by D. R. Rosier
The demon frowned my way. I built a quick spell of spirit, air, and fire. The demon wasn’t a high level one, but nor was he week. I wasn’t sure if the banishment would work or not and held my breath as the spell hit him. The demon screamed, but used his power to leech the fire element from the spell, which collapsed.
I muttered several impolite words in ancient languages, that left me one option, and I was loathe to do it. I hadn’t revealed myself for centuries. Other supernaturals whisper about the Nephilim, and more than half believe us to be myth. I may very well be the last one, most were killed over the years.
The demon threw back his head and laughed. It wasn’t a sound of mirth. He looked at me and shook his head.
“Nice try, but I won’t be going back to the abyss today.”
I sighed, “True. I guess that means you won’t be going back at all.”
He looked confused for a moment, as if my statement made no sense at all.
Then I exploded in white light. It wasn’t real light in the strictest sense. Much like demonic fire was completely different from normal or elemental fire. The white light had… weight, presence. It was the power of the angelic.
Everyone including the demon was temporarily blinded. I knew what they saw when they looked at me. Insubstantial white wings, my body surrounded by my angelic aura in the form of armor. A glowing sword of light in my right hand, and a shield on my left arm. The demon’s eyes widened and he started to form a sword of shadow and demonic fire, but it was too late for him, I had the element of surprise. I lunged forward faster than even the Vampires could keep track of.
The demon did manage to bring his sword around but he was unprepared, off balance. I bashed his sword to the side with my shield and took his head with my sword. Brandon’s followed quickly, most likely before he even knew he had lost.
I reached out and touched Marsha’s forehead in the stunned silence of the room. I didn’t use the healing of a sorceress, the spirit, water and earth spell I employed at work. I used my angelic healing. The compulsion didn’t stand a chance, neither did her wounds, she was fully restored in moments. I dismissed my sword and my power. I kept a strong stance, my face revealed nothing, although I was quite tired I knew from experience sagging would be a mistake.
It wasn’t from the physical side, I could fight most enemies all day long with my angelic powers. But the power to destroy a demon was… draining to say the least. I looked up and saw a mix of awe, fear, and betrayal on Ginnie’s face. I hated it. But I had to save her. Not because she was innocent, or right, or even my friend. Because she was my great granddaughter, the latest generation, proof and the result of the love and short part of my life I shared with Gerald in bliss.
She was mine.
I could never tell her of course, if it became known her and her whole line would become a target. The angelic blood was too diluted for immortality, but there was increased power, and life, in my lines of descendents. They tended to be healthier too. No, it was better this way, that she not know. I guess it really is time for me to move on.
I sighed. My heart was breaking at the idea of Ginnie hating me, of having to leave, but my voice and my visage was stone, “Mar, I think it’s time I moved on, be well.”
I wanted to stay, but that would be a bad idea. I pictured my bedroom and called my power to transport me there. No reason to hide my angelic abilities now, talk about locking the barn after the horses ran off…
It would take me more time for this move. I’d have to change my last name at the least, then forge all my R.N. credentials. I thought about where to go, it had been a couple of generations since I checked on my family in Illinois. Amy the woman I connected to back then, should be long dead by now. Yes, I’d go there, Chicago…
Chapter 3 - Vincent
I was lost in thought as I walked out of the house. April was a hell of a woman. I wasn’t one to wallow in thoughts of what I couldn’t have, but I couldn’t help the pang of regret as I walked over to my car. I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going, and was startled by a low pitched growl when I got close to my car. I froze and looked right into her amber colored eyes. She was larger than any wolf I’d ever seen, her fur a silver gray. She was also a ghost.
My parents had taught me to avoid other supernatural beings. Fae, vampires, werewolves and the various magical types such as sorcerers, warlocks and witches. Not to mention other necromancers. Considering how I felt about my parents, a warlock and a demonic succubus, it seemed like good advice to follow. I wasn’t afraid, I had learned, self taught, how to banish ghosts that annoyed me ten years ago. Sometimes I wondered how much more capable I would be with training, but that wasn’t really an option. Another necromancer would just as soon kill me, and a demon, well I’d be lucky if all they did was kill me.
The ghost wolf’s growl trailed off into a whine, and I got the impression she wasn’t sure of approaching me. This did not surprise me. Most necromancers would enslave a ghost and use them, and a demon could drag their essence to hell. I would do neither, and at this point I was well past being offended by such suspicions. I was tired though, and not in the mood to deal with a skittish ghost, so I went the rest of the way to the car, got in and took off for home.
“She needs your help.”
I scowled at the ten year old girl looking at me reproachfully from the passenger seat.
“What’s in it for me?” I snapped.
Sara snorted at my question, long past being intimidated by me.
“You mean besides werewolves having more spiritual energy than human ghosts? Or perhaps knowledge of the other supernatural species you know almost nothing about?”
That was a good point, still, I wasn’t going to try to win the trust of a ghost out in front of a woman’s house I had just fed on. People tend to think you’re crazy if you start talking to the empty air, especially at two am in the middle of the street.
