“I apologize for our armor, Your Imperial Majesty,” Rath said. “We've come directly from a mission.”
“Yes, so I assumed. What has the Corrupter done now?”
I started to speak, but Xae set the plate he'd been fixing in front of me. I blinked down at it, then smiled at him. He nodded and grabbed another plate to fill.
So, Rath continued, “We faced another army of the dead. This time, they were immortals.”
“What?!” the Emperor roared.
The three of us leaned back. Xae even dropped the serving spoon.
Visibly trying to control himself, the Emperor closed his eyes and opened his clenched hands. “That shouldn't be possible.”
“They were definitely immortals, Your Imperial Majesty,” I said. “Some of them had wings.”
“Wings,” the Emperor murmured. “Were they flying?”
My men and I looked at each other before Rath answered, “No, Your Imperial Majesty. But I'm not sure if that was because they had no magic or because those wings were not flight-worthy.”
The Emperor made a pensive sound. “Did any of the others display magical abilities?”
“No, Your Imperial Majesty. Although we didn't give them much time for it,” Xae said before he forked some food into his mouth.
“That's it then. With death, the magic leaves us. Of course, it does. Animating the bodies of immortals becomes no harder than animating those of humans because there is no magic to protect them. And if there is no magic to protect them, the only magic the risen will have will be what animates them.” He sighed. “That much, at least, is a relief.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” I said.
Xaedren nudged my plate. He was big on seeing me fed. It's a Ladrin thing. Or rather, a Wolf Ladrin thing.
I grabbed a fork and started to eat.
“We have not come up with a counterspell as yet,” the Emperor said. Then he looked at Rath. “Eat, Lord Ratharin. I rarely have company for a meal.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.” Rath started to fill his plate.
“The question is, why would the Corrupter use the immortal dead if they offered him no additional benefit?” the Emperor mused.
“Maybe he's just taking whatever is easiest to acquire,” I suggested.
“Or maybe he didn't know there would be no additional benefit,” Rath said. “This is as new to him as it is to us. He is learning as he goes.”
Experimenting. Shit, Death had told me the Corrupter was experimenting with the bodies. If I had only told my men about Death speaking to me, I could confirm the Emperor's theory. Should I speak up now?
The Emperor sipped his wine and stared above our heads at the view. We took the hint and focused on the food, letting him ponder in peace. But it went on for long enough that I began to cast worried glances at him. This wasn't the time to add more to his anxiety. So I decided to keep Death to myself.
“It's bad enough that he controls the living,” the Emperor finally murmured as he lowered his gaze to us again. “But to take the dead from their well-earned rest is heinous. I can't believe he has sunk into such depravity.”
Right. They used to be friends, the Corrupter and the Emperor. It was still hard for me to fathom.
“At least he wasn't there this time,” I said.
The Emperor's stare shot to me. “That is not a good thing, Ember.”
“It's not?”
Rath elbowed me.
“Uh, I mean, it's not, Your Imperial Majesty?” I corrected.
