Christabel's guide to necromancy and world domination

So this is how magic works?

I stared at the demon sitting on the bed in front of me, that had just matter-of-fact announced that the best, easiest way to get rid of the magic the Evil Overlord's was using to keep her prisoner was... well, killing somebody. She was still smiling at us, very happy to find someone who could help her. Honestly, pissing off that annoying excuse for a supervillain was enough of a reason to free her, also having a demon ally would really help our escape that was so far based on improvising and dumb luck, but... killing somebody did not seem like a great idea.

" Why do we need to kill somebody? How does that work?" I inquired, throwing an anxious glance at the door. The demon had tricked the guards into not looking for us here, but I was not sure it would work for a very long time.

" The magic keeping me here is tied to that mirror." she explained, pointing her finger to the largest mirror in the room. "When its surface reflects somebody being stabbed in the heart, the spell will lift."

"That seems... unnecessary complicated?" I suggested "I mean, what's the point of having something like that?"

"Well, it sounds like a pretty normal spell to me." admitted Night-on-the-River.

"Yes, rituals are always like that." agreed Delindemin. Of course our resident undead elf, whose entire race got somehow wiped out by killer trees that they summoned, was not my first choice for magical advice. I should have known better than to look for logical sense in that kind of place, but still, I had questions:

"And why can't you stab one of the guards, or the overlord? Security here is so lax you could probably steal a sword in a few minutes."

"Oh, no, the spell prevents me from doing that. And besides, I hate violence."

"You hate violence but you just cheerfully suggested that we kill somebody.", I could not help noticing.

"Well, that's different. I hate violence when I have to do it, if somebody else is doing it that's not a problem." she shrugged. I wished I could chalk that up to illogical fantasy world, but that actually sounded like something I could and had heard in my world too.

I sighed, and walked to the mirror. It had a golden frame and it was slightly distorting my reflection, in a not so flattering way. Not that there was much to be flattered about, I was a real mess after everything that had happened so far. Apart from that, it looked like a normal mirror, no weird runes anywhere or ominous glow. And that was when I had an idea.

"Listen... how do I call you?"

"Rhea."

"Listen, Rhea, does it say that we have to kill somebody? Or it's just the stabbing bit that is important?"

The demon thought about it for a few seconds:

"I'm not sure. The stabbing, I think, but it must be through the heart. It's difficult for most species to survive something like that.", she considered, thoughtful.

Luckily for us, there was an undead elf in the room who could survive any wound by turning to dust and regenerating. I only had to decide if it was a wise idea or not. Scratch that, it was absolutely not a wise idea, if my previous experience with demons were anything to go by...

And then something dawned on me. Maybe there was a way to make the situation slightly less likely to end up with my horrible death.

"Fine, we are helping you. In exchange for you telling me your real name, and swearing on it to help us and not hurt us in any way."

Something changed in her. She stiffened, and she stared at me as though I had just drowned her favorite puppy. Well, at least that proved I was on the right track. There was a long moment of silence, and then voices shouting in the corridor.

"They are getting closer again. Take your choice." I continued, pretending I knew what I was doing.

Rhea sighed and nodded once, her shoulders slumping.

"I guess I have no choice, right? I should have known. Come here, I don't want anyone else to hear it."

That...did not sound like a good idea. I had seen enough movies to know that it was usually an excuse for a surprise attack. But she could have killed me already, and she had not, so I decided to keep being a perfect fantasy idiot and approached her.

She whispered a word in my ear.

Okay, that was... not the kind of name I had been expecting. But really, my mother called me Christabel, I am not in a position to judge other names.

"Nice name", I said, then went back in front of the mirror and called Delindemin forward. I whispered:

"So, if I were to stab you, would you come back as usual? Or is there something special about this mirror?"

She glared at the mirror for a few seconds, then she shrugged:

"It looks normal. I should be fine. Also, it's very nice of you to worry about me, you are a very kind mistress!"

I did not have time to deal with that again. I grabbed my knife and weighted it, feeling a knot of uneasiness in my stomach. I was not sure I could do it, even if she would be all right in a few minutes. Okay, I had technically made her dissolve once already, but that had been more of a panic thing. This would be deliberate.

Everybody in the room was staring at me. There was no way to get out of it.

"Deli, come back as soon as you can, that's an order."

And I plunged the blade in her chest.

**

I AM BACK! Sorry for the long gap between the previous chapter and this one. I am not sure I will be able to keep up with a weekly update schedule, but I will do my best. Hoping there is still someone out there reading this, of course ;)