I was curious though, a ghost of a supernatural had never approached me before. The knowledge and power aspect was attractive, and I liked helping others, especially when I got ten years of servitude out of it.
“Well, why don’t you go reel her in for me?”
She raised her eyebrow at me.
“She was obviously unsure and scared, you could ease her into the idea, and reassure her I’m not going to enslave her or anything.” Plus, I was kind of lazy that way. I may not get offended at the way people reacted to me anymore, but it was tedious, and quite annoying at times.
Sara sighed and nodded, slowly fading out as I pulled into my driveway.
I walked in and headed straight for the kitchen to grab a beer. I was still wide awake and would be for the rest of the night, probably until tomorrow night. I was never able to sleep after feeding, not that I slept much on the other nights either. I was pretty sure it was my demon blood, but three hours was a full rest for me.
I heard the footsteps behind me but didn’t bother turning, I could feel Amy through our bond.
“We need to talk.”
I snorted, “Breaking up with me sweetie?”
I was filled with disappointment, and concern, at her lack of wise ass response and looked up at her. She really was beautiful, long curly jet black hair, doe eyes and a perfect complexion. She was five foot seven, athletic build, but still curvy enough to catch my eye. I carefully kept my eyes above her neck as if I wasn’t interested, our forced bond always made me uncomfortable, I just hoped she was happier here than with her old master, I didn’t ask for much from her.
“Take a seat, want a b…” my voice trailed off, she didn’t drink beer of course… I was an idiot sometimes.
“What’s up?” I finally asked, breaking the now uncomfortable silence.
“Local coven,” she said, “ran into some of them while hunting tonight.”
Amy was pretty good about hunting, I know the humans never had call to complain when she was done with one.
“How is that a problem?”
She rolled her eyes, “Normally it wouldn’t be, I’ve run into some of them before, but a master was there tonight, and he tried to take me.”
My brows furrowed, I didn’t really know much about the community, just what little I could glean from my parents. Since supernatural ghosts normally avoided me, and the human ones were ignorant, it was hard to get information that way as well.
I sighed, “Can you explain, I don’t really have a good grasp on your… our society.”
She furrowed her brow, “I know I give you shit about our bond, but vampires work much the same way. A master vampire has ironclad control over the rest of their coven. The older a vampire is, the stronger their compulsion and ability to control other vampires, as well as humans. One of the masters was there and apparently liked what he saw. Normally non-coven vampires are left alone, but when his compulsion had no effect on me, he didn’t take it well.
“I am fairly sure they will try to attack you, and take me.”
She coughed and I realized as my mind tried to process the possibilities I had started staring at her tits. Crap… In my defense, they were quite nice to look at.
“So… this asshole vamp wants to own you?”
She dropped her glare and shrugged, “Partly, the other part is about you. Vampires don’t like necromancers very much either, especially ones that enslave vampires. Scares the shit out of us actually.”
“You think they might come tonight?”
She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling and said, “Probably not, they will have to convince the council you are a danger, and get them to help. Vampires attacking a necromancer without other support would be suicide.”
My choices here were kind of limited. My bond did not destroy the first necromancer’s bond, it was just more powerful. If I freed her, the old bond would kick in and she would try to kill me again, against her will. Shit.
“What do you want?” I asked softly.
She frowned, “I want to be free, and being bonded to you is the closest to freedom I have ever had. My old necromancer master was horrible, and the vampire masters aren’t much better. I’m just worried, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
This was a surprise to me, I thought she hated me, well, maybe resent would be a better word to use. Of course, it could all be just concern for herself, if I died she’d be screwed.
She continued, “I think the best thing to do would be for you to talk to the council. The problem with that idea is the head of the council right now is a vampire. I’m not even sure that would help, it’s not like anyone would care about me except as something to own or control, it would all be about the politics and the give and take of power in Chicago.”
I wasn’t sure what I would do. I bonded her to me, because I could, and it was a much better choice than killing her. That was quite different from taking a stand against the city council. I still didn’t like the idea of killing her though, even if that would solve the issue, and it might not. Plus, it was a shortsighted, selfish and petty alternative. Our sniping and banter had made her closer to family in my mind. I was a demon and necromancer, the problem is I was very young at twenty five, and being self taught I had no doubts I was not nearly as powerful as I should be.
I wielded my powers instinctually, there was no finesse, complexity, or fine control in what I did.
I said, “I think that it might work, but I’m not sure how to approach it. Let me think on it.”
I could go in with a show of power, make them fear me. Or I could present myself as a possible powerful ally, actually join the community. Either way they might not want to risk a fight with me for the gain of one more vampire, no matter how desirable she was.
I finished my beer and took a moment to get a fresh one.
I finally said, “I won’t let them take you, and I will not kill you.”
I wondered how foolish I was being.
I was lost in thought and drinking my beer when Amy got up, kissed me on the cheek and sauntered out of the kitchen. It surprised me, the kiss I mean, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was playing me in some way. I knew she wasn’t lying at all, I could detect that through our bond. That didn’t mean she couldn’t leave things out though.
