“No, ” he said, shaking his head. “No…”

Sakahara frowned. “No? Are you suggesting they weren’t killed

by sorcery? But surely…”

“No, that is not what I meant, ” Yohaku said. “We are looking at

the results of necromancy, to be sure, but there is something

else…”

His gaze slightly unfocused, he moved forward hesitantly, almost

like a blind man feeling his way, his hands held out before him. He

seemed oblivious of the sticky blood that he was stepping in.

“What is it, Sensei?” asked Akiro, frowning.

“There is something hidden here, ” Yohaku said. “I sense a strong

spell of warding and concealment… ” He turned, his eyes staring off

into space. “It is somewhere very close… mere!” He pointed at what

appeared to be a blank brick wall.

Sakahara and Akiro came forward.

“I don’t see anything, ” said Sakahara. “And my perceptions are

not as great as yours, Sensei. What is it?”

“A portal, ” said Yohaku. “A hidden portal.”

“Where?”

“Right there, before you.”

Sakahara felt the wall. It was solid and unyielding. He looked at

the old mage with confusion.

“This only confirms my worst suspicions, ” said Yohaku. He

blinked and his gaze cleared. He turned to Akiro. “I was searching

for spells that I could use to help you find this necromancer. And I

consulted some of my old scrolls and volumes, some of which date

back over a thousand years and deal with the subject. I had not

looked at them in years. And yet, when I went to examine some of

them, I discovered that someone else had looked through them.

Someone who had somehow overcome the warding spells I use to

protect my library. There were only two people who had access to

my home and might have done this. My housekeeper, whom I trust

implicitly and who is not an adept, in any case, and one other,

whom I also trusted. And that trust had been betrayed.”