Shin pressed one hand to the ground and pointed the other toward the cave. His eyes glowed and instead of seeing the other side of the bank he was looking at himself and Isaac from the canyon. Digging his hand into the ground a small circle formed and then he flicked his wrist forward. The ground shifted and suddenly he was on the other side of the bank.
The teleportation was easy enough. The disorientation of teleporting wasn’t as bad as when he first taught himself. Looking across to the cave he narrowed his eyes looking for the guard. To try and force a reaction, he let magic form in his hand, a flash of light that illuminated part of the canyon.
“What the hell was that?” That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Holding his hand open he made another flash of light, brighter, and then put himself close against the wall waiting.
It took a minute but several crunching footsteps echoed in the cave and it proved Isaac’s theory correct. These bandits weren’t as incompetent as he thought. Creating another ball of light, he kept it close and then lobbed it over head and watched it arc so that it would land on the other side of the cave.
It worked because the man jumped stumbling backwards. Making his move Shin darted forward and wrapped an arm around his throat and slid a knife straight into his ribs. Driving it into his side and dragging him backwards slowly. The man struggled for a moment but the hand that covered his throat flashed and a blade of light poked out the back of his throat.
Laying him down he pressed a hand over his chest flat and pumped the necromantic energy into him. The bandit jerked against bank, spasming as the magic coursed through him like a parasite filling every vein with. Replacing every facet of what made him a person with his own will.
Stepping back his new zombie stood up. Shaking out his hand, soaked in viscera from the bandit’s former throat he motioned across the river to Isaac to come over. The soldier made his way over, jumping over the river and stumbling to the point of almost falling flat on his face.
Shaking his head Isaac stumbled his way over to them. He looked at the zombie but it didn’t even look at him. “What next?”
Shin motioned toward the zombie and then pointed at Isaac. “It’s going to take you in as a prisoner and you’re going to find your people. Figure out what we’re working with. If you can try and take them out quietly we can all walk out no problem. If there’s an issue with that figure out the best position to take them out and send the zombie in. It’ll cause a distraction and you’ll free your team. I’ll come in with magic and we’ll fight our way out.”
“How will you know what’s going on?”
Shin brushed the hood back and tapped his silver eye. “This will let me see through the eyes of my zombies. I’ll see through its eyes and figure out what the next play is going to be.”
“So it’s not just a blind eye.”
“It’s never been blind. I can see through it fine.”
Isaac nodded and Shin walked over to the zombie. Shin glanced at them and then spoke to the zombie, “Lead him in. Put him with the other prisoners. Don’t talk.”
The zombie nodded slowly and walked toward Isaac. Isaac started walking but Shin stopped him. “Take this,” he said holding a badly cleaned knife into his hands. “You’re going to have some bonds to break after all. And maybe some throats to slit.”
“You really are a ray of sunshine,” Isaac mumbled hiding it in his boot. Going toward the zombie he started walking and it followed behind as they entered the cave. It was curved slightly and as the pair of them made that curve Isaac saw the situation at hand.
A small fire with its embers smoldering. Around the fire were four other bandits, three of them head down and asleep. Another was nodding off. Against the wall were a trio of men wearing the same white and silver armor that Isaac had worn. Their faces were beaten and hair matted. Isaac’s face fell and he felt rage in his heart but he kept himself under control.
The zombie shoved him forward before going toward a stump near the fire and sat down. Isaac walked forward slowly and then sat down beside the others and held his arms behind his back as if they were tied there.
Glancing at the others he nudged one slowly. He grunted and turned grumbling under his breath but saw his face and eyes widened. One of his eyes was swollen closed and had dirty blonde hair a mix from his brunette mother and dirt. “Isaac?” he hissed under his breath. “You’re alive!”
“Yes, I am Johnathan. Not like I was. I arrived at the rendezvous point late and saw what the bandits had done. I had to find you all.”
“Well, you look like you’ve gotten captured yourself,” another voice said gravely from on the other side. “So, a lot good that’s done.”
“Thanks for that one Karl,” Isaac said and chuckled. “But I have a plan.”
Grunting he moved his hands down and freed the knife from his boot. Once he had a solid grip on it he glanced toward Johnathan and nudged his shoulder as he slipped the knife into his hand. Making eye contact with him, he nodded and slowly started working with his bonds.
