"I was taken by surprise when Artemus came to me about the corpse. Now I know you were behind it," Qairu said to the violet-eyed mage.

"If you're worried he might find out about your side hobby, I'm assuring you that he won't."

Qairu paused to reflect on Syryn's confidence in secrecy. Necromancy was as illegal as they came and he wasn't taking any chances with such a high ranking member of the Sanguine as Artemus.

"I viewed one corpse, a male in his thirties. I wasn't told anything about how he passed away but from the condition of his body, I instantly guessed that it had something to do with dark magic."

"You mean to say that it leaves a mark on the body?" Syryn had never heard of such a thing before.

"It is difficult to explain. When you've dabbled long enough with dead bodies and dark magic, you develop a kind of sixth sense that allows you to see beyond the normal." Qairu then turned to the redhead who was sitting with the quiet discipline of a well-mannered child. "How far along are you in your studies, Lucien?"

Red glanced up at the older necromancer. "I can already raise a walker."

Syryn didn't know that. He had seen Red play with mice but that had been it.

Qairu whistled in appreciation. "You're on my level already. Do you have a mentor or a teacher?"

"Yes," Red answered. He was his own mentor and teacher.

Syryn side-eyed him. Where was this teacher that Red was talking about?

"I don't believe that though," Qairu said as he squinted at the redhead suspiciously. "Necromancers are rarer than obedient kids."

Red smirked. "I am both."

Red's reply elicited a dirty look from Syryn, and it was thrown the redhead's way. "Anyway, can we get back to the topic at hand?" he reminded Qairu.

"Oh yeah, so I checked the corpse and my suspicions were confirmed. Necromancy was involved in the unfortunate man's death."

"How is that possible? Don't you undead experts only work with deceased bodies?" Syryn asked.

"Mostly yes," Qairu replied. "But necromancer sorcerers also possess other deadly abilities that are less well known."

"Such as?" Syryn raised his brows and prompted the priest to continue.

"I cannot speak of such secrets easily, unless you're willing to join our esteemed club of necromancers, Syryn."

The mage frowned at the priest. "It's enough that Red is already one."

"Why Syryn, you seem to have a prejudice against us," Qairu pointed out. "I wonder why."

"That's because walking corpses are unsightly," Syryn answered. But even he did not believe his own defence to Qairu's accusation. For some reason, he found necromancy unpalatable. It was a negative bias he had to ponder upon.

"Syryn doesn't like it because he's against sacrificing lives in the name of power and magic."

That had to be it. Necromancy was evil. It demanded human sacrifice.

"So a sorcerer cursed the dead man and that turned him into a corpse while he was still alive," Syryn surmised. It was a good explanation for why the corpse had been found decaying faster than the bodies of its tortured counterparts.

"That's probably it," Qairu agreed.

It was also a good reason why carrion eaters were avoiding the bodies. Death magic was repugnant to living things. Most creatures felt the negative effects of its aura on a dead body.

"But it still doesn't explain their motive," Syryn replied.

"That's not our job to figure out. Give Artemus the details. He's much smarter than we are when it comes to such matters."

"But I want to figure it out as well," Syryn said to the bored priest. "Aren't you interested in this?"

"No, not really. I'd rather talk to Lucien about what he's learning."

Syryn ignored Qairu's lack of enthusiasm. "What could they gain from torturing the victims brutally before finally killing them? And what's the deal with the bodies that were found in different places? There has to be a reason, right? You don't expend that much effort to just torture and murder people... there has to be something they hoped to gain from it."

"Psychopaths can get off on torture and murder," Red added as he smiled innocuously at Syryn. "The thrill of the victim's suffering... sometimes that's all there is to it."

Syryn stared at Red. He had forgotten how bloodthirsty he used to be. It was because of Luci that this miracle had occurred. Syryn himself had indulged in killings but it did not give him the same kind of pleasure that Red was referring to.

Qairu's contemplating gaze was also on Red.

"Is there anything else you noticed about the corpse?" Syryn intended to leave soon but asked again just in case Qairu had forgotten to mention something.

"No, that's it. You're lucky to even be getting that much. Other priests don't know enough about necromancy to realise there's more than the presence of dark magic in the body."

"I knew I could on you," Syryn told the smiling priest. "Thank you for the services rendered, Qairu. I'll come around again if I need your help."

"I wish I could say the same. I'll be avoiding your manor for a long time, Syryn."

The mage knew he had no business in sticking his nose between Alka and Qairu. Some relationships just weren't meant to survive, especially not when one of them was going down a path of darkness that had no room for romance and love.

-----

Artemus,

Qairu did not have a lot to say. He mentioned the presence of magic that repelled his holy aura, and that reminded me of an incident I witnessed several years ago. I saw a necromancer sorcerer attack a man in such a manner that the unfortunate victim began to decay while remaining alive. He was killed by the sorcerer after much suffering. And later on, when a priest was tasked to investigate the corpse, he reported a repulsive aura on the corpse.

It certainly explains the accelerated decomposition, the lack of carrions on its rotting body, and even the absence of external killing wounds. I could, of course, be mistaken about my theory but I leave that to your investigation.

Syryn.