Necrospect: Chronicles of the Wizard-Detective by J.B. Markes

Author:J.B. Markes [Markes, J.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-06T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I should have gone back to my room that night after the chai house. Instead, I made my way to the Calling Grounds, as far away from the Tower of Hands as I could possibly get. I often paid visits to the summoning school when I couldn’t sleep. As commonplace as magic had become to me, I was always amazed by the quick progress of even the lowest members of their order.

A conjuror once told me that the creatures summoned were real beings that lived out their lives in the normal fashion until called upon to serve their masters. From that day, I never looked at wild animals the same way again. I wondered if they served of their own free will, or if they were otherwise compelled to obey. Or perhaps they had known no other way and were unaware they had a choice at all. As an apprentice of the manifestation school, I sympathized.

The Calling Grounds were well-lit, drowning out the light of the Archseer’s Tower to the northeast. The initiates took turns calling their chosen animals, bidding them to perform menial tasks, and dismissing them to the ether whence they came. The creatures behaved much the same way one would expect of a common pet, and it always made for an interesting display to see a panther or wolf rubbing up against its caller. The summoners were all too happy to oblige their charges, stroking their fur or scales approvingly. Of all wizards enrolled in the academy, the summoners seemed the happiest in their craft.

A crowd gathered around one of the two apprentices. The yellow-robed man was waving his hands in a full circle in front of him. His overt gestures seemed more for show than for weaving arcane energies, but the result was startling nonetheless. A wisp of incense spiraled outward from his palms, coalescing into the solid form of a small feathered serpent, which twisted and glided just above the pupils’ heads. Its scales glistened white and green as it writhed playfully, let out a high-pitched shriek, and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“I didn’t know such creatures existed.” I recognized the voice, but when I turned to see Inspector Raines standing beside my bench, it took a few seconds to realize exactly who it was, so out of place was the chance encounter. “Can you do it?” he asked.

“I could try,” I said. “But I wouldn’t be as good as they are. It’s far removed from my area of expertise. But I’m inspired by what the practiced wizards can do.”

“I hope you don’t mind the company,” Raines said. “I often take walks in the evenings. My assigned quarters are rather stuffy. I saw you walking and thought you might have the same idea.”

“No,” I said.

“Well, just the same, I thought we might take the opportunity to get better acquainted.” He didn’t wait for an invitation, but fell gently onto the stone bench beside me, a little closer than I would have liked.

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