Finn and I fell silent for a moment, but I could tell he was thinking about something.
“Hey, did we ever figure out why Tabitha attacked that preschool? It seemed like such a weird place to go, but the more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized everything she did, she did because of you or herself. So…why that place?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, thinking about it.
I had almost forgotten the feeling of familiarity I had had with that preschool, but now that Finn mentioned it, I wondered why Tabitha did choose that place. What was the significance of it? Tabitha hadn’t gone to that school as a child, and I hadn’t either. What was it about that school? Which of us did that school hold significance for?
It hit me so suddenly I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it sooner. There weren’t many people in my life before I came to the Compound, but there was one that I cared about. “Jessica.”
“What?”
“Alan and Susan’s daughter. That was her preschool. Tabitha picked it to let me know that she’d been watching my foster family, and I didn’t even realize it until now. If she was watching them, it means she might have had plans for them, plans that went unfinished. They could be in danger, Finn! I have to go see them tomorrow. I have to ask them about Tabitha.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said, pulling me closer. “It’ll be okay, Ronnie. Your family will be alright.”
I sighed. “I know. I just wish they didn’t have to be dragged into this. I have no idea what I’m going to say to any of them.”
“Just tell them the truth, about your powers, about Tabitha, about everything. I’m sure they’ve seen the news lately. It’s kind of hard to miss,” he said dryly. “They’ll understand.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am. I’m always right,” he said with a chuckle. “Now, get some sleep. It sounds like you’ve got a very emotional day tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Finn.”
“Goodnight, Ronnie.”
*****
Finn and I stopped for coffee on our way into town, and I quietly sipped at mine as Finn pulled into Alan and Susan’s driveway. I hadn’t been to this house in so long that it didn’t even feel like my home anymore. I sat there in the passenger seat, studying my old home, and Finn didn’t rush me. He waited patiently for me to gather my thoughts and get my emotions in check. When I was ready to face Alan and Susan, I opened the car door, and Finn followed me up to the front door.
What if they’re not happy to see me? What if Susan tells me to go away? What if they want nothing to do with me now that they know the truth? What if they’re scared of me?
Before I could even raise my hand to knock, the door opened, and Alan was there, staring down at me. For a minute, neither of us said anything. Suddenly, he pulled me into his arms, hugging me so tightly that I could barely breathe. I just stood there with my face buried in his chest, and I cried. Everything just felt so surreal and strange, but it didn’t feel awkward.
In that moment, I realized just how much I had truly missed Alan.
When he finally let go of me, I looked up at him. “Alan, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
I saw his eyes travel above my head, and his entire body tensed. “What is he doing here?”
“Alan, it’s okay,” I said, stepping closer to Finn. “I’ll explain everything, but Finn is okay. Here’s here to help me.”
He looked hesitantly from me to Finn, and then back to Finn. “Ronnie, I don’t know—”
“Alan, I can’t even begin to explain all the things Finn has done for me. Please, I really need to talk to you, and I don’t have time to do this right now. You’re just going to have to trust me when I tell you that he’s alright.”
Alan nodded and gestured for us to come inside. I could tell Alan was attempting to stare Finn down as he closed the door behind us, and part of me was a little happy at the thought of Alan trying to protect me from someone he deemed a threat. It was…fatherly.
“Ronnie!” Jessica shrieked, throwing herself down the stairs. With her teddy bear in her hand, she wrapped her arms around my waist, looking up at me with her wide, innocent eyes. “You’re home!”
Looking down at her, I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I’m home. How have you been?”
“I’m okay,” she said. “We saw you on TV.”
“Yes, we did.” I looked up and saw Susan standing in the living room entryway. One look at her, and I could tell that something had changed since the last time I saw her. And I realized quickly what it was.
She and Alan had been briefed about my peculiarities before they chose to foster me, but they had never believed it. They had always thought that something was wrong with me, that I was crazy or just plain wrong. But since they had seen me on TV…that had changed. She and Alan knew that my powers were real, and I could tell that she felt bad for the way she had treated me.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Susan had treated me poorly over the years, and even though it appeared that she had finally realized she was wrong for it, I didn’t think I could just turn off my negative feelings towards her. But I could be civil, so I settled for that.
“How much do you know?” I asked her.
“We know you weren’t lying. We know you really do see things other people can’t,” he whispered, almost like he was in awe.
“Yeah, I can. I’m a necromancer. I have the power to see the dead, speak with them, and control them. I can also raise zombies from the grave.”
“How?” Susan asked in a strangled voice.
“Thanks to my parents. They were necromancers, and they passed their powers on to me. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my powers since I left, and I’ve come to terms with what I am and what I’m capable of.”
“Where have you been, Ronnie?” Alan asked. “I looked everywhere for you.”
“I’ve been around,” I said. “I can’t tell you where though, because it could put others in danger if someone else were to find out.”
Alan nodded. “You said you really needed to talk to us? What’s going on, Ronnie?”
