Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Have you heard anything from Lennarius?” Centross asked, sitting down next to Rae on the library’s back steps. It was a warm, wet day in mid-April, the spring sun hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. It almost felt like bad luck to mention that necromancer so close to the place where they had first met the horde raiser.

“Hm?” Rae glanced over from where he had been staring across the land toward the ocean, unable to actually see the water through the rain, fog, and low clouds.

“Have you heard anything from Lennarius?” he repeated as he shifted so he was leaning against Rae, his head resting on the other’s shoulder. Being so close to Rae gave him the extra advantage of being under his umbrella.

He smiled softly at the comforting warmth Centross radiated—at the gentle pulse of his death magic like a second heartbeat. “No, I haven’t, not for a few weeks. Why?”

“I—” Centross shrugged. “I was just wondering.”

“He wouldn’t care about Oscar’s death outside of how it would put himself in danger,” Rae told him, his voice quiet. “He wouldn’t do anything to help or prevent it unless it put him in danger. Lennarius is selfish and self-centered; he only cares about things that will help him.”

“Mhm…”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

Centross arched into the touch. “He’s better at magic than me. I can’t help but feel like he could have done something when, in that moment, all I could do was accidentally puppet Oscar’s body because I didn’t want to die.”

“Lennarius would have puppeted him on purpose,” Rae said. “Oscar would have been turned into a weapon.”

“I know!”

“Centross…”

“What?” Centross asked as he sat up fully.

“Oscar isn’t going to be dead forever,” he said firmly. “I’m going to bring him back, I swear. I’m just waiting for it to be safe.”

He nodded, chewing on his lip anxiously. “I know.”

“Good,” Rae said. He reached out, his black-stained fingers brushing across Centross’ lips, smiling when the other necromancer stopped chewing on his lips quickly, like he hadn’t even realized what he was doing. “I’m glad.”

Centross smiled at him. “We need a safe hideout in case something happens.”

“We’ve talked about this before, Centross.”

“I know,” he said. “But we haven’t done anything about it yet, though. I was thinking of using the Cathedral of War.”

Rae nodded slowly. “I showed Jerry that place when taking care of Oscar. Fenris and Aax also know about it and neither of them are really on our side, especially with what Fenris did to Ari yesterday.”

“I’m going to check on her this afternoon.”

“Mhm.” He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. “That’s good.”

“I still think it would be a good idea to use the Cathedral of War as an emergency base,” Centross said. “Jerry won’t tell anyone about it if Oscar’s there. I think Fenris and Aax will stay away for the most part, especially with the enchantments there.”

“OK,” Rae told him. “Who do we show?”

“Athena and Jamie.” He frowned, tilting his head to the side with a frown. “Obviously, Isla.”

“Of course.”

Centross smiled slightly. “Yeah. I think Ulysses should know; he’s clearly against the meaningless murder of necromancers and he knows the most about medicine and first aid.”

“I think we should show Caspian,” Rae said.

“Why?” he asked with a frown.

“He apologized for what happened when Isla came back. He acknowledged that his actions—that his inaction—were harmful. He said that he was a bad partner.”

“A very shitty one,” Centross grumbled with an eye roll.

Rae scoffed. “I’m not going to get back with him if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not,” he said very unconvincingly.

“Sure,” he laughed. “But Centross, the point is that Caspian wants to help and we’re not in the position to turn away people on our side. We need all the help we can get.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Rae raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not asking you to like it, stupid. I’m telling you that we should let Cas in on our plans. I’m asking you to not pick a fight with him about what he’s done.”

Centross stuck his tongue out at Rae, yelping when he was shoved back and into the rain. “Hey! Bitch!”

“You’ll survive.” He leaned in, kissing the necromancer quickly before pulling back and getting to his feet. “Ask Ari about it. I doubt she’s very happy with Fenris right now, which might make her more likely to side with us instead of Fable. She might have information that could help us.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, pouting when Rae pulled away before he could kiss back.

“I was going to talk to Mom, Athena, and Jamie about a base at the Cathedral.” Rae smiled softly at him. “And I think you’re going to talk to Ari, right?”

“You’re such an asshole,” Centross grumbled as he got to his feet, wrapping an arm around Rae’s waist and pulling him close to kiss him properly. Rae smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, leaning into the other’s body warmth.

“But you love me anyways,” he said, carding his hand gently through Centross’ dark hair, every part of them slightly damp from the rain. “I’m glad you’re doing better. You had me really worried.”

He pressed a kiss to Rae’s forehead, his voice soft despite the way his breath caught in his throat at the mention of the last few days and the horror and grief that had filled them. “I can’t fix anything by lying in bed all day and crying. You’re bringing back Oscar and want to make everyone who hurt him pay for it.”

“I don’t want you to push too far in your quest for revenge,” Rae said with a frown, looking up at Centross. “That is a slippery slope.”

“I’m not going to turn out like Lennarius.”

“I didn’t say that. I wasn’t going to say that.” His frown deepened. “I don’t like being compared to that monster and so I’m not going to do the same thing for you. That doesn’t mean I can’t be worried for you.”

Centross nodded slowly. “It’s funny how much you’ve changed from when I first found you.”

“It has been a year,” Rae told him. “I had just lost everything that I cared about: my home, my family, my friends, and my support system. In those first few months, I was still convinced that everyone would hate me for being a necromancer.”

“And yet you still brought me back. Your self-sacrificing tendencies haven’t changed; that’s clear enough from what you did with Isla and your granddads.”

He shrugged.

“You’ve gotten more confident.”

“I have people I know care about me,” Rae said, his voice soft. “I have a reason to stand up for myself because I don’t want to lose you or Mom or Athena or Jamie. Everything going on with necromancer hunters is forcing me to be more assertive because I can’t lose everything again. I’m not being buried alive again.”

Centross nodded. “I like you better when you’re not beside yourself with anxiety and self-doubt. I just wish that this hadn’t come around because of life-threatening circumstances.”

“Are you saying you didn’t like me beforehand?” he teased.

“No,” he scoffed. “You didn’t like yourself beforehand. You were my friend, and you are my friend and my partner, Rae. I want you to be happy and content.”

“You’re going to make me blush.”

“You can’t blush,” Centross pointed out.

“Shut up,” Rae grumbled. “You’re missing the point, you idiot.”

He grinned. “Yeah but I’m your idiot.”

“Go check on Arisanna,” he said, shoving Centross away. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Centross grabbed his hand quickly, pressing a kiss to Rae’s blackened knuckles before letting go, his tone suddenly serious. “Don’t go running around risking your life like you’re trying to atone for a sin that isn’t your own.”

“I’m not—” Rae started to protest only to cut himself off when Centross shook his head.

“I know what you’re like, Rae Morningstar,” he said. “You’re self-sacrificing and selfless. You’re not a monster but you have a tendency to treat yourself like you are one by putting yourself in danger because you believe that you deserve it in some fucked-up way or you think it’s the only way to make yourself useful or worthy of people’s affection. I mean it, Rae, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do anything that would make it less likely for me to see you tonight or any night.”

“I can’t die,” Rae said. “I’m not going to die. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You tried to kill yourself to bring your granddads back just last month,” Centross said firmly. “You might have changed in the past year but some things haven’t. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

He frowned slightly before saying. “I’ll be as safe as I can be with necromancer hunters around, I promise.”

“Rae…”

“I can’t promise anything more because I can’t control the actions of others,” Rae told him, his voice soft. “I won’t purposefully put myself at risk, especially not today. Centross, there are people who want to kill us. That really limits how safe either of us can be.”

“Then lie to me,” Centross whispered. “I can’t lose you so soon after Oscar.”

“I’ll be safe, I promise,” he said. “Go talk to Ulysses and Arisanna; tell them about the base plans in the Cathedral of War. I’ll most likely be at the bed and breakfast or Athena and Jamie’s house. OK?”

