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Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 01

By: Magicwrtr



Hey guys/gals, been about four months. This story has been beating in my head for a while, so I had to get it started. Please leave me feedback if you're of a mind, or vote so I know if I should keep going on with it. This story will be first person, and will follow two people. 

I'm putting this in the scifi/fantasy category as usual. This first part has some M/F, I don't think there will be any F/F or M/F/F in this story at all. As far as categories that could be covered there are a few, so I'll stick to the main plot category, although it could go in novellas, erotic couplings, nonhuman, or romance.

Hope you enjoy it!

Copyright 2015. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.

*****

Chapter 1 - Vincent

A wave of hot air washed over my body, the crackle of the flames set my blood pounding. I looked up at the frowning face of Miri, the explosion of fire washing through her form as she stared down at me. She was attractive for a woman in her late thirties, the beauty of her youth still very much apparent. That didn't much matter to me though, because she was a ghost, and I was here on a job. A personal job, but a job nonetheless.

"What are you doing hiding down there, I know the fire can't hurt you," her voice was clear in my mind.

"Shit," I muttered as I stamped out the fire on my sleeve, "But I like this shirt!"

The crackle of the fire was getting louder around me as the couch I was hiding behind was doing a fair job of melting, pretty soon I wouldn't have any cover at all. The smell of the burning glue, wood, and leather was getting overwhelming, not to mention the smoke, and I started to cough. Damn it, I really liked this shirt.

I stood and turned, my clothes caught fire, but my skin was merely tickled. I drew my power, over forty ghosts channeling the energy of death, the energy of the afterlife. Although I couldn't see it through the fire and smoke, I knew I was surrounded by a green glow. With a thought I changed to my sight from normal to other. I couldn't see the bastard at all, but his soul was quite clear to me. Some white, a lot of black. I could hear his laughter as his fire engulfed me.

Everyone knows necromancers burn just as much as the next guy, luckily I knew something he didn't. I released my power, it slithered across the room, engulfing the bastard completely. I could not see what was happening, but I saw his soul disconnect from his body, which was most likely rotted, decomposed, and laying on the floor.

"Enjoy hell asshole!" I screamed.

I watched with other sight as an opening to hell appeared; fell creatures poured out and dragged the sorcerer through the gate before it closed. Not something I can take credit for, hell was always eager to collect their own. I shrugged. If anyone deserved it, he certainly did. The asshole was preparing to sacrifice his daughter in a ritual, after murdering his wife when she found out. That's when Miri sought me out for help, and I was glad to help, for a price.

I dashed through the house, Miri floating along behind me. The house was really burning up now. I ran to the bedroom where Miri's daughter waited. There was no time to unlock it or find a key. I kicked it in. The ten year old girl took one look at me and the fire behind me, and screamed. I imagine I was an alarming sight, my clothes all but burned away. I picked her up and ran for the front door, the girl wasn't making it easy, squirming and trying to escape, but it wasn't as if I had the time to explain things.

I was the good guy, well, for her and in this particular case I was anyway.

I channeled some more power, my green aura surrounding the child. This time not to rot, but to preserve, to protect, and to shield. We ran right through the fire, I winced at the piercing scream right in my left ear, that's gratitude for you.

I made it out the front door and ran down to the car. I opened the back door and the girl calmed when she saw her aunt Rita was in the driver's seat. She was the spitting image of Miri, and alive, but I squashed any thoughts of hitting on her, she looked freaked out, and you know, time and a place and all that.

I smiled a little and said, "Could have gone better, but here she is safe and sound. You should go."

She looked at me a little fearfully and said, "Are you sure you don't want anything, I feel like I owe you something."

I shook my head, "No, get going, my price has already been covered."

I turned and looked at Miri as the car drove away. She nodded, ghostly tears on her cheeks as she reached out and touched my amulet. The spell was activated as she was bound to me. A necromancer gets his power through ghosts for the most part. The deal was simple, I save her daughter from her monster of a father, and she serves me for ten years before moving on to the next life.

It is possible to bind ghosts against their will, but necromancers who do that are at a disadvantage in my opinion. Even after being bound, a spirit can still fight. It's much harder my way, working for it and making deals in the short term, but the advantages are obvious. I don't have to waste effort or magic to control my ghosts, they work for me willingly for the duration after which I release them.

They are also more willing to take an active role in helping and protecting me, even in my sleep. Plus, binding a ghost against their will seems evil, so all around, my way is better. I had over a hundred ghosts now, I usually tried to make a new deal once a month. Even so, I am coming up to my twenty fifth birthday soon, and my first deal was right after my fifteenth. I shook my head to snap out of my wool gathering while staring at a house burn. I could hear the sound of the approaching fire trucks. 

I cloaked myself with darkness, not true invisibility, it just makes me hard to notice, even with tattered clothes, I went over to my car and headed home. I needed a shower, and a change of clothes. I was thinking of hitting the bar after, I needed to relax after that. Sometimes humans really freak me out, who sacrifices their own daughter? That was evil beyond my understanding, and that is saying a lot in my case.

I didn't really have much going on at the moment, my day job was related to my skills as well, though in that case I got paid in cash. Humans for the most part were oblivious of the supernatural. They might see a child, when it's really a dwarf walking down the street. Or in the case of a sorcerer going on a tear it's a hurricane, or a gas explosion, or an earthquake.

The thanks for that of course fall on the Fae, they are masters at illusion and deception, their greatest work was to settle a spell over the entire world that blunts the impact of the supernatural on normal humans. Of course this makes my job harder. When I get hired to speak to loved ones that crossed over, ask a question, or find a killer, or any number of things, people are always skeptical, even the ones that proclaim belief.

I do okay though, my investments are fairly impressive. One of the ghosts I helped turned out to be a genius at reading the stock market, which only improved after he became a ghost. I wound up making him a zombie; he runs all my financials and controls my house and budget. Zombies can be brainless weapons, but putting a ghost in the driver's seat really changes things.

I pulled into my drive way and up to the house. It was a two story home with a couple of thousand square feet, four bedrooms, full basement. I walked in and was greeted at the door.

"Hello master," Hardin smiled, "Everything go okay?"

"Yes, although I sacrificed my clothes."

"Awww, poor baby lost his shirt?" a teasing and sexy feminine voice rang out.

"That's right Amy, maybe I should bring you to the next fire?"

She hissed while I laughed and winked her way. I couldn't help but stare at her ass as she stomped off to her room. She was gorgeous, but off limits. I wasn't shy about talking a woman into my bed, especially one as fiery and beautiful as Amy, but she was bound to me. Virtually a slave despite all the freedoms I granted her. It would be nothing but rape to pursue her in that way. As far as her pursuing me, well, Hell hasn't seen that cold day yet.

Amy was the exception to my rule. She is the only forced bond in my house, although in my defense it was either that or kill her. When I was first making a name for myself as a necromancer, one of the older ones bound a vampire and sent her to kill me. Necromancers generally don't like competition, we are rare and jealous of our power. It also isn't a power that should be in the hands of an idiot, controlling a vampire proved I would probably make it to others of my kind.

Necromancers also aren't very welcome in the general supernatural community. We aren't hunted as a rule, but we mostly go our own way.

So I didn't really have a choice in binding her, and although we are like oil and water, the idea of killing her for something she had no control over doesn't sit well with me.

Weakness? Perhaps. But she does guard the house quite zealously, and a vampire is nothing to be trifled with by anyone other than a necromancer. We are their greatest weakness. I could order her to be nice, to do whatever I wanted, but what fun would that be? The bond makes sure she can't harm or betray me, that is enough. 

I went upstairs and jumped in the shower, the hot water sluiced the stench of smoke, burned flesh and clothing off my body. I dried off and walked into the bedroom, one of my zombies were laying out some clothes. I had a number of them, all controlled through Hardin. They didn't have a personality though, they were just workers, soulless. Generally they did well with repetitive tasks, but anything complex was just beyond them without a controlling spirit or micromanagement on my part.

I considered just staying home, it had been a hell of a night, but I needed to go out. I got ready and drove over to a club close to my neighborhood which was just west of Chicago. Getting in wasn't an issue, I didn't wait in line, I simply walked in. Humans could always sense something about me and mostly stayed out of my way, they couldn't see or believe what I was, but there was a part of them, a small part, that knew. Instinctively they knew not to challenge me.

Either that, or it was my looks. 

I opened my senses. Not my necromancer senses, the other part of me, the same part that made me immune to fire. My mind was bombarded with desires. I could not read thoughts, or even emotions, but I had the ability to detect the greater desires of a human in that moment. It really wasn't fair, no strike outs or hit and miss, simple tracking. A hunt of a sort.

There were over a hundred people, surrounding the bars or out on the dance floor. I could smell the sweat, feel the desire for sex, the fear of rejection, it surrounded me. Then I felt her, exactly what I was looking for. I looked across the floor and saw a woman in her early twenties, maybe a year or two younger than I was. Long dark hair, exotic features, tight body. What I felt from her was the desire for a one night stand, that's all I wanted, which was a good thing, it was all I could really have.

I didn't feel guilty about what I read, or what I was. I would be giving her exactly what she wanted too. I smiled faintly as I closed in and moved my arm toward her a little, to get her attention.

"Want to dance?" My question was loaded, my body language and tone of voice clear that I wasn't really asking her to dance. 

I saw a hint of nervousness then she smiled and nodded as she checked me out. 

"April."

Taking her offered hand I replied, "Vince," as I pulled her onto the dance floor. It was a done deal already, but the small things are important, there was no reason to rush. Besides, dancing was great foreplay, and she could move her body very well.

After a couple of dances of rubbing, bumping and caressing I took her hand and held eye contact while motioning to the door. She smiled shyly and nodded while squeezing my hand, it was such a drastic counterpoint to the bold way she danced but just as much a turn on.

Clubs are way too loud to really talk to a person. So far, outside of our names, all the talking had been body language and dance. So I knew as soon as I got her in the car the awkward moment would come unless I did something to break the ice. When we got to the car I pulled her against me and looked down into her eyes for a moment, then lowered my head slowly, giving her time to back out. Not because she would do so, but so that she felt in control.

There was an undeniable attraction between us. Some would argue I lacked morality searching out a woman wanting no strings attached sex. The truth is it makes me very moral. I could have attracted almost any woman in there due to what I am, but the ones not looking for a onetime thing would just get hurt. This was safer, and better.

Even for me, a first kiss is a powerful thing. Her full lips were slightly parted, soft and silky against mine. My heart was racing as this sexy woman opened herself to me, allowed herself to become vulnerable. She moved in closer, rubbing her body against mine as I deepened the kiss, my tongue seeking entry between her lips which opened with a light gasp. I felt her body melt against me so I slowly backed off and ended the kiss, helping her into the car before closing the door. 

When I got in I asked, "Your place or mine?"

Of course, I had zombies and a vampire at home, and I didn't want to take her there. Sure, I could send them to the furnished basement, but it made me feel guilty when I did that to Amy and Hardin. It wouldn't be a problem though, I already knew the answer, I knew it as soon as I felt her desire when I walked in the club. Some woman that do one night stands like to go to the guys place, where they can leave when they are done, some feel more in control on their own turf. April was the latter.

She licked her lips and said in a sultry tone, "Mine, I'll give you directions."

She leaned into me and I put my arm around her as I drove. Her scent was natural, and the feel of her warm, tight, and supple body against mine was driving me crazy. She kept caressing my leg and inner thigh, I had to make an effort to concentrate on the drive. Ten minutes later she brought me into her home. It was an apartment in a pretty nice area, we barely made it through the door before she was aggressively kissing me.

My heart was pounding, my manhood waking as I smelled the first hints of her arousal. I caressed the back of her neck, ran my other hand down her back, and squeezed her tight rounded ass. She gasped into my mouth and broke the kiss. The look of lust on her beautiful face as she bit her lip and pulled me down the hall to her bedroom had me mesmerized, I couldn't look away.

She was sexy, beautiful, and compelling... and she was mine, at least, for tonight she was.

We slowly stripped each other between kisses, glancing at each other's bodies in lust as we bared and explored our flesh. Her breasts were perfect, about a C cup, her nipples hard on her flawless silky smooth skin. I brushed them with my thumbs before pulling her against my body for another kiss. I smiled slightly as she touched my manhood and gasped in both lust and surprise.

I don't want to brag about my size, let's just say it is another part of what I am and leave it at that.

It was my turn to gasp as she stroked me teasingly with her silken fingers before softly squeezing my shaft. I picked her up by her ass as we kissed. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled our bodies tighter together and ground against my manhood with her slick passage as I walked slowly toward the bed.

She pulled me down on top of her and whispered, "Take me now." Her eyes were glazed with lust, her breathing already fast. Normally I would start with more foreplay, but apparently the dancing and playing on the way to her home had been enough, more than enough for her. I placed my tip against her moist center, her heat felt good against me and I slowly slid into her tight but welcoming sheath. 

Her eyes widened and she gasped as I slowly filled her in one slow but unyielding stroke. I froze for a minute, kissing her neck and down to her breasts. I bit her nipples lightly before circling them with my tongue. Her center was undulating on my member as she got used to me, it felt so good I had to force myself not to move. I waited until she was ready and started to stroke in and out of her liquid heat.

The feel of her around me almost made me lose control of myself, I wanted to pound into her sweet flesh until I reached climax but restrained myself. I worked her body slowly, got to know it. Getting her to turn into a pile of orgasmic goo would make it so much better for me, not only because I enjoyed giving pleasure either.

April begged breathlessly, "Faster, harder."

I sped up, increasing our pleasure and her body joined mine in a rhythm as old as time. She cried out as I felt her molten core tighten and erupt, her sweet juice bathing my length as she milked me. I held on, driving into her even faster. I could feel it now, her energy, her life, her soul as it started to fill me. The feeling is indescribable. It is life, it is everything I need or want. It is a curse.

I was swept up in it and started pounding harder, I could hear her screams of pleasure as she rolled into a second very intense orgasm, and that's when I lost it. I felt my legs go numb and stopped fighting it, instead giving into it and pounding in harder and faster. My manhood expanded within her tightening channel as I started to fill her with my batter.

Her body locked up, frozen in ecstasy as she launched into a third very violent orgasm, I felt the life, the energy rush into me now as her supple body practically vibrated beneath me. When I came down from my height, full of energy, full of life, I looked down and kissed her gently on the lips. I held a faint regret in my heart as I studied this beautiful amazingly sexy woman that had become my victim, of sorts, for the night. She was out like a light, completely exhausted.

I felt the temptation to taker her again, wake her with power and share pleasure until she had been drained utterly. Mine completely, for now, and forever. I also felt the disgust at the idea, the human soul in my crying out against a crime so terrible. 

As usual, my human half won.

I touched her with my necromantic power. Necromancy is often compared to death, but really, necromancy is life. I could give it, and I could take it. I could call forth rot and decomposition, or I could stay its hand. My other side fed from her life, from her soul, but my necromancy could help, even extend her life despite my actions tonight. My power would dissipate over time, but she would age much slower for about five years, extending her life and her beauty for that time. Nothing that would stand out to her fellow humans, they would just believe she had aged gracefully. But doing this for her was enough that it assuaged my regret, my guilt.

I like one night stands, I like my life the way it is, but sometimes, I wish it wasn't a necessity. I could never sleep with April again no matter how much I might want to. She would recover from one, maybe two times, but sleeping with her again would be dangerous, it would endanger not only her life, but her soul, no matter how long I waited between feedings.

I got dressed, kissed her sleeping lips, and made my way out the door. People would fear me if they knew I was part necromancer, maybe even try to kill me. But my other half that takes sustenance from mortal souls? The half of me that is immune to fire and able to read people's desire to better know how to corrupt them? The half able to detect lies, and hide what powers I do have?


Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 01



That is my biggest secret, what makes me an abomination. My demon half. Thanks dad, you asshole.

Chapter 2 - Anise

"Anise Golde to nurse station two please."

I heard the announcement and sighed. I pulled my power back. Water, earth and spirit retreated from the human in bed. I was a sorceress, but healing was my passion. Unfortunately, I could only tweak things here and there. I had to be careful, nothing could give me away. Even so, no death's on this ward for the two months I had been here, everyone recovered, albeit slowly to make it look like normal recovery.

Miracles were frowned on, other supernaturals would... object. All the races had councils, and enforcers, the one rule was hide. Something too blatant cannot be hidden so easily. So I do what I can.

I frowned knowing I would have to move on soon. Right now it was a statistical anomaly. It happens sometimes. But if I continued to heal the people in this hospital under my care, well it would become a statistical impossibility. Even the humans who are unable to see the reality of the paranormal in the world very easily would cotton on to that, and investigate.

New city, new hospital, new name. It got old doing that three or four times a year, but I couldn't stop. Healing was my passion, it had been for a very long time.

At least witches aren't burned at the stake any longer...

I walked out and to the nurses desk.

"Pam? What can I do for you?"

I smiled when she asked for the shift report and filled her in on all the patients and any changes over the last twelve hours. 

Pam nodded when I finished, "Get out of here and enjoy your time off." 

I was tempted to visit other floors and do some healing there, but squashed the impulse. I couldn't afford to get caught again. I used to be able to do it, but security had tightened in hospitals so much in the last fifty or so years, and people were suspicious nowadays. I had to take what I could get, but the fact that I could clear out the hospital in a handful of hours was... frustrating at times.

"Thanks Pam, maybe I'll go out, it's Friday night."

She shook her head, "I don't know where you get the energy. You look like you just came on shift, not going off."

I blushed and thanked her. I couldn't tell her the truth. I didn't sleep, ever. I could get tired using my magic, or with heavy physical exertion, but even then it only took a little relaxation or meditation to regain my strength. I wasn't strictly human, even for a sorceress. The small amount of healing I could get away with at the hospital barely even registered in my power levels.

I took the stairs down and left the hospital, my apartment just a few blocks away. Being Seattle it was raining, it felt good as I walked down the street. When I got home I immediately stripped and jumped in the shower. I was refreshed as I got out, using simple raw elemental magic I dried my body and hair as I brushed it out.

Looking in the mirror I saw a woman in her mid twenties, blue eyes, wavy golden blonde hair down to her waist. I was short, just five foot one, but curvy. To be fair, that was on the high side of average for a woman when I was born. My breasts were large for my frame at a C cup, and my waist thin before flaring out to my hips. I brushed out my hair, lost in thought. Frustrated sometimes with the life I led. I wanted to do more, but what?

I already assisted with the supernatural, at those times I could heal as fast and thoroughly as I wished. Yet, even in that group I needed to show care. Sorcerers are not supposed to be immortal. They age and die, much like a normal human if at about half the pace. Only Angels, Demons, Vampires and Fae are supposed to be immortal. Shifters, sorcerers, witches, warlocks and necromancers were all longer lived, but mortal.

The first two groups are rarely seen on the mortal plane, and I am obviously not from the latter two immortal races. Demons do possess mortals more regularly, but here in the flesh? Extremely rare. 

So what am I? Nephilim. Half angel, half human sorceress. It is not something I can generally share, even with other supernaturals. I am used to hiding who I am, after all, I have done so for centuries uncounted. Hiding does worry me a little, as time went on it was becoming harder and harder to hide. Especially with humans and their technology.

I walked out to the kitchen and put some water on, a tea sounded nice. I thought maybe I would read tonight, and glanced over at my kindle. I was still amazed with the device, and how far humanity had come in the last hundred years. I blew out a breath; I was too full of energy. 

I looked at the portrait in the hall, and felt a stab of guilt. Happiness, sacrifice, despair, loneliness. The endless cycle of my life that started so long ago. The portrait was painted in eighteen ninety two. I had been named Hope then, and along with me was my husband Gerald, and my children. I knew I should take it down, put it away from me. But I haven't been able to do it yet.

Happiness, having a husband, family, children. The despair of course was when my husband noticed I was not aging, which for a long lived supernatural usually took fifteen to twenty years. Then the inevitable confrontation always happened. The fear and horror of what I am. The anger that I did not tell them I was Nephilim.

But how could I? They never understood, not one.

Sacrifice and despair, leaving my family, my children. It was this stage I was still in now, over a hundred years. It seemed to go on longer each time, my soul taking longer to recover, healing others the only thing that makes life worth living. That, and keeping track of my family lines, which made it both better and worse.

It was a lonely life at times, and I felt the guilt because I knew the cycle would start anew when the loneliness outgrew the loss of it, and I started courting and sleeping with men again. Until I met the impossible, another that could take my heart. My emotions didn't believe it could happen, how could I possibly love again after the loss of Gerald, but my experience knew it would happen. I shook off the feeling and went into the bedroom to get dressed.

I put on a skirt and blouse, high heels, and left my apartment after draining the cup of tea. Dancing sounded good to me; I needed to bleed off my excess energy, not to mention shake off this mood I was in.

There was a club close by owned by vampires, ironically they did not hunt there at all, it wasn't like in the books or movies of today. Their place of business was like their home, you just didn't hunt in your own backyard. It was a good place to meet with the other supernaturals. I still couldn't relax completely, but at least I didn't have to hide I was a sorceress in that crowd.

It was still kind of early when I got there, so I ordered a tequila sunrise and waited for the place to fill up. I was taking a sip of my drink when someone slid onto the stool next to me.

I smiled when I saw who it was, "Hey Ginnie, how's it going?"

Virginia was young witch, barely a quarter of a century old. She had pale skin, even fairer than mine, long red hair and green eyes. She had a small smattering of freckles on her nose and a big smile on her face. She leaned into me and kissed my cheek. She was the first person I befriended when I moved here, and she had a generous and happy soul.

Ginnie replied, "Great, glad the weekend is here. You seen Mar around?"

Marsha was an older witch, part of the local supernatural council. She was important, the witches headed the council here in Seattle. She was also one of the people teaching Ginnie her craft. I shook my head.

"I haven't no, not for a few weeks, everything okay?"

She shrugged, "I hope so," to the bartender, "White Russian please."

We chatted for a while catching up while we sipped our drinks. The place started filling up by the time the drinks were done, and the music was turned up a bit louder, so we abandoned the bar and started dancing. 

Over the next hour or so I slowly became aware the atmosphere tensing up. I wished I had paid more attention to the local politics because I had no idea what was going on.

The council held the city, there was usually one in any city that hosted supernatural beings. Usually the strongest would lead the council, in the case of Seattle, it was currently a witch, Marsha. I only knew her because I had to get her approval to move here, as a sorceress. There was usually a scramble for power when the head of the council retired, or passed, but outright takeovers were rare.

I couldn't really think of anything else it could be, despite the absurdity of holding a challenge in a club, the truth was most of the magical community were here. It's where we got together in Seattle. There aren't a lot of us out there. Usually between one to five hundred per city, with the exception maybe of the older European cities. There were thousands of us in London, Berlin, Rome, and Paris.

Seattle had little more than a hundred.

Still, something was going on. The vampires seemed to be sending the humans away with compulsion, in a surprisingly short time they were cleared out. I stopped dancing and touched Ginnie's arm. She took in my expression and looked around, and started looking worried. I took her hand and we walked over to one of the walls, not really even thinking about it. Being surrounded was a bad idea as a rule in a tense situation, and I hardly needed to think about where to go to find myself in a better position. At my age when you've done everything countless times, there was no thought for tactics, it was simply muscle memory on a grander scale.

The music shut off as a man walked in holding a staff with glyphs running up and down the wood. Sorcerer's used power from the elements to build spells, a staff was a shortcut, simply imbue power into the staff and it would do the work for you. It was powerful, to an extent, the problem of course is keeping a hold of it.

Behind him was another sorcerer, and a vampire, holding Marsha between them. Marsha's eyes looked glazed, and it was obvious she had been beaten. I narrowed my eyes. This was not how things should be done. Even takeovers were usually done honorably, through challenge and combat. I know to humans that would sound hopelessly naïve, but backstabbing and poisoning leads to anarchy in such a small tightly knit community. Plus, most supernaturals wanted the most powerful in charge, after all it was the council's job to protect from outside threats. No one would want a weasel in such a position.

The Sorcerer said arrogantly, "You may call me Brandon, I am the new high councilor. I have beaten Marsha in the challenge."

He then displayed his power. A power display for a sorcerer involves forming a symbol, with all the elements they have access to. How strong it is, and how clean and stable, is how their power is determined. Sorcerers usually do this between themselves only, to establish a hierarchy within their group. I guessed he was doing it now to show his power as an intimidation, he must have known how shady this looked after all.

His power was strong, and clean. It looked like he had mastered Air, Fire and Water. There was no evidence of Earth, or Spirit in his display, but then a sorcerer with all five was very rare. He did however look strained, as he struggled to maintain it for a few moments.

Marsha said woodenly, "He made me submit."

It was an interesting way to say it. Not, he won the challenge, but he made me submit. The reason for this was obvious, the witches and vampires, not to mention me, would still recognize the former if it was a lie, even with her under compulsion. It really wasn't any of my business, still, I waited for someone to object, challenge his assertion. I did not expect it to be Ginnie.

"This is a sham, she was obviously tortured and beaten, and even now under compulsion. Was she even conscious for this one on one challenge you claim happened?"

Ginnie was a strong young witch, but still very young and inexperienced. I sunk deeper into myself, observing everything in the room, and nothing.

Brandon sneered and barked, "Are you calling me a liar, would you challenge me?"

Ginnie's face reddened and she screamed back, "If she truly submitted you wouldn't need to have her under compulsion, and she wouldn't look like she had been tortured for the last two weeks either. I can't challenge you, but I'd like to know why this wasn't done before witnesses as a challenge should."

Brandon sent a spell of air that tangled around Ginnie. She was basically helpless. I looked around expecting someone else to object, but the witches looked cowed. The vampires looked either conflicted, or smug. The other sorcerers looked triumphant. There were no necromancers or Warlocks in Seattle, so none were present. I had to restrain a look of contempt. Power struggles were important, but not if it endangered the community as a whole. I wondered if this was a new thing. When had my fellow sorcerers decided political power trumped real power and tradition?

I was frozen, I didn't really want to challenge, that would make me the head councilor, which, I had absolutely no interest in. Especially since I was leaving soon. Even if I stopped healing I couldn't spend more than another fifteen years here, people would notice I wasn't aging, at all. But I didn't like the way he had Ginnie trussed up in an air spell.

Nothing good could come of me intervening. I was half angel, and I didn't live for millennia because that made me weak. But really, this was none of my business no matter how much I cared about Ginnie. I have watched empires crumble, what import could one girl have to me.

Even as I thought it, I knew I was lying to myself.

Brandon's face cleared, and changed to satisfaction as no one else spoke up. Who was I to fight for their freedom from a snake if they wouldn't fight themselves? I waited until he finally decided to close the drama. He had his men release Marsha and she collapsed on the floor.

Brandon said, "Very well, we shall have a full council in two days to discuss the changes I will bring and implement new laws."

Then he turned to go, and Ginnie started to float across the room, following him to the door. I looked around and no one would speak, why wouldn't they speak?

"STOP!"

I looked around for the voice, then realized it was mine.

He turned and looked at me, seeing my youth his visage became contemptuous.

Brandon said impatiently, "What now."

I said calmly, "Release Ginnie, she is just a child."

He replied caustically, "No, I need to teach her a lesson first."

I had a pretty good idea what that meant, and that just wasn't going to happen.

I displayed my sorceress sigil, my face bored, showing no effort at all. I was hoping to do this without a fight, and it should work. Yet, this man had thrown out many of our beliefs. The fire, water, earth, air and spirit danced in harmony, glowing strongly. The whole room froze, like a rabbit under the gaze of a predator. I was dangerous, but I still hated it. I was a healer by choice, but it's hard to live for so long without becoming very proficient at everything.

I said clearly, "I do not wish to challenge your position, I do not wish to rule, but you will give over Ginnie."

Ginnie looked at me, then my construct her eyes wide. Fear and hope warred there in her eyes.

Brandon chuckled, "Very well, you shall learn my true power sorceress."

Then he started a spell to open a doorway. To hell.

I gasped in shock, "Demons? Are you daft? Only a warlock may safely control them. Doing this is forbidden!"

My voice grew harder, "Of course this explains much. Why a challenge that so obviously wasn't one is met with fear from the community. So are you its servant now?"

Brandon didn't answer, all his effort going into the spell. I sent a ball of air at him, to disrupt what he was doing, but cursed myself for a fool. I should have disrupted his spell immediately. So much for not being surprised, but what the idiot was doing was so shocking even I had never seen it before. I hadn't acted soon enough. I frowned as a demon walked through the gate and the gate winked out of existence...

He was tall, and humanoid. His skin had a reddish tinge, and he had a cruel look in his eyes. He was transmitting fear, some stood tall like I was, fighting it off, some looked completely cowed. 

He spoke in a raspy voice, "Why have you summoned me."

The look on Brandon's face was subservient, well, one question answered. 

"I was bringing this girl for you to play with, in order to teach her a lesson, when that sorceress interfered. She is too strong for me."

The demon frowned my way. I built a quick spell of spirit, air, and fire. The demon wasn't a high level one, but nor was he week. I wasn't sure if the banishment would work or not and held my breath as the spell hit him. The demon screamed, but used his power to leech the fire element from the spell, which collapsed.

I muttered several impolite words in ancient languages, that left me one option, and I was loathe to do it. I hadn't revealed myself for centuries. Other supernaturals whisper about the Nephilim, and more than half believe us to be myth. I may very well be the last one, most were killed over the years.

The demon threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't a sound of mirth. He looked at me and shook his head.

"Nice try, but I won't be going back to the abyss today."

I sighed, "True. I guess that means you won't be going back at all."

He looked confused for a moment, as if my statement made no sense at all.

Then I exploded in white light. It wasn't real light in the strictest sense. Much like demonic fire was completely different from normal or elemental fire. The white light had... weight, presence. It was the power of the angelic.

Everyone including the demon was temporarily blinded. I knew what they saw when they looked at me. Insubstantial white wings, my body surrounded by my angelic aura in the form of armor. A glowing sword of light in my right hand, and a shield on my left arm. The demon's eyes widened and he started to form a sword of shadow and demonic fire, but it was too late for him, I had the element of surprise. I lunged forward faster than even the Vampires could keep track of.

The demon did manage to bring his sword around but he was unprepared, off balance. I bashed his sword to the side with my shield and took his head with my sword. Brandon's followed quickly, most likely before he even knew he had lost.

I reached out and touched Marsha's forehead in the stunned silence of the room. I didn't use the healing of a sorceress, the spirit, water and earth spell I employed at work. I used my angelic healing. The compulsion didn't stand a chance, neither did her wounds, she was fully restored in moments. I dismissed my sword and my power. I kept a strong stance, my face revealed nothing, although I was quite tired I knew from experience sagging would be a mistake.

It wasn't from the physical side, I could fight most enemies all day long with my angelic powers. But the power to destroy a demon was... draining to say the least. I looked up and saw a mix of awe, fear, and betrayal on Ginnie's face. I hated it. But I had to save her. Not because she was innocent, or right, or even my friend. Because she was my great granddaughter, the latest generation, proof and the result of the love and short part of my life I shared with Gerald in bliss.

She was mine.

I could never tell her of course, if it became known her and her whole line would become a target. The angelic blood was too diluted for immortality, but there was increased power, and life, in my lines of descendents. They tended to be healthier too. No, it was better this way, that she not know. I guess it really is time for me to move on.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 01



I sighed. My heart was breaking at the idea of Ginnie hating me, of having to leave, but my voice and my visage was stone, "Mar, I think it's time I moved on, be well."

I wanted to stay, but that would be a bad idea. I pictured my bedroom and called my power to transport me there. No reason to hide my angelic abilities now, talk about locking the barn after the horses ran off...

It would take me more time for this move. I'd have to change my last name at the least, then forge all my R.N. credentials. I thought about where to go, it had been a couple of generations since I checked on my family in Illinois. Amy the woman I connected to back then, should be long dead by now. Yes, I'd go there, Chicago...



Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02



Hey all, sorry about the wait. I was on vacation last week, then the book totally changed directions on me, and every time I stopped to proof the new stuff and post, either Anise or Vincent told me not yet and I had to keep writing. Couple of slave drivers. Anyway, this posting has all the same as the last sex wise, plus lesbian and group sex. I wasn't planning on that, it was supposed to be a simple forbidden love story but Anise wouldn't have it. I didn't know Anise was such a hussy until chapter four.

Sure, she's not real, except in my head, but if I didn't blame it on her I'd have to admit I'm a pervert. Anyway, enough rambling and poor attempts at humor, hope you enjoy this next part. This may be my largest post yet...

*****

Chapter 3 - Vincent

I was lost in thought walking out of the house. April was a hell of a woman. I wasn't one to wallow in thoughts of what I couldn't have, but I couldn't help the pang of regret as I walked over to my car. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, and was startled by a low pitched growl when I got close to my car. I froze and looked right into her amber colored eyes. She was larger than any wolf I'd ever seen, her fur a silver gray. She was also a ghost.

My parents had taught me to avoid other supernatural beings. Fae, vampires, werewolves and the various magical types such as sorcerers, warlocks and witches. Not to mention other necromancers. Considering how I felt about my parents, a warlock and a demonic succubus, it seemed like good advice to follow. I wasn't afraid, I had learned, self taught, how to banish ghosts that annoyed me ten years ago. Sometimes I wondered how much more capable I would be with training, but that wasn't really an option. Another necromancer would just as soon kill me, and a demon, well I'd be lucky if all they did was kill me.

The ghost wolf's growl trailed off into a whine, and I got the impression she wasn't sure of approaching me. This did not surprise me. Most necromancers would enslave a ghost and use them, and a demon could drag their essence to hell. I would do neither, and at this point I was well past being offended by such suspicions. I was tired though, and not in the mood to deal with a skittish ghost, so I went the rest of the way to the car, got in and took off for home.

"She needs your help."

I scowled at the ten year old girl looking at me reproachfully from the passenger seat.

"What's in it for me?" I snapped.

Sara snorted at my question, long past being intimidated by me.

"You mean besides werewolves having more spiritual energy than human ghosts? Or perhaps knowledge of the other supernatural species you know almost nothing about?"

That was a good point, still, I wasn't going to try to win the trust of a ghost out in front of a woman's house I had just fed on. People tend to think you're crazy if you start talking to the empty air, especially at two am in the middle of the street.

I was curious though, a ghost of a supernatural had never approached me before. The knowledge and power aspect was attractive, and I liked helping others, especially when I got ten years of servitude out of it.

"Well, why don't you go reel her in for me?"

She raised her eyebrow at me.

"She was obviously unsure and scared, you could ease her into the idea, and reassure her I'm not going to enslave her or anything." Plus, I was kind of lazy that way. I may not get offended at the way people reacted to me anymore, but it was tedious, and quite annoying at times.

Sara sighed and nodded, slowly fading out as I pulled into my driveway.

I walked in and headed straight for the kitchen to grab a beer. I was still wide awake and would be for the rest of the night, probably until tomorrow night. I was never able to sleep after feeding, not that I slept much on the other nights either. I was pretty sure it was my demon blood, but three hours was a full rest for me.

I heard the footsteps behind me but didn't bother turning, I could feel Amy through our bond.

"We need to talk."

I snorted, "Breaking up with me sweetie?"

I was filled with disappointment, and concern, at her lack of wise ass response and looked up at her. She really was beautiful, long curly jet black hair, doe eyes and a perfect complexion. She was five foot seven, athletic build, but still curvy enough to catch my eye. I carefully kept my eyes above her neck as if I wasn't interested, our forced bond always made me uncomfortable, I just hoped she was happier here than with her old master, I didn't ask for much from her.

"Take a seat, want a b..." my voice trailed off, she didn't drink beer of course... I was an idiot sometimes.

"What's up?" I finally asked, breaking the now uncomfortable silence.

"Local coven," she said, "ran into some of them while hunting tonight."

Amy was pretty good about hunting, I know the humans never had call to complain when she was done with one. 

"How is that a problem?"

She rolled her eyes, "Normally it wouldn't be, I've run into some of them before, but a master was there tonight, and he tried to take me."

My brows furrowed, I didn't really know much about the community, just what little I could glean from my parents. Since supernatural ghosts normally avoided me, and the human ones were ignorant, it was hard to get information that way as well.

I sighed, "Can you explain, I don't really have a good grasp on your... our society."

She furrowed her brow, "I know I give you shit about our bond, but vampires work much the same way. A master vampire has ironclad control over the rest of their coven. The older a vampire is, the stronger their compulsion and ability to control other vampires, as well as humans. One of the masters was there and apparently liked what he saw. Normally non-coven vampires are left alone, but when his compulsion had no effect on me, he didn't take it well.

"I am fairly sure they will try to attack you, and take me."

She coughed and I realized as my mind tried to process the possibilities I had started staring at her tits. Crap... In my defense, they were quite nice to look at.

"So... this asshole vamp wants to own you?"

She dropped her glare and shrugged, "Partly, the other part is about you. Vampires don't like necromancers very much either, especially ones that enslave vampires. Scares the shit out of us actually."

"You think they might come tonight?"

She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling and said, "Probably not, they will have to convince the council you are a danger, and get them to help. Vampires attacking a necromancer without other support would be suicide."

My choices here were kind of limited. My bond did not destroy the first necromancer's bond, it was just more powerful. If I freed her, the old bond would kick in and she would try to kill me again, against her will. Shit.

"What do you want?" I asked softly.

She frowned, "I want to be free, and being bonded to you is the closest to freedom I have ever had. My old necromancer master was horrible, and the vampire masters aren't much better. I'm just worried, I don't want anything to happen to you."

This was a surprise to me, I thought she hated me, well, maybe resent would be a better word to use. Of course, it could all be just concern for herself, if I died she'd be screwed.

She continued, "I think the best thing to do would be for you to talk to the council. The problem with that idea is the head of the council right now is a vampire. I'm not even sure that would help, it's not like anyone would care about me except as something to own or control, it would all be about the politics and the give and take of power in Chicago."

I wasn't sure what I would do. I bonded her to me, because I could, and it was a much better choice than killing her. That was quite different from taking a stand against the city council. I still didn't like the idea of killing her though, even if that would solve the issue, and it might not. Plus, it was a shortsighted, selfish and petty alternative. Our sniping and banter had made her closer to family in my mind. I was a demon and necromancer, the problem is I was very young at twenty five, and being self taught I had no doubts I was not nearly as powerful as I should be.

I wielded my powers instinctually, there was no finesse, complexity, or fine control in what I did.

I said, "I think that it might work, but I'm not sure how to approach it. Let me think on it."

I could go in with a show of power, make them fear me. Or I could present myself as a possible powerful ally, actually join the community. Either way they might not want to risk a fight with me for the gain of one more vampire, no matter how desirable she was.

I finished my beer and took a moment to get a fresh one.

I finally said, "I won't let them take you, and I will not kill you."

I wondered how foolish I was being.

I was lost in thought and drinking my beer when Amy got up, kissed me on the cheek and sauntered out of the kitchen. It surprised me, the kiss I mean, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was playing me in some way. I knew she wasn't lying at all, I could detect that through our bond. That didn't mean she couldn't leave things out though.

