“Necromancer,” I said, pointing to the trees. “He wanted to take me”
“Are you alright?” Finn asked, looking me over for injury. When I nodded my head, he hesitated before taking off into the trees after the mysterious necromancer.
Annie put her hand on my shoulder and looked me up and down for injury. “Are you sure you’re alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, but he said he had special plans for me. Is he the necromancer the Council’s been looking for?”
“Most likely,” Annie said, looking at the trees that both Andrew and Finn disappeared into. “Come on. We have to get back to the compound immediately. The Council needs to know about everything that happened here today.”
“What about Finn?”
“If he loses Andre’s trail, he’ll find his own way back. Werewolves don’t tire easily; he’ll be fine.”
Annie and I got back in the car, while I thought about Andrew. He knew my name. How did he know who I was and what can he possibly want with me? He’s planning to use me, and it can only be for one thing. If I’m important for his plans, then I’ll be the one he uses to raise the army of zombies he wants to use to take over the world. What if my dream comes true?
*****
The Council was concerned when they heard about our trip to the graveyard. Not only did the necromancer they’d been looking for tell me that I was important to his plans, but I also failed miserably at the task I was supposed to accomplish today.
Marcel Trent clasped his hands on the high table above our heads. “This is very troubling news. If he plans to use Ronnie to accomplish his goals, she’ll have to remain here under constant supervision.” He looked at me as the other Council members nodded their agreement. “Ronnie, I know you don’t wish to be here, but it really is for the best. If this man, Andrew, gets his hands on you, there’s no telling what could happen.”
The double doors opened behind us and Finn walked in. He was covered in sweat and dirt, and his hair had twigs and dead leaves caught in it. He picked them out slowly and deliberately dropped them on the floor of the Council room, instead of the trashcan nearby. Marcel narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything.
“I followed him through the woods and up the creek nearby, but I lost him after he got into his car and took off. There was something about his scent that confused me, but I’m not sure what it was. I’ll definitely know it if I smell it again.”
“So he got away,” Lisa Valentine said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Finn bristled angrily, and I quickly stepped forward, putting my hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but didn’t move away from me. “It’s not Finn’s fault that Andrew got away. He stopped to check that I was safe before going after him, which, may I remind you, is the job you’ve charged him with. If you wanna blame someone for his disappearance, blame me.”
Finn looked down at me with confusion in his eyes. He’d done little but ignore me since my first Council meetings, and he hadn’t really spoken to me much in the last few days. Listening to me stand up for him must have come as a bit of a surprise. He shrugged my hand off but didn’t say anything. Even though it hurt my feelings a bit that he was so hostile, I kept my mouth clamped shut, and focused on the Council members instead.
“Miss Parker, until we capture and interrogate this strange necromancer, you’ll have to stay here. While you’re here, it will be best if you continue your training. You should have seen some improvement in the last week and you haven’t yet.”
“I’ve been trying to get better; it just doesn’t seem to work!”
Annie put her hand on my shoulder. “Ronnie will improve. She just needs more time. I’ll keep working with her and you’ll see improvement by the end of the month, or I’ll take her away from here, where she won’t be a danger to anyone, and I’ll personally continue her training until she’s safe.”
Marcel nodded his head in approval. “Very well, Annette. Despite your young age, you are a very gifted individual and an excellent teacher. The Council trusts your judgment in this matter. You are all dismissed for the time being.”
The three of us left the Council room, and Annie looked at me. “I’ll meet you in the morgue first thing in the morning. Starting tomorrow, your training intensifies. Don’t be late, or I’ll have Finn drag you down kicking and screaming if I have to. And trust me; I’m sure he’d enjoy it very much.”
She left me and Finn standing alone in the empty hallway outside the Council room. “Finn, I want to thank you for what you did today. If you hadn’t been at the cemetery, and if you hadn’t done what you’re apparently best at, I’d be with Andrew right now. So, thank you, for saving me.”
“All I did was track Andrew through the woods. It wasn’t that difficult,” he said, looking away from me.
I don’t believe it. He’s uncomfortable right now. All I’m trying to do is thank him!
“Well, even if it was a piece of cake, I’m still glad that you were there. If you hadn’t been, I’d be in a lot of trouble right now.” Even though I knew he’d probably hate me for it, I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” I said again.
He grunted once and walked quickly away from me, leaving me alone in the hallway. I shook my head at his dislike of me and set out to find Tanya for lunch. She was already in the cafeteria waiting for me, and with her were Ezra and Holly. Tanya and Ezra both gave me smiles when I sat beside them, and Holly nodded without looking up from her bottle of fresh blood.
“I heard about what happened in the graveyard,” Tanya said gently. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine,” I said quietly. “What with everything that’s been going on lately, I’m getting kind of used to these strange things. So what if some creepy necromancer has plans for me that probably involve world domination? Who cares?” I might have sounded more convincing if my voice hadn’t just broken.
Tanya eyed me dubiously. “Right. So after just ten days, you’re perfectly ok with the thought of being kidnapped by some supernatural freak? I don’t believe you one bit. Your hair is a mess, you’re picking at your lips, and your nails are bitten down. You look like you’re about five seconds away from breaking down.”
