Dark Heritage Trilogy

by Hoffman, Samantha

  I nodded. “Yeah, he snuck into my room while I was asleep and started looking through my things. Then he cornered me outside my school earlier, and he said some weird things, so I did some internet research. That’s what made me come see you today.”

  She sighed. “I wished you’d said this sooner. That werewolf was a tracker, and he was sent to search for you. This is not good, Ronnie,” she said, surprising me with the use of my nickname. “Have you been doing anything you shouldn’t have? Like communicating to loved ones for money? Have you been poking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

  I shook my head. “No! Of course not. All I do is talk to the dead people that visit me. I try to help them move on or whatever. I’ve never hard of necromancy before today, let alone charged people for it. Why would someone send him to search for me?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said, looking very upset. “You may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they might have gotten the wrong person. If they’re looking for you, it means there’s a necromancer out there doing something she shouldn’t be doing. Things could get very dangerous in the next few weeks, Ronnie. Be careful.”

  “Who is this werewolf working for?”

  “It doesn’t matter. For right now, I want you to go home and think about everything I’ve told you today. I want you to continue doing your own research. Surprisingly, most of the information about our kind that’s on the internet is actually correct. If you have anymore questions, you can call me anytime.”

  “Thanks, Nancy.”

  Chapter Six

  Later that night, I sat on the edge of my bed with Two Socks in my lap, and I stroked his head absently. I’d done nothing but think since leaving Nancy’s house a few hours earlier, and I realized that there was still a lot I didn’t know about what I was, and what the others were. I should have stayed longer, and I should have asked her about the cats. I bet they’re unique to necromancers somehow.

  Two Socks chirped and I looked down at him. “You knew that guy was weird like me, didn’t you? You were trying to warn me about him.” He nuzzled my hand and I smiled. “You are just too adorable, you know that?” I lifted him up and touched my nose to his, and he sneezed in my face. “Thank you. I really appreciated that,” I said, wiping my face with my sleeve.

  “I’m sure you did.”

  I jumped, and Two Socks hopped to the floor with a growl. His back arched and he spat at the strange man perched on the oak tree limb just beneath my window. I jumped to my feet and whirled to face him. “What do you want with me?” He climbed through the window and I automatically took a step back when he turned his glowing pale blue eyes on me. “Haven’t you terrorized me enough today?”

  He raised his hands. “I’m sorry if I scared you earlier. I may have gotten a little bit carried away. I was angry that I’d wasted my time, and I overreacted. I’m sorry,” he said again, though it sounded like it pained him to admit it.

  “You may have gotten carried away?” I hissed venomously. “You broke into my room and searched through my things while I was asleep! Then you showed up at my school, you cornered me, and you terrified me. I should call the police, right now.”

  “That would be a waste of your time,” he said irritably. “You don’t know my name, you don’t know where I live, and you don’t know why I was doing what I did. Even if the police do manage to track me down, which is highly unlikely, they won’t be able to charge me with anything. We have friends in high places, you know. People that would understand that I was just doing what has to be done.”

  “Why did breaking into my room and going through my clothes and drawers need to be done?” I asked, stepping closer. My hands clenched into fists that were most likely non-lethal, since I’d never actually hit someone before, and he smiled when he saw them. “Answer me.”

  He chuckled. “I know you talked to Nancy Puckett, so you have to know by now that I’m a werewolf. Just for the record, threatening a werewolf is never a smart thing to do. I could crush someone’s windpipe without breaking a sweat.”

  Oh, god, he’s going to kill me.

  “Not that I would do that to you!” he hurriedly assured me, putting his hands back up. “I’m just saying, for future reference, don’t threaten me. I don’t like it,” he said, sliding quickly back into creepy murderer mode.

  “Who the hell are you and why are you here?” I asked.

  He lifted an eyebrow. “My name isn’t important. But I need you to come with me.”

  That startled a laugh out of me. “You’re joking, right?” Hell no I’m not coming with you! Are you crazy? You’ve broken into my room, intimidated me, and now here you are, in my room again, acting all dark and mysterious. Why the hell would I go anywhere with a creep like you?”

  “You’re either gonna come with me peacefully, or I’m gonna drag you out of here. There are people that need to talk to you, and they need to do it now. They’re not as convinced as I am that you’re not the necromancer they’re looking for. And if you don’t come with me to see them, they’ll come here to see you. And trust me, you don’t want that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re impatient, angry people, and they need to figure this out. Now.”

  “Figure what out?”

  He made an exasperated noise. “Come with me, and you’ll find out.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” This guy was crazy if he thought I was actually leaving my house at ten o’clock at night to go talk to strange people I didn’t even know. The phone was sitting on the coffee table in the living room, and I could probably get to it in about thirty seconds. But can I get to it before he gets to me?

  He frowned. “You don’t have a choice. You’re gonna make it a lot easier on yourself if you just come with me now. If you knew how important this was–”

  “Then tell me!” I snapped. “Tell me who you are and why you want me.”

  He took a deep breath and I could tell he was fighting to stay calm. “Fine. If it will get you to trust me–”

  “It won’t.”

