Page 154 of Amethyst and Iron
I failed to suppress a shudder due to what that name evoked for me.
More specifically, the connection that particular being had to one who had hurt me grievously.
Sylas observed it all too easily. “Given your reaction, I suggest you return to what you were doing, and leave me to my research.” His expression softened. “I know of his association with a certain someone who abused you. Stay away from this, all right? You don’t need this mess touching you. I’ve got it, K.” He smiled. “It’s all right.”
I drew in a steadying breath. “You believe that your father was resurrected using extremely potent black magic in order to transcend the issue of him being brought back as mere Animated Fleshwork and being bound to a master—his raiser—as a result?”
“It’s the only way around it. It has to be.”
“It is the onlymagicalway around it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are searching for magical explanations and solutions only. It makes due sense as this would normally only be designated as a purely magical problem. However, you neglect to factor in Chimera Circle’s former existence.”
He sat forward, unfolding his arms, intensity sparking. “You believe there is science at work also.”
“Magical science for actual accuracy, but yes. It could very well be. Especially with how your father died, as I just saw laidout in detail from your research. He was killed by Ryker Morgan and left in pieces. So we are not only dealing with resurrection more than a decade after a death, a necromancer who should not be able to return once they pass into the Valley of the Dead in permanent death state. We are also dealing with him needing to be pieced back together.”
“He couldn’t be resurrected into pieces of a body.”
“Indeed. So it was done immediately following his death, before he had been pulled into permanent death state in the Valley of the Dead.”
“You mean somebody was waiting?”
“There are many reasons to protect a necromancer of Morien Morgrave’s caliber. As you well know.”
“So, somebody dug him up right after the Guardian Movement buried him, brought him to a Chimera Circle lab and put him back together in preparation for a planned resurrection over a decade later?”
It did sound absurd.
But that just meant there were still missing facets involved in this left to determine.
“Or, it was an illusion in the first place.”
“No. His death was felt. I felt it. Ryker was also certain that Morien’s magic and lifeforce were extinguished that day he put him down.”
“The illusion being that he was left in pieces,” I clarified. “A powerful enough, devious enough individual could have achieved that, even under the noses of Ryker Morgan and his Guardian Movement.”
Sylas jolted.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Illusion… deviousness… the black magic connection… necromancers…” He choked. “This was him. He was involved in this. He’s not just a former associate of Ambrose. Therewas another…him…that bastard. He did this. This fucker and Morien were working together all those years ago. It was alluded to that day at Glasswake…” He rose and started pacing. “He said there was an endgame, a bigger picture. This must’ve been a major part of it.” He swung his head toward me, his expression grave. “Corvin Morvain.”
I swallowed hard and took a staggering step back.
“That motherfucker healed him, preserved his body so that it didn’t rot, that he didn’t come back as Animated Fleshwork. As for the actual resurrection… Ambrose would know. He is deeply tapped into mammoth surges of black magic, which is exactly what it would take to resurrect my father. Those surges can go undetected by pure magic users, which explains how the Guardian Movement wouldn’t have registered it.” He stilled, eyes widening. “It was him in the Veil.”
“You are referring to when Velra was trapped there?” I asked, my voice coming out unsteady.
“Yes. Something was passed from somebody inside the Veil to somebody on the outside. The outside being, given what we know now, matches Morien. And as for something being passed and the comment said person made about Morien owing him, then even threatening him… combined with the blue magic… it all points to that being Corvin.”
“And what do you believe he passed?”
“The one thing Morien would care about—power.”
I frowned, my mind now awhirl because of the awful Corvin mentions.
