Necromancer For Hire- Arc 1

Arc 1, Chapter 26

The Mercenaries

Umbra stood before Aunora and Esper, arms crossed and mentally assembling his story. Aunora gazed at him boredly, touching the place where a large purple bruise had once been. While he was gone, Esper seemed to have had a healing session, restoring both his and Aunora's wounds. Umbra was thankful of this, as it meant that no blood would stain his couch.

"After that naga shot you, you died." Umbra began, trying to milk as much drama as possible with such a brief genesis.

Aunora snorted. "Really? I wasn't sure. Come on, Umbra; tell me why I'm even here now."

Umbra growled, frustrated with her abrupt sarcasm. "I was getting to that," he hissed. "Anyway, Esper was desperate, so Victor and I had to do something." Beside Aunora, Esper laughed nervously, cheeks flushing.

"Victor preformed something called a 'zombie' spell on you. It brought you back to life...but at a cost."

Aunora's face went from smug to horrified and she threw her hands up in the air. "You've got to be freaking kidding me! What's the cost, can I not go into the sunlight? Will I want to eat people or something?"

Propping his hands on his hips, Umbra shook his head. "No, no, of course not! If there had been that severe of a drawback, I wouldn't had let Victor even do the spell."

"What's the cost, then? Stop being dramatic and just tell me!"

Umbra frowned, aggravated at having his method of theatrics questioned. "Check your wrists and stomach; you should have some runes engraved there. Or, as you called it earlier, 'ink.' You're bound by Victor to magic. You're his zombie now."

Aunora hastily examined her new markings, summarizing her observations with a blunt "huh." She thought for several seconds, looking from the stomach to Umbra, and then her wrists to the staircase.

"So, like, Victor brought me back to life, but I'm technically his servant now? That's what a zombie is, right?" Aunora murmured, finally breaking the silence.

"To make a long story short, yes." Umbra replied.

Aunora blew a lock of her hair out of her eyes, smirking. "Well, I guess there can be worse people to be magically stuck to. Your little squirt's kinda weird, but he seems pretty chill at heart."

"It's not that bad, being bound to him." Umbra laughed dryly, fingers drifting to his lower back. "I would know."

Aunora glared. "Dude, don't be vague. It doesn't make you look cool or anything. You just look dumb."

Esper suddenly turned his head towards Umbra, finally speaking. "You're a fae, correct? And possibly Victor's familiar?"

Umbra paused. "Yes, I am. How...how did you know?"

Esper smiled, toying with the fabric on his sweater. "I can sense other being's body heat. The fae have a slightly cooler temperature than humans do. I just guessed the familiar part from context, however. You're a little too strong not to have any prior training, and, of course, that comment you just made helped a lot."

Aunora relaxed back against the couch, smirking. "A pintsized necromancer and his familiar, huh? You guys are the strangest mercenaries I've ever seen."

"Mercenaries? No, no, we're not mercenaries. Victor and I are just your average suburbanites, helping out a person in need." Umbra hastily said, holding up his hands.

"Dude, now you're really being dumb. I saw you back there, chopping up those snake guys like there was no tomorrow. You fought for me, presumably for a reward. Umbra, you're a hired gun-or sword in your case- and therefore a mercenary in the eyes of the law."

Umbra's eyes widened with disbelief. "Wait...no! That's not what I meant it to look like!" He carefully massaged the bridge of his nose, muttering. "This isn't good, not good at all; I can't be a mercenary..."

Aunora pulled herself from the couch, laying a hand on Umbra's shoulder. "Bro, calm down. It's not like mercenaries are illegal or whatever. I mean, this could be pretty cool. I've always thought about becoming a one." Aunora frowned. "But you probably wanna go and register yourself ASAP. The cops don't like it when people run around and do undocumented 'merc work."

Umbra crossed his arms, looking torn. "I guess you're right, I'm already trained in combat as a familiar... But I'm not sure that's the example I want to set for Victor. It doesn't feel ethical."

"This is just me, but if my dad was a mercenary, I would think he's the coolest dad in the world." Aunora murmured, a sly smile on her face. "And, by the way, mercenary work is a great source of income."

"That is something to consider... But, speaking of income, where is my reward for helping you? Isn't that part of a mercenary deal? Money for shed blood?" Umbra said, giving Aunora a withering stare.

Aunora laughed nervously, taking a step back from Umbra. "Oh, about that... Well, you see, Esper and I don't really have any money... I was planning to pay whoever helped me by lending my fighting skills to them. That's why I was trying to convince you to become a mercenary- I thought if you did, Esper and I could just join you."

Umbra raised his eyebrows, using his standard fatherly 'uh huh, please continue' gaze on Aunora. It worked like a charm, as Aunora shrunk away like a chastised child. However, she quickly found her moxie, and stomped back up to Umbra.

"If you do decide to be a mercenary, Esper and I will be quite valuable to you. We'll form a team- you're the weapons guy, I'm the muscle, and Esper's the medic. We'll be great!" Behind her, Esper gave Umbra a thumbs-up.

"What about Victor?" Umbra asked, still skeptical.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I was thinking Victor could sell his necromancy talents- a necromancer for hire of sorts. Necromancy is a pretty nifty thing- not that many people have access to crap like that."

Umbra sighed, scratching his chin. He drifted his eyes towards the clock on the oven, swiftly checking the time. "It's three in the morning," Umbra muttered. "We'll talk about all of this in the morning- I'm tired and I need to take a shower."

Aunora frowned. "Where's Esper and I gonna sleep? We don't exactly have anywhere to go..."

Umbra pointed upstairs. "There's extra bedroom at the end of the hall. It only has one bed, hopefully you won't mind."

Esper shook his head, standing up and leaning on Aunora's shoulder. For a split second, his body glowed, and his form shifted. A greenish-gray serpent dropped around Aunora's neck, touching his head on her face.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Aunora said confidently, patting the now serpentine nature spirit. Esper hissed in agreement, flicking his thin tongue. Waving, Aunora sprinted up the staircase, leaving Umbra alone in his kitchen.

Once the girl and spirit were out of earshot, Umbra groaned, reclining against the countertop and rubbing his face. He felt drained, the events of the day having diminished his usual suave disposition.

Mercenary? Can I really do this? He thought frantically, anxiety churning in the pit of his stomach. I'm already considered a mercenary in the eyes of the law...And if the police discover I was doing undocumented mercenary work, I could be arrested! I don't have much of a choice- I might as well team up with Esper and Aunora and have a little fun.

Umbra blew a lock of navy-blue hair out of his eyes. He felt dirty, sweaty, and uncomfortable. I'm too exhausted to think about all of this right now. I'll sort out this entire mess in the morning.

Author's Note- Aaaand on that note, this arc is finished! There are probably some things that don't make sense right now, but don't worry, it will be explained throughout the rest of the story. I hope you enjoyed this installment of Necromancer For Hire- I certainly enjoyed writing it! If you liked it, please continue to vote and comment, and please tell your friends! Feedback is what keeps me inspired to write! And, heck, if you really liked my writing style, feel free to press that follow button (it doesn't cost anything!) Thanks for sticking with me this long- I love you guys!