He nodded. “OK. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Rae told him before leaving. He checked the bed and breakfast first, finding Athena and Jamie working in the business’ garden. Jamie was kneeling in one of the garden beds, carefully pushing black dirt around a support cage surrounding a tiny, leafy plant. Athena was standing over them, dirt smeared across her cheek and her pink hair pulled back, holding an umbrella above both of them, a basket full of seed bags and tiny plants in equally tiny pots at their feet.

“Hi,” Rae said, stopping just outside the gate, his blackened fingers contrasting against the freshly painted white fence.

Athena looked up, her entire expression brightening when she saw him. “Rae! Hi!”

“What are you two doing?” he asked with a quick smile.

“We’re planting tomatoes,” Jamie said without looking up, still carefully setting up the support around the plant.

“That’s fun.”

“How have you been?” Athena asked. “It’s been like a week since we’ve seen you.”

“Sorry,” Rae said, laughing slightly. “I’ve been a bit busy.”

The last time he had seen either of them had been the night of Oscar’s death, when he had told them of the tragedy.

The fire mage raised an eyebrow at him, her golden and red eyes sparkling with amusement despite the daylight being muted by clouds and grief. “I’ve seen you and Centross around; I just haven’t gotten a chance to actually talk to you.”

“What’s that tone for?” he asked as he entered the garden, closing the gate behind him. The entire garden was muddy and wet, the chickens clucking to each other miserably in their covered run next to the garden.

“You two have gotten really close in the past two weeks,” Athena said.

“I—” Rae was very glad he couldn’t blush even if he hated the way his blood clogged his veins in coagulated clumps. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He scoffed, clearly trying not to laugh. “Sure.”

“Shut up,” the necromancer hissed, no real anger behind his voice.

“It’s very cute,” Jamie said as they got to their feet, brushing dirt off their paws onto their pants.

“We’re not—” Rae rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing. We’re not anything.”

“You’re not anything because you don’t want to be anything or because you two haven’t actually talked about it yet?” Athena asked, handing the umbrella to Jamie and picking up the basket, balancing it against one hip so they could still use their crutch. She walked carefully across the slippery stone pathway and up the few stairs to the tiny covered landing in front of the backdoor. He set down the basket in the covered area before turning back to Rae. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“I got myself oatmeal earlier,” he told them. “I was thinking I’d heat up some soup for lunch in a couple of hours. It seems like a soup kind of day.”

Jamie frowned as they entered the kitchen, wiping their paws off on the welcome mat. “It’s been a soup kind of day for the past week.”

“I was thinking of making some bread, soup, and maybe roasted potatoes to bring over to Ocie,” Athena said as they closed the kitchen door behind everyone. The windows in the kitchen were opened slightly so fresh air could get in without getting everything wet. “I figured it’s the least I could do to help her right now.”

“Mom said Ocie’s been spending a lot of time with her so at least she hasn’t been alone through it all,” Jamie told them. “She’s still apparently really mad at Centross.”

Rae sighed heavily where he leaned against the counter, curling and uncurling his blackened fingers, rigor mortis making his joints feel stiffer than usual. “He didn’t do it.”

“I know but she thinks he did and I can’t blame her. I wouldn’t think that Centross would do it regardless but you said that Ocie found Oscar and Centross together. She’s grieving; you can’t blame her for that.”

“I know…” He shrugged with a frown. “I know but I’m still upset about it. He’s being framed.”

Athena nodded. “I know. I trust you on this.”

“Good.”

They grabbed one of the recipe books and flipped through it. “I need to figure out what I’m going to make for Ocie.”

“Centross wants to make a secret base,” Rae said as he watched Athena look through their books.

“Oh?” the fire mage glanced up with a frown. “Where?”

“In the Cathedral of War there are rooms below the main room. He wants to set up something there.”

Athena snorted in laughter. “Of course Centross wants to make a secret base. It’s his favorite thing to do.”

“Oh, I know.” He rolled his cloudy eyes, smiling softly. “It’s adorable.”

“Of course you’d think it’s adorable,” Jamie said with a grin that only widened when Rae glared at him.

“Be nice to me,” huffed the necromancer.

“Nope!” Athena chirped. “Do you want to help with the bread and potatoes?”

He rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. “Sure, I don’t mind helping.”

“Perfect!”

Centross took a deep breath before knocking on Ulysses’ door. There was the sound of movement from inside the house and then the door swung open, revealing the Telchin standing there.

“Centross,” Ulysses said with a nod of greeting. “I assume you’ve come to see Arisanna?”

The necromancer nodded jerkily. “Yeah. How’s she doing?”

“She’s awake,” he said, stepping back so Centross could enter.

Centross stepped into the kitchen, pulling off his shoes so he didn’t track wet sand across the clean floor. There was a kettle left on the stove and the blinds were open to let any light that made it through the thick cloud cover inside. Arisanna was in the living room, curled up on a couch under a thick blanket. Her eyes—that usually glowed faintly with her magic—were dull with exhaustion and pain. There were a few long scrapes across her cheeks and her hands were bandaged. When Centross paused on the step separating the kitchen and living room, her gaze flicked over to him, her eyes narrowing.

“Centross,” she croaked out, her voice hoarse.

“Hey Ari,” Centross said. “How are you feeling?”

Ari sat up fully, the blanket falling down from her shoulders. She wore one of Ulysses’ chitons: a rectangle of soft, durable fabric with a head hole designed to be tied at the sides to stay closed. It made sense; it meant she’d have to do little moving to get dressed or to reach any injuries that needed to be bandaged. One of her forearms was wrapped tightly in white bandages and there were bandages visible down her side where the chiton had fallen open slightly. “Like shit,” she grumbled, swinging her legs off the couch and revealing the third bandage wrapped tightly around her lower leg and the scrapes on her knees.

“What exactly happened?” he asked, hesitating for a moment before sitting next to her.

She gave him a strange look. “Fenris attacked me on Fable’s behalf.”

“Why? Where? How?”

“He was at my house,” Ari said sharply. There was mud under her nails. “And he tried to kill me—tried to break me—like Namir.” There was a tension to her shoulders—in her entire body and the way she ground her teeth together. “He chased me to where the forest fire had been two years ago. He tried to kill me with his magic and I took his eye as payment.”

“Oh…” He frowned. “His eye?”

She shrugged, the movement jerky. “Burning light right on his eye. He’ll probably never see through it again; he might even lose it.” Her emotions were not locked away to the same extent they had been after Namir; there were new cracks and holes in the wall where they seeped through, but exhaustion, pain, and anger at Fenris’ actions made it hard for her to feel remorse for surviving after her brother tried to kill her. “His other eye might be messed up just from the light. I probably blinded your ex.”

“Right…” Centross sighed heavily. He wasn’t sure if he should feel bad for Fenris or not.

“I’m not sorry.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be,” he said with a frown. “You’re not in too much pain?”

Ari glanced at him, her brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“Are you in pain?” asked the necromancer. “Do you want me to get anything from your house? Do you need me to get you anything in general?”

“What?”

“I’m asking how you’re doing after Fenris tried to kill you.”

“Oh.” She blinked, confusion written across her face. “Why?”

Centross frowned. “I care about you; that’s why. You’re still my friend and I want to make sure you’re OK. I also don’t want you trying to crawl back to Fable after he tried to kill you.”

“Right,” Ari scoffed. “I’m fine. Stay away from my house.”

“Are you going to go back to Fable?” he asked as he got to his feet.

“No. I don’t hang out with people who tried to kill me and he was a bastard. I don’t fucking like him.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Arisanna stared at him. “Pack my stuff and leave? Track down Lennarius and put an axe through his head?”

“You’re in no condition to do any traveling or fighting for a bit,” Ulysses said from the kitchen, boiling something on the stove. “You currently need to rest and heal, nothing else.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“You could help us take down Fable,” Centross offered softly. “We could use some help.”

“Why the hell would I side with a bunch of necromancers? Need I remind you that it’s your kind that ended the world?” Ari snapped, throwing a pillow at him only to wince and curl around her arm, pressing her hand against the bandages.

He frowned. “That was Lennarius and we’re not currently super friendly with him.”

