Chapter 3: Dining with Wolves

"Get it out! I don't want it in here!" a woman's voice screeched. It was harsh and painful to listen to as she continued screaming. She came at me, brandishing a large knife. I side-stepped out of her path, and veiled her in a blue cloak of magic. The cook froze instantly, the knife wavering above her head.
Cook was a slender woman about 5'4 in height; seven inches shorter than I. She had cropped black hair that was held back with a bright colored cloth. Her beauty was hawk-like and cold; fearsome in a way. She fit my expectations of a cook except for her slim frame. Perhaps Jonivin made up for her.
I turned to look at Letty and glared.
"Why did you lie? Obviously she had some reason not to want m e in her kitchen!" I hissed, slowly unfreezing Cook's head.
"Get out you wench of the Black God! Your touch will ruin us all! Especially my food!"
"There's nothing wrong with seeing a ghost. They are usually quite helpful!" I said, grinning.
"I don't like you," she started. "I-"
"She gets it Cook. But she's not like Necromancer Roald." Letty assured her. I blinked, confused. Letty had said the previous Necromancer had been kind to the servant folk. Spotting my confused expression, Leticia elaborated.
"Roald was the Necromancer three years ago, and Cook's husband. One day he overworked himself during an experiment and died. There was nobody to retrieve him from Death. Quite ironic." Cook spat at me, spittle landing barely a few inches away from my feet.
"Leticia! They're all the same! Bringing back the dead that should stay dead, working and living in cults, raging war against peaceful countries with armies of the undead, and worshipping the Black God, working at his bidding. Their kind is a disgrace to the human race!"
"Cook! Your husband was a Necromancer!" Letty cried.
"That doesn't mean I agreed with what he did." Cook glared at me. "You're the same as all of them."
"I'd stop if I were you." I said, reaching towards the sixth bell, Vivien. Her face was struck with horror, then a mixture of relief and anger.
"Send me to be with my husband? Go ahead! I don't mind. But I'm sure the Royal Family will when they find out that their new high Necromancer spirited away their best cook. So go ahead. I dare you!"
"Lose favor with the Royal Family already? I should think not Cook." I said, dropping my hand to my side.
"When I retire�" she muttered. "Unfreeze me now."
"Only if you put down the knife." Letty stated, eyeing the deadly knife with a suspicious expression on her face. Cook grumbled and dropped the knife into Letty's waiting hands. I unfroze the rest of Cook's body.

My brother sat in a chair, shielded by a veil of blue magic. He was frozen, never blinking, never moving. He'd been there for three days. It was a test for me; a test to see how fast I could release the spell after long periods of time. It took me seven minutes and thirty-six seconds. That was the fastest time known to Necromancers. To the rest of my kind, I was an enigma; I was different. I worked alone, and liked it. It didn't bother me. I liked different.

