The Alphabet Superset: Week 2: Bad Powers, Good People

 

Reference Link: https://www.deviantart.com/lexurost/art/Modern-necromancer-876027433

    As the bell rang, Bryce gathered up his textbook and headed for Mr. Micheal's classroom door. He slung his backpack over his shoulder before looking down at the ring on his finger. It was a silver ring. On it was a flattened circle with a skull in the middle of it. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked into the halls.

    Myers High School was unlike anything he had seen out in the ordinary world. The campus was not one building like most high schools, but several and was roughly the size of a university. Wide sidewalks lined with plants connected the various buildings together. Fountains, courtyards, and gardens gave the grounds a natural and open feeling, breaking the monotony of the buildings.

    

    Bryce put on his headphones to listen to music as he maneuvered his way around other students. The music helped him cut out all the background noise around him. However, it did little for his patience with the other students. Students walking faster than him would bump into him as they rushed to get to their next class. Students slower than him seemed to walk in big groups and take up the whole sidewalk. He lost track of the number of times today someone had nearly plowed into him while going in a different direction or simply stopped in front of him for whatever reason. 

    The whole situation made Bryce a little jealous of the students flying above him. Some had wings while others seemed to use some form of magic. It must be nice to be able to get to your next class that much faster. Bryce eyes drifted up to the sky above him. Even the skies were magical at Myers. Every building had symbols floating above them, indicating which of the buildings was which. Above those, a massive magical circle hovered over the campus. The "lines" of the circle were letters from some language Bryce couldn't place. He assumed that if you could read them, they would probably recite the various spells that formed the circle, to begin with. The school tour guide had explained the many spells during initiation, but Bryce had been too distracted to pay attention and couldn't recall them.

    Bryce looked back down to the path in front of him. Not everyone around him was rushing to clashes. Two girls from his previous class, one with red hair and one with black, sat between the roots of a massive tree. Their hands were placed against the tree, a faint green glow emanating from them. He could swear they were talking to it. On one of the benches on the side of the path, a boy with light blue hair sat with a laptop. But rather than typing on it, the laptop had two magical circles spinning around it and his eyes glowed the same color as his hair. He seemed lost in concentration, oblivious to a pigeon sitting calmly on the bench next to him. In a courtyard, two boys with wooden swords sparred with each other, confined inside a magical bubble that other students maneuvered around. Nearby a teacher oversaw the match while another student sat next to him on the ground, focusing on the bubble in front of him.

    Bryce could've watched the people around him for hours, but he found himself approaching his next destination, the library. The woman he was looking for worked here. But as Bryce stepped through the front doors, he realized his task would be a lot harder than he thought. Like many school libraries, there were bookshelves lined with books, tables for students to work at, and even computer tables. Unlike said libraries, nothing seemed to stand still. The bookshelves and books in the library were like living beings. Bryce watched as one group of kids sat down at a group study table. The nearby bookshelves then surrounded them like an octopus grabbing food, and pulling the entire area into the library. Another girl sat down at a chair alone, and several books landed around her like a flock of birds, opening up immediately. 

    Bryce had no idea how he would find the woman he was looking for in this mess. So he made his way to what he guessed was the front desk. At least, it was the desk closest to the front door and didn't seem to be affected by the movements of the library beyond it. A woman with graying blonde hair and an aged look on her face sat behind a computer, doing some kind of work. She gave Bryce a kind smile as he approached.

    "How can I help you dear?"

    "Um, hi, I am looking for... Mrs. Celia Livingston? I think that's her name."

    "Ah, I see it is your first time here. Don't worry, simply approach the bookshelves and you will be taken to where you need to be."

    "Oh, um, thanks." Bryce glanced at the bookshelves in front of him. He was worried that that was the case."

    "Don't fret. It only looks intimidating at first. You will get used to it quickly." The woman said as she looked back at her work. This didn't make Bryce any less nervous about the prospect. He walked toward the bookshelves, looking for a path to follow and wondering how the library would get him where he needed to go. The bookshelves opened before him to show a small circular area with bookshelves all around him. He hesitantly stepped into the area and the shelves closed behind him. A moment later, they opened in front of him. 

    The room ahead was a small office. Despite the lack of windows, the room felt homey to Bryce. A fireplace was embedded into one wall, lighting the room in a soft glow. Across the office sat a large desk with a computer and several books on it. A large reclining chair on wheels sat behind it and two smaller office chairs sat before it. As the bookshelves closed and disappeared behind him, Bryce noticed a door to the office across from him. Several plants decorated the room, the most notable of which was a vine with leaves that covered the area where the ceiling met the walls. The vine had several flowers that seemed to produce little spore-sized balls of light that floated around the room.

    "Mrs. Celia?" Bryce called out softly. The door opposite Bryce opened up and a tall woman with blond hair came into the office, carrying several books in her hand.

    "Well hello. I wasn't expecting guests today." Celia set the books on one of the leather chairs in front of her desk. She motioned for Bryce to sit in the other while she took her own seat, clasping her hands together on the desk in front of her. "And what brings you to my tiny corner of the office?"

