Dark Heritage Trilogy

by Hoffman, Samantha

  “Kind of hard to get out of here without a vehicle,” Finn said tightly.

  The sorcerer narrowed his eyes at Finn. “You’ve got feet. Use them.” Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving us standing on the corner with a totaled car and no way to get back to the compound.

  “Well, you heard him. Looks like we’re walking,” Finn said, looking down at me.

  “Hooray.”

  Chapter Three

  The walk back to the compound was thankfully uneventful. When we made it back, Finn didn’t even bother going to our room or to find our friends. He and I walked straight down to the Council’s meeting room, where Marcel, Kevin, and Lisa were waiting for us, and I briefly wondered if they ever left this damn room. Finn had called to let them know about the totaled car, and to tell them that we had important news. Judging by the looks on their faces, they had been waiting for us, and were not happy about that.

  “What’s this news you were so vague about on the phone?” Marcel asked.

  “The mayor sent his sorcerer to give us a warning. He wants us to stop looking into his affairs. I’m not sure how he knew I was investigating him since I made sure not to be noticed—” Kevin snorted, but Finn ignored him. “But he made me.”

  “And?”

  “The sorcerer only does the mayor’s bidding because his daughter is being held hostage. He told us that the mayor does his underground business in an abandoned warehouse on the south side of town, near the old power plant. He’ll be meeting there this Saturday night around eleven to look over a shipment of some kind. The children are being held there.”

  “How is he holding supernatural children?”

  Finn took a deep breath. “With the help of werewolf guards.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Kevin asked.

  “Thank you for this information,” Marcel said, ignoring the vampire to his right. “We’ll discuss what options we have, and we’ll let you know which course of action we decide to take.”

  “Wouldn’t the most obvious solution be to plan a trap for him?” I asked. “To wait for this Saturday—which is only a few days away—arrest him, free the children, and shut down his business dealings? What other options do you have?”

  “Options that you don’t need to know about,” Lisa said, frowning down at me. “Veronica, you have been involved in our dealings far too much for your own good. Not everything we do can be public knowledge.”

  “I’m not the public,” I said, feeling myself start to get angry at being shut out. “I have given more for this Council than just about anyone here. I think I deserve to know what’s going to happen. After everything I’ve done for you all, the least you could do is answer my questions, don’t you think?”

  Marcel sighed. “Ronnie, this Council is grateful for everything you’ve done for us, but we cannot go around giving out information to just anyone. We’ve already included you more than is good for you. You’ll have to trust me when I tell you that we know what we’re doing. If we decide it’s important for you to know, we’ll summon you. But for now, it’s best if you just leave this up to us.”

  “So that’s it?” Finn asked. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, and I could tell by the set of his jaw and the tenseness of his shoulders that he was livid. “We’re dismissed?”

  “For now,” Marcel said. “You may leave.”

  Finn turned around and stormed from the room, leaving me to trail after him, trying to keep up with his long, angry strides. “Finn, wait!”

  “That was a complete waste of my time,” he muttered angrily. “I can’t believe I still do their bidding. That Council is nothing but a handful of lazy—”

  “Finn!” I snapped. He finally stopped, but he didn’t look at me. “Marcel is on our side. You have to remember that.”

  “You seemed pretty angry at him back there,” he reminded me.

  “I wasn’t thinking clearly. Marcel has spoken up on our behalf in the past, and if he thinks we don’t need to know their plans at the moment, then we don’t need to know. I was wrong to be angry with him.”

  He sighed, running a hand through his shaggy, dark hair. “I know he’s on our side. I just don’t like putting my ass—or yours—on the line for them if they refuse to respect us. I hate being treated like I’m not trustworthy,” he said quietly.

  So that’s what’s bothering him the most about this. Why didn’t I see it sooner? So many people around here treat him like a criminal, but not Marcel. For him to be keeping their plans from us is like a slap to the face for Finn. He’s given everything for them time after time, and to be not trusted in the end…he’s upset, and rightly so.