As I finished up my beer Sara faded in with a middle aged woman. She had golden eyes and I could tell right away this was the werewolf ghost, her soul felt exactly the same, no matter the form. She was a small woman, hard to believe she could turn into such a large and dangerous predator. She had long shiny black hair, brown eyes and Asian features.

I was a little suspicious, the community had basically ignored me the ten years I'd lived here and now I had two issues to deal with? Assuming I took on the wolf's problem.

"So what is it you need?" I asked, looking into the wolf woman's eyes.

She shuddered and asked, "I'm May, what do you know about werewolves?"

I shrugged, "Not much. They live in packs like wolves. Alpha runs the pack, word is law."

She nodded, "That is true if simplistic, but the hierarchy is more formal than that, all wolves have their place, and can only gain or lower status through challenges. As long as they do not violate the law, any wolf can order those lower in the hierarchy. About a year ago, a pack from Springfield tried to take our place in the city. We killed most of them, but some were absorbed into the pack after they submitted.

"One of them, Mark, challenged me to become my mate."

I raised my eyes at this, but didn't say anything. She must have read my face because she explained.

"The women in the pack would never submit to a male without a challenge, we would never mate with a male who was weaker. We are also not chattel to be fought over, we can refuse a challenge if we have no interest in the male, at least, in my pack. Anyway, he challenged and I accepted. Not because I wanted him, but because I hated him enough to want to kick his ass. Normally that would have been the end of it.

"Unfortunately, some wolves have no honor. Mark bided his time until he could get me alone. He drugged me through trickery, raped me and killed me. If the alpha knew, he would get me justice and kill the fool, but the bastard was clever and didn't get caught."

I asked, "So, you want revenge?"

She growled, her eyes growing brighter, if I hadn't been a necromancer I'd have probably been afraid.

"Yes, but I have no way to communicate with the alpha. Even worse, Mark has challenged my daughter and they will fight in a few days. She is strong, but I worry even if she wins she will meet her end at his treachery as I did. You would have no standing in the pack, and the alpha would never take an outsider's word above Mark's. I want you to talk to my daughter, make sure she knows. She is stubborn and may not believe you."

I asked, "And if I do this you will serve me for ten years before moving on?"

She looked very nervous, but nodded her head. "That is more than fair for my daughter's life."

We talked for a while longer, she told me about herself, and things that no one else would know but her daughter with the hope that she would believe. She also gave me information on where her daughter, Kim, works. It would be the best place to approach her. Approaching her at home with the rest of the pack around would be a bad idea, undoubtedly leading to confrontation.

I made plans to head up to Kim's work, which was at a bar in the city, the next night. I could talk to the council as well afterwards about Amy's problem. I wasn't sure what tack to take with the council, and decided to wing it. It would depend on them I think, I would try for a peaceful solution, but wasn't counting on it. The problem was, I wasn't really sure why supernaturals hated necromancers so much. Ignorance was a bad place to stand but I really didn't have a choice.

I was kind of partial to an ignore it and it will go away attitude, but I really didn't think that would work this time. 

The day went by slowly, it always does when I can't sleep. I worked with Hardin for a while on expenses and reports, then I worked with my powers a bit. I didn't discover anything new and gave up after a while, getting frustrated. There should be a way I could destroy the link to Amy's old master, the point would be moot after that. I felt like a child with a puzzle I couldn't solve.

I was tempted to ask May about why supernaturals were afraid of necromancers, but I held back. Admitting ignorance to one not bound to me just couldn't be a good idea. Maybe once she was bound I would try, but it was possible she didn't know. 

Amy hadn't when I asked her, she had just been told to avoid them like the plague, but not why outside of the obvious.

Late afternoon I drove to the local Metra station and took a train into the city. The first thirty minutes were fun, I practiced on all the humans, getting to know all their greatest desires. It was fun to guess before looking. It was all situational, since desires change from moment to moment for the most part unless they had an unhealthy obsession.

It was a nice day so I decided to walk the ten blocks to the bar, generally ignoring the stares I got. I don't think I am all that good a person, but I know I could be much worse. If it hadn't been for meeting Sara when I was younger I am sure I would have been. I certainly didn't learn right from wrong from my parents.

I walked into the bar and scanned the place, it was still early but there were a few groups of people scattered around, the men wearing suits, women in business attire. It was the time for the after work crowd. I saw Kim and once I knew what area she was covering I went over and sat down. She looked to be in her early twenties, which for a werewolf could have been a year or two younger than me, or close to forty. 

She came over and I was amused to see her nose wrinkle, it was very cute. I wondered if she could smell the death on me. 

"What'll you have?" she asked in that way you just know she says it a million times a day.

"Whatever is on tap, domestic, and a few minutes of your time."

She looked me up and down, then studied my eyes for a moment before walking away without a word. A human would see a small vulnerable and fragile woman. I studied her as she went to the bar and returned, I saw a predator, a strong one. The aura of her magic filled the bar. I suppressed my demon side. I wanted to unfurl my power, fill the bar with the power of my darkness, my shadow, show this pup what real power looked like, show her who was boss.

I had felt it before, the need to dominate, control. I had learned to suppress it, my human side, my guilt at what I was, mastering the demonic side of me. I still had to feed, but I didn't have to leave a swath of destruction in my wake, no matter how appealing it was at times. But this was much more powerful, and I had a real struggle with myself. Humans were weak, it was easy to suppress the desire then, because I had nothing at all to prove.

Kim was another supernatural, another predator, an alpha female. It was much harder this time around. I took a deep breath and managed to get a hold of myself, barely. I focused on Sara, that perpetual ten year old girl, held her in my mind's eye. I knew there was manipulation involved, but it would kill me to see the look of disappointment in her eyes if I lost it in this place. I was half demon, but I refused to be a monster.

She came over and put the beer down, looking at me warily.

"Who are you, what do you want?"

I said, "You aren't going to like it, but I am here to give you a warning. Mark killed your mother through deception. Poison and... other things."

It was a bit blunt, but I wanted to get the warning out just in case she freaked out about me being a necromancer.

She narrowed her eyes and said angrily, "Who are you, how do you know this?"

Her body was shaking and she looked furious. Her eyes were a bright gold, and her body was shaking. She looked to be on the edge of losing it. Damn, she was so hot I wanted to grab her and take her right there on the table.

I cleared my throat, "My name is Vince. I made a deal with your mother, she sent me to tell you."

I saw the alarm on her face and she took a sniff of air, her eyes widening a little. I felt both my demon side preening, knowing I could dominate this bitch, and also... shame. I did not want this strong proud woman to fear me. Or at least, a part of me didn't.

I deliberately took a sip of my beer and took on a relaxed pose.

She growled out, "Why should I believe you. My mother would never be stupid enough to deal with a necromancer after death. Did you enslave her, what is your purpose here."

I sighed. "It is a desperate act of a mother to protect her child. Stupid perhaps, but she would not see you fall to the same man and similar treachery. She was desperate to prevent it. I agreed to pass on the warning if she served me for ten years. After that she will be free to move on. I don't expect you to believe me, but I think enslaving the dead against their will is a perversion of my gifts. There is also a number of benefits to the way I do it, so it isn't entirely selfless."

Blah, I shut my mouth. I hated trying to justify myself and now I was pissed. It wasn't like she would believe me anyway.

"I gave you the message, I'm done here."

I threw a twenty onto the table and stalked out the door. I walked a few blocks and went into another bar. Alcohol wasn't much of a solution but it was all I could think of. I ordered a beer and sat down. May appeared before me looking both apprehensive, and grateful. Using the amulet I bound her for a term of ten years. Then I ordered her to watch her daughter. I could draw power from the bound ghosts wherever they were, and she looked too much like her frustrating kid, so I sent her away. I figured it might make her happy too, but mostly, I felt alone. Alone and angry wasn't a good head space for a half demon. I was too dangerous for that.

Oh, I had the other ghosts, and although I didn't know really where I stood in Amy's mind I enjoyed her company too. But ghosts and a bound against her will vampire weren't a replacement for people who were alive and had their own will. Friends and family, they were only concepts for me. Problem there is, people were my victims. So I drank. Stupid, I know, but I had a good buzz on by the time I left to meet with the council.

I made it about two blocks before heard Sara and Miri yell in my mind, "LOOK OUT!"

I saw an explosion of light as someone nailed me from behind in the side of the head. If I hadn't been half drunk, and paying attention, there was no way someone could have snuck up on me. My last conscious thought was that I'm an idiot.

It was with some surprise when I woke up, head splitting. I took stock of myself and seemed okay, outside of the pain in my head anyway. I took a look around, I was in some kind of wooden building, a large shed, or a small barn. I was trussed up and in what looked like a stall, but there were no doors. I tried calling out with my mind and drawing power from my ghosts, but it didn't work. I felt the cuffs around my wrists, it was definitely cutting off my necromancer magic.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02



I called upon my demon side, wrapping my head in shadows, numbing the pain. It would help me think, and also increase my natural healing. I couldn't heal like the sorcerers could, but I could speed up what was natural while preventing anything from getting worse by eliminating germs and foreign substances.

I tried to dispel the cuffs, but I still wasn't able to concentrate enough on that while keeping my head numb and healing. If I lived I would have to practice multitasking. I could hear breathing nearby, someone else and they were unconscious. What the fuck was going on? Who would do this and allow me to live? I should be dead. I'm so stupid, dealing with the other supernaturals for the first time and I have to drink... idiot.

I heard a door open then slam shut.

"Wake up ya hoar!" the sound of a foot meeting flesh reached my ears.

I heard a voice cry out, I was pretty sure it was Kim's voice but it was hard to tell as it was distorted by pain.

Kim screamed, "Mark, what the fuck is this?"

Mark said, "Your just like your slut mother ain't ya. I saw you spending time with that guy tonight."

Kim growled, then cried out as he kicked her again.

She said, "What are you talking about, some crazy asshole told me..." her voice trailed off.

I'm ashamed to say I felt smug at that moment, when she realized I told her the truth. I think I may have even smiled. He dragged her out of her stall into the open section, assumingly so I could see.

"I'm gonna fuck you silly bitch, then kill the both of you. You're mine."

Okay, and I thought I was evil... The look on his face was very disturbing. I heard Kim start to hyperventilate, her body twisting in desperation, but she appeared to have the same type of cuffs on that I did, and it prevented her from changing or breaking free. I gave up trying to unravel the spells, instead I wrapped the cuffs and chain in darkness, solidifying it like armor, pouring my anger into it.

My necromancer powers rushed back, and I saw May in her wolf form. She was growling and snarling at Mark, jumping through him, trying to bite and claw him. But of course, she couldn't, no one could see her, or feel her. I gathered my strength, preparing to break the cuffs now that they weren't interfering with my power, but then smiled grimly. I had a better idea.

I reached out to all my ghosts and pulled, funneling all that power through me and into May. I ignored Kim's gasp and Mark's panicked exclamation as she started to glow and solidify, becoming visible. She was surrounded by a powerful silver nimbus and her growl as well as the power of her aura filled the room. I smiled as she went for Mark's jugular, her teeth digging into his throat, ripping and tearing as his high pitched girly scream turned into gurgle.

May threw back her head and howled before shifting to her human form. I watched with a smile as she searched Mark's pockets and pulled out the keys, unlocking the cuffs from me, then her daughter. I watched in awe as mother and daughter hugged, both too surprised and shocked to speak at this opportunity to say goodbye one last time, and at May being able to take revenge for her own death.

They said their goodbyes as May left, fading from sight.

Kim turned to me with glowing eyes, her magic swirling, pulsing around us. She was so beautiful I couldn't look away. She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me and put her head against my chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Thank you for what you did, my mother will be able to cross now with her honor restored when her time comes, and thank you for saving me."

I was mesmerized by her presence, her power. The feel of her body yielding against mine, the warmth seemed to seep through our clothes. I gently pulled her head back by her hair and kissed her without a conscious decision. I wondered if she would slap me, but she deepened the kiss and I felt her chest rumble with a low growl as she nipped my bottom lip playfully.

I was a demon, able to seduce almost any human with ease, but I found myself under her spell instead. The feel of her power, and the intensity of her stare. My demon side was quiet for once, she wasn't challenging me, she was exultant and relieved, glad to be alive. I moved to pull her against me, but she pounced before I could, taking me to the ground. Her body on mine, grinding against me.

She sat up, rubbing her center on my bulge as she pulled the shirt over her head. Her breasts were perfect B cups, her nipples pink and engorged, stretching the skin around them. I pulled my shirt off and she ran her hands across my chest, tracing the muscles. I pulled her down for a deep kiss, regretfully letting go long enough so we could strip our pants off.

I felt an empty longing when the heat of her body left me, and sighed in pleasure as joined me again, her nipples teasing my chest, her soft long hair teasing my neck and shoulders as her core rubbed up and down my length aggressively. She smiled at me, drawing out one of my own in reflex.

She was beautiful, and I mean everything about her. Her power, her confidence and the beauty of her supple and inviting body. I had the absurd thought that maybe drinking wasn't such a bad idea after all. I ran my hands down her sides and around to her ass, squeezing the tight yet soft fleshy globes. 

"What are you? You're so... not typical for a necromancer."

Her body shivered and she kissed me hungrily, not waiting for an answer. I ran my hands back up her body and around, teasing her nipples, lost in her kiss, and her scent. She growled, and I gasped as she ran her hand down my body, wrapping her fingers around my hardened flesh. She stroked it a few times and nipped my lip again as she angled my manhood and impaled herself on it.

She was amazingly tight, snug and her hot slick walls started to undulate and massage my length. I had never felt anything like it before. I gasped and she smiled.

She winked and said almost smugly, "We shape shifters have perfect control over our forms."

Despite that claim she started out slow, getting used to my length and girth filling her center as she rode me. I reached up and tweaked her nipples, pulling slightly on them drawing a gasp from her full lips, her pleasure tightened around me in response. She started to speed up, riding me up and down, our bodies slapping together as I pushed up to meet her down stroke.

"Oh god! Fuck! I'm going to cum!" she screamed. Her voice cut out to a gasp as her molten core tightened around me.

Her whole body shook as she went into orgasm, her energy, her life force, started to fill me. It was just as mind boggling as the rest of her. Compared to feeding on a human... It was the difference between a dry cracker and a succulent beef. It overwhelmed me and I cried out, spilling my seed into her greedy womb as her sheath milked me.

It affected me profoundly. I almost cried because I knew I could never again sleep with her. She looked content, fully sated, but exhausted as she rolled off of me and put her head on my chest. We laid there, in the dirt and I felt her soft mewl of contentment as she had an aftershock of pleasure.

She fell asleep on my chest. I carefully laid her down and got dressed. I looked at the dead body and sent a whisper of power into it. It had no soul, but it was enough to get it to go dig its own grave and pull the dirt in on top of itself. I sent it off into the forest to do just that. I put her clothes back on her and sent a message to may, asking where she lived.

I just couldn't leave her lying in the dirt, next to a puddle of blood. She lived in the Chicago suburbs, and we were way out, in a forest somewhere. I found asshole's car and drove to her house, May giving me directions. When I got there, I surround both her and myself in shadows, disguising the sounds and our scents, I really didn't want to meet another pack member with her passed out in my arms. I didn't know if any lived near or even with her, better safe than sorry.

After dropping her in her home, I decided to go to mine. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with the council and it was probably too late anyway, I was still high on her energy and what we shared. Plus, my clothes were completely screwed. It would keep for one more night. I stepped out of her house and built wings. I wasn't the best flyer, flying was usually exhilarating, with moments of terror thrown in. But I took to the skies and headed for my neighborhood. I collected my car from the Metra station and then I headed home.

Chapter 4 - Anise

Anise Thomas. It wasn't a bad name, I would miss Golde though. I had to sneak out of town, I couldn't really report to the council where I was going as was standard policy. Last thing I needed was them calling ahead to Chicago and letting them know an Angel was on the way. I would miss Seattle, it rained a little too much, but it was a good city. 

I also changed my appearance a bit. Apparently Silas was head of the council there. A vampire, being long lived, might possibly remember me. Last time I was there he was just a fledgling... but he was there. I just made subtle changes though, my hair a little more golden, my eyes a deeper shade of blue. I also added a couple of inches, making myself five foot three.

I thought about cutting my hair, but I liked it too much to bother. The subtle changes should be enough, I even wrapped myself in a spell that would change the scent of my blood slightly, for vampires doing that was required. I called a moving company, had them pack everything up the next day, I would call them with the information as soon as I had an apartment set up.

The next day before I left I took the picture of my old family off the wall, the only thing I told the movers to leave for me. I needed to move on, it got harder each time, but I had to. Many of us have been killed over the years, but often Nephilim died when they just couldn't stand living anymore. Where there was life, there was hope. I closed my eyes, picturing my vault in London, carefully wrapping my power around the picture and frame, I transported it there. I needed to move on, the picture would have no place in my next apartment.

Yet, I never could throw it away. I had a vault with portraits of all my families over the years, yet, I never once went there to look at them. It was both a place to honor my family, and put things behind me.

I did have money to easily buy a house, but renting was just easier when you were moving every three years. I was ancient, the vampires always joke about long lives and compound interest, well in my case it is quite a bit more. I took one last look around the apartment, it was so empty now, depressing. I was ready to move on. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. I drew my power around me, cloaking myself from sight and transported to Chicago.

Better than taking a plane any day.

The city of Chicago was nice, I just didn't like the smell and pollution. Not that older cities didn't smell, they did, quite worse than the modern ones. But smog was different, more harmful if not as fragrant. I took the El over to where the council was, I could have appeared right in front, but that would have given things away, might as well take out a billboard add that a Nephilim was moving to Chicago.

I entered and sat in the back as they went over their normal business. They seemed to be in the middle of a discussion about a local necromancer that bound one of their vampires into slavery. They were asking for help from the witches and sorcerers. Witches could create charms that would block a necromancer's power from being able to enslave them, although it was a power struggle not a given, the witch creating the amulet would have to be more powerful than the necromancer. Often that meant for safety an entire coven would be needed to create the amulets, and they only lasted a week or two, less when actually used in combat.

Sorcerers of course, would be good in an attack with elements.

I wasn't really interested, I didn't detect any lies, but I could feel the dishonesty behind the words, as if they were telling partial truths. I had no stomach for their games, the faces and names changed, but the game of power never did.

I waited patiently and they finally asked if anyone else had business. I stood up to be recognized.

Silas sounded bored when he asked, "Who are you and what is your business in our city."

"Anise Thomas. Sorceress. I am a healer and should be in town for a few years. I also need some medical documents forged for an RN."

He frowned, "You heal the humans?"

I nodded, "Carefully. Never quickly, nor do I stick around in one place long enough for it to set off alarms. I've been doing it a long time. Of course, I would be willing to help out the community here in that way as well."

He looked at me distastefully as though he couldn't understand why I would want to heal humans. I could also sense suspicion from him. I almost rolled my eyes at the predictability, he would never do something like help a human, so naturally no one else would either, so I must be up to something.

I berated myself internally, I was probably right, but I shouldn't be so cynical, people surprised me sometimes, once a century or so.

He said, "Very well, get with the clerk and fill out a form on your way out. There will be a charge for the RN documents, but otherwise we expect you to obey the rules and come to the aid of the council if asked."

I nodded, that was expected, and completely reasonable. The rest of the council looked at me curiously, but held any comments or questions. That told me quite a bit about how this city was run. There was a witch, werewolf and sorcerer on the council along with Silas. No warlock, but they were rare and I didn't expect to see the necromancer either. The werewolf was big, probably at least six foot five, but it was hard to judge as he was sitting. He was of course built like a weight lifter. The witch was a young short pixie like woman with short blonde hair. The sorcerer was an older gentleman, still handsome but with salt and pepper hair.

I bowed slightly and turned to leave. As I left I heard a whisper, the witch on the council.

"Feel free to stop by for a drink and conversation. I'm Willa."

I nodded surreptitiously and frowned. It worried me that one of the council would feel the need to invite me somewhere on the sly. Why not simply say it out loud and welcome me to the city? I stopped at the clerk, a very young vampire. He kept checking out my neck as I filled in the form and paid him in cash to get it done.

He said, "Drop in anytime tomorrow afternoon to pick up the paperwork."

I smiled. "Thanks, do you know what bar the supernaturals go too usually?" Willa had invited her but not said where...

He replied, "Sure, Chauncey's bar and grill, do you need directions?"

I shook my head no. Apparently some things don't change. 

"I was wondering though if I could peruse some records. It's kind of a hobby."

The young vampire looked very uncomfortable all the sudden and I looked at him quizzically.

"Isn't it still an open thing?"

He shrugged, "It is yes, but Silas is para... concerned about possible spies from other cities, there is a six month wait on that for newcomers."

I nodded slowly, disappointed, but not wanting a confrontation just yet, at least not until I talked to a few people and got the lay of the land. I could always use the human genealogy websites, see what I could come up with there first.

"Thanks..."

"Tim." 

"Thanks Tim, I'll be by tomorrow then."

I left and checked out a few apartments, settling on a two bedroom condo in a high rise. They had them for sale too, it was nice but I resisted. It was on the twelfth floor. The bedrooms were a little small, but the full size kitchen clinched it for me. By the time I updated the movers and filled out some applications online for a couple of hospitals and hospice care it was getting late. I had no groceries or anything to cook it in, so I went out to eat.

I wound up in a midrange steakhouse, sitting at the bar eating. I didn't really like to sit at a table when I was alone. I managed to get through dinner without being propositioned. It wasn't really as hard as it sounded, humans seemed to be intimidated by me at least as much as I attracted them. I did tend to get a lot more attention from the supernatural world. I was a little nervous to be honest, now that I had decided to get back in the game. I finished my marvelous steak which was practically melting in my mouth along with a loaded baked potato, then I headed over to Chauncey's.

Perhaps it was just coincidence but I noticed a couple of vampires following me. It had my hackles up, but I tried to relax as I entered the bar. Silas seemed like a paranoid dictator, not the head member of a council, but things should work out eventually. It wasn't my first time in a paranoid supernatural community, just the first time I was blocked from viewing records.

It was an Irish bar, a lot of green with some lively music going when I went in. About half the customers were human. I saw Willa and moved to join the table. There were a couple of young ladies sitting with her.

She smiled up at me, "Take a seat! This is Lisa, and Leanne."

Lisa looked young, like had to forge a license to be here young. She still had signs of being a late teen, not quite fully matured. She was cute, with shoulder length brown hair and big brown eyes. Leanne was a little older but not by much, red hair and green eyes that lit up with mischief as I sat down. I wondered for a moment where the older witches were, Willa was young for a council seat.

I smiled, "Thanks, nice to meet you." I took a seat.

I ordered a shot of Jameson's in coffee with whip cream on top, while in Rome and all that. We chatted for a while and I thought things were going well. They were very welcoming I was starting to feel relaxed. I was tempted to ask them what the deal with Silas was, but I held my tongue. I was patient and knew better, but blocking me from the records was rather annoying. Regardless, by my third spiked coffee I was feeling very relaxed. 

They started playing some lively music and Leanne jumped up and joined a couple of other ladies, human, doing an Irish dance. I shrugged determined to shake off my lassitude and got up to join them. It was a lot of fun, all the men in the bar were clapping keeping time and cheering us on. By the end of the song my heart was racing and I was flushed.

The girls drew me out asking lots of questions, and when they found out my furniture would be a couple of days they invited me to stay over. When I looked confused they explained they had a large house outside the city where the three of them lived together, it was also where their coven met as they had a few acres of land and a small grove of oak trees in the expansive back yard. The grove was planted a long time ago, probably by Native Americans, right over where three ley lines crossed. Willa explained she was on the council because she was head of the largest witches coven, there were two others in the Chicago area.

"I would love to, thank you."

It was very clear to me the paranoia was limited to the vampires, and perhaps even to Silas. Still, I held my tongue. We had a good time the rest of the night, often dancing with any man that asked, although I was careful not to lead any of them on.

When we left the bar we made our way a block over to a small park. I wondered what they were doing and was astonished when Willa directed us to hold hands and held up her amulet before chanting a short spell. Then she walked into the oak, sinking right into the trunk of the tree. It felt strange as I was pulled into the tree, but a few seconds later I felt myself being pulled out, and I was in a grove of trees.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02



I said with awe in my voice, "How... that spell takes so much power."

Willa giggled. "Normally yes, but these oaks have power to burn and then some with three ley lines crossing. Since it's on my land and warded, only our coven can access the power here. It only takes a little power to initiate a connection to the grove from the city, after that all the power to transport us here comes from the grove."

I smiled. I could feel their joy in their art. There was no coveting or gloating over their power, just simple joy of their gifts. We walked about two hundred yards to the back of the mansion. It was three stories; based on the windows I'd guess it had at least twelve bedrooms on both the second and third floors. They gave me a quick tour of the kitchen, den and library then showed me to a guest room. The room was huge, twelve by fourteen, and it had its own attached bathroom. 

They said goodnight and left me to sleep, of course, I don't exactly sleep. I couldn't help but notice Willa looked back at me, rather wistfully, as she stepped out and closed the door. Perhaps it was just the alcohol, but I found myself rather intrigued by that look.

I pulled out my phone and brought up the browser, it was a pain using the small thing, but I didn't want to risk summoning my laptop, I wasn't sure what kind of wards the witches had up and didn't want to set off any alarms. It took me a while to remember Amy's last name. I had long ago paid for accounts with various websites to search genealogies. I put Amy's name, her date of birth and let it do a search.

It took hours to chase down a number of false leads, but I finally discovered she died not very long after I left, maybe two years? It didn't say how she died however, nor if she had any children before doing so. Back then birth records were hit or miss, and if she did have a child, it would have been less than two years old, so may have been given the name of whoever took him or her in. I really needed the paranormal records, they would have a complete record of it.

I sat there staring at the walls, my mind turning in circles. I was deliberately trying to avoid thinking about the big library Willa, Lisa and Leanne showed me. No doubt it had the genealogies of everyone in their coven, and Amy had been a witch. Chances are my line had died here, but my heart twisted at the thought. Did I move here for no reason? I must know. Guiltily I checked the time, I was sure they would be out cold by now from all the alcohol.

I bit my lip and stared at myself in the mirror. I had to know, but this felt too much like a betrayal of the immediate trust these young witches have given me. I couldn't do it. I was too old to do anything so thoughtless. So I waited...

Time dragged, if I was at home I could use the web, or watch TV, read a book on kindle. Something, anything. But here in this guest room it was like a prison. I snorted at myself for that thought, it wasn't my host's fault she didn't know I didn't sleep and needed something to do. I wound up loading up angry birds, and was happy to see there was a new level added on since I last played in which to destroy those diabolic pigs.

I heard a knock on the door and jumped up to open it. I giggled and said I was sorry when Willa jumped back, surprised at my quick answer.

Willa asked, "Breakfast? Did you sleep alright?"

I smiled and dodged the question without lying, "The room was wonderful thank you, breakfast sounds great."

I followed her down to the kitchen and we chatted over breakfast, mostly them pumping me for information about how I hid my healing from the humans and what my plans were. Finally I broached the subject I was dying to ask.

"Do you mind if I look over your library? I am curious about genealogy specifically, my family split in this area almost two centuries ago. That kind of thing fascinates me."

Willa said, "Sounds fine to me, your more than welcome to check. I need to be in council in about an hour, but Lisa and Leanne can keep you company while you look."

"Thanks, that would be wonderful. Maybe we can all meet for lunch later? I still need to do food shopping to stock my apartment, and I need to pick up my RN paperwork this afternoon anyway."

Willa nodded and we chatted some more before she left. They were telling me all about the covens, which for the most part got along. They even talked about the shifters, I noticed however they avoided talking about the vampires at all... What was going on in this town? It was also hard not to notice Willa was sending me vibes, and I had to admit she was a lot of fun to be around, and very attractive.

I am old, but forever young. As a result not many of the societal hang-ups from the time I am living in effect me. By today's parlance, I am 'bi'. I am pretty sure every woman is to a certain extent, they have just been programmed not to be by society. There are exceptions of course, in both directions. What is sad to me is only the woman that are on the far end of the scale will freely admit they like other women. It is rare, when those of us, the majority in the middle, will be open and unashamed, although that has gotten better over the last couple of decades.

Of course, I crave children as well, so it is a rare when I choose a woman as my partner for an entire lifetime, but it has happened in my past. There is never a shortage of orphaned children after all.

I went to the library with Lisa and Leanne and they gave me a tour of the book layout. There were twenty three witches in the coven, which meant it wasn't difficult at all to track down thirteen in an emergency. The most difficult spells took thirteen, but never more. Even so, all twenty three could participate if they wished, the extras could form an outer circle and shield the inner circle of thirteen from evil and other magical interference. 

The advantage there was obvious, the thirteen could dedicate all their energy to the spell and not split their focus. Twenty three was an impressive number actually, and my respect for Willa went up, herding witches could be like trying to herd cats.

Thank god I was a sorceress on my human magical side.

I read through Willa's genealogy first. There was no mention of Amy, so I moved on to Lisa's. I figured it would be nice to do theirs first, since they were in the room with me. Lisa's didn't turn up anything either, so I went to Leanne's. I had to school my features when I found it, I could feel the tears that wanted to form and a lump formed in my throat.

Amy had a child a little over a year after I left. Jennifer. Before the child saw her first birthday, the coven was attacked by invading vampires. Amy and some of the others were carried off, but Jennifer was left alone in her crib by some twist of fate, and adopted into another witch family. I looked up and studied Leanne. She was beautiful, barely twenty years old. So very young, and precious. Red hair, deep green eyes and a ready smile. She was mine. My family. I had to choke it down, the tears of relief and happiness that my line lived. At the same time I grieved for the loss of Amy, though I knew she had to be gone already, reading about it made it real. 

Leanne was eight generations from Amy, ten from me. It boggled my mind. No matter how old I get, the miracle of family never, ever, gets old.

I finished going through her book, then grabbed the next one, and the one after that, before taking a break. I couldn't tell her the truth, no more than I could tell my beloved Ginnie back in Seattle. When lunchtime came around we took the oak tree to the city and met up with Willa at a mom and pop lunch style place. I had soup and sandwiches and on a whim started returning all of Willa's signals. I walked her back to the council, picked up my paperwork, told the ladies I'd be back later and went shopping.

It took a few trips without a car, I needed to pick up all the little things you need in a new apartment, I also verified the truck would be in sometime in the morning, anytime after nine am. It was late afternoon and I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd sit in on the council for the rest of the day, wait for Willa and see if I could gain a clue into Silas and why he was the way he was.

When I got to the council room and walked in, it was a madhouse. There were more people than yesterday, and a lot more vampires and everyone seemed on edge. I couldn't figure out why until I noticed the man standing facing Silas with a scowl on his face. He was gorgeous, well built, but I scowled, I could see the aura of shadow around him, this man was a demon.

What the hell was a demon doing in the council room? There were no warlocks here. I studied him closer and opened my perceptions more, and almost yelped. He was surrounded by ghosts. As an Angel I could see them, but I couldn't communicate really, I couldn't hear them. But I did see the bindings that led to this demon. Could he be part demon? He would have to be to be a necromancer as well. I almost laughed out loud. The last beings that would be welcome in a council meeting were a necromancer and a demon, and this guy was both.

I took a seat and got ready to enjoy the show, I noticed a few people glare at me, and I realized I was smiling and totally relaxed sitting down, when no one else was. What can I say, I'm old, and this was something new, of course I was smiling. Most people though, didn't notice my odd behavior, their wary eyes were locked on the young man. I managed to reign in my smile after a few seconds, but I imagine my eyes were dancing with amusement for all to see.

Silas demanded, "What are you doing here? You are not welcome."

The young man frowned and said calmly, "Nor do I want to be, but we have a problem. One of your master vampires wants what isn't his. He leaves me and mine alone, and we can go back to ignoring each other. I won't allow you to plot to steal what isn't yours."

"And what gives you the right to one of mine," Silas demanded.

I almost giggled, completely inappropriate, but Silas really rubs me the wrong way.

The demon frowned, "I don't have the right. But she is not yours. She was sent from another city, another necromancer to kill me. I had no choice, it was either bind her against her will, or kill her. I chose the lesser evil. I can't release her binding without her having to go back to the other necromancer anyway. Even if you persuade me to do so, or kill me, you still won't have her."

I perked up at that, a necromancer that believes binding someone against their will is evil, and a demon at that? He even truly believed he couldn't break another necromancer's binding, did he not have any training?

"Lies, I demand you bring her here so we can question her to determine the truth."

I choked, the necromancer was telling the truth, and Silas knew it, his words of accusation were lies. And Silas had no intention of determining anything, I wasn't smiling anymore. I looked at Willa and she had a sick look on her face, as if afraid to speak out. The werewolf was scowling but also silent. What the fuck was going on here, it was like Seattle all over again.

The necromancer sighed, "Do you want a war? For what purpose? I have ignored this council and respected it from a distance for ten years. You have broken the peace. And for what? What is this really about, why do you want her so badly? Your fellow council know exactly who is lying, what will you do if I bring her out of the safety of my home."

His shield was fascinating. His necromancer power shielded him, and below that he had shadow armor, hidden from all but me. I wondered if he would be able to see my shields, I wished he would look over but he was so intensely focused. Hmm, I think he's actually keeping an eye on everyone around him through the ghosts he brought.

Silas blew out a breath in frustration, "You have my word you and her will be safe here, we wish to question her."

The demon furrowed his brow, "I want your word we will be safe from the moment we leave my house, until the moment we return there. Being safe here helps, but not if I am jumped while leaving the building."

Silas nodded and then demon shook his head in negation, "No, your word on it."

Silas said grudgingly, "You have my word, I swear it is not a trick to attack you, you will arrive safely here and back to your home afterwards."

I was a bit confused, Silas had been planning something I was sure, apparently he has changed his tactics. Meh, I hate this politics and backstabbing crap, but I have to admit this demon necromancer is making it interesting.

He said, "Very well, I will return tomorrow after lunch, with the vampire if she agrees."

Silas spluttered but the necromancer cut him off.

"I will not force her, bond or not. I believe that is the whole point."

He turned and froze, staring right at me. His mouth open. He really needed to work on his poker face. He recovered after a few seconds and walked out with a thoughtful look on his face. I shrugged, to be fair I had a shit eating grin on my face when I saw him at first, I could hardly hold his lapse against him.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped when I saw two of the ghosts were staying behind. So that was how he knew they were plotting last night. Too funny. I smiled apologetically to Silas when he glared at me, but wasn't about to explain. At least Willa was happy to see me, she winked then sat back down. I realized then she must have been shielding assface from necromancy the whole time.

The awkwardness died down as they got on with things, it got a little boring after the demon left. People requesting help for this or that. That was good to see, that was the purpose of the council, to protect from outside threats and to help those they protected when needed. If people could still ask for help maybe Silas wasn't as much a heartless brutal dictator as I thought. Still, there was something up here.

When the day ended I couldn't help but ask Willa what the real deal was. The answer didn't surprise me, but it should have.

"Well, the vampire is a known witch that was taken from around here a long time ago. She was presumed dead until that vampire saw her the other day. Vamps that were once witches or really, any supernatural, are more powerful, a lot more powerful. Stronger, faster, sometimes gifted in other ways like levitation, flying, telekinesis and other abilities. Silas is desperate to get control of her.

"That's why vampires have laws against turning anyone but normal humans, it can throw off their age/power/seniority setup. Normally the power curve with age is very predictable, not so in a vampire paranormal. Still, forbidden or not, when one turns up they are coveted if the head master is old enough to be stronger, and usually targeted for death if the new vampire is stronger.

"It worries me, I think Silas just wants to see her to measure her power, then he will decide to either try and kill her or steal her away from Vince. It's the only reason I can think of for him backtracking, he absolutely needs to see her to decide. Unfortunately no matter how distasteful the rest of us find it, it is an internal matter for the vampires."

I shrugged. "You know, that was about the nicest necromancer I ever met, you should just give him a seat on the council. Then both he and the vampire girl would be required to defend the city."

Willa laughed. "Yes they would, but Vince is more powerful than Silas despite his youth. Silas would never give up head council. I know that's wrong, the city should come first. But to be honest I'd be a little worried about a necromancer in a position of power, not to mention getting to know us on a day to day basis, we'd be too vulnerable."

I nodded, "I would trust him, but I know my opinion doesn't count."

She looked askance and asked, "Why?"

"Because he meant what he said with every fiber of his being, he finds the idea of binding others against their will evil, it disgusts him that he had to do it. The only thing worse in his mind would have been killing her, since in his mind she is an innocent. My lie detection is a bit more refined than most others."

Willa just nodded so I changed the subject, "So what's the plan for tonight, can I impose on you one more evening, my stuff will be here tomorrow morning."

"I would enjoy your company very much," she briefly touched my shoulder while speaking, I have to admit it made me tingle a bit. Okay, maybe more than a bit. In my defense it's been a long time.

I reached over and took her hand, long before we got close to the park with the oak tree. I guess we were eating in tonight, Willa verified with her next words.

"We are having dinner at the house tonight, there will be a few others from the coven who are curious to meet the new girl in town. Hope that's okay?"

I squeezed her hand and said sincerely, "I'd love to meet anyone from your coven."

They had to be good people, it was just the way it worked. Morals, beliefs, how to treat others, always came from the top down. Oh, there might be one or two sour apples, there usually were. As always, exceptions to the rule.

Something was bugging me, something obvious. I felt like the doctor who staring at the Ferris wheel looking for a large metal circle somewhere in London. It was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't bring it out. I gave up on it and enjoyed the walk with Willa, her soft hand wrapped in mine. How is it after so many centuries, something so simple could make my heart race, cloud my mind with lust and anticipation.

She opened the Oak tree gate, whatever it's called, and pulled me through. When I got through my mouth fell open and she started giggling.

"A few more?" I asked, my voice coming out weak and edgy.

She nodded, "Two of them couldn't make it, they were out of town."

Twenty one people, how the hell will I memorize eighteen more faces tonight. I saw Lisa and Leanne wave us over, there were a couple of other ladies standing with them, probably in their thirties. Lisa looked speculatively at us, and I realized we were still holding hands. I smiled and winked, I wasn't going to let go if Willa wasn't.

There was a bonfire, and a picnic table covered in food, probably potluck. The night was fun, I did meet a lot of nice people and marveled that over half were older woman, in their thirties and forties, a couple in their sixties, all following this younger woman holding my hand. Willa was truly an amazing woman. This is how it should be, following power and wisdom, those with the talent of leadership regardless of age, but so often jealousy and bitterness from the older people get in the way of that, not here, not in her coven.

That was probably a good thing, we had enough of that going on with Silas. 

At the end of the night they did a circle, just for a simple blessing having nothing more serious to do. Just for the joy of joining their power, communing and becoming one with the power of nature. I was wistfully watching. I would always enjoy and love the raw power, subtlety and infinite possibilities of wielding the five elements, but I wondered what it would be like, to feel the natural world around me, to be one with it. 

Witches had some scary stuff they could do, but on the whole were much more gentle than sorcerers. More nurturing. It wouldn't do to forget though, that nature can also be a merciless and entirely unforgiving force if not respected.