"Here." Cook said, pushing some bread and fruit in my direction. "The king will be calling for you soon, and you will need the energy." I threw a glance at Letty, who in turn shrugged and stirred a pot of beef stew.
"What just happened here Cook?" I asked, sitting on the counter. I bit into an apple, waiting for an answer.
"I'm going to have to learn to live with you. No doubt you will be seeing me outside of this kitchen a lot."
"Good, I hate having enemies that might kill me with large butchering knives." Cook glared at me, turning over a piece of meat as it rested on a grate over an open fire. Cook sprinkled seasoning on the meat,
"Thanks for the food Cook." Letty said, steering me out of the kitchen by the arm.
"Bye Cook!" I called mouth full of apple and sweet bread. I swallowed. "She is a strange woman."
"Her beliefs and values are a bit messed up. She went crazy after Roald died. She almost killed herself. We went without any good food for almost a year! It's good to have her back among the living, no matter how strange she may be. We all love her dearly."
I nodded with understanding. Letty ended up showing me around majority of the first floor of the castle before I was summoned to aid King Griffin. I thanked Letty and wandered away, finding my own way to the Hall. The King ushered me into the room where Lord Brennon sat.
"Do your work." He said with a brief smile. I nodded, pulling a piece of white chalk from my shoulder belt. I knelt on the floor and began drawing the pentagon around my body, each corner representing a different symbol of the Black god; the undead, the dead, the seven gates, the worshippers, and then the Black God himself. After finishing drawing the pentagon, I fell into a trance, and my spirit-self drifted into death. As usual, my mother's messenger waited for me.
I was not aware of a death here Amariya, he said. What is all this about?
"A test for the king of Kittick. A test so I can become the High Necromancer. I'm looking for Lord Brennon. He should be near the fifth gate."
Come on the. We must find him so you can have a job. He sighed. Do you even get paid?
"Yes. I will. Double the salary when I have to actually have to pull somebody from Death." I answered, trudging off into the first level. The land was marshy and cold, tendrils of dark wispy smoke drifting around my waist that left cold beads of moisture on my skin. The sky was always the same half-lit gray that haunted the level every time I entered. Although the first level was very cold, it was the warmest of all the seven levels. It was because of how far away the gate is compared to the line in which I cross to enter death.
The first gate was the easiest to find, it being said that the dead are too confused with the mind-shock to actually have to use their brain to find their way. The farther from the border, the harder it was to find. The gates also moved. Nobody was sure why, but there were theories, but none short enough to explain here.
Your father misses you, he said.
"It's been three days Lirien! Tell him to stop checking up on me, because I know he has. I can take care of myself." Lirien glanced at me, unsure about my statement. I spotted the first gate, a faint sparkle lingering around the ice cold water fall. As I stepped into the water, a shiver went up my spine. Lirien stepped in easily, accustomed to the cold of Death. We walked through the water fall and into the cave. I found the fur-lined mantle I'd hidden there previously on earlier trips. There was also a spare dress, and men's clothing, but I didn't change. I didn't want to waste time here in the cold and end up sick. I sucked in my breath and stepped through the gate, the familiar sucking feeling washing over my body as I was transported into the second level. I always forgot about how deceiving the appearance here was. The landscape was like walking through a field on a warm sunny day, except it wasn't warm. Dead corpses flitted among the trees, watching me with their glowing red eyes. Occasionally the idea struck them to accost me, but I quickly put them to sleep with Cadence, the ninth bell, and the second smallest of the ten. But they must have realized that this was important and so left Lirien and I alone. I squinted, the bright sunlight shining brightly into my eyes. Lirien was unaffected as usual and shrugged nonchalantly. As we walked through the field of flowers, Lirien told me about home and how my brother and father were getting along without me. They sounded like a sorry lot of men. I felt bad for leaving them, but I couldn't stay there and rot away for the rest of my life. Nobody could force me. Plus my father had encouraged me to leave and become whatever I wanted to be.
A woman's spirit approached me, her shimmering silver hair fluttering gently in the light breeze.
"Please help me! Send me back to my husband Lady of the Death!" she cried, her high soprano voice faint and pleading. "Please! My husband and children need me." She looked to be about twenty-two, four years older than I.
"I'm sorry-"
"You have to! I was murdered! Murdered by that creep that lives down the street from us. The cobbler that does fancy shoe work. He stuck a knife in me after I told him I wouldn't come into his bed." She sobbed, dropping to a kneel at my feet.
"Please. Please send me back so I can deal with this injustice."
"There is not much the king can do. You were brought back."
"But� still. I will deal with him."
"I will make sure to tell the king himself when I am finished here today." I said, reaching for Telemin, the bringer of life and peace. I undid the fastenings, picking the bell up by its smooth mahogany handle. I rung it once, then once again, ensuring that the woman was back in her body and entirely gone from this place. I heard the call of her voice as she vanished; it was thankful.

You didn't have to do that, Lirien said.
"I know."

I continued through the field, my pace quick. I searched for the purple haze that guarded the entrance to the third level. I hoped that Lord Brennon hadn't strayed too far.

Fifteen minutes later, I stood in front of the spirit of Lord Brennon. He was slowly drifting towards the next gate, but was still somewhat anchored to this level of Death. I reached for Trisyn, the first bell, the awakener. It was the largest and the deepest of sounds ever to be imagined. I rung the bell slowly, and Brennon's spirit instantly vanished.

I speedily traveled back to the cave where I'd begun and left Death, shivering as King Griffin looked at me.

"Amazing." he said in awe, watching as I loosened the ties on the fur mantle. I settled it on the table. "You are truly the best I have ever seen since Duchess Skitsavu was a necromancer here about thirty years ago. You are welcome to stay here as my High Necromancer for as long as you and I like." He smiled, a handsome face staring at her. I noticed that Prince Toran inherited his appearance from his father.

"Thank you Your Majesty, I greatly appreciate your welcoming words." I said, curtsying slightly. I knew that if he were to die, I would be the one to temporarily take over. That meant that I was right below him in status. Lord Brennon sat quietly throughout the exchange, shivering.

"Father!" called Toran, crashing into the room. "Dinner is about to be served. Everybody is waiting for you to come so they can hear the news about Lady Necromancer." This he said while grinning at me. I stared at him.

"Yes, alright. I will leave you now Lady Necro. I will see you at dinner." King Griffin dipped his head and left.

"Come Lady Necro. I'm taking you to dinner, remember?" Toran said, walking towards me. He slipped my arm onto his, and lead me out, while Lord Brennon ambled behind us.