    "Mary sent me." Bryce pulled his hand out of his pocket and showed her the ring.

    

    "Oh, I see. So you are Mary's kid. I should've guessed." She said with a smile. She waved a hand at the door. Bryce watched it close and briefly glow before returning to normal. "This room is now soundproof. No one outside will be able to hear anything we discuss here. This is a sensitive topic after all. Now Mary has already filled me in on several things. She has told me about your father. She also told me about your friend's... how about we call it the favor he asked you for. I imagine it was a difficult choice to make."

    Bryce's face fell as he remembered the event. The cold hospital room. The beeping machines. Kyle's labored breathing was muffled by the plastic mask. But as quick as the emotions began, he suppressed them as best he could. "Yeah. It was. Which is why I need help. I need to know how to use these powers I have to help people."

    "Well, Necromancy is a tricky field of magic. First and foremost, you must remember that it relies on a somewhat basic premise, control over death and the dead. These are two subjects that make people nervous at best, and terrified at worst. So naturally, several groups have sought to destroy all information related to it. Even now, while it is legal again, many people here react negatively to its practice."

    Bryce felt defeat and panic rise up in him. He refused to become just another monster like in the history books. "Please, you have to help me. I didn't ask for this."

    "Relax and let me finish. Mary sent you to me because I can and will help. I am just letting you know about some of the complications. I know all the plant life may say otherwise, but I am a necromancer myself. There are a number of us here at the campus. But first, you have to understand what you're up against." Mrs. Celia rose from her seat and walked around the desk. She knelt in front of Bryce and took his hand in her own. Her face was serious.

    "If people find out what you are, you will face an uphill battle. Students will avoid you and even some of the staff will do everything they can to get in your way. This is all for a very good reason. Your powers are dangerous. Necromancers in the past have unleashed terrifying diseases, created terrible monsters, and raised entire armies to serve them. It's very easy to succumb to temptation with that level of power." Mrs. Celia's face brightened up before she continued on.

    "But there is one thing you must remember, especially here at Myers High. Your powers do not define you. Rather, it is how you use them that decides the kind of person you are. You can commune with the dead as if they were a living person in front of you. You can make deals with them. You can inflict great pain on people or strip it from them. You can even postpone death for a time if the situation is right. It's all up to how you decide to use it." Mrs. Celia smiled encouragingly before standing up and moving back to her own chair. Bryce smiled back, feeling better.

    "So how does this work? Do I just come to you for lessons?"

    "Well, yes, basically. But for the safety of everyone, we do not have an official class. Instead, we have a private club on campus. The gardening club generously allows us to meet alongside them. We practice our magic on the plants and if something goes wrong, then the actual members of the gardening club will generally use their own abilities to help out. We are not allowed to practice on living beings besides plants, however. The school faculty is already nervous about letting us do that much and is concerned about legal trouble if they allow us to go beyond that. But the lessons should carry over without issue if the need arises. We meet every Thursday at nine in the evening at the greenhouse. Sessions are voluntary, so don't worry about skipping one if you need to." She explained, her voice taking on a professional tone. Bryce watched as she gathered some paperwork together.

    "I look forward to it," Bryce said with a smile.

    A short time and some paperwork later, Bryce was exiting the library. He was feeling good until a blast of wind knocked him to the floor. A scream soared above him. A scream that was cut off by a sickening thud. Bryce looked up in just enough time to see one of the boys he saw dueling earlier fall from where he smashed into the wall to the ground beside him.

    

    Bryce wasn't sure how, but he could feel the life leaving the boy as blood pooled around his head. His mind zeroed in on the feeling, blocking out the cacophony of noise erupting around him. All he was able to make out was someone screaming Joshuah. He guessed that was the name of the dying boy.

    No! Not again! Bryce acted without thinking. His powers coursed through veins and the area around him seemed to chill. His skin paled and his hair whitened as he channeled the magic within him. A black circle surrounded him and Joshuah. He placed his hands on Joshuah's chest and concentrated. He could already feel Joshuah's soul trying to leave his body. No, you don't! Get back here. Joshuah thought as he reached for the soul with his magic. It felt like he was trying to save someone who was drowning, reaching out into cold water to grab their hand. When he finally had it, he pulled back with all his might.

    Joshuah coughed and groaned. The black circle broke as the color returned to Bryce's skin and hair. He took a deep breath. He barely noticed as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders, guiding him backward as other bodies gathered around Joshuah. Finally, a whisper from beside him pulled him from his daze.

    "That is how you be a good necromancer." Bryce turned to look at Celia briefly before finally taking in the scene around him. Students and staff were staring at the medics rushing to help Joshuah, they were staring at him. More than one phone camera was pointed in his direction. His eyes were drawn to a small group of boys standing in front of the crowd. Two had fiery swords in their hands as they watched the scene. The third was facing Joshuah's prone form. Bryce could tell from the position of his hands that this one was the one who had caused the gust of wind. But what made Bryce worried was that one of the boys holding the swords, the one who had been sparing with Joshuah earlier, wore a silver necklace with a cross around his neck. Bryce quickly looked back to Joshuah. Joshuah also wore a silver necklace with a cross on it.