Necromancer's Revenge Read Online Free Page A

guiding me about.”
    “Sure thing.
You come here often?” The fear that vibrated around her gave the
lie to the casual way she spoke. That wouldn’t do, there were
things in the Lowers that liked that fear. Not all of them
precisely human.
    “Not since my
mother died.”
    -----------------------

 
    There were
wooden and metallic bridges and supports intermingled once we got
past the concrete of the main back alleys. The harsh wind picked up
as we got close then lessened once we hit clean air. There was
nothing to funnel it out here but it still swept my skirt about
something dreadful.
    “Don’t go too
far down. Whatever Harry was here for wouldn’t have been below the
second level.”
    “Why?”
    “Because
nothing human goes down that far.” I let my hand trail along the
slate as we descended. There were a few platforms to allow people
to pass but we didn’t meet anyone. I stopped at the bottom of the
steps. They felt solid enough but I had trouble trusting something
only half held up by physical means. The air practically vibrated
with spells. It would be telling which ones were going to bite us
that would be the issue.
    Releasing Ali,
I took out my tacs, putting them back in their little case. I still
wanted the vids off them later if I could get them. In this place,
it wasn’t vision that was going to get us back out, it was senses
that Ali just didn’t have. Although I’d still need her to keep me
from stepping completely off the edge. With just the waning
moonlight to see by I was almost completely blind.
    “Let me go
first.”
    “But you can’t
see.”
    “Trust me, I
can see better than you can here.” I stepped around Ali. I could
just about make out the edge of the walkway, but I could see
further down. The whole place was wreathed in magic. Spells laid on
spells, so many that I was betting nobody even knew what they were
all for any more.
    The steps
continued down but we turned off onto a platform. It was solid,
although I could feel the growing pressure of the magic from below.
The way the rock sat suspended would not look natural from below.
These communities had grown up after the borders closed. The only
people who would see it wouldn’t be living long enough to tell
anyone. Salt spray didn’t reach up that far but I could still hear
the crashing of waves. The sounds of the city were muted on the
Cliffside.
    “Come on. I’d
like to stay on this level if we can. No consultancy fee is worth
going any further down.” I waved Ali to follow me and started along
the path cut into the side of the cliff. There were empty alcoves
mixed in with wooden boards. People had cut spaces into the slate.
I just had to hope they’d done something to strengthen the flaky
rock along the way.
    Ali jerked me
to a halt outside a rough wooden door. She pointed up at the sign
above it. Something I shouldn’t have been able to see, but the
circle and two V shapes seemed to have been magically carved into
the stone. Saved on tools I supposed. More than that, it was a
symbol I recognised.
    “You should go
home Ali.”
    “No way, you
won’t get back home without me. What is this place? Is it to do
with the dead guy?” The rush of questions threw me a second and I
had to re-centre myself. Drawing in power, I shook my head. The
girl was observant but also seemed to be unerringly curious. Or
maybe she just didn’t feel the same sense of danger that I did.
    The door moved
easily under my palm and light flooded out. Not electrical light
either, someone was trying to impress with the sheer number of
candles it took to fully light a room. No windows meant that they
would need to be burnt all the time. Unless they opened the door
during the day. Somehow I doubted it.
    Ali gasped as
she got a look. I let my poor eyes have a second to adjust. My
power was flowing around me, enough that it would alert anyone
inside as to what I was. I’d yet to come across a situation when it
was better to hide than to show off when