Tale of the Necromancer by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

21

Maggie watchedpanic start to form in Rinnie’s expression.

He reached for his gun. “The snipers—”

“Are unconscious or tied up by now. They aren’t hurt. I promise.” Maggie shrugged. “Same with your guys probably lurking in the alleys nearby. I really don’t want to get a bullet put in my head and be dragged off to the Vatican vaults.” She cringed at the thought of it.

“What did you do, Maggie?” Ally eyed the rows of silently staring people around them.

“Revenants. They aren’t that hard to make. I’ll let them go the moment we’re done here.” She turned her attention back to Rinnie. “Please take your hand off your gun. I just want to talk this through.”

“You—” Rinnie shook his head. “No. Now it is even more imperative that we take you in. The Cardinal—”

“The Cardinal insists all this is not necessary.”

It was Maggie’s turn to jolt in surprise at the unexpected voice. In her dramatic reveal—which she’d worked really hard on—she hadn’t noticed another man walking up to them. He was tall and thin, with long chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail and a splash of gray at the temples. He was looking at her with a warm, friendly smile. He held a coffee in a to-go cup.

“Um…” was all she could muster.

“Hello, Ms. Valard. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He struck his hand out to her. “I am Cardinal Gabriel Moretti. I am the one in charge of the Ordo ut Solis. But you may call me Gabe.”

“I—uh—oh.” She put her hand in his, still stunned and confused. “Call me Maggie.”

“Fantastic. And so we are all met.” Gabe sat at the table next to her, and without hesitation reached over the surface to take one of the confections from the tray. “You may dismiss your creations. I think you will begin to cause a problem with the traffic before long.” The man had a thick Italian accent, and his English, while it was perfectly fine, felt a little stilted.

Right. Yeah. Her revenants. “The moment I send them away, you’ll put a bullet in my head.”

“I have no intention of taking you prisoner, Maggie.” Gabe turned in his seat so he could better face her while he talked. “And I would have no need of bullets.” He lifted his hand out in front of him, palm up, and she watched in shock as a ball of fire formed between his fingers. He clenched his fist, and it went out with a small poof.

“Pyro-priest.” Maggie grunted. “Shit.” She hadn’t planned for a pyro-priest. Dead people were generally pretty flammable.

“Pyro-Cardinal,” Gabe corrected with a grin. “Now, please send your friends away so that we may talk without being stared at.” He glanced over at the rows of the undead who were waiting for her command. “It is hardly the strangest thing I have ever witnessed, but it’s quite discomforting.”

She was now officially outmatched. With a long, heavy sigh, she did as he asked and released them. They all walked away at once, heading back to their respective graves. The illusions that kept them from appearing human—even to Rinnie—would fade the moment they crawled back into the dirt.

“I expect there are some very dismayed park service employees today…” Gabe said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

That got her to laugh despite herself. His eyes flickered in amusement, happy to see his joke landed. She didn’t trust him—she didn’t know him—but she was starting to believe him. “You’re not what I expected from the Cardinal.”

“I certainly am not what would you have received ten years ago. I am far more open-minded and reasonable than my predecessor.” Gabe gestured across the table at Rinnie and Ally. “I allow these two, a demoness and a priest of my order, to maintain a relationship, do I not?”

“Wait—” Rinnie stammered. “What?”

Gabe blinked, surprised. “Am I mistaken? Are you two not romantically engaged?”

Ally’s face went bright red. Rinnie was getting there. The older priest shook his head frantically. “It is against the rules of the priesthood to—”

“Oh, God above.” Gabe sighed and put his hand over his face. “You really are immensely dense, Father Lenci, aren’t you?”

Shocked at the insult, Rinnie clearly didn’t know what to say, and just made strange noises. Ally, meanwhile, looked like she wanted to slide under the table.

Maggie was just glad she wasn’t the only source of drama for once.

“I paired you two up for a reason, Lenci.” Gabe sounded almost annoyed. No, not annoyed, angry. “Do you honestly believe I did not know how you felt for each other? Or that I did not condone it?” He rattled something off in Italian that sounded like a teacher scolding a student, even though it looked like Rinnie was five years the Cardinal’s elder.