After the blessing we all headed to the house, I realized quickly that no one was going home tonight, they would all stay together. The house with twenty four bedrooms suddenly made perfect sense to me. Willa took my hand and led me up to her room, when she closed the door she looked at me with a question in her beautiful storm gray eyes. I didn't leave the question hanging long, I leaned into her and kissed her full pink lips. I almost giggled at what I tasted. She was gorgeous powerful and completely sure of herself, but she was wearing pink lip gloss that tasted of strawberries. I swiped my tongue across her bottom lip and then inside when she opened up to me.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02



"You're so beautiful Anise, I've never met anyone like you," Willa whispered in my ear between nibbles on my neck, right below my earlobe causing me to gasp lightly and then sigh with pleasure. 

I caressed her hair and ran my hands down her back, then tugged lightly on her shirt. She raised her arms above her head and I pulled her shirt over. She returned the favor before we started kissing again. Her lips were so soft, my nipples were taught and tingling as our breasts brushed together through our lingerie, sending tingling shots of pleasure to my core. I could feel myself getting hotter, and start to moisten up as my breathing picked up.

I took her skirt off as she fumbled with my jeans, I was intensely aware and sensitive every time her body brushed against mine, it was sweet torture as we finished stripping each other. I pulled her by the hair lightly, tilting her head and attacking her neck with feather light kisses, breaths, and soft nips. I held her against me with my other hand as I explored her body. I could hear her heavy breathing and moans over my own as we slowly made our way to her bed amidst our explorations. 

Her soft silky lips drove me crazy as our now naked bodies rubbed together in very interesting ways. My core was hot, wet, and aching to be touched. When her hand cupped my mound and her middle finger teased my labia slightly open I gasped into her mouth, eagerly returning the favor with feather light fingertips. We slowly pleasured each other, drawing it out almost painfully as we rose to pleasure.

Willa screamed in pleasure, "Goddess I'm cumming, oh Anise, don't stop!"

Her body locked up and she gasped as her molten center greedily milked my fingers, her juice soaking my hand. I reached my pleasure a few moments later.

My whole body shook as my core erupted, my walls bearing down on her fingers as I soaked them in my juice. I was lost in ecstasy as we continued to move in each other, drawing out the orgasm as much as possible until we both collapsed onto the bed.

When we came down together, the initial fire put out, we took a shower, making sure we were fresh and clean from the day's activities. We didn't even talk about it, when we returned to the bed we moved into a sixty nine position. All the anticipation was nothing to the reality of her warm wet tongue running along my labia, circling and flicking against my clit. I returned the favor with pleasure, tasting her sweet molten core as we once again rose together to climax.

We held each other through after tremors, and I could sense her falling asleep. A part of me longed to join her, but a very small part. I accepted my nature long ago. But it was as she was falling asleep it popped into my head, the obvious question I couldn't pin down earlier.

"Love? What was the name of that witch that became a vampire."

I was in shock at her answer despite almost expecting it, "Amy," she slurred sleepily.

Oh god. My granddaughter Amy was still alive...

Chapter 5 - Vincent

I still couldn't sleep. That power I got from Kim almost two days ago now still roared through me, my demon side still sated. I wondered if I didn't only hunt when I absolutely had to, if I would ever really need sleep. I vowed that was something I wouldn't find out.

When I got home last night, Amy was less than happy to find out they wanted her to go there for some reason that neither of us could figure out. I didn't trust Silas, not at all, but I was still hoping for peace. Hopefully whatever he found would satisfy him to leave us alone. Unfortunately I have no idea what he really wants. Maybe it's just something that's so commonly known that they didn't have to bring it up? When Miri and Sara got back after the council meeting they said no one mentioned my situation again.

Amy had been surly about it, but had agreed. It made me angry as well, I did want peace, but a part of me just wanted to enslave the asshole, take the city, and be done with it. Luckily that side of me wouldn't win.

Although I worried about if he gave me no choice. Would it be better to kill him?

I pondered that for a while, but I already knew the answer. Yes. Yes it would.

Amy was an innocent, forced as a slave to attack me. Silas is in control of his own actions, he doesn't deserve a second chance, doesn't deserve quasi freedom now and a chance at true freedom once my dumb ass figures out how to use my powers better. No, if I bonded Silas I'd have to stay in control, make him a slave. I wouldn't do that, it would be better to just kill him if it became necessary.

I had a few hours before a morning job, the reason I told the council I would be back after lunch was I had shit to do. I wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a beer and made a sandwich. Amy came in and glared at me, plopping down into the chair. I managed to suppress a smile. How was it this surly verbally abusive woman never failed to cheer me up. No doubt there was something very wrong with me.

"Can't you sleep?" she sniped, her voice rougher than usual.

I looked at her carefully, she looked like shit. Amy never looked like shit, but right now she was pale, and looked tired. Dark bags under her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked in my usual non tactful way.

She sighed, "I haven't eaten, been afraid to leave the house."

A pulse of anger went through me, and without thinking I said, "Feed from me then, you look like total shit, which isn't normal."

She glared up at me and said, "You are such an asshole. I won't feed from you."

I sighed, engaged my brain for once while sipping the beer, then asked, "Why not, I mean, I hate to see you like this," then of course the anger disengaged my brain again, "It makes me want to go pound Silas into the ground. Maybe drag him to hell, I've never actually done that before, but he is a good first candidate."

I nodded to myself, like I was wise or something.

She shook her head, "I have other gifts, because I was a witch when I was turned, one of them is to send thoughts, read thoughts, even share minds, feelings."

I looked at her not getting her point and she said, "Well, that sort of happens involuntarily when I am feeding. So we'd be reading each other's minds while going through pretty much ecstasy as I fed on you."

She shuddered as if in horror. 

I'll be honest, that kind of hurt my feelings. "I'd be okay with it, it's better than you starving yourself," gah, I sounded so weak when I said that.

She shrugged. "With a human it's easy, I just erase it all right after, except for a little pleasure. With you... that isn't an option. You don't want that memory."

She chuckled and continued, "You couldn't take the hit to your self esteem."

I was insulted, at least for a second, then the fact that she just lied her ass off with that last sentence registered in my mind. Now I was really curious what she did think of me, but short of ordering her to do it, which I wouldn't, I wasn't going to find out.

I changed the subject, curious despite myself, "So, what other abilities do you have?"

She peered at me a moment before answering, "I can use compulsion without speaking, compulsion works really well combined with the mind reading, sending and modifying thing. Other than that I am just faster and stronger. It's like I'm still connected to nature, by a very thin thread, and I can pull on the earth enough to magnify my physical abilities."

She looked at me sheepishly for a moment, "I'm sorry I never told you, I think that is why Silas either wants me under his control or dead," her face grimaced, "There is one more thing."

I took a sip of my beer and just waited, giving her the choice. I was curious as hell but repressing curiosity is simplicity itself after suppressing a demon's, my, appetite to gorge on human souls.

She said reluctantly, "It is another side effect of the same gift really, I can completely block compulsion, no matter how powerful or old the other Vamp is. I'm immune to everything but a necromancer's bond that way. I think it's because compulsion affects the mind, the necromancer bond works through the magic itself, directly into my soul."

Shit, if Silas learns that he is going to want her dead for sure.

I frowned, "You need to eat, does it have to come from the source?"

She furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if I bleed into a cup, will that sustain you? I am thinking the mind connection thing will probably only happen if you bite into me," I made a face, "Unless of course it will work anyway, through the bond. Will you try it? I'm pretty sure I can block you out with shields if we aren't touching."

She sighed her voice going soft, "Thank you Vince, but let me think about it."

"I suppose you could join me this morning, grab a snack on the way to the client? I don't think they will bug you with me there." At least, I hoped not.

She giggled. "That might work."

We sat in silence for a while as I finished my early AM meal. As usual for the last twelve hours my mind wandered to the golden haired woman I saw right before leaving. She glowed, a bright white field surrounding her body. I almost squinted at first, until I realized it was my other sight. My first thought was she must be an angel, but that's absurd, isn't it?

She had also smiled at me, as if she was looking at something that amazed her, which was unexpected considering where I had been and what I am. She was quite beautiful physically as well. I took another sip of beer and tried to shove the memory down, but the curiosity was killing me. Who was she, more importantly what was she?

I shook my head, it didn't matter. I was a demon, I needed to stay the fuck away from her. I could sense her purity of purpose, her greatest desires were to help, heal, and have a family. All things I was utterly incapable of because of my very nature. Well, the last two anyway. Was it any wonder I had anger issues?

I switched tracks, thinking through what it would be like if Amy read my mind. Awkward summed it up rather well as I was very conflicted in my feelings toward her. I was protective, I wanted to give her freedom, but I was afraid she would leave if I did. I loved her like a sister, but she wasn't, so I was also very attracted to her but determined to ignore that for various reasons. But I would feed her if I had to.

I got up and jumped in the shower, getting ready. The client, Cindy, was a human who swore she was being hunted by her dead ex-boyfriend Steve. I may have mentioned this before, but I hated dealing with humans, they never completely believed in the supernatural even the rare few that had the proof sitting right there. Even the believers looked at me askance, like I was a con man trying to steal their hard earned cash.

I put on a polo shirt, a pair of Dockers and some shoes. Business casual was a must with humans. With other supernaturals it wouldn't matter if I showed up in jeans and a t-shirt, they could feel my aura, my power, humans not so much. I tracked Amy down, she was passed out on the couch not looking good at all.

I considered slicing my arm and putting it under her nose, the shape she was in right now, I knew she wouldn't be able to resist, but she would be pissed, so I picked her up and threw her in the back seat of the jeep. Just in case the vamps attacked I didn't want to be driving any of my more expensive cars. It was very early but still dark, so I took a chance and drove where I could pick up a hooker.

Amy would probably be pissed about that too, but I'd get a good laugh out of it, and she wouldn't be that pissed off. It didn't take long, I picked up a woman who looked desperate, handing her a fifty and telling her to get in the back. Then I turned to watch as I sent a burst of energy through our bond, waking her up. Her nose wrinkled and took in the nearby scents. I didn't even see her move, one second she was sprawled on the backseat, the next she was sucking down blood from the woman's neck like a parched man with a juice box.

It didn't take long, she couldn't drink all that much, just what would fit in a normal stomach. Vampire deaths rarely happened, on the rare times a human actually died it was because the vampire was careless and ripped open the jugular past their ability to heal it. The hooker was moaning louder and louder as Amy drank from her neck. I thought it would be disgusting, but it was actually pretty hot.

But then, I am a demon so my judgment could be suspect.

I thought the woman might actually reach orgasm, but Amy stopped before that happened. The woman looked dazed as she stumbled out of the car. Amy looked up and saw my shit eating grin and snorted when I waggled my eyebrows.

"Asshole," she said, her voice acidic.

I started laughing and couldn't stop, forced to agree with her assessment, it was a couple of minutes before I gathered myself enough to be able to drive and headed to my client's house. It was about an hour drive and just after dawn when we pulled up. Amy was passed out in the back seat so I put up a ward around the jeep after locking it up, just in case.

It was early, but Hardin had told me the client couldn't take a day off of work, so it was just as well. She was already awake and answered the door shortly after I knocked.

Cindy was a thirty five year old human. Clear complexion, light blonde hair down to her shoulder blades and blue eyes. She looked to be in good shape and her breasts hovered between a C and D cup. She looked me up and down then blushed, stammering as she invited me into her home. I could tell she had been a ten, and she was still easily an eight or nine, age barely touching her beauty.

I walked in and sent out my power looking for a ghost. I didn't detect anything but that really didn't mean anything. He probably felt me coming and either left this plane temporarily or simply left the house. Assuming of course, the place was really haunted.

"Would you like a coffee or something else to drink?"

Her voice was velvet and her face was flushed. It was so strange, people didn't know evil when they saw it. They didn't run from it screaming, no, they invited me into bed more often than not. Not that I thought I was truly evil, but the side of me she was finding so attractive was my demon side. Could they really be called victims when they came so willingly?

"Thank you, I'd love a cup."

I followed her into the kitchen and asked, "So why do you think you are being haunted?"

"I wake up with cold chills despite being under the warm blanket. I can't bring a man here, if I do I feel an angry presence, pictures fall off the walls. Doors are slammed."

I nodded, detecting no deception, and asked, "Was he a jealous man when he was alive?"

She pursed her lips, "I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but yes, very much so. We didn't go out much because of it, he always ruined the evening if I drew the attention of other men."

I nodded slowly, "Well, he isn't here now, no ghosts are," she handed me a mug and I took a sip, "Thanks. I can stay for a while and see if he shows back up, when do you need to be at work?"

She stepped closer, "Not for a few hours," she paused a moment, looking up at me through her eyelashes, "Maybe we could give him a reason to come back?"

She reached out and put her hand on my arm, just in case her innuendo wasn't obvious enough. To be fair with my abilities it was much easier to read the intentions of a woman, human men probably would need to have it rubbed in their face. I could see much more than that though, the woman did not like pain, but she greatly desired a man to take charge, to take her without regard.

I put down the coffee mug and pulled her into me, turning her so her back was to my chest, my arm wrapped around her under her breasts. She gasped in shock, then pushed back against me, my hardening member nestled between her butt cheeks. I tilted my head down and whispered in her ear in a firm voice, exactly what I would do to her.

"I'm going to bend you over that table and fuck you mercilessly until I fill you up with my seed."

She drew in a sharp breath and ground her ass against my now hard cock.

"Please," she whispered.

"Please what?"

She replied, at first uncertain but then almost begging, "Fuck me, use me, get off in me."

And I had just met her five minutes ago, my life was so unreal sometimes. I pushed her gently but firmly to the table and bent her over before pulling down her pants. She looked really good like that, I could see her labia glistening in the sunlight entering the kitchen window. The strong scent of her arousal told me she was ready for me.

Even more than that, she didn't want foreplay, she wanted to be used, she wanted to feel desirable, and for her that would do the trick. As if she was so beautiful, so irresistible, I had lost control and couldn't help rutting her like an animal. Who was I to argue her desire? I couldn't help the small upturn at the corner of my lips when I slapped her ass hard and gave her a sharp order while I dropped my own pants.

"Stick your ass up higher, now."

She looked really sexy when she got on her toes, arching her back and raising her ass as high as she could, eager to please. I lined up my manhood and slid into her hot slick silky passage. Then I started to slam in and out of her as fast and hard as I could as she cried out in pleasure. I angled myself just right to drive her to a quick and intense orgasm, while acting like I really didn't care. That was what got this woman off.

I certainly didn't mind.

I felt the ghost approaching, and it was with a negligent thought I trapped the ghost in a cage of my necromancer energy. Okay, I was probably an asshole for making him watch, but I was too busy to deal with him right now. I still felt full from Kim, so I experimented as she came all over my cock, her body bucking back into me as she gasped in pleasure. I tried to block the feeding. First with necromancer energy, then I stupidly tried demonic and I almost killed the woman as it dove to consume her entire soul.

I was a bit disappointed, but didn't really expect anything else. It wasn't the first time I had tried after all. Her second orgasm hit and her velvety heat locked around me like a vice. She was a very good fuck.

"I'm gonna fill you," I growled as I felt my legs go weak, I slammed into her twice more before filling her up.

She collapsed onto the table, a hot whimpering mess. It was the least I could do after all, if I was going to feed from her soul, I always make sure they enjoy it and get what they want.

She whispered, "Shower."

I grinned and followed her upstairs where we got cleaned up. I noticed she was wearing a necklace.

"Do you wear that necklace all the time."

She nodded. "It was my mother's."

I reached out and held it between thumb and index finger, putting a trap and a ward on it, keying it to the ghost I still had trapped downstairs.

I said, "Good, don't take it off, and your ex won't be an issue anymore."

She raised her eyebrow.

I hated this part, they never believed me, "I put a spell on it, it will keep him away."

To be fair, that was a lie, it wouldn't keep him away, but she didn't need to know that.

She nodded slowly, looking torn on if to believe me or not. Really though it wasn't her fault, fucking fae.

I kissed her and let her know to call back if there were any issues. I wasn't going to ask for money, not when we just fucked and showered together. Too awkward. Hardin can send her the bill. I got dressed and dragged the very pissed off spirit with me as I went out to the car. When we got in I turned to him to lay down the facts.

"Look asshole, I don't know or want to know why you are haunting Cindy. Here is some truth for you. I am going to drain your energy which will pop you into limbo. I would suggest you move on, although you will probably have enough energy to come back in a couple of weeks, which comes to part two. You really need to listen to this, it's important.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02



"If you come back, and get within fifty yards of Cindy, my spell will detect you and kick in. It will bind you to a piece of jewelry where you will be powerless and quite bored, for the rest of Cindy's life. I will not be coming back to check on things, that means you will be trapped until the spell dies, which is when Cindy dies. It's up to you, but I'd advise you to stay the fuck away unless you want to be trapped and very bored for forty to sixty years."

He opened his mouth to talk but I really didn't want to hear it, I pulled his energy and he popped out of this plane of existence. 

Amy said accusingly, "You didn't even hear his side."

I shrugged, "It was safer for him that way. I can't think of a good reason to stalk your girlfriend after death, there was a very good chance he would have pissed me off if he got to talk. Then I'd have stress trying not to do something I'd regret to the bastard. Trust me, it was better for him this way."

Amy rolled her eyes and looked away. It was still very early so I started heading for home. That's when all hell broke loose, someone ran a red light as I was crossing and hit the driver side door and side panel. My body crashed into the door, I could swear I heard my skull crack as my head slammed into and shattered the window. My last thought was that we were so fucked as I passed out.

I woke up slowly and opened my eyes. The light felt like needles piercing my eyes. I could see Amy fighting close to ten vamps, or were they doubled? I also saw a few bodies on the ground, quickly decaying into dust. I smiled, I loved that woman, I mean how she was a bad ass.

I reached out with my necromancer power, fighting the pain, but felt spells of protection around them. My only other choice was to pull overwhelming energy, or get out and use my demon abilities. I moved and my head spun, I felt vertigo, no idea which way was up and it felt like there was an ice pick stuck in my brain.

I quickly coated it with shadow to numb the pain and sighed in annoyance. Why was it every fight I was in I had some kind of head injury? That left the other alternative, I pulled power from my ghosts and sent a lance of it at one of the vampires. The idea of enslavement was as distasteful as ever, so I hammered through the shield and snuffed out the vampire's life. The strain of it with my injury caused my vision to go black, I almost passed out again.

I looked desperately at Amy, she was still fighting, there were six left and based on independent movement I was pretty sure I wasn't seeing double. Amy was holding her own for now, already downed five to my one, but she was hurting. One of her arms hung uselessly, obviously broken. She also had a number of wounds over her body and my slow mind realized those assholes had long daggers.

Well, I couldn't fight, or channel enough to kill without passing out, so I improvised and started channeling all the energy I could from my ghosts and to Amy through our bond. She looked a little more alert, but still outnumbered and I could feel myself start to pass out again. I was struck by desperate and probably insane idea.

Bindings were done magically, connecting a sort of conduit from my mind, to the target's spirit or soul. For me to send her energy I had to direct my magic, and feed it to her, while also drawing on my ghosts. But what if I grounded a conduit differently. Oh, this was probably the dumbest thing I ever did, but I used my power to create a new binding between us, but from my spirit to hers. In theory that would make it more of a partnership, and she could actually access my magic and pull from me, even if I was unconscious.

If I wasn't wrong that is, and about to kill us both.

I established the conduit and bound our souls together. I immediately felt a roaring of energy pass through me, it didn't hurt my head, because I had taken it out of the loop. Still, I was really dizzy and passing out again. I just barely managed to cast speed healing on myself at the last moment...

I woke up and was surprised my head didn't hurt. My head was on something extremely soft and I felt arms cradling me, and legs on either side of my waist. I slowly opened my eyes, despite my wariness it didn't hurt at all. I could hear Amy whispering something into my hair, her lips touching the top of my head. Her voice kept changing in pitch and I thought she was crying.

"Amy?"

"Oh, Vince, what did you do? What am I?"

"Vampire?" came out more like a question than an answer.

She whispered half doubtfully, half in awe, "Not anymore."

I couldn't feel a heartbeat, but her body felt warm, warmer than I ever felt before, almost human temperature. I slowly sat up, head was still good.

"What happened to my wound, how long were we here?"

She said, "Only a few minutes, as for your wound, I healed you, with my witch power."

Being brilliant I said, "Huh?"

She giggled, "You heard me. I'm also not... thirsty. And I don't think I have fangs anymore. What did you do?"

I explained what I did and the reasoning behind it. "I had no idea it would do this to you though."

She shivered and sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I am stronger and faster than I ever was as well. I seem warmer. It seems whatever you did traded my need for blood for getting my magic back. Not that I'm complaining, it's wonderful. I'm just a bit nervous, what am I?"

I checked the bonds and noticed there were only two, there should have been three. Somehow the other necromancer's bond was gone. I didn't even consider the consequences when I gleefully reached in and released my bond. I left the one connecting our souls, I didn't know what would happen if I touched that one. What if she died? As far as I could tell, she didn't need blood anymore because she was living off necromantic energy through the bond.

And it was living in some way shape or form, if her witch magic had come back.

Amy asked, "What did you do."

I couldn't help but smile, "You are no longer bound to me as a servant, although I left the other one going. You are free, from all of us."

It became my turn to hold her as she gently sobbed in my arms. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling, she had been a slave in one shape or form for the last two hundred years.

"I love you... you know that right?" she asked softly, then said, "I could never tell you, not when I wasn't free."

"I love you too Amy, have for a long time," I said, but it came out wrong. I was horrified by the depth of sadness my voice expressed in that moment.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad," she grinned at me but in her eyes there was pain and a question.

I caressed her cheek and tried to speak but I could not. Finally I said, "Take a look."

She looked confused, but understanding filled her face and she entered my mind. I forced myself not to shield and push her out, and she read me, what I couldn't say, what I didn't want to believe, how I fooled myself, lived with what I was.

I was a monster. I ate souls, and enjoyed it. Resisting it, spreading it out, not killing anyone, doing it as little as possible, could not change that fact. It did not make me a good man, just not psychotic. I still did it after all, that I needed to do it in order to live was a poor excuse.

I did love Amy, but I could never express that physically, we could never ever be more than friends. The idea of even doing it even once, just taking a little bit of her soul away from her, even if it wouldn't kill, or hurt her all that much, disgusted me. What did that say about me, that I would do it to strangers even as I knew it was wrong, I was willing to sacrifice parts of people to continue living, but I could never make love to Amy, I would die first.

To say that in exchange I gave them a moment of pleasure to make it worthwhile was a sick joke. A way to delude myself, to live with what I was. I could always lie to myself, that was easy. But Amy, the woman I considered family and who I loved more than my own life. I had so longed for this day, to free her from bondage. Her, my love, I could not lie to her.

She cried as she read that and I felt her pull out of my mind. I moved to hold her, but she pulled away from me and stood. She was shaking with both tears and anger.

Her voice was just a whisper, but it was full of steel, "You dumb bastard. You are good in my eyes. The best man I have known in two hundred years. You could have been taking me against my will all this time, using me. Using all your ghosts. Every single thing in your life where you have a choice, you always take the noble path. Only in that one thing where you don't have a choice do you stray. If you were at all an evil man, it wouldn't bother you so much. Hardin is on his way with another car, he should be here in a moment. I need... I need to get this blood off of me, I'll see you before it's time to leave for the council."

She left at a speed I could barely track, for a human she would have been a blur, if they even perceived anything at all. I looked around, my jeep was a lost cause, the pickup truck that ran into me had a scrunched front end. Good thing I was in the large jeep, I might have died on impact if I had been in one of my sports cars.

There were fourteen piles of clothes, six of them were in shreds, as if someone had torn their bodies apart. Vampire bodies decay to dust quickly when they are killed. Not instant dust like in the movies, but quickly over about five minutes. I reached out with my power and decayed all the clothes as well, before someone official saw them. It was just a few minutes later when the cops and Hardin arrived just seconds apart.

I told them it was a hit and run, that the driver ran the light and I got knocked out. When I came to the truck was empty and no one was in sight. I left it at that, the vampires probably stole the pickup, the cops would never solve it, but would probably assume it was some kids, possibly a gang, out on a joy ride.

What Amy said to me did sink in, and I could see her point of view, I was desperate to believe it, but the fact remained that I was willing to steal portions of souls to stay alive. In truth, that did bother me a great deal, but not nearly as much as the fact I couldn't be with the one I loved. No, I could only be a hunter, taking pleasure from strangers only.

I was really happy Amy was free, but I had never hated myself more than at this moment. I was bitterly conflicted, I wanted her to choose to stay with me, needed her, but how could I bear it if she did? The fact our souls were connected just made it that much more complicated.

Was she dependent on me? Would she die if I broke the binding, or if I simply died? Or would she become vampire again? I did something that felt right, but could have been a huge mistake. Granted, if I hadn't we would both probably be dead by now anyway, it was a moot point, still, these were things I needed to find out.

"Are you alright Vince?" Hardin asked.

I shrugged, "I am well, I'll be happier when this thing with Silas is worked out."

"Interesting what happened to Amy, she called me with her mind you know. I almost jumped out of my body in surprise."

I grinned despite myself, zombie humor...

"Yeah, I'll need to figure out what I did, she is no longer a slave, or a vampire. But she is still bonded to me, and me to her."

Hardin said uncomfortably, "Sir, there is something you should know. Something I found out."

"Why so awkward?"

He shrugged, "It is not one of your favorite subjects."

I sighed, "Go ahead and tell me."

"Well sir, when you eat a part of the soul. It makes the human feel sick, uncomfortable in their own skin. They are even more likely to pick up a normal disease for a time. But I don't think you are aware that the damage you do isn't permanent. I don't mean to say it isn't a burden, but you aren't doing as much harm as you believe you are."

I muttered, "And how would you know that?"

He said, "Well, we are bonded, all of us can feel your strong emotions and moods. It vibrates through your bonds."

I frowned, I hadn't known that either, but that wasn't what I meant. 

"No, how do you know it isn't permanent?"

He said, "I heard it around, and although I can't substantiate the rumor it makes sense. If demons are in hell punishing the wicked, and they eat souls for sustenance, well, they would pretty much starve in short order. No, they eat a part of the soul, and may I say while torturing a spirit, not giving them orgasms, and the soul regenerates. The soul is infinite my dear boy, all those people you have slept with are fine now, except maybe the ones from last week."

"So?" I mumbled, being kind of a jerk, but I didn't want to think about it.

"That means you aren't doing irreparable harm, and could in fact revisit someone after enough time passed."

That actually did make me feel a little better, I wouldn't mind revisiting Kim, and a few others from the past that have stuck in my mind. I was still horrified with the thought of sleeping with Amy though. Perhaps I was just an overprotective fool, but I wouldn't allow any harm to befall her if I could help it. Ever. Probably part of why she was so angry at me earlier, I knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, hell, probably more capable than I was. But love doesn't make sense really, it isn't logical.

When we pulled in I took a shower for the third time that day. There was enough time before afternoon council for a quick lunch before we left. I was walking down the stairs when I ran into a very sexy and determined looking Amy.

She grabbed me with a speed and strength that would have challenged my demon side and pulled me into the softest, sweetest kiss I have ever had. This was so much different than any other kiss. I loved her and more I felt her love for me as a light connection between our minds was opened. She showed me what I showed her, how she felt about me.

It was so confusing, how much she loved me... I was so not worth it.

She broke the kiss and whispered, "It hurts too much. Now that I am free I need to be with you, it hurts too much to be in the same place, and not be able to touch you, love you."

I was torn. Everything in me both wanted to give her anything she wanted, and at the same time shied away from giving her pain. It seemed I could not give her one without the other.

I said, "Can you give me time to.."

She cut me off with a growl and another kiss, this one hard, possessive, her hand running through my hair.

I said, "Wait, let me explain, I could never deny you, not for long. But for my sake, before I hurt you, can we look for a way to block my power. Maybe the witches or sorcerers know a way. Please."

I held her hand and squeezed it, her face softened at the desperate plea in my voice and eyes.

"Okay, but I won't wait long. I've waited long enough already... asshole."

I said sarcastically, "Oh good, I would have missed the abuse, I'm glad some things never change."

She giggled, because sarcastic or not, she read the truth of it. I would have missed it. I was kind of crazy after all.

"Let's get lunch..."

She punched me, and it hurt, "You know I can't eat."

I grinned, "Are you sure about that? Do you need nothing to eat now, or did your diet change?"

Her eyes widened and she zipped down the stairs. I laughed as I chased after her to the kitchen...

Chapter 6 - Anise

I had slept a little late, but still made it back to my apartment by nine. Unfortunately the moving truck didn't get there until close to ten thirty. I was trying to be polite but it was close to lunchtime. I wanted to eat with the ladies, and I especially wanted to be there in the afternoon to see what happened with the demon... and my granddaughter.

I was trying to come up with a way to watch over my families better. Amy had been in slavery so long, captured by vampires. I could have freed her long ago, if I had only known about it. Instead I had been raising another family, then wandered aimlessly for a hundred years healing people.

Still, it wasn't my fault, but I still felt I could have, should have, done something sooner. I also wished my furniture wasn't here yet. I bit my lip thinking about last night. Maybe I could return the favor and drag Willa home tonight.

My phone rang and it turned out to be Tim, the vampire clerk. They were requesting aid and healing. It must be bad if the witches couldn't handle it. Not every sorcerer learns to heal, it is a difficult process to learn, but I had nothing but time and sorcery is something I love to do.

I told the movers I had an emergency but they were adamant I couldn't leave them alone for insurance reasons. I knocked on my neighbors doors until someone trustworthy answered, it took four different apartments.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a work emergency, healthcare, would you mind supervising the movers while they put stuff in my apartment?"

The young man nodded, not taking his eyes off me. I smiled gently at him and handed him a spare key. I hoped he was eighteen, it was a close thing.

"Thank you, I'll cook you dinner to pay you back? Or, return the favor some other way."

He said shyly, "Oh, I don't mind, don't worry about paying me back. I'm sure I'll need your help one day. I'm Bill by the way."

"Thanks Bill, I'm Anise."

I showed him the apartment and introduced him to the movers and went down the stairs. I had no idea how bad the person was hurt, I'd be upset if someone bled out while I was playing meet the neighbor. I ran the couple of blocks, not willing to risk exposure, even for a life. It was a hard decision but in the long run I saved so many more lives if people didn't know what I was.

I walked through and Tim directed me through the council room to a side door. I got my first look at the patient. No wonder they needed to call me. It was a young vampire, and he was missing half a leg. Witches could heal just about anything, but they couldn't grow limbs. Lisa was there, I could see the magic she was working, some kind of pain blocker.

"Hi, so what happened?"

The vampire scowled, "The necromancer... actually it was Amy that did this, I managed to escape."

I looked up at Lisa and she shrugged to indicate she wasn't sure what the story was.

"So, why did you attack them then?"

He mulishly closed his mouth and I frowned. I crossed my arms and started asking questions to distract him while I grew out his leg. It was very advanced sorcery, molding earth, water and spirit into blood, bones, muscle, cartilage, and fat. I made sure to match bloodtype as well as the bones so what I did wouldn't be rejected by the body. Although, as he was a vampire I didn't have to be as exact, I was anyway.

"So why did you attack them? Who gave the order? Why did they give the order?"

He ignored me outwardly, and although I couldn't read minds I could get the gist of things. It was obviously Silas again, but why give the order if they would be here in just a couple of hours anyway? 

I realized I missed a vital question, just assuming they kicked the vampires asses, Vince should be as powerful as she was, but he was so inexperienced, "Where either of them hurt?"

The vampire said grudgingly, "Vince was hurt in the beginning of the fight, but both of them are fine. I lost a lot of friends today, why didn't you ask about that?"

I shrugged and saw Lisa's eyes go wide. I guess I could be a cold bitch at times, but I had no pity for stupidity.

"You attacked them, seems foolish. Although you and your brethren probably didn't have a choice, so the fault lies with Silas. I'm sorry for your loss."

I felt guilty now, the deaths of those young should be pitied, they were sent to their death by a fool. I was too close to it really, ancient or not, attack my granddaughter and I will act out emotionally.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



Chapter 8 - Anise

When we got back to the house, Lisa almost had the BBQ ribs done and the smell of the food was divine.

Leanne said, "Damn, necromancers are supposed to be creepy. Even his voice was yummy, can we keep him?"

I looked over with an amused look on my face and raised an eyebrow.

She stuck her tongue out and said, "Don't give me that look, don't think I didn't notice you staring at him with a stupid grin on your face, totally mesmerized as he talked. Do you even know what he said to you?"

I blushed scarlet not sure what to say, I had a small idea of course, something about how he dealt with his powers and his people. I kind of had gotten a little lost in his eyes and the tone of his voice, not that I'd admit it.

I finally replied with a scoffing noise then said haughtily, "Like I'd pay attention to an evil necromancer."

Leanne snickered and Willa looked amused.

Lisa looked up from the BBQ and said, "What'd I miss?"

Leanne threw me under the bus while her eyes sparkled, "Our Anise here falling all over the hot necromancer."

I really wanted to protest, after all she herself had said she wanted to keep him, but I knew I wouldn't win this one, it would just make the teasing worse. So I picked another direction.

"Don't worry Leanne, I'll share," I said before laughing.

I shook my head, he was hot, but also very clearly taken. I could see he thought I was attractive when he looked at me, and talked to me. Even interested. But it was a pale shadow in his eyes compared to how he looked at Amy. I am not quite so bad as to come between my granddaughter and her mate.

Then again, Leanne and I like to share, maybe it runs in the family... I sighed and tried to change tracks. My ploy worked and after a few more rounds of teasing, this time Leanne, we ate dinner together by the grove. I was still not sure I was doing the right thing by challenging James, but it seemed the only way to help my family, my new friends and lovers, and the necromancer. I wasn't exactly sure what category he would end up in yet.

After we ate we just relaxed, I could feel the calm energy slowly swirling among the groves and witches. I did feel welcomed by it, but I couldn't effect it any. Willa had a far away troubled look on her face and I wondered what happened. She had left us for a few minutes to call Krista, the other coven's head witch, and find out what was going on.

I moved and sat behind her, caressing her arms and neck. She leaned back into me and relaxed a little.

I asked, "What happened?"

She tensed, but relaxed again after a few seconds, "Krista was very smug. She didn't come right out and say it, but it seems she thinks to take my place soon. She foolishly betrayed her own and worked with Silas to gain power. I don't know what the plan is, maybe there isn't one, maybe Silas is just stringing her along, but I doubt it."

"I'm sorry sweetie, what's to be done about it?"

She shook her head, "Nothing for now. Silas is the real danger, once he is dealt with one way or another I can take care of Krista, hopefully she will run for it when her support is gone."

She added reluctantly, "I did find out one more thing, she knew you are staying here, and that we have grown close in the short time you've been here."

I asked gently, "What is it?"

She said, "I'm so sorry, maybe you should have avoided me. Silas is determined now to make you move on, to cut any support I have. All the fake glowing references he was supposed to be supplying for your hospital job search... well, let's just say you'll never get any call backs in this town."

"Huh, I was wondering about that." It hurt, healing was something I loved. Ironically it was also something I would have given up soon anyway, I was determined to make a lifetime here. I can still do it, I'll just have to be very sneaky about it.

But it sure as hell wasn't Willa's fault. Something I have learned over the years though, is she would never believe it, even if I said it. So I took another tack hoping to cheer her up.

I kissed the side of her neck and whispered, "You'll have to make it up to me."

She said, "How can I do that."

I whispered in her ear, "It's a game, I'm going to torture you right here in front of Lisa and Leanne, and you have to stay quiet and not give it away."

She said nervously, "What are you going to do?"

I said sultrily in here ear while releasing my magic, "This," and she locked up in my arms. 

I used air and spirit, guided it down her body from her neck. Everywhere it touched would cause sensuous sensations on her skin. I sucked her earlobe in my mouth and bit down as my magic reached her nipples. Her breath was fast, and shallow, and I could tell she was fighting down a gasp.

My magic continued down her torso, stimulating and pleasuring her nerve endings, when it reached over her abdomen then down between her legs she bit her lip and made a very light but intense whimpering sound that made me wet. She was completely mine in this moment, mine to pleasure, tease and yes, it really must have been torture to hold back her voice. Her body trembled against mine as I continued to innocently massage her shoulders with my hands, and pleasure her beyond reason with my magic.

Even her subdued reactions would have been obvious if Lisa and Leanne hadn't been talking to each other nonstop during all this. I slid the magic inside her now, leaving a swirl of energy to circle and tease her clit. My mouth started watering and I wondered exactly who I was torturing as I felt her body wrack with pleasure as my magic took her to bliss for the first time. I kissed her neck again and looked up, she had tears in the corners of her eyes at the intensity of what I was doing to her.

This was so erotic for me too, with the spirit mixed in the air I could feel it all, like I had a million tiny little hands brushing against her silky smooth skin, manipulating her warm wet sex, her hardened nipples, her clit, all over her body really, all at the same time. 

I grinned against her neck as I let the energy split and teased her puckered star open, she gasped at the feeling of stimulation in both places. I think the jig was up, because the two girls looked at us when I sent her into a second overwhelming orgasm. I held her and continued caressing her neck and shoulders with my fingertips, and her inner thigh with my magic as I brought her down gently from her height.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes then whispered. "I guess that means you forgive me?"

I kissed her in answer, it was such a silly question, it wasn't her fault.

Leanne asked, eyes narrowed, "What did you do to her?"

Lisa added with a smile, "And can you do it to us too?"

I laughed faux wickedly and sent my magic at both of them while Willa pushed me onto my back, looking determined to torture me right back, I heard both of them gasp loudly as Willa started to have her way with my quite ready and willing body...

A few hours later I was lying in bed amidst three other warm bodies. I was sore, in a good way, and I felt like a total two faced bitch. I was growing to really care about these ladies, and they did not know the truth about me. Even worse, I had not even told Amy the half truth I had told Leanne, about us being related.

It was so much easier keeping my secret from casual friends, but family and lovers were different and the guilt dug in. I felt like telling them the whole truth would be a mistake, but I wondered how much of that was cowardice. 

Fear that Willa, Lisa and Leanne would reject me.

Fear that Amy would hate me, the grandmother that didn't even know she was brutally enslaved for almost two hundred years.

I felt sick, my stomach was roiling more and more as I thought about it, and I could feel the silent tears running down my cheeks, I knew I had to tell them. Besides knowing I would get caught in my half truths, especially when Amy and Vince showed up tomorrow, I felt guilty about the angel thing. It was bound to come out that Amy and I were related, Leanne had no reason not to say anything, had no idea I had kept it to myself in fear Amy would recognize me.

I had to tell them, and now would be best. Tomorrow would be dangerous enough with our enemies running around, if it came out then, from someone else, there would be a blow up.

I tried to say it strongly, but it came out like a squeak, "There is something I need to tell you all, something I've been... hiding about myself. People... don't always react well, so I've grown accustomed to keeping it to myself, but I care about you all too much to continue hiding it. And after I tell you I need to go tell Amy."

Lisa faux gasped, "You used to be a man?!"

I snorted with laughter. Here I was coming clean, and she was trying to make me feel better.