“If he offered to help, would you turn him away?” she asked as she blinked away tears. “Would you chase him down to kill him for all the pain he’s caused?”

“No one wants him alive or around.”

Ari scoffed. “And yet you’re not doing anything to kill him, unlike Fable.”

“Do you think I’m a monster?” Centross asked, tilting his head as he stared at her.

“I—” She paused and swallowed hard.

“Do you? Am I like Lennarius in your mind?”

“No,” she said after a long moment of silence. “You’re not. Rae’s power might scare me but he isn’t like Lennarius either… but I think that just means that you won’t do anything against him. He isn’t a direct threat to him so why would you attack him?”

“He’s the reason for all this,” Centross said, frowning. “We can’t fight against two different people who want us dead. That’s not something that Rae and I would survive.”

“But those are my only choices, right?” Ari asked. “I either side with Fable or with you.”

He shrugged. “You could stay neutral.”

“No.” She shook her head. “That’s not an opposition here. If I “stay neutral,” then I might as well side with Fable because I will watch him kill everyone touched with your kind of magic.”

“You could leave,” Centross said, his voice soft. “I don’t think I could blame you for that.” He sighed heavily. “Just think about helping us, Ari. We wouldn’t turn you away and we’d do our best to keep you safe against Fable.”

“What about Lennarius?” she asked.

“I’m not going to stop you from getting revenge after Fable is taken care of.” He turned away, putting his shoes back on. “I’m glad you’re alive. Just think about joining us, yeah?”

Ari stayed quiet, watching him with a frown.

“Ulysses,” Centross said. “Can I talk to you privately for a moment?”

Ulysses looked up from his work and nodded. “Sure, let’s step outside.”

The necromancer and the Telchin went outside, staying in the somewhat sheltered area right outside the back door.

“How are you doing?” Ulysses asked softly, staring across the stormy ocean, the sound of crashing waves filling the salty air.

Centross shrugged. “I could be a lot better but I could be worse.”

“It’ll get easier,” he said. “Maybe not better, but it will be an easier load to bear. The grief doesn’t stay so overwhelming forever.”

“That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

“Right, of course. What do you want to talk about?”

Centross sighed heavily. “I want to make a secret base in the Cathedral of War in case something happens. Rae suggested that we let you know about it and show you where it’ll be in case you need it.”

“Oh.” Ulysses frowned. “OK. Do you want Ari to know?”

“No, not right now. I want to trust her; she’s not stupid enough to go back to Fable, but I can’t risk Rae like that.”

The Telchin nodded. “Very well.”

“I’ll show you where it is later, yeah?” he asked. “I want to get something set up there first before I start to show people.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” Ulysses told him. “I want to help, Centross. I don’t think all necromancers deserve to die for the crimes of one.”

Centross smiled thinly. “Thank you.”

“Get home safe, Centross.”

He nodded and left, heading across the plains and towards the bed and breakfast.

Chapter Text

Rae left the Cathedral of War, where he had been working with Centross the past two days to get a safe place set up under it. It was still raining. It had been raining for over a week. The world was soaked and muddy, the rivers starting to overflow their banks, puddles consuming most of the paths, and the storm continuing above the ocean. He pulled his rain jacket tighter with a grimace and walked as fast as he dared down the mountain path. The rain let up slightly by the time he reached the bed and breakfast and Rae pulled his hood down, tilted his head back to feel the rain on his face, and took a deep, unnecessary breath. Fresh, rain-scented air filled his ruined lungs, filling in the cracks of his dirt- and blood-packed organs.

Lennarius was waiting for him in Lodestar Grove, standing in the shade of the massive, dying tree. His ruined eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses, and his skeletal hands were folded behind his back as he stared at the pond sitting between the tree, library, and bed and breakfast. He looked up when Rae paused behind the two buildings.

“Hello Rae,” said the horde raiser, his voice soft and difficult to hear through the downpour.

Rae frowned and walked closer to Lennarius until he was standing between the necromancer and the rest of Lodestar Grove, feeling death magic push through his clogged veins and motionless heart. “What do you want?”

He stank like death. “What I’ve always wanted: my brother alive and safe again.”

“I—” He brought his family back, or at least tried to, and yet sentenced Lennarius to living without his brother. It felt cruel but Rae had little pity for the man who had doomed every single necromancer. There was too much at risk. “I can’t bring people back who aren’t necromancers,” he said instead, praying that the horde raiser would drop it—would take his excuse as the refusal it was.

Lennarius’ expression twisted into a frown. “Try.”

“It’ll kill me,” Rae told him firmly.

“I will help then.” When they had met before, Lennarius had raged and threatened and insulted and hurt, but this time he seemed calmer, more helpful. “You believe it will take all your magic and leave nothing to keep you alive—or in this state you choose to call living—and so I will make sure you have death magic to spare. I cannot bring the dead back to life like you but I am a necromancer and I will donate my own magic to keep you here.”

“Why should I help you?” he asked. “You killed my cat. You hurt me. You threatened the people I care about and Lodestar Grove.”

His frown deepened and he took a deep breath (fuck him, fuck him for breathing and still being alive). “I lost my temper and I apologize for it. I am tired of spreading ruin across the world and now, finally, I have found someone who can bring my brother back. You can understand how I could be angry when my only chance at getting rid of this grief refuses to help despite bringing back his own family. You can understand that, right?”

“I can’t risk my family again, Lennarius,” Rae said with a shake of his head, his fingers stiff and painful from a lack of blood flow. His entire body ached from the death magic that radiated from the other necromancer. It made grave dirt rise up and clog his throat to the point he would panic if he had to breathe. “You can understand that, right?”

He smiled thinly at the words thrown back at him, though the expression looked more like a grimace. “I have heard about the recent plans to get rid of all necromancers and their supporters here.”

“They killed a child.”

The horde raiser’s frown deepened and he let out a heavy sigh, his head turning slightly to stare towards where the ocean was hidden from sight by the rain and clouds. “It used to be part of my horde; I felt it when it fell. That is what prompted me to come back and try again. I suppose you plan on attempting to resurrect it.”

“They’re a child,” Rae told him. “They didn’t deserve what happened and they’re loved by people I love. I’m going to at least try.”

“Even if it kills you? Even if it drains all your magic from you?” Lennarius asked.

“That is a risk I’m willing to take.”

He frowned. “You are a hypocrite.”

“I hate you,” Rae said, his voice sharp, black blood staining his lips. “I feel no goodwill towards you. Because of you, I lost everything I cared about: my family, my friends, my home, and my life. I like to think I am a generous and helpful person but that doesn’t extend to you because you raised the hordes and ruined everything.”

“I want my brother back,” said the horde raiser, a skeletal hand taking off his dark glasses to expose his ruined eye sockets. The smell of death and the feeling of six feet of grave dirt pressing down on the two necromancers grew stronger. There was movement from behind Lennarius in the dark shadows cast by the massive tree. Someone stepped forward into the watery light making its way through the thick clouds.

It was Vorago. It had to be Vorago. There was no one else it could have been. Vorago had been dead for at least twenty years and it showed in the rotting state of their body. They were tall even as they hunched over, black and purple discoloration covered their skin, with only little sections of pale, bloodless skin showing through. Their eye—the one they still had—used to be black at some point but had turned a deep grey in death when the cornea turned white. The other eye was gone and the skin around the socket was hanging in strips like someone or something had torn it out. The skin around their jaw was starting to detach from the tissues beneath it, making their entire face sag. Parts of their lip were missing to show sharp, yellow teeth and a swollen, tattered tongue where they were missing some teeth. Their white hair hung in ragged, salt-covered clumps around their face and down their back, stained brown in places from blood and fluids. They were thin, with skin and muscle torn away in places to expose sun-bleached bone. Their hands were bandaged, maybe to slow the rate of ruin that death brought to their fingers. Vorago was still missing a few fingers. The bandages were still black and warped with blood, pus, and water. Despite it, they were clothed in relatively fresh clothes.