But Rinnie’s shoulders still dropped, his eyes wide, his cheeks crimson. When Gabe was done ranting in Italian, he stared down at his lap like a humiliated child.

Gabe threw up his hand, as if giving up, and turned his attention back to her. “I swear. We mortals can be thick as bricks, and just as thoughtful.”

Maggie couldn’t help it. She said the first thing that came to mind. “Who the fuck are you?”

Gabe laughed, his smile lighting up his eyes in a way that almost felt mournful. “Someone who has seen what love can do and would never think to stand in its way. And that goes for you, as well, Maggie. You have your truce. We will not seek to imprison you or harm you.”

She stared at him blankly. “…Thanks.”

“I fear I have also come to discuss another matter with you, one that you might find far more troubling.” He placed his paper coffee cup down on the table in front of him. “But if we are to go forward on level ground, I dislike the idea of starting such an arrangement with you in the dark.”

“Great. More secrets. I love secrets. What is it? The Vatican is run by a giant evil sea monster? Or I’m an evil sea monster?” She snickered. “I’m not sure you can tell me anything that would surprise me at this point.”

“We shall see. Out with it, then?” His eyes flickered in mischief.

“Yes, please. No more nonsense. Just rip the bandage off.”

“Very well.” Gabe smiled faintly. “Gideon and I have been working together this entire time.”

All three of them at the table exploded in various stages of shock and anger.

For Maggie, it was, “Oh, fuck me!”

For Ally, it was a whine of dismay and a slump of the shoulders.

For Rinnie, it was shooting up from the table so fast that he knocked the metal chair over backward, and it was his turn to yell at the Cardinal in Italian.

Gabe gestured as if to try to calm the priest down and kept trying to interject in his own right. Rinnie was now pacing, storming around in a circle, shouting furiously.

Maybe I should learn Italian. I’ve got the time.

Rinnie’s extreme reaction rather outshined her own. Or maybe he was vicariously expressing her rage for her.

At some point, minutes into listening to the two Italian holy soldiers shout it out, Rinnie picked up his metal chair, slammed it back down on its legs, and then sat in it. Whatever were the last words out of his mouth on his most recent rant were clearly obscenities. Or at least instructing Gabe what he could do to himself.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal only smiled. “Are we done?”

“We’re done.” Rinnie snatched up another pastry from the tray. “And you’re an asshole.”

“You needn’t swear at me in English as well. I understand perfectly how you feel.” Gabe turned his attention back to her. “And you, Maggie?”

Opening her mouth, she paused and shut it again. Was she mad? Sure. She had been shot at, chased, and generally threatened by the Order for months. But was she that mad? Not…really. She wasn’t even that surprised, either. Gideon was a scheming, manipulative piece of shit, especially when she was involved. “I’m going to take this up with the wraith.”

“Lich,” Gabe corrected her with a smile, rightfully not understanding her running joke. “And I am to bear the blame as well.”

“Yeah, but something tells me it wasn’t your idea. I do want you to explain it to me.” Maggie finally reached for the tray, opting for a cheese danish.

“Dr. Gideon Raithe has been an individual of great interest to the Order for centuries. But he is…pernicious. When I took over ten years ago, I thought it best to redirect our efforts from seeking to eliminate him, to perhaps come up with a partnership. An understanding. He is many things, including a savvy businessman. He eagerly agreed. We would cease our attempts to capture or kill him, and he would keep us appraised of his political, international, and metaphysical dealings. He is oddly harmless and gregarious for a lich.” Gabe gestured when he talked. It was kind of adorable.

“And, from time to time, we would do business together. We would purchase information from him, or vice versa. He even helped us eliminate a demonic infestation in Mauritania.” He glanced at Ally. “No offense.”

“None taken,” the demoness murmured.

“You two are friends, then?” Maggie arched an eyebrow.

