Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [74]
“There are many levels of necromancy, ranging from weak to strong. At the weak end, the end you are probably at, you are more of an antenna. You draw whatever spirit or ghost is around toward you, but you have no real control. The next level up has that as well as the ability to broadcast. Essentially, you can communicate with various smaller entities as well as summon. After that, things become interesting.”
He reached into a box and threw a rag at me. “Not big enough,” he said. “Do it again.”
I wiped away most of the circle and started over. Brid came to the edge of the cage to watch.
“A necromancer with sufficient power and proper training can act as an ambassador between this world and the next. He can summon larger creatures, read living human souls, and potentially influence them. He can raise the dead.” Douglas examined my circle and nodded grudgingly. “Passable.”
“You mean like that panda?” I stood up and stretched. I stepped outside my circle and examined it. Not bad. My kindergarten teacher would have been so proud.
“Yes,” he said, “like the panda. However, depending on your needs, you can bring it to varying stages of reanimation.”
“Like the difference between the zombies in the Thriller video and the ones in Resident Evil?”
Douglas considered this. “Yes and no. The Thriller example isn’t bad, given your limited realm of experience, but the other end of the spectrum is much more lifelike. Ling Tsu looked like the rest of the pandas, did he not?”
“I guess.”
“What are the differences, then, between Ling Tsu and the creatures in Resident Evil?”
“He didn’t look like he was covered in barbecue sauce?” Douglas casually backhanded me. He hadn’t even looked in my direction. The effect on my bruised face was phenomenal. I cradled my jaw with one hand and tried again. “Differences, right. Well, he wasn’t trying to escape the enclosure and eat everyone; I guess that is a difference. And I didn’t see any hanging flesh or blood. You know, evidence of his un dead state. Of course, that might have to do with the way he died.”
Douglas nodded as if he hadn’t reached out and backhanded me a second ago. “Better. Yes. Although Ling Tsu has the ability to function and make decisions on his own, I control his primary will. That is one of the main skills you need to cultivate as a necromancer. Each time you raise or summon something, you are betting that your will is stronger than its own. If yours isn’t, at best it will go back from whence it came; at worst, it will tear you into bite-sized pieces. Depending on the creature, naturally.”
He took a small case out of the box and opened it slowly. “Incidentally, even if Ling Tsu had suffered from external wounds, I could have smoothed them out.” He pulled what appeared to be a small silver dagger out of the case. “That’s what one is able to do with both talent and education.” He put a small stress on the last word, somehow making it threatening.
It was everything I could do to not take a few steps back. I wondered if I could run past Douglas, dodge his knife, and make it to the top of the stairs. But that would leave Brid in a cage she couldn’t get out of. Plus, Douglas wasn’t stupid. Something would be at the top of the stairs to greet me, even if I could get that far. The situation was definitely not in my favor.
Douglas swept his arm out, slicing the air with the knife. “Another basic skill is the protective circle.” He gestured toward the floor with the blade. “You can draw it out of anything: chalk, salt, blood. In the dirt, if need be. The choice depends on what you are summoning, the materials at hand, and the urgency of the situation.” He looked at me. “Bottom line is, the stronger the circle, the better. Especially if you are trying to raise one of those nasty things that might eat you, like I mentioned earlier.”
“Bite-sized pieces?”
“Exactly. The circle can be modified for the practitioner to include important symbols or what have you. A simple one like this is fine, as long as you activate it correctly.” He made a small slice