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Chapter 7
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2022-02-14 18:47:28Cassandra was offered the choice of two widowers, one a father of eight, the other of five, and a young man her age, who was especially pious, and, as a result of that, afraid to even talk to girls. She suspected that if she were to marry that boy, she'd remain a virgin forever. He probably had no idea that babies weren't brought by a stork. Moreover, he was half a head shorter than her, possessed the narrow shoulders of a man who had never in his life done any physical labor and had disgusting white plaque on his lips. The girl always wanted to spit at the sight of him. If he were her brother, she'd pity him, but as a prospective husband, he made her nauseous. She wasn't desperate enough to resign herself to that marriage.
She had to act so cold and stiff that the poor guy first started to stutter in her presence and then just disappeared for good, informing Hermann that his niece was as hard as granite and adamant in her faith.
Widowers weren't especially attractive
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Rene, who already knew about her pregnancy-he was a necromancer, after all, and any experienced necromancer could easily detect the number of souls next to him-realized that logic was powerless against Cassie, and started to comfort her. It took him two hours-and very pleasurable ones. Yet Cassandra didn't want to go even after that. She was convinced only by her husband's promise to come to her after the epidemic was over.Rene wasn't fooling himself. He knew he would last a moon, while the epidemic was in its height and the others still needed him. Then his fate would be sealed. They would try to kill him. As long as you had a necromancer, finding a stake to burn him on was simple enough. So after fending off the disease, he would need to leave. But first, he needed to sell all of his things to get established in his new home, and his dearly beloved Cassie would have to be sent away from the city with all the money he could gather.So Rene set out to find a family wh
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I went for my routine mountain hike, planning to spend a couple of days there. Rick and Henry went to a fair in the neighboring county, and I was bored out of my mind in the castle. So I just ran away. It's not like they will do anything worse than scold me when I get back. At least I'll spend a few days alone with myself and the wind. Why don't I have wings?I had strayed pretty far from home and stumbled upon the idea of meeting Henry and Rick instead of going back. Prepare a surprise for them, so to speak. The most important thing was not to fall into my teachers' hands in the first twenty minutes. Afterward, they would cool off.I had already spent a whole day hanging around the road. Typical-you'd have to be completely bonkers to go visit Torrin. It wasn't just a backwater place; it was the ultimate middle of nowhere. There was no way to leave, either by land or by water, nothing to gain except for fish. As for the silver, we and the locals kept our mouths shut, a
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They showed up in two hours.Twelve riders, all dressed in capes-once white, and now smeared in dirt. Three Punishers with their heads shaven, the same look of obsession on their faces, flashes of light in their auras. That was not good at all.Darkness dissolves matter, and light burns it all. A normal person is balanced, but these... But who am I to say that? Demons are parts of darkness, and sooner or later, it will claim me, unless I manage to remain human.They stopped at the scene that I had carefully prepared for them. A dead horse and a man in a black cloak lying on his back. Of course, there was nothing under the cloak, but who would check?So, who'll go first? Ah, too bad I don't have a crossbow. Whatever. I'll manage. Especially since they stopped right where I wanted them to.I sized up the situation for the last time. All right, here we go!A daring leap into the center of the squad, and I landed right behind one of the pursuers
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The gathering consisted of me, Rick, Henry, and Martha. It didn’t concern anyone else. They still lived here, they were my family, but it was those three who were there in the beginning, with my mother. Princess Michelle. My mother. Mom. I was so sorry that she had died, but alas. Any woman would die after giving birth to a half-demon—it’s the law. We take too much of their strength, not leaving anything left to continue living. It wouldn’t happen with a quarter-demon, the mother would live, but all half-demons were orphans. There were some exceptions, of course—incubi, vampires, all that riff-raff, but they weren’t true demons, just low-level rabble. Michelle would never have chosen one of them as my father. No, she picked the strongest one. No matter how her friends tried to talk her out of that, she gave it her all. They knew Michelle’s wish and funneled all their energy into her plan. Ric
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In a week, after I had enough time to process everything, we gathered the family council, Rick, Henry, Martha and I.We didn’t invite anyone else. Cassandra and Mirabelle didn’t really want to be there, anyway. What could they do? Take pity on me? Please. Neither Rick nor Henry had ever lied to me. Sometimes, they hadn’t told the whole truth, until I was old enough to hear it, anyway. But I had never heard them straight-up lie to me.And now we had to decide on what we were going to do. I couldn’t leave the kingdom in Rudolph’s hands. A king? A crowned oaf sitting on the throne!The Saint only knows what part of his body he uses to think. I know I didn’t want to know.Rick was the first to speak up. “Have you seen enough?”I nodded. Enough? I was stuffed to the brink! For that chaos in his kingdom, uncle should be more than just killed!“So, what will you do?”That made me pa
