I nodded slowly. “Right.”
Because it’s so easy being a Necromancer.
The Vicomte raised his left arm and summoned in power to him. Instantly, blue light poured through his body. All his bones lit up at once. The Vicomte groaned in pain as he struggled to control the flow. “Blasted magick.”
I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. Please. I spent years honing my craft, learning how to focus the flow of magick from a torrent of power into a pinprick of energy. How arrogant of the Vicomte to think he could master the craft without any practice.
And how typical.
I searched inside me for residual energy. I still had some magick left behind. It wasn’t enough for a major spell, yet with what I had planned for the Vicomte? A serious incantation wasn’t necessary.
All I wanted to do was give the Vicomte his ultimate wish. Keep that Necromancer power inside him.
Lifting my left arm, I sent out another puff of blue smoke. The haze sped across the room and wreathed around the Vicomte. The cloud around him was so light you might not even know it was there. But this was a holder spell. Although it appeared almost transparent, it could contain any kind of magick within itself. And holding that much uncontrolled power into the Vicomte? That would hurt like hell.
The Vicomte collapsed onto his knees, curling his arms over his stomach. His skin began to bubble with blue light. “Fire and… Bone…”
I moved to stand beside him. The Vicomte had started a fireball incantation. There were about a hundred things wrong with his casting, and he’d only said three words. With the holder spell on him, he wasn’t going to live long, and that suited me fine.
I sighed. Still, I had my rules. Always give the villain a way out.
“That’s my holder spell giving you pain,” I said. “Promise you’ll go into a dungeon cell quietly, I’ll consider releasing you from it.”
He spoke through gritted teeth. “Power… Of…”
“I’ll assume that means no.”
Some day, a villain might actually take me up on my offer.
The Vicomte’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Bitch.” The light in his bones grew brighter. His skin turned blue and began to peel away. The Vicomte screeched in pain and fell over onto his side. He didn’t stop his incantation, though. “Stone… Fulfill my… Need…”
With that much power inside him and no way to control it, he wouldn’t last long. “Do your best, Necromancer. I’m waiting.”
His next words came out as a hoarse whisper. “Kill… With… Speed.” The Vicomte slumped onto the floor, dead. I released my holder spell, leaned over, and checked the Vicomte’s pulse for good measure. The villain was gone, all right.
Good.
I pulled out the vortex watch from his arm and set it safely into my pocket. I couldn’t wait to get this thing into Petra’s hands.
Whimpers sounded from the corner of the room. I raced over to Ada and Veronique. They were huddled against the far wall. Veronique looked half dead, but Ada’s eyes were bright. “You killed him,” she said between sniffles. “Didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes.” I set my palm against her thin cheek. “Are you well?”
“Very well, now that you’re here. I knew you’d come.”
That made one of us.
“Are there any more of you?”
“Dozens. Only they’re in lots worse shape than Veronique and me. Will you take us home?” She lowered her voice. “I saw your spell go after Hannah and Jonas. You can do anything.”
“That last casting didn’t exactly go as planned. I need practice with the vortex watch or I could kill you as easily as save you.”
“So how will we get out of here?”
I thought of Rowan and the other Casters. “I’ll need some help for that. Can you wait here for a few minutes?”
“What if the Fantomes come back?”
“If they do, then I’ll take care of them.” I wanted to cast a dozen ward spells to protect this place. However, I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own, and I couldn’t risk using the vortex watch again. “I won’t be long.”
“I believe you, Elea. I’ll be here when you come back.”
My heart lightened. Dozens of Necromancers were imprisoned in these dungeons. I can still save some of my people. I gripped the vortex watch in my pocket. It was tempting to use the power inside in order to cast a transport spell, but that was precise magick. I could easily end up dead if I lost control.
No, if I needed to find Rowan, I’d have to do it the nonmagick way.
I turned toward the door and took off at a run.
A massive boom sounded. The floor rocked beneath my feet. “What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s coming from below us,” said Ada. “There’s some kind of secret chamber down there. The Fantomes talk about it all the time.”
Veronique fluttered her eyes half open. “No one knows… What’s in there.”
A pang of worry shot up my torso. I knew what lay beneath us. A secret room in the deepest cave of the dungeons?