The magician stared at Max. “Are you interested in necromancy?” he asked calmly, without shuddering, as if someone’s interest in necromancy was nothing out of the ordinary!
“No way! I just felt sorry for the dog.”
It sounded silly. They would think that I was a nutcase and send me for treatment.
The magician raised his eyebrow: “Have you asked its opinion?”
Max and I exchanged bewildered looks: “The dog did not seem to be opposed.”
“What did you use?”
It was the hardest question. If I was not prepared in the necromantic ritual, then how did I manage to accomplish it? I had no other option but to shrug: “It happened somehow.”
Captain Baer expressively snorted.
The magician turned his attention from the zombie to me. In principle, it is difficult to find something that will scare a dark mage, but there were so many minor sins in my heart (starting with the same Rustle) that I couldn’t meet his gaze imperturbably. He enjoyed my embarrassment. What a bastard! I had to endure his sassy staring in silence, because all my skills were nothing against a real combat mage. Max would hold against him for about ten seconds; meanwhile, Captain Baer would attack me from behind and strangle to death—such a hulk could not be stopped by a curse. It was unbearable to stand like that knowing that you couldn’t even hit him in the face!
It must have been something like a test. Assured that I was not going to start a suicidal attack, the magician lost his interest in me and melancholically nodded to his accomplice.
“Well,” Captain Baer began, “by the end of the week you’ll report about your adventures in detail to me personally. Got it? If I see even one deviation from my own data, you’ll be arrested.”
“And then what?” I clarified cautiously.
“At this moment we… how do I put it… don’t want more sensations. We will watch for you, you son of a bitch!”
Why did they give no rest to my family? I made a valiant effort to conceal a sigh of relief. All turned out well! I did not feel myself guilty, but I was a little worried about Max.
“One more thing,” the magician added quietly and softly.
All my hair stood on end.
“If you come into the spotlight once again or some rumors will start, then blame yourself!”
A faint dark shadow gently touched my skin.
I quickly nodded and the mage, contented with the effect he produced, slowly went somewhere, dodging around piles of rusty scrap. Amazing that two dark magicians parted without a duel! The unnatural simplicity of the incident made me a little dizzy.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride to your apartment,” Locomotive chuckled.
“Thank you, I’ll manage myself.”
“What, you’ll manage your suitcase as well?”
Yes, the suitcase was a problem. Very well then, he had brought me in, let him take me out of here. I slapped Max, sending the dog back inside the garage, pinned the door with a wooden leg, and returned to the car.
The meeting the captain promised to Mr. Satal didn’t go as planned. During the operation, Locomotive did not doubt his superior’s orders, but when they got back to the office he couldn’t preserve his composure: “We have to…”
“No.”
“Well, at least…”
“No.”
“Sir, necromancy is the most heinous of all the crimes that a dark magician is capable of doing. And to ignore it would be just… just…”
“Want me to give you a written order?”
Satal was the captain’s first superior, who suggested taking some responsibility off of Baer’s shoulders.
“No, Dan,” Locomotive was deeply moved, “I do not mean that! The guy went too far, seriously, and not for the first time. He cannot live like everyone else; we either ought to recruit him or apprehend—there are no other options.”
“Don’t fret!” the dark magician ordered calmly. “Everything is under control. As the senior coordinator of the region I can authorize the use of necromancy, in particular, for operational purposes, of course, if he signs a contract, albeit retroactively. He has nowhere to go but to us—a dark mage cannot change his nature. The kid exposed himself twice, and he will do it again—that’s when we’ll recruit him. He won’t feel pushed into the corner and will be thankful to us. And considering that even his zombie frolics like a sweet puppy, I am not afraid for the innocent people. Have you seen a frolicking zombie before?”
Captain Baer snorted: “It’s impossible! The degeneration into a zombie cannot be stopped in the middle. It does not matter how fresh the corpse is.”
“Let’s say it is feasible, but very difficult to accomplish; that’s why it is almost impossible. I will take him as my disciple! Why not? He has talent, the basics are excellently provided by the university; what remain are the details that I will help him to master. He will call me ‘Sensei’…”
Locomotive gazed at the dreaming magician and rolled his eyes. The dark! He needed to tell Ms. Kevinahari about their conversation and let her do her therapy.
Chapter 20
For the rest of my vacation I scribbled reports for NZAMIPS. For the first time in my life. I punctually expounded events, checking and rechecking my field notes. I dared not lie, but strongly suspected that the truth would seem like first-class taradiddle to most. And then what? Surely, I did not want to finish my days in the jail for especially dangerous magicians; according to rumors, it was an abominable institution. On the other hand, there was seemingly no reason to break into a run…
An ordinary man would have gained a myocardial infarction from such an experience (not to mention a white mage!), but I was just tormented by hopeless irritation. I felt angry that NZAMIPS so quickly got to the bottom of my case. I should have gone into denial mode! Confess nothing: that wasn’t me, the motorcycle was mine but the dog—no, no, though it could all take a turn for much worse than now. Now only my self-esteem suffered. I would survive. However, the strange pliancy of the unfamiliar mage suggested some kind of a trap.
Anyway, the captain received the folder with my report in time and did not even read me the moral code. The latter frightened me—the policeman knew the nature of the dark magician. The absence of a strong reaction confuses us, dark magicians, and produces a feeling of permissiveness—virtually guaranteeing a relapse. Did they want to provoke me to commit a crime? I decided to act out of spite and not succumb. I would be quiet, polite, and modest, at least until graduation—about a year was left to wait. I had a lot of money, nobody asked questions about my Empowerment, and nothing else kept me from fully focusing on alchemy. I wanted just that! As a bonus, I received four typewritten sheets with guidelines for “zombie upkeep”. The guide advised one to give a zombie a special mineral broth periodically. It was time to visit my favorite firm and ask Johan for the necessary chemicals.
Had I known how it would end, I would have surrendered the zombie to NZAMIPS for experiments, and let them feed it with what they wanted.
At BioKin’s office, I met a sobbing Bella (the blue-eyed brunette). What was going on now? The design seemed to be working. Carl and Johan danced with a tambourine around it, day and night, so that my presence wasn’t necessary. And I didn’t believe that she would be crying because of issues with the fermentation vat.
I decided to stay away from the secretary’s problems (I have little experience in dealing with weeping women), but no such luck. Her sobs reached me everywhere in the huge office and stabbed my brain like red-hot nails. I sensed that Rustle was having a blast, exacerbating my ill feelings, and for half an hour I meditated, trying to isolate myself from the alien’s influence. I wasn’t going to allow some otherworldly stinker to teach me how to live! Nothing positive came out of it: the place in my body that had been taken by Rustle was not available to my conscious mind yet (I became a real magician only a year ago, after all). The cry even intensified in my mind, overshadowing all other sounds.