Chapter III.XXIX (3.29) - Necro’s Meeting

  The next morning Kizu contacted Hone again via the crone’s scrying bowl. The necromancer had a message from the assassins. He relayed that the Death Party deeply apologized for frightening them and that their mind mage had simply been scouting out the area. They agreed to Kizu’s request to meet them in an inn at the nearby village. They also promised to keep said mind mage out of the town’s borders. Kizu wasn’t an idiot enough to trust them at their word, but still appreciated them acknowledging the threat.

  Ione, it turned out, wasn’t as difficult to leave behind as Kizu assumed. He expected her to renege on her promise last night, but she remained passed out facedown on the rug near the fireplace as he left. A presummoned dog-creature sat on the rug beside her, panting and wagging its two tails. It didn’t look very threatening, but Kizu figured it to be their summon courtesy of Ione.

  Anata was another matter. Thankfully, he had Taroe there to watch her and keep her safe. The Elite had to cast a sleep spell on her to keep her from chasing after them as they exited.

  People bustled around the village. A few gave their two-tailed dog odd looks, but most had seen them pass through the other day. Kizu spotted many familiar faces. He noticed a few unusual groupings of people and part of him was curious about how the village dynamics had shifted over the last few months, but he didn’t have time for that.

  “Ha. Funny,” Basil said, pointing at the weathered sign outside the inn.

  “Not really.”

  The only inn in the village was called Base Inn. A pun which lost its humor after a score of years. Locals referred to it as Base, so as not to confuse one another when speaking.

  Kizu pushed aside the fabric covering the entryway and entered the building. Basil and Ione’s summoned dog followed at his heels.

  As he traded his shoes for slippers, Kizu glanced up at the room’s corner. The point where the crone had set up her scrying spell. His normal vantage point when viewing the room. While the dining room looked the same as it always did, after so many hundreds of hours, seeing it from this new angle was discombobulating. Now, the corner was Taroe’s view as the Elite watched them from the hut.

  Basil tensed beside him and Kizu followed his friend’s gaze to the table at the far end of the room. A gaunt man watched them from beneath the hood of his black cloak. He sat cross-legged on the floor, a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup was on the table in front of him but they both looked untouched.

  “Hope for his sake that his outfit is enchanted,” Basil commented. “That looks warm.”

  Kizu checked with his spellsense and frowned. He supposed the cloak must be enchanted with something, but it was unlike any cooling enchantment on his academy uniform. And it looked slightly muted. Whatever it was enchanted for, it looked far more dangerous than just a simple spell to help with temperatures.

  Kizu resisted touching his concealment necklace and instead reinforced the antimagic barrier around himself. It still wasn’t as strong as his full strength, but it was stabler now after Anata gave her blood to him last night. Even still, he’d told Basil to bite down on the enchanted wood chip if he thought Kizu acting out of character or erratic.

  “Hello again,” the necromancer said as they sat down across from them.

  “You don’t look surprised to see me,” Kizu said.

  Basil wore a new body from when they encountered the necromancer back in the abandoned inn’s hotspring, but Kizu couldn’t alter his body without a spell or potion. He’d debated weaving an illusion over himself, but decided against it. The white haired witch had seen him yesterday. As well as in Roku’s shop. The Death Party members had likely already pieced together that he’d been the one in the ghost town.

  “No.” The necromancer attempted a smile, his skin stretching over his skull to reveal teeth. “I know who you are, Kaga Kizu. I know quite a bit about you.”

  Kizu remained silent.

  The waitress, a woman named Piaki, approached and asked if they wanted drinks. Basil ordered them green tea and a bowl of water for the dog.

  Piaki left. She wasn’t young, now well into her thirties, but she was married to the innkeeper, a man twenty years her senior. She was his second wife, his first dead under mysterious circumstances. Well, mysterious for the village. They thought a horse had somehow kicked her in the back of the neck. Kizu knew that the innkeeper had killed her after an argument about a miscarage. He’d watched the man crying over his dead wife a couple hours after he’d pushed her down the stairs. After he dragged her outside to the stables, he’d drunk enough to start puking. His daughter, Mitsuko, the girl from yesterday, had found the body the next day. Then he drank more. It had continued like that for a few weeks. The crone had found the entire situation to be peak comedy and forced Kizu into watching hours of the man drinking and moaning alone on the floorboards Kizu now sat on. Kizu had been eight years old.