"No, I'm older than I look, much, much older."

Leanne kissed my cheek and said, "Stop procrastinating, it can't be that bad."

"I'm Nephilim. I am ancient, immortal. Leanne, I let you come to the conclusion and believe that I had come from a branch family, the truth is I am your great times ten grandmother, Amy is my granddaughter."

Willa whispered, "How old?"

I sighed, "Before Christ, before Rome, before the great flood. So old I keep track by millennia, not century."

I finally looked away from the ceiling, they were all staring at me as if unsure they should believe me, or think that I was pulling their chain. I got out of bed, stood and revealed my power. White glowing wings, my powerful ancient aura filled the room and I saw fear on their faces. I expected it, but their fear still felt like a betrayal. They knew me, I was their friend, I loved them already.

I whispered, my voice broken, "I'm sorry," before I called on my power and transported to my apartment.

I couldn't blame them, I still had hope they would accept me, be okay with it. My aura for the most part scared the crap out of everyone when I let it all out. I took a quick shower and dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a doctor who t-shirt and let my power bear me away. I appeared in front of Vince's door and knocked.

When Hardin answered the door I asked for Amy, she came out a few moments later, a look of confusion on her face.

Here we go again.

"I have something to tell you, something I should have said sooner, but I was too afraid, and too ashamed."

She asked, "Ashamed?"

I nodded and looked down, "I should have been there for you, should have saved you, and I am sorry. I was off living another life, I had no idea what happened to you and your mother all those years ago."

She asked, "Who are you, I thought you seemed familiar but..."

I glowed briefly, undoing the minute changes that were enough to fool the human mind, I also changed my appearance to reflect an aged body. Whenever I live out a full life I usually age with my family, it prevents some issues. Some would think a man would love to have a young wife with a perfect body even as they age, the truth is it simply doesn't work that way.

But twenty five is my body's natural state, so I always revert when a husband passes and it is time for me to move on.

I looked up tears in my eyes and begged, "Please little one, forgive me."

I could see her emotions in her eyes, disbelief, anger, regret, longing, contempt. I wondered which one it would settle on.

She shook her head in denial, "Grams... how?"

I said patiently, "You know how, I am Nephilim. Even worse than not knowing and saving you, I was a likely cause. My children and children's children never show angelic power, but they are uncommonly strong in other gifts for the first two or three generations. Your mother was a very powerful sorceress, and you were an uncommonly powerful witch. It may have brought the trouble to your door. It might be why they made you a vampire."

She whispered accusingly, "Where were you?"

I sighed, "Where I always go when I lose a husband to time. I grieved. I travelled as a healer for sixty years until my heart recovered and I remarried. It's what I do, it's how I live. I'm sorry, I didn't know what happened until a few days ago when I found the information in Leanne's genealogy book."

She frowned and her voice sounded dazed, lifeless, "I need to think. I know it's not your fault, but I really want to hurt you for not being there. Leave, I will see you tomorrow night."

I wrapped myself in my power, restoring my age and disguise, and then teleported to my apartment. I doubt the secret would keep now that so many knew, but I hoped it would. If they could accept me maybe the rest of the community didn't need to know. 

It was so quiet. No one else breathing, no life but my own, I felt alone, alienated. I snorted, I had lived my last century alone, and after a few nights with the witches it felt so much different.

I stripped and crawled into bed, rolling up into a ball I beckoned sleep with a wisp of spirit, I didn't want to be conscious anymore, full of regret. I was such a fool. Was telling really the right thing, or was I selfish to share my burden? All I did tonight was hurt them all with my truth, I just had to hope it would lead somewhere better.

I sighed in relief as the sleep spell took hold.

I woke up to giggling. That was confusing and it was taking my brain a moment to catch up. I gasped as I felt warm wet heat on both my labia and puckered star. I was on my back, but my waist was partially twisted and someone was holding my leg up.

More giggles. Then I felt a tongue digging into my backside while someone else held my labia apart and sucked in my clit.

I opened my eyes and wanted to cry as they drew a pleasurable gasp from my lips. My body was so confused at the conflicting information.

I looked around, Willa and Leanne were between my legs doing amazing things to me, Lisa was smiling down at me, then she kissed me fiercely.

She whispered, "I'm sorry we freaked out, that's not something you see every day. Know what else is something you don't see every day?"

I giggled at my relief then arched my back and gasped, someone had curled their fingers inside me and hit my g-spot just right.

I managed to gasp out, "What's that?"

She winked and looked me up and down, "Getting off on an Angel's face."

She started giggling as I laughed. She cut off my laugh by straddling my head and grinding her core on my lips. I gasped when she grabbed my nipples and twisted, pulling on them hard.

I fought for the ability to act through the pleasure I was receiving down below and slid my tongue between her labia and flicked her clit before licking all the down her slit, over her taint to briefly tease her puckered star.

Lisa said breathily, "Oh god, an angel just licked my ass. And I really liked it."

All four of us broke down laughing, it took a minute for us to get back to it. I would have time for my cathartic cry later, right now I was too busy being with and enjoying the women I loved. My bed wasn't as big as Willa's, just a queen, but we managed just fine...

After a shower and breakfast we went to the council chamber. I was so happy, yet still guarded. That they had accepted me was more than I could hope, yet, I still hoped for more. I had butterflies in my stomach wondering about Amy. I knew I had to focus though, I was old and powerful, that didn't mean I could be sloppy during a challenge. 

James was old enough to be plenty powerful, and I had no idea what his skills were, but Chicago was a pretty big city, he had to be a pretty damn good sorcerer at the very least. Not to mention I couldn't use my angelic powers during a challenge, this would be purely sorcerer verse sorceress.

I used mediation techniques to focus my mind, I had been around a long time. Sorcery requires focus of mind. It doesn't depend on words, or semantic gestures like a witch. So over time I had sought out ways and philosophies to improve my mind and sorcery. Stronger mind, stronger sorcery. Walking around in an emotionless state wasn't one of my favorite things, but it had its uses. No distractions.

When we walked in there weren't all that many people there, I guess that means word didn't spread on what we planned. That was a good thing, no spies in our camp. I took a seat near the front and waited for the council meeting to start. I sat through a couple of issues that Silas went through, and immediately stood up when he asked if there was any other business.

Silas recognized me warily, he was right to be wary.

I said in a clear voice, "I challenge James for the right to represent sorcerers on the council."

James looked pissed, Silas just narrowed his eyes.

James said arrogantly, "Aren't you a bit young? I won't go easy on you if you persist in this foolishness. Do you even know any other sorcerers in this city?"

I suppressed an eye roll and just stared at him waiting. His replies were beside the point, I challenged him, he either needed to answer or step down. I could see Silas wanted to say something, but challenges were an internal race matter, they were only made at council so there would be witnesses that it was all above board.

Silas may interfere in the other groups, but he has done so on the sly through backroom politics, he dare not try and stop this. Finally James stood and walked out on the floor. He showed his sigil, his power. He had all the elements, but earth and spirit were rather weak. Still, it was impressive.

He smirked, at least, until he saw my sigil glowing brightly in all five elements. He didn't look panicked though, in a fight between sorcerers, power counted, but more often than not experience and cunning mattered more, and he thought he was facing a young woman.

I asked, "Do you yield your place?"

It was traditional for the more powerful one to ask that question.

He shook his head no, and attacked. This was not a blood challenge, not to the death. The system was designed to make sure the most able was in charge, not to weed out the stupid or weak. The floor buckled under me and I supported my feet on a column of air before summoning a ball of water around his head. He tried to dispel it, remembered I was stronger and managed to create a reed out of stone to breathe while collapsing the ceiling around me, trying to enclose me.

I enlarged my ball of water and he once again held his breath as I reached out and took hold of the stone in the building, locking it all in place. It was quite an effort, but he could no longer breathe or make his breathing straw bigger. I held it together, deflecting his fire attack with the very walls he tried to enclose me with. Over the next two minutes his efforts grew weaker.

If he passed out, he lost, so he conceded at that point. I put the broken parts of the building back together and allowed him to banish the water. He looked at me with a question in his eyes.

I simply said, "Because you forgot why you were there in the first place, and got two of our people killed yesterday."

He nodded, collected what remained of his dignity and walked out. I didn't think he was an evil man like Silas, I believe he let his desire for personal power to make him greedy enough to get under Silas's thumb and didn't know how to dig himself back out.

I released the hold I had on my emotions, but still kept them contained inside myself. With a stony face I took my place as a councilor. It felt very strange, I had lived thousands of years and never found a reason to take this step before. I hoped I was right, but all I could do is follow my heart and hope I was making the right decisions.

Only time would tell...

 

Chapter 9 - Vincent

Six hours ago...

I held Amy in my arms, she seemed closed off, distant. I asked her a couple of times what happened with Anise, but she wouldn't tell me, said she needed to think through some things. I was curious, and I wanted to fix it, but I knew I couldn't, so I gave her what she wanted, time.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



I ran my fingers up and down the soft skin of her arm and held her, hoping that was enough, and the right thing to do. She turned and smiled at me, no doubt feeling everything I felt, as I did her, through our bonded souls. I should have been uncomfortable by that, but I wasn't, if anything it was a gift.

I wondered if I was turning into a sap and Amy started laughing.

"Don't worry sweetie, your still an asshole," she smiled impishly.

I laughed, "Thanks, I was worried there for a second."

It had been about four hours since Anise had stopped by and it seemed she might be ready to tell me what happened, of course, she asked me a question instead.

"What do you think of Anise?"

I thought about her and squirmed uncomfortably, Amy frowned.

"Look at me love," she whispered.

I looked into her eyes and saw absolute conviction and certainty, "We are soul bonded, I have no doubt we will be together for a long time. I have my suspicions it will be longer than either of us thinks it will be. I will never doubt your love for me, that I come first in your life. Our souls are joined and I will never doubt it.

"I will also never doubt that you need to feed, and that you will have affections for, and maybe even love some of them. So tell me love, what do you think of her?"

I sighed, "I'm attracted to her, not just her beauty, but her power calls to me, her purity of purpose is inspiring. I like her and I hardly even know her. It wouldn't be hard to... you know... what you just said."

I know what she said, and I know she meant it, but still, it felt really weird to tell her how much I admired, was attracted to, and could fall in love with, someone else.

She yelled, "You asshole, aren't I enough!?"

When I jumped in confusion she started giggling, "Got ya!"

When my heart slowed down I glared at her.

"Why do you ask anyway?"

She took a deep breath and blew it out before answering in a wistful voice.

"She's my grandmother."

My mouth opened, then closed.

She said, "Think about it, she is part angel, immortal. She took so long to tell me because she was scared I'd lose it on her for not saving me, I almost did."

I just kept my mouth shut, letting her go at her pace, eventually she talked more about it.

"She was a sorcerer of course, and so was my mother. I was born a witch. My mother didn't know anything about witchcraft. At the time I had no idea what grandma was, but I knew she was the smartest and wisest person in the world, and I knew she loved me. So sense or not, how could she not know they killed mom, how could she not know I was... enslaved.

"You know, she taught me a lot of the witchcraft I know. By the time I was old enough to join a coven, I had as much to teach them as they did to teach me. I can't even imagine how much she knows. Not even a witch, but taught me to be one, a good one." 

I brushed the tears from her cheeks and kissed her hair. We laid there for a while, before she continued. I had no idea why she had asked me what I thought about Anise, or why it would even matter, but even a man like me was smart enough to hold that question for now, perhaps even a couple of days.

She sighed. "I saw you know, how much pain she was in when grandpa died. I was mad at her when she left, never mind that I was already in my twenties and grown. But perspective is everything. How does she do it? How many husbands did she bury, how many more will she? Her strength of will must be staggering. I'll let her know I forgive her later, at the coven house."

She looked at me suspiciously and said, "You need to go get laid."

I pulled her in for a kiss and she pushed me away laughing, "No you dumbass, souls remember, I can feel your hunger, your also tired. Go find some slutty human, or track down that werewolf bitch, bet her soul is healed by now."

I looked at her in amazement, she really loved me, despite what I was, and seemed determined to take care of me, accept every part of me. I kissed her deeply despite her protestations, then got up.

"I wouldn't even know where to look."

She rolled her eyes at me as if I were stupid and closed her eyes, May appeared before us. I couldn't believe it, she wanted me to use the girl's mother so I could track her down for an early am booty call? That was wrong, wasn't it?

May said, "I don't mind. I love my daughter and I know she enjoyed you. She is old enough to take care of herself. So either way I win."

I asked in confusion, "Either way?" I think I was being overwhelmed by estrogen, too many surprises. 

May shrugged, "Yeah, either I see her happy with a man worthy of a fling, or I see her knock you on your ass, which will be at least a little entertaining. Don't worry so much, wolves are a randy lot until they meet their mate. They are also unable to conceive until they meet their mate. I see no problem with her playing with you until that happens. Really, stop worrying, it's also nice to know you will have her back if she needs help, as a friend. I'm sorry I was so standoffish and afraid of you early on, you're a good man," she looked me up and down slowly, "I'm also sorry I didn't meet you when I was still alive."

I opened my mouth, then closed it giving up. The women seemed to be in charge, and as they seemed determined to get me laid by a beautiful woman who was wild in bed, it would be stupid to object.

I followed May's directions back out into the lowly settled area and forest. Something felt different and I felt off, mostly because I couldn't figure out what it was. That was kind of annoying and I felt a surge of anger which set off the light bulb so to speak. Being with Amy, gaining, or at least starting friendships with others, had dissipated the anger that usually sat in my mind all the time.

Oh I wasn't all sunshine and daisies, things could still piss me off, like Silas, thinking of my parents etc... But the simmering anger that was always present, wasn't there anymore. It was strange really, I felt lighter. May directed me to a dirt road, and after a while off to the side of the road and I parked as far over as I could get next to the trees.

I said, "I don't see anything."

She smiled and pointed, "You'll see when you get in the forest."

There was something almost disturbing about her smile, but I shrugged and got out. I walked about twenty feet in when I heard a low growl and an alarmingly large dark shape jumped at me. There were yellow eyes, and silver fur, and flashing claw. I jumped backwards and fell, rolling into a handspring after the wolf passed over.

That's when I remembered wolves fight challenges to determine if the man is worthy enough to open their legs for. I swear I heard May laughing her ass off back in the car. I surrounded myself with shields of my necromancer power just to shield me physically, the last thing I wanted to do was decay Kim's body. I didn't want to use my demon magic, if I told anyone else it would be my small circle of friends, of course, limiting myself this much would make the fight a lot harder.

She growled and pounced again, this time I was ready and dodged to the side and kicked out. I couldn't use my shadows, but I still had a fairly impressive strength, and she went flying about ten feet and hit a tree. I went over to subdue her, but she hit me with a claw and it was my turn to go flying. I landed just right and rolled to dissipate the energy before planting my feet and popping up by momentum alone.

Unfortunately she seemed to guess exactly where I would stop, and I was bowled over onto my ass, with a huge wolf snarling in my face. I grabbed her jaw and tried to push her over and put her in a headlock. It didn't work, I went flying again. This went on for quite a while until quite by accident I got a hold of her tail and a back leg. I started dragging her backwards desperately, bringing her up short, barely, every time she twisted her body to bite.

I snarled, "Change back, submit, or I'll break your fucking leg!"

The wolf froze and continued to stare at me for a moment, then her body started to break and reform. Who knew, the way to a werewolf woman's heart was to threaten bodily harm.

She stood up and glared at me, "Who the fuck do you..."

I cut her off by stepping forward, grabbing her by her long beautiful hair and pulling her into a rough kiss. She resisted at first, trying to talk and making offended noises against my lips. But eventually she stopped fighting, then she stepped forward and melded her body against mine deepening the kiss.

I had a moment of paranoia that she was faking it just to get a shot at my balls, but no, the kissing just got hotter until she pushed me away and said firmly, "Get out of those clothes already."

I stripped in record time and she tried to tackle me like last time, but I was ready for this too and twisted our bodies. I cradled her in my arm and caught us with the other so she wouldn't hit the ground hard then kissed her roughly, moving myself between her legs. Some people would believe it was too soon and more foreplay was in order. But trust me, that fight was the foreplay.

She gasped, arching her back and pushing up against me as I pushed into her. Her slick passage tightened around me and massaged my length in a way no non-werewolf could manage.

"Oh god, I'd almost forgotten you could do that."

I did a half kneel and reached back for her legs, pulling them up and putting them on my shoulders. I started to drive in and out of her, so hard and deep. I couldn't figure out where to focus my eyes. On the mesmerizing yellow eyes that were so captivating and twinkled with lust and pleasure, or her silky smooth breasts with those perfect pink nipples and swollen areolas, swaying enticingly with each pump of my hips.

She gasped and her silken core felt like a squeezing fist on my manhood as her juice flooded me. She reached up with her hands and dug her nails into my chest, her mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure. When the peak of her bliss passed she gasped in pleasure and I sped up again.

She bent her knees, bringing her legs off my shoulder. I didn't figure out what she was doing until it was too late, she kicked me with both feet right in the chest and I went flying backwards and landed on my ass ten feet away.

She pounced and impaled herself on my cock, pushing me down all the way on my back. Then the crazy bitch winked at me before she started grinding forward and back, her back arched, breasts sticking out straight, her long silken hair flowing around her body in the light breeze. It was so erotic and sexy.

She must have sensed I was going to thrust up because she said in a blissful but breathless voice, "Don't move, not yet."

She worked my manhood where she wanted it slowly and sensuously. I felt like I had to do something besides just lie there, but I kept my body still and reached out to fondle her breasts. I teased her nipples with my thumb and forefinger while kneading the firm but giving flesh with my other fingers. She moaned in pleasure and her eyes seemed to roll back in her head as she reached bliss. I felt her soul feed me, but it was a small thing, minor.

She was so sexy, beautiful, and dangerous. I also instinctively knew I needed to take back control. I had let her have it for a while because she was beautiful. A decadent joining, I really liked watching her bring herself to orgasm using me as a simple pole. But if I wanted her again, it was important, especially for her wolf, that I dominate her. Otherwise I had a feeling this would be the last time.

She hadn't submitted to me and I was coming to realize the fight wasn't quite over yet. She just shifted it to pleasure, to see if she could dominate me in that way.

I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her down to me for a kiss while bending my knees. I reached down with my other hand, grabbing her ass to keep her still and in place, then I started to thrust up into her quickly from below. She could barely breathe and I could feel her breasts bouncing across my chest, her nipples leaving strings of fire across my skin as I took her hard and fast.

I could feel her tightening around me again and she started to whimper in pleasure, she wasn't even trying to move anymore, her body was completely supported by me and in my control as I went even harder and faster. I felt my balls tighten, it was a miracle I had lasted this long and probably only because I'd been having a lot of sex the last twenty four hours with Amy.

I was about to blow and desperate to make her cum first, so I took a chance and barked an order while looking directly into her eyes in challenge.

"Cum now!"

I felt her sheath tighten around me and flood my pole, that was it for me. Her eyes widened when my shaft expanded in her core, my seed spilling into her as I fed on the rush of energy from her soul...

When we came down she kissed me deeply before saying, "God, you'll do."

She nipped my neck and kissed me again before she rolled off and turned into her wolf. The wolf licked my face and chuffed at me before taking off into the woods. I wondered why she hadn't passed out and sent my power out looking. I found her thirty yards away, asleep by a tree. Maybe falling asleep by me would be a weakness? And she only did it that first time because of the attack?

I wasn't going to worry about it, I grabbed my clothes and walked back to the car, using a towel in the trunk to at least wipe off before getting dressed. I headed home full of energy. I wondered if I would ever sleep again, with Amy keeping an eye on me I sincerely doubted I'd ever starve myself again. Strangely enough, I didn't really feel that guilty about it.

When I got home Amy was waiting for me and dragged me into the shower. We started washing each other and she kissed me hard. I gave her a questioning look, but didn't really want to argue, I was just confused why she was so horny.

Amy smiled and said, "That was so damn hot," and then she blushed.

It took me a minute to figure out what she meant, "You watched?"

She nodded as she dropped to her knees with a mischievous look on her face, "I watched through May."

At first I felt a little violated, but that was quickly replaced as I realized the idea of her watching me turned me on quite a bit. Okay, a lot actually. We stopped speaking for quite a while after that...

We had a quick lunch and Hardin went over some stuff with me that I'd been putting off before we got ready for the council meeting. According to what Leanne told Amy on the phone, everything had gone according to plan this morning. I felt a little conflicted, but if I didn't do this to protect my family and friends, what kind of man would I be?

When we arrived the room was stuffed with people, I had a hard time pushing my way through to get to the seating where petitioners went up in the front. Although when people looked back to see who was trying to get by they usually turned white and jumped to get out of my way. I had forgotten the list of people that actually trust me is still very short. That made me realize something, the plan as we discussed wouldn't work, or at least, not the whole thing.

I would still join the council today.

I sat down and waited, it didn't take long, there wasn't much business today despite the large crowd here no doubt because of a new sitting sorcerer. Well they were in for another shock.

I stood and waited. At first Silas ignored me, but when it was clear no one else would speak up until I had gone he reluctantly called on me.

I said in an even voice, "I would like this council to recognize a seat for the necromancers, so I can join this community, as well as the others I would bring under my umbrella, including ghosts, zombies, Liches and revenants."

Silas looked like he could spit nails, for some reason that calmed me down and made me feel better about all of it. The audience however was thunderous with comments and exclamatory declarations such as, holy shit, etc...

Willa called out before Silas could say anything, "I'll support that."

By seconding it, she had guaranteed a vote, Silas couldn't shut me out without one.

Silas banged on the gavel a few times, trying to restore order. Eventually they settled down and were silent.

Silas said, "Very well, we will vote."

Silas voted no of course, but Willa, Anise and Brandt all voted yes. I had no idea why the alpha liked me, but I wasn't going to complain.

Silas closed out the session at that point, stating the clerk, Tim, would build a new place for the expanded council, and we would be in session at nine AM tomorrow. It seemed way too easy to me, and I wondered what Silas would do now...

The people started clearing the room and Silas glared at me briefly before leaving out the back door. Once the place was mostly clear, we all left together. I was a little leery at first, but transport by oak isn't so bad...

 

Chapter 10 - Anise

We were sitting outside the grove and we had a drink cart with a bar. We were celebrating the success of the day's plans. It was Willa, Lisa, Leanne, Amy, Vince, and myself. We weren't sure what we would do next, not until Silas responded, although none of us really believed he would back off and behave.

Vince said, "Look, if it comes down to challenging Silas, it has to be you Anise."

I didn't like the sound of that, "But you agreed."

He nodded, "If forced I will do it, but I realized it would be a huge mistake this afternoon in the council chamber. Everyone here knows I am not a typical necromancer, you accept me and that is a more priceless gift than you'll ever know. But I am telling you, the community will already be paranoid about me having a voice on the council, they don't know me. It will take years to gain the confidence of the community. If I turn around and take head of the council it will turn into a panic, some will flee the state, others will decide to fight the evil necromancer.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't want it either. Maybe we should just off the guy and nominate Willa."

Willa spit her drink, some of it came out her nose. I caressed her sympathetically.

"Me?" she sputtered.

Vince looked amused, "Of course, you're the best leader here, if you had enough power we'd all make you challenge him."

Willa looked far from convinced but didn't argue the point.

Amy said, "I'm not sure what else we can plan for, we are going in circles and there is no point talking more until Silas makes his next move. So why don't we give this up and drink a lot more and try and relax. We did kick ass today and get it done."

I grinned, "Now that's true wisdom," and stood up to refill my drink.

Amy said, "Grams, need to talk to you," as she stood too.

My throat closed on me and I nodded. We walked about twenty feet away and I raised an air shield, just in case she wanted to yell at me some.

Amy said wistfully, "Oh Grams, I love you so much. Of course I forgive you, it wasn't really your fault you know."

When her arms went around me I started crying.

She said softly, "You know Grams; it's not nice to drool after your granddaughter's man..."

I flushed in shame and pulled back, and saw the teasing look on her face. I froze for a second not sure what to do.

Finally I said, "I'll leave him be of course, but I can't help looking."

Amy shook her head, "What if I told you I didn't want that, what if I told you to go for it. Have some fun seducing him."

I gaped at her not really believing what I heard, "You can't be serious."

She said, "I am, although I probably wouldn't have thought of it if he wasn't already half in love with you. I can tell he draws you to him as well."

I shook my head angry now on her behalf, as absurd as that sounds, "But... no! Why?"

She took my hand, "For love of course. I know it sounds shocking and kind of weird. But I've been thinking about this nonstop since your visit last night. I need you to keep an open mind for a minute. I have a soul bond with Vince, I will be with him... until we are killed. He is half demon, as you are half angel. Do you understand, he has stopped aging, and I don't know if he has realized it or not.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



"I can be everything to him... But I am a lich, I can't give him a child."

My mouth dropped open, she wanted me to have a kid with her Vince?

"I saw you Grams, I saw you torn apart when gramps died. You grieved for how long? Sixty years? I cannot fathom how you have lived through that over and over in your life."

Her expression grew fierce as she said, "Do you think for one second I will allow that pain to ever touch him. He is the same, do you understand now? I can be with him forever, you can be with him forever, giving him another love, and something I can never give him, children."

She let me absorb that for a second and for some reason it was starting to make sense. She had thought it through, and I am sure I was still missing a lot she had already thought of.

After a moment she continued her argument.

"You would never bury another husband, he would never feel the pain of burying a wife. I would get to raise kids with you both, a bunch of little Aunts and Uncles. I could never have a child with him, but at least through you they would still be my blood, my family. I love you both. I can't think of two people I love more, or would want to spend an eternity with."

I opened my mouth and closed it. We both had tears in our eyes. She was offering me a gift beyond my ability to measure, the breaking of my life cycle. No more cycles of pain. Oh, life would bring pain no doubt, but it wouldn't be the debilitating grief of losing a spouse over and over. Three people that could weather the ages together.

"There is one more thing as well Grams, half angels and demons are immortal, do you suppose your kids might be too? One quarter from each of you, they would still be half, wouldn't they? I know you need to process all this, plus I know you love those three crazy witches out there. Still, I don't think they would mind sharing. Remember we will have to share Vince too, he has that unique diet and all. By the way Lisa and Leanne stare I bet they wouldn't mind being tasty weekly snacks."

I shook my head, she was going a little too fast for me.

She giggled, "Sorry Grams, too much? When Vince feeds off a supernatural it lasts much longer, so he would have to sleep with a lot less people than if he did humans. Also why not keep it in the family. Is it wrong to want to turn my new coven into snacks?"

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my mouth.

I said slowly, "It sounds like a good plan on the surface of it, as far as I understood it. My mind is still a little stuck back at the idea that my granddaughter forgives me and doesn't hate me. Let me think about it, and discuss it with the others. You realize if we do that, we need to risk telling them Vince is a demon. Volunteer snacks only."

I shook my head, now she had me calling them snacks.

I hugged her close, "One thing I am sure of, my granddaughter turned into an amazingly wise and beautiful woman. Vince is lucky to have you, and so is your ancient Grams."

She kissed my cheek and said fondly, "If I am, I learned it from you. If you decide to go for it, don't bother telling me, just seduce him, it will be fun to see what he does."

We both laughed at that, poor Vince. Or very lucky, depending on how you look at it.

We drank quite a bit over the afternoon, and about half the coven showed up around dinner. They seemed a little standoffish at first with Vince, but it didn't take long to win them over when they saw their coven leader so relaxed and trusting of him.

I thought about talking over with the ladies about the possibilities with Vince, but the story would ring false, and not make a whole lot of sense, they wouldn't understand while not knowing he was a half demon immortal. So I kept my peace, apparently I couldn't just seduce him, I'd have to convince him to tell the three ladies first, then seduce him.

I'd work something out, or see if my very determined granddaughter had an idea. Really though, the best idea was to just have him come out and tell the truth, even apart from the seduction, it would be the right thing to do. They were supportive of him and deserved the chance to prove it.

The evening went well though, and after everyone went home we retired for the night, although it was much later before they slept...

The next morning came too soon. I was dreading the council meeting. It just wasn't me, of course, but neither was letting people like Silas lord over and spend the lives of the people he should be protecting.

I could smell the bacon as I made my way down the stairs. I thought I could get used this and wondered how often I would be using that little apartment I rented. That thought brought me up a bit short. It had only been four or five days since I moved here? I had moved in with three lovely witches after one day, fallen in love with them over the last three, and now my granddaughter was making plans for us, an eternity with a man I may have been attracted to, but had hardly spent any time with.

It was all too fast. I was wondering how much of this was just me ready to move on and wanting to love again. Were the witches truly enamored of me, of who I was, or was it the angelic aura they could not see but most certainly sensed? I thought maybe I should spend a night at home tonight, but I really didn't want to. If it wasn't for all the other crap like Silas I'd have thought I was dreaming. I had the urge to run just to get some space, but I was too old for that nonsense, I just needed to be careful.

My heart was telling me I was home, but my mind was urging caution, at the least.

As I walked into the kitchen Willa said, "Morning," with a smile on her face.

Ugh, a morning person.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and took a sip, "Need help making breakfast?"

She shook her head, "It's all done except for these eggs."

We ate breakfast and took the oak into the city. Lisa and Leanne decided to join us. We weren't sure what was going to happen, at least we knew two people would be there to support us.

It didn't take long to figure out Silas's next move. Fear and prejudice. It seemed obvious in hindsight. When we arrived, there were a large number of vampires present. Krista was here with her coven and they all looked angry. James was also here, with a small number of sorcerers. 

That was a disadvantage, I was supposed to be representing them, but I had no idea of even their names, much less their lives. James smirked in my direction as we walked through the extremely hostile atmosphere. There was anger there, someone had stirred them up, most likely Silas set it in motion, a community outcry against having a necromancer on the council, despite the legalities. Heaven only knew what they were saying against me.

So much for old and wise, I was an idiot not to see this coming. I had been thinking of Vince as Vince, not a necromancer. Necromancers were feared by the supernatural community, and for good reason. Human souls being bound provided power conduits for the necromancer, but most of them went after supernaturals. A witch's power, or a sorcerer's, came from their soul. If a necromancer bound one after death, they had a ghost who could perform magic independently once bound to flesh.

I was pretty sure Vince didn't even know that, but that wouldn't matter. All these people feared it. That's why they were kept out of most communities. If a necromancer didn't know the people, it made it much harder if not impossible to track down the ghost of someone you didn't know. The facts all pointed to Silas being the one throwing lives away, and enslaving them in their life, but I doubted that would matter.

I hoped this wouldn't be an insurmountable road block, but with Silas stirring them up it would make it much harder. Willa and I eventually made it to our seats. We exchanged looks and I could see she was on the same page, she knew exactly what we were up against. Silas looked... very comfortable.

Until all the werewolves started coming in that is. I thought I saw him twitch.

I glanced over at Brandt, and he was stone faced, I got nothing from him at all. Just one more complication for us to worry about.

All the supplicants seemed nervous as the morning passed, as if they'd rather be somewhere else. No challenges were brought up and the crowd merely stood there in a swirl of negative emotions. It seemed an intimidation tactic, a way to try and force Vince, and maybe myself, to move on completely. Silas seemed very risk averse in the public view. I worried what would happen outside the official venue though, visions of torches and pitchforks filled my mind and I had to suppress a laugh.

One thing was clear to me though looking out, Vince was right, if he challenged Silas and took the high seat it would tear the community apart. Did I really want that responsibility? Wrong question, did I need to take on that responsibility? I didn't want to, but clearly Silas had not backed down, quite the opposite actually. Did I have a choice? What was the point in waiting?

I saw no reason to wait, but figured it was better to discuss it during lunch and make my move after. Of course, that's when I was surprised again. When Silas asked if there was any other business before lunch he looked over at Vince pointedly. Almost as if he expected him to renounce his seat and run for the hills.

But it wasn't Vince who responded.

Brandt said in a deep voice filled with contempt and disgust, "Yes, there is. I challenge you Silas, for head of the council. Moreover I charge you with manipulating races outside of your own, unjustified attacks made against one in our community, and abuse of your position. You have lost sight of your purpose and do nothing but scrabble for more power. It ends today. I suggest you step down and make your way from Chicago, this fight is one of blood and honor because of your crimes."

Holy crap. I didn't see that coming.

There was a brittle silence among all the people there, the swirl of negative emotions turned to confusion. Perhaps it was selfishness on my part, but I only felt relief. Sitting in my current chair was more than enough, I really hadn't wanted to challenge Silas. I waited patiently as the crowd shifted their regard from Brandt as the shock of the statements wore off, and everyone stared at Silas waiting for his response.

I wasn't surprised, only disappointed, when Silas backed down. He moved toward the back to make his way out, the vampires looked confused, not sure if they should be following or not. Before Silas made his way out Brandt spoke again.

"I expect you out of the city by sundown. You are banished from Chicago, come back and your life is forfeit. Vampires, you have two days to choose a new council member before our next session. This council will no longer judge over the minutia, pass the word, all problems will go to your representative first unless it involves cross race issues. As a result, there will only be two meetings a week, we will announce the schedule when we meet again in two days."

He took a deep breath as if considering his next words carefully, "There will be no foolishness regarding the necromancer, he is a councilor of this community and if you act against him it will not be him you need to fear. The werewolves find him to be a being of honor, who performed a service for us, do not be fooled by Silas's fear mongering, or James' insipidness. They were the manipulators, throwing your lives away in a desperate attempt to hold onto power. Vince is not your enemy. Go, this council is closed for two days."

He banged the gavel, and that was it. Silas was gone, for now. I could not help but notice a lot of the vampires followed. It wasn't surprising, they were probably under compulsion.

Silas motioned us to join him in the small conference room on the side. We all went in and sat around the table.

He sighed, "Much like you I was content to be alpha of my people, represent them and them alone and go my way. Silas had always been a schemer, but until recently it hadn't been so... blatant. However it was my debt to Vince that truly spurned me to take this action. I want to assure you I have no interest in messing about in your domains, the idea of it is repugnant to me.

"This shouldn't take long, we need to decide when to meet for meetings. I would suggest Tuesday and Friday mornings, if there are enough things to address we can extend to the afternoon if necessary. Does anyone have an objection to this?"

We all shook our heads. I was feeling pretty good about this outcome, he seemed to be completely no nonsense, exactly what the city needs after Silas.

He nodded, "Good. The second thing we will not resolve in this meeting, but I want you to think about it and we can get together an hour early in two days to discuss ideas. Silas left, like a coward, and only the laws and my respect for them stopped me from tearing his head off. He may even leave the city, for now, but he rules his vampires with compulsion. No doubt anyone he puts on the council will have orders to be disruptive, and actually be working for him.

"Unfortunately this means that for now, until Silas makes his final move and we can kill him, the vampires in this town should be dealt with warily and as our enemies. So take the next two days and think about what we can do to counter it. Or tell me if your group has no desire to commit to this, I will not attempt to force you in this matter, though technically it is a threat to our city and I have the legal right."

He paused then asked, "Anyone have a question, or another issue to bring up right now?"

Vince asked, "I have to admit I am a little surprised, what exactly did I do to put you in my debt?"

Brant laughed. "Wonderful, you do not even know? I had pondered long on if it was a ploy of some kind on your part, I am glad to see my initial thought was correct. You are an honorable and good being."

He collected his thoughts and said, "It is my job, my responsibility to protect my pack, I failed in that. You took out a cancer in my pack that was sitting under my nose, and did so by enabling a victim to take revenge on their murderer. That is what put me in your debt."

Vince shook his head, "How did you even know?"

Brandt looked at Vince surprised at the question, "Why do you think May disappeared so quickly after dispatching that animal? She was full of energy and the ability to communicate, so she reported all that happened to me. Kim also told me her side of it the next day, did you believe they would keep it a secret?"

Vince said, "I guess I didn't understand how big a deal it would for you and your pack. It was just the right thing to do, and I am being compensated for it after all, by May. It never occurred to me that you would be in my debt as well."

Brant asked with a grin, "Anything else? I told my mate I'd be home early today."

I couldn't really think of anything. Well, except one, but I would have to give up my secret, or would I?

I said, "Just to throw the idea out there, so you can incorporate or discard it from planning. I do have the power to remove a compulsion, if we pulled the vamp puppet in here, I could undo it, and as long as Silas is kept from the city he wouldn't be able to place a new one. Of course, there is no guarantee he or she would be on our side at that point."

There was silence around the table for a few moments, then Brandt said, "Good, I will see you all in two days," and we filed out for lunch.

Vince said goodbye, indicating he might stop over this evening. We met back up with Leanne and Lisa to go out for lunch. We avoided talking about the situation, though I imagine it was in the forefront of all our thoughts. 

Lisa was far from shy now that we knew each other, it was her that brought it up.

"So when are you going to stop exchanging longing looks with Vince and seduce him into bed?"

I replied without thinking, "I do not do that," do I?

Willa snorted and nodded at my confused look, "You do..."

I said, "It's all moving a bit fast, I feel like I would need to get permission from you all about it, and talk about it, yet I've known you all for less than a week."

Leanne grinned, "You have our permission... if you'll share of course."

Willa said, "As far as the speed, I think magic has a hand in it. Destiny maybe? We are all drawn to you as much as you are to us. You're a good woman. I think it has been kind of fast too, but in my heart I know we just clicked. You were meant for us, and we for you. I think we all just need to go with it until our minds catch up to our hearts."

Lisa grinned naughtily and said, "Also, you're very talented."

I blushed, I was at a loss of what to say, there were things they needed to know first, and I had no right to reveal it. Still, Willa's advice was good. I would follow my heart, and either it would work out, or it wouldn't.

I said, "I think I am going to spend the afternoon healing. I really miss it, it's a big part of my life. Then I'll join you at the house?"

Willa asked, "How will you do that? I imagine Silas did a good job blacklisting you."

I smiled, "I can be sneaky, they'll never know I was there. It's better when I get to spend time with the patients and talk to them, that's why I usually get the job of a nurse, but it's not necessary."

Leanne grinned, "Sneaky? Like a ninja healer?"

I wrapped my hand in power, causing it to fade out. It looked like my fork was floating a few inches away from my now stubby arm.

"More like the invisible healer."

I started in the children's ward. I set up a weak healing, blocking the problems out but letting their bodies recover as the cancers or diseases would be slowly destroyed over a month or so. I wished so much that I could just heal them overtly, and I had to keep the danger of humans finding out about us firmly in the front of my mind. 

Even if the enchantment that hides our magic held for something so blatant, there would be an uproar about all the miraculous events. Still, it was hard to convince myself that letting them suffer for another month was a good idea.

I moved around the hospital then, giving the borderline cases some help, ignoring the ones that would recover on their own. My healing was precious to me, cathartic. A reason to live during the times when things were really bad personally, and although this wasn't one of those times, it was still fulfilling to do it.

I just wished I could talk to them. It was always a pleasure to see them a little better each day. To see them opening up again to the world and the possibilities of life. It may have been a giving thing, but it always uplifted me as well.

I had always enjoyed healing, and had never regretted it before. But today that would change. How could I be so stupid as to leave them all on their own? I had forgotten in our good fortune that Silas would be more dangerous than ever with his power stripped away. I had forgotten that he had no reason at all anymore to even pretend to follow the rules.

