Tuesday Excerpt, "Revenge"

Mandrean bent down to bring his face directly in front of

Necromancer’s. “You say you’re patient, but you’re not. You want

me dead so badly it’s eating you up inside. I know you just as you

think you know me. You wanted Grithinshield to murder me. The

fact that he failed is tormenting you day after day.”

Necromancer looked away during the speech and then focused

on the emperor.

“The only thing tormenting me is your minute intellect.”

“Say you are a spineless coward who can’t do things

himself…Say it,” Mandrean ordered as he stepped back.

Necromancer stood and looked Mandrean in the eyes. “Very

well, Sire. You are a spineless coward who can’t do things

himself.”

“Not me, idiot! Say I’m a spineless coward,” Mandrean raged.

“But I just told you that you are a spineless coward. If your

grace has forgotten, I would gladly tell him again.”

The master lost his temper and threw a stool across the room.

He stood by Necromancer shaking from his anger in frustration at

not being able to let it out at the wizard.

“Now,” Mandrean bellowed as he began to circle the albino,

“you didn’t help Grithinshield by any chance, did you?” He paused

and heard nothing in reply. “I didn’t think so,” Mandrean said with

sarcasm. “Because if you had helped Linvin kill me, that would

violate our little arrangement and present serious repercussions for

you.”

Necromancer did not speak. He merely looked away. Mandrean

found the silence more infuriating than the rude comments the

servant normally made.

“You do remember the agreement, do you not?” Necromancer

looked at him with a face that acknowledged the absurdity of the

question. That expression alone put his benefactor over the edge.

“You must follow my commands to the letter,” Mandrean

yelled. As if to prove his point, he barked an order.

Water had spilled on the floor from the bath. It made the surface

slippery and dangerous. “I wouldn’t want to slip and hurt myself in

a fall. Dry up all the water on the floor immediately!”

Necromancer rose and smiled knowingly. Then he waved his

hand. The floor turned red as it instantly became superheated. In as

much time as it took Mandrean to scream in pain and leap into the

water, all the liquid on the ground was dried and gone.

Necromancer was unaffected by the sudden change in ground

temperature as he hovered above the floor. He bowed in jest and

said, “As you commanded, Oh, great one, all the water on the floor

was dried up. Do you have any other commands that I may follow

so precisely?”