Magic, energy, whatever it was, or whatever I called it, probably didn’t matter in the end, but it reacted to and obeyed the will. The one thing I did know for sure, was that I didn’t want to be bonded to her anymore, and no longer even gave a shit what it meant or how important it was. I felt the buzz of passed energy between us for a moment, and then deliberately let go and willed the bond away.
It died.
She gasped in shock and loss, and I turned and walked away, I didn’t care what happened next, I could wait out front for my partner. Temporary partner. I didn’t need to watch her tear her sister down, which I knew she was about to do.
My first clue to that was when Serena referred to her as selfish bitch.
I was also shocked, or is it more shocked since I’d already been numb? Because I’d never met Serena before the bond had been set between Christina and me. Once I’d removed it, I’d felt that same draw to Christina I had when I first met her, what I’d termed the potential bond after the fact.
That ephemeral feeling that drew me to her, along with the curiosity of her being a ghost magnet.
But she wasn’t the only one, not anymore. I felt the same potential with Serena now.
I’d never mixed up the bond with the attraction, caring, and then love I’d felt for Christina, it was something else and apart. A partnership for a purpose I didn’t understand, nor did I right now give a crap about what that might be.
The point was, apparently I could feel that bond with other women of the Blood. All of them? Or just those two because they’re sisters and similar? It would be impossible to know unless I met another one, or a whole bunch of other ones, and considering I was Chicago’s dirty little secret, the Blood and half breed necromancer, I wasn’t going to depend on that happening.
Ever.
It was also clear only I could feel it, so like other magic the Blood simply couldn’t feel the bond magic either, until it was made. They could feel the bond, like they could use judgement. But that was the magic’s purpose, not the magic itself, which is what I suspected the potential feeling was.
Apparently, once the bond was made, all other potential bonds weren’t felt anymore, but now? I felt the same thing with Serena. Maybe tomorrow, or in a few days I’d be curious about what it was again, like I had been in the past when I wished I knew what it all meant, but right now I just couldn’t bring myself to really feel curious, or care. I was dead inside, I felt as empty as Christina’s dead azure eyes.
I shivered, as a cool night breeze blew across me.
Chapter Seven
Serena still looked stormy when she came outside, and she crossed her arms.
“What now?”
She was fiery, and should have been a redhead.
I said, “Don’t know,” but then made a suggestion anyway, “You should call your father, the trains don’t start up again for about four hours, and the hotel is probably cheaper than an hour or longer cab ride to Chicago.”
She sighed, and pulled out her phone, and dialed her father.
She was silent as it rang, and then said, “Dad, we’re fine, the half demon is dead, your oldest daughter went and exchanged the mating oath with Matt, who she doesn’t love at all, so good job there dad, way to be a parent. Oh, and I’m about to share a hotel room with the necromancer, good night.”
She hung up the phone and looked at me sheepishly.
Wow, that was her funny wise ass sense of humor with some teeth. She wasn’t usually so cutting, but I was damned impressed.
I shrugged, “Sounds like a plan. I hope he fainted.”
She giggled.
It was kind of funny, but I didn’t laugh, or even smile.
We went back inside, and got a room with a double bed, set the alarm for six in the morning, and then crashed. She was a gorgeous woman, but it wasn’t even a little awkward. Between our close friendship, the fact neither of us liked the other like that, and my deadened emotions, it wasn’t even a thing to share a room with her. I figured four hours of sleep should be enough, and we’d take the train back into Chicago. I guess I’d be missing a day of running, but I’d be back in time for classes, and my workouts.
The two of us even jokingly flirted a bit, but neither of our hearts were really in it. She was too angry, and I was dead inside. We were both upset by what her sister had done, and she was being obviously protective and worried toward me. She was a good friend, and I really appreciated how angry she’d been on my behalf, or at least, I would be when I could feel again. Probably in the morning, the Blood were good at bouncing back. Then I’d have to deal with the pain, maybe the numbness wasn’t so bad after all…
When we got back to the city the next morning, there was a debrief about the incident, the painless kind. Apparently, we were getting a pass, since the other two had eloped. He was also pleased we didn’t interact with any of the Shifters.
I won’t go into details, but my first day without the bond, and knowing the woman I loved was forever out of reach was pretty rough, and I was mostly a mess. Miserable and inconsolable were good word choices. Dismal, wretched, and bleak worked too. I wished the numbness would come back, while I suffered the physical pain of loss. It felt like a part of myself had been roughly torn out, and left bleeding. I’d… truly loved her, and despite not having the right I felt betrayed. She’d said she loved me, that it was her dream to find someone like me instead of a loveless life. Daddy said no and she went off the deep end and jumped into bed and mated with the consolation prize.
I think I mourned for the loss of her dreams, for the loss of the sparkle in her eyes and the passion she showed me that one night so briefly, as much as I did for my own heart. That compassion for her, more than anything else, told me that I’d truly loved her.
I worked out longer and harder than usual, which helped, but absolutely killed my arms, legs, and stomach muscles. So much so, that the afternoon sparring session which I chased down Serena for, ended almost immediately, after she quite easily took me apart four times in a row.
