The Melaki Chronicle Read online

  “Can you heal it?” Neret said.

  Tila looked scared.

  He placed a hand on her other knee. “Do not worry. I just need to rest a moment.” He waved a hand and extinguished the light in the sconce and the flame under the kettle. He got up and poured everyone coffee. “The coffee is old, but drinkable. We found it in the cellar.”

  “Her knee?” Neret took the offered cup.

  “In a moment. I am not very good at healing and it drains me to do so. But I can heal that.”

  “Is not healing the easiest for a wizard?”

  How much could he know? Was he wasting power keeping up the oily pattern? Could one untrained in magic tell the difference? Could they even feel magic? He had no answers. “Not this wizard.”

  Neret frowned. “I would not have her knee healed improperly. Perhaps we should wait for your partner? We passed him on the road earlier.”

  “I said I can heal it. It just takes more out of me. Besides, Talin will not be back for another twelve days or so.”

  “She--”

  “Would not last that long.” Melaki frowned. He knelt once again and straightened her leg, gently. Placing his hands on the wounded leg, he formed his healing pattern. He chased the malignancy down, killing it as he went. Satisfied he had destroyed it, he cleansed the infection and stimulated the wounded flesh.

  She gasped in pain.

  Neret strode forward. “I do not think--”

  Melaki ignored them. He finished by mending the gash and sealing the skin. He released her leg. Sitting back, he grabbed the coffee cup and downed it.

  Tila was flexing her leg, a look of wonder on her face.

  “Are you hurt?” Neret said.

  He and Talin could be brothers.

  “No, husband, I am fine.” She showed him the healed area.

  “Hmm, well. Maybe we shall have it looked at later.”

  Admitting any kind of weakness was out of the question with men like these. Did they have some deep-seated fear of failure? Of being weak themselves? Fear of others finding out? He had no doubt at all that once he admitted his weakness in healing that Neret was filled with doubt and fear.

  Melaki caught his breath and steadied himself. He felt drained. But he formed the summoning pattern in his mind and cast the magic out from him, sweeping outward. He closed his eyes, sensing the flow of the summons, like a ripple spreading out from a rock dropped into a pond.

  He grunted.

  There were four responses at the limit of his range.

  “Are you ill?” Neret said.

  He opened his eyes. “No, just tired. I have sent for your horses.”

  He started to say something, doubt as plain as the eyebrows on his face.

  “Be at ease, Neret. Four have responded.”

  “Four?”

  “Be warned that they might be very wary of you. With all the undead around, life for them might have been difficult.”

  “The poor animals,” Tila said.

  “One strange one comes with the other three. We shall see. I might like to claim one for myself.”

  “Of course,” Neret said as if he would have done so himself. “Strange?”

  “Breed, I think. I sense a determination not usual for a horse. A plow horse, perhaps. I do not know.”

  Neret brushed at his leathers. It reminded Melaki of Talin.

  Tila leaned forward. “You would give us three?”

  He glanced at her. “The summoning is for you. They will come to me but I am doing this for you. With four responding, I might like one more for myself.”

  “Three for us?”

  “Perhaps all four.”

  Her eyes softened. “You are too generous.”

  “Nonsense.”

  “Why would you do this?”

  “Why should I not?” he said. “I am lucky to be in the First Charter. Sharing my fortune is the least I can do.”

  “That is a strange sentiment,” she said.

  She was right, for an Altanlean.

  Neret raised an eyebrow. “Indeed it is. One might wonder what advantage you were--”

  He sat upright. “Why must everything be about greed?”

  Silence answered him.

  “I do nothing for some advantage. I do what is expedient.”

  “For yourself?” Neret said.

  “Husband...” Tila sounded embarrassed.

  “I do what is expedient.” He frowned at Neret.

  “My wife will not be cooking meals for you--”

  “I did not heal her expecting it.” Melaki's voice was a growl.

  The man appeared confused. “I would have assumed--”

  “I am not Altanlean.”

  Silence again descended over the room.

  Had he really just insulted his two guests? He rose. “Come with me. I need to locate a cachement. Your horses will come to me.”

  They followed him out while he fumed in silence. They watched him saddle his horse without comment.

  Tila, the woman, bounced on her legs, testing the healed injury. Her smile was bright and refreshing.

  “Follow if you will, or wait here,” he said. “Once your horses arrive I will accompany you to your stake. I can provide light for you while you inspect your village and I rather like having company.”

  Neret opened his mouth.

  Melaki interrupted him. “I expect no payment.”

  Neret's mouth snapped shut.

  He could be Talin's twin. Disgusting. Predictable in the extreme.

  His horse nudged him. He petted her neck and nose.

  “Your horse seems so friendly,” Tila said.

  “I treat her well.”

  Silence again dominated the atmosphere.

  He mounted and rode out at a walk.

  Neret strode along beside him and Tila behind him. “So it is true about the cachements?” he said.

  “True? They exist. Summoned undead of any power are bound here by necromantic gems. Without them, they would cease. Maintaining their presence here would require all they have for even just a few minutes. By being bound to the gems, they are anchored here, but are also vulnerable. Destroy the gems, destroy the demon.”

