“They could be headed for the archive,” Halbert said, walking away.

Rian followed. He glanced at Halbert, but Halbert seemed to be looking straight ahead. Rian knew they would have to talk about this eventually. He still didn’t know how he felt about it all, and he needed to figure it out. Halbert seemed to know where he was going. They came across the big stone building soon, on an empty street of Chayer. Maybe everyone else had gone home, or to the inn for the night.

Halbert tried the door at the top of the two wide stone steps. The door wasn’t locked. Rian followed him inside the cold library. Candles sat in holders along the stone walls, not putting off enough light to banish the gloom inside. Rian didn’t see anyone there. It was entirely silent. He followed Halbert into the maze of shelves and books, to a desk at the center.

An old man sat behind the desk, snoring gently with his head slumped forward. His glasses were about to fall off the end of his nose. Behind the desk were rows of drawers. Halbert cleared his throat. Rian wondered briefly how that worked, seeing as Halbert didn’t have a throat to clear. The snoring man sat up, bumping his knees against the underside of the desk. He pushed his glasses up quickly.

“Is there anything here on the Bone Garden?” Halbert asked.

The man frowned at Halbert for a moment, then he got up and looked through the drawers, pulling out cards, frowning again, then putting them back. Eventually he came back, easing back into his chair.

“No.” The man’s voice was high and nasally. “We have nothing on the Bone Garden.”

“Has anyone else asked about it?” Halbert asked.

The man looked at a thick book lying open on the desk in front of him, then raised a brow. “A group of two came by just before my shift began and asked about the Bone Garden. A young man accompanying someone wearing a dark gray cloak.”

“Thank you,” Halbert said, then turned to go.

Rian followed. “What now?” he asked when they were back on the front steps.

“Now we go to the inn for the night,” Halbert said. “You will need to sleep eventually. We will leave for Haren in the morning, for the older archive in Noantha.”

The countries of Ivrua were in a circle around the sacred forest of Divius. There was one separate country, a small island out at sea, but it had been abandoned for a long time. Rian didn’t know why. He had never left Virida before now. The world suddenly felt much bigger and scarier. He and Halbert went back through the alleyways and streets, neither of them saying anything more.

The street with the inn wasn’t as quiet as the others. Warm candlelight spilled out through the windows. The door was open to the warm night, letting out the sounds of loud conversations and laughing. Someone was waiting outside, leaning against the wall of the inn. She moved away from the wall when she saw them. Rian tried not to tense when he saw the symbol of the Sancta on the woman’s cuirass. She wore tan clothes, like Frida had worn.

The woman’s long black hair was braided loosely. She stared at Rian and Halbert with light brown eyes. “I’m to join you, to keep an eye on things.”

“The Sancta sent you,” Halbert said.

The woman held out a hand. “They did. I’m Eiva.”

Halbert didn’t shake the hand.

Eiva sighed. “There’s no reason for animosity between us.”

“I figured you wouldn’t want to shake my hand,” Halbert said.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t,” Eiva said, but she didn’t offer again. “I’ve already gotten us a room. We should stay together. And first, we should get something to eat.” She frowned. “For the boy and I.”

What had the Sancta told Eiva when they sent her? Was she really there just to keep an eye on things? Rian doubted that. He and Halbert followed Eiva inside. The only empty table was near the door. Eiva got her and Rian food and water, the two of them eating in silence.

“Do you need to sleep in a graveyard or something?” Eiva asked Halbert. “I know little about undead. From what I was told, there aren’t many of you.”

“I don’t need burial ground tonight,” Halbert said. He said nothing more.

The three of them went upstairs to their one room. There was only one bed in the room, but it had extra blankets at the foot of it. Eiva insisted Rian take the bed, that they would trade off the next time they were at an inn. She looked at Halbert.

“I won’t be needing it,” Halbert said. “Just the two of you can trade off. Rian and I need to talk alone.” He seemed to stare at Eiva, the hood of his cloak keeping his face hidden as usual.

Eiva sighed. “I’ll go for a short walk.” She left the room.

Rian dreaded the conversation that was coming, even if it was necessary.

“You must choose,” Halbert said. “Fighting your fate will only make things worse, especially in front of a Sancta Knight. Frida and Dow are the only two who wouldn’t kill those like us, given the chance. They themselves don’t approve of necromancy either. They merely tolerate it.”

The door opened and Eiva came back in. “Sorry, too many drunks out there.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

Rian hesitated, then looked back at Halbert. “Why did you become a necromancer?”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Halbert said. “Perhaps later.” He glanced at Eiva briefly.

Rian didn’t want to talk with Eiva there either.

Eiva was staring at Halbert. “How long ago was that?”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Halbert said nothing.

Rian was no less afraid of what he must do, but Halbert was right. Knowing he was right didn’t make it any less terrifying. It didn’t make the dream that night any less of a nightmare, with the voices all around him and dead hands trying to get his attention.

“You cannot hide from your magic forever,” the voice said in his head.

“Who are you?” Rian thought, but there was no answer.

The other voices had gone, along with the musty smell of the cave. When he opened his eyes, the sun was rising. Rian was sweaty and didn’t feel the least bit rested. Rian, Halbert, and Eiva were soon out of Chayer, crossing more open green plains.

Eiva looked at the two of them. “The Sancta told me your names are Rian and Halbert.” The two nodded. She frowned slightly when she looked at Rian again. “You don’t look like a necromancer.”

“He has yet to call on his magic,” Halbert said.