While they worked on freeing themselves Isaac looked around. The other three bandits hadn’t woken up and the fourth one had fallen asleep entirely at this point. There was no light coming in from the outside so the night was still long. So, he looked toward the zombie and it sat still staring aimlessly forward.
If they were quiet they could take them down. Three had no way of reacting in time and the fourth was definitely going to be too groggy to react in time. Their ace in the hole was now a zombie under their control so this should be relatively simple. The walk back would be difficult and explaining away Shin wouldn’t be easy but it was their best bet.
“Where’s the captain?”
“The captain was killed by them. Tried to defend the town,” Nate the third man said bitterly and glared at the bandits. “Tried to defend them and well. Here we are.”
Isaac’s head sunk and stared at the ground and shook his head. “He was always a man who acted on his ideals. This time it got him killed. Let’s make sure the rest of us don’t end up that way. Some of us can get home.”
Johnathan nodded with a grunt as he passed the knife down. “What’s your plan for this?”
Isaac pointed ahead. “See that one?” he asked pointing toward the bandit. “That’s on our side.”
“How’d you manage to turn one of them?” Karl asking shaking his head.
“I didn’t. Long story short I have a friend on the outside who’s helping us. I can explain better once we’re out.”
“Here you are turning up from beyond the grave. I’ll throw you a bone this time.”
“I appreciate that,” Isaac said and glanced over his shoulder. “What about you Karl?”
The man grunted. “Get me to a bar back in the Sanctum and I’ll personally campaign for you to become a bishop.”
Isaac chuckled under his breath. “High praise. Alright on my signal we’re going to start moving.” Moving his arms in front of himself he stood up slowly and kept his head down. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that the others were standing up slightly and arms in front ready to move.
The zombie looked at him for a moment and Isaac shook his head quickly. So the zombie lowered its head again as they moved. Isaac slunk forward and moved behind the zombie as he watched the other three get forward. Johnathan made it forward first crossing past the zombie and into the tunnel. Karl went next almost stumbling but kept his footing.
Nate though was wobbling. Looking closer he saw that he was bleeding from the side. He tried to take a step forward but fell over and stumbled into one of the sleeping bandits. The sleeping bandit jumped to his feet and the three on the ground stumbled forward as they got to their feet.
“The prisoners are trying to escape!” one of them shouted and Isaac heard swords scraping out of their sheathes.
“Go!” Isaac shouted as he rushed back in to grab Nate. Throwing his arm out he caught the sword in his hand and grunted at the sensation. “Shin! You’re up!”
The zombie grunted and shambled forward throwing itself at one of the bandits. It shocked the hell out of them to be getting attacked by one of their own. The zombie threw haphazard punches that were more like it grabbing for the face and throat of the bandit. That distracted the closer one enough that Isaac jerked his arm forward and shoved him into the fire.
He shouted as the flames started to engulf him hungrily. The heat felt like the sun scorching Isaac’s arm and he jumped backwards. He remembered when his palms burned from the prayer and he wasn’t eager to return to that. Wrapping his arm around the Nate’s side he lifted him up and they limped out toward the entrance.
“I don’t know who you are but you’re not stealing this payday from me!” a bandit shouted chasing after them. He wanted to turn and fight them off but his arms were full and Shin’s zombie was busy dealing with two others.
He heard the bandit coming and shouted ahead, “Karl! Johnathan! Grab him!” Tossing Nate forward he had time to watch him sail forward a few feet and then turned around quickly. The sword sank into his arm again and this time he felt it. Shocked by the sudden pain he looked at the sword and then the bandit.
Yanking the blade back the bandit swung aiming at his head this time. He stood up trying to step back and the sword slashed across his chest. Cutting the fabric of his shirt for a moment the pain was so intense that he’d pass out. He stumbled backwards falling down to his knee gasping.
Isaac shut his eyes but rather than wait for the finishing blow to come he clapped his hands together and began to pray. Ignoring the memory of the pain he would feel and instead thought of his comrades and the only weapon he had left to defend them.
Almost instantly his hands ignited with white fire and he shouted but reached out grabbing the man’s arm. The flames leaped from his hand to the mans and he screeched stumbling backwards. The man’s pain cut his ears like a knife but he steeled himself and grit through the pain of his palms. The flames leaped out covering the others in the cave turning it into an almost pyre.
