Victoria Cage Necromancer BoxSet

by Eli Constant

  They are memories of me, like I am now laced through every part of him. Like he is part of the fabric of my body now and we are stitched together.

  “He’s right.” I whisper, letting go of Kyle’s right hand and catching a tear at the corner of his eye before it can fall to wet his cheek. “We’re connected now and it’s not just human love, it’s magical.”

  Kyle opens his mouth to protest, I shake my head and keep speaking before he can talk.

  “But he’s wrong that that’s all this is, Kyle. I believe, even without our powers, we’d be drawn to one another. Jim was my friend without knowing what I am. You are his son. We would have found one another. We would have fallen in love.”

  “Jim could have been drawn to you for the same reasons I am.” Kyle looks past me at Liam, as if desperately hoping the fairy will contradict his conclusion. The way his face crumples, I know he does not get the negation he craves.

  “Maybe.” I sigh, looking down; our hands are knitted together once more. “But does that matter enough to you to ruin what we have? I know that this is a lot to process.” I can feel Liam watching us, but I’m ignoring him. He’s even trying to enter my mind, to say something private, but I won’t let him in. “Because I love you, beast mode or not, and if I can get past you turning furry, maybe you can get past me being some insane Blood Queen who raises the dead.”

  Liam is still pushing at my brain, wanting to say something, desperate to say something. But we’ve already decided that he will say his piece later. He doesn’t have a right to interject now.

  “I love you, Kyle.”

  “I love you too.”

  And then Kyle releases my hands and wraps his great, thick arms around me. He leans his face toward mine and he kisses me in such a way that I cannot help but believe that everything is going to be okay. Everything has to be okay.

  I turn to Liam when we separate, but Kyle continues to hold me in his arms. “I’m glad you’re back, Liam. I’ve missed you.”

  Kyle’s grip tightens around me.

  “Are you?” Liam’s voice is fighting against a thin thread of hurt. But he doesn’t have the right to be hurt. He can’t be with me. I chose Kyle. And he left without a word.

  I look at Kyle, trying to flood my face with all the love I feel for him, and then I gently push his hands away so that I can walk towards Liam. “Liam, you know I am glad. Read my mind. I’m glad because I care about you, because you’re my friend.”

  “I don’t want to just be your friend, Victoria.” Liam’s looking as lovely as ever, his pale fae hair a waterfall down his back, his eyes glowing jewels, his body tall and athletic.

  We’re standing about three feet apart, close enough that we could reach out and touch our hands together, but we stay still, our arms firmly at our sides. “I’m sorry, but friendship is all I can offer. And you can’t really offer anything else either, Liam. You told me what the court would do to you. You were sent to be my guardian and nothing more. I’m sure even being friends would be unfavorable to them.”

  Liam tries to speak into my mind, but I don’t let him. I shouldn’t have used telepathy with him when he’d first arrived. It’s not fair to Kyle. “He doesn’t know you, not the way I do, Victoria. He can’t see into you the way I can. What he feels for you, it’s mechanical—his beast feeding off of your power.”

  “Liam, you left without telling me. You knew I was already dating Kyle. You could have warned me then that he was a berserker. Why didn’t you? Why did you leave? And why are you back now?”

  “I told you, we’ll talk about that—”

  “Another time, yes I heard you. But I love Kyle. We can’t speak another time. Anything you have to say, he can know it too.” I turn to Kyle and see confusion in his eyes. “Liam and I can speak to each other without talking. It’s a fae thing I think.”

  “And you’re fae too.” Kyle walks to stand next to me. It brings him closer to Liam and I’m not sure that’s a great thing at the moment. He can’t seem to keep his eyes off the fairy and I’m worried it’s because he’s thinking of all the things he’d need to make fairy stew.

  “Yes, like I said. The Valkyries were fae. There were twelve of them to begin with, the handmaidens of Odin. When they were cast out of Valhalla, they became the first necromancers.”

  “Right.” He puts an arm around me, all the while staring at Liam. “Why don’t you look like him?”

