Serena sighed and said, “My father won’t let us go.”
I replied shortly, “So don’t ask.”
Serena replied with an amused voice, “I like the way you think, are the trains even still running?”
I looked at my phone, it was two minutes past midnight.
“Last train is in twenty minutes or so, maybe a half hour, hurry up and meet me at the station instead.”
Serena replied, “I’ll be there.”
I said, “Don’t forget a gun, one of us needs to be armed with silver bullets.”
Serena said crisply, “Right, see you soon,” and hung up.
I frowned at Sara, “I don’t suppose we could complete this tomorrow? My friends are in danger.”
It was information I needed, and I had a feeling she’d just gotten to the part I really needed to know, though the rest of it had been interesting, and nothing like what I’d been told, or what the Blood believe to be true. Still, it was disturbing, if it was true I didn’t see how the blight could be eliminated without killing all the necromancers. If it was just a mistake of a half angel playing at being god, necromancers as a race was just screwed.
Then again, the story wasn’t over yet.
Sara looked at me suspiciously, “Fine, I suppose if I haven’t told you the whole story you haven’t reneged. Tomorrow.”
I asked, “Did you want to stick around for a day, or go back?”
She gaped at me for a minute, clearly shocked I’d asked. I kept telling her I wasn’t an asshole, but clearly she wasn’t buying it.
“I’ll stay, my little brother just became a grandfather, I wouldn’t mind peeking in on my great niece.”
“Have fun,” I said as I ran for the door. It wasn’t going to be easy getting there fast enough. I didn’t have time to wait for a taxi, so I ran for the El…
Chapter Five
The train was leaving in two minutes, and there was still no sign of Serena. There were a few people on the platform taking the last train out to the suburbs, but not all that many.
I felt a surge of relief, and smiled as I saw her come running down the track platform, and I stepped into the train car. She came fast, and jumped in the train and wrapped her arms around me.
“Thank you so much for being crazy, I’m so worried. My father is worried too, he’s going to be pissed when he figures out I’m gone.”
I hugged her back, “Calm down, we’ll figure it out and find them.”
She squeezed me one more time, and then we sat down. It had felt really good to be hugged by her too. She was warm, soft, and the affection despite the cause had felt good.
“Thanks, I wasn’t sure if you would come.”
I took her hand, “Of course I will, every time.”
She said, “You really love her don’t you.”
I shrugged, “Yes, but that isn’t the only reason. I’d have run here for you too, or even just Meathead. Don’t you know that?”
She shrugged, and then finally nodded and squeezed my hand. Her hand felt good in mine, it was nice and I didn’t feel so isolated anymore. I felt… connected. She helped fill the void, the friendship we had, and the easy relationship we enjoyed, all without the drama I’d always had with Christina. I didn’t have many friends, and I didn’t want to be clingy or weird about one of the best ones I’ve ever had, which is why I let her hand go and put mine on my lap.
We also had about forty-five minutes to kill.
She looked into my eyes and asked, “You’d really come running to save me? Despite all we’ve done to you, what my father’s done to you?”
I nodded slowly, “Every time, promise. We’re partners, and good friends, aren’t we? Despite everything else, and that you place your duty first, I know you care about me.”
She smiled, it was a bit weak because of our worry, but she meant it.
“I suppose we are, and I do. You already know I’d come to get you, we already did.”
“So, what do you know?” I asked in a more serious tone.
She looked up for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.
She replied, “They checked in at seven, when they got there. They also sent a text at seven forty with a picture of the body, which definitely points to a half demon, a full demon’s claws are much larger. The wolf was killed cleaner, probably because a half demon would have trouble playing with one and put it down fast with its power, it was burned though, the wolf body I mean. So… a fire half-demon, not the one that captured you. The text said they were going to look for the half demon in the small town out there. Then that was it, no check-in at nine, or eleven.”
“No witch?”
She shrugged, “Probably not, unless she lets her half-demon go play. Chances are its mother is dead. Then again, one half-demon shouldn’t be able to take both Christina and Matt.”
“But could a half demon hide their scent trail alone? Your father said the pack couldn’t track the scent.”
She frowned, “I don’t know, maybe not, but his mother could have given him a spelled object before she died, that is powered by his magic.”
Great. Not.
“We’ll find them.”
I heard the real sentiment behind those words at the end, when she’d redirected herself. A half demon would have no reason to take prisoners. If there was a witch, there was a chance they’d still be alive and held somewhere. Maybe for a sacrifice? Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to ask either. It didn’t look good. Serena was obviously hanging on by an emotional thread as it was, and I wasn’t doing too much better as I thought of all the ways she could be dead, or tortured, despite my every effort not to. I cared about Matt too of course, but next to the worry I held for Christina it was just a small spark. The supernatural world was not a nice one, if they were still alive they wouldn’t be for long. That Macy wanted me alive was the exception, not the rule. When she reached over and claimed my hand, this time I didn’t let go until the train reached the end of the line…
Fox Lake, IL was a small town or village, just over ten thousand people. There were a few lakes up there, as well as the forest preserve which made it a good place for Shifters near Chicago. They had to be careful not to be seen, but from what I understood the Fae worked with them to enchant the place so the rangers or park police wouldn’t see big cat or wolf tracks all over the place, however that worked.