The caves brightness hurt to even remotely look at and he looked away sharply. Sprinting out of the cave he jumped to the river and shoved his hands into it. The water bubbled and steamed into his face but the burning pain subsided slowly. Letting out a breath he looked over his shoulder to see his comrades and Shin watching him and observing one another warily.
“Remind your comrades that I’m on your side,” he said keeping his voice even but the annoyance snuck in there.
“This your friend?” Johnathan asked holding Nate with his arm over his shoulders. Karl had the other limb. Shin was staring at them both with a single glowing eye and then looked toward Isaac.
“Yeah he’s the one who helped me get me here,” Taking a slow breath Isaac pulled his hands from the water and stared at his severely blackened hands. He could still move them slowly but it wasn’t as easy. Grunting as he closed his hands into fist he finally winced and uncurled them.
Standing up entirely he walked back over to the cave along with his friends. Nate was on the ground now and Shin was working on him. For a moment Isaac thought he was going to do the same procedure he did to him but when he looked closely he noticed the makeshift bandage from his shirt.
“So we managed to get out in one piece thanks to you,” Johnathan said and forced a smile. “Thought we were dead or worse.”
“For that I’m glad,” gripping his shoulder Isaac smiled but frowned. “Is that really all that’s left of us?”
“Sadly,” Karl walked past and folded his arms. “We underestimated them and paid for it.”
“These people have no love for the Norians either. This isn’t the true main land. Just the fringes of the territory. These people pay their taxes and try to avoid trouble with the locals.” Isaac said and frowned. “They’re good people at their core. Not that different from the farmers in the Sanctum.”
“No, they’re not,” Jonathan agreed. “We’ll share this information with the Sanctum. Perhaps a more sizable force can be sent. Something that would not just be able to survive an ambush but also able to start a foothold. These people are quicker to join our cause than they are to help their empire.”
“You’d think so but be careful. These people can have a loyalty at times. And it’ll make them more dangerous than any Norian force you’ve faced before,” Shin said speaking for the first time since bandaging Nate.
Standing slowly Shin looked at each of them slowly and Karl spoke, “You’ve got a Norian accent. This your home I take it.”
“If by that do you mean am I Norian then the answer is yes.”
“You speak as if you are a stranger to your own lands,” Karl said almost mockingly.
Shin stared at him with an arched eyebrow. “Do you mean to say you know of all the land within the Sanctum? The lands outside of your capitals and cities? The monasteries in the north or the islands off your coast?”
Karl thought for a long moment then glanced away toward Jonathan and Isaac who shrugged their shoulders. Karl glared but nodded. “I can’t say that I have.” He said finally.
“Noria is more than the empire. There are places here of beauty and of power that have nothing to do with the strength of the crown. That is what I claim as home. And those places are not places that the Sanctum would leave alone. You’d destroy them as an affront to your father.”
Isaac held his hand up for peace, as Johnathan glanced at Karl and then looked at Shin. “We are grateful for your help stranger. Both for helping us and our friend here. We will report back what we’ve seen here but we will also take into consideration what you’ve said. All of Noria isn’t our enemy. Just the empire.”
“Not everyone is so sensible,” Shin stood and walked away toward the river, watching the current.
“What died in his asshole?” Karl finally asked.
Isaac finally chuckled and shook his head. “A plethora of things possibly. But he’s not a bad person. Though I don’t think he’s a good person either.”
“If only the world could be black and white like in scripture,” Johnathan said softly. “But tell me Isaac. How is it you live? We were sure we were the only survivors.”
“I was dead,” Isaac glanced down at the ground remembering the cold feeling of the soil around him and the inability to speak or move. Only feel his fleeting consciousness fade away and into nothingness. Shuddering he glanced at his comrades and put a smile on his face.
“He brought me back to life,” he looked at Shin and then shook his head. “Since then I’ve come back as something not quite human anymore.” He looked at his hands charred black and though it felt somewhat stiff the pain was starting to fade away.
“Is that why you were able to block swords with your arms and shrug it off?” Johnathan asked.
“Or the reason that your hands were on fire just now?” Karl commented.
