Betrayed: Necromancer's Blight: Book 3

by D. L. Harrison

  I frowned, “Time will solve that part. No more will be created, and with necromancers paired with Blood they’ll be detected and taken down easier. Even if a few slip through the cracks, they’ll eventually die on their own. Worst case, of old age.”

  He nodded, “True enough. I hope we’ll talk again? I want to hear about your life, if that’s okay.”

  I replied, “I’ll send an invitation again, at the very least when things shake out and we’re ready to start dealing with the necromancers.”

  He said, “Good enough. Bye son.”

  I nodded, and sent out a whip of energy, and pulled the energy holding him on the mortal plane.

  “Bye dad.”

  The shocks just kept coming today, and I felt a little off balance as I headed back to headquarters for my pre-lunch work out…

  My parent’s names, a mother out of reach, though I was happy she was still alive, and hoped she had found a good life somewhere. An alliance with Jo and the coven, which I wasn’t really sure what it would entail. The truth of my birth was hardly a romance for the ages, but it hadn’t been a rape either. I knew that last was far more about them than I, the circumstances of my birth shouldn’t reflect on me, but that was logic and had nothing to do with how I truly felt.

  There was also the weird arm’s length friendship with Jo, separate from the alliance, and I couldn’t forget all I’d learned about Matt and Christina, and why they’d betrayed us. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help feeling compassion for them both, Matt’s story was horrible, and Christina though fickle didn’t deserve what had happened either. Absurdly perhaps, I still hoped they’d figure things out and somehow be happy as a couple, but I knew for that to happen… Matt had to forgive, both Macy and himself.

  Then there was the solution for getting the ball rolling when we were ready to help the necromancers as a race. It was so simple, yet I hadn’t thought of using my powers to do it. My powers had a negative connotation to them, I could control death. Yet… between using ghosts to help the living, and using the Blood wights as our impromptu communications network, I finally realized there could be good in it. The blight was the problem, and how the power was abused by the insane, not the power itself.

  Lastly, meeting my father for the first time. He was… like me. Same self-deprecating sense of humor, didn’t like praise all that much, and seemed like he wanted to get to know me. It… was apparent to me that in his situation I wouldn’t have turned out all that much different, except on my own I wouldn’t have become tainted, if I’d even known about it that is. I couldn’t find it in myself to judge him, all necromancers were victims of the blight. Yes, there was personal responsibility to take into account as well, but self-defense followed by insanity, and once insanity creeps in… it was hard to be judgmental there. For me at least.

  It’d been one hell of a morning to say the least. I did my circuits, bench press, leg press, and various other machines to work all my muscle groups. The burn felt good, but I didn’t push too hard, just hard enough. I’d learned my lesson there. Plus, I wasn’t in emotional pain this time, I was just… overwhelmed by it all and trying to process it.

  My heart jumped when I felt someone straddle me, but smiled when I looked up and saw Serena. She was straddling my middle, and in a very personal spot. She felt warm, and her smile, her eyes, and very tight workout outfit took my breath away. She grinned wider when she felt my reaction, and wiggled a bit.

  “That’s living dangerously woman,” I said a little breathily, as I took my arms off the bench press bar, and put them on her legs.

  She grinned, and leaned down to kiss me, her hands on my chest to support herself. Her kisses were teasing, nipping, and feather light.

  “I like dangerous,” she said a bit sultrily.

  Oh lord, she was going to kill me.

  She giggled, and looked quite pleased with herself, probably because of the look on my face. Whatever it was, I was sure it revealed the profound effect she had on my body and mind.

  “You running late today? It’s almost lunchtime, and mom wants to talk to you. I volunteered to come find you.”

  True, but strange. If Leda wanted me badly enough she could just send a mental message over the magical link connecting us, which I used to keep up her energy. Maybe she just wanted to brief everyone at once? That was probably it.

  She stole another kiss, and then slid off me. I spanked her as I got up, playfully of course, I didn’t want to end up on my ass after all.

  She gasped, and I met her glare with an impudent grin, and took her hand as we left the gym. She seemed torn between amused, outraged, and possibly just a little turned on. Maybe even more than a little. I redirected my thoughts, that was enough playing with fire for one day.

  “To answer your question, yeah, a lot happened this morning, I’ll explain when we’re with the others.”

  Though, I wasn’t sure just how much I was going to share. All of it? I was reluctant to share the more personal stuff, but it was all kind of tied together. Like my father was tied to our new plan for the necromancers, which granted was still several steps away. How I knew who he was, was tied to Jo, and our allying was tied to why she’d told me. Still, it was more that I just wanted it all straight in my head first.

  She squeezed my hand, and then smacked my ass as we split for our rooms so we could shower. Damn, how had I not seen that coming? I heard her giggles following me down the hall.

  Also, floating around in my gray matter, was if I should tell Serena exactly how I felt, was it too early? I had a tendency to overthink things, I think. Maybe…

  Chapter Ten

  When we all met in the kitchen, all being Serena and I, her mother, Jared, Isaac, and Timothy, I told them some of what had happened that morning. About meeting my father and the solution to get the ball rolling for the necromancers.