  “Finn, you and I both know that Marcel trusts you. Probably more than he trusts his fellow Council members.”

  “He finds me useful, that’s all,” Finn muttered.

  “He likes you. And you know it. He’ll tell us when they’ve decided what to do. You’ll see.”

  He took a deep breath to calm himself. “You’re right. Marcel does trust me. I just have to remember that.” He looked down at me and smiled. “You’ve gotten pretty good at calming me down. Most people can’t do that.”

  “Further proof that we’re perfect for each other,” I said, only slightly teasing.

  He chuckled. “I’m gonna go find everyone. Wanna come with? I’m sure Tanya will want to make sure you’re still in one piece.”

  “I can’t. I have to go find Annie. She’s giving me another lesson. Hopefully today is the day I can locate Tabitha and put all of this to rest.” I stood up on my toes and kissed him. “Wish me luck.”

  “Good luck, Ronnie.”

  Finn and I went our separate ways, and as he rounded a corner, my last glimpse of him was with a wide grin on his face. I smiled at the thought of Finn being happy, and I still had that smile on my face when I made my way to the morgue. Annie was already there waiting for me, and I tried not to feel bad about keeping her waiting.

  “Someone’s in a good mood,” she said.

  “Yep,” I said, hopping up on a nearby stool. “Let’s get this lesson started.”

  Annie looked at me, and not for the first time, I was left amazed at how much we looked alike. To anyone who didn’t know what we were, we could have easily passed for siblings. She was only a few years older than me, and we both had dark green eyes with perpetual purple bruises under them. We were both on the thinner side, and we both had black hair that always fell into our faces.

  Apparently, all necromancers tended to look this way…dark and mysterious, like a walking cliché. There were some necromancers who looked a little brighter and more vibrant, but for the most part, we looked the part of people that could communicate with the dead.

  “Do you remember where we left off?” she asked, watching me with practiced patience.

  “Yes, you were teaching me how to project my power outwards, to locate a specific spirit. At least, you were trying to. It wasn’t going so well.”

  “It was going fine. We just faced a bit of opposition from Tabitha that I wasn’t expecting. Now, we’re going to try again, and this time we’ll hopefully catch her off her guard. Do you remember how to do it?”

  I thought back to my last lesson with Annie. She told me that I needed to reach inside and find the ball of energy that I used to call forth my power. Then I let it fill my mind and body until there was no part of me left unoccupied. I did as she had told me. That ball of energy located at the core of who I was as a person was easy to find, and I located it almost instantly. With all of the practice I had had since coming to the compound, it was impossible to miss.

  Once I had my power in my grasp, I moved on to picturing my target. Tabitha’s image flashed clearly in my mind, and I tried not to let the thought of her distract me from my goal. Even easier to remember was the way her power felt. As long as I lived, I was sure that I would never forget what it felt like to be in her presence, to feel her immense power emanating from her.

  Once I
had a clear picture of her power in my mind, I began searching for her. I started more locally, focusing on the compound. There were many different auras all residing in the building, and I could feel them all individually. I could even tell which supernatural creature every aura belonged to.

  I could sense Marcel, Kevin, and Lisa together in the Council meeting room. They were probably still arguing over which course of action they were going to take. Passing over them, I moved on to another part of the compound. Ezra, Finn, Tanya, and Holly were in one of the recreational rooms, probably sitting around a TV, talking about the day’s events and wondering what I was doing at the moment.

  A couple of nymphs were gathered in the bathroom, probably showering and talking about whatever it was that nymphs took an interest in. An assortment of supernaturals were spread out around the cafeteria, probably eating an early lunch. I ignored all of them since they weren’t the presence I was looking for.

  “Once you get comfortable searching here for more familiar presences, I want you to broaden your search, and find one that doesn’t belong.”

