Chapter 16: The Ruler was framed!

The reason why I didn't have a whole army of Revenants was that, unless they had a powerful mana source like Sarjay, I had to continuously provide them with the mana they needed to live — and they simply weren't worth the upkeep.

That said, temporarily bringing someone back to question them was a perfectly valid option. For anyone else, I would have felt guilty to give them another taste of life and then cruelly wrest it back, but I held no such compunctions for the duke.

Guiding back a soul and reattaching it to the body was one of the most complex spells I knew, and it was likely I was the only one alive who knew how to cast it.

This particular case was pretty straightforward, he hadn't been dead for longer than thirty minutes, which meant the soul had barely begun its departure. 

While I was nursing it back to full health and stitching it back to the body, I had Sarjay call over the three hangers on. There was little point to interrogating the man if no one was here to see it. They shuffled into the room with no small amount of nervousness, and neither of them had the courage to ask what was going on  that suited me just fine, as I wouldn't have to entertain any objections from them.

A mere half an hour later I had an unconscious but living (or unliving, I supposed) duke laying on the bed.

"Very well, now, lady and gentlemen," I addressed the trio as I rose from the bedside, "you must be wondering what I'm doing here, and why I asked you to join me." I paused for dramatic effect and to give them the chance to interject, but they didn't take me up on the offer. "Since there aren't any clues as to who killed Duke Illvere, I decided the straightforward solution was to just ask the man himself." 

Their faces turned to a mix of shock and revulsion, but I continued without giving them the chance to argue. "He's already mostly back among the living, so save your objections; I'll wake him up shortly, so if you have any questions for the man you have about a minute to prepare."

I turned around so I could begin waking the duke up, but a voice interrupted me from behind.

"What about after... after all this? Are we going to have a zombie as a ruler?" It was Varath who asked, his voice trembling. It seemed he was not endeared to the idea of living dead.

I waved away his concern.

"I'm only bringing him back for the interrogation. He's going back to sleep the final sleep straight after."

"That's repulsive! To have him suffer through death again, just for your curiosity? Leonine sputtered indignantly.

"You're not wrong, but frankly, I don't care." My tone was forceful, not liking having been called out. She was silent afterwards.

I wove a thread of Mind and connected it to Illvere, willing him to wake up. It was not gradual or gentle — he immediately opened his eyes and rose to a sitting position.

"What… what is the meaning of this?!" The duke thundered, his face the picture of confusion. He lifted a hand to his neck, searching for a wound that wasn't there anymore.

"What… you!" he exclaimed as his eyes fell on me. "You—you stabbed me! But I… I'm alive? Guards! Guards!"

Sarjay moved to stand in the doorframe, ready to block the path of any guard who might answer his call. Meanwhile, I quickly wove Force to create a dome around the room that would block the sound from going out.

"Calm yourself, Illvere," I ordered as I was finishing casting the sound ward. "I'm not the one who killed you, I only brought you back. They can attest," I explained, tilting my head towards the trio.

Kirin and Varath each nodded, though Leonine remained a statue. The duke remained distressed, however.

"No. I don't know what your play is, monster, but I know what I saw." He faced the courtiers and began, "He did it—he came through the window, with the dagger in his hand, and rushed me before—"

Before things could get further out of control, I dismantled the spell that kept him alive, causing his body to collapse on the floor. At the same time, three guardsmen who had been with the crowd earlier had finally managed to break through, and were now trying to get past Sarah — to no avail, as she held the line like an immovable bulwark.

The nobles were in shock, but to her credit, Leonine recovered quickly. "You had better explain yourself, Dark Lord," she began, her voice smoldering. If she was afraid, she didn't show it. "You might be strong, but the staff will have heard the commotion. Even if you kill us here, you won't be able to leave the palace, let alone the city alive."

"I was not responsible for the duke's death," I stated evenly, glaring at her. "Would I have brought him back to question him if I was guilty? That makes no sense."

Sarjay had managed to beat two of the guards into submission, though one of them had a nasty gash on the side of his head that would need treatment. The final one was proving more of a handful than the other two, though.

Leonine was, however, adamant. "You could have tried to spell him to say something else, but failed. I don't know anything about magic, but his accusation was clear—and plausible."

Trying to convince her seemed hopeless, and having to fight the entire guard — and likely also the army reserve, which was stationed inside the city walls — was very, very risky. I had one last contingency left, but I was hesitant to use it, as it would put me on a warpath with Canneria, and I did not have the manpower to wage that kind of war, at least not yet.

My choice was taken out of my hands when Kirin unsheathed his sword — I had thought it was decorative — and raised it in my direction.

"I am sorry, but the evidence is clear," he murmured softly. "I must avenge my liege."

Before he could charge me, I unleashed a quick and dirty working of Force — pure kinetic force in Kirin's direction — slamming him into the wall.

It seemed I had no other option but to use my trump card.

"My Dead Legion has infiltrated the city sewers and is poised to destroy key structures at my command. You will all stand down, or else everyone in this city will die."