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Radenor was saturated with grime. Poverty, hunger, hate, they hung in the air like a foul mist, unnerving and irritating me. It was the first long trip in my life, and I felt uncertain. I had a companion in Henry, but we would soon part ways, as he was needed back home. I insisted upon that. Henry was responsible for all matters outside Torrin, and Rick wouldn’t be able to handle it without him for long. And I... I would.There was one more fact in my favor—I was hard to kill. I was immune to most poisons, I could use magic, and Henry was an ordinary human, who, whatever he said, had gotten out of shape during his stay in Torrin. He wasn’t that dashing fellow from seventeen years ago anymore.We argued for a while but finally got on the same page. Seeing as how it was improper for a prince to show up at court without servants—princes were helpless and unable to take care of themselves, after all—Tom was to go with me as my servant, as well
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“Enough said. Does it still exist?”“It does, but not for long.”“We’ll see...”I was in my human form, of course, all pretty and gentle-looking. I liked my appearance. Wasn’t I cute? Fair-haired, blue-eyed, a perfect replica of my mother. Except for the fact that her tongue hadn’t been forked, and when I lost control, that was how the reverse transformation started. My voice also became raspy, hissing, but why should I care, really? I wasn’t going to kiss anybody here or let anyone look inside my mouth, and the rest didn’t matter.The claws, however... For some reason, they were the second to transform. Gloves wouldn’t help. The only way was to keep myself in check every minute. I absolutely couldn’t blow up. Do half-demons have good self-control? Honestly, not really. But I was also a necromancer, and necromancers who wore their emotions on their sleeves didn’t live long. For us, calm and peace of mind were crucial. And I was calm, quiet as a grave. Which was the exact place where t
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The capital was all white houses, cobbled streets, amazing architecture, all meticulously planned and built—and at the same time, a stark contrast between noble houses, all well-tended, flowers blooming in the yards, and people on the streets. As always, they were poor, pathetic, desperate. Looking at them, I started to realize how hard it was to pass by without stopping to help. Who else if not me? By the right of my blood and my lineage I was responsible for the country, and if I did nothing, I would be ashamed to look into the eyes of my ancestors—even demons. They had never surrendered without a fight, after all! The royal palace was glorious, surrounded by a fence made of bronze. Yet right next to the driveway, a legless cripple was sitting in the dust of the road, asking for alms. He truly was a cripple; I saw that by his aura. I had never seen anything like that in Torrin. I felt bad. Each time I remember his bleak expression, shame rolls up on me in waves. I threw a couple
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“How do you know about the charm spells?”“How could I not! Innis, do you know that your mother had an elder brother?”Innis grew pale.“Y-yes. But he’s...”“Disappeared without a trace. Why would Sidon Andago need him?”I caught the girl so she wouldn’t faint.“Tell me more, you corpse!”That tone finally made him pay attention. The ghost looked at me once more, I released my power, and it was his turn to become pale—or, rather, translucent.“By the Bright! You—”“Yep. Me. And if you don’t answer me right now, I will burn your chicken coop to the ground!”The spirit sighed and began telling his story. He was also a necromancer, who, by a cruel twist of fate, had become a healer.If you make a drawback your advantage, you can heal with the power intended to destroy, that was true.I had never been taught that, but the Andago family seemed no stranger to experimentation.Anyway, Tidann had died like he was supposed to. But during his lifetime, he had conducted trials in that same labor
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I was barely moving my lips, but she definitely heard me, as she ran her hand over her hair and all of a sudden, broke down in tears. It had been a while since I had felt myself that stupid.Still, Martha didn’t cry for long. She raised her head high.“Alex, boy, yer alive!”And there was so much love and happiness in her voice. She didn’t care about herself at all, the main thing was my safety.I couldn’t help but blurt out, from the bottom of my heart, “Mother…”Truly, the mother is not the one who gave birth.“I was so scared for you. After we spoke, I ran off here, yer snake led me. Everything’s quiet, but the ghosts are all afraid. Lots of templars in the palace, all tip-toeing ‘round yer wifey. Methinks, ‘twas the bitched viper who started all this, mark me word!”“Mother, but where’s Tommy? Rene?”“Tommy’s on the lam, he’s taking his wife to Rick. Rene and his pa high-tailed, too. Probably hiding somewhere, ‘lest they lose their knobs in the heat.”“Did somebody get—”“Yep. The
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During dinner, I felt like I was the main course.The local residents questioned me about everything, starting from silk prices in Tevarr to my family, from weather to the royal palace.I squirmed like I was in a hot pan, trying to avoid telling too much. I was pretty good at that.By the end of dinner, Amorta graced me with a smile and a suggestive look from her thin eyelashes, while Sidon thawed out and started to tell me his hunting stories. If they had been true, all the beasts in Radenor wouldn’t be enough for him.I listened to them, nodded, and was finally rewarded with seeing the heir: Sidon’s complete copy. He had Amorta’s ears, but was the spitting image of his father otherwise.Maybe that was why he cherished the child so much. Innis was way too smart, sharp, and independent, not to mention, entirely Andago in her appearance.Blood couldn’t be locked away. I had to coo for a bit, while discreetly collecting a few stray hairs from the baby’s clothes.Let’s see if he’s truly
