I stood up and walked out, Serena caught up before I’d gotten very far. She looked good, she was wearing another skirt, this one a dark blue a couple of shades darker than her eyes, and a skin tight red halter top with a white blouse over it. She looked like a typical college student that dressed on the upper end of casual.
She really was stunning. Her and her sister were a couple of the most beautiful women I’d ever met, though I knew that was mostly my opinion and tastes. The college was full of gorgeous young women that other men would choose over them, but there was no accounting for taste. Despite that, all I felt for her was a fondness and friendship, which I was thankful for. My life was complicated enough already, I didn’t need to be pining after two women I couldn’t have, who were sisters.
So… life could be worse. At least I had one unstrained relationship in this mess.
The silence was comfortable between us as we left the building and then started over to campus, which was still active this late at night. Though with the weather getting cooler, there was a lot more walking and less standing around chatting going on.
“You wanted to talk to me?” I asked, as we strolled casually together like a couple on a walk, but we were really alert for any signs of paranormal trouble.
She took my arm, “I wanted to apologize.”
I asked in a deadpan voice, “For constantly kicking my ass, and throwing me in training?”
She laughed, “I missed your sense of humor while you were gone, but no. I quite enjoyed that and don’t regret one throw.”
She grinned at me impishly.
“No, I’m sorry for not telling you that you and I are just temporary partners. I was aware of what Matt made you believe, that we were being partnered for… life. But my father ordered me not to tell anyone, not even my sister or Matt.”
It took me a minute to catch on, her father must have been afraid I’d refuse to do it if I knew the truth, that the Blood race didn’t think me good enough for their ladies. I can’t say that he was wrong either, I hadn’t known Serena or Christina nearly as well back then, as I did that night anyway.
I smirked and teasingly asked, “So what’s it worth, my forgiveness I mean.”
She smiled, “Are you trying to make me buy your forgiveness?”
Clearly, she’d known I wasn’t serious.
I laughed, “There’s nothing to forgive, that’s on your father. We’re good.”
She squeezed my arm and let go, “I’m also sorry about… I really was happy for you both. I didn’t know my father would…” she trailed off for a moment, and said, “I… my sister is a zombie, I haven’t seen her genuinely smile in a week, and she’s always been a positive person. I don’t really understand either, you’re not that bad a guy, if a little slow in a fight.”
I snickered.
“Thanks, I think. That’s on your father too,” I changed the subject, I didn’t want to talk about that, “How about you. How do you feel about…” it was my turn to trail off.
She tilted her head, “I think it’s easier for me, I never had the illusions my sister did. We aren’t human, and I didn’t have your problem either, of growing up among humans and learning different expectations. I grew up knowing my father would one day team me up with a man I may or may not fall for. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m fairly independent. My happiness doesn’t depend on another, and I can spend my love on my friends and children, if that’s what it comes down to.”
That… was both screwed up and wise. How could I blame her for being positive and making the best of things? I hoped for her sake, she did get lucky, and get someone she could love.
She changed the subject this time, “Have you felt anything?”
I shook my head, “Not even a ghost. I’m worried about your sister and the goon.”
She snickered, “They’ll be fine. They’ve dealt with shifters and a dark witch or two before.”
“Why do they do that? I mean summon a demon and…”
She raised an eyebrow, “And get busy with an agent of hell? Because a half demon child will make the witch more powerful, like a living magical battery attuned to that witch, she’ll have more magic to burn, and they’re a powerful ally in their own right once they grow up. In theory, a witch is a master of life, and besides being more powerful with a half demon child, they can extend their lives indefinitely. The demons do it to get hooks into the witch’s soul. Eventually, they’ll die and their soul will be lost.”
I grunted, “That seems too high a price.”
Serena nodded, “Yes, but they’re all convinced they’ll be the ones to live forever, and never have to pay their debt. In theory, they could all live forever, in practice that never works out. Death catches up with everyone eventually, even the Nephilim, the immortal half angel demigods. They eventually tired of life, and allowed death to take them.”
“I thought the Nephilim only lived four hundred years.”
She shook her head, “No, that was their first-generation children, the Nephilim were immortal.”
I asked, “Are you going to college?”
She nodded slowly, “Most likely next year, not sure for what though yet. My sister already has the business angle covered, outside of that to make us money, it’s all kicking ass and chewing bubble gum.”
I snorted, “And you’re all out of bubble gum?”
She giggled, “Exactly.”
I was actually enjoying myself for the first time since I was taken from Christina and locked up to be a specimen under the witches’ spells. At least I had one friend I could relax with in this mess. We started talking and laughing about movies after that, and various memes, but eventually the campus cleared out a little after ten, everyone was inside except a few stragglers, and we decided to call it a night. There were no threats around.
I said, “I’ll walk you back.”
She snorted, “That’s silly, your dorm is right here, and I’ll be fine. Do you think I can’t handle a couple of creeps if they bother me?”