  “Actually,” I take a deep breath, “I sort of do now. When he marked me as the Blood Queen, it didn’t just give me powers, it changed my appearance a bit.”

  “You haven’t shown him?” Liam’s voice is nearly taunting, like he thinks it means more than it does that I’ve not shown Kyle my fae self.

  “Why haven’t you shown me?” Unlike Liam’s self-gratified tone, Kyle’s sounds hurt.

  “Kyle, you didn’t even know what I was up until a few hours ago. I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

  “But you could trust him?” Kyle throws Liam a hard glance.

  I throw my hands up in the air, exasperated. “He’s already a fairy. He knew what I was without me telling him. He knew I was the damn queen of the fae. I didn’t really have much of a choice.”

  “All right, fine. I’ll give you that. But if he’s seen you, then I should too. If you love me, you should trust me completely.”

  I look between Liam and Kyle and Kyle and Liam and I want to tell them both to go pack sand. “Fine.” I close my eyes and I feel the power; I reach downwards, to the little invisible place where I keep my true appearance, and I force the change. I know when it’s over; I can feel the realness of self. I can also hear Kyle’s gasp.

  “Oh. Wow.”

  I open my eyes to find Kyle standing in front of me. His hand is already reaching for my hair, brushing the starlight strands out of my face.

  “It hovered around you like a halo when it changed. Jesus, it was like the color was bleeding into the air like shadows.” He finds my eyes then, sees the fire there. “You’re beautiful, Tori. You’ve always been beautiful, but this feels…”

  “It feels like power and it looks the way a necromancer Blood Queen should.” I frown, because I’ve just realized that I wanted Kyle to prefer my human form. I want him to think the old me, the more human me, was the better of the two.

  That’s how I feel, Victoria.

  Shut up, Liam.

  You gave yourself to him. I can taste it on you.

  That’s none of your damn business. I mentally yell the words at him.

  “Now,” I skirt around Kyle, just as he’s getting ready to try and kiss me (I can see it on his face), “tell me why you left, tell me why you’re back, and for god’s sake, tell me why you’re acting so damn weird about us.”

  Liam changes before answering, his fairy self giving way to his human disguise. And I follow suit. I do not like the way Kyle is looking at me—like I am something to be worshiped rather than loved. “I went because I was called by the Light Prince. He’d received my reports that Braeden was interfering with human lives and he wanted me to deliver my findings in person. He also wanted to know how you were coping with becoming the Blood Queen.”

  “Okay, but why did you have to leave without telling me? We went from seeing one another several times a week to nothing. You could have called.”

  He nods. “I would have called, had I been allowed.”

  “You weren’t allowed?”

  “Not after I confessed to the Light Prince that my feelings for you were… more than that of a simple guardian.”

  “Why would you tell him and why would that even matter to him?”

  “I told you, I was forbidden to care for you in that way. And,” Liam looks away and then back again, “did not tell him willingly.”

  “He forced you?” I want to step towards him, check his body for damage.

  I know Liam can feel my need to come next to him. I can also see the small smile he’s fighting back. “Not physically. I have the gift of tel
epathy. He does too, in a way, but his relies on touch. All he needed to do was take my hand in his and he knew even my darkest secrets.”

  “I still don’t understand why he’d care enough to imprison you, though, Liam.”

  “Because I was forbidden, but also because you are promised to him, Victoria. To the Light Prince.” Liam’s voice is neutral, but I feel the pain running through his blood.

  My jaw drops, metaphorically hitting the damn floor with my shock. “Say, what now?”

  Kyle stiffens behind me; I can feel his tension coming off of him in great tsunami-size waves.

  “You are the one hundred and tenth reincarnation of the blood power and promised to the light fae. The one hundred and ninth married into the dark court. It is how it has always been.” Liam shrugs, as if the words do not hurt him as much as they hurt me. He can’t hide his truth from me though. I can feel his reluctance to say the words, his hate of the law in place, but it is his duty to make sure the contract between light and dark is upheld.

  “Sorry, I think I’m confused.” I turn around, facing the living room and Kyle—who looks like he’s ready to knock Liam out with one well-placed punch. “I’m promised to some prince I’ve never met?”