  He ignored me. “Then I’ll tell you who I am. My name is Finn Hale, and right now I’m currently working with a council of supernatural beings, such as us, that monitor supernatural activity. Somewhere out there is a necromancer that is raising the dead to form an army, and we need to find out who it is.”

  “And they think that necromancer is me,” I asked. “I’m not exactly the world domination type.”

  “You’ll have to prove it to them. If you don’t come with me right now, they’ll find you, and they’ll drag you in for questioning. Trust me. If you come with me now, it’ll go a lot easier on you than if you wait.”

  I weighed y options and made a quick decision. “No,” I said. “I’m not going with you. You’re going to leave my room and never come back, or I’ll report you. Do you understand me?”

  He shrugged. “If that’s what you want. But I think you’ll end up regretting that decision.” He turned and ducked out the window, climbing onto the thick oak tree branch, before dropping silently to the ground. I ran over to the window and slammed it shut, catching a glimpse of him running down the street in the dark.

  It took me a while to calm down enough to get ready for bed and, before I hid beneath the covers, I double checked to make sure my window was shut and locked. Two Socks was still waiting for me on the bed, and I crawled in beside him. I was more than a little freaked out about everything Finn had told me, but part of me thought it was just an empty threat. I mean, it’s not like there’s an actual Supernatural Council that goes around punishing people, right?

  The more I thought about it as I drifted off, the more I realized I’d probably just done something incredibly stupid. And that thought was reinforced when a hand clamped down over my mouth just after two o’clock in the morning, and I was gagged and dragged out of my bed. Two Socks fought and scratched, but someone kicked him in the side, and they dragged me through the silent, dark house. I tried t
o scream and kick something over to wake up Alan and Susan, but he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

  When we got outside, he threw me into the trunk of a car, and everything went black.

  *****

  I was standing before a high table that was settled on a platform above my head. There were three chairs positioned behind it, with people in each of those chairs. They must be the council members that Finn told me about, but strangely enough, they don’t look old, like I thought they would. They didn’t look a day over thirty, just like Nancy. I didn’t believe her when she said that supernatural beings don’t age past thirty. But to be young forever? What’ll that be like?

  The one in the middle had soft brown eyes and dark blonde hair. He smiled at me, but I didn’t feel like smiling back. I’d just been abducted from my room, thrown into a trunk, and dragged into the meeting room. He seemed to understand, and nodded. “We’ll do away with the niceties; you obviously don’t want to be here, and I don’t blame you.”

  “You kidnapped me!”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry about that, Veronica. All you had to do was come down here with Finnley, and we could have avoided doing something drastic like this. He told you it would be easier on you if you just went along and he was right.”

  Finnley? I almost laughed, but I saw the woman on his left watching me like a hawk, so I took a deep breath and continued. “Look, I’m not the necromancer you guys are looking for. I’ve never brought someone back from the dead; I wouldn’t even know how to do something like that. All I do is talk to the ghosts that visit me. I don’t know how I can prove it to you, but I will.”

  The man in the middle nodded. “Veronica, my friend here is a witch,” he said, gesturing to the woman on his left. She had dark brown eyes and even darker brown hair, with a slightly hooked nose and thin-rimmed glasses. “She’s going to help prove your innocence.”

  The woman got up from her seat and walked around the end of the table. She strode toward me and I took an automatic step back. A firm, warm hand kept me in place and when I looked up, I found myself staring into Finn’s pale blue eyes. They were still slightly glowing, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the dark, or if it was just at night, because even though it was just after three thirty in the morning, it was really bright in the room.

  “My name is Lisa Valentine, and I’m a witch, as Marcel has already said. I’m going to do a simply spell, and it’ll allow me to look into your mind for any evil intent. If you allow me to do this, and I find nothing to concern us, you’ll be free to go.”

  “You just expect me to let you into my mind?” I nearly shrieked. What the hell is wrong with these people? Part of me just expected to wake up and find out that all of this had been a truly freaky dream. I’d find out that Finn didn’t actually exist, and neither did Nancy, necromancy, or the council. But deep down, I knew that this was all for real. I was about o have my mind searched by a witch, I was possibly being stalked by a werewolf, and I was a necromancer. Not to mention these people thought I was raising an army of the undead for world domination.

  I guess it could always be worse…

  Lisa the witch put her hands on either side of my face, and the necklace started to glow between my breasts. I could feel the heat of it, and I had a moment of hesitation before looking into the woman’s eyes. Her pupils dilated to the point where they took up the entire brown part of her eye, and I got the feeling that she was in a trance of some kind.

  Her mouth was moving rapidly but I couldn’t make out any of the words she was saying. As she spoke, her eyes began to glow a light pink color from behind her eyelids, as did her hands. I could feel her inside of my mind, digging around, and I’d never felt so wrong and uncomfortable before. I could feel this woman sifting through my memories, my thoughts, and even my dreams. It was a very intrusive experience.

  Finally, after what felt like hours, she pulled away with an exhausted sigh. “There are things we need to discuss. In the meantime, Finnley will keep you company and show you around, if you want. Or you can wait here in the council room for us to finish our deliberations. Either way, you won’t be allowed to leave this building until our decision is reached.”