“Well, a couple of months ago…I killed my father.” Ignoring their surprised and terrified looks, I hurried on. “He was an evil man that was planning to create an army of zombies to take over the world, and I stopped him. He tried to defeat me, but I got the better of him, thanks to some help from my mother’s spirit. A little while ago, I found out that I had a half-sister named Tabitha, and she was planning to carry out our father’s plans.
“She wanted me to join her and take revenge on all the people that had ever hurt me or treated me badly, but I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. So I refused, and that set us on opposite sides, making us enemies. She was the one who exposed our secret little world. She was putting us all in danger, and we knew we had to stop her. She and I met up and we fought.”
“Did you kill her?”
“Yes,” I said, without a moment of hesitation. “I did. I killed her before she could kill me, and I kept her from getting her revenge. Unfortunately, I passed out from blood loss before I could banish her soul.”
“Blood loss?” Alan asked, sounding concerned. “You were hurt?”
“Yes, and because I didn’t get to banish her soul, she’s still here. She’s going to do whatever it takes to get her revenge, and we have to stop her before that happens.”
“So why are you here?” Susan asked, sounding more curious than angry.
“I’m sure you heard about the zombies at Jessica’s school…”
“Yes, we did.”
“Well, I think Tabitha chose that school to get to me. The only way she could have known that it was Jessica’s school is if she knew about you. If she was making the effort to watch you, it may mean that she has plans for you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, so I decided to come down here and talk to you guys. To ask you if you’ve noticed anyone following you or hanging around?”
“Not that I’ve
noticed,” Alan said, sounding thoughtful. “Susan?”
While she thought, I did some thinking of my own. I hadn’t had any contact with Alan, Susan, or Jessica in quite awhile, but obviously Tabitha knew about them. I wasn’t sure how, since she and I hadn’t met until after I moved into the Compound. The only thing that made sense was if the entire supernatural community knew about me and my life, which shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Word travels in the supernatural community. Everyone knew about the little necromancer that was brought back to life, who killed her father, and saved the whole community…
Tabitha had mentioned hearing about me, which meant others were talking about me. I would be well known throughout the entire supernatural community, and it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Tabitha knew of my foster family.
“I haven’t noticed—” Susan stopped, and her eyes widened. “There was a girl at Jessica’s preschool a couple of weeks ago. She was hanging out in the parking lot where the parents wait to pick up their kids. I asked her who she was waiting for, and she said her sister. She asked me if Jessica was my only child, and at the time, I didn’t think anything of it.” Susan put a hand to her mouth. “She could have hurt Jessica.”
“She didn’t, though,” Alan said, quickly moving to comfort her like he always did. “She was just looking for any information she could use.”
“But if she had wanted to hurt us, she could have,” Susan said, pulling Jessica closer and stroking her hair. It was obvious that Susan would do anything to protect her daughter, and for just a second, my mother’s face flashed through my mind, and I had to bite my lip to keep from tearing up in Alan and Susan’s living room.
Hopefully Susan and Jessica would have many years together, building an indestructible relationship with one another. In that moment, I couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy that sparked inside of me, and I felt awful for it. I knew it was wrong to feel jealous of a four year old, but when I looked at her life compared to mine, I couldn’t help it. She still had her home and her parents and her whole life ahead of her, and I didn’t.
“Everything is fine,” Alan said, bringing me back to my current surroundings. “Ronnie, if this girl did have plans for us, what should we do? Are we even in danger? This Tabitha girl is dead. How can she harm us?”
“She is dead, but her power isn’t. Her soul is still here. I’ve been trying to locate her, but I haven’t had any luck yet. And until she’s found and banished, there’s always the chance that she could find a host.”
“A host?”
“Yes. She could take control of another person’s body if they weren’t strong enough to fight her off, and she could use that person as a vessel, carrying out whatever plans she still has. Hopefully I can stop her before she finds a suitable host, but if I can’t, I want to know that you guys are safe. Is there someplace out of town you can go until this is all over?”
Alan and Susan looked at each other, before looking back at me. “Yes. We’ll go stay at the cabin up north. You remember the one, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we spent a weekend up there a few times. That’ll work. Just stay away from the city for awhile, and when this is all over, I’ll let you know that it’s safe to return. I’m sorry you have to be dragged into this.”
“It’s not your fault,” Alan said. “You’re just trying to look out for us. I get that.”
I got to my feet with a groan. “Don’t stay here too long. The sooner you leave, the better it’ll be for you guys. I have a feeling things are going to get crazy around here in the next few days, and I’d feel better knowing you weren’t in the path of danger.”
“We’ll leave tonight,” Alan said, getting to his feet. “Do you still have my number?”
“Of course,” I said as he followed me and Finn to the front door. “I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come home.”
“Call me if you need anything, Ronnie. Anything at all.” He hesitated only a second before hugging me tightly one more time. “I know you’re off doing your own thing, but I want you to know that you’re always welcome here. This is still your home…if you want it to be.”