Eiva sighed. “The Sancta told me he’s the Speaker of the Dead. I’m not sure what that entails, but I know he is needed to stop Norris and Arwel. That is the only reason the Sancta is aiding two necromancers, and aiding an innocent in becoming lost to the gods. Arwel and Norris have become something even other necromancers disapprove of and want to bring back some blasphemous being that claims to be a god.” She looked at Halbert. “Did I get it right?”

“Mostly,” Halbert said. “We’re not lost to the gods, merely to Mortua.”

Eiva nodded. “I’ve heard Mortua hates the undead with a fiery vengeance. I’ve only read about one other undead, who wasn’t fully undead. A priest of Mortua cut his head off, ripped out his heart, then burned him at the stake.”

Rian’s breath caught.

Eiva smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen to you.” The smile vanished. “Norris and Arwel must be stopped.”

If she didn’t think Norris and Arwel must be stopped, would she help the priests of Mortua kill Rian and Halbert?

“Are fully undead immortal?” Eiva asked.

“No,” Halbert said. “If our souls are destroyed, we’re gone. It’s different for necromancers like Arwel and Norris.”

“Destroying a soul would be difficult,” Eiva said. “The undead are basically immortal.” She frowned hard. “How can we stop Arwel and Norris?”

“They will be even harder to stop,” Halbert said, then proceeded to say nothing more.

Eventually they talked about the weather, how the sea had looked that day, and the strange shapes in the white fluffy clouds overhead. Only Eiva had seen the sea that morning.

“What was it like?” Rian asked.

Eiva smiled. “That’s right, you wouldn’t have seen it before. You grew up in Fen, a small village in Virida.”

“How much did the Sancta tell you?” Halbert asked.

Eiva didn’t look at either of them. “As much as they thought I would need to know.”

They reached a small village on the plains that night and stopped at the inn. Rian had run out of food and water in his bag. Eiva insisted on carrying the bag. She restocked it in the village before they went to the inn for the night. There was no bed in the inn room they shared, only blankets to spread on the floor.

Rian didn’t have the dream that night. He awoke with a strange certainty that the dead were waiting to see what he would do next. Rian and Eiva had a quick breakfast downstairs, while Halbert silently sat with them. The three of them continued across the plains. Norris and Arwel must have stayed on the plains when they came by, as no one in the village had seen them.

Around midday, Rian, Halbert, and Eiva entered the forest between Caerulis and Haren. It was eerily quiet in there, without the sound of birds the forest of Fen always had. It wasn’t long before it was clear they were lost. It was getting dark and they were still in the forest.

“We should have reached the plains of Haren by now,” Eiva said. “We were supposed to come across a village by night.”

“Do you have a map?” Rian asked. He’d heard the Sancta had maps.

“The Sancta didn’t send me with one, but I have studied them,” Eiva said, her voice tense. “We should be in Haren by now, and it’s colder there.”

It was warm in the forest.

“We should stop for the night,” Halbert said. He sounded weary. “Maybe it will be easier to figure out where we are in the daylight.”

“Do you sleep?” Eiva asked.

“No, but I need rest,” Halbert said.

“Burial ground…” Eiva muttered, looking uncomfortable.

Halbert nodded. “I sense the bones of animals nearby, but not enough for it to be a true burial ground.”

“Maybe there will be one near the village,” Rian said.

Halbert seemed to look at Rian. “Maybe. Do you sense the bones beneath us?”

Rian thought he felt something strange when he looked at the ground. “I think so. I’m not sure.”

“I’ll set up camp,” Eiva said, not looking at either of them. “It’s colder than it was on the plains.”

Rian didn’t think it was cold, but he knew Eiva wanted to distract herself. Necromancy was against everything she believed. Rian didn’t believe necromancy was evil. It could be used for bad things, like any magic. His parents had taught him that magic wasn’t evil or blasphemous, it all depended on the intentions of who was wielding it. He tried to hold on to that thought.

“Call on your magic to search for nearby dead,” Halbert said. “You can sense them on your own to an extent, but this is far more potent. You will sense animal or human bones, and any trapped souls, with more certainty and distance than you would without the magic. I’ve already seen there aren’t any trapped souls, but this is a good way for you to start using your magic.”

Rian tried to relax. He had to do this. If he was to have any hope of stopping Norris and Arwel, he had to use his magic. He reminded himself this magic had always been a part of him. He reached out to it, willing himself to sense any nearby dead. The feel of the animal bones in the ground became clearer, but then less clear.

“I can see your uncertainty,” Halbert said. “You must know what you intend, or it won’t work.”

Rian thought of Arwel. How could he help his brother if he couldn’t even do this? Rian felt the bones more clearly again. It was only animal bones, buried deep. They were probably very old. He felt no other bones, and no trapped souls. There was a light glowing from beneath Halbert’s cloak. Rian could see a knot of light where Halbert’s chest might be, could see Halbert’s magic keeping his soul bound to his bones.

He looked at Eiva, who had lit a small fire and was now watching Halbert and Rian with a frown. Her soul was a light within her too, but it was a living soul in a living body. Rian felt something slipping away and knew he was about to pay the price for what he’d just done. He held on, resisting, fearing what was about to happen to him. The feeling drifted away, replaced by a strange thirst, as though he hadn’t had any water in a long time. But it wasn’t water he wanted. His magic pulled back.

Eiva’s sword was at Rian’s throat before he could move. Eiva shoved him up against a tree, blade ready to cut off his head.