  I glanced up at Finn. His entire body was tense and I got the distinct impression that he didn’t want to show me around, or that he wanted anything to do with me. But the Council members were obviously in charge, and when Marcel motioned to the door, Finn put his hand on my back and steered me out of the nearest set of double doors.

  Chapter Seven

  Finn closed the door behind us. When I turned around, I found myself in a thin, brightly lit hallway. Doors lined either side, and there were other people walking down the hall. Finn joined me with an unhappy scowl on his face, and he started walking. I had to walk fast to keep up with him, seeing as he was about ten inches taller with much longer legs and better stamina.

  Two beautiful women–one blonde and the other a natural redhead–passed by with sly smiles on their faces. “Hi, Finn,” they said, looking him up and down. The redhead winked as she walked by, and Finn smiled, but didn’t say anything. There was a little more arrogance to his walk, but they didn’t seem ruffled by his silence. The second we passed by, they started to giggle like two school girls with a secret experience.

  I glanced at Finn out of the corner of my eye, and saw him smirking at nothing in particular. Oh, gross. In my opinion, there was nothing more disgusting than a man that slept around with as many women as possible and, as another giggling girl gave him the look, I realized that was exactly what he did. A fourth girl walked by, but she turned up her nose at him when he checked her out.

  At least I know there’s one girl here with the sense to give him a wide berth. He’s hostile, a man-whore, and he apparently doesn’t like authority, seeing as he almost disobeyed the council members when they asked him to keep me company. Only a stupid girl would get involved with him!

  He turned us into a nearby open door, and closed it behind us. For a second, I panicked at the thought of being in a room alone with him, until I saw that there were some others close to our age waiting. One girl leaned against the wall, another sat on the small couch across from me, and a boy sat in an overly stuffed chair in the corner, away from everyone else.

  The first girl was barely five feet tall, with waist-length platinum blonde hair, straight bangs, and bright turquoise eyes that shined beneath luminescent, long blonde lashes that cast shadows over fine cheekbones. Most noticeable about her though were the twelve foot shimmering wings that spread out behind her, interlaced with veins and glitters of gold. They fluttered when she saw me, and she flashed me a dazzling smile.

  “Hi, I’m Tanya Beach,” she said happily. “You must be the necromancer everyone is talking about. I guess since you’re here you probably haven’t done anything wrong, so it’s alright to introduce myself.” She bounced forward and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle shake. “I hope you weren’t too scared, being dragged out of your home like you were. I hope you understand the need for it; necromancers can be very dangerous people if they’re not on our side. The Council had to be sure you’re safe before letting you go.”

  She finally stopped to take a breath, and I just shrugged it off like I got kidnapped in the dead of night all the time, though inside I was still kind of freaking out. I didn’t know if I could trust these people or if they were going to torture and kill me the first chance they got. So I backed away a little bit, trying to even out my rapid breathing and calm my racing heart.

  Finn looked at her. “She hasn’t been entirely cleared by the Council; they’re still deliberating. But they asked me to show her around, so she can’t be too dangerous,” he said, looking down at me.

  The other girl looked me over with special interest, and strangely enough, I got the urge to cross my arms over my chest. There was something in her harsh, dark brown eyes that made me cringe inside, and even though she was my age and only two inches taller, she seemed much, muc
h older, and much, much sadder.

  Her hair was long, curly, and a dark brown color and her eyebrows were thin and perfectly sculpted. She had a buxom build, flawless dark brown skin, and she might have been the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I wasn’t sure what it was about her that captivated me, because even though I got the feeling that she was dangerous, I wanted to ignore that feeling and just run to her.

  Finn put a hand on my shoulder, startling me. “Be careful. Holly is a vampire. A very old one, and she’ll have you in bed with your neck bared in a heartbeat. Male or female, supernatural or human, it doesn’t matter to Holly. Blood and sex is blood and sex to her.”

  “Have you had sex with her? It seems you’re pretty popular with the ladies around here,” I said, eying him. Part of me expected him to blush or shrug it off in an embarrassed way, but instead he gave me an arrogant smirk and raised his eyebrow.

  “No, I haven’t had the pleasure,” he said. “There are plenty of women here I haven’t been with, but as soon as word about how good I am in the sack travels to those I haven’t been with, I’ll be swamped by women wanting to have their worlds rocked.”

  “Ugh, that’s so disgusting!” I said, pulling away from him. “For the love of god, don’t touch me; I don’t know where your hands have been.” He threw back his head and laughed, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “You should take sex more seriously. There’ll be a day where you’ll regret being with so many women. Trust me.”

  He looked at me, more serious than he was just a few seconds ago. “That sounds like virgin talk.” He looked me up and down suggestively while I fought to keep myself from turning red. “I could change that attitude of yours. You’ll like sex with I’m through with you.”

  I snorted. “I’d rather have my face chewed off. It’d be much better than having my brain rot due to syphilis or gonorrhea.”

  Tanya laughed, and her shimmering blue wings fluttered happily. “Looks like you have your work cut out for you, Finn. She’s not going down without a fight.”