Karl left his horse at the community stables, scarring the stable boy into mumbling, and headed towards the inn where Eddy was. He knocked on the door when he reached it, after he had to bribe the innkeeper.

A small blonde, blue-eyed boy answered. Karl smiled down at the little ankle biter and handed him a candy cane. The boy didn’t take it. Strange, the child didn’t look like Valyr.

“Elidys, where is your foster father?” Asked the Boliarin.

“I am not Eli, I am Luciano,” answered the boy. “I’ll call Eddy and Harry. Dany is sleeping, so don’t make too much noise.”

Karl decided to humor the boy, and he placed a finger on his lips, winking. The boy greened, and he ran off to call Edwin. But who was this, Harry? And Dany? What was little Eddy doing with mortals now?

Edwin came with a bright grin on his face, one that froze there and fell after he saw Karl in the doorway.

“Edwin, my boy, I came all the way here from Melion to meet you and congratulate you on moving up in the world. Why the grave face?” Karl invited himself in and moved past Edwin and what appeared to be a vampire. An interesting choice for a companion. But then again, Eddy had always liked the underdogs.

“My lord, I did not expect you…”

“Edwin, enough of that. We are equals,” said Karl with a grin. The small boy from before was looking at him from the couch, standing on it and with a tilted head.

“You found a new wife?” Asked Karl. Edwin shook his head.

“I adopted three children from Orc’s rest town. Well, now I have four, I guess,” Edwin searched for Elidys around the room and saw him in the kitchen stirring the blood-beer mix for Hadrian. The red liquid that would soon turn into jelly fascinated the boy.

“Harry, get him off the stove before he burns himself,” said Edwin, and Hadrian rushed off to do just that.

“Luciano, go to Ben and Rael,” commanded Edwin next. Luciano was startled to have his whole name used and ran off without a protest.

“You really should hide your emotions better, Edwin. One can think they are not welcomed with you sending off the entire family in such a short notice.”

Karl took the boy’s, Luciano’s place, and sat down. Edwin sat opposite him and looked at the coffee table between the couch and the plush chairs for anything to offer his guest.

“No, don’t bother. I have come here to give, not take,” and Karl took out a grimoire and pushed it towards Edwin.

“I know you don’t believe that ingesting organs will grant you power, but it does work. Organs are rich in mana. What you need, is a little guidance on how to preserve it,” Karl rummaged in his pocket and took out a small glass bottle with an eye in it. The eye was whirling madly. Edwin looked like he was going to be sick.

“Now, don’t look at it like that. There is a power in all things living, my boy,” continued on Karl when Edwin’s eyes seemed to be locked with the eye’s gaze. “This one is the eye of a Boliarin from Bisch. An elf. Still alive and well. We had a deal, and he had nothing to pay with that I found valuable. And so…”

“This is barbaric,” murmured Edwin. “And I ate all of Fredrik’s organs. I didn’t get a boost.”

“You severed their connection to the soul that kept them mana rich,” tutted Karl, and he waved a finger at Edwin.

“What you did was something any butcher could have done. Or any surgeon, you did use a scalpel, did you not? But we are neither butchers nor surgeons, well, you are, I suppose. The point is that necromancy is an art, and you should start treating it as such.”

“You call mana that rots away the flesh of others an art form?” Asked Edwin in disbelief.

“It doesn’t have to. I have written this grimoire with your…hobby in mind. There are certain spells that can’t be done with another’s mana. Lifesaving ones, one and all. They require a catalyst to remove the acidic properties of your mana, Edwin. That requires life organs. Don’t limit yourself to what you can do. Look beyond,” Karl pushed the book that was bound in goat hide to Edwin.

The hedge healer’s hand hovered over it. What was Lambert’s game now? What would he want out of him? He was no longer second in line for the throne. He must know about Elidys. So, why was he helping Edwin now?

“You are not doing this out of the goodness of your heart…” Stated Edwin, and he was stopped from saying anything else by a guttural laugh. It sounded like Lambert’s throat was sore, which was something that Edwin hadn’t noticed from his speech. Did that mean…?

“You don’t have much time left?” Asked Edwin, afraid of the answer.

“Soon you will be Duria’s only Boliarin. At my estimate, I have a month left before my phylactery breaks. I have lived far more than I should have. I find that it is time to move on,” Edwin’s breath hitched.

Duria had two slots for Boliarins at a time. The power struggle amidst the necromancers of the country was something he wouldn’t be able to avoid. Not if he stayed in the country.

“My advice is, take your ragtag family tonight and get out of the country while you still can. You are almost untested,” Karl held up a hand when Edwin was about to protest. “Fredrik doesn’t count. Why fill in one slot when two could be open? Do you know how many necromancers there are in Duria?”

“I don’t know. Twenty?” Asked Edwin. There had been no apart from him in his village. Or the neighboring city of Bington.

“About two thousand. And they all want their practices to have royal support. Mark my words, my boy, you will be attacked even once you cross the border. But perhaps this vampire of yours could keep you save? At any rate, your priority is the safety of your children. Little Elidys being chief among them.”

“There is something wrong with that boy. He is…innocent, but…” Edwin struggled to find the words. Vicious didn’t seem to fit in with a boy of two. Cruel was too harsh a word as well.

“Well, Alaine did curse him,” Karl said, so as if he was speaking about the weather. Edwin’s eyes widened.

“But she has no children. What harm is it in the boy ascending the throne?” Edwin knew she used to have a son. The Light of Duria, people called the boy. Bright and smart, but also compassionate. He had been a credit to his parents. Then he died, and their marriage suffered for it.

“I suggest a mirror curse. Alaine is never getting children, and she will not stop the curse. Something subtle that no one will notice. You wouldn’t be harming anyone, really,” said Karl with a shrug. The night his granddaughter let the king back into their marriage bed would be the night the world ended.

“And if she does have a child? I would be dooming an innocent to a life of cruelty!” Snapped Edwin. Lightning fast, Karl snatched his chin in his hands and tightened his grip.

“Listen here, boy, Alaine is never getting children and that is a fact. I will not rest knowing the future king is a psychopath! Do the mirror curse and do it quickly. I still outrank you, so be careful about trying to lie to me!” Then Karl broke off in a coughing fit, and he released Edwin.

“There is nothing I can do for you,” said Edwin as he placed a hand over Karl’s back and scanned his lungs. “You are being eaten from your mana.”

“Oh, I know that, my boy,” now Karl’s voice was kinder. He knew that Edwin had compassion in him even for people like Karl, but to see it in action. “Numb the pain and I will do the mirror curse. Then your hands will remain clean for a little while longer.”

“That will kill you faster,” said Edwin, wavering.

“But my work will be done. And I will save a child. Does one good deed wash away the rest, I wonder,” Edwin began to numb the nerves of the necromancer with his mana.

He wanted to answer him, no, you will burn for all the pain and suffering you have caused, same as me. But the grandfatherly smile that Karl Lambert was giving little Elidys, who was looking at them from the kitchen counter with a frowning Hadrian by his side, stopped him.

What did he know? Maybe it did.