Necromancer For Hire- Arc 1

Arc 1, Chapter 18

The Communing

"He's ready," Umbra called, swallowing down a rising sense of anxiety. A lot of things were riding on this moment- if Victor failed the séance, the nagas would be enraged, possibly resulting in them being imprisoned again, or, as a worst case scenario, killed. With all these worries fresh on Umbra's mind, he found it hard to keep his voice steady.

Damien slithered towards Victor, arms behind his back. He stopped inches short of the drawn circle, regarding the young boy with a warm smile.

"Hello, Victor," the naga said.

Victor stared up at him, blinking. Umbra almost intervened, but the boy held up a hand to stop him.

Keeping his eyes on Damien, Victor reached into the bag, drawing out a sheet of notebook paper and a pen. He quickly scribbled onto the sheet, using his spell book to bare down on. Once he was satisfied, he held up the paper, pointing at it.

Umbra twisted his neck around, attempting to see what Victor was trying to communicate to Damien.

Scribbled in Victor's sloppy handwriting were the words: "Hi :) Before I start the seance I need to know what the elders name is because I have to specificelly call his spirit to me."

Damien nodded in understanding, slightly skeptical at the use of a smiley face in Victor's message.

"I see, necromancer. Our dear elder's name was Mossia, of the Kalkali tribe. That should be enough to locate him from the afterlife, correct?" Damien murmured.

Victor smiled nervously, scribbling onto his notebook paper again. "Yeah I think. My book doesn't really specifey how much infermation I need. Please can you and my dad stand back because I think it may be kinda dangerous because of the energy I have to put through the runes okay?"

Umbra mentally reminded himself to teach Victor about the horrors of run-on sentences and grammatical errors, but Damien seemed to clearly comprehend his request.

Damien moved several feet away from the boy and his circle, rubbing his wrists and looking visibly excited.

Umbra kneeled down beside Victor, squeezing his shoulders gently.

"You don't look as nervous as before," Umbra whispered.

Victor giggled uncomfortably. "Yeah... I still feel really panicky, but I know I have to do this. For Aunora, and for us. I guess that's what's helping me, besides you encouraging me, of course." Victor swallowed and ducked his head in, ushering him closer. "Do you have the rest of the plan thought out?"

Umbra sighed, biting his lip. "Aunora and I are going to run for Esper at the climax of the séance, when all the guards are distracted. Since Esper's aware of us, he should make the whole endeavor a bit easier."

"What do I need to do?"

"Well, the nagas will most likely be distracted once we go for Esper, so that should give you an opportunity to run to us. Don't worry, Victor- I will make sure you're safe. You are my priority, remember?" Umbra smiled, making Victor giggle. "That's what familiars are for."

"And dads!" Victor added, wrapping his arms around Umbra and burying his head in his chest.

Umbra kissed Victor softly on the forehead, cupping his cheeks in his palms. "Of course. Now, you get out there and blow those nagas away with your powers."

With a final wave, Umbra returned to where Aunora stood, flanked by armed guards. Victor's blood pulsed in his ears as he watched the two adults discuss what he assumed was Umbra's plan.

Victor started murmuring the spell under his breath, the unearthly words rolling off his tongue with a wicked flair. The spoken language of magic sounded harsh, unlike any mundane dialect.

As he spoke the incantation, simmering blue energy surged through the circle and star design, casting an ethereal glow upon Victor's skin, making him look like much more than a mere child.

Victor's eyes illuminated as he spat out the final lines of the spell, as he was fully emerged in the theatrics of performing a séance. The five sealing runes were powered with magic, and a translucent dome was erected around the boy.

"Mossia, elder of the Kalkali tribe, I command that you return to me from the afterlife!" Victor cried, finally speaking in coherent English. His high pitched, prepubescent voice screeched with authority, and the cadaverous boy look almost fearsome in the occult light that shone around him.

Nagas gasped and pointed as a spectral being flickered into existence before Victor. The ghostly image was clearly a naga, an older male one, with stringy hair and bones around his neck.

"Sir!" Damien shouted, breaking away from the cluster of serpent people to fall before the elder.

"D-Damien?!" the naga exclaimed, staring at him in shock. "What is going on?"

Damien pointed to Victor, who seemed to be in some sort of trance. "That boy is a necromancer...he summoned you. We need to know who to proclaim as our next leader!"

As the two nagas engaged in a foreign conversational that Victor couldn't even wish to understand, the boy let his eyes wander to his father and Aunora. Aunora's eyes were narrowed and her fists were clenched, while Umbra's left hand was held out to his side, ready for his weapon to form in it. It was obvious that they were ready to strike.

Esper stood several yards away, nervously rubbing his palms with his thumb. His guards were distracted, too enamored with the appearance of their elder to predict the oncoming danger.

Victor's heart pounded with a rush of smothering joviality, causing his fingers to tremble across the crisp pages of his spell book. I did it, he thought, staring up at the ghost with wide eyes, I really did it.

"Esper! I'm coming for you!" Aunora's voice cut through Victor's new-found sense of confidence with the ferocity of a booming thunder clap, and suddenly everything become very real.

Author's Note- The climax has begun. Anyway, I have edited the previous story chapters, so if you get a rush of old updates, they're the same, just with spelling errors and some corrected word usage. Please vote and comment!