  Leda nodded, “It will still be complicated. The Blood live in family cells, so that’s going to have to change, or at least we need some kind of convention. Dragging necromancer families from city to city will never work, we don’t have the manpower to do it.”

  Timothy grunted, “We’ll also need a way to get couples and singles together.”

  Serena snickered, “Speed dating, or how about dating software.”

  I laughed, “It’s an idea, but only ten percent will be compatible. To figure out that part they’ll have to meet in person. We might not need manpower though, if we can get the necromancers to actively participate and move between cities on their own. I like the convention idea, but how do we keep that kind of thing under human radar?”

  Timothy said, “They’ll have to cooperate, since only the necromancers will feel the potential bonds.”

  “Good point. Hopefully the council will be onboard before we get that far.”

  Leda said, “Not much has changed on our end. Carl is still locked up, but safe. We found Matt and Christina, they’re in Manhattan, which is the headquarters for the Blood that rule over our race in all of North America. They’re both being questioned about you Tom.

  “The council seems dead locked right now. The Fae are pushing to have us taken by overwhelming force and controlled. The Blood and Witch leaders are wavering, but both believe we’re already contained in Chicago and can’t do any more damage. The Shifter leader is dead set against us being arrested by overwhelming force, I can only assume word has already reached him.”

  I looked at Isaac and Jared, more than a bit impressed, they were spying on the council?

  She continued, “The Blood are also more concerned about figuring out how to remain in control while updating locations to the new reality. They’re also arguing about exactly what information to share, and what information should be buried. The Witches are on board with that as well, they both want the war to end, they’re just too caught up in jockeying for power.

  “Lastly, our wight delivery service has hit just over a hundred a fifty locations, so about twenty five percent. I’m guessing word will
be out to all locations, with the council not having a clue about it, in the next three or four days at the latest. Then we’ll be ready for the next step.”

  Serena asked, “Which is?”

  Isaac sighed, “We’re not sure yet. But… in essence we’re going to send the council a message to try and shake them out of political mode, and hopefully focus on what’s really important. If that doesn’t work, and we think it’s necessary, we’ll use the data pads to break with and bypass the council, and do it ourselves. If nothing else, that should shock them out of their idiocy.”

  “What are the chances that will work?”

  Leda snorted, “I wouldn’t bet on the Witches, and of course the Fae will fight against it. The Blood councilor might wake up. The shifter is already on our side. Theoretically that should be enough, but there are political implications if our blood leadership acts independently without council approval.”

  The shadow of war? It seemed a catch-22, if we didn’t push the Fae would bury things, if we did push we threatened to split the council apart and raise tensions to the point war would be not only possible but probable. We’d have to risk the latter, otherwise we’d lose all the way around. It was too late now anyway, twenty five percent knew the truth, there would be no way to bury that, not anymore. We weren’t ready to move yet, but we’d made real progress.

  “Anything else?”

  Leda nodded, “Sparring. Today you’re with me, and Timothy will spar with Serena.”

  “Why?” Serena asked a little defensively. Our sparring time was something I looked forward to as well.

  Isaac said, “I watched you spar yesterday. You’re both very good, for your age, but you have rough spots that should be smoothed out. Also, you care for each other too much, and as a result you both hold back. Not consciously perhaps, but it’s true nonetheless, and is detrimental to your training.”

  Timothy nodded, “True. I should have been keeping a closer eye on them, they didn’t used to hold back.”

  Serena and I shared a look, but we couldn’t deny it. I hadn’t realized I was holding back, but I knew I’d never hurt her either, which led to this. We enjoyed sparring with each other though, I’d miss it. Then again, we didn’t need to stop altogether did we?

  Timothy continued, “Don’t forget tomorrow morning starts the sword boot camp weekend.”

  Damn, I’d forgotten about that. Serena and I shared another look, this time one of chagrin.

  Thwap!

  I groaned as I rolled to my feet, for the… I wasn’t sure, I’d lost count of the amount of times she’d thrown me. Serena was dangerous, powerful, graceful, and deadly in a fight. Her mother was much worse. I didn’t think she was that much better than Serena, she just wasn’t holding back, had more experience, and her undead body was faster and stronger than a Blood one. Which made her ridiculously good at putting me on my ass.

  She was also grinning, and seemed to like violence as much as her lovely daughter.

  Leda said, “Not bad. Although, I say that fully knowing you’ve only been with us a little over a month. Any other Blood at your age should be ashamed.”

  I nodded, “I know I’m still catching up.”

  Leda said, “Still, you’re good enough to take any vampire in the grip of its blood thirst, but you need more experience. I’ll be sparring with you from now on. Timothy, or one of my grandfathers will spar with Serena from now on.”

  She studied my reaction to that and raised an eyebrow.

  “I trust you have good intentions where my daughter is concerned?”

  Wow, awkward.

  “Yes…” I trailed off as I decided to stick to a simple straightforward one word answer.

  She studied me some more, “I’ve noticed the last couple of days your relationship has… advanced. I know how humans are with that sort of thing, I just want to make sure you’re going to do the honorable thing.”