“Why did you bring him here?” Rae asked sharply, unable to pull his gaze away from the piece of the horde Lennarius had brought to Lodestar Grove—to a place that was supposed to be safe from the horde raiser and the death and pain that followed him everywhere. “Why?!”

Lennarius reached out and Vorage stumbled forward to meet him, pausing just a foot or two away. They—it—the zombie stank. There were maggots wriggling under its skin. “I hoped this would help change your mind.”

He stumbled back quickly, his chest tight with fear and horror. He wanted to throw up. “I don’t think I could repair that damage.”

“I will help,” Lennarius said but even he didn’t reach out further to touch his brother. “My magic will help. I wouldn’t let you die if you had a chance at bringing Vorago back, especially not if you succeeded. I would owe you.”

“You should let him die, Lennarius.” Rae kept his voice soft but wasn’t able to hide the way it shook. “It’s been over twenty years. I may have never known him but Vorage deserves more respect than this. The dead deserve more respect than this.”

“And what would you know of that?” he asked sharply and, behind him, Vorage let out a low growl from a ruined throat.

He scoffed. “I used to be buried and dead. I think I know the best out of everyone what the dead do and do not deserve.”

“Help me and I will help you,” Lennarius said. “I know about Fable’s plans; I know what he wants. Help me and I will stand with you against Fable.”

“And if I don’t help you?” Rae asked carefully, his gaze on the rotting, shambling dead standing just a few feet away.

The horde raiser smiled sharply and lived up to his name. “Then I will raise the hordes from where they have spent the last ten years lying in wait. I will march them on Lodestar Grove. I will turn them toward everyone who has threatened me, my brother, or any other necromancer. And, when I am done, there will be no one left alive to hate necromancers.”

Rae didn’t know what to say—what could he even tell the monster who promised to destroy the world? What could he say to stop such a horrible, bloody fate towards hundreds and thousands and surely millions of innocent people?

“I—” Rae stumbled, choking on grave dirt and rotting blood, his heart aching where it pressed motionless against his crumbling ribs. “No—”

“Then bring back Vorago,” Lennarius said, his voice calm, cruel, and uncaring. How could he not care about the genocide he caused? The genocide he was threatening to start again? “I will even help you. I don’t want you to die, Rae. I want you to live and be happy and never have to worry about being buried alive again.”

He couldn’t breathe. He wanted to breathe. His lungs screamed for air.

“Understand?” asked the monster, puppeting his brother’s broken body.

“Yeah—” Rae swallowed hard against rising bitter blood and bile. “Once Fable is taken care of.”

“Hm.” Lennarius tilted his head to the side as he regarded the other necromancer coolly. “Very well. I will agree to that. Good luck, Rae.” Then, he turned and walked away into the pouring rain, his brother following behind him slowly.

Rae watched him go, feeling like the world was crashing in on him. The rain was too loud—too sharp against his skin—too much as it poured down around him. He was shivering but he didn’t know if it was from cold or fear.

“Centross?” His voice cracked but it didn’t matter anyways; his boyfriend wasn’t close enough to hear him. Rae wanted to breathe—felt the pain in his chest as his lungs screamed for air but his throat was too clogged with grave dirt to inhale. Lennarius wanted to raise the dead again. He wanted to destroy the world and the only way to stop him would be doing something that would kill Rae. Lennarius… Lennarius had to die.

Rae spun, his fear no longer keeping him locked in place, and fled to the bed and breakfast, barely taking time to pull off his rain jacket and kick off his muddy shoes before running upstairs. “Centross?” he called, the world spinning around him, making him grab the hand railing for balance. The blackened skin on his fingers cracked, rotting blood beading onto his skin and smearing across the wood. All he could smell was death and dirt.

“Rae?” Centross asked, stepping out of their bedroom, clearly having just gotten out of the shower with his hair still wet. “Are you OK?”

“I—” He shook his head and jerked forward to wrap his arms around Centross.

Centross hugged back, holding him close and kissing the top of his head. “Why are you wet?”

“It was raining out—”

“It’s been raining for a while,” he interrupted.

“That’s not the point,” Rae said with a huff. “Lennarius turned up with Vorago.”

“Oh…” Centross frowned. “What did he want?”

“He wants Vorago back.” He followed the other necromancer into their room, sitting down on the bed and pulling his knees to his chest, his hair dripping water down his neck and back. “He said that if I don’t bring them back, then he’ll raise the hordes again.”

His frown deepened and he sat down behind Rae, carefully combing through his hair. “What are we going to do about him?”

“We can’t afford another enemy right now with Fable and Perix. I told him that I’ll bring Vorago back once Fable is taken care of.”

“OK.” Centross nodded before chuckling softly when Rae leaned into his gentle touch. “We’ll figure it out, I promise. He’s not going to destroy the world again.”

He nodded. “OK…”

He braided his hair quickly and leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. “We can tell the others later and then figure out what to do with their help.”

“Mhm.” Rae leaned back against him, his eyes slipping closed at the warmth that Centross radiated.

“Get some rest,” Centross said softly. “I’ll stay here with you.”

“I’m not tired,” he huffed.

“Fine. Then don’t sleep, you idiot. But lay down.”

Rae lay down and flipped Centross off, laughing when he stuck his tongue out.

“You asshole,” he grumbled, grabbing a pillow and holding it over Rae’s face.

“Bitch!” he yelped as he shoved Centross back before rolling over to lie on his chest. “You’re so rude to me sometimes.”

Centross laughed softly. “You love me.”

“I do,” he whispered against the necromancer’s lips, kissing him.

Chapter Text

“You should talk to Momboo,” Isla said as she helped Rae clean up the kitchen after breakfast. It was a nice day and, instead of the downpour that they had all gotten used to, the rain filled the air in a fine mist. All the windows in the bed and breakfast were open for fresh air, filling the building with the smell of rain.

Rae looked up from where he was scrubbing a frying pan clean with a frown. “Why? We don’t get along.”

“I know.” She set another dish in the sink. “I think it’ll be some closure for the two of you.”

“She’s dying?” He knew that. He knew it from what Jamie and Athena had told him but it was still terrifying to think about.

Isla nodded. “Yes and I’ve talked to her about it; this isn’t something I’m bringing up out of nowhere. She asked about it yesterday when I visited.”

Rae frowned before he huffed. “OK. I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Leave if Ocie is there, don’t do anything stupid, and see if Momboo needs help with anything.”

“I will,” he said.

It was just a few hours later, right around lunchtime, when Rae crossed past the pond—past where he had met Lennarius just the day before—and went to Momboo’s house. One of the bedroom windows were open but the plants that covered the small cottage were dying and brown.

He knocked on the door before pushing it open, not daring to step inside. “Hello? Momboo?”

“Rae?” Momboo paused at the bottom of the stairs, her dull eyes widening when she stared at him.

“I—” Rae swallowed hard and took a step back. “I can leave if you want. Mom just said that I should visit.”

She nodded. “You can stay.”

“Thank you.” He stepped inside, looking around the house. The blinds were open to let watery sunlight into the house but it did nothing to help the plants inside.

Momboo sat down at the kitchen table, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “I didn’t expect for you to come.”

“I feel bad for what I did,” Rae said softly, entering the house and closing the door behind him.

“I know.” She nodded. Her hands that clutched the blanket tight were shaking, her skin thin and dry, dark purple veins showing through her skin.

“I didn’t want this to happen.” He stopped a few feet away from her, staring at the floor, unable to look at her. “I promise.”

Momboo nodded again before coughing, blood flecking her lips. “Do you mind putting the kettle on? There’s tea that’s supposed to help with my throat.”

“Of course.” Rae filled up the kettle with water and set it on the stove before opening the window above the sink. “Is there anything else I can do to help?”

She watched him move through the kitchen, her expression twisted into a pained frown. “No. You’ve done enough, Rae.” When he flinched, she sighed heavily. “I know you didn’t mean to do it; Isla’s made that clear enough. That doesn’t mean I have to forgive you.”