Tears began to gather at the corners of my eyes, and I bit my lip to keep from bursting into tears. “I just don’t understand! A week ago, I was living a normal life with other normal people. I mean, yeah, I can see the dead, but it didn’t ever bother me like it does now. Now that I know why it happens to me, I’m so disgusted with it, and with myself.”
“We all feel that way at some point in our lives,” Finn said, taking a seat next to Ezra. He looked at me and frowned. “Just because you’re a bit of a freak even by our standards doesn’t mean there’s anything necessarily wrong with you.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, unsure of what else to say to that. He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I thought I saw a hint of embarrassment and even a faint blush to his cheeks. Well, it looks like Finn isn’t always so tough and heartless. He can feel something…
Unfortunately, that realizing made me see Finn in an entirely new light, and it wasn’t one I liked. I always hated knowing good things about people I didn’t necessarily like, because it made me feel bad for not liking them. If Finn could be a generally good guy, it meant that I’d most likely like him the same I liked Tanya and Ezra, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted Finn to be my friend or not.
“So, what happens now?” Ezra asked me.
“My training is gonna get harder and longer. I won’t be allowed to leave the compound again. At least, not until Andrew is either caught or killed. And even then I might not ever leave this place. I’m a danger to society, no matter what anyone else says. Annie thinks that with a lot of training I can lead a semi-normal life, but she’s wrong. I’ll never have that again.”
Tanya put her hand on my shoulder. “Everything will work out for the best. You’ll see.”
“I hope you’re right about that, be
cause if you’re not, I’m in for an eternity of miserable, endless days, and a bleak future.”
Chapter Sixteen
Over the next two weeks, Annie stayed true to her word. My training did get much more intense, and it left me so exhausted that I just fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. There was no time for nightmares that left me screaming in the middle of the night, and with the better sleep came better attention. My lessons progressed steadily, until I was capable of raising just a single creature, and not the entire morgue.
After lessons, Tanya would show me more of the compound. It was nestled in the woods and was backed up against a shallow cliff. There was a balcony on the first floor that overlooked the cliffs, and I leaned against the beautiful stone railing and just looked out into the distance. When Tanya found me after my latest lesson, I barely even registered her presence, because the view from the balcony was just so breathtaking and beautiful.
“This is my favorite spot in the compound,” she said softly. “It’s a little strange to think that a place so drab and boring could have something so beautiful, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Look at that sunset, all orange and yellow and red.”
Tanya smiled. “Are there any other views around here that you like?” She waggled her eyebrows. “I mean, you’ve been here for three weeks, and I haven’t seen you flirt with anyone yet. What’s your type? I mean, you do like boys, right? It’s cool if you don’t! I was just curious is all.”
I felt my cheeks begin to slowly burn and I ducked my head. “Sadly, I’ve always kind of had a thing for the jerk.” She laughed and I continued. “I think it might be because they’re so different from me, and I don’t consider myself date worthy, so my opposite has to be. That’s not exactly healthy though, is it?”
Tanya shook her head. “No, it’s really not. Jerks aren’t date worthy,” she said, looking at me. “They’re rude, they’re abrasive, and they’re just plain mean sometimes. Plus, I think they’re more likely to play a girl than other guys. Wait a minute.” She turned her gaze on me and skewered me with her turquoise-colored eyes. “If you go for the jerks, then…oh, my god. You have a think for Finn!” she nearly squealed.
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Finn was definitely attractive, more attractive than a lot of guys I’d ever seen, but he was so temperamental and judgmental. Ever since the day in the graveyard, he’d subtly changed his attitude towards me, and I couldn’t help but crushing on him just a little.
“Please tell me that’s not true.” I whirled around, nearly losing my balance, as Finn stepped onto the balcony from the shadows. “You don’t actually have a thing for me, do you?”
Flustered, I started to stutter like an idiot. “W-well, n-no. I m-mean, I don’t–”
“Have you seen the women I’ve been with?” he asked with a tight smile. Unfortunately, I had seen many of them, and they were about as far from me as possible. “I like them tall, beautiful, with great tits and low self-esteems. Only that last part describes you,” he said, looking me up and down with a sneer on his handsome face.
“Finn!” Tanya gasped. She quickly looked at me. “Ronnie, don’t listen to him. He’s wrong.”
“No, he’s not,” I said, looking away from both of them. I’d never really been called beautiful before, but I’d certainly never been called ugly, and that was pretty much what he just did. As his words sunk in, I couldn’t believe how badly it hurt. Each second that passed felt like there was a knife twisting in my gut, and a quiet sob escaped my locked lips.
Without a word, I turned and fled back into the compound, ignoring Tanya’s calls. Blindly, I made my way back to my small room and slammed the door shut behind me, locking it, before hurling myself down on the small bed. When I buried my face in my pillow, I just burst into tears, which just confused me even more.
I don’t even really like Finn. Sure, he’s handsome and he can be kind of nice when he tries, but we barely know each other. I’ve only been here for like three weeks! It’s not like I was in love with the guy, I thought angrily to myself. Why do I even like him?
