Zora watched as her son opened his eyes again.

  With his expression peaceful, in his sleep, he had reminded her of her late husband. Now that he awakened and looked as if he intended to go and enact violence, his face was more volatile.

  Who is it that he looks like now? she thought.

  Zora did not realize she was smiling until he spoke.

  “Thank you for sharing that,” he said, twisting his lips into a small smile that she recognized he was mirroring from her. “I especially appreciate that you protected the Kingdom from the scout, though. If he shared all our secrets and got away…” James shook his head. The idea was unthinkable. James could easily envision a future where the combination of the army’s departure and the Pantherfolk having good intel led to mass casualties for the Fisher Kingdom.

  Even if most residents of the Fisher Kingdom were neither family to James, nor even particularly high potential in terms of their proficiency at using the System, he still didn’t want anyone under his protection to die unnecessarily.

  “What are you going to do?” Zora asked.

  “Well, I have ideas,” James said cagily.

  You don’t want to tell me, huh? Her son was naturally secretive, even with people he ostensibly trusted. If she had to guess, it was probably one of the traits that had pushed him towards becoming a Ruler. Not because secretive people naturally made good leaders, but because James would want to always be in “the room where it happens,” on the inside of any and all important decisions. Some are born great, others have to adapt to circumstances that make them great, and still others seize greatness by sheer force of Will. James is in that last category.

  “All right, keep your secrets, son,” Zora replied with a shrug and a chuckle. “I hope you’ll come up with the right answer. I can’t pretend I know it. Fortunately, leadership isn’t my burden.” She winked.

  “But you’re happy to live at the White House, right?” James asked.

  It was a reference to an old conversation they’d had when James was just a child, and Zora was convinced that he could be President someday if he wanted. This had been before his father passed. She was a little surprised that he remembered it at all.

  “That’s right!” she said, grinning. “I was planning on just visiting, but it’s so nice here!” She looked around, pretending that she was in the Lincoln Bedroom or something for a moment.

  James laughed. “That sounds about right. You’re talking like you’re not expecting to be a part of the decision-making process, though. I definitely want you in the meeting later when my councillors show up to give me their advice on this.”

  Zora swallowed. Now came the time for a slightly uncomfortable conversation.

  “Actually, ever since I realized that your country might be under threat, I’ve been thinking about what I could do to better prepare,” she said. “And I think I need to get out of here for a while.”

  James raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  “You should give me one of your creatures, so we can talk, and I know what’s going on, but I’m guessing the Panther Queen won’t attack tomorrow, or even within this week. Her army moves more slowly when they’re going to besiege a place than the Queen would on her own, since they carry around a lot of heavy equipment—”

  “Siege weaponry,” James said.

  “Right. That.”

  “What is it you want to do, Mom?” James asked.

  “I want to go and improve myself,” she said immediately. “I’ve stayed here too long without doing anything. I’m falling further behind you in power—which also means I’m falling behind any other Necromancers who might exist or might come to exist. In order for me to live up to my Class’s potential, I have to be out there hunting down powerful monsters and creating terrifying undead. I’ll come back, of course. And if you give me adequate warning, I’ll come back in time to help with any attack by the Florida Panther Queen.”

  She had given only half of her reason for wanting to leave, but the other half was deliberately a secret. She only hoped James would not make too many counter arguments and perhaps force her to reveal her other motive.

  “Oh, I’m not worried about whether you’d be able to come back in time,” James said, smiling. “We haven’t spoken about it, I guess, but I recently gained a Skill that allows me to summon anyone I’ve blessed from a distance. It consumes resources based on how powerful the person is, but since I’m pretty sure you’re still not more powerful than me…”

  Zora nodded. “Another reason for me to be confident in leaving, then.”

  “Yes,” James said, though he did not look pleased, exactly. “I guess I’ll get your advice through a monster if I need it. Could you do me a favor and chop off my hand?”

  She swallowed. “Right. That’s how you create monsters.”

  “And I’m sort of an invalid right now. Don’t worry, I can stop the blood from flowing out; I have really good control over my body’s functions. I’m just too weak to move.”

  “I don’t really understand that, James,” Zora said.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Neither do I, but it seems like my blessing fixed the issue for you.” He looked annoyed.

  Zora reached into her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and drew out a dagger she had Looted from a monster on the way here. Then she grasped hold of James’s right hand and pressed it flat against the bedspread, looking with her other hand for the right place to cut to sever the joint with the least trouble.

  “Don’t move,” she said, smirking a little.

  James saw it and grimaced. “You have a terrible sense of humor.”

  Where do you think you got it from, son?

  —

  Zora left the apartment with the hand-monster perched on her shoulder, dancing gleefully back and forth like something from out of “The Addams Family.”

  “You behave, or I’ll feed you to the first bigger monster I see,” she murmured.

  It grew still almost immediately, and the Necromancer nodded.

  “We’ll get along after all, then,” she said.