“I know; I don’t expect your forgiveness.” He leaned against the counter.

“Good. It may have been an accident but you’ve still killed me.” She sighed heavily, the breath rattling in her lungs. “Make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to Jamie or Easton.”

“I would never hurt them,” Rae promised as he hid his shaking, black-stained hands in his pockets. “I never wanted to hurt you…”

Momboo nodded before she coughed again. “I know that you wouldn’t hurt them; you’re nothing like Lennarius. Make sure no one else hurts them.”

“You thought I was a monster like him,” he said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. “After everything Lennarius has done and all the pain he caused, you compared me to him. All I wanted was to be safe and bring my family back. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“How was I supposed to know that?” she asked. “You were a necromancer.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t assume that I’d be anything like him.” Rae grabbed a mug and filled it with hot water. “What kind of tea?”

“Rose, the bags are right in front of you.”

He nodded, put the bag into the mug, and set it on the table next to her. “I haven’t deserved the way you’ve treated me. You’ve hurt me and assumed that I’m a monster when I’ve done nothing to deserve it.”

“You’re a necromancer.”

“That doesn’t make me a monster,” Rae snapped.

“I think I have every reason to hate you.”

“For hurting you,” he said. “Not for being a necromancer. Do you think my mother is a monster for being a necromancer? Or my granddad?”

Momboo frowned and took a long sip of her drink. “Your kind destroyed the world.”

“I’ll leave,” Rae said sharply. “I don’t have to stay here and listen to you insult me.”

“I—” She slumped in her chair with a heavy sigh. “I don’t have the energy to hate you anymore. Especially since there’s nothing that can be done to fix this.”

“You seem to have plenty of energy to insult me.”

“Rae.”

“What, Momboo?” he asked. “I’ve apologized for hurting you and you still hate me for it, which is fair; I can understand that. But I don’t appreciate you constantly comparing me to Lennarius when I’m nothing like him. I don’t raise the hordes. I don’t hunt down people who’ve hurt me. I’ve done my best to help others. What more do you want from me?”

She frowned. “It had been ten years since Lennarius was no longer an active danger and then suddenly you, some supposed-to-be-dead necromancer, show up, at first claiming that Lennarius had raised you from the dead and then saying you brought yourself back once you revealed yourself to be a necromancer. Am I not allowed to be cautious?”

“You hated me. You hurt me. You threatened me. Had Mom not threatened you, you would have let me stay dead when I brought you back.”

“It was where you belonged at that point,” she said. “I’m not sorry for that.”

“I’m not expecting an apology. I don’t want an apology. I want you to acknowledge that I’m not the only one who has hurt others, either accidentally or on purpose.” Rae sighed heavily, stale air moving through his dirt-packed lungs. “At least whenever I hurt someone, it was on accident.”

She looked away from him, her bloody, cracked lips set into a hard frown. “Take care of Jamie when I die.”

“I will.”

“And Easton,” she said.

“Of course.” Rae nodded quickly. “I’ll leave so you can get some rest.”

“Good,” Momboo said. “Make sure my kids don’t do anything stupid when I’m dead.”

He nodded again before leaving, closing the door a bit harder than necessary behind him. It was still raining outside. It had been raining for just over a week, Oscar had been dead for just over a week, and yet it seemed like so much more time had passed.

“It truly is a pity how much this place has rotted,” Fable said the next afternoon as he stared across Lodestar Grove with a frown, his golden eyes locked on the bed and breaking. A spark of light danced across his hand. “It’s a pity that burning the inn would do nothing but cause problems.”

“Father?” Icarus asked as they stepped out of Momboo’s house. “Who are you talking to?”

He turned to face his son. “I was thinking out loud. How is Momboo doing?”

“She wants to see you,” they said with a shrug.

“Perfect,” Fable said before brushing past them to enter the house. He went straight upstairs to her room, simply using his magic to illuminate the space instead of opening the blinds or lighting the lantern hanging from her ceiling. “Momboo?”

The dying life witch lay in bed, covered in blankets and still shivering despite the weather. In the artificial light cast by Fable’s magic, her skin looked thinner than paper, veins standing out like black bruises. “Fable,” she rasped out, her voice rough, her throat dry, her lungs starting to fail her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I heard how bad your condition has become,” he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m dying; there’s no need to dance around the subject.” She coughed, her entire body trembling with the violent movement, dark blood dripping from her lips. “I’ve already sent a letter to Easton so they know. I simply hope they get back in time. I’d like to see both of my kids before I die.”

Fable frowned and nodded. “I see. Did Icarus tell you he brought health potions?”

“They did,” she said as she wiped the blood from her mouth. “It won’t work.”

“I think it is worth the try,” he said harshly. “It may not stop this but I think it can slow it so you can see Easton again, so there will be time for another life witch to come and heal you, and so you can see the necromancers suffocate for what they have done.”

Momboo frowned. “I don’t want revenge like that, Fable, not anymore. I talked to Rae yesterday; it was an accident. This was an accident. I can’t forgive him; I don’t like him, but he and his family shouldn’t suffer because of me.”

The light flickered, casting severe shadows across Fable’s face, his eyes glowing in the darkness. “You wanted it before.”

“And I am dying!” Her voice broke when she raised it and she was left coughing, her hand pressed against her chest as she fought for breath. “I’m too tired to want revenge. I just want my death to be painless. I want my kids to be safe.”

“They will be safe when all necromancers are dead,” Fable said as he stood. “They will be safe when everything and everyone touched by necromantic magic is dead. That is the way this world works when there are monsters roaming free.”

“I—”

“Lennarius has returned and he is raising the hordes again. Rae and Centross have joined him; Isla supports them.” The lies fell easily from his silver tongue. “Everyone supporting them is an ally to Lennarius. Everyone touched by necromantic magic is a foothold those monsters have in our world.”

Momboo looked away, tears burning her eyes.

Fable sighed heavily. “I am sorry you are struggling with this, Momboo. I will leave so you can rest.”

“Fable,” she said suddenly, making him pause in the doorway. “Isla says that you are the one responsible for Oscar’s death. Do you lie when you say that Centross did it?”

He turned to face her and the magic he cast to light up the room disappeared. “Oscar by Centross. I had no hand in its death and I trust the information your sister has given me.” Then he left, closing her bedroom door behind her and going downstairs. “Icarus, please message Jamie and tell them that Momboo is rapidly deteriorating. I am going back to the house you have here; I expect you to stay here until Jamie gets here.”

Icarus frowned but nodded. “OK.”

“And leave Momboo alone,” he said as he pulled on his rain jacket. “She needs to rest.”

“Yes, Father,” they said.

Fable left, the door slamming closed behind him.

A few minutes later, Jamie got to Momboo’s house, wiping off their paws and hanging up their jacket. “Icarus? What’s going on?”

Icarus stood up from where they had been sitting at the kitchen table. “Momboo’s upstairs.”

“Is she dead?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“No.” They shook their head. “Not yet. Have a good day.”

Jamie spun and hurried upstairs, pausing in the doorway to Momboo’s bedroom. “Mom?”

Momboo glanced over, her expression softening when she saw them. “Hi, Jamie.”

“Hi—” His voice cracked and he rushed over to climb into bed next to her. “Hi, Mom.”

“How was your day today?” she asked as they laid their head in her lap, stroking their fur gently. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

Jamie laughed softly. “I was just here yesterday.”

“I have been very lucky to have you, Ocie, and Isla visiting nearly every day,” Momboo said. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good,” he said, staring up at her, their black eyes filled with tears. “Mom—”

She wiped away the tear that dripped down into their fur, her voice soft. “Please don’t cry for me, not now, not while I’m still here.”

“Icarus said you were dying,” Jamie whispered.

“I have been dying for a while,” she whispered back, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry though; I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know…”

“I sent a letter to Easton to tell them to hurry home. I’m going to see them again before I die, I promise.”

Jamie nodded as they started to cry softly.