I replied humorously, “No, I’m saving the creeps by being there so they won’t even try, god help them if they try anything with you.”
Truthfully, on an intellectual level it was kind of ridiculous, she could still kick my ass with a little effort on her part, and no human could challenge me without a weapon. This also wasn’t a date, it was a patrol and she was my partner, and I had no interest in her that way. But… emotionally it didn’t feel right asking her to walk home alone. Maybe it was just the way I was raised, or the stupid hero complex all the Blood had, or the way I’d promised her father I’d look out for her, but I was determined to see her safely back to her front door. Even if it was stupid.
She smirked, and wrapped a hand around my arm as we started walking, “Fine, I guess you can keep me company. But next time we spar, you’ll be paying for it.”
I laughed, “Can’t we just call it part of the apology?”
She shook her head in mock regret, her lips twitching, “Sorry, training is important, if I held back you could get hurt in the field. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”
I rolled my eyes, she was laying it on thick, but… she also wasn’t lying.
Chapter Four
I’d put it off too long as it was. I’d complained about not being able to summon Sara Reilly’s spirit on time, but after my bitter conversation and debriefing with Carl I hadn’t been in the mood to deal with it. I was feeling a lot better that next night after the patrol with Serena, my heart ached for Christina, but it wasn’t all I felt. I’d actually had fun with her sister, and her friendship was effortless. Her wiseass sense of humor, and my slightly twisted and understated one fit together well.
When I got back to my room, George was still out, which wasn’t that much of a surprise. Regardless, I had the dorm room to myself, and privacy so I didn’t sound crazy when I talked to thin air. Or at least, it would be thin air for anyone else watching.
I closed my eyes, and thoug
ht of her long blonde hair, and young teenage face, along with her date of death and name, and then released my magic, or energy, to summon her back to the mortal plane.
I opened them, and saw her attitude hadn’t changed much, she was staring at me with anger and suspicion. I supposed I couldn’t blame her, a necromancer had killed her after all, a vampire anyway. But… I’d never harmed her, not even when she’d tried to kill me.
I opened my mouth and she held up a hand which caused me to close it and raise an eyebrow.
She waved at me to follow, and walked through the wall. What the hell?
I got up and left my dorm room, and followed her down the hall to the stairs, and up to the roof.
“What are we doing up here?”
She frowned, “Your room is bugged.”
“Carl?”
She shrugged, “No idea who put it there. I thought you were going to summon me days ago, I started to hope you’d changed your mind.”
“How did you know?”
She tilted her head, “You should know this. We’re very sensitive to energies, and can sense and even feed from it. Electronics and electricity stick out like a sore thumb to a ghost.”
I felt a little stupid, of course they were sensitive to electrical fields. I was half convinced that’s why the hospitals and even the cemeteries were so filled with ghosts, it was too easy for them to gain the energy needed to ground themselves on our plane.
I pushed down the question of the bug until later. Carl could have done it while I was locked up, and if he did he was probably ordered too, not that I wanted to give him an excuse. There was also a slight chance it wasn’t my screwed up situation at all, and the mic or camera was George’s. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a hidden recording setup for the girls he brought back to our room.
He didn’t seem like a bad guy really, but he was a little too obsessed with partying and sleeping with any female that breathed and would let him.
“Nope, didn’t change my mind, I had problems and couldn’t summon you a few days ago. Did you find anything out?”
Sara narrowed her eyes, “Yes, I found a few souls eager to talk to me about it, but how do I know I can trust you, and you won’t summon me again anyway?”
I shrugged, “Because I’m not forcing you to talk right now? I don’t know, I can’t make you trust me. I’m really not that bad you know.”
She rolled her eyes, “You’re a necromancer.”
“That never raised a vampire or hurt a human. There are plenty of humans that murder, rape, steal, and otherwise lead shitty lives, I don’t blame you for their actions.”
Sara studied me for a minute, “Fine, I’ll tell you, but if you go back on your word I’ll find a way to make you regret it.”
I sighed, “Fine. What did you find out about the blight and necromancers of old?”
Was I really about to find out the truth? Or was this spiteful dead teen screwing with me?
She said, “Everything you believe, and have been told, is a lie. There were no necromancers of old that used their power for good.”
I raised an eyebrow, “Are you going to explain that?”
She nodded, “It’s a long story. The angels knocked up some humans before it was forbidden, creating the Nephilim. In the beginning, they were the only supernatural race outside of angels. There was a large group of them, and the humans followed them as minor gods, worshipped them. Women laid with them of their own free will.”
She made a face at that, and I didn’t comment.
“They all had their own tribes, and there were some wars between them for followers. Eventually, their numbers dwindled, they were immortal as far as aging, but could still die if they were killed quickly enough, heart, brain, or decapitation.”
She paused a minute.
“Then the fae showed up, from another world. They fled the destruction of their own world, and found humans here. Humans were slower, less intelligent, and had no magic at all, so they decided to they’d conquer the human race and make them slaves. Following so far?”