  Zora had said goodbye to James, met the new and improved Mina, and given her grandson a kiss goodbye. Now all she had left to do before she departed was the most difficult part.

  Tell her daughter that she was going.

  The Necromancer walked to the building she shared with her daughter—though it was really Ben who spent more time there with Alice, as Zora was devoted to her Class and spent most of her free hours in her laboratory. She reached out a hand to the door, touched it, and sent out a pulse of pure Mana, gentle but firm, intended to get Alice’s attention.

  It was a signal the two women had agreed on, a more discreet version of knocking. Since they both possessed Mage-descended Classes, they each had better Mana control than the average person.

  And Zora had no interest in walking in on Alice and Ben canoodling.

  It had almost happened once already, before Orientation, when Zora paid her daughter a surprise visit at her apartment. There had been awkward explanations and reassurances.

  This time, Zora would ensure Alice at least had a minute to button her shirt.

  The Necromancer counted to sixty in her head, and then she began counting again—but before she could get past ten, the door opened. Alice stood there, looking confident and put together in a nice cashmere sweater and blue jeans.

  “You knocked?” she said.

  “I did,” Zora said. “Can I come in?”

  “You’re always welcome,” Alice replied.

  The women sat at Alice’s coffee table and sipped coffee for a minute before Zora forced herself to say what she had come to say.

  “I’m leaving the Kingdom for a little while,” Zora began.

  Alice furrowed her brow. “To do what?”

  “A bit of hunting. I like the Dungeon here, but I can’t get much benefit from it, since I need dead bodies to practice my Class Skills.”

  “I see,” Alice said, frowning. After a moment, she smoothed her expression and asked, “So, where are we going?”

  “Don’t say it like that,” Zora said. “It’s not a ‘we’ thing. It’s a ‘me’ thing. My patron has already made it clear what I should do. What my best path is. Every time I try Divination, it tells me the same thing.”

  “Like I said,” Alice said, speaking more slowly and emphatically, “where are we going?”

  “You should stay in your brother’s territory, where it’s safe,” Zora said sternly.

  “I’m not going to be left behind while you go out and get yourself killed,” Alice replied in a quiet but firm voice.

  “It’s not like that,” Zora insisted. “I already know exactly where I want to go and who I want to fight. I’ll be prepared. There’s little chance of me dying.” This was not quite true, but she was willing to stretch the truth a little bit here.

  “Who?” Alice’s voice came out harsh and demanding, as if she already suspected she knew the answer.

  “You know,” Zora said, not bothering to hide what her daughter must already suspect. “That monster that captured you near the end of Orientation and held you captive.” Her voice shook slightly with carefully controlled rage. Only she and Alice knew exactly what had happened.

  “And now you’re going to get yourself captured,” Alice said. “Then I will come to rescue you, and we’ll both be dead separately instead of together.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Zora said. “If I fail—”

  “Look, Mom,” Alice said. “Splitting up during Orientation didn’t really work out for us, did it?” The sentence was not really a question.

  Zora looked away guiltily. “I’m sorry,” she said. “If I had just stayed by your side…”

  “I’m not looking for another apology, Mom,” Alice said. “Treat me like a damned partner, okay? Take me with you. That’s how you fix it. Don’t leave me behind again.” She reached down and clasped her mother’s hands in her own. “Together. You and me.” Alice flashed a little smile. “Some mother-daughter bonding?”

  Zora let out a slow, shaky breath, then shook her head.

  Am I losing my mind? I don’t know how to say ‘no’ to this… at least not convincingly. And if I fail to convince her, she’ll just follow me anyway.

  And Zora intended on leaving a trail of death as she traveled. She would need to do that, just as she needed this fight, to advance her Class and Race.

  Maybe I can find a way to lose her on the way, she told herself. But Zora knew she wouldn’t do that. Leaving her only daughter alone in the wilderness between the Fisher Kingdom and where Zora was actually going would be no better than taking her along, even if the danger of their destination outstripped what the Necromancer imagined.

  “Fine, but you will have to keep what happens on this journey to yourself,” Zora said finally. “More secrets from your brother.”

  “Have you heard him say anything about our Orientation?” Alice asked rhetorically. “No! I’m fine with keeping secrets if it makes sense—if it’s less bad than telling the truth. I got why you didn’t want me to tell him about how Orientation ended.”

  Zora nodded. “James would have gone rushing out to fight that monster, and it’s a bad matchup for him. I have a better shot, even though I’m a lower level than him on paper.”

  I have an even better shot with you helping, she admitted to herself silently.

  “I know,” Alice said. “That was why I didn’t tell him.”

  “The big secret about this trip is—well, you know I still haven’t accepted my Race Evolution,” Zora said. “I’m probably going to do that at some point on this trip.”

  Alice looked slightly uncomfortable, then shook her head, not to be dissuaded. “I’m still going.”

  “All right,” Zora said, sighing. “Let’s plan our trip.”

  I have a terrible feeling about this…