Free Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) by Donald Wigboldy Jr

necromancy?”
    A grim smile touched the warlock’s lips. “If you are looking to understand yourself, then you already possess the book you will need.”
    Looking confused the mage asked, “Those beginner books? They said nothing of such spells.”
    Pulling the new book Sylvaine had given him from Palose’s satchel that was sitting on the table, his master answered, “You already have the book that will start you on your path.”
     
     
    Chapter 4- Debating Life
     
    Two weeks had passed since Atrouseon had given him permission to continue his study of the spells that had led to the warlock returning him to life. While some might want to call it saving a life, Palose knew that the man had defied the laws of nature with his magic to achieve such a feat. He should have been dead. The mage wasn’t dead, however, and in many ways felt better than he had before his death.
    The cut he had taken on his sword had healed unusually fast for example. Simply wrapped in a bandage, the wound had sealed and even looked partially healed by the end of the day. When the next morning came, Palose had felt safe to remove the bandage. By the third morning, there was only a slight scar.
    His greater power in magic was answered in the book ‘Resurrection’. The premise was that the warlock who brought someone back was linked to that person. It ensured his obedience or whatever was put into the controls of the spell, but in turn some of the warlock’s power was shared with the resurrected. In effect, Palose could channel part of the man’s power. It was enough that the battle mage’s aura now appeared that of a wizard, though not a particularly powerful one. Still it meant greater prestige than a modest mage would have been afforded.
    Most days found the young man splitting his time between helping Atrouseon attending the tanks in the laboratory and studying in the library. Both places he read and studied his books. The unmoving blanks held no interest for the mage, even though he guarded his master’s most treasured experiment. He could only look at the unborn adolescents for so long before boredom inevitably came and no one ever came to sabotage them during any of the nights he spent there.
    Mornings Palose slept as he tried to maintain his energy after the long nights, but afternoons the fledgling warlock spent in the library. Though he could have studied anywhere, the library held a pull on him. Silence and access to the tomes didn’t compare to his hope of seeing Sylvaine again. Her kiss lingered on his mind for two reasons. Though the first was the curly haired, brunette girl and her kind personality, which was a ray of light in the mostly dark world of Ensolus, and of course the taste of her lips from their kiss; the true reason was wondering why she had kissed him in the first place.
    Unfortunately for two weeks he had visited the library and never seen a sign of the girl. He had spotted Selvor and his two buddies occasionally. Trying to ignore them, the mage noted their eyes on him. The red headed bully and his leader often left soon after his arrival or did their best to avoid eye contact. He had them suitably cowed from the one beating, but that didn’t go for the youngest apprentice in the trio. Unlike his friends, Palose often noticed Turless watching him curiously. The apprentice didn’t seem afraid like the other two who had actually been dealt with more aggressively.
    Palose hadn’t harmed him since he had never hedged towards violence when the others had been antagonizing him. Whether that was a mistake was now his question. Still none of the three dared follow him to the third floor where he made his study area. Few others used the handful of tables near the stairway there either, so Palose found that he could watch over who came and went below while being left alone.
    Movement from the front door brought his eyes up from the book he was reading. Into the main room, he watched the dark haired apprentice carrying an