As I finished up my beer Sara faded in with a middle aged woman. She had golden eyes and I could tell right away this was the werewolf ghost, her soul felt exactly the same, no matter the form. She was a small woman, hard to believe she could turn into such a large and dangerous predator. She had long shiny black hair, brown eyes and Asian features.
I was a little suspicious, the community had basically ignored me the ten years I’d lived here and now I had two issues to deal with? Assuming I took on the wolf’s problem.
“So what is it you need?” I asked, looking into the wolf woman’s eyes.
She shuddered and asked, “I’m May, what do you know about werewolves?”
I shrugged, “Not much. They live in packs like wolves. Alpha runs the pack, word is law.”
She nodded, “That is true if simplistic, but the hierarchy is more formal than that, all wolves have their place, and can only gain or lower status through challenges. As long as they do not violate the law, any wolf can order those lower in the hierarchy. About a year ago, a pack from Springfield tried to take our place in the city. We killed most of them, but some were absorbed into the pack after they submitted.
“One of them, Mark, challenged me to become my mate.”
I raised my eyes at this, but didn’t say anything. She must have read my face because she explained.
“The women in the pack would never submit to a male without a challenge, we would never mate with a male who was weaker. We are also not chattel to be fought over, we can refuse a challenge if we have no interest in the male, at least, in my pack. Anyway, he challenged and I accepted. Not because I wanted him, but because I hated him enough to want to kick his ass. Normally that would have been the end of it.
“Unfortunately, some wolves have no honor. Mark bided his time until he could get me alone. He drugged me through trickery, raped me and killed me. If the alpha knew, he would get me justice and kill the fool, but the bastard was clever and didn’t get caught.”
I asked, “So, you want revenge?”
She growled, her eyes growing brighter, if I hadn’t been a necromancer I’d have probably been afraid.
“Yes, but I have no way to communicate with the alpha. Even worse, Mark has challenged my daughter and they will fight in a few days. She is strong, but I worry even if she wins she will meet her end at his treachery as I did. You would have no standing in the pack, and the alpha would never take an outsider’s word above Mark’s. I want you to talk to my daughter, make sure she knows. She is stubborn and may not believe you.”
I asked, “And if I do this you will serve me for ten years before moving on?”
She looked very nervous, but nodded her head. “That is more than fair for my daughter’s life.”
We talked for a while longer, she told me about herself, and things that no one else would know but her daughter with the hope that she would believe. She also gave me information on where her daughter, Kim, works. It would be the best place to approach her. Approaching her at home with the rest of the pack around would be a bad idea, undoubtedly leading to confrontation.
I made plans to head up to Kim’s work, which was at a bar in the city, the next night. I could talk to the council as well afterwards about Amy’s problem. I wasn’t sure what tack to take with the council, and decided to wing it. It would depend on them I think, I would try for a peaceful solution, but wasn’t counting on it. The problem was, I wasn’t really sure why supernaturals hated necromancers so much. Ignorance was a bad place to stand but I really didn’t have a choice.
I was kind of partial to an ignore it and it will go away attitude, but I really didn’t think that would work this time.
The day went by slowly, it always does when I can’t sleep. I worked with Hardin for a while on exp
enses and reports, then I worked with my powers a bit. I didn’t discover anything new and gave up after a while, getting frustrated. There should be a way I could destroy the link to Amy’s old master, the point would be moot after that. I felt like a child with a puzzle I couldn’t solve.
I was tempted to ask May about why supernaturals were afraid of necromancers, but I held back. Admitting ignorance to one not bound to me just couldn’t be a good idea. Maybe once she was bound I would try, but it was possible she didn’t know.
Amy hadn’t when I asked her, she had just been told to avoid them like the plague, but not why outside of the obvious.
Late afternoon I drove to the local Metra station and took a train into the city. The first thirty minutes were fun, I practiced on all the humans, getting to know all their greatest desires. It was fun to guess before looking. It was all situational, since desires change from moment to moment for the most part unless they had an unhealthy obsession.
It was a nice day so I decided to walk the ten blocks to the bar, generally ignoring the stares I got. I don’t think I am all that good a person, but I know I could be much worse. If it hadn’t been for meeting Sara when I was younger I am sure I would have been. I certainly didn’t learn right from wrong from my parents.
I walked into the bar and scanned the place, it was still early but there were a few groups of people scattered around, the men wearing suits, women in business attire. It was the time for the after work crowd. I saw Kim and once I knew what area she was covering I went over and sat down. She looked to be in her early twenties, which for a werewolf could have been a year or two younger than me, or close to forty.
She came over and I was amused to see her nose wrinkle, it was very cute. I wondered if she could smell the death on me.
“What’ll you have?” she asked in that way you just know she says it a million times a day.
“Whatever is on tap, domestic, and a few minutes of your time.”
She looked me up and down, then studied my eyes for a moment before walking away without a word. A human would see a small vulnerable and fragile woman. I studied her as she went to the bar and returned, I saw a predator, a strong one. The aura of her magic filled the bar. I suppressed my demon side. I wanted to unfurl my power, fill the bar with the power of my darkness, my shadow, show this pup what real power looked like, show her who was boss.