The fact I could no longer feel Christina’s presence, was sore consolation. At least, not unless we were in the same room, then I’d feel that potential, but that wasn’t an issue either since we avoided each other.
When Serena asked me if I was okay, I answered honestly. I would be. Probably not tomorrow, or the next day, or even next week. But… I was hardly the first guy with a broken and stomped on heart. After that, I tried to catch up on homework before our patrol of the college that night.
There’d been no sign of a new necromancer in town, but we were supposed to be pro-active about it, and try and find vampires and other signs of a necromancer’s presence before humans started turning up dead. It hardly worked out that way, people usually did start to die first, but the few times it would work, made it worth doing it.
“So how was the briefing?”
All things considered, I skipped it. I’d be able to be around her again one day, but not for a while. I figured Serena could just read me into anything important. If we had to work together in the field for safety, I’d deal, but not to sit around and listen to Carl blather.
“Protect each other… blah blah… be vigilant… blah.”
I laughed, “So about the same as usual?”
She nodded, “No suspected sightings or strange murders. The other two are patrolling at secondary sights.”
I nodded. Parks, bars, the homeless areas. Not all necromancers sent their vamps to feed on the college campus, it was just one of the better places to find unwary humans who partied, drank too much, and were far too clueless about the dark creatures of the world.
“Tom!” yelled a female voice, and we both turned.
I smiled uncertainly as Amy invaded my personal space and gave me a tight hug. I returned it a little awkwardly, and patted her back.
She looked at Serena and confided, “He’s my hero.”
She turned and looked back at me as she stepped back, “The doctor told me you brough
t me in. I don’t even remember who gave me that drink, I don’t even want to imagine what could have happened.”
Yeah, Rohypnol messed with short term memory.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, this is Serena. Serena, this is Amy.”
Serena said, “Nice to meet you.”
Amy smiled, and her normal shyness kicked back in which caused an awkward moment.
“Anyway, I just wanted to thank you, and I’ll be more careful about accepting drinks. You hear about it, but I never believed it would actually happen to me, you know?”
“Your welcome.”
She waved awkwardly, “Good night,” and walked away.
Serena accused, “She likes you.”
I shrugged, “I only met her once before the incident at the party, and for fifteen minutes. She’s just grateful, and maybe a little hero worship. Besides, not interested.”
Serena asked, “Why not?”
“Not my type.”
She smiled at that, and asked, “What is your type?”
“Oh, you know, wiseasses that can kick my ass.”
She snorted and pushed me playfully.
“That was weak.”
“True,” I replied, “I’m rather off my game.”
She bit her lip guiltily, “So… what’s really your type.”
I frowned, I don’t know. Why do women always ask impossible questions. I gave it some thought.
“Confident, passionate, faithful, good sense of humor… why, what’s yours?”
Turnabout was fair play. Of course, it was a stupid question, considering what she was. She didn’t date in high school either. Her type was whatever dad fetched. I hated the Blood, or at least, their screwed up society. It also wasn’t lost on me that I’d just described her perfectly, except there was no spark. That was a good thing, I’d only have wound up losing her too, better she was a friend. Less drama.
She blushed, “I don’t know. Not really.”
“Stupid question, never mind.”
Her phone rang, and she pulled it out and answered it.
“Serena.”
She nodded a couple of times, I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t quite make out what Matt was saying.
“On our way,” she said, and hung up the phone.
She said, “That was Matt, there was just a mauling in Garfield park. Big cat.”
I knew they had some kind of tie to the police, or at least their computer systems, but that was just one more thing they were hiding from me, the details of it anyway, and how it worked. I supposed that was because if I ever went rogue, and knew how it worked, I could hide better.
“Two shifter problems in as many days, I really need to learn how to shoot.”
Serena smirked, and patted my arm, “This weekend right, just thirty-six hours left before Timothy torture time. Don’t call him triple T though, he hates that. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the mean kitty. We need to stop by headquarters so I can grab my side arm.”
It was late on Thursday, around eight, so more like thirty-four hours. No doubt the sadist would want to start at six in the morning. But I nodded in agreement, there was no point in whining about it.
“I feel safer already.”
She huffed in mock annoyance.
But… I’d really meant it. I was surprised she didn’t pick that up. I did trust her with my life, just not the truth. They weren’t the only ones hiding things, and I couldn’t share my search for the truth. Speaking of which, after the cat thing I needed to get back on the dorm roof, and summon my favorite ghost. Sadly, that was true, maybe I liked abuse. Or maybe, she was the only ghost I’d ever really spoken to.
It was also possible I just liked the challenge of trying to earn her trust.
Chapter Eight
Garfield park wasn’t that big, but it was a decent size at a hundred and eighty-four acres. There was a conservatory located on the grounds, which had its own green line El stop, so it was easy enough to get there after picking up a sidearm for Serena. It was right on the west side of Chicago.
