a novella by
S. Jean
Forevermore
Copyright © 2024 by S. Jean
Star*Cadets
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover art, design, & illustrations by S. Jean
For those of us with
tragedies in our hearts.
~
Content Warning
This is a story of necromancy and skeletons and as such, dead bodies and gore are to be expected. Also within are sexually suggestive scenes, abusive mentor relationships, and the devouring of hearts.
Read with care!
One
Delicate
Birds were delicate, their bones even more so. Too much magic and they would crack, turning to dust, and never again would fly across the breeze. This tiny thing was splayed on a plate made from lapis lazuli, each bone accounted for and arranged in such a way, its once wings were spread to remind it of the days it flew upon the air. That was the trick, after all; when the bones remembered the life they once had, magic takes to the hollow holes left behind and fills it with the desire to move again. Knowing how much magic, however, was tricky. Animals were easy in the grand scheme of the spell, at least. Their lives were once based on desire and instinct, making them altogether simple.
Humans were another matter entirely.
Nezael hadn’t quite tried a human skeleton just yet; not for lack of wanting, however. His lord simply told him it wasn’t time yet and the most Nezael had done was assist the process. Before he tried his own, he had to prove proficiency in simpler animals. And so, today was a test to see how he’d do with one of the most fragile sets of bones: the innerworkings of a bird.
His lord and master, the Great Sorcerer Carrow of the Thorns, watched Nezael work, standing behind him as a statue never once blinking as though to make sure he caught everything Nezael did (and didn’t) do. It took everything Nezael had to focus on the bird and not the potential failure or success.
Taking a deep breath, he let the magic coil inside of him and pressed a gentle finger against the delicate bone that once made the wings. Mouthing ancient spells Carrow had penned himself, Nezael’s magic flitted through his veins as though called. The bird’s wings needed more magic than the rest of the body because the feathers no longer existed. Which, honestly, was a shame. The bird had once proudly displayed a vibrant red plumage and Nezael hated he’d had to peel the feathers and skin back to carefully extract the bones from within.
Just as well. With winter so soon, the bird wouldn’t have survived. It was too late for it to join its brethren in migrating, having lulled itself into a false sense of security at Nezael’s windowsill because of the crumbs he’d left for it. All he’d wanted was to listen to its song while studying; he hadn’t meant to doom it. The poor thing relied on him instead of its own instincts and now it lay here on the slab. Perhaps its un-life would fare better...
Magic twitched and frayed against the distraction and Nezael clenched his jaw. Focus, he told himself.
At his coaxing, the magic stabilized and followed his finger. It threaded itself as a vibrant light cocooning itself around the bones to recreate the once muscle and tissue of the wing. It became a web of shimmering lines until it drew too soft and translucent for the naked eye to see. All it took for a sorcerer like Nezael and his lord, however, was a little more focus, and he saw past the reality of the bones and to the glimmering feathers he gently fashioned from the dormant magic threads. Without them, the skeleton bird simply wouldn’t fly. Each time he finished a feather, he wove it into the unseen muscles and moved onto the next. Very soon, he had brought his finger across the entire body and all the way to the other wing. He sat back in his chair and gazed at his work in its entirety.
Currently, all the threads were slack against the bones, appearing almost like a shroud, but as far as he could see and quantify, it was all interwoven. Moment of truth. He looped careful fingers underneath the unseen threads and pulled them taut toward the core of the bird. The bones shuddered, rattling against the lapis, but remained whole. Good start. Nezael breathed in, gathering what magic lingered in the air, and gently blew a soft breath over the bones.
It took away any bit of magic not yet settled and what was settled, the breath sealed it within the hollow bones. He withdrew his hands, letting the magic go, and waited. At first, he thought he’d tightened all the spells too quickly and it failed to catch, but then the bird was up on its legs, shaking feathers no longer there. The motion made the bones rattle, disconcerting to those not used to it, but to Nezael, music. The bird even chirped, a sound made from the vibration of magic against the bones, and it trilled its usual soft song for him.
Nezael’s lips stretched into a smile and he offered his finger to the bird like he had so many mornings before. On instinct with memory woven into the bones, the bird hopped up like it always did and gently pecked his hand, searching for stray crumbs.
Lord Carrow exhaled behind him, reminding Nezael he was there, and the tension stole out of the room with the breath. Two hands gently combed Nezael’s feathery black hair from his forehead and Nezael followed the motion, tilting his head back. Carrow’s hands were warm today, tingling with latent magic. He pressed a kiss to Nezael’s forehead and his lips were just as warm.
“What did I tell you?” Carrow murmured, his voice its usual rumble deep in his throat. One of his hands trailed down Nezael’s neck, its soft touch tempting Nezael to shiver, but he kept his composure. As Carrow rested his fingers against Nezael’s collarbone, he offered his other hand to the bird. It happily hopped from Nezael’s finger to Carrow’s and he drew it closer.
“Talent and potential. Your worries were unfounded, my blossom.” He smiled, his amber eyes twinkling with magic, and the bird took its first flight through the great hall. It flew up to the rafters and settled happily beside the skeletal corvid Carrow had raised long ago to act as his eyes outside the tower.
They both watched the bird go until it was settled in and once it was, Carrow gazed down at Nezael again. “You should have more confidence.” His fingers gently pressed into Nezael’s neck.