I appeared by the grove, wrapped in my power and invisible after finishing up what I could safely get away with. It was so surreal what I saw, at first I thought it must be a joke. It was mayhem, the house was burning. Willa and about half her coven had retreated to the grove, the heart of their power, and was holding off a large number of vampires. At least twenty, maybe more.

They kept charging the coven, diving for the witches who looked tired, exhausted. The witches had called up a storm. They were using the wind defensively and the lightning offensively. There were a few vampires charred to a crisp lying close by and visibly decaying. As the vampires jumped for the witches they were pushed back by intense bursts of wind. It was a nightmare.

In the next second, I was broken out of my stupor when a witch screamed, I watched in horror as a vampire tore a witch apart as the wind pushed him back. He had gotten too close and had a hold of her.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



No more would die like that. I released my power and the grove and surrounding land was lit with white light. All eyes turned to me in shock, the fight stopping in its tracks. I guided my magic through my mind and the twenty plus vampires attacking were overcome. My angelic power destroyed their undead bodies and they fell to dust.

I let my power recede and looked around, the area darkened under the clouds and rain as my light faded. Willa's coven of twenty three, was now fifteen. I was missing something important as I looked at all the faces staring at me. Leanne was there, next to Willa, but where was Lisa?

Absurdly my mind corrected itself, with Amy it had gone from twenty four to sixteen, she just wasn't here.

"Lisa?" I gasped out the question, my voice cracking.

No one answered me, but Willa glanced at the house and shook her head. I ran toward it but Willa's pained voice cut through me like a knife.

"It's too late, she and the others are gone."

I fell to my knees in the mud. It felt like my life was draining out into the cold ground. Lisa, the youngest. She was barely twenty years old, so beautiful, so full of life, love, and promise. I tried to remember why it was so important for me to go healing today. How I was worried about how fast things were moving, to give me peace and allow my mind to catch up to my heart.

How worthless now, how stupid. Silas would die for this. The pain in my heart made things so clear. Less than a week had no meaning, I loved them. It was simply how it was. Trying to justify that fact, make sense of it, was a waste of time and effort. I stayed there, down in the mud, wanting to race off and find Silas, kill him, but I was also terrified to leave those I loved again. Not until the danger was passed.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, my voice swallowed by the wind and rain.

I shook my head, I didn't have time for this, the house was still on fire. I pulled on my power, this time as a sorceress. The fire in the mansion sputtered briefly and went out, smothered by my will and power. It looked bad, I wasn't sure if it could be fixed or if it would need to be condemned and rebuilt, but I had done what I could. The worst of it was on the second and third floor, when I put out the fire I had known all the places it had been and was.

If only I had been here. I didn't blame myself for Silas's crime, but I did blame myself for not seeing it coming. I should have...

I stood up and turned back to the coven, walking through them until I reached Willa and Leanne, who pulled me into a hug.

I barely noticed the stares from the coven as we shared our grief. I didn't care about my secret anymore, it just didn't seem important. Hiding it hadn't helped, people were dying anyway. Silas would pay, and I would no longer hide myself. This was my home, my family and those that I loved. I would defend it...

 

Chapter 11 - Vincent

A few hours ago...

When we got home Amy and I shared lunch together, then I got to work. I had always kept to myself, but that wasn't possible anymore. I couldn't deny the fact that a necromancer would make a perfect spy master. So I briefed my ghosts to go out and spy on the vampires, try and locate Silas, and keep an eye on Krista's coven as well as that idiot James. There were no grumbles and they seemed genuinely happy for something to do. Up until now I used them as conduits of power, but with a few exceptions, most notably Hardin, I left them to do whatever they had wanted.

I told them only to report on things that could harm the community, and I really didn't want to know who was fucking whom, or try and get any blackmail on people. I felt weird enough about invading their privacy, even though they were the enemy.

I didn't send any ghosts to spy on my allies, I didn't see a valid reason to. Something that I would regret shortly. Amy was giving me a pondering look and I wondered what she was thinking. Finally I looked over and raised an eyebrow.

Amy blushed and said, "I've just been thinking about things and wondering how to bring it up with you..."

I grinned, "Must be big then. You never seemed to have a problem expressing yourself before. I won't get mad if it comes out wrong, just spit it out."

She got up and swayed over to me and sat in my lap, giving me a kiss.

She said, "Been thinking about our future and the people we should have in it. I think... you need to tell our allies, especially our new friends in my coven, what you really are."

I had been thinking the same thing myself, hiding it from a separate community was one thing, but hiding it from my friends was another. How could I ask for their trust without giving mine? Still, I was curious at her motivations. I felt like I was being maneuvered somehow, and while I expected the woman in the center of my life to do things like that on occasion, I felt it was important to put up at least a token resistance.

"I see, and why is that?"

"Well, part of it is your situation," she hedged, "I was hoping they would be understanding. I have no problem at all with the fact you have to feed, but I thought it would be good for maybe my coven and of course, Kim, to take care of that. You seem to need... less with the supernatural. Plus I thought it would be good for you to care about those you sleep with, maybe even love them, instead of seducing humans and sneaking away after like you did something wrong."

She whispered, "I love you, I'm sorry if that all seems a little, heavy handed."

I was speechless. Not in a bad way. I did feel guilty picking up human women, who really had no chance in resisting me, and sneaking away after munching down on their souls, despite the fact I tried to focus on women who wanted one night stands.

No, what had me speechless was she was implying she wanted me to make connections and even have deep feelings for other women. Our soul bond did give her a large measure of confidence that nothing would come between us, but it still took me by surprise.

My voice sounded dubious, "That sounds okay to me love, but do you really think they would go for it?"

She just looked at me like I was dropped on my head as a baby, "If you hadn't noticed, they are into polyamory, and they all look at you as if at a tasty treat they'd like to pick up."

I shook my head, "Yeah sure, the physical attraction is there, there is also more perhaps, but feeding a soul to a demon is a game changer isn't it? Kind of like an attractive guy with VD, attractive or not any woman with sense would bail."

She shrugged, "Don't over think it. It would be worth it because it's more than empty sex with a hot guy. That was the old way. I am talking about real connections. You are a good man, and even more than that, you would be a fantastically strong ally. They would be getting more out of it than just a rutting, they would have your friendship, and someone to call on when in need. I am the link between you and them. I belong to you, with you, but I am also coven."

I just couldn't see it. I also didn't see the point of arguing about it. Even if that second part didn't work like she thought it would, it was still a good idea to give my friends the truth of who I was. This past week had turned everything upside down, and the most amazing part of that was sitting in my lap.

I pulled her tightly against me and stole a kiss before explaining my thoughts on it. It seemed almost a moot point since I decided I would tell them tonight, but I was curious.

"Umm, you said partially? What's the rest of it?"

She pursed her lips, "Do you trust me? I don't want to tell you, influence you. It is something that would be good for all involved, but I don't want to put the idea in your head. All I'll say is don't doubt me, and don't be afraid to follow your heart."

I nodded, I did trust her. Our souls were connected and I could feel her honest and loving intent, how much she cared for me. I also wondered how it could be bigger than telling me to use her coven as a feeding ground and that I should love them if I could.

Whatever it was, I felt a wistful sadness as well as hope behind it.

She started wiggling on my lap, and I couldn't help but respond and harden under her ass. She kissed me softly and turned, moving so she was straddling me before reaching down to undo my pants and fish out my member.

She bit my lip and I gasped as she stroked me up and down. She kneeled around my legs and pulled my face down into her cleavage and lowered herself down. We both moaned as I made the discovery she wasn't wearing panties under her skirt. Her ready and wet molten core opened to me and she slowly lowered herself taking me in.

I ran my hands down her sides while kissing the top of her breasts, and took her shirt up with me when I moved them back up, slipping underneath I cupped her generous breasts and rubbed her nipples in a circle with my thumbs. She looked so beautiful when I looked up. She was barely moving and we were staring into one another's eyes as she ground in painfully slow little circles.

I kissed her softly, lost in the languorous movement of her body on mine. We weren't in a rush and I felt a fierce tenderness toward this woman in my arms. I pulled the shirt over her head and dropped it onto the kitchen floor. She moaned softly when I dipped my head and started softly suckling on her hardened nipple. 

Without conscious thought my hips started to push up slowly in time with her swaying circles. I took her other nipple in my mouth as I rubbed the now wet and swollen one with the pad of my thumb. I ran my other hand up her back, teasing her smooth skin with my fingertips. I gathered her hair between my fingers and caressed the back of her neck.

Her hands sent shivers down me, playing with my hair and neck, lightly pulling me forward as she pushed her breast against my face and arched her back. It was a slow decadent fuck, and we were lost both in the sensations we were engendering in each other, and in the intense connection between our souls.

When I had joined our souls I wondered if it was the biggest mistake I would ever make, it turned out to be the most wonderful thing I'd ever done.

Her body shook over mind and she whispered, "Oh Vince," right before her body reached bliss.

I kissed up from her breast to her neck, teased her jaw then claimed her lips, letting her come down before we started moving again. We made love that way for at least an hour and her orgasms grew in strength each time. Finally her waiting body accepted my seed, greedily milking my length with her silken bliss.

We got up and I took her hand, wordlessly we went up and took a shower washing the sweat and sex off our bodies. We were getting dressed and lost in thought when I heard the crying. I turned in alarm and saw the last thing I had expected, or wanted to see. Lisa was there sobbing. I didn't have to ask what was wrong, it was obvious. Lisa was a ghost.

"What happened," I growled.

She shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes, "Vampires are attacking the coven... I... was completely worthless, didn't even hear them coming. I was dead before I knew they were there."

Amy said, "We need to go, it will take us at least twenty minutes to get there."

Lisa shook her head, "No, bind me and put me in a body, I can get you there through the oak."

I froze, "What?"

Lisa said, "Don't you know why the community fears necromancers? If you bind us at our death and put us in a body you'd have magical slaves. Humans are good for nothing but power conduits. But I trust you, you won't make me do something bad, and I'm not ready to move on... Please, we have no time."

She shook her head, "I hope it's not too great a temptation, I thought you already knew, imagine a legion of vampires, witches and sorcerers at your back, all bound to your will. I truly hope you are worthy of the trust I am showing."

I was shocked, I had no idea. But I didn't have time to even consider it right now if her coven was being attacked, possibly slaughtered right now. I didn't think I had any female zombies left, but then I remembered two of the vampires that attacked yesterday were females. I called them both and in a few moments they were in the room.

I said, "I can find you something else, but right now choose one of these."

They were both attractive, vampires didn't turn ugly humans after all. One had blonde hair and blue eyes, the other long black hair and green eyes. Their bodies were incredibly similar, both had C cup breasts, were about five foot four, and easy on the eyes. I wondered if the same male vamp had turned both.

Lisa said, "Thanks for giving me a choice, but that one will do, I always wanted green eyes."

I could tell by her voice she was on the edge of hysteria. I wasn't sure if she would serve me for ten years for me doing this for her, or not. It didn't feel right, she was a friend and I should help anyway. But a shiver ran down my spine, I can't hand out bodies to all my friends so they never die, can I? I would have to work through it later, but for now it would be a mind to soul bond, just in case she lost it at some point, I could always make her an independent revenant later.

I pulled some power to me, then prepared the body, formed the links and inserted her soul. It was obvious now, and a bit scary. I had the power of a witch at my fingertips now, and I wasn't sure I could be trusted with it. I had no inclination to gather hundreds of magic users and form an invading army, no, my issue was much more subtle. It would be easy to keep making them as supernaturals died and souls became available, keep them around to protect the city and those that I loved. Good intentions could lead me down a dark path with this power.

I said, "If it makes a difference," as we jogged through my house, toward the back yard and the oak tree, "I really thought your brown eyes were beautiful."

She giggled which turned into a choking sob. I berated myself, so not the time.

She chanted at the oak, then stared at it in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked in a gentle voice.

Her voice was filled with loss, "The oak grove, it no longer recognizes me as coven."

Amy said thoughtfully, "Maybe you just need to be added back to the coven in your new state. After all, I am undead and was able to join the coven, I just wish I had been taught the spell. I haven't had a chance to look at the coven's spells."

She brightened slightly at the sliver of hope that Amy extended and said, "I think I have an idea."

Lisa grabbed Amy's hand and placed it on the oak, with her hand over top.

"Maybe it will recognize your signature even though I am casting. I can send the energy through you."

She chanted again, and apparently that worked. She grabbed my hand and gestured for Amy to lead us through since the spell was tied to her. Amy stepped through the trunk and dragged us through. We came out into the middle of a thunderstorm.

There were corpses on the ground, but no people. Not sure what to do I headed for the house. It looked like it had been on fire at some point, but not now. I sent my power questing out and into the house, but I couldn't find anyone, where were they?

"I don't sense anyone."

I sent out a general call asking if any of my ghosts had seen them. May answered the call.

"I was hanging around Brandt when he got a call from Anise, her and the survivors of the coven are at the council chambers."

I was angry for a moment she hadn't contacted me, but it was my fault, specifically telling them not to spy on allies.

My cell phone went off with a text telling me the same thing. Apparently there would be an emergency session on how to deal with the vampires. I told the others what was going on. Lisa, with the help of Amy opened the oak and a few seconds later we were in Chicago, making our way to the council room.

It was a little awkward when we got there. Willa, Leanne, and Anise were in a group hug as soon as they figured out who Lisa was. They shot me grateful looks. The rest of Willa's coven was a different story, they looked... distrustful and suspicious.

Once Lisa explained that she had begged me to do it, and asked for our help with the attackers, the suspicion lessened quite a bit, but it was still there. Honestly I couldn't blame them, the idea of your soul being enslaved after death is not a pleasant one.

I cleared my throat and said tentatively, "There is something else you all need to know about me. I don't like keeping this secret now that we are friends. It seemed prudent to before now, but... Well I think it's time. I think it will probably come out soon anyway with all that's going on, and better from me than someone else."

"And what secret is that Mr. Jones?" someone with a deep voice asked behind me.

I turned to see Brandt with an amused look on his face, a number of werewolves came in with him. Including Kim.

I waited for everyone to find a seat, that would gain me a second or so before the lynching started.

"Well, my mother was not human. She is in fact a demon."

Saying that felt a lot like ripping off a band aid.

I scanned the room, there were various reactions. Anise and Amy of course already knew. Lisa looked like she was having second thoughts about what she had just done. Willa looked thoughtful, Leanne was blank, as if processing it.

Brandt chuckled, "I thought you were going to tell us something new Vince."

He slapped me on the back good naturedly and we all stared at him. It was my turn to show a blank face. How the fuck... oh. I looked over at Kim guiltily.

He grinned, "Did you think Kim didn't know after the first time? When I asked if she thought it was worth it she said fuck yes."

This strange acceptance from Brandt, whose honor everyone trusted, seemed to calm everyone down. They weren't exactly jumping for joy but I was almost sure I wasn't getting lynched. It had also raised my estimation of his intelligence and abilities. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to disarm the situation.

Brandt took control at that point, and questioned everyone on what happened. We learned another coven had been attacked as well, only Krista's was left alone. They had also left the sorcerers alone. Brandt theorized that Silas thought of them as possible allies through James. Since Anise was so new she really didn't know anyone in that community.

Brandt said, "Obviously putting this off was a huge error, you have my apologies. Any ideas on what we should do now?"

I said, "I sent my ghosts out looking for vampires earlier to keep track of them. Unfortunately they didn't get information on the attacks before it would matter, there are only a hundred or so and Chicago and the suburbs is a huge area to search. I would suggest we take Anise up on her offer, I can find them, eventually, and Anise can remove their compulsion. Then we question them or kill them based on how their own conscious falls."

Brandt nodded. "That sounds better than a general slaughter of vampires, and quite merciful. We must also include questions on where Silas is and what he is planning. His life is forfeit as he started a war with us. You should also ask about numbers, hangouts and locations of homes. It should speed the process greatly. I would like to suggest along with you and Anise, that you bring members from the other communities, some of those present here now. The witches most of all deserve justice."

He let that sink in and said, "I will stay here, those that don't volunteer will stay with me and get the word out on what Silas is doing via spell, phone, or any other way you have to contact others. Instruct anyone they are welcome here to ride out the storm."

He turned to me, "Don't take any chances, enslave them if you have to until they get sorted out, you can always let the good ones go. If you find any, send them here."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



After a short discussion, Anise and I had our group. Amy, Lisa, Leanne, Willa, Kim, Jason, Julie, and Sara who had run in during our discussions would all be joining us.

Jason was a mountain of a man, one of Brant's seconds. He seemed friendly enough. Julie was one of the survivors from the other witches coven.

Anise said, "Just give me a moment, I'm going to ward this place. If any vampires show up here their compulsions will be stripped, but you'll still have to be alert for anyone voluntarily working with Silas."

I watched in awe as her ever present white aura became visible to everyone else and brightened. Sigils of power appeared in the air and shot off to dissolve into walls, doors, and even the glass windows at the front. She did it so effortlessly.

Amy whispered in my ear, "Close your mouth."

I glared at her, "It wasn't open."

She muttered, "It might as well have been," then she winked at me, as if she approved of me ogling her grandmother.

I'll never understand women.

I suggested we leave, and Anise shook her head.

Anise said, "If we have to drive, run, or even find the closest oaks it will take forever to do this. Do you have any locations right now."

"Yes, a few."

Anise said, "Everyone hold hands, this should be interesting."

Everyone seemed to go along with her order, I had Amy on my right, and Anise was holding my left hand. She squeezed it and looked at me intently. I had hoped Anise would help me with my powers, teach me what she knew of them. Still, this was a nervous time to do so. 

"Close your eyes."

I did that, feeling a little self conscious about it.

"Surround yourself with your power, cloak yourself in shadow and extend it to cover the group."

I heard a few people shuffle nervously at that, but they didn't say anything.

Anise whispered, "Good, now see where your ghost is watching the vamps, look through their eyes. Take in the scent of the place, the way it feels to actually be there."

Her hand felt really good in mine, her aura was bumping up against mine and it felt good, tingly, like they belonged together. I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like if we were naked, her skin against mine. Her voice was like a siren's call to my libido.

I had an irrational urge to kiss her.

I pushed all that down, this so wasn't the time for that.

I nodded when I had it right, the feeling she had ordered me to call up.

Anise said, "Now take us there, decide to be there, will it and let your power go."

I willed us to move to my ghost, to be there and the shadows tightened against us and I felt like my stomach was turned inside out. I took in a breath and I could tell just by the scents we were where I wished to go.

I opened my eyes and we were in a backyard. I sent the ghost away to find more vampires, then sent tendrils of my necromancer power into the house, capturing vampire after vampire, ordering them out to the yard where we stood. For better or worse, our retaliation was finally under way...

Chapter 12 - Anise

I reluctantly released his hand. I was surprised my voice had been so steady while instructing him, my aura kept getting inside his and my whole body was tingling with desire. Right before he teleported us I wished we were alone so I could take him. I'd been paying attention and it was obvious to me now that we were both extremely attracted to each other.

Granted at this point it was mostly magic, chemistry, and lust. But I knew he was a good man as well, it would be so easy for it to grow into much more.

The very beautiful diminutive and scary werewolf looked at me knowingly and I was struck with an irrational surge of jealousy. I took a moment and purged that ridiculous emotion using mind techniques. I knew from my granddaughter's ideas I'd only get him if I was willing to share. And really, I was willing. It would be hypocritical of me otherwise. After all, he would have to share me too.

The vampires lined up in front of us, leaving the house calmly and orderly. It was a bit creepy to be honest, and I was glad Vince was on our side and not a megalomaniac. There were six vampires here in all, and I let my power out, just a touch, and burned away the magic of the compulsions placed on them.

We questioned them and found out a few things.

Silas was laying low and actually still somewhere in the city, but they didn't know where. They also didn't know Silas' plan, but they expected to receive backup from outside the city, that was grim news. The vampire community had sixty three members, which sounded low, but was actually kind of high. That did not include the ones Vince and I had killed over the last few days so originally it was more than a hundred.

Two of the vampires here were sadistic bastards and we killed them. Vince and I could have killed them with a thought, but we acceded to the witches and allowed them to carry out the sentence. 

The other four had only done what they did under duress, with compulsion they hadn't been given a choice. We sent them to the council building and stood by a moment while Vince was organizing the search based on the new intelligence we had.

I watched him as he closed his eyes and sent out the orders. I had an irrational urge to step into him and kiss him. What was wrong with me? We were in the middle of a damn war. I saw the smug look on Amy's face as she watched me, I couldn't help but smile sheepishly back.

It took us over eight hours to do what we could. We found thirty five vampires all together, a little over half. Out of those in total we had to kill eight, so we now had twenty seven vampires on our side. They were currently trying to decide on a new leader.

We stopped not only because we were tired, but the last group had orders to abandon the city and regroup. Silas had gotten the word out we were taking them all down, and his plans weren't ready for a counter attack.

I worried what those twenty eight vampires would do, plus we had to worry about what outside contacts Silas had and deal with that. So far they had managed to elude Vince's ghosts. He stationed them around the city at probably entry points, hopefully we would get lucky and sight them when they came back. The wards I created should last for months, so we had a slightly better margin of safety for the community there.

I worried, it was impossible to maintain readiness indefinitely, I was sure Silas would wait until things calmed down a little before attacking again. There was also no reason he couldn't recruit and turn a bunch of humans.

We broke up, each promising to do what they could to keep watch and search, but other than that there wasn't much. It was with a little frustration I watched Kim kiss Vince goodbye. Not really jealousy, just wanting it to be me as well.

I wasn't sure where we would end up, I doubted the house was safe, but apparently Vince had thought of that as well.

"Willa, would you and the others like to join me at my home until yours is repaired? Mine isn't nearly as big, but more than big enough for four more people."

I licked my lips at the thought of being under his roof, then hid a blush as I realized what I did. Luckily no one saw, not even my sneaky granddaughter.

Willa smiled and said, "Thank you Vince, we'd love to."

I volunteered, "I'll take us," as we all held hands.

It was probably silly of me, but I wanted Vince to feel my magic surround and enfold him the way his had been doing to me all day. I released my angel magic around us, surrounding and cradling our bodies, and transported to the front of his house. He gave the four of us a tour of the house, which made me wonder if Lisa would be staying here from now on, two of Willa's coven members in this house.

It wasn't as big as Willa's, but it was still huge, there were enough bedrooms for all of us separately, and we surely didn't need that many. It was late and we were all tired. We had a quick snack in the kitchen then turned in. I watched wistfully as Vince and Amy walked away. I joined Willa, Leanne, and Lisa in a guest bedroom that had a king size bed in it.

It was a beautiful room, but you could tell it was a guest room. The colors were gender neutral, and although there were knick knacks and stuff, the room didn't feel lived in at all. 

I think we were all too tired for sex, so stripped out of our clothes and crawled into bed together, cuddling up was comforting. I didn't need sleep of course, but after all the running around and magic use I did need to relax and meditate.

Willa said, "So what do you think, should we put Anise out of her misery?"

Leanne laughed wickedly, "Yes, we should, the poor girl is going to explode at any moment."

I must have had a confused look on my face because Lisa started laughing when she saw my face.

Lisa said teasingly, "We should, but I think we'll have to explain it, she looks confused. Poor thing," she shook her head mock sadly at me.

Willa rolled her eyes at me, "Oh sweetie, Vince has the full stamp of our approval, and if you don't act fast one of us may get him."

I said with a chuckle, "Don't you know? That's the plan."

I was very satisfied at the confused looks all around. Feeling vindicated I snuggled into Lisa, kissed the back of her neck and whispered, "Night ladies."

Leanne gasped, "No way, you can't say something like that and then not explain."

I chuckled, enjoying my revenge, "You don't know? Your newest coven member hatched herself a plan out of love for him... She is determined to give him all his needs and wants."

I explained it all, the needs of his demon side, how they could fill that need with love and support so it wasn't such a dark thing. The hope that I could be another lover and maybe mother of his children that would be around indefinitely with Amy and Vince. I really hoped they wouldn't get jealous or upset at that point, knowing that at some point they would have to leave the three of us, even if only at the end of their lives. Actually... Lisa would never have to leave either now come to think of it, though I didn't bring that up.

We stayed up longer talking about it then I would have thought it would take, and we left it at a let's see what happens. I was happy enough they didn't feel revulsion at the idea and were open to the possibility. I turned over and snuggled into Leanne, just soaking up the love and acceptance they offered me as they slipped into slumber. I stayed there for quite a while after they fell asleep, but feeling recharged from meditation I got out of the bed and headed for the kitchen.

I grabbed a juice from the fridge, then thought of what my tired mind had not. I brought up my power and started warding the place. I could feel Vince's wards protecting us, but figured a layer of mine couldn't hurt. I wish I had thought of that for the coven house. Hindsight is a bitch.

I was more thorough than at the council building, I used angelic magic to strip compulsions for vampires, but I also added wards that checked for intent to harm those that lived here type stuff. Those people would be contained in one way or another, and if they broke out deadly force would kick in if they dared to continue into the house.

I was very careful placing them to use minimal harm at first, more a warning, just in case it was an ally that was especially pissed at Vince at the moment, but wouldn't really attack. Wards were tricky that way, and if they incinerated someone it wasn't so easy to shrug your shoulders and say you set them wrong.

I was concentrating so hard on the magic, not wanting to make a mistake in its complexity that I didn't notice anyone approaching until I heard Vince's voice.

"Your magic is beautiful."

I felt my breath catch when I looked up into his eyes. I wondered for a moment just how long he had stood there, staring at me.

"Can't sleep?"

He shook his head, "I don't sleep at all anymore. I used to, when I starved my demon side, fed as little as I could," He smiled ruefully, "Amy won't let me do that anymore."

After a few moments I realized we had our eyes locked and neither of us could look away. I wondered what the hell I was waiting for and stood.

"Your magic is beautiful too, did you feel it today?" I asked

I took a step forward as he asked, "Our magic, mixing?"

I nodded as I stepped close to him, "It made my whole body tingle, kind of the way it is right now."

I reached out and put a hand against his chest. It was solid, warm. Our magic mixed. It was so strange, I wouldn't have thought the magic of an angel and demon would merge so well. Maybe our human magic was a factor as well.

I stepped in closer, my nipples brushing against his chest through our clothes. Both my hands on his chest as I looked up at him.

I said, "I knew it would feel even better like this."

He looked as hungry as I did, but he had a torn look on his face that confused me, until he explained it.

"But... your Amy's grandmother, how could we..." he trailed off, sounding hungry, frustrated and a little lost.

I whispered, "You know she approves, she has pushed you to me hasn't she? All but told you to take me? It wasn't your imagination, she wants this as much, if not more, than we do. And no, I'm not going to explain why right now."

He looked like he would argue, but thank god he changed his mind and pulled me against his body into a deep kiss. My whole body just melted into his, submitting, seducing, and feeling safe all at the same time. His hands blazed fiery trails all over my body and I rubbed my body against him like a cat in heat. I had never felt anything quite so overwhelming, it wasn't just the physical feeling it was our magic. The feeling seemed to intensify as the magic eagerly followed our wishes to intermingle.

He picked me up and carried me down the hall to an empty bedroom. I was lost in sensation and don't remember getting undressed at all, suddenly we were on the bed and he was maneuvering for entry. I gasped and ran my nails down his back as he kissed my neck and I felt his manhood split my labia. My hot core was slick and ready, had been ready for quite a while, that first kiss had me moist and ready.

I swiveled my hip and pushed up, eagerly taking him in. I felt so full. He started to pump into me harder and harder.

"Oh god yes, fuck me Vince, fuck me hard and fast."

I was lost in the pleasure. I knew we would make love one day, probably very soon, but the sexual tension between us had built up so much that a hard rutting was what we both needed.

I moved my body in rhythm with his, meeting him thrust for thrust as our bodies slapped together. He was so big, not enough to be painful, but perfect. I was full and he was hitting all my spots and I knew it wouldn't take long for him to get me there.

"Don't stop, just fuck me harder, faster," and after that I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe, my whole body was filled with bliss as my core exploded in pleasure. He didn't stop, just like I asked and I could feel him growing larger in me, stretching me out more and I knew he was going to cum.

I don't know why I did it at the time, I didn't really think about it, I simple commanded my magic to open to him. I rolled into a second orgasm and I felt his energy reach out and feed. The ecstasy of my bliss tripled while I felt him emptying into me. My whole body was trembling and the amount of pleasure was on the edge of the pain threshold. I didn't think I could take any more when it stopped and I slowly fell from my height.

"Oh god, why did I wait so long," I whispered. Then blushed realizing he had heard me...

We came together in another kiss, this one soft, gentle. I felt a strange emptiness as he slipped out and a lethargy, but I wouldn't fall asleep, I was sure I'd recover quickly. For a while we just laid there caressing each other, occasionally stealing kisses. Then strangely enough we started talking about Amy. He was starved for information about her childhood and what she was like. And of course, I wanted to know all about the adult vixen upstairs that had so generously shared this man, for his sake.

He also asked me about Lisa, if she was stable enough in my opinion for him to switch her to a revenant status.

I smiled and kissed his chest and up to his neck whispering, "I think so, besides, the quicker she has her freedom the quicker you can get her in bed..."

He looked down at me and muttered something about crazy females, causing me to laugh and wink.

"What," I asked defensively, "It's only fair, she is sharing me with you after all, I should return the favor. As long as I hold a place in your heart the rest of it is good."

I was feeling very much recovered, so I started to kiss my way down his stomach. Before I could get him in my mouth he stopped me looking regretful.

"We can't, not for a few days, until your soul recovers."

I blushed up at him, my face scarlet, "That won't be a problem. I'm immune to that, I actually had to purposefully open myself up."

He blinked at me and asked in confusion, "Why, I have others for that, if your immune why would you want to."

I thought mournfully that I'd never get his cock in my mouth and crawled back up his body. It had been an impulse decision I hadn't understood during it, but I did now.

"For two reasons really. One, it is a part of you, and I am undoubtedly falling for you, and I wanted to experience it, to understand it, to better understand you. Second, I wanted to know why Kim thought it was so worth it, and would be back for more." 

He grinned and asked, "Did you find out why?"

I nodded, "The most intense orgasm of my life. Obviously I won't be doing it all the time, but don't be surprised if I open up to you again in the future."

He nodded wisely and said in a faux lecturing tone, "Demons are a corruptive influence you know."

I snorted and glared at him, but I was secretly pleased he would joke about that. So much so my heart swelled for him. His powers weren't inherently evil, it was how they were used that counted. I started working back down his body with kisses, determined this time that if he interrupted my mission I'd gag him...

Chapter 13 - Vincent

Her kisses down my body felt like trailing fire. It killed me earlier to have to stop her, but I was worried about her soul. I was keeping myself quiet this time, glad she hadn't abandoned the idea altogether.

The sex had been amazing, our magic amplifying it, and I was definitely falling for this woman. I felt a stab of guilt, feeling that I was somehow betraying Amy, but I could feel her soul. She was content this was happening, no, happy it was. I wish I knew why but I also trusted these women had no nefarious agenda that I would disagree with.

I moaned out loud when she took me in her mouth. Her tongue felt magical against the sensitive underside of my tip. To my shock she slowly took me all the way in, I felt my tip pop into her throat and she kept going until I felt her nose hit my skin. Her gorgeous breasts were teasing my inner thighs and her golden hair laid in a wave across my chest, stomach and legs, teasing my skin as she pleasured me.

I had never felt anything so good in my life, and wondered if this was one more thing she had perfected over the millennia. What an absurd thought, but there was a lot of truth there. She rose off me and started crawling back up my body.

She whispered "Sorry, I'll finish you that way another time, I need you in me. The magic is driving me nuts, and your taste."

I smiled at her and said, "Don't you dare apologize, from what I understand we have a long time to get that done."

I pulled her down for a kiss by her hair, she really was beautiful. Her hair was dark golden blonde, long, curly and felt like silk in my hands and on my body. Her breasts were perky and a perfect size for her body. But that was just the package. Her bearing, her magic, her outlook on life, her competence, her generous pure spirit, it just all blew me away. I gasped as I felt her labia run up to the tip of my manhood, then she swiveled her hips and impaled herself on it.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



She put her hands on my chest and squeezed as she started to both bounce and grind on the down stroke. Her back was arched and I could see her beautiful face and full lips. The curve of her neck, her breasts swaying gently with her motions and my body responded, pushing up as she came down. I reached up and kneaded her breasts and teased her nipples.

I thought I would last a long time, I'd had a lot of sex lately including with Anise herself a few minutes ago, but she was doing amazing things to my manhood with her slick silky tight sheath. She was more than just tight, she had precise control. She was a great lay when I was on top, but with her on top and in control she was a goddess. She locked up above me and impaled herself straight down with a gasp. Her walls undulated, squeezed, and milked me and I couldn't stop it. With a grunt and a harsh push up, despite being buried already, I exploded into her, filling her with my love juice as I felt her flood the outside of my manhood with hers.

She collapsed on my chest a few moments later. I caressed her face and kissed her soft lips.

I was curious but wondered if I should hold my tongue. Curiosity, my need to know won.

"When will you two tell me the why you, I understand the others, but why you? This is not a complaint by the way, I wouldn't care if there wasn't a reason, I am just curious."

She slid off to the side and cuddled into me, kissing my chest before laying her head down.

Her voice came out soft, loving, "She wants me to give you the one thing that she can't, besides feeding. And right now I am inclined to give it I think, though it is still a bit early for that decision. Okay, a lot too early. The reason she wants it to be me, is I'm the only one that can both give that, and prevent the pain of loss she saw me endure in the past."

I couldn't think of a thing, besides feeding, that Amy couldn't give me. At least, not until I factored in the rather large clue that sex was part of the equation. Of course, Amy might be warm, alive in many ways, but she still couldn't bear me a child. Her body was incorruptible, frozen in time. The pain part I guessed would be losing the mother of my children, which would happen to any other woman I got pregnant. It also lines up to the loss she was talking about, Amy's grandpa dying.

I wasn't sure how to take that. Yes, she schemed to make me happy, but she was still trying to arrange my life without my input. It was both a dream come true, and felt restrictive. Now I understood why they didn't want to tell me, to just let it happen if it would.

But then, how could I possibly say no to this woman in my arms. I gently pulled in, squeezing her body against mine while I kissed her hair. I wasn't really sure what to say. She was right, it was too early to be talking about commitments for eternity, and raising children together with Amy. The three of us together, for as long as we lived, until we lost our lives to violence or accident.

But my heart rejected the idea of her ever leaving me, which was ridiculous. I met the woman less than a week ago and barely talked to her at all until a day or two ago. Was it all lust and magic? Or was there more, or maybe the potential for more.

"Do you want something to drink?"

She giggled, "That wasn't the response I was expecting."

I struggled with what to say, "I don't know, I'm just going to go with the flow for now, see where we end up in a month, maybe a year, maybe a millennium. I don't know. It seems too early and fast for feelings this intense."

I felt her nod against my body, "I was having problems with that too, and made the same decision when I thought I lost Lisa. Doesn't matter how short it is, I feel love for those three women, and I also feel it for you. If it's not real, if it's all chemistry and magic, we will find out. So, go with the flow... Running from it because it seems too good to be true would just be a bad idea."

For some reason I felt a surge of relief and relaxed. As long as she was feeling this same intenseness, it would make it easier to take it day by day.

She whispered, "I'd love one of those apple juice bottles."

I moved to get up and she hugged me tighter.

She asked, "Want another lesson?"

I grinned and agreed, three minutes later I summoned two bottles of apple juice from the fridge with my power...

After we drank the juice she asked, "Did you notice all those symbols I used for wards and stuff?"

I nodded and she said, "For sorcery, and I imagine necromancy, it requires extreme concentration and clarity of thought. Our other powers are much the same, like when you transport you need to keep in mind where you're going, what it feels like, who you're bringing with you etc..."

I asked, "So the symbols?"

She sighed and gathered her thoughts, "You create the symbols in your mind to encompass a very complex idea. You'll need to study memory and meditation techniques, which will help your necromancy too. Once your mind has the idea impressed enough to the symbol, you merely have to focus on a symbol. So instead of trying to hold five or ten ideas, you pull up a symbol that will invoke those five thoughts when you cast it with your magic."

She shrugged, "It's a lot of work, but you'll find as you grow older the nights when everyone else sleeps get longer, it's a way to pass the time and something to do."

She giggled, "Of course, if I'm around all the time you can do me instead, but you get the idea."

I tried to absorb what she was saying, it kind of made sense. Like driving became a subconscious activity once it was learned to a sufficient degree. If you could practice very complex thoughts and directions for your magic, and assign it a symbol, it would be very much the same thing. When I think of the symbol, my subconscious would dig up the intent and directions.

Kind of like when I decide to change lanes, and my body automatically turns on the blinker, checks the mirror and then moves to the side, even automatically adjusting speed if necessary. I don't consciously do three or four things, I just consciously decide to change lanes. I explained my line of reasoning but she shook her head.

"Yes and no. What you're saying is how the techniques will help your necromancer magic. It's not the same for Angelic or Demonic magic. The magic is different, an immortal magic. The symbols don't tie to my unconscious mind, they tie directly to my magic. Our magic is almost sentient, it will learn, like teaching a dog tricks.

"So if I want to ward a room I just think of the symbol. That symbol doesn't trigger an automated response in my mind, or anything in my subconscious, my magic has that knowledge and it literally just does it for me, with no other direction from me outside of a target, or the desire to stop it, or change it to something else. It may sound like a free ride but it's not. It takes years and years to understand it. It took me literally centuries to build up my magical symbol vocabulary to the point it was useful. But now, in a fight, no one is faster than me, unless they can do the same thing."

I said, "I think I get it, but I'd have to learn to train the ability like you said. Would you teach me? With you guiding me maybe I could learn it faster?"

She looked up at me with false suspicion, "So you can have both, learn the magic and have me right there to fuck when the mood hits."

I grinned unrepentantly, "Both smart and beautiful, no wonder I'm falling in love with you."

We both stilled when that slipped out of my mouth, then I pulled her up for a hungry kiss. I reached down stroking her skin on the way and checked her, she was as ready as I was, despite the sudden onset. This time I put her on her hands and knees and got behind her. She eagerly pushed back impaling herself as soon as I was lined up.

"Oh gods yes, fuck me Vince."

I obliged, running my fingers up her spine before grabbing her hair and pulling back. I spanked her playfully to see if she'd like that, and it was obvious she did...

We were insatiable that night, by the fifth position I was sore and mentioned we may need a break. She just grinned cheekily at me and gave me that promised blowjob, and healed me with her angelic magic while she was doing it. It was odd to me that her spirit was so pure, but she was very... earthy and forward sexually. She explained to me that when she grew up sex was not a taboo subject, and a lot of the silly crap they brainwash people with now doesn't affect her outlook on it.

She was still pure of spirit because she truly believed there was nothing at all dirty about sharing her body, about giving and taking pleasure. I sure as hell wasn't going to argue with her about it.

