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Not only that, but I felt the distinct energy of nervousness.
    “Hi, Sonny,” I said as calmly and soothingly as I could manage. “What is the problem?”
    “Last night a young woman was attacked in an alley. She was able to get away from her attacker by kicking him in the chest. He was dead when the Guard brought him in. But there is a problem with the body.”
    “What is the problem?” asked Ian.
    “Well, sir,” Sonny fumbled, I think you should examine it yourself and see.”
    Ian raised an eyebrow, but said, “Ok. Let’s see the body.”
    Sonny led us to a long table at the back of the room.
     
     

FOUR
     
    IAN
     
    It could be successfully argued that no one in the city-state of Nash, and perhaps the entirety of Appalachia, knew more about Necromancy than Professor Ian Barroes, or Master Barroes, as was his title as the head of the Nash City Necromancer’s Guild. He came from a long family line of necromancers who believed strongly in recording and passing down their history and knowledge.
    He had been actively practicing necromancy since he was three years old. His mother had seen the rare strength of his power, even at a young age and had told his father. From that moment on Ian had been put through rigorous tests to confirm his power, and had been thrown into the family business by his sixth birthday.
    Having a rich family opened many doors to him, including the closed doors of the City-State Private Archives and Library. As a boy he spent many hours there and in his family’s extensive private library, hiding from his father and learning and reading everything related to Necromancy and other forms of magic he could get his hands on. When he was old enough, the family money enabled him to enter the Academy of Magic and Science. He was among the first civilians to be accepted into the college. Up until then only City Guard and Black Blade Cadets had been formally educated in history, science, and magic. Still today, only Cadets and students that entered into a service contract with one of the local guilds received free education, and few families could afford the tuition.
    The mages who had measured his power upon entry to the college had been amazed. Even today, anyone who knew anything about Necromancy would argue that Ian was the most powerful necromancer they had ever encountered. And even they had no idea of the true scope of his powers.
    Which is why he was confused. Confusion was not something he had ever dealt with before, and he didn’t like it.
    Ian was a man of practicality. He didn’t consider it conceited to know one’s own power and abilities. It was how one knew their limits. In the past, he had never reached a limit in regards to Necromancy that he couldn’t push past. His experiences had been vast, and he’d learned from each one. Yet, never, in his life had he ever seen anything such as this. He wracked his brain but nothing he had ever read or seen came even close. He could find no practical explanation. But he knew that was wrong. There was a practical explanation for everything.
    Facts. He had to start with the known facts. He stared at the body, trying to piece together what he knew.
    The Blade had said the body was less than twenty-four hours old. But that couldn’t be. The body was dry and shriveled, as if it had been dead for months, or even years. Yet there was no decomposition, no rotting flesh to support that theory. But the most intriguing and perplexing complication was the lack of energy around the body.
    Every living thing was made of energy. Even objects most would say are not living, like rocks, vibrated with energy. That energy didn’t die or cease to exist. In living beings, specifically humans, the energy that made up their essence stayed strong even after the body died. The energy could stay connected to the body for up to a year. After that began to lesson and float free as what most people called ghosts. Eventually that energy would be absorbed back into the