We walked out into the park, and looked around. I didn’t regret severing the bond with Christina, but it sure had come in handy for times like these. It looked like the cops were already gone, and we didn’t wander all too long before we heard a growl.
Serena said, “That wasn’t a cat.”
I shook my head, “Agreed, it was this way.”
We started walking in the direction of the growl, and made our way through the trees slowly, both of us alert. A few feet in the tree line we started to hear the crackle and pops of bones breaking, and adjusted our course slightly. I relaxed a little bit, when I saw Matt and Christina in the trees standing casually with a third figure who was getting dressed.
“I think that’s the alpha,” I said in a low voice.
James Anson replied, “It is.”
Damn, they had really good hearing.
Serena wrapped her hand around my arm as we closed the distance, and I nodded at the three of them vaguely, and stared at James’ chin. I hoped Serena was doing the same. She’d been better trained, and knew more than I did, but if she hadn’t met the shifters yet, she probably didn’t know how damned awkward it was not to look someone in the eyes while talking. It wasn’t something humans really thought about, it was instinct to seek occasional eye contact.
Christina’s voice cut right through me, “Alpha Anson, this is my younger sister Serena, you already know her partner.”
James said, “It’s a pleasure to meet another Limner, I’m not going to hurt you, just get your scent to share with my pack.”
Serena replied, “I understand. Nice to meet you as well.”
James came over and sniffed her, the hand Serena had wrapped around my arm got uncomfortably tight until he stepped away again. When she let go, I resisted the urge to rub the spot.
James said, “The one who did this was not one of ours, but his scent is familiar to me. His name is Sam Mendelson, and he’s a cougar in his other form. He went rogue a week ago, from the pack right outside the Springfield area. He’s six foot three, has dark amber eyes, black hair, and like most of us he’s built like a linebacker in human form.”
He pulled out his phone and made a call to the alpha in that area. They spoke for a few minutes, extremely politely. Then he hung up.
James said, “That’s all I can do. He’ll e-mail a picture tonight to Carl, so you can search for him better. I’d recommend in and around the parks. He’ll also go through anything Sam left behind, and send it to your coven for tracking, but that will take a little longer.”
Easier said than done, Chicago had more than a few parks large enough for a cougar to hide.
Christina asked, “Do you think he’ll stick around?”
James replied, “Rogues of our kind act a lot like what they are. He’s a cat, and will see this as his territory now. A cat’s territory can extend very far though, hundreds of miles even. He may leave Chicago at some point if you don’t catch him first, but his instincts will force him to circle back through his territory. All I can tell you for sure, is that he isn’t in the park anymore.”
James’ advice made me recall Sara’s words last night, right before my life had collapsed. The Nephilim had screwed up, took on a task too large and complicated with their creation magic, and the shifters had too much of their animal in them. They were ruled by their instincts. I decided to research the cougar later on, maybe something in it would help. Still, too much of their animal didn’t mean they weren’t as intelligent as a human, so it wouldn’t be exactly the same, just a good hint maybe.
Matt nodded, “Thank you for your assistance Alpha.”
James grunted, “I don’t want him in my territory either, good luck.”
James stalked off toward the entrance of the park.
Serena said, “If he’s not here, we’re going to head back to the campus for one more walkthrough.”
It seemed like a total waste to come out h
ere for a simple conversation, but to be fair they wouldn’t have known the cat was gone and there was nothing to do tonight. Sam could be anywhere by now, and I doubted he’d prowl another park and kill again the same night.
Matt said, “Fine, but be careful.”
I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and Serena and I walked off. It hadn’t been easy, but I hadn’t glanced at Christina even once…
We didn’t find anything for our last walkthrough, and Serena didn’t even blink at me walking her back to the building she lived in this time. I actually missed her presence on the walk back, and could still sense the ghost of the fierce hug she’d given me before going inside the building. I was pretty sure our friendship was keeping me from totally losing it.
I frowned at the idea of my room being bugged as I climbed the stairs to the rooftop. I was about to summon Sara, when I saw her sitting on the edge of the roof. I walked over and joined her.
“How’s the great niece?”
Sara frowned at me, but said, “Adorable, and driving my nephew and his wife insane.”
I smirked, “That’s what babies do. So, the rest of the story?”
Sara nodded reluctantly, “Alright, so where did we leave off? All the new paranormal races had something wrong with them. The Shifters, Witches, and Necromancers. The first two races had issues, but despite that were still far more stable than the necromancers after a few generations. The necromancers completely lost their immunity to the blight, and were tainted by death and driven insane.”
I nodded, “That’s when I got called away.”
Sara said, “Despite the problems, the council seemed to be working, it’d been sixty or so years. The last Nephilim decided to work on the issue of the necromancers, and left the council of four races in charge while he took his personal tribe of humans, and left the area. He knew if he’d stayed, they’d be constantly interrupting him.
“First, he meditated on the problem and what had gone wrong with the necromancers, and learned exactly where his brother had gone wrong. That took him almost two hundred years.”
Revealed: Necromancer's Blight: Book 2 Page 5