We took a shower around six and cooked breakfast for everyone together. Shortly after we started they joined us. I expected teasing, especially from a roomful of women, but they all acted like it had been expected and it was about damn time.

I took a moment to check with my ghosts and they hadn't had any contact with the enemy. I let my mind wander over the last day or so for a while, before I blurted out a name.

"Krista."

They all looked at me like I was nuts.

"I know you were going to wait to deal with her but we should do it today. She may know where he is, for all we know that last group of vamps was a fake tip and Krista has them all shielded in her basement. I'll grant you probably not, but it's a point, can we afford to have a spy and saboteur in the city while we wait for him to attack? Plus we don't have a whole lot else to do except spin our wheels and worry."

Anise added thoughtfully, "Maybe we should add James to our list, at best he is sitting tight waiting for orders, at worst he is still stirring up and lying to the sorcerer community. I really should wrest that away from him, it's the responsibility I took when I became a councilor. If we can manage it we should have a united community presence when he comes back. The more I think about it the more I think Vince is right."

Willa sighed, "Your both right, I put Krista aside at first to deal with the greatest threat, but now that he is off scheming... it would be just plain not wanting to deal with her if I put it off any longer."

Lisa asked, "Should we stick together, or split up?"

"Why would we split up? Were stronger together," Leanne said.

"Well," Lisa explained, "What if those two are in touch, it would make sense if they are both working for Silas. We would lose the second person in that case, they would go underground, or leave the city."

I couldn't help but be impressed with Lisa, which reminded me, I modified her bond from her soul to her mind, giving her the freedom to choose where to live and who to be with.

"Good point, I agree we should split up, and Amy should go with the opposite group of me, that way we will stay in pretty much constant contact and we can move in at the same time."

Amy said, "You and Grandmother are strongest, so I'm taking Grams with me."

We finished dividing everyone up as we ate. The groups would be me, Lisa, Leanne and Willa going after Krista and her coven. Amy would go with Anise and Sara to confront James. I didn't like that Amy and Anise had less people on their team because I loved them and would worry, but I wasn't stupid enough to object. Anise was more powerful than me because of experience, and Amy was the third most powerful in the room, so it would all work out.

I kissed both Amy and Anise goodbye, finally drawing some of that teasing I expected from the witches. Since Willa knew where Krista lived, we walked out back to the Oak tree and she led us through. We arrived a couple of blocks from the witches house and waited for the green light to go ahead. I used enough of my magic though, just to verify they were there.

It took a few minutes, Anise had to go to the council records room first to find James' address. About ten minutes later we got the go ahead and moved toward the house. It was still early, maybe eight thirty, and there seemed to be a lot of activity inside the house. I let Willa take the lead, this was her deal, but I wouldn't balk at protecting her either.

She sent Lisa and Leanne around back to make sure no one tried to get out, they had orders to spell the back door in thirty seconds to keep it shut. We watched the time count down and Willa banged on the front door.

Krista opened the door and looked me up and down before smirking at Willa.

Krista said, "What brings you by in your moment of grief? I heard you had a... rather distressing event yesterday."

Her voice was smarmy, I had to remind myself I was here to support Willa and not strangle the bitch.

Willa's voice was cold and stark, promising pain, "Krista, answer me this, are you plotting or working with Silas in any way, or did you follow my orders?"

Krista snickered, "What were you thinking coming here to my home, my seat of power, and with one lone companion. Of course I am working with him, and he will reward me well for your death. Surprise!"

At the final word, wards that I hadn't sensed around the entryway lit up with power. I was completely paralyzed and couldn't move. If Krista had moved quickly we would most likely be dead, but instead she smirked and pulled a knife, rubbing it in. Bitch was crazy.

It was a perfect spell, against another witch anyway, whose power depended on the ability to speak, if not gesture. But I wasn't a witch. I pulled up my power and smashed the wards with a thought. Freed I moved to smash Krista next, but Willa was faster. She raised a hand and barked out a single word in a language I had never heard.

I heard some of Krista's bones snap as she flew back into the back wall. Her eyes were open as she slid down to the ground. Open and empty.

Willa said in a dark cold voice, "Grab her soul, at least long enough to question her."

I bound her soul as her bonds to her body broke down. Then I heard a chanting from the other room. Apparently the rest of her coven would not come quietly. I raised shields of shadow in front of Willa and myself right before a bolt of lightning struck. My shields drained the power, ate it, and we both ran in toward the back of the house when we heard a loud explosion.

When we reached the kitchen, we saw Lisa and Leanne looking cautiously into the house, the back door itself was kindling, spread around the room. There were also eight bodies lying on the ground. Some unconscious, some merely stunned, groans of pain filled the room.

Lisa said, "We did block their escape, but we heard them attack you and decided to help instead."

Willa nodded in approval and looked down at the witches. I could see the fight in her eyes as she decided their fate. I could tell she wanted to kill them, but she let out a long breath.

"Bind them, we'll question each of them before I determine their fate."

Lisa and Leanne started casting, starting with the ones still semiconscious they bound the eight women one at a time. I shrugged, and checked the house visually, I trusted my magic for the most part, but I was worried if they could hide wards, they could hide people. I searched from the basement to the second floor but didn't find anyone else. Truthfully I was disappointed. I knew it was a long shot, but I hoped there were more vamps to catch here.

When I thought it was secure I closed my eyes and forced Krista to appear. I ordered her not to move, be still and answer all of our questions. Once that was done I fed her enough energy to become visible, so Willa could question her directly.

"All yours Willa..."

Chapter 14 - Anise

Fifteen minutes ago...

I didn't bother knocking. After surrounding the three of us with shields comprising all five elements I let out a whisper of air and James' door unlocked. Amy and Sara followed closely behind. I wondered about the wisdom of sending a ten your old girl in a fifteen year old body to accompany a raid, but her form was ridiculously powerful, at least physically. And really, outside of her physical form getting destroyed there wasn't anything a sorcerer could really do to affect a ghost.

I could feel five sorcerers down the hallway, but none of them were holding a whole lot of power at the moment, so I walked back followed by my two shadows. I walked into an office and private library. 

James said, "I wondered how long it would take you to come after me."

James was looking at me with a considering look on his face. There were four other sorcerers in armchairs, as if gathered for a meeting. They were all in their middle years, and all but James looked scared.

James said, "You know, you can't win. Silas will be back with an army to take back his proper place. I'll admit you have some power, but he has numbers."

This seemed really... strange to me. I asked cautiously, "And what of you?"

He shrugged, "Well, either you kill me and Silas needs a new ally, or you leave. You beat me once and I know you were hiding more powerful abilities. I won't fight you, so will you strike me dead, a man that stands defenseless against you? My associates won't either, their power is a candle next to mine. I've assured them they will die a nasty death if they try."

He sounded blasé about it, but I could see he was sweating. I could also tell he meant what he said, but there was deception behind it.

He just stood there, waiting for my response, and it enraged me. Was I supposed to leave him here, to rejoin and fight against me later, because he won't fight now? Who does that?

Amy said, "Holy shit! I got this one Grams."

I asked, "What is it?"

Amy muttered, "Give me a minute."

After a couple of minutes she said, "Check his head, he's got a small compulsion in his brain. Tiny."

I looked with my magic, going over him carefully and saw it, "Should I remove it?"

She shrugged, so I did.

I asked, "What was it doing."

She shook her head, "Silas placed it there four years ago, I'm combing his memories now. It's very clever actually, the compulsion didn't make him believe or do anything. That would be too obvious to the others. All it did was lower his... ability for discretion, from that point on he basically believed whatever load of crap Silas shoveled his way.

"Removing the compulsion didn't take away the changes, the changes all happened naturally because of the compulsion. To fix him I'd have to erase about four years of memories."

My eyebrow went up, "I didn't know you could do that... But I wonder if Silas did?"

Amy asked, "What do you mean?"

I said, "All this started and escalated because he wanted to either control or kill you. What if he knew you'd detect that compulsion with your enhanced mind abilities. I'm not saying that was the only reason, I believe he was afraid of your power for other reasons as well, such as direct confrontation."

It really amazed me that he threw away all his power being stupid because he was afraid of losing his power. Still, I felt like I was missing something.

Amy gasped and I turned to her as she said, "I don't think you need to worry about locating the sorcerer community, this is the sorcerer community. Apparently it took two years of Silas changing him before most of the sorcerers in Chicago rebelled. Two tried to replace him, but failed. Most of the sorcerers left at that point, not willing to be led by him anymore. These four are the only ones that stayed."

I snorted. So much for worrying about the responsibility, apparently I was leading myself. I also couldn't believe they just sat there waiting while Amy rifled through James' thoughts. While she continued to check his thoughts I turned to the other four.

"Why did you stay with an erratic leader who followed a vampire's orders?"

One of the men blushed, "We all have history here. Old family businesses we felt we couldn't abandon. We just stayed out of his way, and cut ourselves off from the community and council. It was only this last week that James even bothered to track us down and ask us to do stuff. We aren't that powerful anyway, mainly used our powers for little household stuff, maintenance.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 03



"I myself only have power over fire and maybe a touch of air. These others are the same."

I let out a deep sigh, "Very well, I am the sorcerer council now, go home, manage your business and try to stay out of the way of things. If anyone contacts you, or tries to threaten you, call me and I will be there quickly. That includes James, although that scenario is not quite likely. I have a feeling next time you see him, he'll be a new man."

I looked at them, "But before you go, do any of you know where Silas is? Or what he's planning?"

They all said no, in truth, which didn't surprise me.

Amy shook her head after they left, "He doesn't know anything. Silas has called him but only to give him orders. James is nothing but a lackey and doesn't even have insight into the big picture. Should I take his memories? He wasn't all that great a guy before this. Silas was able to get him under his thumb because of his greed and lust for power. Restored he'd just be a second rival, instead of an underling for the first."

I didn't want to kill a man in cold blood, although leaving him alive risked good people getting killed later, it wouldn't so much be in cold blood, but a judgment of his past crimes, that was my job as councilor, to take care of these issues. The problem was, those past crimes were done under the control of another.

Now I remembered why I avoided this kind of position for so long. Decisions like these. I had done it only to protect the people I loved and my granddaughter. I knew he was dangerous, he was probably one of the most powerful sorcerers alive, it had only been my long experience that had won the day.

He was right though, in a fight to the death I wouldn't hesitate to use my angelic magic to crush him.

I sighed, "I just can't. I can't kill him for what he has done in the past because of the brainwash, and I can't kill him for what he might do in the future if he is restored to his own personality. Go ahead and erase the four years of corruption. Oh, and can you add a temporary compulsion that he can't use his power, he's going to wake up confused and most likely attack us. Might as well just kill him now in that case."

She nodded grimly. It took a while, maybe ten minutes.

James looked startled as he came out of it, "Who are you, what are you doing in my home."

His eyes grew alarmed as he realized he had no power. 

I explained what happened to him the last four years, and what we had done. He didn't believe me. I guess I wasn't all that surprised and I was starting to lose my temper.

"I don't want to burden your conscious granddaughter, but could you compel him not to come back to Chicago, or use his power, or contact anyone, for two weeks? We can sort him out when he gets back, if he decides to come back. I'm sure he'll realize the truth of his situation by then."

James got red in the face but then his visage slackened for a few moments.

Amy said, "Done, and it doesn't hurt my sensibilities at all."

I reached out and tapped his forehead, releasing my energy. I didn't really have to touch him, but I had the urge to hit him and it was very cathartic. He disappeared in a flash of white light.

Amy grinned, "Where'd you send him?"

I said mock innocently, "Hawaiian Islands, he'll have a great time."

Amy asked, "Which one?" her eyebrow raised.

I grinned, "A very private one. Rather small, but it has fresh water, and food to scavenge. He'll be fine for two weeks and get back to civilization when his power comes back. He is more than powerful enough to fly, or even shape a boat."

Amy sighed, "Vince let me know they didn't have any better luck than we did on locating Silas or more vamps. They did kill a coven leader, banish six others and welcomed two new faces to our coven though. At least there are no more enemies local, that we know of."

I nodded soberly, hoping he hadn't been holding anything in reserve, although I couldn't imagine what, we had accounted for all the races. Angels and demons were rare to the point of being non-existent, and the fae really hated the cities.

Sara said in a tone of disappointment, "I thought this would have been more exciting. Should have went with Vince, they got to blow shit up."

I said, "Stuff. Don't curse."

Sara looked at me sheepishly and I teleported us to the council chambers, sure that Brandt would want to know about our morning adventures. He didn't look happy, but he understood it was an internal witch and sorcerer deal, and that Willa and I had the authority to make the call.

It was good to see Vince, Willa, Lisa and Leanne unhurt, it was all I could do not to make my rounds and collect kisses and hugs from all of them. Damn public. Brandt didn't have anything new to report either, so we were all stuck waiting for the hammer to fall. I decided we needed some stress relief and suggested a trip to the beach, inspired by where I sent James.

The others got wind of it, and besides the four of us staying at Vince and Amy's place, Kim, Tara, Stacy, and Jason decided to tag along. Tara and Stacy were the two new witches, they seemed subdued and a little lost. I figured they needed the reassurance of sticking to Willa for now. Tara was a tall willowy blonde with blue eyes, Stacy had long curly brown hair and hazel eyes.

We gathered some bottles of water, soda, alcohol, blankets, and food. I transported the eleven of us to a private island in the Caribbean. When asked how I knew about it I just said I'd travelled the world a lot, there were no buildings or manmade structures to indicate it wasn't just a deserted island and I didn't really want to admit I owned it.

I wasn't trying to hide it exactly, it just felt too much like bragging. I had a lot of money.

It didn't take long, as we started drinking, for the not body shy werewolves to just strip naked and dive in the ocean. There was a small cove on the beach, and the water was quite still. I couldn't help but admire both of their forms. 

I wasn't body shy either, but I saw a few nervous looks as Amy and I followed suit. Pure silliness. The ocean was warm when I dove in, and I enjoyed swimming around for a while. Willa caught up to me as I swam leisurely inside the cove. I loved how the sun lit up her hair and she had a twinkle in her eye when she pulled me toward her and gave me a kiss.

She broke the kiss and our eyes locked. I smiled impishly and wrapped us in power. We appeared inland about a quarter mile right next to some hot springs. My heart constricted for a minute, remembering the last time I was here. But it was time for new memories, part of my new life. I led her down the steps I carved into stone and into hot water.

Willa said, "This is a great spot, I'm glad I am here with you."

I smiled and stole a kiss, "Me too love."

We took a moment to look around. We were in the middle of a small rocky hill that was surrounded by trees and nature on three sides. Behind us was a sheer rock wall and in front after the pools lip there was a twenty foot drop. We could see over the treetops and far out into the ocean, it was a gorgeous view. The air was fresh and the feeling of Willa's flesh against mine was making me tingle. Full of anticipation of the pleasure to come I pulled her in for another kiss and the world around me disappeared.

Willa kissed along my jaw line and onto my neck, I licked my lips in anticipation as her fingertips traveled down my stomach, my core tightened as I lost myself in the sensations she was causing while I returned the favor, exploring her supple silky skin. 

Our breasts kept rubbing against the other's as we kissed and necked. Our fingers explored the depths of our molten cores as we raised each other toward blissful ecstasy. Our moans and little gasps mixed as we kissed desperately while taking quick shallow breaths. The intensity drove me wild as Willa's fingers pleasured me until I reached my height and fell into explosive bliss.

I did my best to continue my ministrations to her body and she followed me over a few seconds later. My warm silky channel gripped her fingers desperately as I rode the pleasure. I gasped as the pleasure released control of my body back to me and held her close, kissing her neck as I did my best to extend and intensify her bliss.

We kissed softly and just held each other, once again acknowledging the beauty surrounding us.

"Room for a few more?"

We looked to the side and saw we had a little audience, I wondered how long they'd been there. Willa blushed, but I just wondered why they waited.

I said, "Of course."

Vince got in, his cock sticking straight out, followed by Amy, Lisa, Leanne, Kim and Stacy. I didn't see Tara, and that kind of surprised me. Although, I didn't see Jason either, I though speculatively. Stacy sat on one side of me, and Leanne plopped down between me and Willa.

"So did you enjoy the show?" I asked with an impudent grin.

Vince grinned and said, "Hottest thing I've seen in a long time."

I shook my head in faux sadness, "Poor Vince, all hot and bothered, and surrounded by seven beautiful naked women. What do you say ladies, someone want to help him out?" I asked teasingly.

Kim actually looked regretful when she said, "I would, but it's too soon."

I was pretty open sexually, more so than ever before with this polyamory thing we all had going on, but I didn't think I could do it in front of Amy, and I was hoping the same was true for her. I had raised her, it would just be too... weird. I was hoping someone would step up, because I was feeling naughty and wanted to watch it. After all, turnabout is fair play, and I liked watching as much as I did being watched.

Lisa stood up and walked over to him sassily and straddled his legs facing him.

Vince opened his mouth, an unsure look on his face. He was probably going to ask something dumb, like if she was sure, but she pushed a finger against his lips before leaning in and kissing him. She arched her back, her long black hair flowing down the curves of her body as she swiveled her hips and ground her heat against him.

They looked so damn hot together. I closed my mouth and moistened my lips, enjoying the show when I felt Leanne's hand caressing my inner thigh, teasingly brushing my labia softly as she traced circles. I moaned softly at her touch, but kept my eyes on Vince and Lisa as she rose slightly, a gasp escaping her lips as she lowered herself on his hardened member. I moved my hand onto Leanne's leg and traced figure eights across her silky smooth skin, slowly working my way down to her inner thigh. 

Her fingertips found and separated my labia and she gently flicked my clit before running her fingertips up and down my swollen slit. I watched Lisa grind herself on Vince, her body looked so sexy as she rode him, the end of her hair, floating on the steaming water. Leanne's fingertips found their way into my tunnel, her palm pushed into my clit as she curled her fingers to rub my g-spot.

I almost jumped when I felt a hand on my other leg. I looked over at Stacy, the new witch I hadn't even spoken to yet. She had a question in her warm hazel eyes. I didn't even know her, but I was caught up in all the sensations, and lust seemed to permeate the area. I smiled shyly, as absurd as that sounds, and put my free hand on her leg before returning my gaze to Lisa and Vince.

It was almost a surreal experience as I watched two people I love make love, while I pleasured two other women, one a stranger, as they both pleasured me. I didn't know it then, but Stacy would join us one day in love, but that first day we were just caught in the tide of lust as we shared intimacies.

I'd never forget that first trip we all took to the beach together, adding others to our circle and where Vince first got to make love with Lisa and Leanne. It had seemed impossible to me that this could possibly last, that none of us would go down in a destructive fit of jealousy at some point. But it never happened. I don't know if it was the witch rituals and other magic we shared, or the need for Vince to have multiple partners that we all supported, maybe both, or a mix of the two and some quality we couldn't quantify or even identify.

I just knew it was a wonder and a blessing that I'd never take for granted...

Chapter 15 - Vincent and Anise

*** - Vincent

When we all got back from the beach everyone was exhausted, except me. I was bursting with energy and just about bouncing off the walls. I had gone from famine to feast, but I wasn't about to complain. Tara must have made a connection to Jason, because they left together. We were going to head back to my house as a group, with just Stacy as an addition, but Kim had a strangely reluctant look on her face. I asked her what was up.

She said, "I would have liked to help this morning, although I guess it wasn't shifter business... Still, you helped the witches and sorcerers. I'm reluctant to allow you out of my sight, you seem to be at the center of everything going on."

I shook my head, "And here I thought you were going to miss me."

She stepped up so we were almost nose to nose, her voice seductive, "Who said I wouldn't? You know the rules though, you want me to come home with you... make me," she growled out the last two words and somehow made it sound sultry.

I swear these females would be the death of me.

I sent a message to Amy, to have Anise take the rest of them back to the house, that I would meet them there. At the same time I glared at Kim while surrounding us both with shadow, moved us to my bedroom and held her with my power, pinned helplessly against the wall. 

She was glaring right back, her eyes golden. She looked so incredibly sexy mad, but I wasn't stupid enough to tell her that.

I said with just a bit of steel in my voice, "As fun as this fight will be, it won't be nearly as fun since it's too soon for us to share a bed again. If I release you will you behave?" 

She looked like she wanted to rip my head off, but she nodded curtly.

But when I let her down, she backhanded me, hard. She may have been a beautiful petite oriental woman, but she was a werewolf. I went flying across the room and slammed into my dresser. Since I had sensed truth, it was clear her version of behaving wasn't nearly the same as mine.

I said angrily, "What the fuck was that for!"

"Idiot," she said scathingly, "Why did you not call me this morning and ask for my help. I had your back the other day did I not? You have proved your strength to me, you are worthy in that way, but I will not be a simple fuck, a weekly visit to bury your cock in my warm flesh and feed on my soul. So which is it, are you simply thoughtless, or do you truly think that little of me?"

I was speechless and the anger drained out of me, I recognized the hurt pride beneath her anger and wasn't sure what to say. I did care for her, I wouldn't have gone back to her a second time if she didn't mean anything to me. Finding warm flesh was never one of my problems.

Finally I got out, "I'm sorry, I didn't think. But it wasn't out of disregard for you, I didn't recognize the significance of your presence yesterday, I thought you were there to support your alpha."

I hoped I wasn't digging myself deeper and smiled tentatively at her.

I softened my voice, "Kim, you will always be welcome in my home, and I promise to let you know the next time I need to knock heads together, if at all possible."

She walked across the room, "If possible? Make it possible," she demanded.

I replied trying for a reasonable tone, "I meant if I am attacked at my home, and you are not here, it isn't as if I can wait."

Her eyes softened and she rubbed my cheek where she had struck me, then she leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. Werewolf chicks were nuts, but so, so, worth it I thought, as I kissed her back.

Maybe I was a little twisted, between Kim and Amy it was apparent I liked the abuse, or perhaps I just liked a challenge. I decided on the latter, since that sounded better. She broke off the kiss and stepped back.

She said, "Good, I will stay here when I am able, some nights I must roam my territory and hunt with the pack. If there is too much time in between runs... I get cranky and unreasonable."

She smiled at me mischievously, as if knowing exactly how ironic that last statement was, and we headed downstairs where we found everyone else had arrived. They all had amused looks on their faces and I looked suspiciously at Amy, wondering if she had seen through the link and reported everything.

My suspicions were confirmed when Lisa and Willa each took one of Kim's arms, and took her on a tour to claim one of the empty bedrooms. It was getting late and over a half hour or so, they all trickled off to bed with the exception of Anise and myself. 

Anise said, "Want to learn some more? I know a few useful tricks that you could learn quickly enough I think, to make a difference. We can always work on the long term stuff after the danger passes."

I smiled, "That sounds great."

We worked on some techniques together, but it didn't take long for us to call a break and race for one of the bedrooms. The rest of the night was a cycle of teaching, and sex. It was our magic, the way it intermingled, seeming to have a desire to join apart from us. No matter how sated we were after sex, it didn't take long for our libidos to be reignited and we answered the need.

It made learning magic from Anise even better.

But then the moment we had both dreaded and anticipated came to pass. One of my ghosts interrupted us and we moved quickly. Anise woke the rest of the house while I was briefed. Shortly, we were all wide awake and assembled in the living room. I took a moment to fill May with enough energy so she could inform the alpha, and a few other ghosts to inform the rest of Willa's coven, the second coven, and the vampire allies we had freed, of what was coming.

I took a deep breath and told them what I knew, "Silas is coming down from the North, he has over sixty vampires with him, and they all have protections. I don't know if they are strong enough to stop me or not. Either way it will greatly slow my efforts, and I would be overwhelmed without help. I could use my demonic powers instead, but there is something to recommend about turning the vampires and having them on our side. Eventually the advantage would shift to us. Plus, about half are new vampires, and probably not in control of their thoughts, much less their actions.

"Unless we want to slaughter them, we need delaying tactics to give me time to take them. It may come to that anyway, if a strong enough coven is behind it."

Willa snorted, "They'd have to be."

I grinned at her and said, "There is more. I don't know where he found one, or if he is paying him but there is a warlock accompanying the vampires. He has two demons with him already, we don't know if he is powerful enough to control more than that or not."

Anise interjected, "He is mine. I doubt he could control you, since you are only half, but I bet he could cause you major problems, and he will be warded from demon magic."

Kim said, "We should go to the council chamber before deciding on rolls, otherwise we'll have all different plans and it will be a mess. Brandt will want in on this, and unless I miss my guess whoever the vampires decided on will too."

I said, "Good point, I just don't know how much time we have, or how fast Silas is moving. If at all possible we should try to intercept out of the city."

I nodded to Anise, and she took all of us to the council chamber.

It didn't take long, maybe ten minutes to make a plan. My turning of his troops became the center of the plan, so Amy and Kim, along with most of the witches, vampires, and werewolves would cover me, doing as little damage as possible while I took over the enemy one by one. I was glad to see no one wanted to slaughter sixty beings just to stop one psychopath.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 04



No need for a huge lead in since I am just posting this as the next part. Copyright still applies across all postings for necromancer chronicles. But here starts book two. The prologue is in third person, so don't let that confuse you too much. It switches back to first for chapter one. 

*****

Pre-prologue - Anise

22 years ago...

It seemed all out of proportions to me, but I would not risk my babies for anything. It all started a month ago when the coven cast auguries over my unborn children, and got a very strange message. It didn't make sense to me, but I would not ignore it.

I waddled into the room, it was small, and had witch symbols, sorcerer wards, demonic wards, and angelic wards. It was sound proofed and windowless with a double bed in the corner and two bassinets. I shook my head in amazement thinking of the last few weeks as we rushed to get this done, before the birth.

The message hardly made sense, but I would be a fool to ignore it.

I took another step and a sharp pain went through my abdomen, and I felt my pants grow damp. My reaction was one of relief, I had never had twins before, I was unbelievable huge and I couldn't wait to get them out.

I called out, "It's time!"

Immediately the room flooded with my family. One by one they all hugged and kissed me, wishing me luck before leaving the room. Vince was last, with a worried look on his face.

I smiled, "Don't worry, it will all be fine," my voice confident.

He just nodded, "I just wanted to be there for you."

I kissed him and waved him out the door before I closed it tight. I was now alone. I touched the door and activated the last of the angelic wards. The floor, ceiling, and the four walls started glowing a deep white. Nothing could get in this room, not modern technology, not magic, not ghosts, not even a seer's vision from the past, or the future. I was truly alone.

I made my way to the bed and prepared the spells in my mind. It would be difficult but I would have to give birth to my twins alone, with no one else. For a human this would be incredibly dangerous, but I had done this more times than I remember, and I had angelic healing to help me along.

Still, I was a bit sad, I wish Vince could be in here to share the moment too.

I thought again of the strange message, struggled to make sense of it despite the clarity of the warning. It was short, and very specific.

Let none know who is first born.

So here I was, on my own. No one would ever know, and I would hold it in my heart forever.

I grunted in pain as another contraction hit me, and I pulled my magic around me to lessen it. My children wouldn't be long in coming now, I was almost ready...

Prologue

Four years ago...

Feinir looked intently at the warlock, "What have you found?"

The warlock shook his head negatively, "You?"

Feinir said in a frustrated voice, "No, it doesn't make sense, no seer can view the birth and I tried many, even with the hair we managed to get our hands on. The information is blocked. We must figure this out another way before the pivotal moment."

The demoness stood, "We could spy on them more closely, surely the first born will reveal him or herself at some point in action or deed."

Feinir frowned, "Maybe. All indications so far are they are very similar in temperament to their parents. If someone told me one of them was destined to break the human race I wouldn't believe them, not without the prophecy. But if we could get a spy close enough, maybe they will pick something up."

The warlock nodded, "I have someone in mind. I'll get right on it. Although..."

Feinir nodded at him to continue.

He said, "We may want to throw some obstacles at them, see what they are made of under pressure. People almost always show their true selves when in danger."

Feinir growled, "Not yet, if we meddle we may screw up the prophecy altogether."

The warlock snorted, "If not for our meddling those kids would never had been born."

Feinir replied, "Perhaps, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious, we have one chance to get this right."

The warlock smirked, "Are you truly that afraid of the humans?"

Feinir glared, "Do not mock me. You are a tool I would hate to lose, but don't forget you reached expendable status forty years ago when you knocked up your hoar here."

The warlock glared, but held his tongue. He knew better than to anger the ancient fae.

"But why? Why do you fear them?"

Feinir considered the question for a moment. It was something he had kept from them all this time, he didn't trust them.

It was hard to believe one of those kids could do something the entire Fae realm could not, but it was true, confirmed not only in prophecy but by many seers.

It probably wouldn't hurt to tell, but the being didn't want to risk it. He was here to ensure the fae realm's survival. It was too important and enough was given to chance as it was. The humans were too close to the knowledge they needed to cross realms. That would be a disaster. They already had all the pieces to formulate the unified theory, the theory of all, it was pure chance none of their scientists had figured it out yet.

And when they did, Feinir had no doubt it would end in war. The humans were still barbaric and feared the unknown. They would strike out in their fear and he couldn't allow that to happen. The fae were an ancient race with incredible magical power. But the humans had fearsome weapons, and worst of all, iron. The fae didn't stay out of the cities because they liked nature, though they did. The fae couldn't tolerate the cities, their magic would be erratic, and may even become harmful to its owner.

The only protection the fae truly had now was that humans could not cross realms.

The prophecy was the only way to keep humanity in its place, and they had arranged things in a way to bring it to fruition, yet they were somehow blocked from critical information.

If they were to win, keep the fae safe, the first born must live, but the second born must die...

Feinir said, "Perhaps one day, but I will not tell you yet. You do not need to know."

The warlock looked disappointed, but nodded his head before leaving.

Feinir thought through the prophecy one more time, looking for any clues even though he knew there would not be. The seers all agreed, the firstborn would cause the fall of the human race, though, they did not know how. And that would only happen if the second born was not around to stop it...

If the spy failed for too long a time, he may need to reconsider the warlock's idea.

But for now, he would watch...

 

Chapter 1 - Hope

Present.

I walked through hallways in the hospital, following Carol. I looked at my cell phone for the time, I was going to be late for my pre-med class, but this seemed more important. I couldn't hear anything, not from where I was, but I could see the real world as a ghostly echo.

It seemed strange to me at first, having the ability to heal, and going to medical school. But my mother, who knew absolutely freaking everything, had convinced me. Knowledge is important, and I could agree, grudgingly, but did I really need to learn everything? My homeschooling had been very intense.

I asked gently, "What happened Carol?"

The ghost turned to me with tears in her eyes, and then turned away. For a moment I thought she might not answer as the seconds dragged on. When Carol had turned up in my dorm room she was hysterical, and swearing to do anything I wanted if I would help.

Much like my father, I charge ten years for a service. Sometimes, when it's just plain the right thing to do, that makes me feel a little guilty. But her service did not include satisfying my curiosity.

Carol whispered, "It was stupid, Joey and Tara, my children, were fighting in the backseat and wouldn't listen. I got frustrated and started yelling at my husband. He got distracted... the truck, he didn't see it."

With a small burst of energy, I took her hand and squeezed it. Really, it was the best I could do. The best anyone can do, in a situation like this. Well, except I'd be making sure the rest of her family didn't follow her into death.

She led me into the room and I didn't detect anyone close by. I stepped out of limbo and into the hospital. I didn't really understand how I do it. My parents couldn't, but my brother and I could cross realms like a human walks through a door, we just do it.

The rest of her family was on life support, and when I scanned their bodies it didn't look good, although the youngest, the boy, might have pulled through on his own. I summoned my immortal power, it wasn't the white of my mother's, or the dark shadow of my father's. It was a bright and deep gold.

My parents had started calling it my immortal power, to differentiate from my necromancer power. Because there was no name for me and my brother, we were unique. Sometimes I thought that was cool, sometimes I was sure I shouldn't be. The name simply came from the fact both demons and angels are immortal.

I walked to each of them, setting a slow healing on them, then pain blockers. It would still hurt as they slowly recovered over the next two to three weeks, but not nearly as much. It seemed cruel, but it had been made clear to me that the humans who knew nothing of us, freak out when things like instant healing occurs.

I gave Carol a half smile, "They will be fine in a couple of weeks, and I've blocked most of their pain."

She asked, "What now?"

"Simple, I bind you and you can watch over your family if you want, until I call you."

She nodded then shook her head, obviously overwhelmed by it all.

I gathered my necromancer power and formed a link to her soul. I wasn't smiling anymore. It was something I could not help but take seriously. This woman would quite literally do anything I commanded now. Anything.

I awkwardly said goodbye, stepped into limbo and transported to the building that had my pre-med class. It didn't take long to find a spot with no people or cameras, and then I stepped out of limbo and made my way into the lecture room. I was only five minutes late, but I still hunched down, taking a seat in the back as quickly and quietly as possible.

Today was the Wednesday before thanksgiving, and my last class before the four day weekend. I was looking forward to going home for a long visit after the party tonight. Towards the end of the lecture professor Mendez asked me to stay after class. I wondered what it could be about, but gave up after a bit.

After class I collected my things and walked over to his office. He was only a few moments behind me and let me in, closing the door behind us.

Professor Mendez looked at me and said after sitting down, "You're one of my best students, I was just wondering if you had looked into any med schools yet?"

I sat down and said, "I'm trying for Harvard or Stanford, my grades are good enough but..." I trailed off.

He said, "Well maybe we can do each other a favor, I have a few friends in Harvard, I could send them a recommendation letter. You certainly do have the grades for it."

I frowned, "And this favor?"

He shrugged, "Come now Miss Jones, you're an incredibly beautiful, and smart, young woman."

At that, I was kind of pissed off and amused at the same time. Mr. Mendez was still an attractive man at close to forty. I'd have probably slept with him if he'd simply hit on me, which is what was amusing. I was pissed, because there was no way in hell I'd be blackmailed or bribed into sex. 

I knew I was attractive. I had my mom's golden blonde hair and blue eyes. I was a bit taller at five foot six, and my D cup breasts had been attracting men's eyes since I was sixteen. Still, that was no excuse. On the other hand, I really wanted that recommendation.

I smiled at him and slightly tilted my head to the side. Some strands of hair fell across my face and I pushed them back. Ok, so I was sending signals I had no intention of following up on, but he deserved it.

I said happily, "There are many different kinds of leverage Mr. Mendez. How about you send that letter just based on my GPA and we call it even. I won't even mention you tried to bribe me for sex. Just out of curiosity, are you a superstitious man?"

His face grew closed and angry at my words, "You'll regret refusing my generosity miss Jones."

I nodded. "So, my leverage, call me when you've sent the letter, and well, I'll make sure it stops."

I felt a stab of guilt, I shouldn't be doing this to a human, but still, he deserved it. I wondered how many desperate students he's pulled this on. I stood and walked out as I went over my options. I decided on Bree. She was one of my older ghosts, and she kind of mothered me a lot. I was sure I wouldn't have to do much persuading. Bree would be outraged on my behalf.

When I got done with my silent conversation with Bree, I was sure the next twenty four hours would be hellish for Mr. Mendez. Stuff disappearing and reappearing, shoe laces untied, tripping over nothing, strange sounds, basically a good old fashioned haunting. My only caution was it couldn't cause any permanent harm. I fed Bree enough necromantic power to effect the world around her to a certain degree, but not enough to become visible. Sometimes it was good to be me.

"Hey gorgeous, going my way?"

I turned and couldn't help a smile when I turned to look at Robbie. He was human, but also one of my best friends in college. Maybe we were a little more than friends, I had tried dating humans before, and it just didn't work once it got to a certain point. But Robbie and I clicked on a casual level perfectly, he was a great guy.

He was also very easy on the eyes. Six feet tall, toned muscles, short blond hair and blue eyes. 

"Which way is that?"

He shrugged, "The dorm, need to ditch my books and pack a few things before the party."

I nodded, "In that case, I am. I'm ready for the break."

I lived in a dorm because I decided against joining a sorority. It would have been fun no doubt, but there were oaths, and lifelong bonds. In just a few years I would stop visibly aging. It just didn't feel right to give an oath I knew I couldn't keep. It was bad enough knowing I would need to limit my connection with the humans I met here to ten years or so.

Once I learned to modify my age like mom, I'd be able to live a whole lifetime among humans, and then move on to start again. But that wouldn't be for a while.

We walked together over to the dorm in a comfortable silence. He dropped me off at the door to my floor before going up to his, we would see each other later. I dropped off my books and checked the time, it was just after five. I had plenty of time to eat before getting ready. I looked over to my roommate whose nose was buried in her laptop and hadn't even heard me come in.

"Kristi!" I grinned when she jumped, "Want to grab a bite to eat?"

Kristi was a human as well as my best friend in college. In fact, the whole school was human for the most part. The only exceptions were my brother Vinnie, and a few others who I hardly knew. 

Kristi muttered, "Sure, just a sec," as she zoned out again.

Kristi was wicked smart, she was a year younger than me having graduated high school early. She had a slim figure with large D breasts, long light blonde hair and grey eyes. She could change from adorably cute to killer sexy with the way she held herself. She wasn't the typical cheerleader type though, far from it. She was more like the absent minded professor.

I waited a minute then lightly put my hand on her shoulder. Not to hurry her up, just so she wouldn't actually forget I was there. She looked up in surprise, and then turned on adorable. I was almost positive she didn't do it on purpose, it was more like a programmed response.

"Sorry," she clicked the save button and hit standby, "Let's go. Have you seen Vinnie today?"

I answered as we left the room, "Nope, but he should be at the party. Everything okay with you two?"

She and my brother had been seeing each other on and off over the last few months since the semester started. I wasn't sure what to think of it but it seemed to work for them.

She shrugged, "It is that I know of, you know how guys are. I haven't talked to him in a couple of days."

This was what I was afraid of. Do I defend my brother, or commiserate. At least my relationship with Robbie doesn't have that issue. Vinnie hates him for some reason.

"Plans for this weekend?" I deflected.

She shook her head, "My mom is still overseas."

The moment felt awkward, she was my best friend. I should be inviting her to come home with me right now. Humans were shielded from our world, so didn't react well if they spend too much time in my house. Too many things that they would sense but can't put their finger on, or understand. Then of course, there is Ray and Claudia. My half brother and sister regularly ran around as wolves in the yard most days. Ray was twenty two and would be home from his college, Claudia was just nineteen, the baby in the house, and she hadn't gone to college yet.

Actually, I was pretty sure she was a stripper. Werewolves were very... sexually orientated.

Another problem, most of the human friends that have visited me kind of think we are all freaks. My mom, Kim, Aunt Lisa and Amy who is strangely enough my niece, are all in a relationship with my father at the same time. Amy had been born over two centuries ago to my mom's daughter from a previous marriage making me Amy's Aunt even though I was like, two hundred years younger. That didn't even count the witches who visited on occasion.

They tried to hide it, but the difference in my father's aura had when he fed was quite obvious. Once I was old enough they didn't even try to hide it anymore.

The most damning thing though, was they all looked a couple of years older than me. Even Kim who was a mortal werewolf looked around twenty five even though she was closer to fifty or more. My brother might also kill me, since I know he is seeing Tanya, a young witch from Willa's coven, when he is home from school.

Despite all these reasons, I still felt like a total shit not inviting her.