  “Yes.”

  I keep focused on Kyle, willing him to hold his temper in check. “And you never thought you should tell me this? In all our nights of talking and me writing down helpful little tidbits about werewolves and pixies and witches, you never once thought, ‘maybe I should tell her that being Blood Queen means she’s also got to marry Prince Light Court?’”

  “His name is Prince Oran, Son of Ivar the Golden One.”

  “I don’t care what his damn name is. I’m not marrying anyone, especially because of some shit contract that I didn’t agree to.”

  “It’s not something you can break from lightly, Victoria. This contract has kept balance between the light and dark courts for centuries. You would be risking that balance by your refusal.”

  Kyle speaks up then, having stood quiet for some time listening. “She’s not going to be forced to marry anyone.” His skin ripples, as if he is a body of water and some passerby has dropped a stone to disrupt his tranquility.

  “I don’t make the rules.” Liam leans angrily towards Kyle, taking a step forward. His power fluctuates, like someone turning a light switch off and on rapidly.

  “Both of you stop!” Once again, I put myself between them—but this time, there’s actually a chance they might fight. “I’m the one who’s been made a Blood Queen without my permission. I’m the one who they want to force into some damn arranged marriage. You two need to chill out! How the hell am I supposed to freak out if I have to babysit you two?”

  Kyle takes a step back. The first hint of fur had just started sprouting along his skin, but it recedes quickly as his anger flows from him. Liam takes even less time to return to his human state—calm and put together.

  We all stand awkwardly for a while, the only sound my phone buzzing softly against the side table next to the sofa. Kyle breaks the silence.

  “If you told the guy she’s supposed to marry that you love her, then why the hell would he let you come back.”

  “He didn’t let me come back. I’ve been imprisoned for the past seven weeks while awaiting trial. It would have been a death sentence.”

  “They would have killed you?” I hated that thought, that Liam might have died and not come back to me. Shit, I do not care about Liam that way. He’s just a friend.

  Liam’s voice comes to life in my head. How long will you lie to yourself, Victoria?

  I didn’t have time to mentally tell him to shut up again, my phone had stopped buzzing, but now it was buzzing again. And it wouldn’t stop. I walk towards it, my eyes trained on the black phone with the screen lit up. It was Terrance.

  “We are not all done with this conversation, but I have to answer this.” I don’t wait for them to respond, I answer the call. “Terrance, what’s up?”

  “Look out your window.”

  “What?”

  “Look out your living room window, Tori.”

  I did. And across the street, I saw what must have been every first responders vehicle in the county parked outside Leslie’s house. My heart freefalls out of my chest and into my feet. “Shit.” I breathed the word out.

  “Yeah, shit.”

  “Is it Leslie?”

  “Who?”

  “The woman who lives at the house. Is it her?” Please don’t let it be her. I don’t want to lose her. If Jim was like a grandfather figure then Leslie was the closest thing I had to a grandmother now.

  “No, it’s not her. Just come over.”

  “Terrance, give me something more. Prepare me. Please.”

  “Another victim. I’ve a hunch it’s the same killer as Maggie Smythe.”

  I swallow hard. “I’ll be over in a second.”

  Terrance doesn’t say goodbye.

  The line goes dead in my hand and I go a little more dead inside, knowing that Terrance would call for only one of two reasons right now. Either they’d had a break in the case and he had questions for me or they’d found another body.

  Looking at the strobing lights in Leslie’s yard, I know the answer. Another body. Another victim.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Only a truly insane woman would have left Kyle and Liam alone in the apartment with them glaring at one another and itching for a fight.

  I am not an insane woman. I send them both packing—Kyle to the bar even though Mikey is already set to open up, and Liam to wherever the hell he goes when he isn’t with me. I’ve never asked. And I don’t really care to right now. I am glad he is back, but also beyond pissed that he’s kept the little detail of my arranged marriage to himself.

