30. Chapter Thirty #2
Raffe assures me she is before he disappears to keep his watch over the most precious creature in all existence.
The sun has risen, which means the shop should be open, so I turn to smoke and fly straight for the witch.
The door slams against the wall, and the small, attached bell clatters at my entrance.
The witch continues knitting and only offers me a small glance. “Did you break more mirrors?”
“No, the first one you showed me is haunting me. Break whatever curse it has placed upon me.”
“I can’t remove something that has never existed, beast. Your mind is all that’s cursed you.”
“How can I make it so she won’t die? I will even give her my immortality. How can I make it so she won’t die?” My eyes water once again, but the relief of tears still never comes. It’s a reminder of my lack of humanity and should be the greatest achievement according to my race.
“Life always ends, Lazzus. Sometimes quickly, and it always seems unfair. That is what it means to be human, and you miss the beauty in it. Ephemerality at its core creates the need to experience and live.”
I shake my head and shatter her counter with my fist. “No! Tell me how to save her. Tell me how to make it so I never see her in that casket.”
She purses her lips and waves her hand over the counter to restore it. “Quit breaking things if you wish me to help you at all.”
“Please.”
“There is no true way for you to give Evelia immortality. She will die as all humans do, and there is no capacity in her to handle that kind of power. Nor do you deserve for her to outlive you, so you don’t have to suffer.”
I raise my fist again but put it down at her glare. “Is there a way to prolong her life? Even a hundred extra years would give us something. The Prince of the West is a necromancer. Could he bring her back? I have a piece of his heart and could control him. Maybe I could siphon his power.”
“While you have a great capacity for power, you couldn’t simply siphon his power as yours. You could absorb it, but it would come out as just more power that you already have. It would magnify the skills already present for you.”
“Then I can use the piece of heart I have to control him to save her when she dies.”
She rubs her forehead for a moment before returning to her knitting. “You could perhaps control him for a short time with a small piece, but be careful, Lazzus, because necromancy is not as precise as you might think. There are always consequences.”
“Maybe we could partner, and my ability to morph energies would alter his power enough to change it.”
“That is possible, but what happens when it changes in ways you aren’t ready for? One mirror I gave you has a library because you mentioned Evelia likes to read occasionally.”
I narrow my eyes and turn my head. “That’s not something I ever told you.”
She looks to the side for a moment as though searching for a memory of what she claims. “You’re right.
You did not. It doesn’t matter because it’s still relevant.
There is a dragon in that library. An ancient one whom the gods turned to stone.
My suggestion is to consult him before attempting any risky partnerships that may make the dead walk in ways you can’t fully control. ”
I know which mirror is the ocean, but I have to try the others to locate the library.
It’s on my third attempt that I appear in a grand stone hallway.
The clear stars above a platform almost make me turn around because they remind me too much of the collective.
Books cover shelves in a circular pattern, and the shelves are in the shape of giant human statues.
In the center is a white stone dragon, and dust flies off him as he rises and opens his green eyes. “What are you in need of?”
“I need to know how to turn a mortal immortal.” I explain to him my predicament with Evelia.
“It’s not possible. It’s best to accept that.”
“Can I partner with the necromancer to use my ability to create to change that?”
He yawns and stretches his front legs. “Maybe, but your power is limited in this realm. You may need to gain more power, but the kind should be of this world instead.”
“Like from magical creatures. How do I absorb their power?”
“Don’t you already know? I’ve heard rumors you stole the heart of a prince to control him. Is that not true?” He plops back down and closes his eyes. “The weight of stone is exhausting.”
“It is true to an extent. I put most of it back but kept a portion to control him. That’s something I learned from one of my mages and have used a few times. I thought I could use it to control him into teaching me necromancy.”
“Necromancy is a skill one is born with. You have similar skills. You can bring life from nothing, but you can’t reanimate something that was once alive.”
“Yes, but necromancy always has consequences, as everyone is always reminding me. This is the point of the partnership. If the prince and I can join our gifts together, maybe I can spark longer life into a person.”
“That would most likely only create something entirely new. Best not to resurrect the dead.”
“But you think I might be able to do something more if I take the power of this world?”
“Yes, it may be possible but proceed with caution.”
“And taking the necromancer’s power won’t help me?”
He opens his eyes, and his shoulder blades rise and fall. “Who am I to know, but it most likely will just increase the power you already have and not be redirected as strong necromancy. His power would translate to stronger power for you, not different.”
“A partnership may be best.”
“Perhaps, but you may find both of you cursed for messing with the darkest magic."
Ideas form in my head, and I need to put more thought into how to execute them. I will myself to leave the mirror and take a walk to think everything over.
Basim stands outside my throne room and jogs over to me. “Your Majesty, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“I was occupied with a secret project.”
“Yes, that’s understandable, but you said to get you if we receive any correspondence from your wife.”
I freeze and remind myself not to kill Basim for his long explanations. “You have some?”
“Yes, this sealed envelope appears to be from the queen.”
I rip open the letter and struggle to pull out the note inside. “She asks me to come to her castle. Why wouldn’t she come home?”
“I’m unsure, sir.”
“Before I forget, do we have any prisoners who are strong in magic?”
“Yes, I believe we have several,” he says.
“Put them all in their own section. There’s something I need to work on when I return from seeing my wife.” I jump out the closest archway and fly toward Evelia’s castle. Twenty days have gone by since I last saw her, and I thought she’d returned to her father.