Great friend I turned out to be. I deflected an awkward conversation into another that was even more awkward. Damn it. I sent one of my ghosts to ask dad if it would be feasible. He was the only choice, the only other necromancer in the family. Maybe we could figure something out. I knew Mom's magic could artificially age people, the werewolves could go off somewhere to change and the rest was weirdness within the realm of possibility.

Of course, my brother was going to kill me, especially if Tanya stopped by.

We went in to eat and I sensed other supernaturals. Talia, Alex and his girlfriend Mia were eating at one of the tables. I returned Talia's wave as I went up to get food, ignoring the glare that came from Mia. I had tried last year to be friends with them, but it didn't work out. Mia liked drama too much, and something about Tania just felt off.

My ghost came back and gave me the thumbs up. The tension drained from me as I followed Kristi to an empty table. I was also told a car would be ready for me in the parking lot with the key left on my bedside table at home so I could summon it. I hadn't even considered that part and sent a silent thanks to dad, teleporting seemed so natural...

"Kristi, you want to come home with me? I have to warn you though, I have a big family, and they're a bit... unconventional."

Kristi raised her brow, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, "I'd love to have you, but just remember I warned you. Oh, and the house is haunted," I winked.

It was true after all, between my father and I we were hosting over two hundred ghosts that could drop in almost any time, and quite a few that never left. Even though I started earlier than dad, about thirteen, only about a fifth of them were mine. Forty or so over the last nine years, I wasn't nearly as dedicated to collecting at least one a month as he was.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 04



We had never talked about it before, so I choked on a fry when Kristi said with her lips pressed together, "I don't believe in ghosts."

I gulped down some of my water, fighting my laugh. Then unaccountably I became sad. Humans missed so much. I shook it off and gave her a teasing smile.

"You may change your mind after visiting."

She frowned at me, a suspicious look on her face.

I rolled my eyes, "So, will you come? It will probably be mostly us and my half brother and sister. Vinnie usually heads out to see his old high school friends."

That last part was the truth but I still felt guilty saying it. I knew it wouldn't be the only reason he left the house...

She shrugged, "Okay. Sounds interesting."

She did her best to pass it off as no big deal, but I could see the grateful look in her eyes that she wouldn't have to spend the holiday at home by herself...

After dinner we headed back to take showers and get ready. When I had a moment alone I sent a long text message to Vinnie explaining about Kristi, mostly because I was a big stinking coward. I wasn't afraid of him. I just hated to fight with him and drama in general. It was November and a little chilly, but I put on a tight black mini-skirt, a tight red blouse which showed a generous amount of cleavage just on the right side of the trashy line, and red pumps.

When we got to the frat party I noticed I was hardly the only one ignoring the weather. I was just the only one impervious to the cold. It didn't take long for the hosts to ply us with drinks and not long after that before we were dancing and having a good time. I probably wasn't as paranoid as I should be accepting drinks from people, but I wasn't human. I would feel their bad intentions, and any drugs in the drink.

My brother showed up a short time later, he didn't look mad at all and I felt more stress fall off my shoulders. This dating my roommate thing needs to never happen again. Robbie showed up a couple of dances and drinks later. I was feeling really good and moved into him and kissed him hard. He returned my kiss fervently and caressed my lower back, just at the top of my ass, and my whole body tingled, radiating from my core.

"Hi," I said cheerfully after we broke the kiss.

He grinned, "I should show up late more often."

I faux pouted at him.

I saw my brother scowling at Robbie but ignored it. If he had a real reason to object he would do so. My brother was a little overprotective. Robbie may be a casual thing for me, but the guy didn't take it for granted and always treated me well. Even if he was a player, he wasn't an asshole about it, it was what I wanted. A girl has needs too and I didn't really do relationships well, especially with humans.

To be fair I think it was my fault. I sucked at lying, especially if I cared about someone. That's what always did it, I couldn't talk about so many things... what I was, did, and about where I went sometimes. It always led the guys to believe I was lying, which I was, but they would accuse me of sleeping around or something stupid like that.

Robbie liked me for who I was, and only asked for what I could give.

Oh, and he was better in bed than anyone I'd let have me before.

We danced a couple of times, I loved how it felt being in his arms as our bodies moved against and with the other's. That was about all I could take, I was so wet, and I needed to be ravaged. I took his hand and headed for the door. Robbie said his roommate already left after last class, so we went up into his room.

I was nicely buzzed and horny as hell. There were kisses, gropes and clothes disappearing off our bodies. I reached down and stroked him teasingly with my fingertips making him groan into my mouth.

I felt like I was in heat and whispered, "Fuck me, take me now, please fuck me," in a teasing sultry voice.

He picked me up and I shortly found myself bending over his bed. I was aching for it so bad, and I gasped as I felt him penetrate me slightly. Then he drove into me deep, hard, and fast. He started to piston in and out while he reached out, grabbed my hair and pulled back sharply, forcing me to arch my back and raise my hips.

The next stroke brushed my clit and my core tightened around him as my body exploded in pleasure. He spanked me hard, causing a sting to radiate from my ass where it joined and mixed with the pleasure radiating from my hot silken core. When I came down enough to move and think, I started to buck back against him as he hammered into me.

He knew what I needed, what I craved, and he gave it to me.

I was whimpering in pleasure as he slammed into me, driving me into my bliss a third time as I heard him grunt loudly. I could feel him expand in me, then nothing but intense pleasure as we reached our bliss together. I came down to him kissing up my shoulder blades and on to the sensitive part on the back of my neck that sent shivers of pleasure down my spine. My sheath tightened around his manhood and I felt him smile against my skin.

He pulled out and used an old t-shirt to wipe both of us, then gathered me up and cuddled up in the bed. His eyes twinkled as he stared down before lowering for a soft kiss. He spooned me and I wiggled and pushed back to get as close as possible. I didn't sleep at all, just like my parents, but I loved to cuddle up to him like this after sex, so as I usually did. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the feeling. It was so absurd, he was human. I was so much stronger, more powerful. But make sense or not, I felt so safe in his arms.

What he said next as he fell into slumber caused my eyes to pop open in shock.

"I love you gorgeous."

He couldn't have said that, we were just friends. I stayed very still as I freaked out internally. What if he starts to get possessive, or weird? I didn't want to lose him... Then I worried if I was hurting him, was I leading him on? My last question to myself was did I love him. I honestly didn't know, part of me did, of course I loved him. But was I in love with him?

Goddess I was such a selfish bitch, all I could think of was why did he have to ruin it? He was so good to me, he deserved better than a cynical bitch that was afraid to love a human. I checked him and he was sleeping deep enough. I used a small wisp of power to make sure he didn't wake up when I moved and crawled out of bed, put my slut outfit back on and went down to the showers.

I knew I was being overcritical of myself. I was good to him as well, good to all my friends. Love for a human was just that one thing that made me want to recoil and run for the hills. The questions repeated in my mind as I took a shower, did I love him? Could I handle it if I did? I didn't know, but I needed to find out... 

Chapter 2 - Vinnie

I watched Kristi sleep, feeling guilty. It wasn't anything I did though. Kristi knows I am not a commitment person right now. No, I was feeling guilty because of the text I got from Hope. It was long and ridiculously disjointed, and then when I saw her at the party she looked nervous, like I'd be mad at her.

But really, it was my fault for being dumb enough to date her best friend and roommate. I hadn't planned it, it just kind of happened. Kristi is one of the good ones. Her looks, the way she acts and treats people, she isn't fake.

I doubt Hope knows, but I did tell Kristi in the beginning that I was in a casual relationship with someone from home, and I couldn't commit. She seemed to be okay with it, but hopefully they will never meet. No good could come from that.

On top of all that, the idiot Robbie is falling so hard for my sister it's obvious to everyone but her. Not that he's a bad guy, he isn't, but that doesn't matter at all in the end when my sister gets hurt. Sometimes I want to go back in time and muzzle Sara. Oh, she meant well, telling us stories about our parents. It just never occurred to her that when she told us of our mom's heartbreaking past before she met our immortal father that she was also telling us of our future.

A future that is full of mates that we will fall in love with, and watch as they slowly die. Left alone to wander, grieve, and start the cycle anew.

Hope is terrified of falling in love I think. Not just with humans, with any mortal person be they human or supernatural. Which is pretty much everyone that isn't family, or undead. To tell the truth I'm probably not much better, not committing, multiple girlfriends. I'm not sure though if she has even made the connection between her fear and mom's history. I'm afraid to mention it though, just in case that would make it worse.

My sister is the most intelligent person I know, if she hasn't made the connection she is hiding it from herself. 

Shit, now I'm depressing myself. I shake my head and try and clear it of all the crap and look back down at Kristi. Her storm gray eyes were open, looking up at me speculatively. I wonder how long she was studying me.

I spoke just above a whisper, "I thought you were out for the night. Did I wake you?"

She said, "I don't think so, need to freshen up."

I grinned, "You'll need to pay the toll if you expect me to move."

My bed was up against the wall, and I was on the outside.

She narrowed her eyes, "How much?"

"Just a kiss, and a promise to come back."

She shook her head, "That's pretty steep, maybe I should just freshen up right here."

She grinned at me impishly.

"What if I pay you a kiss instead, and promise to chase you down if you don't return?"

She declared, "Sold! Pay up..." and she pulled me down into a deep kiss. I moved so she could get up. She wrapped herself in the sheet and went for the doorway.

I hopped up and pulled on my shorts. No way was she going to the men's floor bathroom by herself naked in a sheet. There were sex crazed young men on this floor, I knew because I was one of them. Sometimes I wondered if she knew just how smoking hot she was.

She looked at me with an eyebrow raised as I followed her out the door.

"What, I need to get in a good position in case you bolt," I said innocently.

She muttered something about glasses.

"What was that baby?" I asked.

She glared but I knew she liked it when I called her that. Her heartbeat always sped up when I said it so I saved it for special occasions.

She said in exasperation, "I need glasses. That way you men won't mistake me for stupid."

I rubbed my hands together, "Actually that's a good idea, can you put your hair up too, maybe wear an ugly long but tight brown skirt and a white blouse. You'll need a ruler too, in case I get too loud in the library."

What? I already admitted I was a sex crazed young man...

She snorted, "Fine, you win Mr. overprotective. You could have just said you were looking out for me though. Oh and the glasses, I'll think about it," she said the last part in a whisper as she slipped into the bathroom. I kind of rose to half mast at that point to be honest.

I waited outside to protect her privacy, luckily no one else woke up or they'd have made fun of me for the rest of the year. The only reason it wouldn't last past that is I was already a senior.

She surprised me, when she opened the door she made a run for the stairs. I caught her in four steps and threw her over my shoulder, locking her legs against my torso.

She giggled and slapped my ass as I got her through the door to my room and closed it. I locked the door and carried her to the bed. I rolled the sheet as she fell into my bed, stark naked, her face was red with both excitement and embarrassment. I took my shorts off and pushed her down on her back, claiming a kiss as I used my fingertips to get her ready for me.

It didn't take long until I took her breath away. Her core was more than wet, more than ready for me as my whispered name left her full lips. I slid in painfully slow. Every second was a cacophony of sensation along my member as her beautiful body took me inside. When I was in all the way I pushed in and ground a circle against her pelvis drawing out a gasp.

I slid in and out of her slowly, savoring every touch, every explosion of erotic sensation on my sensitive nerves. Her first orgasm was so small I almost didn't notice it. I didn't speed up though, and every orgasm that followed seemed to be more intense. We stared into each other's eyes as I brought her over time and time again.

Towards the end her beautiful silky skin was glowing, her whole body shaking against mine as I pleasured her. Finally I picked up speed, knowing it wouldn't take much to reach my own peak, which I had been putting off until now. She screamed my name a moment before the orgasm took her. She was so beautiful, and it was more intense than simple words could ever capture. I let go in that moment, and her molten core grasped and milked my manhood until I released within her.

I loved to fuck hard and fast, but sometimes, on rare occasions, going the other way is much more intense.

I held her as she had aftershocks of pleasure. We just laid there for a while and didn't say anything. She didn't make me say it out loud, she probably knew I wouldn't, or couldn't. But it was obvious to us both. I had made love to her. I did love her.

Now I was truly fucked.

Because I was pretty sure I loved Tanya too. I was such an asshole, and Kristi deserved better. Still, it wasn't as if I didn't have a role model. My father was practically married to four women, and he loved some more on top of that.

Still, his situation is kind of unique and crazy. I don't need to feed on souls. I'm an immortal, and I'm a sorcerer. Especially though, I'm an idiot... But really... what twenty two year old male in college isn't?

I wrapped my arms around Kristi and spooned her, held her until she fell asleep. This time she didn't wake up until morning...

But before she did I fed her a thread of spirit and water so she wouldn't have a hangover. When she got up we dressed. I grabbed my bag and we went down to collect Hope and get out of here. I needed the break. I was taking advanced math and theoretical physics classes, and it was some pretty crazy stuff. 

It was a given that Hope was awake and ready to go and before I knew it we were on the road and heading home. It was just a half hour ride. We were relatively close to home, even if we hadn't been teleporting all the time.

I was half awake and trading insults with my sister when Kristi said, "I don't feel so good, got a bad feeling." 

A moment later I saw a very large fireball was closing with the car from the front.

Our parents had pushed us academically but they had also trained us well in magic. I didn't know all that much, some things were too complicated and beyond me. I could summon a deluge, or a blast of wind, but I couldn't combine them very well yet. I did okay with my immortal powers as well, for simple things, but if it was too complex it fell apart more often than not.

We had been told the stories of how our parents took Chicago away from the vampire Silas. My father's power of necromancy had been pivotal because of the vampires. He had told me though he wasn't nearly as powerful as mom. If he had tried to face any of the demons he most likely would have died. 

I had a long way to go. There were certain mind techniques to speed up casting and to stay focused in battle. It was also necessary for the more difficult things that are way beyond simple. An example was my mom's armor and sword, when she turned her magic into something actually solid, made it manifest, those I had an extremely long way to go on. It would be impossible to hold the spell and fight at the same time, if the magic wasn't trained.

It would be a long time before I could do anything that advanced.

Even my father wasn't all that much faster than I was. He had been trained right alongside us. The few times he had faced foes that weren't vampires he had used his magic as a simple blunt weapon. The truth was no one I'd met could come as close to fast and powerful as my mother.

Still, we did have an advantage in raw power with our immortal magic. I had been confident that my first real battle would go well. But I was frozen, staring at the large ball of fire. It looked like there was a very large amount of dirt mixed in it as well.

I heard my sister scream as it hit. I had crossed to different realms so often in my life, it was one of the simplest things for us, even more so then teleporting or healing. So frozen or not, that reflex saved me at the point of impact. My face felt hot, and my clothes were smoking. I patted the spots on my shirt and pants that were on fire to put it out in my panic, instead of just using my sorcery.

I was feeling a bit muzzy headed and shocked. No one had ever attacked us before. I looked around and saw my sister. She was glowing gold and holding a squirming Kristi who looked panicked and scared out of her mind. We might be able to teleport people, but we haven't been able to figure out how to bring someone with us when we change realms.

I knew my sister wouldn't leave Kristi to her fate. I looked around for our attackers and saw two people. It was Alex and Mia from school, a sorcerer and witch that had been standoffish with us. Still, it was extremely strange and I was having trouble thinking. I looked around again, Talia was the last supernatural at our school, who hung around those two, yet, I didn't see anyone else.

Alex blasted fire at my sister, who was desperately holding onto Kristi, it hit her shield and deflected. I may have been in shock, but the attack on Hope raised my anger enough to break my confusion and I acted.

I raised a shield of immortal power, it was a bit sloppy with my mind spinning, but it was the best I could do. I stepped back to our realm and created a bubble of water around Alex's head. It was all I could do to maintain that and hold my shield, I was hoping Alex couldn't access water, and fire would probably just boil his head. I laughed at that idea, feeling a little off.

The witch... Mia, she screamed, "Abomination!" then she screamed another word while pointing at me.

My shields held through the spell, barely, but the force still threw me back about twenty feet. I landed on my ass and then my torso fell back slamming my head into the ground. I lost my concentration and my shield dropped, and the water spell.

They both walked toward me a few steps, but to their right I could see a demon. What the hell, I was already about to die, why a demon? But it didn't run past them as I expected, it attacked. I watched bemused as they both went flying into the air. They got up and glared toward the demon.

Mia sounded a bit unhinged when she yelled at someone I couldn't see, "You traitor!" 

They ran into a nearby oak and disappeared. My fuzzy mind was impressed; they had a backup plan in case things went to shit.

As I lost consciousness I wondered who the traitor was, and hoped I would wake up. I should have healed when I'd had the chance, but I wasn't thinking straight...

I woke up to see my sister hovering over me. My head was clear and I sat up and looked around. Talia was sitting a few feet away talking with Kristi. Huh, I had no idea she was a warlock.

Hope said, "We have a small issue. Okay, probably an understatement."

I smiled, "You mean besides our fellow students both trying to kill and save us?"

She nodded, "You know how the enchantment is supposed to keep knowledge of magic from humans. That it should have tricked her into seeing something that made sense. Like a meteor, car crash, etc..."

I nodded.

She looked sheepish when she said, "Well, apparently our immortal powers shield from that, since I saved her she has seen everything as it actually happened. She's freaking out."

I blew out a breath, "What about Talia?"

"Oh, she says they belong to some cult saying we are unnatural abominations. Evil and good should never have spawned us, and that we need to die. She didn't take them all that seriously, until they asked her if she wanted to join them for the kill. I don't know. She is telling the truth but I still get a weird feeling from her."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 04



I shrugged, "She did save us, could it be the warlock summoning demons part you're picking up on?"

She pursed her lips, "I don't know, maybe. We should go home, I haven't even sent a ghost for dad. By the time I thought of it the point was moot."

We stood up to walk over to the two ladies and I just couldn't help myself.

"Oh sis?"

She replied, "What?"

"Happy thanksgiving!"

She snorted and muttered something about getting hit on my head.

I smiled when we got over there, "Everyone okay over here? We should get moving. Talia, you have plans?"

My sister was right, there was something disturbing about her, but I couldn't figure out what it was either. Not necessarily a bad thing, just... weird. Despite her saving us I was relieved at her answer, which made me feel like an ungrateful asshole.

Talia replied, "Glad you're okay, sorry I didn't get here sooner. But yeah, I need to go too, my parents are expecting me."

I flinched when a demon appeared, covered them both in shadow and disappeared.

Kristi said, "Holy shit, what the fuck was that?"

Crap, apparently once the enchantment was broken for someone it stayed broken.

I said, "It's okay, ready to meet the rest of my family?"

Her eyes widened and she turned to Hope, "Your house is really haunted, isn't it?"

My sister took her hand, "We'll explain a bit over the weekend. You are already in shock and there is so much to tell, I don't want to overwhelm you all at once. But yes, to answer your question. But don't worry, it isn't really a haunting, they are all invited guests."

Kristi said sarcastically, "Of course, that makes it much better, they're guests..."

Hope asked, "So, get ready, we are going to go straight there."

Kristi looked confused, "How, we walking?"

I winked and said, "Magic."

I really wasn't very good in stressful situations, at least for other people. I tended to have a weird sense of humor. It's how I dealt with stress, and apparently attempts on my life. I wondered if Kristi was the first human to know about the paranormal since the spell was cast when I felt my sister's magic encompass us all and take us home.

There were two monster wolves with silver hair play fighting ten feet away. Of course, werewolf play fighting looked like they were trying to kill each other.

"What are you doing!? You knew I was bringing a human here," my sister yelled looking livid.

Kristi just looked... shut down. I pulled her into me and held her, hoping it wouldn't hurt. I didn't see a change in her expression, but she didn't push me away.

My half brother Ray ran for the house. I wasn't sure what Claudia was thinking, but she just shifted right in front of us. She was very beautiful, taking after her mother. She was maybe a bit taller, but otherwise it was almost like a mirror image. There were subtle differences, but you had to really look to see them. She was also stark naked.

We weren't really sure why, but Claudia and Ray seemed all wolf, just very powerful wolves. No one expected them to inherit the demonic powers of my father, but we were surprised there was no indication at all of the necromancer powers either. Maybe the wolf genes were just too powerful and overwhelmed the others.

Claudia said in an annoyed voice, "Sorry but, so not my fault. We would have heard the car long before you got close enough to see. The real question is what the hell are you doing teleporting in with a human?"

I couldn't help but laugh when Hope turned to Kristi and said, "Told you my family was a little unconventional..."

I said half seriously, "Let's get in the house, before something else traumatizes her."

I heard Kristi mumble something about nervous breakdown, and hallucinations. I just shook my head at my naked sister and turned, leading Kristi to the house. Things just seemed to keep going from bad to worse and I should have seen it coming. I should have just teleported to one of the guest rooms. But no, I had to walk her through the front door where my whole family plus some family friends stood there and looked at us.

Half of them said, "What happened," in various states of emotion and I felt Kristi flinch and push into me. Suddenly it just wasn't funny anymore, at all.

I yelled, "Back off!"

They all shut up and took a step back, probably from surprise.

I said almost apologetically, "She can't handle meeting people right now. Ask Hope your questions. Mom, come with me please."

I took her through the house to an empty guest room even though I really wanted to take her to mine. That feeling kind of took me by surprise. I needed my mom though, and was happy she was actually following. I had no idea how to deal with a young woman who was semi-catatonic and probably in shock. I could have healed her body, but the mind is another matter altogether.

I was very angry with Alex and Mia for trying to kill us, but I was livid at what that had done to Kristi. If they were in front of me now I would have killed them.

When we got to the room my mother touched Kristi's head with a pure white symbol of some kind generated from her magic, and Kristi fell asleep.

Anise asked, "So what happened?"

When I frowned she said, "I need to know to help her. That's why you wanted me right?"

So I told her everything, from the moment I saw the fire and earth projectile...

Chapter 3 - Hope

I watched in silence as Vinnie cradled Kristi to his side protectively and left the room with mom trailing. The moment lasted a few seconds after they were out of sight and the questions came at me from all directions. I guess Vinnie had a point, it was annoying to me and they were my family.

I sighed, "Everyone calm down, I'll tell you what happened, and then take questions."

I smiled ruefully. I felt like I was giving a speech for heaven's sake, but I could tell they were all worried about Vinnie and I. Besides Dad, Amy, Kim, and Lisa, there was also my siblings Ray and Claudia, Sara who still refused to move on, Ron was a sorcerer who had a crush on me, and his mother Violet worked for my mom on the council. Of course, I also had all my ghosts hanging around looking at me worriedly. Strangely it was touching that they felt that way about me, even though our bond was one of master and servant. I bit my lip when I saw Tanya as well, she must be upset about how protective my brother had been of Kristi.

I was sure I would see more of the coven this weekend, but as today was thanksgiving they would have a coven get together and meal with all their families. Amy and Lisa being the only exception, they were with Dad. Not sure why all of our family didn't show up, I think some of the coven was nervous around their undead sisters and a necromancer or two.

Thankfully, Willa and my great niece Leanne didn't have that problem.

About halfway through my explanation my phone went off. Oh crap, it was Mr. Mendez. He said he sent the letter and to please remove the curse from him. I frowned. Did he think I was a witch or something? Maybe I shouldn't have done that, humans fear what they don't understand, and thanks to the enchantment they could never understand magic. Well, except for Kristi. I sent Bree a mental message to end the mission before I got back to my story.

When the story was over I got a lot of helpful advice on what to do different next time. I admit I hadn't been thinking very straight, and it was a big shock that someone wanted to kill me just because I'd been born.

My dad told me I was just to run away and call him if it happened again. I wouldn't do that, he was just ridiculously overprotective. But there were some useful tidbits in some of the other advice. Amy told me I should have transported Kristi away, stepped into limbo and then attacked from the shadows. That was probably the best idea that anyone came up with. 

I had also not just teleported away completely because I didn't want to leave my brother and didn't know where he was. I planned to talk to him about it, maybe come up with some rough plans for situations so we don't do anything stupid, like we just had. 

It went against the grain though, I didn't want to run, be a coward. I didn't really want to fight either. But if those two were any indication I wasn't going to have a choice in the matter. Things slowly cooled down and I found myself catching up with my wolfy sibs.

Ron was hanging around as well, he was a few years older than I was and made me nervous. He was kind of hot, and I was attracted to him, but he had a serious crush on me since I turned sixteen. I knew if I slept with him it would just get worse, I didn't want a serious boyfriend.

That reminded me of Robbie, my best friend with benefits that said he loved me. Crap, I freaked out so hard last night I didn't even say goodbye this morning. I really was a bitch sometimes. I pulled out my cell and sent him a quick happy thanksgiving text, and that I'd see him next week.

About a half hour later Vinnie came out with Kristi and mom. Vinnie's face was a frozen mask and I wondered what happened. Kristi seemed okay, if a bit tentative. After introducing her to my sibs and Ron we sat around for a while talking. She seemed to slowly relax, as if slowly accepting the fact that something wasn't going to try and kill us or blow something up.

Vinnie excused himself with that same emotionally masked face and went over to Tanya, they left the room together.

I looked over to Kristi expecting anything but what I saw. She didn't look jealous, hurt, angry, or chagrined. Her face was full of guilt. I couldn't figure out what happened, I'd have said a crowbar couldn't have separated him from Kristi an hour ago, now... I swallowed my curiosity, it wasn't my business.

Claudia said, "Sorry about out front. I didn't mean to startle you like that."

Kristi smiled weakly, "Don't worry about it. I'm in your home. Do you do that often?"

Claudia laughed delightedly, "Oh yes. Think of it like human sibling rivalry and puppies fake fighting all rolled together. Kicking my big brother's ass is one of my favorite past times."

Ray snorted, "You wish."

Ron asked, "What are you doing tomorrow, up for a movie, or maybe the beach?"

He was looking at me but Kristi replied, "The beach? It's kind of cold for that isn't it?"

Ron winked, "Don't forget the magic... I was thinking the Caribbean."

Kristi looked stunned for a minute before smiling, and then her face fell, "I don't have a suit."

I whispered, "We grew up with werewolves, beach trips are clothing optional. But you're close to my size. I might have something you can wear."

We chatted for a while more while I worried. I'd been avoiding something like this for a long time. I did like Ron... that was the problem. I shook my head to clear it. I knew exactly where my issues came from, but I refused to think about it. One day I may conquer it if playing the field gets old, but so far it just hasn't. I thought a little guiltily of Robbie again, my lifestyle wasn't working out great for him at all. Also, I knew my college days were numbered. I'd have to grow up sometime, just... not today.

Kristi was looking at me strangely.

"Sorry, did I miss something?" I asked, knowing I'd spaced out.

I was entirely too sober, I nabbed a beer from my fridge and at Kristi's look got another.

She said breathlessly, "That was handy."

She took the cold beer from my hand that was still glowing with golden light and popped the tab.

Her voice was back to normal when she said, "What I said was can you introduce me to the rest of your family now? I'm feeling okay I think, still overwhelmed but I shouldn't pass out on you anymore."

I nodded.

"Sounds good, we'll be eating soon, we go for the big meal at lunch around here."

I introduced her around starting with my mom the Nephilim, and my dad the half demon. Her eyes got a little wide as I introduced Amy, Kim and Lisa. I explained that they were basically all his wives, she didn't really understand, but that was okay. Not many people do.

I might have gone a little far, but I told her I was a necromancer and introduced her to the ghosts that were closest to me by feeding them enough power to manifest. The ones that were always looking out for me and spent their time around me were Tammy, Tony, and Bree. It wasn't that the others hid from me, it was just that usually when I picked up a ghost it was because I had saved a family member of theirs, so they spent most of their time watching over their family unless I needed them for something.

I decided to stop there. Her just meeting my family had a lot of supernatural information tied up in it with the brief explanation of ghosts, witches, sorcerers, necromancers, angels, demons, and werewolves. I hadn't even touched on the undead such as vampires, revenants, zombies, or liches. I needed to, as Amy was a lich and Lisa was a revenant, but she was clearly at information overload.

Dinner was good if a little awkward. Everyone went out of their way to be welcoming to Kristi, perhaps a little too much. Still, I appreciated the effort. Well, everyone but Vinnie, he was practically ignoring her. I bit my lip though, and held my tongue. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

Vinnie and Tanya headed out the door right after we were done eating, the rest of us talked for a while before getting coffee and pie. We were all stuffed so I decided a walk was a good idea.

"I need to stretch my legs, want to see the property? It's a few acres."

Kristi nodded and stood and we headed out the back door. My property was fairly large and there was a lot of trees and landscaping. We even have a decent size pool, but it was mostly drained right now. November in Chicago was not warm.

Once we had privacy Kristi blushed and blurted out, "I think I fucked up."

I held her hand and asked, "What did you do?"

She sighed. "I told your brother I needed space, and he should go see his witch. That it was all too overwhelming..." she trailed off.

I used a coaxing tone, "And?"

She said it really fast, "That he was smothering me and I couldn't breathe."

That explained things.

I said, "He'll get over it... I think. You were pretty stressed earlier, and I'm sure what we are was a big part of that."

She said, "I hope so, he..."

She cut off again with a gasp and stopped walking. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, and she was shaking a little. There was also a faint greenish aura surrounding her. Then all at once she gasped again and it faded away.

I asked, "Are you alright," thoroughly confused. 

I had felt magic, how did a human have magic?

She said slowly as tears grew in her eyes, "I dunno. It was like a waking dream, and it was horrible."

A shiver ran down my spine, "What did you see?"

I think my tone of voice scared her, because she looked up at me with alarm.

"It was your brother and Tanya. Tanya was on the ground and her limbs were just wrong... He was trying to fight something... It was dark, surrounded by shadows. It hit him and he went flying. There was another man there, older, he was... laughing. Then it stopped."

I sent Tammy to get mom and dad and took a deep breath.

"Is he still alive?" my voice was shaking.

She frowned, "I don't understand, but I don't think it happened yet. I know that sounds crazy, but it feels right. Soon though."

I asked softly, "What was around them, did you see anything else?"

She shrugged, "It could be anywhere. There were just a bunch of trees, a small grove."

My voice broke, "Oaks?"

She nodded.

I ordered, "Go back to the house. Tell them I went to the coven's oak grove."

There was no way I was taking her with me. Over her objections I surrounded myself in golden light and teleported to the grove.

I turned around quickly really wishing I had been blind for that. My brother was entertaining Tanya against an oak.

I reached out with my power and felt the demon approaching as well as a warlock. I still didn't understand what happened, or how what Kristi did was even possible, but I couldn't worry about it now.

I growled, "Demon incoming, you two may want to pause that for a minute."

I was seriously wishing I had a revenant or two like my father, ghosts were great and all for providing power to me, but couldn't really do anything on their own. Still, it wouldn't be easy to have an undead bodyguard follow me around in college, even if they did look like a normal person.

I heard my brother finish getting dressed. I still wasn't sure what to do in a fight, a real one. There hadn't ever been hesitation when I trained with my parents. I really wished they were here, but I couldn't wait any more, what if I had been too late? I tried to think of what I would do then and it came to me. 

I grinned and said, "You're the bait bro."

Then I slipped into limbo and prepared an attack. I also pulled in enough necromancer energy to make a few ghosts solid and fed it to Tony, Tammy, and Bree. Their attacks would be ineffectual against a demon, but they could still distract it. Plus, if I was lucky the warlock hadn't shielded against that type of magic.

I decided against shielding, I could pop back and forth pretty fast, and only focusing on the attacks would help. It was hard to maintain too many things at once. My attacks would be simple, I would use necromantic energy to rot and decompose, the only effective attack with necromantic energy for the living.

I was also holding my immortal magic. The best I could do there was spikes of pure magic. Either would be deadly if they broke through, but they were the equivalent of using a hammer. I really did need to practice more. Once I taught my magic it would be much easier.

I circled around behind them, and when they prepared to attack I stepped out I sent both types of my magic against the necromancer. My necromantic energy bounced off, but my immortal magic hammered into his back and I heard bones break. He screamed and the demon moved to defend, surrounding his master in shadows.

I ducked back into limbo when Vinnie's spike of magic hit the demon. The demon's shadows easily deflected it and I had a bad feeling the warlock was slowly healing himself. I stepped back out and we hit him from both sides. The demon shot shadow at me, but screamed in frustration, I was already back in limbo. This was not going well, what the hell was taking Kristi so long.

Tony, Tammy and Bree were doing their best, but they couldn't get through the shield either. I knew I wasn't strong enough, or at least, my mind wasn't disciplined enough, to do what was needed. The only way to defeat the demon would be to concentrate my magic through focus until it was solid, but only my mother was that good.

The strangest thing was I had been starting to actually enjoy the challenge of it. Now I just felt like I was a precocious kitten stalking a lion. Foolish.

I decided we couldn't win and started to circle back around, to teleport us all out. That's when my mom showed up. She appeared at least fifty feet away, inside the grove itself. I didn't even see her move and she had the demon skewered after a few lightning fast sword strokes, then beheaded. It was amazing, it was also daunting. I had so far to go. I knew one day I would hold that power if I worked hard enough, and lived long enough, but it would be a very long time from now.

She growled and I almost jumped back into limbo right after I had stepped out. She took the warlock's head and then looked at me and ordered, "Take him."

I froze. They had told me to never ever enslave a ghost against its will, but now here she was telling me to do just that. Even as a teen during my rebellious phase I never once considered it, it was not a good thing. Evil really.

She rolled her eyes at me, "This is the enemy, not a random ghost. You can let him go later but first we need information, take him now before it's too late."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 04



I nodded still unsure, but I trusted my mother. I pulled a little energy and forced a bond on the warlock's soul. I felt dirty.

She said in a softer tone, "Sorry Hope. We didn't want you to ever have to do that, but we should have told you. When your life is on the line, there are no rules. Our beliefs and how we treat others is important, but it has no place in war. Someone tries to kill you, they don't deserve that courtesy. Still, you should let him go once we get what we need. Even an enemy shouldn't be denied his after life, but a delay is called for."

Anise continued, "Feed him some energy so I can question him. Steel yourself against the answers, they will not be kind or pretty. You too Vinnie, I'm... sorry. Your childhood is over."

I did as she asked me too, and we got our answers. Or at least, some. There were a small percentage of supernaturals that thought us monsters, aberrations, and abominations. We were beings that should never have been allowed to exist. What was I supposed to think about that?

My mother questioned him relentlessly. We also found out the reason they hadn't attacked before this was another faction was trying to keep us alive, at least for now. Their group had been continually blocked and hampered for years. He didn't know why, but was sure they intended to use us for something sometime in the future.

Maybe I was paranoid, I had no proof, but for some reason that made me think of Talia. He didn't really know much else outside of the fact he was responsible for ordering Alex and Mia to take us out. One of their own had a powerful gift that erased his memories of his comrades before any combat mission. They would have been restored when he returned to the appointed place which was a sporting event. It would be extremely hard to catch them that way.

But what the hell could the second group want from us?

When my mother was satisfied, I released his soul.

Vinnie asked looking confused, "There is one thing I don't understand sis, how did you know Tanya and I were about to be attacked?"

The fact Kristi had magic rushed back to the front of my mind.

I shook my head, "I don't understand how or why, but it was Kristi. She has a magic I've never felt before, and she saw the future."

I knew exactly how he felt as his mouth dropped open...

Chapter 4 - Vinnie

I was a bit in shock I think, but one thing I was sure of, Hope just saved my life. It's almost a surreal feeling that there are people out there that want to kill me. I just didn't know what to do with it, or how to process it. There was no way I'd have felt them coming, I was too... distracted. Oh crap, Tanya... I turned around to make sure she was okay. She looked a little freaked out. 

I pulled her into a hug and she broke down at my touch. I turned again so she wouldn't see the bodies on the ground, but they weren't there for long. My sister's familiar power reached out and I watched in morbid fascination as the two bodies quickly decomposed into dust.

Something about a human having magic was tickling my mind, but I was trying my best not to think of Kristi at all right now. I knew I should give her some slack. She had more than enough reason to lash out at me this morning. But still, I wasn't ready to get over it. Something else seemed off too. Mom.

"Mom, what do you know about this? Why didn't you tell us?"

Her face twisted into a grimace and I knew I was on target.

She sighed and explained the strange augury she had received and what they had done.

Anise continued, "But I didn't tell you because there was nothing to tell. There were only questions. What possible difference could it make who was born first, what destiny do you two have where that would matter? Your father and I decided with no specific threat, telling you wouldn't really make a difference. Instead we focused on your magical training and schooling."

Hope looked grim when she said, "We can't face that though, no training would be enough for us to take a demon. I could have taken the warlock easy enough, but..."

Anise replied, "Angels, demons and fae are the most powerful of the races, you will be their equals one day. But yes, we need to figure out a way to offset your disadvantage. You don't have two centuries to train your magic correctly. Even just focusing on the sword and shield it would take you a decade or two."

I frowned. If there was a way to do so, it wasn't obvious, and I wasn't very excited about the idea of running all the time and hiding behind mom's skirt. I needed to rest and meditate, let it all sink in. I kind of wished right now that I could sleep. 

"Tanya, I have a feeling my house is in an uproar right now. What did you want to do?"

She shivered against me. "I think I need to stay here. I want to go through the library. Maybe there is some clue how to fight them in there."

My mom said, "There is a way for witches to banish a demon so a warlock can't summon them again for a hundred years. But you'd have to trick it into a containment circle first."

After a short silence I said, "I'll meet you back at the house."

The coven house was relatively close to the grove, on the same land, but a couple of hundred yards seemed far right now. I understood why Tanya wanted to stay, she felt like I did. Helpless. She wanted to find a way to fight so it would never happen again. Still, it hurt a little, the two women I had started to let into my heart both didn't want me around.

Why was I worried about watching someone grow old and die when I couldn't even hold on to them for a day?

It was stupid and childish, so I tried to push the emotion down as I walked her to the door. I gave her a quick kiss and told her to call if she wanted to go to the beach with us tomorrow. I waited until she went in and closed the door before teleporting home.

I felt like even more of an idiot when Kristi practically tackled me and started sobbing.

She whispered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said. I'm just scared, what's happening to me?"

The protective feeling that welled up in me washed all the negative emotions away. Not for the first time today I wished I had a more disciplined mind. It wasn't only important for the magic; I would also need a level head in battle to keep that focus.

I answered, "I'm not sure, but we will figure it out."

She sniffed, "You think so?"

I nodded and kissed her hair, "Yes. I already have an idea about your magic, though it seems unlikely, it also seems to fit."

She craned her neck and looked up in my eyes, "What?"

I shook my head, "Not entirely sure yet, let me think about it for a while first okay?"

My father was looking over with a concerned look on his face, at the same time I could tell he was trying to look not worried at all. My mom still had battle face on, I was kind of glad of that. It was easier to face that then the worry I knew she must have been suppressing.

Looking for some normalcy I said, "I want pie, is there any left?"

Kristi chuckled into my chest and I could feel her calming down a bit. That wasn't the only thing I could feel. I reached out with my magic and brushed it against hers. It felt cool, green, and new. She looked up at me in amazement and I wondered what she felt when I did that.