  “If you want necromancy legalized, you’ve accomplished your goal,” Kizu said once Piaki left earshot. “The new Emperor is starting the legalization process now.”

  The necromancer’s forced smile turned to a snarl.

  “I don’t want anything from them.”

  “Then what do you want?” Basil asked, curious.

  “Do you know my group’s name?”

  “The Death Party?”

  “Good. That should tell you our motives.”

  Basil and Kizu shared a look, then returned their attention to the necromancer.

  “I’m sorry,” Basil said, sounding diplomatic. He stuck out a hand over the table. “I didn’t catch your name. I’m Basil.”

  “I go by Necro.” The necromancer took Basil’s hand. They shook and then Necro reached for Kizu.

  Kizu took the offered hand. It was clammy and he could feel the individual bones under Necro’s skin. It felt unnatural.

  “Bit on the nose for a name,” Basil commented. “Aren’t you worried about people suspecting you?”

  “No. I refuse to hide. And someday the name Necro will be known across the globe. People will whisper it in reverence and respect.”

  “Respect?” Kizu asked. “Or fear?”

  “They’re synonymous. Two sides of the same coin.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Kizu disagreed, but he wasn’t here to argue about philosophy.

  He recalled what Necro’s grandmother had called him. Ken. He supposed it was a pretty plain name in comparison to Necro.

  Piaki returned with their drinks and a bowl of boiled edamame beans. Like the food in front of him, Necro didn’t touch the new drink. Kizu and Basil both thanked Pitia and sipped their drinks.

  “How about some food?” she asked. “Anything sound scrumptious?”

  “What do you recommend?” Basil asked, flashing her his most charming smile.

  Piaki listed off different foods her husband could cook for them. He was in the back, hidden from sight, preparing food for them.

  “I know my companion is a big fan of sweets,” Basil said. “How about a few of those anko daifuku you mentioned? And did I hear you mention that you eat strips of that local mole monster? I’ll try that.”

  “Soup is fine,” Kizu said. “Same as his.” Kizu gestured at Necro’s food.

  “Excellent choice!” Piaki beamed. “We prepared the stock just this morning, it’s fresh.”

  Kizu nodded and returned his attention to Necro.

  But the waitress wasn’t finished speaking to them.

  “What brings a couple of academy students all the way out here to our town?” she asked. “We’re certainly not interesting enough to deserve attention.”

  “You sell yourself short,” Basil said, leaning forward and looking deep into her eyes. “All the sights here are…breathtaking.”

  Piaki blushed.

  “Everything I’ve laid my eyes on in this town has been gorgeous.”

  This time Piaki laughed and slapped his shoulder.

  “You flirt. Careful or I’ll sick Mitsuko on you.”

  “And who’s that?”

  “The girl we saw while leaving town yesterday,” Kizu said, wanting to speed up the conversation. “The one sunbathing.”

  “Oh? You know my step-daughter?” Piaki asked. “She certainly moves fast. I’m surprised I haven’t already heard about you speaking to her. Last night she was being teased about being ignored.”

  “Ah…yes.” Kizu hesitated. “I’ve just…heard of her is all.”

  “Sure, just heard of her.” Piaki winked before she walked off.

  Kizu sighed. At least the conversation was over. His fumble would cause a new wave of village gossip, but that didn’t really matter.

  “Why did you agree to meet with us?” Kizu asked Necro.

  “To extend an offer of friendship. Join us.”

  Basil popped an edamame bean into his mouth and set the shell on a small pile off to the side.

  “What do you want from us?” the changeling asked.

  “You both have information, for one thing.”

  “I don’t know of any secret passages into the Emperor’s palace, if that’s what you want,” Kizu said. “I admit we’re friends with Aoi, but she’s not sacrificing any secrets to us.”

  Necro’s face soured Aoi’s name. Kizu had figured it better to not lie about their relationship with the princess. Even a little digging would reveal that she invited them over to the palace for spring break.

  “Yes. Kotei Aoi.” Necro sucked in air through his teeth and released it. “That brings me to my offer. I will be willing to spare her. If you speak now.”

  “What information do you want?” Kizu asked. “We’re not master mages. I doubt we can teach you much.”

  “No. Nothing like that. I cannot say what I want from you, or I risk playing my hand. Not until you agree.”

  “How do you know we have whatever this mysterious information is?” Basil asked. “We could be entirely ignorant. I’m really not all that smart, honestly.”