  “Demons? All of them?”

  “Yes. The skeletons and zombies you might see are controlled by more powerful creatures or necromancers. Since the necromancers should all be dead, all that is left are demons.”

  “So there are no gems for skeletons?” Neret sounded disappointed.

  “No. They are simplistic, base and without intelligence. They are puppets and nothing more.”

  Visions of melting wealth drained from Neret's face.

  “Only the powerful – only those that can control skeletons or raise zombies – will have gems. Caches of artifacts of summoning.” He pulled one of the purple gems from his pouch. “Such as this.”

  A feverish greed lit Neret's eyes and his hand rested on his sword.

  Did the fool think he could take what was mine? “Think, Neret, before you do something you will not live to regret.”

  His hand came off his sword and smoothed over his hair. “Oh, I was just considering the effort and reward of defeating--”

  “It is rewarding to defeat such an evil.” He put the gem back in his pouch. “The effort is always different. Some are easy. Others hard.”

  “Do you think such would be in our village?” Neret sounded hopeful, but Melaki detected a quaver in his voice.

  “Many. Maybe I should let you forge a glorious path of destruction and victory--”

  “We could use your light, though.”

  He chuckled inwardly. Just like Talin.

  The first animal summoned approached.

  What?

  “What is that?” Neret said.

  It looked like a horse. Sort of. Its ears were longer.

  “A donkey?” he said.

  The animal stopped and laid back its ears. It brayed. An accusatory tone was laced into the sound.

  Neret laughed.
“We have no use for an animal so stupid.”

  Tila looked troubled.

  Another animal approached at a trot, mane flowing and head tossing. A fine horse. But its eyes were big, searching.

  Melaki regarded the donkey. It stood there, ears back, feet splayed and refusing to move. He motioned for it to come to him. It did not move.

  “I do not think we want a donkey,” Neret said.

  Melaki sighed. He walked to the beast and inspected it. On one flank was an infected claw-slash, oozing pus and blood. He sighed again.

  Tila the horse nickered.

  The donkey gave a short bray.

  He placed his hands near the wound and concentrated. Infected, but not malignant. Probably just a scratch from a skeleton or zombie. He applied healing to the wound and stepped back.

  The donkey's ears twitched and it bobbed its head. It moved sideways and looked at Melaki.

  “You could thank me, you ugly beast,” he said.

  The donkey brayed, loud, and bared its teeth.

  “Do you always talk to stupid animals?” Neret said.

  He approached the donkey and patted its neck. Then he scratched behind the ears.

  The beast straightened from its splayed-leg position and nudged him.

  Melaki pointed to the fine horse that had come running. “Take that one. You will need a rope or I will hold the summoning until we get back to the stable.”

  The donkey followed beside him until they got to Tila. His horse bared her teeth. The donkey did the same.

  “Behave, you two.”

  Tila the woman giggled.

  “The other two horses should be a few minutes. Let us find that cachement and be done with it.”

  He mounted Tila and the donkey followed alongside. Both beasts kept eyeing each other and showing teeth. Melaki slapped his forehead and took a deep breath.

  Birds stalked through the remains of the thing they had destroyed the previous day. They would start to peck, but then stop. They were eating nothing, finding nothing edible, but drawn by the carrion smell.

  Melaki pointed. “There's a graveyard there and most likely where we will find its gems.”

  Neret looked down at the mess. His eyes were wondering, wide and appreciative. “Might there be more?”

  “I have not seen them operate as anything but single entities.”

  The graveyard was another jumble of headstones and crypts. The village beyond was on the outskirts of Kellerran. He felt he would be passing this spot later, frequently. Talin would make sure of it. He cast out his senses and felt nothing close. Something fluttered at the edges, making him feel ill. But nothing here in the graveyard. He pointed to an open crypt-gate. “There, I am sure.”

  Dismounted, he led them inside, his blue magic-light flaring bright.

  Neret and Tila both stared open-mouthed at the ease of his entry. No fumbling for oil and no fumbling to light the lantern. He just walked in and produced perfect light.

  He peered into a stone coffin with a missing lid. It was filled with bones. “Here we are.”

  Neret stepped back as Melaki tossed out bones.

  He pulled up a small box and cracked the lid. Four gems sat in velvet. Two baubles were also laid inside. He wondered about how many gems might mean something in relation to the thing's power. This box had less of the other stuff and more gems compared to the other boxes he had seen so far.

  Who knows. This demon magic is sick.

  “This is a fantastic find,” said Neret.

  He closed the box and placed it in his satchel. “This? Nah. Small, really. I am sure we shall find better in your village.”

  “I hope so.” But Neret's face was unsure.

  Tila looked worried.

  “Oh, I'm sure you are manly enough to handle anything there.” He felt guilty for poking the man's ego, but he felt vindictive at the moment. “Shall we return to Soam's Crossing and then proceed to your stake?”

  Outside, Tila and the donkey were nipping at each other. Back and forth.

  “Stop it, you two.” He patted the horse's neck and whispered to it. Then he stepped over to the donkey and scratched behind its ears. The donkey poked its head around Melaki to look at Tila. Its lips quivered, showing teeth. Tila snorted behind him.