  I did as she said, and began to cast my power out in a wider circle, encompassing more of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to search far. “She’s here,” I said, trying not to lose my already shaky focus. “She’s in the compound!”

  “Focus, Ronnie. Lock onto her presence and draw it into yourself. That will keep her from fleeing while you and I banish her.”

  Suddenly, I could see Tabitha’s spirit crystal clear in my mind. She was in the recreational room with my friends, staring at them with hatred. They couldn’t see her lingering in the corner. They couldn’t know what kind of danger they were in. Knowing that my friends were potentially in danger gave me the extra shove my power needed to focus, and I locked onto Tabitha’s spirit.

  I gripped the amethyst pendant hanging around my neck, and I began to channel my energy through it. Annie grabbed my free hand, and I could feel her power join mine. As she and I began the process of banishing a spirit, I felt Tabitha alert to our presence. She knew we were on to her, and instead of staying to fight, she fled, disappearing in an instant and fading from my sights.

  I could all but feel Annie’s disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, Annie. That was probably the only time she’ll ever let her guard down, and I blew it.”

  “We blew it,” she said, correcting me. “This isn’t your fault, Ronnie. We knew when we started that this wasn’t going to be easy, and she just proved us right. It’ll clearly take more than this.”

  “What else can we do?” I asked. Now that we had gotten our chance and epically blown it, I was feeling a sudden rush of hopelessness.

  “We may have to find a way to lure her out into the open. If she revealed herself to us, we might get another chance at banishing her spirit. But it won’t be easy. Anyone in the room could become her victim if we were to summon her.”

  “You mean they could become her host?”

  “Yes. I’m surprised she hasn’t found one already. My guess is she’s tried, but they possibly weren’t compatible with her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, not every body can be taken over. Take Finn for example. He’s a natural born fighter, for as long as he’s been alive. He’s very strong mentally, physically, and even emotionally. It would be nearly impossible for Tabitha to take over his body; Finn just wouldn’t let it happen. She could try all day and not get anywhere.”

  “So how can she tell if someone is easy to take over or not?”

  “She can’t. Not until she gets into her chosen host’s mind and sees how strong they are. Some people are just easier to influence than others. You should know that,” she said, looking over at me. “You saw how easy it was for Tabitha to assume her father’s plans as her own. That poor girl never had a chance. She was heavily influenced by her father’s power since the day she was born, and nobody would have been able to break through that.”

  “I know. Annie, do you think Tabitha’s spirit is still in the compound?”

  “No. She’s not stupid. She’ll know that if we can locate her again, we’ll have a good shot at banishing her. If she’s as smart as we think she is, she’ll be long gone by now. Hopefully she doesn’t come back. There’s no telling what kind of havoc she could cause.”

  “If only we had some help,” I said, putting my head in my hands.

  There was a knock on one of the morgue doors. “Actually, we do,” Annie said, sounding oddly cheerful. “We’ve got a new arrival that just came in today. I meant to tell you, but we got busy with our lesson.”

  “Who is this new arrival?” I asked as Annie got to her feet.

  She opened the door, and ushered in a small girl that was even younger than Tabitha. She had long, wavy blonde hair and light gray eyes, breaking the traditional necromancer mold. She was a little on the pudgy side, but judging from her age, it could very well have still been baby fat. “Ronnie, this is Elizabeth. She’ll be joining us for our lessons. Hopefully you can teach her a thing or two.”

  “I’m not ready to be a teacher,” I said, looking from Annie to the young girl in front of me. “How old are you?”

  “Twelve,” she said in a high, squeaky voice.

  “Do your parents know you’re here?” I asked. When her features twisted in anger, I knew I shouldn’t have asked. Not a lot of the people here had families anymore, and I should have remembered that.

  “No. My parents are dead!”

  I looked at Annie, and she mouthed, by order of the High Council, over the young girl’s head.