Momboo made a soft, sad noise in the back of her throat, shifting so she was lying down fully, pulling Jamie close. “I’ve got you; it’s going to be OK. I love you so much.”

“You’re dying,” they whispered, their face buried in her shoulder. “How is that OK?”

“I talked to Rae yesterday,” she said. “We will never get along but he said that he’ll be there to support you once I’m dead.”

Jamie sobbed. “I don’t want you to die.”

“I know.” Momboo ran her fingers through his fur. “I know, but you will have people who support you. You won’t go through this alone. I’m so sorry, Jamie. I wish I could change this.”

“I know,” he said softly. “I know.”

“Good.” She pressed a kiss to their forehead. “I’m glad.”

“I love you, Mom,” Jamie told her, arching into the touch.

“I love you too,” Momboo said, holding them close as they fell asleep.

It was the middle of the night when Fable left Icarus’ house. The rain had stopped briefly; Ocie must be asleep, but the sky was still covered in clouds. There was no moon or starlight. He walked down the path towards Momboo’s house, checking to make sure his enchanted dagger was still attached to his belt. He unlocked Momboo’s front door with the key he had borrowed from Icarus before slipping inside quietly. The house was silent, its two occupants sleeping peacefully upstairs. Fable went upstairs, pulled the dagger from its sheath, and sank it into Momboo’s chest. She didn’t even have a chance to scream or jerk awake or react in any way. She was dead before Fable removed the dagger. Then he was gone, leaving the front door cracked open behind him.

And—

And—

And Jamie woke up to the thick, cloying smell of iron. Then he noticed the stickiness in his fur.

“Mom?” they asked softly, still blinking sleep from their eyes as he sat up. The thick blankets were soaked in blood. Momboo was lying next to him, motionless and pale, with black blood slowly leaking from the hole in her chest. Jamie screamed.

They scrambled out of bed, his breathing coming too shallow and too fast. There wasn’t enough oxygen in his lungs. The world spun around them, making Jamie stumble and grab the bedside table to stay standing. Momboo looked so peaceful lying there like she had died in her sleep. How Jamie wished she had died in her sleep instead of being murdered.

“Mom?” Jamie asked, his voice shaking as he grabbed her shoulders. No matter how hard he shook her or how loudly he screamed for her, there was no response. “Mom, please wake up—”

He grabbed his comm and pressed the first contact that showed up, not even bothering to check who it was. Anyone was better than no one.

Fenris’ voice came from their comm a minute later. “Jamie?” he asked, sounding worried but still mostly asleep. “It’s the middle of the night. What’s going on?”

“She’s dead,” they sobbed as they curled up next to their mom, not caring about the sticky blood being smeared through their fur. “She’s gone—”

“Momboo?” Panic was starting to creep into his voice.

Jamie nodded even if Fenris couldn’t see him. “Someone killed my mom!”

“OK, OK, OK.” The sound of hurried movement drifted through the call as Fenris scrambled to get ready, along with a hiss of pain. “I’ll be there in less than five minutes, I promise. We’re going to figure this out.”

“OK,” he whispered, his paw shaking as he grabbed his comm. “I’m going to hang up now…”

“OK—” Fenris was cut off as Jamie ended the call. The bear curled up tighter against his mom’s side, his entire body shaking as he sobbed.

Just a few minutes later, the front door opened and Fenris ran upstairs, a pained noise escaping him when he saw the blood and motionless body. Then he crossed the room to rest a hand on Jamie’s shoulder, his voice soft. “I’m so sorry, Jamie,” he whispered. “I texted Icarus about it. I can make sure that everyone else knows; this doesn’t have to be something you’re responsible for telling Lodestar Grove about.”

Jamie sat up, rubbing at his eyes. “My mom’s dead and the first person to know is Icarus?” they snap, nerves worn thin with fear and grief. “Not Ocie? Or Easton? Not her own family.”

Fenris looked like shit; there were healing scabs down his forearms, the palm of one hand was wrapped tightly with bandages, there were bandages peeking out from the collar of his shirt, and one eye was hidden behind layers of gauze and strips of linen.

“I thought you’d want to tell them,” Fenris said gently, his bandaged hand rubbing their shoulder. “Or I wanted to make sure you were OK with me telling your family about her death. I just told Icarus because I know they were looking for something to help her.” And because telling Icarus meant telling Fable. And because Fenris had allied himself with Fable. And because the only person cruel enough to kill an already dying life witch would be the necromancer who caused this in the first place. But Fenris didn’t voice those thoughts out loud.

Jamie just nodded, staring dully at the blood-soaked sheets.

“Let’s get you out of bed and clean the blood out of your fur,” he suggested even as he pulled Jamie out of bed with a quick grimace of pain. “What happened?”

“I woke up and she was dead—” Their voice cracked under the weight of tears, their shoulders shaking as they sobbed. “She was already gone—”

Fenris hugged him tightly. “We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Jamie hugged back, sobbing into his shirt.

The front door opened again. “Fenris?” Icarus called. “Jamie?”

“Come on.” Fenris guided Jamie downstairs, his voice soft and gentle. “We’ll get you washed up. Do you want something to drink?”

Jamie shook their head quickly as they sat down at the kitchen table, their legs pulled to their chest.

“Jamie—” Icarus was standing in the middle of the room, eyes wet with tears. They swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Fenris shook his head quickly. “It’s too late, Icarus; there’s nothing that can be done.”

“What happened?”

“Someone stabbed her in the chest,” he said quietly, wetting a rag at the sink before starting to carefully get the blood from Jamie’s fur, his touch gentle but his hands shaking. “It was already starting to rot. The blood was black. I—it wasn’t normal, Icarus. A body left for just a few hours doesn’t look like that.”

Icarus swallowed hard and looked vaguely sick. “Starting to rot?”

“At least the area directly around the wound and the blood,” Fenris explained.

“Death magic,” they said, their expression hard. “I will let Father know. He’ll know what to do.”

“Right.” Then he turned to Jamie, his voice softer. “Do you need me to get anyone? To bring you anywhere?”

Jamie shook his head, staring unseeingly at the floor. “Easton needs to know…”

“I’ll message them right now,” Fenris said as he pulled out his comm. “What about Ocie? Athena?”

“Can you ask ‘thena to come here?” they asked with a shaking voice. “I don’t want to leave Mom…”

He nodded. “OK, I can do that.”

“I’ll leave and come back when it isn’t the middle of the night,” Icarus said as they started backing toward the door. “Are you fine with me telling anyone I run into?”

“Yes,” Fenris said. “Lodestar Grove deserves to know what happened.”

They nodded sharply and left, closing the door behind them.

“No one here would have killed her,” Jamie said softly, tilting their head to the side so Fenris could clean up the rest of the blood. “Someone else did this.”

Fenris frowned. “We’ll figure it out later. Right now, you’re in shock and need to rest.”

“I want Rae…”

“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “Don’t bring a necromancer into a house where someone was just killed by a necromancer.”

“I—” Jamie blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

“Centross killed Oscar.” His voice didn’t shake. “Rae killed Momboo. Don’t bring her murderer back here.”

They growled low in the back of his throat. “Rae wouldn’t kill her.”

“You’ve seen them interact. They hate each other.”

“But Rae wouldn’t kill anyone!” Jamie snapped. “He especially wouldn’t kill someone he knows means the world to me! He wouldn’t kill my Mom!!”

“He’s a necromancer,” Fenris said sharply, tossing the rag into the laundry. “His kind destroyed the world and killed hundreds of thousands of people. You’re too young to see just how dangerous necromancers can be but you’ve seen what Rae can do. You were there when he attacked me. You should know what they’re like.”

“I—”

His comm pinged and he looked at it with a frown. “Easton responded. They’ll be here in about three days. They know what happened with Rae and Momboo.”

“You—” Jamie blinked hard, fighting for breath as the walls seemed to inch closer and steal all the oxygen from the air. “You told them that Rae killed her.”

“Yes.” And he didn’t even seem to understand what was wrong.

