and it bothered Nicolas that he agreed.

A clap of thunder gave Nicolas a jolt.

Aelron pantomimed catching a droplet of rain. “Rainy season. You could use more hands around camp.”

“Look, Aelron,” Nicolas said. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that I don’t
trust
you.”

“Let me take point. You can watch me the entire way.”

Nicolas looked away for a moment. Kaitlyn wasn’t going to like this.

“All right,” Nicolas said.

Aelron walked back to the wagon. “There may be some provisions here. I suggest taking the tarp.”

Another thunderclap emphasized how good an idea that was.

“Are you sure about this?” Kaitlin asked in a loud whisper. “I’m all for being good Samaritans, but back in Texas we had cell phones, cops, tow trucks. We’re in a place where underwater cities can implode because of bedsheets. We don’t know him.”

“You saw how he acted when he found out who I am,” Nicolas said. “He thinks I’m some kind of holy man. Doesn’t hurt to have that kind of loyalty around when things go sideways.”

“On second thought,” Aelron shouted. “I think we can take the whole carriage if you don’t mind moving bodies. You and your friends can stay inside, Archmage. I’ll drive.”

“See?” Nicolas whispered to Kaitlyn. “He’s helping. Tor, can you give him a hand?”

Toridyn nodded and Toby followed him to the front of the wagon.

“Everything’s gonna be fine,” Nicolas said. “Trust me.”

“Whatever you say…
Archmage
,” Kaitlyn said. “Just remember this face I’m making when things don’t go as well as you
hope
they will.”

Ouch
.

Nicolas followed her to the wagon, silently praying everything would go as well as he hoped.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Coteon’s contemporaries point to the establishment of the necromantic clans as the first verifiable historic event, suggesting it took place some 3000 to 4000 years before the Common Era. They, of course, were not aware of the Scrolls of Tal’mon, nor that they would be unearthed in the Religarian desert three millennia later (120 BRL).

The scrolls indicate the two earliest verifiable events are as follows:

  *Leras Ardirian founds the Necromantic Council and takes the ancient Pinnacle by force in 150 BRL.

  *Zafir Mukhtaar ascends in 130 BRL to become Zafir Lord Mukhtaar.

- Grindan, “The Crucible of Religar: On the Patterns of Nomadic Migrations” (10 CE)

Mujahid, if you’re going to include the writings of a pretentious tosser like Grindan, can you at least sort out the dates for the rest of us? I shouldn’t need a counting frame and two pints of stout to read a calendar.

- Nuuan

Brother, I will collapse the ancient dates into two categories: the Common Era (CE) and Before the Common era (BCE). Will this help your alcohol-addled brain to decipher the timeline? Be mindful that our birth date will change to 30 BCE on the new calendar.

- M

Several hours into their trip, the rain transformed from a gentle spray to a torrential downpour, making it feel as if the adda were dragging it through the mud, rather than pulling it. Aelron would have rather been inside, but a little water wouldn’t kill him.

And he needed to build some good will if he was going to get to the bottom of what happened to his father, Kagan Ardirian.

Who in the hells was this Nicolas Murray? How had his father died? What were the circumstances under which this usurper had taken the Obsidian Throne?

This wasn’t about envy over another man sitting upon a throne Aelron felt
he
deserved. No. Aelron could never be archmage. But he could still have children. And
they
might have magic.
They
would be the rightful heirs to the Obsidian Throne.

The coin had already told him what to do.

Kill him.

But Aelron wouldn’t do that just yet. The coin hadn’t told him
when
to kill the usurper, just that he needed to do it.

Aelron had a little time. Caspardis was at least another day’s ride away. It would give him the chance to figure out why Nicolas had seemed genuinely upset about the murdered Shandarian soldiers. What usurper to the Obsidian Throne would give a whit about a handful of Shandarian soldiers? And why would this new archmage—if he
had
stolen the throne—be concerned about the defense of Caspardis? It didn’t matter to the archmage who ruled which nation. The archmage held
true
power. The only power that mattered. He controlled the temples and bound kings and peasants alike in shackles made from fear.