“No. Hardly. Associates. Which was why I was very shocked when he came to me, in person at the Vatican, and asked for my assistance with a particular project that was of the utmost importance to him.”

“Me.”

“You.”

“You knew I was the phylactery.”

Gabe nodded. “My order was to provide you the…sense of urgency he felt was necessary to finally inspire you to heal your mind. You were not to be harmed. None of my people were to die.”

“People were mauled, Cardinal.” Rinnie clenched his fists. “People lost eyes. Limbs. That monster hurt our people. And you agreed to it?”

Gabe’s jaw twitched. “It was not meant to go that far. Things took unexpected paths.”

“But you knew you were putting us in danger!”

“It was what needed to be done.”

“For what? For her? For that thing? What did we gain in return? Why did you agree to it?”

“We gained a true ally in him. Think of it. A lich of that power, owing us a favor of that magnitude? It could save lives in the future—it could save the world. I would sacrifice a hand or an eye to save humanity itself, Father Lenci. I traded the wellbeing of soldiers to have access to the power of a demigod. As much as it pains me, I think it was very well worth the trade. They are soldiers. It is the sad fact of their existence that they are expendable.”

“You—” Rinnie snarled in rage and had to stand up to pace away once more, leaving the conversation. Ally went after him.

More pain because of me. More means to an end, where I am that end. Her heart sank, and her shoulders along with it, as she put a hand over her eyes and leaned back into the metal chair, propping her elbow up on the armrest. Suddenly, she had the urge to cry, but she kept it down.

It was just one more thing.

What was one more thing?

She’d worry about finally getting to the breaking point, but she had already gone far past it and come out the other side. “You shouldn’t have let people get hurt. He’s right, you know.”

The Cardinal sighed. “In my heart, I agree. In my soul, I am certain of it. But in my mind? That which I must use to command the Ordo ut Solis and protect this world from the dangers that place it under siege? It demands I do what needs to be done.”

“He’s still right to be pissed.”

“Of course. He will likely quit. And then, perhaps, he will pull his head from his ass and ask the young demoness to be his.”

Maggie laughed. It was halfhearted, but it was still a laugh. “You’re a weird guy, Cardinal Moretti.”

He grinned playfully. “You should not talk.”

That was fair. She straightened and let out a long breath. “I need to call Gideon later and ream him out. But until then…what happens now? Do you put a tracker in the back of my neck and keep tabs on me?”

“No. I thought perhaps we could start with a friendship and take it from there. We have too many enemies in this world, us mortal humans. I would dislike to make another.” Gabe paused and then corrected his English. “I would dislike making another.”

“English sucks. I get it.” She watched him for a moment. She still didn’t trust him. From his own mouth, he said he was ruthless when it came to furthering the motives of his organization. “Fine. Friendship. I don’t want any enemies either. I’m immortal, but I still don’t like dying. Trust me, it sucks.”

“So I’ve been told.” He stretched his hand out to her. “Allies?”

She shook his hand. “Yeah.”

They paused for a long time as they watched Ally and Rinnie talk in the distance. He was ranting, waving his hands, and she was desperately trying to calm him down. Ally gestured for him to come closer, and without warning, she grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and dragged him down into a kiss.

Maggie smiled. “Finally.”

“You have no idea.” Gabe let out a thoughtful hum. “How is Harry? I thought he might accompany you.”

“Asleep in the hotel. He’s fine. I just thought it was better to come alone. He really doesn’t like Rinnie that much, and these things are rocky enough without adding another hothead into the mix.”

“Quite true. Well.” He slapped his palms onto his thighs. “Now that all that is resolved, let us move on. To begin our new friendship, I thought I might ask a favor of the world’s most powerful necromancer.”

“You heard that bit, huh?”

He smiled.

With a huff of a laugh, she reached down and picked up her bag to place it in her lap. She took a large chunk of the danish she had been eating and handed it to the very eager Algernon who waited inside. She scratched his head as he started to devour the treat. “Sure. What do you want?”

Gabe’s smile faded. “There…is an old friend I wish to speak to. One to whom I was never given the chance to say goodbye.”