Necromancer Legacy - 24. Can't cheat death

All the people Liv had so meticulously brainwashed lost their will to fight at once. Without her, they were just terribly confused. The five werewolves backed away slowly, carefully. They looked mostly unharmed. Nick let out a breath.

Louis—their self-proclaimed referee—came closer, shouting about one thing or another being against the rules.

Nick caught a glimpse of Zelda across the battlefield; she was safe. She was among the ones that had been trapped in Shay’s circle of fire. The flames were completely gone now. And the rain had faded to a faint drizzle.

Riley and Shane were clearly exhausted and hurt but they looked like they would make it out in one piece. Nick started toward them—

And pulled up short when he realized Lucas was coming his way. And he didn’t look too pleased.

Well this wasn’t awkward.

“How could you do this?” Lucas’s Spanish accent was stronger than usual. His brown hair was matted by the rain. “No, seriously. How? You’re not…You couldn’t possibly—”

“We won,” Cyan called from a few feet away. He rustled his pale gold wings, sending water everywhere. “Deal with it. It’s over.” But Cyan sounded off. Nervous.

Standing so close to Lucas, Nick realized he should feel afraid. The wind was gone. But that smell of storm and electricity and fire still lingered in the air. It was almost too still. Nick wondered if everyone could hear his heart beating so damn fast. He was still holding his sword. He realized his palm was bleeding from holding it too tight. His stomach was still bleeding from that stab wound, too. But he couldn’t feel the pain, or the fear. He just felt too warm and too cold at the same time, like he had a fever.

Lucas grabbed his own head. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he shouted. “You have no right. No right.”

Louis stepped in then. “Lucas has a good point. This should be against the rules. This boy shouldn’t be in possession of a dark angel blade.”

Nick suddenly wished Louis would take his fancy suit and his French accent and vanish somewhere far away.

“That is not a dark angel blade,” Cyan informed quietly.

Lucas narrowed his eyes. They were brown eyes, but without any warmth in them. They were as cold as ice.

“How’d you do it?” he hissed. “Was it some kind of black magic? I don’t even care. I’ll kill you,” he said.

Nick heard a voice in his head then. Not the same voice as before. This one was softer, kinder. But also wary, and worried. Shay’s voice. Still in his fox form, he was using telepathy.

‘I’ve used up all of my energy. I can’t protect you.’

Nick was suddenly very aware that Lucas also had a sword in his hand.

The fear kicked in too late, like a car’s ignition finally revving the engine to life only to realize that the race was already over.

Nick thought he heard someone—was it Shane, or Cyan?—shouting his name. Nick started to raise his blade but Lucas was lightning fast. Whatever powers thrived inside Nick, they still weren’t good enough—not this time. Lucas’s sword plunged hilt-deep inside Nick’s chest, and Lucas grabbed Nick’s shoulder and stared him down. An eye for an eye, Lucas’s cold eyes seemed to say; Lucas was doing to him the same thing Nick had done to Liv.

And then there was only searing pain. So much of it that Nick didn’t think it was possible.

Again, Nick thought he heard someone shout his name. But it wasn’t Shane. And it wasn’t Cyan. The voice was hoarse and desperate. Like a raw, animalistic cry of pure agony.

Sasha. Sasha was shouting his name.

Then thunder roared one last time, very loudly, ringing in Nick’s ears almost like it came from within, and overpowering any other sound. And as Lucas pulled back his sword from Nick’s bleeding chest, lightning pierced the black sky and struck Nick. It ripped through him fiercely and shattered him, and the white-hot pain became too much to even feel.

Suddenly the world disappeared, and Nick felt like he stood on the edge of an abyss. And as he gazed down into blackness, the abyss seemed to gaze back into him.

Then he felt himself fall, and at last the pain was subsumed by oblivion.

***

Sasha gasped for air, sitting bolt upright. Liv was dead. Gone. Nick stood in front of her—or in front of where her body had been just a second ago—with his blade dripping blood. All around, people were coming to their senses. Sasha clutched his chest, feeling his racing heart. He felt as though he’d just woken up from some horrible nightmare, only to find out the nightmare was all too real. Some of his powers had come back when Nick had stabbed Liv, and it was the only thing keeping him from passing out.

But now he wanted the rest back. Sasha latched onto Devin, pressing both hands to his chest. He absorbed it back—all of it. Devin’s black eyes stared up at Sasha but he didn’t even try to stop him. He seemed a lot less confident when his wild-haired necromancer BFF wasn’t around.

Sasha felt a surge of energy as the powers came back to their rightful owner. It pulsed through him and already he felt so much better. He could see clearly. His skin was starting to heal. He was still tired, but somehow he felt more awake. Awake in a dream.

He just wanted to go find Nick and get out of here. Liv was dead; it was over.

Taking back his powers only took a few seconds. They just leaped out of Devin and filled a void inside Sasha, like they’d been waiting for him this whole time.

Sasha pulled away from Devin completely and looked up. His heart sank as he realized what was happening. It wasn’t over at all. They weren’t safe; Nick wasn’t safe.

He heard Shay’s telepathic message.