It was his eyes. Back in the cemetery, when he stopped to make sure I was alright, he looked almost like he might actually care about what happened to me enough to take his job seriously. Aside from Alan and my mother, nobody had ever really cared about me before, but for just one second, I thought that he might. Of course, it was a stupid thing to think, since the two of barely knew each other–even now we didn’t know much about one another–but there was something there.
It was a longing in the pit of my stomach that I’d never felt before. Whenever he entered the room, there was a slow warmth that spread throughout my entire body, along with a feeling of acceptance and hope. I’d only had one boyfriend before, and we hadn’t done much more than light kissing, but this had felt so different, and so much more powerful than it was before.
He’s a jerk, but I’ve always had a thing for that kind of guy. I can’t help it; it’s just a feeling there inside of me that I can’t fight, and it just waits for the perfect opportunity to rear up and destroy my feelings. Maybe I’m just a glutton for depression and pain.
There was a knock on the door, and I heard Tanya’s worried voice. “Ronnie? Ronnie, please open the door. You can’t listen to anything that Finn says. He’s an asshole, and he always says the meanest thing he can possibly think of. That’s how he distances himself from others. He doesn’t want to get close to others, and that’s why he always pushes them away. Ronnie? Please open the door!”
“Go away!”
“Ronnie–”
“I said go away!” I nearly screamed. “I don’t wanna talk to you or to anybody. Just leave me alone!”
After a minute, her footsteps faded away until I was left alone with my own depressing, morbid thoughts and my confusion.
*****
It took me two days before I could leave my room without bursting into tears. When I finally found my way back to the cafeteria for breakfast, the look of relief on Tanya’s face made me feel horrible for how I’d treated her. When she pulled out the chair closest to her, I sat down beside her and she pushed a tray of food at me. “I hoped you’d be joining us today. How are you feeling?”
“Like crap,” I said quietly. “I don’t think I’ve done anything but cry since Finn said what he did.” I looked at her and sighed. “I’m sorry for yelling at you the way I did. I was upset.”
She nodded. “I understand. But listen, Finn was right about one thing,” she said firmly. You aren’t his type. His usual type is any whore that’ll spread her legs for him. He’s not usually picky. As long as she says yes to his advances, she’s his type. Being Finn’s type is not something to be proud of; you should be happy that you’re too different to get his attention. That means you’re intelligent, and nice, with a great sense of modesty and self-respect.”
I looked at her. “You think so?”
She nodded again. “I know so. You’re too good for him. There are dozens of other women here that fit his type and they’ll all sleep with him gladly, even knowing that all of their friends have been with him too. And they’ll do it because they don’t respect themselves. That’s why his type sleeps around.”
So you think every girl that sleeps with him is the exact same?”
“I know they are. I’ve met most of them. They’re nymphs, mostly, or stupid fairies. He likes them beautiful, big-breasted, and as stupid as possible. Don’t for one second wish to be like them. You’re better than that, and Finn knows it.”
I smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks, Tanya.”
“Now that you’re done consoling her, can we please get back to breakfast,” Holly said blandly. She sounded so bored with everything, even life, that I almost felt sorry for her. “My blood is getting cold.” She lifted her water bottle to her lips and sucked down a large gulp of the red liquid, and I closed my eyes and shivered, but it didn’t bother me as much as it had the first time.
I hadn�
��t eaten in a while, and I fell on the food like a ravenous animal, devouring it all. Tanya watched me with a smile on her open, caring face. “Feeling better?”
I nodded and swallowed a bite of vegetable beef soup. “Yeah, this food was just what I needed. Plus, a little pep talk never hurts. Listen, I really am sorry for snapping at you before. That’s not usually who I am.”
Tanya shrugged, and her beautiful, shimmering wings fluttered behind her. “It’s alright. I’ve been hurt like that before, trust me. I know how it feels to be put down and to feel like shit about myself. It’s not fun.”
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked p to see an ashamed looking Finn. Tanya narrowed her eyes at him and he began to fidget nervously. “Can I talk to you? In private?” Finn asked, looking at me. “It’ll just take a moment. Please?” he asked when I didn’t move.
I looked to Tanya for advice, and she shrugged. “You might as well.” She looked at Finn and her eyes narrowed again. “If you upset her like you did the other day, I’ll hex you all the way to next week. Don’t doubt that for a second,” she threatened.
He put his hands up, but I thought I saw the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. “I’ll behave, I promise.”
“Good,” she said. “I like Ronnie, and she deserves better than t feel like shit about herself just because you’re uncomfortable with the idea that someone somewhere might actually like you for something other than what’s in your pants.”
Ezra snorted while eating and choked on his food in the process. Holly raised her bottle of blood and cheered, and I ducked my head to hide a smile. Now that I’d seen Finn and how uncomfortable he looked, I felt embarrassed for reacting the way I did. Yes, what he said was hurtful, but my reaction what he said was over the top and overly dramatic. I wasn’t that kind of person and I didn’t want everyone think I was.
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