  My eyes slid back to the young girl in front of me, and I saw her in an entirely new light. “I’m sorry to hear that. My parents are dead, too,” I said, hoping to fix the damage I had undoubtedly just caused to our brand new acquaintanceship. “It’s just me now.”

  Her features softened, but I could still see the pain and anger in her eyes. “It’s not fair.”

  Annie put her hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Elizabeth, I have a meeting with the Council right now. I was planning to show you around, but I know you’ll be in good hands with Ronnie. What do you say? Can she show you around while I’m gone?” Annie’s eyes met mine, and I could see the pleading in them.

  “If it’s okay with her,” Elizabeth said, looking down at her feet.

  “It’s perfectly okay with me. Come on. We’ll start out with some lunch, and I’ll introduce you to my friends. I think you’ll like them.”

  She looked nervous, but I couldn’t blame her. When I thought back to my first couple of days here, I probably wasn’t in much better shape than her. I knew where she was at right now. Hopefully we could connect over that.

  “This way,” I said, motioning for her to follow me out of the morgue. She and Annie both left the cold, sterile room, and I watched as Annie hurried away in the opposite direction, heading down to the Council meeting room.

  Elizabeth followed along meekly beside me, looking at the tiled floor, the walls, her own feet…anywhere other than at me. “So, Elizabeth—”

  “Beth,” she interrupted quietly. “Nobody calls me Elizabeth.”

  “Okay. Beth it is,” I said with a light smile. She looked at me but didn’t smile back, and I sighed inwardly. “Anyways, I was gonna say that this place looks really cold and strange, but it’s really not. There are some really friendly people here—like my friends—and after awhile it may even start to feel like home. I know it has for me.”

  “How long have you been here?” she asked.

  “A few months.”

  She was silent for a minute. Then, “You’re the girl that killed her father and sister, aren’t you?” I froze, and she nodded her head as if her suspicions had just been confirmed. “Yeah, the Council told me about you. Said I’d be learning from you.”

  “You’ll actually be learning from Annie. She’s the teacher here, not me.”

  “Nope. They said you. Annie isn’t going to be around for muc
h longer.”

  We reached the cafeteria, and I led Beth over to the far side, where we helped ourselves to the food that had been prepared. I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was putting on my plate though; I was too busy thinking about what was going to happen with Annie.

  Annie isn’t going to be around for much longer. What is that supposed to mean? Annie can’t go anywhere, she still has to finish teaching me. Not to mention she needs to help me find Tabitha’s spirit! What could be more important than that? I bet that’s what her meeting with the Council is about. God, I hope they don’t relocate her. What would I do?

  Chapter Four

  Tanya, Holly, and Ezra were already sitting at our usual table when I slid into place beside them. Beth hung back uncertainly, but I waved her forward. She put on a hesitant smile, but took the seat next to me. “Guys, this is Beth. She’s new here, and she’ll be studying with me and Annie from now on.”

  “Hi, Beth.” Tanya extended her hand across the table, shaking Beth’s much smaller hand. “I’m Tanya, a fairy, obviously.” She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Beth smiled back, looking slightly more at ease. When she turned to offer Holly her hand and Holly didn’t take it, her smile faltered. “Don’t worry about Holly, she’s not overtly friendly,” I said, putting a hand on Beth’s shoulder. “Just ignore her. She’s like that with everyone.”

  “Yeah, it’s nothing personal,” Ezra said, moving quickly to shake Beth’s hand. “I’m Ezra.” He smiled, but this time Beth didn’t smile again. When Ezra let go of her hand, I saw Beth slide it back under the table and into her lap. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw her rub her hand against the fabric of her shorts, like she was trying to get dirt off of her hands.

  I felt my eyes narrow as I looked at the young girl seated beside me, and my hand clenched at my side. I tried to remind myself that she was a young girl that had been uprooted from her normal life and had just lost both of her parents, but I found myself silently fuming anyways. If she was going to treat my friend like dirt, I was positive I didn’t want this girl in my life.