We got off the train and walked through the town almost randomly, both of us far too worried and stressed to fill the silence with our usual banter, but we were one in purpose, and had each other’s backs. It was close to one thirty in the morning, and the streets were dimly lit at best.
I felt a surge of relief, and pointed toward the bond link, “That way. She’s alive.”
Serena didn’t answer, and when I looked over she was wiping tears from her eyes, I ignored that since she looked embarrassed, and we started jogging that way. Then I felt it, a buzz of power, not like a Necromancer, or a witch, but a half demon. It was coming up behind us, fast.
“Behind us!” I said as we spun around.
I didn’t think Blood or Shifters could feel magic the way I did, they could just feel the taint.
We weren’t being attacked as I’d assumed though, there was a car coming.
I growled, pulled my dagger and ignored Serena’s confused look. She definitely couldn’t feel the half demon. I was sure that’s what it was, the buzz, or energy, or magic, felt exactly like the one that had electrocuted me, with a slightly different flavor.
I jumped up and backwards onto the hood, trying to partially match the car’s speed so I wouldn’t have to absorb full impact. Then I jammed my dagger into the driver’s side of the windshield. I really needed to learn how to use a gun, it would have been much easier, and less painful, to stop a car with a gun.
The half-demon stomped the break as he looked at me with his eyes wide.
Serena had caught on, and was running to catch up to the car and coming alongside the driver’s door w
hile I twisted and pulled, ripping the cracked and pierced windshield right off the car.
The half-demon’s hand started to gather fire, but I pumped energy into my necromantic shield to make it stronger and resist his magic as I dove in and pinned his arm down while holding the knife to his throat.
“How many are you, and who has them?”
The demon looked at me in confusion, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I pulled back my hand and punched him in the face, his nose cracked and he bellowed, and then I put the knife back against his throat.
“Language my friend, there’s a lady present.”
I heard Serena’s tinkling laughter as she cocked the gun and put the barrel against his head.
The demon looked at me like I was nuts, and maybe I was, just a little bit. This monster had the woman I loved, and had done who knows what to her. Before we got there, I wanted to know who was holding her, or if there were others to worry about. That she couldn’t be with me was quite beside the point.
“Let me fill in your memory, you killed a shifter, wolf, and two humans.”
He said, “Bullshit, I was setup!”
Lie. Serena and I shared a dubious look.
I turned back, “Then you captured a couple of Blood.”
He snorted, “Captured. No I didn’t. If I’d have seen more of you I’d have killed them.”
True… what the hell? Had Christina and Matt found other trouble down here, was it just coincidence the half-demon was headed that way?
“Who else are you working with.”
He struggled for a minute, and tried to light my arm on fire but it wouldn’t take, my shield was more than strong enough.
He growled, “No one, screw off, asshole.”
Except, he didn’t say screw.
I punched him again.
“Lady present,” and then I slit his throat.
Okay, cursing in front of a lady wasn’t a killing offense, but he needed to be put down anyway.
Half demons and dark witches were on the kill list after all, right alongside necromancers, vampires, and wights, although those last two were more banishing than killing. The demons and evil witches were actually worse in my opinion, true evil, where a necromancer was just tainted by death and driven insane. I’d been wanting to talk to Serena about what I’d learned from Sara during the train ride, but even though we were friends, good friends and partners, I couldn’t trust her not to run back to dad with the tale. Duty above all.
She said half in amusement and half disbelief, “You’re crazy, you just tackled a car.”
I laughed, “Maybe, let’s get him in the trunk, along with the windshield.”
Luckily that thing was cracked into a lot of pieces, but still mostly held together by the safety glass film. It was pretty dark in the road right there as well, so even if some of the neighbors were still up, they wouldn’t have seen anything.
She nodded, “Looks like we cleaned up the mess they were sent down here for, let’s see what other trouble they managed to find.”
I grunted in agreement as I picked up the windshield, and she popped the trunk and grabbed the corpse. I wasn’t worried about getting caught, the thing would be dust and ashes in ten minutes anyway thanks to the enchantment on the knife.
I drove the car two streets up, and pulled over, and we abandoned it and started to jog toward her sister and Matt. We were fast, and our jog was faster than most human sprints, it didn’t take long to make it a half mile, though when we got close we slowed down. We didn’t want to rush into anything.
I stopped dead when we got to the street they were on and looked in Christina’s direction. My heart skipped, and I felt a ripping pain in my chest…
Chapter Six
Serena looked at me in confusion, and I wondered what my face looked like.
“Serena, do Blood get married?”
Serena shook her head, confused why I was asking this now.
But she answered, “No. We exchange a simple oath, and then consummate. It’s tradition for the oath to be witnessed by the woman’s father, but not…”
She cut off and looked in the direction I was looking, halfway down the block and across the street. The lit sign read, The Fox Lake Inn.