“Yes. For all intents and purposes, I’m a monster,” Isaac took a step backwards. “I can’t even pray to our Father without adverse effects. Our Father rejects what I am. I want to go home to find Hector but I fear that I wouldn’t be able to enter the country or worse that he would reject what I’ve become.”
Silence hung over them for a second and the water of the river sloshed away. The soft chirping of birds and laughter or hissing of the creatures. The fire in the cave still crackled but it was finally slowing down and leaving the glow behind. Looking at each of his comrades Isaac pointed back east.
“The town should be safe now. Just go back, find a few horses and head home.”
Karl asked, “You’re not going to join us?”
“What do you mean?” Isaac asked.
“You may be changed into whatever this form is but look at this. You came out here to save us. Rescue us from our fate. We can go home because of you.” Johnathan said and smiled. “I’m sure our Father would be able to see past this form. We’ll defend you.”
Isaac was at a loss for words and took a step back s. He looked down and raised a hand to his eyes shaking his head. He felt his eyes sting but no tears would come. Regardless he hid his face from them, a small smile on his face. “Thank you. If at all possible. I’d like to journey with you.”
“No.”
All three of them turned to Shin who stared at them. “What do you mean no?” Johnathan asked.
“I mean that after this last foray Isaac has damaged himself. He’s not a human anymore. His body can take damage that no one else can and that’s a boon. But there’s a limit. Especially after having attempted to pray twice now. He needs to be healed. Properly.”
“What does that mean?” Karl asked suspiciously.
“It means I need to start a ritual to heal him. I don’t know how long it’ll take to do that. I turned him into this and I understand the theories and magic of this transformation.”
Frowning Isaac nodded. “I had a feeling that doing that would cause me more harm than but it was the first thing I thought of.”
“Yes, well you have some new rules to play by. So you’re going to have to wait before you can even attempt the trip.”
Swallowing Isaac nodded. “I understand.” Turning to look toward the pair of men. “You three are going to get home before me. Shin can they borrow our horses?”
“Sure. They’ll last until tomorrow at midnight and at this rate we’re not going to be using them.”
“You rode horses here?” Johnathan asked looking around for some sight of them.
“Not traditional horses. They may look intimidating but they’re harmless,” Isaac smiled and as if on cue the zombie horses came from the path that they had been left. They didn’t swish their tails or flip their heads. They were just still.
Both men stared at the undead creatures with skepticism and Isaac laughed. “Trust me. They’re safe.”
Both horses walked over to Shin and he touched their heads, looking them over back and forth. He pointed to each of the soldiers his mouth moving and his eye glowed along with the horse’s eyes before nodding. The horses walked over to them slowly their feet clopping against the shore.
Karl left them to pick up Nate and carried him to the first horse sitting him up right against the undead beast’s neck. Johnathan looked at the horses and then at Isaac. “Are you like that or something else?”
“Something else. But as you said, I’m still myself in here.”
Johnathan reached out and squeezed his shoulder, Isaac doing the same back to him and both nodded their heads. “See you on the other side brother.”
“May our Father watch over you. Both of you.”
Karl saluted as Johnathan made his way over to one of the horses. Swinging his leg over the creature’s body he got somewhat comfortable and adjusted to it. He got the gist of it and looked back and forth of the canyon before Isaac pointed across the river.
“Follow that path up top. And it’s all east from there.”
Nodding one final time both of them took off across the river into the small hole in the wall that they had come from. Isaac watched them go until he couldn’t watch any longer. Sighing heavily, he looked down and touched his shirt remembering the cut across his chest. His hands being hurt were initially the thing that had caught his attention the most but this was also something that confused him.
Touching his chest lightly where he expected to feel skin he felt something harder. Shin walked over to him and tore open his shirt quickly. Isaac was a little stunned but then he saw something that really shocked him. Deeply embedded into his chest was a crystal.
It was six sided and almost shoved into the skin with veins running into his skin from the rock. It glowed a soft purple, its own light flowing into his body. The thing that caught his attention the most though was that there was a crack in the crystal. Or rather a scratch that follow directly on the path that the sword had made on him.
“What is that Shin?” he said fighting the panic in his voice.
Shin crouched slightly and touched the scar and then the crystal. Isaac flinched, the touch sending a jolt of energy through him. “That is your core Isaac. And through your reckless actions it’s been damaged.”
