The Necromancer - An Excerpt

An excerpt from Carnival of the Damned.

Sharp claws grating along an icy tombstone. Such was the feeling that coursed through Rose at the strange voice directly at her shoulder. The tone was sickeningly sweet, yet left an icy chill in it's wake to caress over the base of her neck and linger across the spine before sending a shudder to freeze her heart mid-beat. It was with growing reluctance that she turned to face the speaker. A man with a sickly green skin tone and wisps of bone white hair swaying lightly on an unnatural breeze. His eyes were faded, yet held within their depths an absinthe spark of cunning and something that she could not rightly place. An ivory skull hung from his throat, swinging slightly as he moved to give a nod of greeting. Rose attempted a glare, annoyed that most of the inhabitants of the carnival seemed to find pleasure in frightening her. She opened her mouth to reiterate this very notion, yet her throat had gone suddenly dry. She could only watch as a smile curled over his lips, revealing a single sharp fang. He clapped his hands in a show of approval, drawing closer as she backed away simultaneously.
"A wonderful response. The pallor of fear draining away the last bits of color from the once rosy cheeks, the eyes that widen in mute witness to terror's hold, and the all consuming silence of the long dead...perfect. I often forget that your kind is not used to such sudden appearances of others." He paused, frowning as he better appraised her. "I must say, your appearance comes as a bit of a surprise to me. I was expecting you to be a woman full of life, sturdy, a picture of health as it were. Yet what have I found here trembling before my eyes? A frail child; petite, weak, teetering on the very precipice of death's door. You have knocked upon it before, have you not? Once? Twice now? We tend to lose count as times progress, yet it seems that he has not made preparations for you just yet. Ah, but I ramble...."
He paused in his advancing, and she did so in her retreating, both the same distance apart as from the beginning. She struggled to gain control of her voice, finally finding it returning to her.
"Wh-who are-"
"My! Not only have I rambled, yet I seem to have forgotten my manners entirely." He set a palm upon his forehead, a mocking gesture of berating. "You will need to forgive me, Miss Rose. A lady of your standing deserves a proper introduction, though I am anything but proper myself. My name is Mortis. Mortis Noctem Grimm. I am a resident of this land, and a regular guest in this very carnival. Oh, I have seen so many others pass among these tents. Attractions and spectacle coming and going with time. It is your first time here, is it not? Tell me, what are your thoughts?" He tilted his head, sweeping a hand in gesture over the area of the emporium. "I would much enjoy hearing your revue of this area in particular. Dimitri had mentioned that you are very learned in the area of legendary beings."
"Dimitri? You know him?" She found a strange sense of relief at this revelation, a wave of courage aiding her voice in gathering more volume. Silently she hoped that she could learn of the gypsy's agenda from this stranger, if not more.
Mortis leaned casually against a nearby cage, grinning down at her as a whimper faintly sounded from within the darkened container. "Yes, I know Dimitri. I suppose you could say that we are business partners of sorts. In fact, I had recently hired him for a certain task. A delivery of sorts..."
"D-delivery?" Something about the word and the way he spoke it made her nervous. Her face paled and she made a conscious effort to hold her ground.
A dark tenor infiltrated the other's voice. "Why yes. You see, I have heard much about you recently. Such a long lasting curse being broken so suddenly by the appearance of a single mortal girl, and the purity of her spilled blood upon an altar of stone. These things do not often go unnoticed." Straightening up to slowly saunter about the nearby cages, he continued. "You see, pure and innocent blood is rare enough in this land. Even more so a blood that holds such power within it. That is why you are here, Miss Rose. That is why I had asked Dimitri to bring you to me. I want to see this power, witness it with my own eyes so I may determine if it is suitable enough for my purposes."
A feeling of dread increased upon Rose as she began to back away in the direction of the emporium's gated entrance. The trembling of her legs made such progress difficult, and she stumbled more than once in the attempt. Mortis followed with a grin, using his magic to levitate the chain from around his throat. He held this aloft, a small dagger sliding from beneath the skull pendant as he chuckled. "I sense panic....good. Fear will season the blood and quicken it through the heart. Yet we must not waste it all just yet. This is only a small test after all."
Rose turned in preparation to dart out of the gate, yet the other was quicker. The dagger glinted as it sailed across her cheek to embed itself in the ground a few feet away. A few droplets of blood followed, scattering across the ground as a shallow cut appeared below her eye. She did not waste time. Even as the first bits of vines and blossoms began to sprout from the ground, she rushed to pick up the dagger and turn it against it's owner. His eyes were still upon the ground, nearly as wide as the grin of delight upon his features. "So it is true..." Slowly his eyes turned to appraise the girl's position once more, a laugh bellowing at her defensive posturing. "Wonderful, simply marvelous! The fear is masked with anger and a false display of threat while the terror begins it's descent to seep into the soul. Now that I have seen this power, this potential with my own eyes, you know full well of your impending destiny. Do you recall the words of Fayt, when you spoke with him earlier?" He advanced, not concerned in the slightest at the dagger she held even though she swung it in warning.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer!"
Mortis continued, not heeding the interruption or her warning as he drew closer still, moving to tower over her as he leered down to peer into her frightened eyes. "Blood for bones...rise of new power...life eternal for the army of death!" Rose swung again and he caught hold of the dagger, tearing it from her grasp to hold it high.
"Past, present, future and prophecy. Your card is the Hanged Man, Miss Rose. And I...I...!"
Without a single hesitation or warning, he pressed the dagger to the side of his throat. The sharpened blade cut through with ease, rending through the flesh with a horrible tearing sound as he drew it fully across to the opposite side. There was no blood, no crimson outpouring of scarlet from the gaping hole. Only the exposed trachea and ragged ends of torn muscles, arteries and veins as he tilted his head back to show the dark emptiness of the hollow shell that was his body. His grin did not move nor fade from it's fixed point as his eyes continued to burn with their sinister fire, yet a deep and hollow voice resounded from him all the same.
"I am the card of Death!"