A Court of Ash and Necromancy

31. Forms of Power

The artwork above is not mine.

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"The runes found within the chamber were unfamiliar to me," Amren began. "Mikael and I scoured that book," she pointed to the black tome, "to see if there was anything in it that could help. We also found several sheets of loose paper that conveyed the runes and a few spells for imitation necromancy."

Estelle found her mate's hand once more. The shadows were surprisingly silent, for once, so she could hear what was being said without any distractions. She glanced at Nyx from the corner of her eye. He was still glaring at Tamlin, fists balled on his legs. Cassian gripped his arm just above the elbow, holding him in place.

"Imitation necromancy?" Jurian raised an eyebrow. "Is that different from regular necromancy?"

"It is," Vassa replied, glancing at Amren. Amren inclined her head and waited while Vassa explained. "Koschei studied a few different forms of necromancy during my time as his prisoner. Imitation necromancy is considered the easiest form, but it's also the deadliest."

"It requires the magician to use their own energy, their own bodily strength, to reanimate and control a corpse. They are connected to it. Anything that affects the corpse will affect them, to an extent. And they can only resurrect someone they killed themself, though I never learned why."

"The more corpses they have under their control, the weaker they become. A piece of them dies every time they bring someone back. They could eventually become their own undoing, if they don't limit their use of this power."

"They look like the corpses they resurrect too, don't they?" Estelle asked. "Ze'ev did. He was practically a skeleton, with pale skin, black protruding veins, and entirely black eyes. Even his scent changed. He smelled of death."

Vassa nodded. "There are several sublevels of necromancy that are above Imitation," she continued. "But, given the description of the corpses that have been spotted and Melantha's own appearance, you can tell she uses a pure form of necromancy."

"What does that mean?" Tarquin asked. "How can she raise the dead without consequences?"

"Because she isn't relying on her own strength to do so." Vassa's blue eyes glittered as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The highest form of necromancy Koschei ever studied was referred to as Sanguis. Bloodshed."

"I've heard of that," Viviane said, knitting her brows. "Wynter talked about it before he was kidnapped."

  Guilt jolted across the Bond. Estelle squeezed Mikael's hand tighter as he opened his mouth to speak. Vassa continued before he had the chance. "Using Sanguis gives a necromancer power over a body by using its blood to connect to it."

"I don't think I like where this is going," Jorah murmured.

"But the blood must be inside the necromancer's body. This can be accomplished in different ways. Some accounts said necromancers would fuse the blood with crystals and sew them into their skin. Others would dip blades in the blood and carve themselves up, sending it into their bloodstream. Most, however, found that drinking the blood gave them more power over the body."

Estelle blinked, Ze'ev's words echoing through her mind. Her lips are stained for a reason, and she is not truly bloodless. Mikael glanced at her, as though recognizing her thoughts.

"I think Sanguis is the form of necromancy Melantha uses," Vassa surmised. "How else could she have control of so many victims without killing herself in the process?"