“What is a core?”
“It’s a modified version of what most mages called a phylactery. A way to seal one’s soul into a separate object and the body as a host. Your mind remains but your body is replaceable. That is the idea of traditional lichdom. You are different.”
Standing up he stepped away and looked around at the various caves nearby. Ignoring the cave they’d initially come out of he walked toward one of the others. It wasn’t deep enough for his liking so he moved to another but it ended up being too narrow. He could barely get hallway through it.
Finally, after going two more caves down he found a decent one. It went straight back but it was high and wide enough to give them enough space to maneuver and for him to draw as he needed. Leaving the cave, he found Isaac just outside apparently having followed behind him.
He motioned into the cave. “Inside. We’ve got a lot of work to do before morning. And for both our sakes we better be done by the time that sun is up.”
Nodding he walked into the cave slowly. The darkness of it was a little suffocating but he didn’t let it get too bad for him. Fighting the tingling in the back of his neck he tried to steady himself by breathing but regretted it as he felt the burning in his throat again.
“Shin?”
“Yes Isaac.”
“Why does it burn when I breathe?”
Shin was holding his hands in the air, drawing signs on the air and then whipping his hand toward the walls. Seconds afterward the walls began to glow a feint purple illuminating the cave slightly. After the fifth one the glow was enough to illuminate the floor entirely.
“Because you don’t need to breathe anymore. Your body process everything through that crystal now.”
“What about eating? Or drinking?”
“Things you don’t need to do. Though the result won’t be as negative. You can still enjoy pleasures of the flesh. You just do not need them.”
Isaac looked down at his chest, staring at the crystal and frowned. Slowly reaching up he touched it and gasped at the sensation. It was a feeling far more sensitive than anything he’d ever felt before. It was like touching his heart but it wasn’t painful. Letting his hand drop he glanced back at Shin.
“You mentioned that traditionally a lich had a phylactery that they stored their souls in. I take it this thing isn’t the same thing.”
“No, it is not,” Shin said turning to face him with the glow of the of the runes. “The crystal is my design. Your soul is bound to that and your body. The same immortal body but no worrying about an object you cannot see. When in contact with you it has ways of protecting itself on top of being durable. There are some fail safes that I am working on designing with it. You are a prototype to these ideas.”
Isaac blinked at that and glanced at the crystal. “Not so durable if a random bandit sword was able to do this.”
“That sword wasn’t random. The only thing that can damage that crystal is either silver or a magically blessed weapon by something divine. And I’m doubting those bandits were all that devout.”
“I feel like this should have come with a manual,” Isaac mumbled under his breath.
“When I get this down to an exact science I’ll send one out to you.”
Shin produced his shovel and dragged the blade of it against the ground and the edge glowed. When he finished drawing a circle around Isaac’s feet he laid the shovel against the ground and clasped his hands together. Mumbling spells under his breath, Isaac could feel the crystal in his chest humming to life.
In fact, all the times he felt the energy charging through his veins he finally realized that it had been the crystal charging with the magic that kept him alive. Holding a hand over his chest he tried to remain still, acutely aware of not breathing and the fact that he didn’t have to do it anymore.
“You know you’re not like most Norians I’ve dealt with.”
“How many have you dealt with that weren’t trying to kill you on the spot?”
Isaac shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “That’s a fair statement but it’s more than that. You remind me of Hector. He was always asking why rather than accepting things for the way they were. Or going creating his own ideals and sticking to them. The consequences be damned.”
Shin stopped the spell and grabbed the shovel. “On your knees. It makes this easier,” he said and Isaac did as he was told going to his knees and dropping his hands to his lap. “You’re going to go to sleep. Hibernate essentially while your crystal heals itself. Because I’m here and the damage isn’t as bad as it could have been.”
Already feeling drowsy he glanced at him and nodded, “See you on the other side.”
Isaac laughed until Shin jabbed his crystal with the butt of the shovel. All at once his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went still. The crystal glowed bright enough to fill the cave. Shin crouched and stared at it and ever so slightly he could see the edges of it starting to close.
“Heal quickly Isaac. We’ve got a journey ahead of us,” he mumbled and went toward the mouth of the cave, sat down and started watch.
The Harlequin Library 