I replied, “Angels, human women, Nephilim, wars, Fae.”
She smiled tightly, “Exactly. So, the Fae started their conquest of Earth, the primitive human tribes had no chance. Until they ran into one of the Nephilim. That Nephilim was alarmed, and approached the others that remained, which was only four others at the time. Those five Nephilim wiped the floor with the thousands of Fae that had escaped their dying world. Power wise, if the humans were rats, and the Fae were cats, the Nephilim were mammoths. Only five or not, the Fae didn’t have a chance, and surrendered. They debased themselves to save their lives, and became servants of the remaining Nephilim.”
Okay, this story was way different than what I learned from Carl, and from what Carl believed.
She said, “The Fae however, never forgot, or forgave, and watched. One of the five Nephilim tired of life several centuries later, and gave himself to death. Not suicide exactly, he just suppressed their power so he’d grow old and die. This gave the long-lived Fae hope, eventually the Nephilim would tire of life and fade from the world and history, and the Fae could then takeover.
“The last four Nephilim saw the problem as well. Some of them had children, but those children were weak. They didn’t have even a limited amount of the creation power like the Nephilim had, and the other gifts they did inherit were weak. The second generation was almost completely human.”
I frowned, “What about the other paranormal races.”
She said, “I’m getting to that. There weren’t any, not yet. You see, the powers of the Nephilim were creation, shape shifting, power over life, and power over death. Sound familiar? Their children were three quarters human, only a quarter angel, and all their powers were too strong to pass on to a weaker generation. The Nephilim knew of the Fae’s plans, and had to find a way to combat it, but they were loathe to simply kill off the race. At the same time, they were tired of life, and regretted their youthful wars and the humans they’d let worship them. They even regretted enslaving the Fae.”
She paused for a minute, as if she was gathering her thoughts.
“Three of them came up with an idea. They couldn’t pass on all their gifts because they were too powerful, so they laid with many willing women while using their creation power. One of them focused on just passing on his power over life, one that would not only not fade, but be a dominant trait when breeding with humans. From his children was started the race of witches.
“The second focused his creation power on passing on his power of shifting, once again designing it to be dominant, these traits wouldn’t be diluted through the generations. The third focused on passing on his power over death, and thus the race of necromancers were born.
“After that, they freed the Fae and formed the council. They hoped both freeing the fae, and setting three new supernatural races to watch over all of humanity, would show the fae both a stick and a carrot to give up their aims of ruling this world and the humans in it. The three Nephilim had used up too much of their creation power, and started to age. Eventually they died, but the last Nephilim promised to stay on the council and suffer life until the four races found their balance.”
She paused and shook her head, “But they’d all, pardon the expression, majorly screwed up. In a disastrous way.
“They’d used their limited creation before, to make food, wine, and other small things, but this was their first attempt at creating new life. The fourth Nephilim eventually began to notice not everything was as his last three brothers envisioned.
“The witch’s power bred true as intended, except only in the females of the line. The males were powerless. The witches were also arrogant, being connected to only life, and not death, made them that way. Their souls weren’t in balance, not like the Nephilim’s had been.
“The one who passed on their shifter part got it wrong too, he put too much animal in and they were just short of feral, and worse than that they were stuck with onl
y one alternate form instead of many. The bite passing on the ability to shift was also an aberration. Or perhaps it wasn’t too much power, but the lack of the other two powers to balance it out.
“Some could argue that the third one screwed up the most, and personally I’d have to agree. The power over death passed to both sexes, and wouldn’t be diluted by cross breeding with humans, but his other changes failed. The first necromancers had other strengths, like being immune to the taint of death as they wielded their power. Except, the immunity wasn’t dominant as was intended, and after a few generations, the necromancers started going crazy because of that.”
She continued, “In the beginning it worked well enough, they could call their ancestors spirits, or have the dead deliver messages between tribes. But eventually they started to abuse the power and go crazy, raise vampires, and empower ghosts with far too much power to terrorize and hurt normal humans.”
I struggled with what to say.
“That’s… crazy. So, this whole thing has been about a Nephilim’s imperfect understanding of creation?”
She nodded, “They were worshipped as gods, but they weren’t God, and they weren’t all knowing. They studied it, but genetics and DNA can be rather complicated.”
I snorted at the understatement, “So what happened then?”
The story couldn’t be over, she still hadn’t talked about the Blood, but at least I knew where the blight had come from now.
My cellphone rang.
She looked at me incredulously as I pulled it out and answered. I shot her an apologetic look, it was Serena and I couldn’t ignore it. She wouldn’t be calling this late if it wasn’t serious.
“This is Tom.”
Serena said, “It’s me. I’m sorry to call so late, but Matt and Christina haven’t come home yet, and they’ve missed the last two check-ins, which is every two hours.”
I couldn’t think of anything valid that might make them miss a check in, and that lasted for four hours, “I’ll be right there.”
Revealed: Necromancer's Blight: Book 2 Page 3