  He patted the donkey's neck. “If I release you will you stay?”

  Its ears twitched back and forth and it nudged his chest.

  Melaki released the summoning on it. It tossed its head, but stood still.

  Tila the woman came up and stood beside him. She reached out to pet the donkey. It gave her a baleful look and she decided not to touch it.

  What will I name... He looked. Her? Neret? He chuckled.

  “Are you done fawning over your animals?” Neret said. He was shifting from foot to foot.

  Melaki glanced and then waved to the crypt. “If you need to relieve yourself, I'm sure the dead will not mind.”

  Tila reached out and petted the donkey. Its ears went flat and it rolled its eyes to look at her.

  “Be easy,” he said to the animal. “Be easy.” He smoothed its neck. He leaned to an ear and whispered, “I shall name you Sala.” An ear twitched. He continued to whisper to it.

  Tila the woman said, “You sure calmed her down fast.”

  “Care and affection go both ways. You can not command affection. It must be earned.”

  She looked at him with haunted eyes, pleading.

  You must face your own difficulties, woman. Your marriage is none of my concern. “Let us go.”

  Sala followed.

  * * *

  Melaki rode beside Neret. Tila rode behind, leading their third horse. She had been exceedingly thankful for his summoning and the three horses provided. They did not mind that he kept the donkey.

  Tila the horse kept looking back and swishing her tail at the donkey' nose. Sala would try to bite the tail.

  “There is our stake,” Neret pointed. “Those buildings, I believe.”

  Tolam's Ford was smaller than Soam's Crossing. It was also more dilapidated. But a few of the structures were solid stone and looked very sturdy.

  Melaki sent his senses out. Three pockets of evil resided here. Soam's Crossing had only held one. “Three entities are here. There might be skeletons and zombies, too.”

  “Entities?” Neret said. His hand gripped his sword.

  “Demons or other summoned or controlling beings. I am not sure. I can feel them, not see them. We should find shelter for the horses and gear, then eliminate whichever threat is closest.”

  “I was about to say that.” Neret rode ahead, searching for a sheltered place. He pointed to a hut with an intact door. “We could rope the door shut. The jamb is kicked in.”

  “Good eye, Neret.” He slid from his horse and looked inside. It was clear. But the closest evil was coming, lurking, moving closer. “We must be fast.”

  Tila and Neret herded their horses in.

  He scooted his horse in and turned to Sala. She laid her ears back and splayed her legs.

  The evil was very near.

  “Sala, there is no time for play. Get inside.” He pointed.

  They heard the rustle of bones.

  Sala heard it too and her ears waggled this way and that. Finally she moved into the doorway. Melaki landed a slap on her rump and the donkey brayed in indignation.

  “Tila, rope the door. I am about to be very busy.” He turned to see a shamble of skeletons moving around a building and towards them. Neret was rushing to the front, both swords out. He looked like he knew what to do with them. But Melaki was not interested in the skeletons. They would be controlled. It was the controller he was looking for.

  Neret was chopping down skeletons. “Are you going to help?”

  He ignored him and sent his sense out, probing. Yes, right there. A white head was poking around the building. He formed a fast pattern and sent it, hoping to be fast enough to surprise the thing. He did. The head exploded and the skeletons collapsed.
r />   Neret raised a sword. “That was easy.” His voice held a tinge of disbelief and relief.

  “Not all are so. The others will be more wary.”

  “You said the skeletons do not have cachements?”

  “Not the skeletons, no. But that thing I blew apart does.” He pointed.

  “Let us find it, then.” Excitement radiated from the man.

  “You do not want to secure a place for yourselves first?”

  “That can wait. We can look while we find the gems.”

  He shrugged.

  Tila looked up at him, her eyes searching.

  “They were close to begin with,” he said, “and came from around that building. That building or the others right behind it. Skeletons do not move all that fast.” Melaki rounded the building and looked along the street. Three dwellings lined the opposite side of the street and the building. All the doors were open. “Let us search this building first, then move across to the homes.”

  They entered the building - some kind of warehouse. Crates were cracked open, empty. Melaki's blue light lit everything. They swept the building and found nothing. Descending to the cellar, Melaki took the lead. Shelves, a few small crates and broken glass were the only things there.

  Back out on the street, they entered the first house.

  “This was it,” Melaki said.

  “How can you tell?” said Neret doubtfully.

  “I can feel the stink of the thing clinging to my skin. Upstairs.”

  “Not the cellar?”

  “Not this time.”

  The two rooms upstairs were splattered with old blood and bits of bone. Possibly the timeframe of the Altanlean conquest. Melaki kicked open a chest lid. Bones filled it. “In here.”

  Neret shouldered him aside, his eyes aglow. He dug into the bones, pulling them out and flinging them across the room. Big bones. Small bones. The former family of the home. He pulled up a box, his hands shaking. He popped open the lid and gasped in wonder. Two pulsing gems lay amidst a jumble of trinkets.

  Melaki frowned. Perhaps the gems needed a nest of jewelry.