  “You have it,” Necro said confidently. “And besides, you’re both capable fighters. I’ve seen that much. Having you by my side will make my plans far simpler. Join me. Witches and necromancers are powerful in our own rights, but we lack certain experience with other branches of spellcraft. You could cover a few of our blindspots and weaknesses.”

  Kizu considered the offer. If it was just him, he would refuse outright. But Basil was resistant to mind magic and Taroe watched them from the scrying spot in the inn’s corner. What if they used this opportunity to infiltrate?

  “I have much more to offer as well. Power, wealth. But I doubt that means much to either of you, Necro said. “More than anything else, I can offer you and your loved ones protection from the oncoming Calamity. My most valuable offer. I will allow you to talk it over in private. I will wait outside.”

  He stood and departed.

  “Think it would be ill manners if I ate that?” Basil asked, eyeing Necro’s bowls of cold food. “I didn’t get any breakfast this morning. Nothing in your hut looked edible.”

  Kizu shook his head in exasperation. There was plenty of great preserved food back in the hut, but before he could respond, their soup and sweets arrived.

  However, instead of Piaki, Mitsuko carried their dishes. Piaki had followed through on her threat to find the girl.

  “Hello,” Basil said. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her bare legs. Her skirt only reached mid-thigh, being modified and cut off. Kizu didn’t know if Basil’s eyes caught there because of the unusual clothing, because he wanted to memorize the thighs for himself later, or because they were simply gorgeous. Probably all three.

  “Hello,” Mitsuko replied.

  “I’m seeing someone right now, so unfortunately you’re out of luck with me. But I will say I love your hair. It contours your face perfectly. What sort of products do you use? Something local?”

  “Hm.” She ignored him, seemingly uninterested in making smalltalk with someone taken.

  The girl set down the food on their table then turned her attention to Kizu. A first. Kizu was used to always being overshadowed by Basil when out with the shapechanger.

  “Your name’s Kizu?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She sat down next to him, her leg pressed up against his. She rested an elbow on the table with her head in her palm, tilted to face him. She gazed into his eyes and a smile touched the corners of her lips. She had really nice lips. A soft pink that glistered slightly in the lantern light. Her front teeth had a tiny gap between them.

  This was incredibly forward, even for Mitsuko. Was she hoping to get something from him? This sort of attention would undoubtedly bring problems. The mayor’s son was never keen on sharing Mitsuko. While Kizu far from feared the bully’s retribution, he also thought that it sounded like a headache to deal with. He needed a way out of this.

  “You're a student?” she asked. “What do you study?”

  “Magic, mostly. Spells.”

  “Can you teach me a spell?” She examined the antimagic barrier Kizu still kept up. It was nearly transparent, but if someone got close they could see the design of leaves and vines. She reached out and taped it with a finger and then quickly withdrew her hand and cradled the finger while she looked down at it with awe.

  Kizu blinked. “Um. Maybe. I’m not that talented, honestly. What do you want to learn?”

  She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the empty inn, as if embarrassed to voice her wish. Then she leaned in close to whisper.

  Her lips met his.

  His body seized up. Then he leaned into the kiss. She gripped the back of his head and ran her fingers through his hair and he found his arms wrapped around her waist, embracing her. He felt her tongue flicker against his lips. She’d push into him, then pull away slightly, then push again. They kept at the rhythmic kiss for several minutes. Only breaking apart for brief moments to breathe. Kizu regretted every fraction of a second they weren’t connected.

  Finally, Mitsuko broke away from him. She held him off at arm’s reach, hands on his shoulders. A light danced in her eyes. She nodded her head in the direction of the stairs.

  Briefly, Kizu managed to tear his eyes off her and over to Basil. The shapeshifted grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up. Only then did Kizu process the fact he’d been kissing the girl in front of an audience. But, before embarrassment could take him, Mitsuko took his hand and led him away.

  His heart pounded as they ascended the stairs. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Excitement? Nerves? Fear? Wait, no, that last one didn’t make sense. No reason to be afraid. He bit his lip and tasted something familiar. They tasted of Mitsuko’s lips. But no. Something else. He recognized them. Ingredients. Hag’s root. And the acidy taste of something else. Blood? No, not human blood. Succubus blood maybe. Two key ingredients in…a love potion.

  Ten Blood Curse Academia chapters (5 weeks) ahead of Royal Road.