  Kyle pulls out of my driveway in the Thunderbird just as I’m crossing the street. We wave and he slows down so that I can walk to the driver’s window for another goodbye kiss, but we are thwarted by Terrance’s voice booming out to me from behind Leslie’s house.

  I shrug, Kyle looks sullen. But duty calls.

  This duty, unlike marrying Oran, Light Prince and Son of the Golden one, is one I’m happy to perform. You can’t say no to the Prince of Light, Victoria.

  Get the hell out of my head, Liam.

  Looking around, I try to see where he’s hiding, but he’s nowhere to be found. Not even in the trees above my head.

  I don’t have to be near you to talk to you. I’m not in the trees. His laugh floats through my mind and sends chills rolling down my arms. I quickly lower my face so I’m not staring at the changing colors of the leaves above.

  And then I push, with all of my might, to eject him from my mind. I feel it when he goes, like wind rushing through my brain.

  I catch sight of Leslie speaking with Steve. They’re standing on the porch of her house. I wave at her, but she’s too distraught to wave back. I wonder if she’s the one that found the body.

  “Thanks for answering.” Terrance waves a hand, indicating to the officer in front of me to let me pass. I don’t recognize him. The new guy I guess. The one that replaced Darryl. He’s small, about my height, with baby blonde hair and pale brown eyes. A spattering of freckles dots his nose. He looks so young, too young to be a cop.

  I say hi as I go by, but the man ignores me. Maybe he doesn’t think a civilian should be called to a crime scene. Great. I felt like shit that Darryl had died, but he and I had butted heads like hateful siblings. It looked like his replacement wasn’t going to be much better. I throw him a glance over my shoulder just before getting to Terrance’s side.

  “What’s his problem?”

  Terrance looks past me at the officer who’s standing with his back to us. “Don’t mind Timothy. He’s green and this was his first body. He shouldn’t have been out on patrol alone yet. I’ve got to have a few words with Steve. He was closest, answered the call. I didn’t handle it well as a seasoned cop, so I can’t imagine what he’s feeling.”
/>   I nod. I’m desensitized to bodies and I don’t remember what it was like before I got used to the look of them, the pallor and the way their eyes are so empty. “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “He’s a good kid.”

  We’re nearly to the water’s edge now, or the ice’s edge rather. The sheet of glassiness goes as far as the eye can see. Lake Moultrie is huge and it has to be damn cold to freeze the thing. In the distance, about fifty feet out on the ice, I see yellow tape held around a patch of ice that’s been cleared of snow. Several people stand around it, one is taking pictures.

  “I didn’t want them to cut the body out until you got here. I didn’t know if it would mess with your… gift if we disturbed the remains.”

  “It might have. If a spirit is connected, being here might help him or her remember what happened. It might not though. I told you it’s not an exact science.”

  Terrance nods. “Better safe, though.” He starts walking out on the lake and I halt.

  “Whoa, is it safe to walk out there.”

  “I’ve been off and on twice already and we still have three folks on the ice. It’s safe, Tori.” He continues walking, leaving me to watch his back and decide whether I trust him or not.

  “Shit,” I whisper, walking close enough to press one Nike-clad shoe onto the ice. It slips a little, but I don’t hear any cracking. Taking a deep breath, I start walking, praying I don’t hit a weak spot and end up neck deep in frigid water. Of course, if I fell through out where the body was, then I wouldn’t just be neck deep. “Who even found the body out here, Terrance?”

  “Some guy’s dog chasing a stick. Doberman got all the way out here on the ice and wouldn’t stop barking. He’s at the station now, giving his statement.” Terrance hollers back, not turning around.

  As I walk forward, with Terrance way ahead and already almost at the yellow tape, I reach down into the waters hidden below. Lake Moultrie has never held secrets, not the way Hellhole Bay does. There was the one suicide some time back, but that was it and she’d passed peacefully into the ether after giving me a message for her family. Why hadn’t I felt the victim? Had he or she passed on already? That would be unusual for a murder victim. They nearly always had some form of unfinished business, but, then again, there had been no spirit connected to the Jane Doe’s body either. Perhaps this spirit, too, had become ghost.