I could feel myself start to tear up as his words sunk in, and I couldn’t help it. Knowing that Alan still wanted me after everything I had just told him—after everything that I had done—was too much for me to handle. When I looked up at Alan, all I saw was the loving adoration any decent father would have for his child, and that just made the guilt I felt over this situation even worse.
When I pulled away, I offered Alan a shaky smile. “Thank you.”
He nodded his head. “Just take care of yourself, hon. And whatever you do, be careful.”
He gave my hand a quick squeeze before letting me go, and as Finn and I walked back to the car, I tried not to think about anything bad happening to them. I knew that if they left town like I suggested, they would most likely be fine, but I couldn’t help but think that something terrible was going to happen.
I just hoped I could stop it before it did.
Finn pulled out of Alan and Susan’s driveway—my driveway—and he eased onto the road. Finn reached over and grabbed my hand in his rougher, calloused one. He slowed down just a bit as we reached the other side of town, and I noticed that he was watching a white house. “The mayor lives there with his family.”
“How close have you gotten to him?” I asked as he sped up.
“Not close enough for that sorcerer prick of his to put a spell on me. He doesn’t know I’m watching him yet, and hopefully it stays that way. It’ll make my job easier if I can go unnoticed.”
A loud creaking noise caught my attention, and Finn slammed on the breaks. I jerked forward harshly against the seat belt as a streetlamp crashed down onto the hood of the car, denting the metal and crushing the contents. I glared over at Finn. “You sure you haven’t been noticed?” I asked, looking from the caved in hood of the car to my trembling hands.
If Finn hadn’t hit the brakes when he did, it wouldn’t have been the hood…it would have been the roof. We would have been crushed.
“Get out of the car,” Finn said urgently.
Without questioning him, I unbuckled and tumbled out of the car, slapping against the pavement. Finn ran to my side and helped me to my feet. He yanked me behind his back, and when I peeked around his broad shoulder, my heart nearly stopped.
The mayor’s sorcerer was standing at the corner, where the streetlamp had just been. He was just standing there, staring at us with narrowed eyes. Finn started forward, but I grabbed his arm, silently begging him not to leave my side. Instead of charging over there and pummeling the sorcerer, Finn settled for standing on the opposite side of the road and growling. I could hear it building up in his chest.
Finn and the sorcerer stared each other down, trying to intimidate one another. I wasn’t surprised when the sorcerer broke first, looking away. “You’re going to get my daughter killed,” he said, making sure his voice carried across the street.
“Your daughter is one of the children the mayor is holding hostage?” Finn asked. “That’s why you do his bidding?”
“Yes. I have no choice. I either do as he says, or he’ll kill her. She’s all I have left, and I’d do anything to protect her. You have to leave. If you keep digging into the mayor’s business, he’s likely to send me to kill you. And even though I don’t want to kill another supernatural, I’ll do it, as long as it keeps my daughter alive.”
“I didn’t think you liked other supernaturals,” I said, peeking out from behind Finn’s shoulder again. “When you interrogated me, it didn’t seem like you were exactly at war with yourself over it. I think you might have even enjoyed it a little.”
The sorcerer frowned. “I was just following orders. The mayor likes things done a certain way, and the best way to get answers is to inspire fear in someone. I figured if you thought I had no problems killing you, you’d be more likely to talk. When I didn’t get the answers he wanted, he warned me th
at it would be my last failure, or my daughter would pay.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, surprising both Finn and myself. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to have someone I love in the hands of someone like the mayor. Do you know where she’s being kept?”
The sorcerer hesitated.
“Tell us,” Finn said. “If you tell us where he’s been doing his business, I can help your daughter. The Council is going to strike as soon as they get the information they need. We know he’s keeping other children hostage. Without them to use as leverage, he has nothing. Just tell us and this can all end.”
The sorcerer sighed. “If he finds out I told you…”
“He won’t. At least, not from me.”
“He does his business in an abandoned warehouse on the south side of town, near the old power plant that went under years ago. He keeps the children in the basement, under heavy guard. Werewolves mostly,” he said, glaring at Finn. “Your kind is notoriously easy to hire, even when it comes to killing their own kind.”
“When’s the next time he’s scheduled to be there?” Finn asked, ignoring the jab at werewolves.
“This Saturday night, around eleven. He’s going to meet a witch to examine a shipment of some kind. I don’t know what he intends to do with it, but I know it won’t be good. If you can free the children he’s holding hostage, you can bring him down. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”
The sorcerer’s words sent a shiver down my spine. I knew that the wrath of the Council could be terrible, and I hadn’t even done anything as terrible as the mayor. I could only imagine the punishment he would receive for kidnapping supernatural children and for dealing with the black market. If I knew the Council as well as I thought I did, he might not live through his punishment.
And I would have no problem with that.
“Were you supposed to kill us today?” I asked.
“No. The last thing the mayor needs right now is more attention on him. This was supposed to be a warning, a way for him to get his point through to you. Next time, I will have orders to take you out. And despite what you think, I’d like to not have to do that. I’ve already done things my daughter won’t understand—I don’t need to add murder to that list. Now, get out of here before the mayor finds out we had this talk.”
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