Serena looked back at me, eyes wide, “She still loves you, she wouldn’t… maybe they just decided to sleep here and continue the search for the killer tomorrow.”
I could tell she didn’t believe that. If that were true they’d have checked in, and wouldn’t be ignoring their phones.
I shook my head, “People have done dumber shit when they lose love. I saw her eyes this morning, they were empty and without hope. She may have done it simply because she believed it would help her get over the pain faster. Or because if she was forced to give in to the inevitable, putting it off would just make it more painful.”
Horrible stupid reasons, not a rebound relationship, but a rebound mating. Unbelievable, but the Blood were stunted when it came to relationships and lovers, they were soldiers, isolated from society, and horribly naïve to matters of the heart. There’d been a part of me, a small part, that hoped when I’d learned the truth about things I’d find a way to make it work, to change her father’s mind, or at least her mind. If she really had done what I deeply suspected she had, there was no going back. She was truly lost to me.
For good. Forever.
The vain hope I’d been holding onto despite myself, turned to dust.
Not only that, but I was boiling mad on top of the dejection, they’d made us worry for nothing. We thought they were dead, or captured and being tortured, instead they’d been doing the blood version of eloping and screwing? My stomach turned in disgust.
She said, “They could be captured?”
I shook my head, and felt dead inside. The ripping pain in my chest had drained, and I felt nothing at all. Was I in shock? My brain had shut down because the pain was too sharp.
“We should check I suppose, but this isn’t the movies. People don’t kidnap people and take them to hotels where they’d be easily caught by one scream, or banging, or something. Either way, we should let them know we did their job, and they should’ve known better than to turn off their phones.”
Anyone who did that was far too immature to do what they’d just done.
I looked over at Serena, and took a step back. She looked… incensed. I’d never seen her look like that before. Annoyed or scared, yes. Most of the time playful and joking, but never the intense furious look she held in that moment. I imagined that was because they’d made us all worry they were dead, and turns out they were just doing the Blood version of eloping. I was sure she didn’t have to talk very fast either, Matt did love her after all, and would jump at the chance. Perhaps too naïve to realize I was the one that pushed her there, or her father was. The intense anger in her gaze and visage short circuited mine, for the moment.
“Serena?”
She didn’t answer, and her hands were fisted as she walked forward. I followed as we crossed the street, and went to the inn. She looked at me meaningfully, and I passed by her and started walking past all the rooms, until I found the one she was inside, and pointed.
I didn’t want to know, I didn’t want to see, but I also had to. This was it, the end. The Blood took their oaths seriously, and even if things could have changed, it was far too late to make a difference.
Serena banged on the door so hard I was surprised it didn’t break.
A few moments later, she hammered the door again.
I heard Matt curse, and then I closed my eyes as I felt Christina move through the bond. I no longer had any doubts, I’d truly lost her, and felt… utterly lost.
It was another twenty seconds, no doubt them getting dressed, before Matt pulled open the door.
“What the hell are you two doing here.”
Serena barked, “You jackass! You missed two check-ins, we all thought you were dead, or at least badly hurt or captured. Did you even
think, or did my incredibly selfish bitch of a sister just shake her ass and make you lose all your brains?”
He was speechless.
So was I… Serena livid equaled Serena terrifying. I was also happy I didn’t have to say anything, because me standing here was awkward enough. Christina came to the door, and put her arm around Matt, she didn’t look like she regretted it, yet, but she also didn’t look at me at all.
“So, we missed a check in, and you two ran out here?” she asked in a careless disbelieving tone.
Serena said, “Excuse us for caring if you were alive, why didn’t you just check-in?”
Matt blushed, “We were… busy, and then we fell asleep on accident. I’m sorry we worried you both, really we didn’t mean to do that.”
That… I could buy that. Still stupid, and I wanted to kill him and yell at her, so I just stood there like a stone statue. I no longer had that right, if I ever did. She belonged to him now.
Serena scoffed, “We did your job, the half fire demon is dead. Ran across him while looking for you, so you can call the alpha and let him know. We’re leaving, and I can’t believe you did this Christina, after what we talked about...”
Christina flushed, and I was curious, but really it didn’t matter anymore. In fact, I really didn’t want to know.
I held out my hand, “Take it.”
Christina finally turned to me, and her eyes were still dead. She’d just mated to a man for life, and had sex for the first time, and yet there was still nothing in her eyes. How could I even get mad? She’d just screwed up the rest of her life. That was more punishment than I’d ever wish on her for breaking my heart like this, and for scaring her sister and I about their safety.
A small part of me hoped in that moment, that one day she might love him. Stranger things have happened, and they’ll both change as they get older. Still, I doubted it, they were standing in their hotel room on their wedding night, wedding of sorts anyway, and I felt no chemistry between them at all.
“What for?”
I said, “You owe me this much.”
She sighed, and Matt looked suspicious as she reached out and took my hand.
Revealed: Necromancer's Blight: Book 2 Page 4