Jig smirked. He couldn’t help it. After all his fear, all the legends and songs about the terrible Necromancer, this was not what he had imagined in his nightmares. For starters, Jig had expected him to be, well, taller. For another, a dark wizard shouldn’t have large, gossamer wings. And didn’t wizards wear robes? Granted, the Necromancer’s loose trousers and vest were both black, and his bare arms did have a pale, deathlike pallor, but the effect was spoiled by the mop of brilliant blue hair that topped it all off.

“He’s a mere fairy,” Barius whispered, an uncharacteristic grin tugging his lips.

That was the wrong thing to say. The Necromancer stood up in the chair, pulling himself to his full height. Had he been on the floor, he would have been at eye-level with the prince’s knee. He waved his wand about like a sword. “A mere fairy, eh? And what’s to keep this mere fairy from mastering the dark arts? I’ll show you what real power is. I killed the old Necromancer, you know.”

He hopped down and ran at Barius. His dead bodyguards flanked him, weapons ready. Barius slipped back and raised his sword in a defensive stance, but the Necromancer slid to a halt a few feet out of range.

“This was his domain, but I took it away from him. Me! By myself. The others all died, but I lived long enough to cast a spell of dancing on him.” He giggled. “He couldn’t stop long enough to cast a spell, and that gave me time to put a knife in his eye. Horrid mess. Eye gook everywhere. Disgusting.”

“Ryslind, destroy this pest,” Barius said.

“Destroy him yourself, brother.”

Jig froze, not even breathing. No longer did Ryslind speak with two voices. The voice that remained was not Ryslind’s. Whatever had happened to the wizard when he overexerted himself, he was now as dangerous as the Necromancer. Jig hoped the others realized it, because the last thing he was going to do was face either mage himself.

“Take them,” the Necromancer said, pointing absently with his wand. The other creatures stepped out of their alcoves.

Barius’s head snapped one way, then another as they closed in. Even human arrogance had limits. With Darnak unconscious and his brother as great a danger as the Necromancer, Barius had no choice. His sword slipped through limp fingers, and he raised his hands in surrender. Two creatures grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees. Others did the same with Riana and Jig. They even grabbed Darnak’s limp body and held him in a kneeling position.

“Very good.” The Necromancer strutted before them. He still had to look up to meet their eyes. “You see, prince, your brother is . . . well, not himself today.” He giggled. “If you’re nice, I might even tell you who he is.”