Free Tinkermage (Book 2) by Kenny Soward

into it. “She’s impossible. Thwarting me at every turn.”
    “Who is she?”
    “Just a puffed up officer bent on driving me insane.”
    “She certainly has a commanding presence. Forgive me for saying so, but she’s rather obnoxious. And seems to have a rebellious streak to her.” Nikselpik thought about it. “Actually, she sounds a lot like me. I suppose I shouldn’t be the one to talk.”
    “You share some of those traits, but this one beats you in every category. She’s relentless. Like a cat underfoot. Worse, like a dog who thinks it’s a cat underfoot. A vicious dog. I’m not sure why I keep her as first officer.”
    Nikselpik hid his disappointment at being outdone by this lass, but Dale seemed genuinely distressed. “Send her to guard sheep. Alone. Or on border patrol with a heatstick and a prayer. Let her deal with some orcs. Teach her some humility.”
    “She’s actually an excellent fighter. Highly recommended by my staff. Her family has served in the precisor ranks for decades. Seemed a good fit at the time.”
    Nikselpik didn’t like asking the next question, but he sensed something off about Dale. A bit of sorrow around the edges. He was worn. Tired. “What happened to Roto?”
    The precisor general replied as if he’d been expecting the question, but he couldn’t keep the weariness from his eyes. “The lake. We went to the lake. It was just as you said. We killed it, but Roto… didn’t make it.”
    Nikselpik felt himself opening up to Dale, a natural empathy for his loss. Nikselpik had certainly lost his share of companions. Nikselpik’s deadspeak spoke. Interesting. Bits of the old officer lingered around Dale like the smell of perfume that remained after a hug with a pretty gnomestress. Nikselpik sensed Roto’s stubbornness, his bull-headed attention to life. Nikselpik sensed his friend’s spirit was part of what kept Dale on his feet.
    While he couldn’t glean more than that about Roto’s death, this was the first time in a while Nikselpik had felt his deadspeak so acutely and so long after someone’s death. And that the dead could still affect the living . Could his powers, his necromantic ones, have grown in all this?
    He said, “Roto had no love for me, but he was important to this city. Even I could see that. A good officer.”
    They sat in silence for several long moments. It seemed to Nikselpik that Dale was struggling with something, many somethings.
    After several long moments, the precisor general snapped out of it and slapped himself on the knee. “So, my friend, how long until you’re back on your feet? Since you mentioned it, I could use you at my side.”
    Nikselpik shook his head. “I just woke up. I haven’t had time to even think about it. My magick… I’m not quite sure where to pick up.”
    “It’s your magick. Don’t you know?”
    “It isn’t like that. Magick depends on the mind and heart of the wielder. My head hurts. My confidence…”
    Dale smiled and patted his hilt. “Steel is no different. I’ve doubted myself too, especially lately. But it didn’t keep me from drawing my sword.”
    Nikselpik nodded, conceding the point.
    “If not at my side, then perhaps at the High Council? I hear that once you’re fully recovered, Elwray will offer you the position of First Wizard. I suggest you take it.”
    Strange, hearing that. It was something Nikselpik had always wanted before. Why wasn’t he elated at the thought? “That’s something to consider. And I will. Consider it.” He caught Dale’s eye. The precisor general’s look was cold yet, somehow, friendly. Nikselpik shook his head. “You’re going to tell me I don’t have a choice.”
    Dale chuckled and slapped the bed. “Of course you do. Just not much of one.”
    A slight tremor of mirth wiggled in Nikselpik’s chest, and for the first time in a long time, he laughed without coughing up his lungs.
    “In all seriousness, Nik. I have news. There have been reports of strange