“You’re a fool,” they growled. “You’re stupid for believing that Centross would kill his nephew or that Rae would kill my mom on purpose! What the fuck do you think you’re doing buying into Fable’s version of events?! Lennarius is a monster but Rae and Centross and Isla are nothing like him!!”

“Jamie…” Fenris reached out for them.

“Don’t touch me!!” Jamie yelled as they slapped away his hand. “Stay away from me and my family! Get out of my fucking house!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said softly.

“Yes, I do!! I’ve seen how you’ve treated Rae and Centross just because they’re necromancers! You’ve been cruel to them despite dating them and claiming to love them! And now that Mom’s dead, you don’t even wait for us to bury her before you start throwing around accusations you have no proof of!”

“Jamie,” Fenris said, his voice sharp.

They choked on a sob, tears dripping from their eyes. “Get out. Stay away from me and my family. Stay away from Rae and Centross.”

“You’re grieving. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ll still give you the space you need to process this.”

“Who hurt you, Fenris?” Jamie asked softly, gesturing to the gauze and linen eyepatch.

“I—” He sighed heavily before grimacing. “Arisanna did this.”

“Why?”

Fenris shrugged, rubbing at his shoulder. “I guess she decided to side with the necromancer who killed her family and didn’t like that I opposed the necromancers. I’ll survive. This is why I think you should stay away from Rae.”

Jamie frowned and pulled his knees closer to his chest. “Just please leave. I don’t want to spend time with you if you think that he would kill Momboo.”

“I know he did,” he said but he still left, the door closing behind him. And Jamie started to cry again.

“What happened?” Fable asked as Icarus entered their house again. He was standing in the kitchen, staring out the window at the dark river below.

Icarus blinked back tears, willing their voice not to shake in front of their father. “Momboo was killed.”

“By whom?” He spun quickly, golden eyes glowing faintly in the semi-darkness. “She was already dying. Who would kill her?”

“Fenris said the wound was already starting to rot,” they said.

Fable’s entire expression twisted with rage. “A necromancer.”

Icarus shrugged. “Probably… I mean, she was already slowly dying because of Rae’s magic.”

“Yes,” he said slowly, his expression hard as he stared at his son. “I’m disappointed in you, Icarus.”

“What? Why?” Their head jerked up to look him in the eyes, their cheeks stained with tears.

“You let Momboo die.” Fable sighed heavily and shook his head. “Your potions were not enough. Your protection was not enough to keep her safe from the necromantic curse that plagues this land. I understand you believed you were doing your best, Icarus, but you should have done better. You should have been smarter. Faster. More skilled, especially since you choose to pride yourself in your alchemy skills.”

“I—” They started to cry again.

He tutted. “Truly, Icarus, I expected better of you. I thought my own son would be better at the singular task I gave you. Are you so slow that you cannot keep one person alive?”

“I’m sorry,” they said quickly. “I tried my best.”

“I believe that you believe that.” There was no kindness in Fable’s voice.

“I—”

“And what about Easton?” he asked, interrupting them.

“Excuse me?”

Fable sighed heavily. “When will they arrive? Do they know of Momboo’s death? Will they side with us against the necromancers or will they believe those monsters’ lies?”

“I messaged them,” Icarus said quietly as they stared at the floor with tears dripping down their cheeks, crying softly. “They know about Momboo. They said they’ll be here in three days.”

“Do they have magic?” he asked.

They swallowed hard, trying not to break down completely, knowing that it would only make Fable angrier at them. Their gloves kept glitching. “Yes. They detect remnants of magic.”

“Oh.” Fable frowned, the floor creaking quietly under him as he paced. “I see.”

“Father?” Icarus asked.

“You know I am only doing what I believe is best for the world,” he said. “You know that I am trying my best to make sure that necromancers will never destroy the world again. You know that sometimes people need to die. You know I am very disappointed that you let Momboo be murdered without a chance to fight back because you couldn’t get rid of the death magic slowly killing her.”

“I know,” they said softly.

“And, of course, you’ll do anything to make it right.”

Icarus nodded quickly.

“Kill Easton when they arrive at Lodestar Grove,” Fable said, his voice hard. “They are dangerous should they side with the necromancers. That cannot be an option.”

“What? No!”

He smacked Icarus across the face. “Are you arguing with me? Are you doubting me, Icarus?”

“No—” Icarus jerked back, their eyes wide as they rubbed their cheek. “No, I’m not. I’m sorry, Father.”

“Good.” Fable took a deep breath before sighing heavily. “Kill Easton and then come live with me in Westgrove. It is clearly no longer safe for you here.”

“But—” They cut themselves off when he raised his hand again. “Of course, Father.”

He smiled. “Good. Make me proud, Icarus. Do not fail me again.”

“Yes, Father,” Icarus said quickly.

“Goodnight, Icarus, sleep well,” Fable said before going upstairs to his room.

Chapter Text

“Rae?” Arisanna called as she entered the library, the door slamming closed behind her. She was still dressed in a borrowed chiton from Ulysses, the thick fabric waterproof and warm against the pouring rain. She wiped the mud from her boots on the mat by the front door before calling out again. “Rae!”

Rae stepped out of the workshop, his expression hardening when he saw her. “Can I help you? Jamie and Athena are here and they don’t need more stress after last night.” Then he sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped when he saw how her expression crumpled. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to snap but it’s been a difficult few hours for everyone.”

“I know,” she said, keeping her voice quiet so the others in the workshop wouldn’t hear her. “I heard what happened. Ulysses told me and I—" She shrugged only to wince as the movement pulled painfully at her various injuries, already blinking back burning tears. “I know you didn’t kill her. I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“What changed?” he asked with a slight frown. “I know Fenris attacked you but I wouldn’t think that that would be enough to change your mind. Especially with how much you hated necromancers simply for existing… not that I blame you when it comes to Lennarius.”

Ari sighed heavily. “According to Ulysses and Caspian, Fenris is saying that you killed Momboo. I know your magic was slowly killing her but you don’t strike me as someone to stab her in cold blood.” Her voice cracked and she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes. “Just a week ago, I know I’d be the one most likely to kill her and even I wouldn’t do that to her.”

“I wouldn’t.” Rae shook his head and glanced quickly back at the doorway to make sure Jamie or Athena weren’t there listening in. “How are you doing?”

“As fine as I can after my brother tried to kill me.” Her body ached. There was a deep pain in her bones that never fully went away. Her heart ached from grief and heartbreak. How did one recover from the betrayal of your brother being willing to kill you? How did one recover from the sorrow of losing a woman you fell in love with?

“And physically?” he asked. “How’s your body holding up? Should you even be standing right now?”

She chuckled thinly. “Probably not but I can’t stay in Ulysses’ house.”

“He’s kicking you out?” Rae asked with a raised eyebrow, sounding surprised, and rightfully so. Ulysses was too kind to do that.

“No.” Ari shook her head quickly. “No. I’m going stir crazy if I sit still for another day. I wanted to visit and tell you that I know you didn’t kill her.”

“Ah… Do you want to come sit down? So you’re not on your leg.” He paused and frowned. “Does Ulysses know you’re here?”

She shook her head again as she followed him into the library’s workshop, her expression tight with pain from every step. The windows of the workshop were cracked open to let in fresh, warm air and the smell of rain. Athena and Jamie were curled up together on the couch, Jamie slumped against Athena’s shoulder and half asleep, blinking sleepily at Rae as the necromancer approached.

Athena’s mismatched eyes flicked to Ari quickly before they pressed a kiss to the top of their partner’s forehead. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly.

Rae scooped up Bucket from where the cat was trying to stick its face in a mug of tea. “According to Ari, people—Fable’s allies—have decided that a necromancer, most likely me, has killed Momboo.” He put Bucket in Jamie’s lap, smiling slightly when the cat curled up there and Jamie stroked its soft fur slowly.

“Oh…” Athena frowned before he fully took in Arisanna’s appearance with the borrowed chiton and bandages. “What happened?”