  I blushed, I really hadn’t seen this conversation coming.

  I also didn’t think Serena and I had been that obvious, but we were touching and kissing a lot more the last few days, ever since things had gotten a little too hot and heavy after we took out the half-demons, we hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other for very long. Not always in that way either, a lot of the time we were just holding hands. I guess she had taken notice.

  “We do plan on waiting until after we’re mated, we’re not sure yet when that will be. Things are going really well I think, but we don’t want to rush it and wind up regretting it either.”

  She nodded, “Taking it slow is a good idea, to make sure, but don’t wait too long either. There’s a fine line between prudence and hesitation. She seems very happy with you?”

  I nodded, “I’d like to think so, though most of that comes from within herself. I’m lucky to be the one that she chose to share it with.”

  It was true enough, she had an effervescent and somewhat mischievous joy of life that radiated from her. I might have fanned that a bit, made it flow even more freely, but she hardly needed me to be happy.

  She snorted in amusement, “Have you told her just how smitten you are?”

  I… had no response for that. I also wondered what tipped her off.

  She smirked, “You should, a woman likes to hear it.”

  Then she left me speechless and walked out of the room. Women were so confusing. Although, I was pretty sure I’d just gotten Leda’s blessing to mate and exchange vows with her daughter. That was a good thing.

  My muscles were a bit sore but I felt good after a hot shower. Sore muscles were the new normal after all, and I was used to it after a month. The suite I’d been assigned in headquarters wasn’t that bad, it was a large bedroom, living room with a decent entertainment center, and a full bathroom. It was identical to the one Serena had, though the décor was more suitable for a man. I was guessing there were larger ones down here as well for couples with children, but this was all the space I could want or need, and way better than a dorm room. I also didn’t feel trapped, like I would have when I’d turned Carl down the first time.

  A lot had changed the last month, and not just circumstances, me as well.

  I sat down and booted up my laptop. I had a little time before dinner, and I started a search for Cindy Meyers. For about an hour I tried to search, before I finally gave up. The Blood, with many more resources, including her birthdate and social security number I’d imagine, hadn’t been able to find her for twenty years. If they couldn’t find her armed with much more information than I had, me and my laptop didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to find her.

  No, if I ever found her it would be because she’d come looking for me. It seemed hopeless, and I wondered if I’d meet her before she died. There was a small chance word would eventually reach her, I was making a rather large stink in the supernatural world, but not if she was so well hidden she’d cut off all contact. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it, except wish and hope she had a good life, wherever it was she was.

  What drove me a little crazy, was since she was a Blood and not a necromancer, I wouldn’t even be able to feel that she was supernatural. Which meant it was possible I’d met her. Now, I might notice, the Blood had a certain walk and stance that was unmistakable from the training. Judgement could help with that as well, but it wasn’t perfect that way, not for detecting a supernatural. Point was, it was entirely possible she’d changed her name, and was in the same small town I had been in… for all I knew, I’d already met her at some point.

  That was… frustrating.

  I changed mental gears and started to work on my school assignments, in an effort to make some catch up progress before dinner, it was more than obvious I wouldn’t have time this weekend, not with a sword boot camp. Which… I was honestly looking forward too. I’d obviously gone insane, and wouldn’t be admitting that to anyone.

  I also decided to take Leda’s advice, it was early, just a couple of weeks. But I couldn’t deny I was in love wi
th Serena, or as Leda had put it earlier, smitten. I knew it was more than just hormones, or my strong attraction to her looks and her incredibly supple and sexy body. I’d admired her long before I’d felt any of that. Our relationship had grown from a good friendship, not just a shallow connection through chemistry and raw attraction, although we had plenty of that too, now.

  Ironically, I had Christina and my obsession with her to thank for that. I was sure. It was too early for more than that, for a lifelong commitment decision, but I could at least tell her how I felt.

  I just needed to find the right moment…

  Chapter Eleven

  Serena asked, “So what will attack us tonight?”

  I shrugged as we walked through the campus, it was just getting dark, and my stomach was a bit tight. Why was it I could face eight vampires and a necromancer without a second thought, but the idea of telling the woman next to me that I love her is so damned terrifying.

  How does that even make sense.

  “Something with a death wish?”

  She squeezed my hand, “How was training with my mom? Timothy was a nightmare.”

  I laughed, “About the same, I was also informed it was a permanent change.”

  I sent out a whip of energy without even thinking about it, when I saw a ghost attached to one of the students. His shoulders straightened almost immediately, and he had a confused look on his face, no doubt from feeling good, because of not having his energy drained anymore. Damned ghost leaches. It’d been a while since I’d had to deal with one of those.

  She asked, “What was that?”

  She felt that? I hadn’t used that much power, ghosts took minimal effort.

  I replied, “Just a ghost leaching off a human. I banished it.”

  She leaned into me, “I’m going to miss you looking up at me.”

  I laughed, I knew she meant after she tossed me to the mat, but my mind went elsewhere.

  I said in a loaded tone, “I don’t know, we could probably arrange something.”