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Summoning Ak-kvir was easy.He appeared almost right away and sniffed the air.“You again, necromancer?”“Do you object?”“Do you have the payment?”I sneered viciously.“I’ll figure something out.”“Get comfortable, then.”I sat down on his back, and Ak-kvir darted off straight ahead. Eight hours to the town?Dear Innis, just twenty minutes...and that’s taking into account that the demon had grown very lazy.We passed the town wall in a few rough leaps.Good thing that Ak-kvir’s claws were saber-sharp and could pierce any stone three feet deep. And finally, I was left standing in a narrow street. Monsignors bandits, come on.I can’t believe nobody wants these easy pickings!Yeah, that was rhetorical.Five minutes later, a three-man group stumbled upon me.They were so delighted that it was even funny.“Oh, look who’s come to visit!”“A noble boy, bless his heart!”“You there, stand and deliver!”They tried to surround me; how naive. Did they want me to speak?Like dark lightning, I d
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Tommy was blissfully sleeping inside his house with Henrietta nestled against his shoulder, snuffling and smiling in her sleep. But when an ice-cold wave came over them, both had to rise up, their peace disturbed.That wind was something they could never hide or shield themselves from; it was a death wind, and it brought cold from the grave, making him feel as if he were in a coffin.Even dead men could wake up after feeling something like that...and sometimes, they did.“What!”The darkness in the room grew thicker and took on Martha’s shape, smiling with her mouth full of shark teeth.“It’s me, Tom. Martha.”Instantly, Tommy was relieved. He had seen that many times before.No big deal, Alex had pulled stunts much worse than that. When you live with necromancers, do as necromancers do.“What’s wrong?”“Treason. Take your wife and hide, I will warn the Morinars, so...try to get to Torrin. You are the most vulnerable of us all.”“How’s Alex?”“Alive.”Tommy breathed out.“Good. But wh
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I had two options: either promptly summon Ak-kvir and get to the capital, wherein I would clean up the mess, but the schemers would have time to get away, that was as clear as day.The other option...Fine, you’ve gotten rid of the rightful king.Now what?Oops.Well, you can sit on the throne of Radenor, you would even stay there...for like twenty seconds. After that, prepare a dust tray and a broom. No need for a coffin, the remains could be poured over a flowerbed in the palace garden. If I held off my return, I would get the chance to reveal the plotters.But what about my family?Well, that was a moot question. If I were a plotter, I would first kill the king—me—and then, if everything worked out well, switch to his entourage.Yet, I suspected that no templars had survived. Generally, I was a nice guy, but they had managed to really piss me off. I still had some time before they would attack Martha, Tommy, Rene, Dariola... Although, why would they attack Dariola?Her child was th
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Surprised, Innis stared at the demon who had appeared in her pentagram. He wasn’t quite what she had expected. Visually, he seemed a proper demon: claws, scales, and a tail.But should he really be all bloody and unconscious?Grandpa’s diary never said anything like that. Too bad I couldn’t find any other notes.But...what am I to do with it? Try to call him? Shake him awake?No, reaching inside the pentagram was forbidden.What if I poke him with a stick? He can’t just lie there in my tower, can he?I have enough problems on my plate without a dead demon!**I was in agony. Every bit of my body that was still there was emanating with pain, even my tail. “Demon, are you alive? Demon! Damn you, you’re a rascal, not a demon!”It was clearly a girl’s voice. She seemed young and quite upset. She had a throaty contralto, clear and singsong, like hot chocolate.I definitely wasn’t in a temple.Where then?I focused and tried to prop myself on my elbows, then open my eyes.Yeah, they had gi
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After Martha told me that my wife was likely with child, I wasn’t even surprised or worried.She isn’t saying anything to me?There could be lots of reasons!Maybe she didn’t know so herself or wanted to make sure. What was there to discuss? I just had to charge the court healer with a task.Alas, I was wrong, and I had to pay for that mistake sooner than I had expected. Two days later, I found myself on the way to a small town called Livaren.I was still traveling around the country so the officials I had appointed would stay on edge. When the king shows up on your doorstep and demands an answer...or just shows up...it can really shake you up.Bad news came from Livaren.Somebody destroyed ten of my ghosts. I had to visit and figure out what was happening there. That was exactly what I did. I was used to nobody ever standing in my way. Have I already mentioned that sometimes, I can be a real idiot?The mayor, Baron Fagin, was cheerful. He had clearly screwed up. But considering that
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Princess Dariola.What did she look like?Not a beauty, or at least I didn’t think so. She was tall, half a head taller than me, and thin as a rail.She had blonde hair and blue, watery eyes, and her lips were so pale they seemed almost white. She did have nice hands, with long thin fingers, worthy of an artist or a musician.I also liked her voice: high-pitched, clear. She would probably sound great singing merry songs somewhere in a meadow, during summer.Alas, but during our introduction, I didn’t seem to attract her much, either. I guess she thought me too weak and fragile, and I had no wish to disprove her.So, I just kissed her hand.“Your Highness.”Just a neutral phrase. No “My princess” or “Welcome to my kingdom.”They made me an offer I could hardly refuse, and that was enough.Oh, I had divorced soon after getting crowned.The church granted me my request, even if they did try to negotiate. Your Majesty, of course, we’re ready to help you in any way you want, but we’ve gott