‘I’ve used up all of my energy. I can’t protect you.’

The fox spirit was addressing Nick, but Sasha heard it anyway.

Before he could even begin to move, he watched, helpless, as Nick got stabbed—again. Oh, Sasha had witnessed the whole thing with Liv earlier. It had been torture. Like a nightmarish out of body experience. He’d had no control over his own body. Now he did have control, but he’d still let Nick get hurt.

Sasha heard someone shout Nick’s name before realizing it was his own voice.

He sprung to his feet. But then there was the thunder, loud and ominous, making the murky air tremble. And the lightning. Sasha almost fell to the ground again as his heart missed a beat. The lightning stroke Nick. It made Sasha feel wrenched, deep inside, to see him in so much pain.

Sasha launched at Lucas, attacking him from behind. Sasha didn’t even think. There was no time to think. His body just moved; Nick had collapsed, he was bleeding and he was possibly dead, and Sasha saw red.

He caught Lucas by surprise. Sasha tackled him and grabbed a handful of wet brown hair. He yanked it back and then knocked Lucas’s face on the ground. Lucas tried to twist himself away, but Sasha, shouting something that didn’t make much sense, punched his face, hard. Sasha just kept hitting his face until it was bleeding. Drops of water fell in the mess and Sasha realized they were his own tears.

“Enough,” a voice said behind him. That Louis guy.

Sasha stopped. He removed himself from Lucas, his knuckles bloody and shaking. The blackish fog that had shrouded the battlefield earlier seemed to be clearing up completely now. Sasha’s whole body was trembling really badly. Lucas was pushing himself up on his elbows, his face bruising up. He wasn’t passed out but he didn’t look too strong, either.

“That’s enough,” Louis was saying with soothing hand gestures, “this fight is pointless. Well, this was educational, I suppose…”

Sasha wasn’t really paying attention. He rushed to Nick’s side. Cyan was already there, rolling him over, frowning.

“I can’t feel his heart,” Cyan said, looking up at Sasha, who sat down and pressed his hands to Nick’s wound.

So much blood. Okay, he needed to focus. He could do this. He started to feel that warmth in his hands, and that familiar tingle in his fingertips. Sasha couldn’t look at Nick’s face. Otherwise he would just freak out. He couldn’t do that right now. Not if there was the slightest chance that he could save him.

After being deprived of his powers for so long, the heat filling him now was almost too much. Sasha was still so inexperienced with this.

He heard Shay’s voice again. Addressed to someone else.

‘What are you waiting for? We need you now.’

Who was Shay trying to speak to?

Meanwhile, Louis was helping Lucas to his feet. “This fight is a draw. No, it’s cancelled. This is outrageous…”

Sasha ignored him. He focused on that warmth spreading all across his body. He used it to keep Nick alive—or he tried to, anyway. He hadn’t had much practice, but he would be damned if he didn’t try his hardest. A pale golden glow radiated from Sasha’s palms, like the warm light surrounding a candle’s flame, pulsing softly with every beat of Sasha’s heart.

“Is it working?” Cyan whispered, like he was too curious but really didn’t want to bother him.

Sasha frowned. He didn’t know. But his powers were supposed to be at full capacity. And he could feel them rushing through his veins, muscles, nerves. He just wasn’t sure how to use it all.

“I think his skin’s healing,” Cyan said, tugging at Nick’s burnt clothing.

This helped Sasha feel more confident. Come on. He could do this.

A new person arrived at the battlefield then, striding past the wolves, and past Riley and Shane, who were both coming to loom over Cyan’s shoulder.

Sasha didn’t want to look up from Nick. He felt like if he lost focus even for just a second he might lose him. But Cyan was right. Nick’s skin was healing.

Come on, Nick. How many times must I help you cheat death? I thought you were the necromancer.

“Old friend,” the newcomer said. Raven’s voice; Sasha remembered from the party in the tower. He recognized the deep, calm timbre. The controlled, careful tone.

Sasha understood Raven was addressing Shay.

Though he had no idea how those two knew each other. How old were they really? How many dimensions had they lived in? What secrets from the past were they keeping buried?

Sasha kept his warm, glowing hands on Nick’s chest, but he listened.

“I thought my mind was playing tricks,” Raven said to the fox spirit, “but here you are. It’s been a long time.”

‘You’re late.’ Shay replied telepathically.

Louis didn’t seem too impressed with all this. He just kept on rambling about the same useless things over and over; no wonder he was into politics.

“In the future, these fights will be more strictly regulated,” Louis said, “as I’m sure you’ll agree, Raven. For today, the fight is cancelled.”

“I don’t agree at all,” Raven replied calmly.

From the corner of his eye, Sasha glimpsed Raven’s black and silver boots and the pointed tips of his navy wings. Sasha’s mind recalled something his mother had transcribed in her journal: ‘Higher demons are said to be infinitely powerful. But they scarcely use their powers. They hold the knowledge of millennia past, and rather than power, they seek more knowledge still.’

Raven went on: “The victory belongs to Cyan. Lucas’s necromancer is dead.”

Louis seemed confused. “So is Cyan’s.”

“No,” Raven said, “he isn’t.”