Ari sat down quickly on the couch as far away from Athena and Jamie as she could, her wings fluttering with the movement and sending raindrops everywhere. “Fable decided that I was a liability who needed to be killed. He sent Fenris after me.”

“So you’re no longer working with Fable, right?” he asked.

“I’m not working with the bastard who planned my murder,” she said, her voice sharp. “I’m not stupid. I’ve been Ulysses the past few days since he stepped in and stopped it… I was originally planning on healing and then fucking off somewhere far away from here but now…” Ari shrugged before rubbing her shoulder with a grimace. “Fable killed Momboo. I sided with him because he promised to get revenge on necromancers for what Lennarius did. He’s killing innocent people now.”

“Had Fenris not attacked you, would you still break away from Fable?” Rae asked as he sat down on the couch, reaching over to scratch Bucket’s head, the cat purring loudly.

Arisanna smiled thinly, looking widely uncomfortable. “No, I wouldn’t. I should be sorry but—” She waved her hand. “Emotions are still weird after Fenris’ blood magic fucked with everything.”

“Oh!” Athena’s expression lit up. “Your emotions aren’t locked away anymore? That’s amazing!”

She looked even more uncomfortable as she hunched in on herself. “Yeah. Fenris’ magic reversed whatever it was… maybe it was just some stupid trauma response but they’re returning slowly. I don’t know what to think about it; it’s a very large change.”

They nodded quickly. “That’s still amazing and I’m really glad you’re back. Does Centross know?”

“Yeah,” Ari said, glancing quickly at Rae. “He was one of the first people to know.”

“I do have something I want to show you,” Rae said, making a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret later. “But only if you’re feeling up for a bit of a trip.”

“How far away?” she asked.

He frowned. “It’s a bit past Fenris and Ocie’s house. You can borrow a horse; it’ll be faster if we ride there.”

“OK.” Ari nodded. “Sure.”

“The rain seems to have slowed down,” Rae said. “Athena, Jamie, will you two be OK if I leave you guys alone for an hour?”

Athena nodded. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. I’ll text you if anything changes and if either of us needs something right away, I’ll get Ulysses or Isla.”

“Maybe text Ulysses to let him know that Arisanna is with me and hasn’t disappeared randomly so he doesn’t worry.”

“I will,” they said. “Don’t worry.”

Rae got to his feet. “Thank you. Do you want me to get anything while I’m out?”

“No, but I’ll text if anything changes,” she told him.

“Ready, Ari?” he asked as he headed for the door, Ari getting up to follow him. They went out into the rain and hurried to the bed and breakfast for the horses. Arisanna watched as Rae saddled two horses, holding the borrowed cloak tight around her to keep rain from soaking her clothes or bandages. Then Rae helped her onto a horse before climbing onto his own.

“Where exactly are we going?” Arisanna asked as she followed him out of Lodestar Grove and towards Fenris’ home and the mountain behind it.

“To the mountain,” Rae said. “There’s a mountain and a bone chapel under it. Centross has created a hidden base under it. I think you should know where it is with Fable trying to kill you. I trust that you won’t go running back to him with this knowledge.”

She nodded, frowning across the bleak, rainy fields. “Right.”

The pathway up to the top of the staircase was slippery with rain but still passable. At the top—at the gash that bled death magic like a torn artery—the world below was hidden by rain and fog. Rae dismounted, guided the horses into the stables, and tied them in the shelter.

“Oh.” Arisanna blinked at the staircase leading downward, her eyes wide. “What the fuck?”

“It’s a bit of a climb down,” he told her, starting down the staircase, the glowberry vines lighting up the passageway.

They descended in silence until Ari saw the black lake and the massive cathedral, her breath catching in her throat. “Oh—”

“Yeah.” Rae pushed open the door to reveal the inside, covered in pale bones and radiating all-encompassing death magic. He crossed the main room quickly, Ari following him, and went to the small door in the back, following the same path he took Jerry nearly two weeks before.

However, instead of going deeper into the catacombs, Rae stopped in the center hall. It had been cleaned recently by Rae, Centross, and Isla mainly, the floor dusted, and the cobwebs removed from the corners. The fireplace had been cleaned.

“Huh,” Ari said as she looked around. “Interesting.”

“There’s food, water, and first aid in the barrels,” Rae told her. “To the left are the bedrooms; they’re easy to find if you look for places that have been cleaned. To the right are the catacombs; I suggest that you stay away from them. They’re not dangerous but I still suggest you stay out of it. Oscar’s body is kept there.”

“Oh.” She frowned before nodding, the hair on her neck standing on end. “Right. I see.”

“Creepy?” he asked with a thin smile. “Jerry didn’t like it either.”

Arisanna scoffed. “You necromancers are always so creepy with death and shit. I don’t like it.”

“That’s fine; we can leave now that you know it’s here.” Rae went back up the stairs to the main room.

She frowned and followed him, somewhat shocked into silence.

“Of course,” he said calmly. “I don’t know what the chapel would do if you do tell Fable and then come here or he and his allies come here. It almost seems to have a mind of its own sometimes and a tendency to be very protective of the people buried here.”

“I don’t want to be killed by a shit ton of bones,” Ari said with a shudder as they left the cathedral, able to breathe a bit easier once she wasn’t being watched by the thousands of bones.

“My sister is dead and you expect me to just sit to the side while you deal with the necromancers?” Ocie asked sharply, glaring at Fable. “Centross murdered Oscar. Rae murdered Momboo. And yet, you continuously say that I shouldn’t hunt down what is rightfully mine!”

Fable took a deep breath. “I have told you that I will do everything to make sure that you can be the one to kill Centross. I am not going back on that now.”

“And what about Rae?” she hissed. “He killed my sister! While my nephew was sleeping next to her!”

“An old ally who has much more experience dealing with necromancers than I do is coming here in the next few days,” he said, his voice calm as his fingers drummed against his desk. “I will be talking with her to assess the threat and the best way to exterminate the monsters.”

Ocie arched an eyebrow at him, lightning cracking against the sky as the wind howled outside, rain beating down on the world.

“As soon as that is done, as soon as I have the plan in place, I will tell you.” Fable met her gaze easily, his eyes glowing despite all the lights in his office being on to combat the darkness the storm cast. “I can promise you that you will get to kill a necromancer. I can’t promise it will be Centross because, again, I will take into consideration the advice of my ally and cannot tell anyone to not kill a necromancer should they get a chance. Surely, you understand that, right?”

“Right,” she said, her voice sharp. “I see.”

“I am sorry about your loss.” He kept his voice soft, gentle, and caring, his expression a perfect mask of concern. “I understand how painful it can be to lose family, especially to necromancers. I will not pretend to know how it feels to lose a child but I understand how crippling such a grief can be.”

“Thank you.” Ocie’s voice was soft. She was so tired and yet the storm still raged outside.

“You will get your revenge,” Fable told her. “After this, you will live in a world where no one has to fear necromancers and their cursed, unnatural magic.”

“That is why I’m working with you.”

He pressed his lips together in annoyance but didn’t snap back. “I would like you to know that there have been some changes in those you can trust to side with those trying to protect the world.”

“Oh?” Ocie raised an eyebrow.

“Arisanna has, unfortunately, decided to side with the necromancers for her own gain,” Fable said, tutting slightly. “However, both Fenris and Aax have joined our side.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Ari?”

“She wishes to raise the hordes with Lennarius.”

“I assume she knows some of your plans,” she said. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes.” He sighed heavily. “Fenris has offered to take care of it. As far as I am aware, his attempts have not succeeded and I cannot trust that it will work. I cannot blame him for struggling; I understand how difficult it can be when family sides against you.”

Ocie nodded quietly.

“I do hope his attempts will be enough to keep her quiet…” He paused for a moment, staring out his office windows. “Do you need anything else, Ocie?”

“No,” she said as she got to her feet. “Come up with a plan before I hunt down Centross Mistvale and Rae Morningstar myself.”

Fable smiled thinly. “I will take care of it, Ocie. You do not need to worry.”

Ocie scoffed before leaving, the door slamming closed behind her.