Strangely it reminded me of a sapling planted in rich earth, reaching for the sun's rays in joy, like it had been boxed, held back, not allowed to grow. That feeling confirmed my suspicions. Still, it seemed so... unlikely. The more I considered it though, the more it all made sense.

She stayed with me when I walked over to the table and got a slice of pie.

I decided to tell the story of the beginning, or at least, the beginning of our recorded history. She would need to hear it as it applied.

I said with a lilt of humor, "So as my mom tells it, and trust me, she knows everything, many thousands of years ago there were wars between realms. Most realms hosted humanoids, many of them were compatible, if you know what I mean."

Kristi half smiled at my joke, her attention was on me. The rest of my family half listened, of course, they already knew this part.

"We look human, and thanks to thousands of years, we are part human. But really, necromancers, witches, sorcerers, angels, demons, and fae are not human. At least, we aren't indigent humans to this world, this realm. So let me get back to the wars. It was fierce and the populations in some realms were completely wiped out, in extreme cases the realms were left barely habitable, unable to sustain life."

I paused to eat a bite of pie and caught mom's look. She looked very proud of me. I guessed at that point I wasn't the only one to figure out where Kristi's magic came from.

"After many years, three of the most powerful races joined together to put a stop to the madness. It was the first and only time those races worked together, especially the angels and demons. The fae are the ones that found your world, probably fifteen or so thousand years ago. Not even my mom was around then."

I shot an impudent grin her way and ate another piece of pie. 

"They spread the word that there was a primitive human world that had no magic. They told us, those of us with dying worlds and small limited populations, we could move here safely. They said we could practice our magic in safety, because they put an enchantment over the whole world that wouldn't allow the inhabitants to see or even believe in magic.

"Up until now, until Hope and I existed, no human has ever broken out of that enchantment. Though they could see shadows of it, which may have been worse. In paranoia and fear of what they couldn't fully grasp or see, things like the witch hunts happened."

I took a minute to reorganize my thoughts, I was going a bit afield.

"My point in telling you this, and this is where the speculation starts, is I think the fae lied, or at least weren't entirely truthful. We would have to free more humans from the enchantment to be sure, but I'm almost positive the humans indigent to this world do have magic, that the enchantment did more than just hide our magic from you, it suppressed yours. It sounds crazy I know, but really, it's the only thing that fits."

She tilted her head in thought, it was adorable.

Kristi said in a confused tone, "But why would they do that?"

I said unequivocally, "Fear. I believe human magic is probably equal to the other three powerful races, possibly even more so. Perhaps they were worried the wars would be restarted by your world when you grew and advanced enough. But your race was young and few at the time, unable to fight back. I think they invited us all here as a buffer of sorts, I'm not sure really about that part, but I'm sure they had a reason. They do have the best seers, perhaps they saw something."

She shook her head, "But there are a lot of us now, if we are so powerful why haven't we broken out? It's just too strange, and hard to believe."

I shrugged, "It's easier to fight off someone, then it is to escape after you are overcome and tied up. Same principal. Besides, I am pretty sure some of you are partially breaking out already. That would explain things like mediums, telekinetic abilities, empathy, seers, clairvoyance, psychometry, astral projection, post and pre cognition, etc... You get the idea.

"All those supernatural things that most of you don't really believe exist, even if there is proof it's real, that some humans have extra abilities. I think those people are the strongest of the humans in magic. They are so powerful that just a small shade of their abilities is breaking loose. Imagine what they could do if their magic was released. The spoon bender would suddenly be a lot less of a joke when he started tossing boulders..."

Kristi asked, "So what do we do about it?"

I shook my head, "No idea. Part of me thinks we should free all the humans, that what the fae did was evil. Cutting you off from your magic, I couldn't even imagine what that would feel like. On the other hand your society is non-magical in balance. Can you imagine the damage if all the sudden there were six billion plus breathing weapons walking around? Most people would probably be fine, but all those repressive government regimes would topple in a day, most other governments would follow in months. 

"Religions would break down. Even a simple argument between neighbors would cause deaths without the magic discipline we were taught as children, people would kill each other on accident. It would be a blood bath."

She looked startled.

I squeezed her hand, "What we will do is be careful, and not do anything rash. Oh, and try to coax out your power, I doubt pre-cognition is the only thing your magic can do. We'll help you figure it out though."

Hope asked Kristi, "So, are you sorry yet I invited you over for the holiday weekend?"

Kristi's laugh was brittle, "I'll let you know on Monday."

My mind works quickly sometimes, making connections most people wouldn't see. I just wish the same thing would happen with the demon problem. There had to be a way to make up for our inexperience, or was there? Perhaps that was just wishful thinking. As long as I was doing some of that I hoped that maybe we just killed the only warlock in the group that wanted us dead.

We were already good enough to handle witches, sorcerers, and necromancers with our blunt application of magic. Or at least, it was closer to a fair fight. But I knew that was too much to ask for.

I was also trying to figure out what the second group wanted, but I didn't have enough clues to work with. It was still early afternoon, and I had a lot of nervous energy to burn off. It was finally sinking in just how close I was to being killed today. 

Mom said as if reading my mind, "I think I should train you two a bit today, it will help focus you on thinking of solutions, instead of the hopeless looks I'm seeing."

I shared a look with Hope, neither of us was enthused by the idea, but we weren't going to get any better ignoring it either.

Mom continued, "Also, Kristi, would you mind working with their father? If you want to get a handle on it, you need to start now."

Kristi shifted a bit, and then reluctantly nodded. She looked nervous with a touch of excitement. I was hoping that was a good sign.

One thing about my parents, they didn't dawdle. Dark shadows rose up surrounding Kristi and my dad, and they disappeared. I got up and started for the backyard, wondering how much this was going to hurt. I was also a little skeptical. Okay, a lot skeptical.

I knew all the basics, the underlying theories on how to form and create advanced magic. All that was really left was working on my mental discipline, and training my magic, until I could actually do those things.

The last few years my training had been for the most part along those lines, mom trying to teach us the various mental disciplines. This would be a colossal waste of time. I could think of better ways to burn off my nervous energy.

When we got out back my mother closed her eyes and a small boulder appeared on our lawn, transported from who knows where. She cast a glyph at it effortlessly and it was surrounded by a solid white nimbus. I raised my eyes at her and she frowned at me. I felt a bit guilty, I was acting like a teenager, not a senior in college.

I asked neutrally trying to push down the attitude, "Why a boulder?"

She studied me for a bit then nodded, "Simple, I have more faith you'll find a way than you do. Also, attacking a boulder, trying to get through that powerful shield, is more likely to happen on the boulder. I'd like to think you would hold back, and maybe your magic would as well, if you were attacking me. Plus, I'll be having fun ambushing you from the sides, to make sure you keep your guard up well enough."

I saw her hand start to glow white and I concentrated enough to get a shield up before she hit me with a pulse of power. It was a low level of power, designed to hurt just enough to make me regret it if I dropped my shield. Hope brought her shield up as well and we started to attack the rock, and maintain our shields at the same time. I was getting frustrated. 

Hope and I worked together flawlessly. We had trained together since we were little. We absorbed, dodged, or stepped into limbo to avoid mom's attacks. We also attacked the boulder in tandem, working together. Hit it at the same time from both sides. We also used harassing tactics, leapfrogging attacks from random directions to keep the enemy off balance.

Hope even had her some of her ghosts attacking it.

Still, well trained or not, how could we possibly break through without being able to manifest our magic to a strong physical level that would cut through the strong shields my mother, demons, and other older beings were capable of. It was a waste of time.

I was getting angry and I felt my shield shudder when I was hit with a white bolt. It stung and I was about to quit. We weren't getting anywhere. I popped into limbo to reestablish my shield when I saw my sister do something different. She threw a small ball of energy, instead of a long spike. I watched the boulder explode, my mom's shield absorbing the explosion. It looked like the ball passed right through, like the shield wasn't there.

My sister started laughing and I stepped out of limbo without thinking about it. What the hell did she do?

My mom was equally amazed, which made me suspect she hadn't been as hopeful as she appeared earlier, either that or she had been giving up like I was.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

I almost blushed at the awe in my voice.

She grinned, "What's the one thing our magic is trained to do, the thing we don't have to concentrate on to make happen?"

I blinked, "Step between realms, but what..." my voice trailed off.

She shrugged going for nonchalant. My sister could be a trip sometimes.

She said, "When I threw the ball I simply told my power what I wanted. It moved itself to limbo for a split second to get through the shield. That's why the boulder exploded. My magic reappeared inside the boulder."

It was kind of obvious in hindsight, but still had a multitude of problems.

I shook my head, deeply impressed with my sister despite the brother code. I was also disgusted at myself for not thinking of it. I had considered the movement between realms purely as a defensive thing before now.

"It would be extremely difficult to hit a moving target," I stated the obvious

My pessimism forgotten I turned to mom, "Can you set up moving and dodging targets? I doubt the demons will stand in place for us. We need to practice."

My sister smirked, "I can help with that too, our power has no effect on souls."

She used her necromantic power to make a handful of ghosts solid, my mother wordlessly started to shield them, but it wouldn't work, her magic couldn't link to souls either and the glyph simply unraveled. 

This time it was Bree, one of my sister's favorite ghosts that had the answer.

Bree picked up a pebble and then asked, "Can you shield this, but make it big enough to cover me?"

My mother could, and did. We spent about two more hours dodging her bolts and trying to hit moving targets with our magic while at the same time, having it cross realms and back at the exact moment it needed to. It wasn't easy, but we made a little progress. I believed as long as we could hold out long enough defensively, we would eventually get them if we were attacked again.

We would definitely need more training, but this was a huge leap forward for us. We now had some breathing room to learn our powers the right way, and we would get there, eventually...

Kristi seemed excited when her and my father came back. We sat down and ate a light dinner, we were all still feeling the big thanksgiving lunch. After dinner Kristi pulled me and Hope into her room, apparently she wanted to show off.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 04



I said with a smile, "I take it you had a good first lesson?"

She nodded, "Earth magic seems more straightforward than yours. It is simple to conceptualize moving something with your hand, and that seems to carry over to telekinesis. It was hard at first, to figure out how to get my magic's... attention. But after that..."

She concentrated a second and the bed rose up off the floor a couple of inches. I also jumped, I felt someone pinch then rub my ass. Kristi had a naughty look in her eyes and I knew it was her. I was happy for her, and a little turned on now.

Hope smirked, "You know we can see magic Kristi, if you want to pinch my brother's ass on the sly you need to do it in private."

I grinned at Kristi's blush, I hadn't seen it because... well it was behind me.

I asked, "Did you learn anything else?"

She nodded, "I tried to see the future or past, but couldn't. I think because it's hard to tell my magic what I want, that power may be hard if not impossible to master. But I was able to do the distance viewing thing. I just thought of you and Hope and on the desire to see you, and a window kind of opened in my mind's eye. 

"You were dodging your mom's power and shooting at ghosts at the same time. It was kind of impressive. I haven't tried anything else yet. Psychometry, pyrokinesis, empathy, mind reading, etc..."

I replied, "Yeah, two things right off the bat are impressive. There will probably be a lot more, those common occurrences of psychic power are probably the easiest magical abilities humans have. I imagine there are other applications that are difficult and don't leak through so much."

She nodded thoughtfully, "Probably, and I'm being careful, I'll only mess around with those two things for now. Your father explained how even reading minds could be a dangerous ability if it's strong enough. Like your niece Amy. I'm excited but... I don't want to hurt anyone, not on accident."

We talked for a while before Hope and I left her to sleep. She had signaled me to come visit her later and there was no doubt I would do so. We hadn't really talked about what happened this morning, but that was fine with me. I was over the way she treated me. She was pretty freaked out at the time, and I was central to the trauma. If anything I was surprised she hadn't demanded to be taken home. She had instead chosen to stay, even though my sister and I was on someone's hit list.

I spent a couple of hours meditating, trying to improve my shield. It was difficult to train my magic but I wouldn't give up on it. I was holding the shield, the idea of the shield, and the glyph structure I had picked for my shield, all at the same time while patiently feeding all of it structured correctly to my magic.

My immortal magic could learn, but it was a slow process. Eventually I'd just be able to evoke the glyph, and my magic would shield me without me even thinking about it, much less concentrating, until I mentally turned it off. But it could take me a long while to get there.

In a much better headspace from this morning, I got up off the floor and walked down to the guest room Kristi was using. I knocked softly and slipped in. She was posed in bed, obviously expecting me. I wondered if she knew when I was coming because she was watching me. I found that the idea of that didn't disturb me at all, actually it kind of turned me on at this moment.

A portion of her hair was pulled around her shoulders, doing a titillating job of partially obscuring her breasts. She was wearing matching sexy red lingerie and her body was slightly twisted creating an evocative image.

She smiled at me and said in a tone both innocent and sultry, "I couldn't find any glasses, will this do instead?"

I nodded speechlessly, she really was stunning. I stood there for a second, taking her in, then walked toward the bed.

She shrunk back and covered herself in faux modesty, her voice sounded scandalized, "What are you doing sir, I'm not that kind of woman."

She shot me that innocent adorable look, strangely it didn't look as genuine in this situation of artful seduction. I decided that she didn't really know she did it those other times, unless she was just nervous right now. This was a side of her I hadn't seen yet, we had never role played before.

I leaned in and kissed her, eliciting a moan from her soft full lips. My manhood felt too confined as it jumped, pushing against the fabric of my shorts.

"But you want to be, don't you, for me? Admit it, tell me what you want."

I stole another kiss before pulling off my shirt. Then I ran my hand up and down her long silky smooth legs and the sexy curves of her hips and waist.

She bit her lip and looked at me both longingly and hesitatingly. It drove me crazy, it was all I could do to let the game continue and not ravage her on the spot. 

I leaned in and started kissing her neck, working my way to her ear and whispered, "Tell me."

She gasped and put her hand behind my neck, pulling my lips tighter against her soft skin. She smelled so good too. I couldn't help drawing a deep breath in through my nose.

She drew in a breath in faux shock, "My goodness sir, you would take my innocence? Force yourself upon my maidenhood? Surely not."

I pushed her hair to the side as I kissed my way down to her breasts and teased her cleavage and the top of her breasts with my lips and tongue.

I lifted my face while pulling off my shorts and gave her a stern look.

She broke down in giggles.

"Sorry, I just couldn't play the reluctant innocent anymore, get over here and fuck me with that big cock of yours."

I frowned in an attempt to stop my smile and got out, "Nope, you need to be punished first, no breaking roles allowed, it's the rules."

She gasped as I grabbed her legs, pulled and twisted, she wound up laying over my lap on her stomach, her perfect supple ass sticking up. She started giggling again and wriggled to get away. I spanked her once hard and she froze.

I was taking a chance here, but she loved getting spanked during doggy style, so it wasn't all that big a risk.

She said breathlessly, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

I could swear I heard a light moan.

I pushed down her panties, and spread her cheeks, revealing her puckered hole and her swollen glistening labia.

I spanked her again, and then rubbed in a circle, brushing a finger along her crack and over her puckered star.

She moaned softly, "Please stop, I am sorry," she said softly while waving her ass like a flag.

I spanked her again, and then slid a finger from the other hand into her ready heat when I saw her clench tight.

She moaned and I felt her tighten around my finger. She didn't even bother to object this time. I was hard as a rock, my manhood pushed up hard against her stomach. I had started this out being playful, but now there was a powerful intimacy that seemed to connect us. Kristi just took my breath away.

I spanked her again and grazed her clit with a second finger before sliding it in to join the first in her body's embrace. She was so wet and I could hear her quick shallow breaths. Her body trembled slightly against me and then she tightened. I rubbed her reddened ass cheek softly as I watched her body wrack in orgasmic bliss.

She turned her neck and looked up at me, I could tell as our eyes locked the feelings going through me were not just in my head. I rolled her off and onto her back, and then finished removing her panties. She looked at me in a mixture of pleasure, but also surprise that she had liked what I'd done. When I got between her legs, she wrapped hers around my waist and twisted. We rolled and I found her on top looking down at me hungrily.

Maybe she just needed to feel some control after submitting so totally to me. Either way it felt right and I didn't argue.

She reached back and squeezed my manhood, lining it up before she plunged straight down, impaling herself. She shut her eyes and froze, her hands resting on my chest. I waited patiently for her to get used to me, taking the time to both caress and admire her body.

Neither of us spoke. It was like we were afraid it would break the intensely intimate connection between us. She started out slowly, but it wasn't long until she picked up speed. The walls of her warm wet core massaged my manhood with slick friction and the tightening and loosening of her welcoming body. I teased her nipples and kneaded her breasts as her fingers curled and pushed down in to my chest, her body bouncing on mine drawing moans and gasps from the both of us.

She whispered breathlessly, "Oh, fuck. Vinnie," as she rose and speared herself on me two more times before her body locked tightly around me. I felt my legs go numb as my manhood expanded into her tight body and released into her waiting body.

She collapsed onto me, the sweat of our bodies mixing together. She kissed me slowly, our bodies still connected. It was a while before I slid out as she rolled off of me to the side, her breathing getting close to normal.

She laid on her side and ran her fingers around, lazily exploring my torso. I just stayed there, enjoying the feeling for a few long moments before putting my arm under her and pulling her close.

Words weren't necessary, she didn't expect me to say it. She knew me, didn't ask it of me. I caressed her face and kissed her softly.

"I love you," I whispered, my heart in my throat.

Her eyes widened a little, then softened, her voice cracked a bit as she said it back, "I love you too Vinnie..."

Chapter 5 - Hope

I looked fruitlessly at my phone again. It had been all day and part of the night. Robbie still hadn't texted me back. Maybe he turned his phone off, or is really busy? Maybe... I didn't see how he could be pissed at me enough to ignore me for not saying goodbye. After all, he didn't see my freak out the night before, he was sleeping.

But worrying about this didn't mean I loved him, he was just my best friend... who happened to make my body sing. I blew out a breath and tried to center myself again. I'd been trying to meditate, but events of the day kept creeping up on me. I was trying to calm myself now, I'd given up on my shield because I was too distracted.

Calming my emotions and gaining focus were my goals, so I wouldn't lose concentration when distracted in battle. Sadly, right now was the perfect time for this kind of work. I frowned, I was becoming neurotic. Thinking about Ron scared me. What twenty two year old woman with a healthy sex drive gets scared about going to the beach with a hot, sweet, and strong guy?

Crap, I tried to get back into the mindset for meditation again... 

Maybe part of the problem was Vinnie and Kristi so obviously in love, even if they haven't said it yet. It made me feel left behind. My brother used to be more relationship averse than I ever was. It seemed obvious to me I was at the point I needed to deal with my issue. I knew all the bullshit about all you should fear is fear itself, but really, how is that helpful in the least.

Fuck! I can't concentrate.

I needed a change of venue. I got up and threw on a bikini and grabbed a towel. I was a young woman, not a girl anymore. Still, with people chasing me and trying to kill me I had the presence of mind to let my dad know where I was going via ghost-mail and teleported out of the house.

It was still sunny out at six pm in Honolulu and the beach was still full of people, mostly tourists. I found an empty spot and lay down to soak in some sun. I was a bit lonely and wondered if I shouldn't have grabbed Claudia on the way out. Claudia was a party girl, and was always good for a cheering up.

Still, the hot sun on my back, the slightly warm but still cooling breeze, and the sound of the ocean was starting to work its magic. Slowly I felt the tension drain out of me as my muscles relaxed.

A deep male voice said politely, "Do you mind?" as a small blanket spread out next to me.

I opened my mouth to say no, but he started to lay down before I could answer him. That kind of pissed me off.

"Why did you bother to ask? I don't by the way."

He laughed, "I wasn't talking to you."

I opened my eyes and squinted in the sunlight. He was about twenty five, messy light brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a strong jaw and a natural smile. Below that he was... cut, defined. He was very attractive. I looked around and didn't see anyone else and raised an eyebrow.

My mouth dropped open when he nodded at Bree and Tammy standing off to the side.

He winked, "They were standing right where my blanket is now, just being polite."

I couldn't detect an aura at all, so I let my energy out a little, still nothing.

I opened my mouth to ask but realized that was probably rude, so closed it. I didn't even know him. He might have been a god in the looks department but I wasn't one to swoon at a pretty face, I was surrounded with them growing up. Well, not just a pretty face. Plus, between Ron and Robbie the last thing I needed was another guy.

I closed my eyes and got back to enjoying the sun...

"So what brings you out here today?"

Ok, I tried to enjoy the sun.

I opened my eyes and looked around, he laughed.

"No, this time I was talking to you," he said mirthfully.

I pointed up at the sun and closed my eyes, feeling half amused and half annoyed.

He said in that same laughing tone, "I'm Rafe, how about you, and your friends. I can see them, but I can't hear them."

I sighed, "Hope. The one that looks protective is Bree, the one staring at you like you're a tasty snack is Tammy."

He laughed and Tammy glared at me. I shrugged back the best I could while lying on my stomach. It wasn't as if Rafe could fail to notice.

He breathed out, "Well Hope, it's nice to meet you. Good name."

After some silence his voice broke through my attempted relaxation again.

"I came to say hi because I couldn't help but notice a few things. You're a good person Hope, I might come back and visit again if I'm welcome. Really though, you need to hear this and I'm afraid you won't take it well."

I opened my eyes and squinted at him, what was he saying?

I frowned, "You're spying on me?"

He shrugged, "I was, I'm done now though, so I thought I'd say hi, and goodbye for now. People are curious about you where I come from, wasn't sure quite what to make of you."

I felt a chill run down my spine, "Who... what are you."

He smiled, "You should already know what I am. I gave you enough hints, who else can see ghosts but can't talk to them? Anyway, back to the point. You need to tell your mother your fears, she can help you. I know you're all independent, but sometimes a girl needs her mother, no matter her age."

I was too flabbergasted to get angry at his unsolicited advice, not to mention the spying. He must have a huge set of balls. Then of course the obvious hit me, my mom could see ghosts.

I shrank back, "You're an angel? I thought they didn't come here anymore."

My anger finally surged when I realized how weak my voice just sounded. Still, I didn't feel threatened by him at all, it was just the oddity of the situation.

He nodded, "Be at peace, I mean you no harm. Sorry for the trick of hiding my aura, and before you say it, yes she can, she just doesn't know how despite how old she is."

I narrowed my eyes, "Rafe? Or Rafael?"

He grinned, "Maybe, but not the one from your holy book, it's a common name where I come from, like John or Mary is here. But please, call me Rafe. Don't be surprised if you see me again."

I wanted to yell at him to stop when he stood and walked away. I wanted to know why he had watched me and if he had spied on Vinnie too. But I held my tongue. I ignored his advice, for now, and laid my head back down to try and relax. I wondered too, if he was done spying, what possible reason could he have for coming back and seeing me?

I managed to get enough sun, front and back, for a nice tan. I stayed another few hours for a luau, drank a bit, and enjoyed the music. Rafe had been a mystery, and an annoying one. But it hadn't ruined my mood and I had a good time. It was about five am when I got back to the house. Ray raised an eyebrow in his wolf form when I walked past him wearing a bikini and a bunch of lays around my neck.

It had been something I needed, though on the whole I preferred not to be alone, but every once in a while...

When Rafe had given me his advice I had no intentions of following it, yet I found myself seeking out my mother. I knocked and entered her bedroom, dad was off somewhere. I sat down and just started talking, before I knew it I was sobbing in her arms. What was with that?

She asked, "So, you are afraid of grief, so you never love? Would you like to see what made it bearable to me?"

I nodded and she stood me up, and led me to her bathroom and we stood in front of the mirror. 

She said simply, "You do. Family. I've been married over forty times during the last six thousand years. It would be hard for me to say it was worth it, just for the joy of loving for that lifetime. It was hard. What kept me going though was family. Did you know you have a great niece in Seattle? She was a little spitfire when she was your age, and the time I spent in Seattle, before I moved to Illinois, was something I will treasure.

"Family is as permanent as I am. I still have nine other family lines out there, outside of our own family and Ginnie in Seattle. Trust me Hope, it was worth every moment. I lived in the moment when I had a husband, lived in his love, but when he passed on, I still had the family, and healing. Healing others always healed my heart too. I'm not saying it will be easy, it will hurt, but life is joyful as well daughter, don't hide yourself away from life. Don't let fear sour the moment you're in, the joy of life."

Most of what she said I had already told myself many times, but the family part was new. Family would be a continuation and a further joy of the mate that had come to his end. It wasn't surprising it was a new outlook. I hadn't even considered having a child yet.

Still, I knew it wouldn't be easy. Perhaps I would try, I knew I was already headed that way anyway, this just made it a little less terrifying.

I was positive it would hurt. After all, my mom meeting an immortal mate and having kids that she wouldn't have to outlive had been the reason I was named Hope...

I jumped in the shower and washed off the sand and sweat from Hawaii, just in time to put on a different bikini and head to a different beach. My mother owned a small private island in the Caribbean that had some hot springs and a nice cove for swimming right on the beach. There were no buildings on it, or food vendors. We had what we took with us and nothing else. It was a retreat from the real world, a pristine place hidden away.

It was also a great place to throw a party...

I told myself I was going to have a great time with everyone, including Ron, and not get all panicky. It was mostly working. Tanya hadn't come, I wondered if she was still freaking out about yesterday. From what I could tell Vinnie didn't mind at all, him and Kristi were never very far apart. 

We were lying on the beach after a swim enjoying a cold one when Ron moved toward me and sat even closer, our skin kept brushing against the other's and it felt kind of nice. I was nervous, but that was an improvement over the boxed in suffocating feeling I would have felt yesterday. Had I mentioned we were all naked for the most part?

He took my hand and pulled me over against him. I resisted a moment, but then burrowed into his side and placed a palm on his chest and looked up. He was staring down at me with a very intense look in his eyes, his head lowered slowly, giving me a chance to balk. Instead I stretched myself up to meet him. For a moment I couldn't believe I was kissing Ron, I'd been running from his crush on me for years.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 05



Chapter 7 - Hope

I bit my tongue, so not getting involved in this one. I had enough drama of my own today. Besides, he already looked miserable, there was no point in berating him for screwing up. 

Damn it. I couldn't help myself.

"So... what happened?"

He grunted. "Magical werewolf mate."

I listened as he told the story in a soft voice, making sure no one overheard. I realized it was more complicated than I thought it would be. He almost didn't have a choice, not a good one anyway. Still, he was screwed.

My day wasn't all that much better. I had slipped into Professor Mendez's pre-med class and sat in the back. He kept losing his spot in the lecture, and he looked in my direction more than once with a nervous, if not scared, look in his eyes.

I had screwed up bad. I wasn't sure how to fix it either, telling him the truth would probably make it even worse. I snorted, I was sure it would be worse. If he was freaking out thinking I was a witch, telling him I'm a necromancer...

Aunt Amy could probably fix it with a brain whammy, but I knew she wouldn't. I could hear her telling me now to clean up my own crap. I was supposed to be an adult.

Then even worse, after class I went to track down Robbie and take him to task for not returning my calls. When I knocked on his door his dorm mate answered. He told me Robbie and his stuff were gone. He had left college. Now, I could be vain but even I knew that couldn't have been about me leaving without saying goodbye, but why no contact?

He told me he loved me, and then disappeared without a trace. Now that he was gone I was realizing the truth, or perhaps admitting the truth to myself. I loved him too. How could he do that, leave without saying goodbye?

I also had the feeling I was missing something important, some truth I was hiding from myself.

I took pity on my brother, "So, shouldn't you be chasing after her?"

He looked at me in confusion and I rolled my eyes.

"Girls run, boys catch, it tells us you care, or that you're a stalker. But in this case I really think you need to go get her, wait too long and you'll miss the window."

He nodded and got up with a determined look. Hopefully I didn't just make a big mistake, but I knew that I would have accepted that story he gave. As for sharing, I wasn't sure about that one, which made me a big hypocrite, because I had Ron and... well. I didn't have Robbie anymore did I?

Did I really have Ron either? We had spent a lot of time just having fun and talking, but we had made no plans or commitments. I guess I would find out, he would either continue to chase me or... he'd already gotten what he wanted.

I needed to cheer up. I finished my meal and left the dining hall. Finding a place I stepped into limbo then teleported to a convenience store and bought a couple of pints of ice cream. I stepped out of the store and into limbo. A split second later a fireball flew right through the place I just was, parallel to the front wall of the store. I watched as it just kept going until it hit a car which went up in flames.

Crap, we were so stupid. Back at college the three of us were supposed to stick together, watch each other's backs. But with all the drama we were separated, and I had no idea where they were. I let my magic out to sense, there was a sorcerer hiding up the alley around the corner. I didn't sense a demon and was both relieved, and strangely disappointed.

I moved around the corner and considered popping out to attack, but I held back and waited. He wasn't moving so I looked down at the ice cream. I shrugged, and then closed my eyes and summoned a spoon from the dining hall. I sat down and started to eat.

Surprise mission or not, a girl needs her ice cream.

The guy pulled out a cell phone after a few more bites and made a call. I wanted to cross back over so I could hear him, but he would sense me if I did that, so I satisfied myself taking out my own phone and taking down the number he called. Damn I was stupid, I had Bree pop out, so she could relay the conversation to me.

He was tall, mid forties and looked like an asshole. I wondered how much I was projecting because he was trying to kill me a minute ago. He asked if he should come in, or continue hunting, and whoever he was talking with, a woman, said he should try to find the woman and engage again. They hung up and I considered what I should do. If he isn't going back in, I didn't want to waste my time following, yet, I wanted eyes on him.

I called one of my other ghosts and set it the task of watching. I transported to the floor of my dorm, waited until the hall was clear and stepped out of limbo. I felt relieved when I could sense both Vinnie and Kristi in my dorm room. I had been worried we were all attacked, but it was just me.

I knocked and pushed open the door, I could tell they were having an intense conversation.

Vinnie looked at me annoyed, "Do you mind, we're in the middle..."

I waved my hand and he stopped talking, more out of surprise I'd be so rude.

"Sorry guys, I know it's a bad time, but I just dodged a sorcerer's fireball. I really think we need to stick together as much as possible. You guys talk, I got a ghost following the sorcerer. I'll be here in the room, but in limbo so you can talk in private."

I handed Kristi her ice cream, then kissed my brother on the cheek. I felt the need to demonstrate how I felt, I'd been afraid he was in trouble. They were staring at me in horror with their mouths open.

"No really, I'm fine. I won't hear a thing, but if you make up and start having sex I'll leave."

I popped over to limbo greatly amused at the looks on their faces. I also sent ghost-mail to dad, giving them an overview, and asking if mom could put wards on our rooms. I wondered at the fact that I was being so relaxed about an attempt on my life. Was I getting used to it? I was also organizing and taking charge, which honestly seemed to be a new part of my personality. I sighed.

My mom had said it four nights ago. Time to grow up...

I was eating my ice cream trying to ignore my brother and best friend. I was a little bored, but I was afraid to leave them. What if they were attacked and I wasn't there? That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. All the little things and knowledge added up to one thing. It didn't seem possible.

Robbie, he was human, no aura. There was the visit from Rafe on the beach, an angel that could hide his aura. Angels could change their physical shape and appearance. Rafe was an angel that came to say hello and goodbye to me because he was done spying on me and had to leave. Rafe had also seemed wistful about it and wanted to know if he could come back, if he was welcome.

Robbie was gone...

It couldn't be, could it? Did I fall in love with an angel that was a spy who loved me?

Sounded like a bad TV show. Or was it a James Bond movie? I snorted. I wasn't sure what to do with the information. I had no proof, merely coincidence and conjecture. But still, even in that short meeting on the beach. I had recognized in Rafe that understated sense of humor and the same calmness about him that I had seen in Robbie.

The hope that he would come back sometime in the future hurt a bit. I knew I shouldn't have fallen in love. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Angels were just as immortal as I was.

I looked over to check on Vinnie and Kristi, and they had apparently made up. Luckily they still had their clothes on, mostly. I made my way out of the room and went down the hall to the floors general room after leaving a ghost guard outside my dorm room door. The ghost wouldn't be able to do much but call me, but at least it could do that much. The sorcerer would not be allowed to sneak up on my brother and best friend. 

I summoned my backpack and started on my homework. I felt like a ghost myself. I was alone, isolated, when I was in a room full of guys watching sports. It felt weird spending a lot of time here and it was getting to me, just being able to see the shade of people and no sound felt horribly wrong after a while. I went to my brother's room and it was empty, so I popped out and breathed a sigh of relief. Much better. Still alone, but I was in the real world.

I got an update from my ghost, my sorcerer buddy was staking out the dorm, probably waiting for one of us to walk out. That gave me an idea. First, I remembered the phone number. I sent that in a message, hoping we could track people that way. Then I popped out in limbo again and took a picture of our guy.

I was thinking maybe when the time came for him to check in, Kristi could use remote viewing to track it all. There was a small snag though, what if he was just an expendable stooge, he may be left out in the cold until he got results. That means we would be forced to kill him, he's a risk and a threat the longer we leave him out here. I had an idea about that as well, but I really didn't want to do it...

A couple of days had passed by since I was attacked by that fireball. Kristi and Vinnie seemed to be back together again and going strong. I didn't ask what resolution or compromise on sharing they had come up with, but they had something going there. I was happy for both of them. They really did look good together.

I was also lonely. Ron hadn't called, but he really hadn't all that often before we got together that day on the beach. Normally it was only when I was home and around. Had I mistaken a crush with a simple desire to score with the girl next door so to speak? I should have sensed that if it was true, but I wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps I just saw in him what I wanted to see, or was afraid I would see.

I was also missing Robbie who may or may not have been an angel.

In short I was lonely, my social life non-existent. I was also losing patience playing guard against the sorcerer who seemed to be too afraid to actually do anything. My plan was a bust, they'd never call him in. 

I missed having fun. I was a social creature and the solitude was getting to me. I know there is a blonde slut joke in there somewhere, but it was becoming apparent that sexual frustration was becoming a factor as well.

I could have gone to a frat party and had my pick, but I wanted Robbie.

Professor Mendez seemed to be getting worse as well and I had no answers for that issue.

I knew what I had to do to get to the meat of this problem, this was war. No rules for war right? At its most basic, we needed to track down the leaders, kill them, and break up the foolish group. We couldn't let them keep trying to kill us after all. Waiting for the sorcerer just wasn't working.

I was quarter demon and quarter angel with immortal power. But I was also a necromancer who had learned a hell of a lot from her dad over the years. I planned with Kristi, Vinnie, Tony, Tammy and Bree and then waited for evening. I went to the morgue of a teaching hospital. My only requirement was the corpse had to be a woman. It didn't take long to find one.

With a judicious application of power, I halted, and then reversed any decomposition. Then I used my power to shape and change the body. It was a corpse, what I could do to it was limited only to my imagination. When I was finished, I was staring at a familiar face... mine.

It was of course a perfect copy. With the naked eye there was no difference. Zombies, revenants and other undead aren't rotted corpses. They are perfect bodies that are incorruptible. If my body and my copy were put under a microscope, only mine would show sign of shedding skin, of the continual decay and new life cycle of a living body.

But zombie's were perfect, undying. 

Bree nodded at me once in agreement, and I made my first revenant. It was startling having a conversation with myself so to speak. I teleported us straight to my dorm room.

I asked, "We ready for this?"

Vinnie looked unsure, "Are you sure about this, if it works you need to stay hidden for a while. Maybe even a day or two."

I nodded reluctantly. "It's uncomfortable in limbo, but I can handle it. I only have to appear to miss classes, I can still attend through one of my ghosts senses."

He sighed, "Very well, it's a better plan than the absolute nothing I've come up with."

Kristi stood up and hugged me, "Let's do it."

The plan was a little complicated, but it had to be. I wasn't sure if anyone was watching the watcher so I had to make sure anyone else would be fooled.

I smiled, slipped into limbo, and watched the three of them leave the dorm while I followed behind. This would be the fun part, it was later I wasn't looking forward to. I watched Bree wave to Kristi and Vinnie as they split up.

Those two were headed for the library, Bree and I were headed toward an ambush. There was no one else around and the sorcerer took a shot at Bree, who ducked. I sent my magic out of limbo and raised a shield around Bree. It was difficult, but I think we did okay.

Bree was being me, dodging shots. Some hit though, and I made sure the shield wavered. I was also able to send a few attacks his way and make it look like they came from her, but not hard enough to get through his shields. It was a good little battle that I planned to lose.

The sorcerer sent another fireball and I dropped the shields. It dug into Bree's body and set her on fire. I was glad she couldn't feel pain but still cringed despite myself.

The sorcerer had a satisfied look on his face, which turned to startled. Kristi and Vinnie rushed in and attacked with their magic. They did a very good job of acting crazy and attacking in revenge for my death. The sorcerer was pressed heavily and decided to bolt.

Vinnie transported my burned body double back to our house. It would have to stay that way for a while, but eventually I'd fix it, and give Bree her own look. For now though, she had abandoned the body and was at my side in limbo. It was good to have her with me.

I just hoped the rest would go to plan as I followed the sorcerer...

The sorcerer moved around randomly for hours. He took a cab to Chicago, got on the El, and then jumped a bus. He pulled out his phone and made the call I'd been waiting for. This time I had a ghost ready to hear the whole thing.

He sounded breathless with excitement, "Got one, the girl. Her brother and his girlfriend showed up before I could clean up."

Bastard. It was really hard to take, someone being excited about killing me. I shivered. Of course I'll be happy when I kill him. But he started it...

A woman said, "Fine, and they saw you I suppose? I want you to come in for a debriefing."

He nodded looking relieved as he said, "Okay, when and where?"

The woman's voice said, "Bathroom in the Metra station, a demon will pull you out."

His face fell at that, "Why..."

The voice said, "Because you imbecile, if you're being followed by ghosts that will take care of the trail."

I sighed and closed my eyes, no rules for war.

He finished the call and hung up. 

I watched carefully, we were on a bus and a magic fight probably wasn't a good idea.

He blew out a breath and covered his eyes with his hands.

I moved, slipping out of limbo I touched his chest and slipped a sliver of my magic into his body to tear up his heart. He didn't make one sound, his body locked up. I felt... I don't know. I was a necromancer but this was the first life I had ever taken. Now the hard part. No rules...

I grabbed his soul and bonded it to his body, ruthlessly bonding both his soul and mind. Another revenant was mine, a slave this time. Unwilling. He tried to fight, but it was with a negligible act of my will that he was brought under control.

I felt strong, powerful. I could make him do anything. I had a sorcerer under my power and at my fingertips.

I also felt sick inside at what I had done.

I slipped back into limbo. With my soul bond he was my slave, unable to defy me. With the mind bond I could hear and see everything he did in this body. He couldn't escape the body either; I hadn't given him the freedom I had given Bree.

I teleported back to the dorm room, not that it mattered, I had to stay out of sight. I felt the need to go do something, to have fun and let go of this awful feeling. I wanted to get away from the seriousness of the people hunting us from the shadows.

But I couldn't, I had to play dead, at least for a while longer. Growing up sucks sometimes.

Despite the boredom of it, I spent the next hour or so riding his mind. It was better than staring at the grayness of limbo. My only worry was if there was a necromancer on the other side of the demon teleport. I didn't think anyone else would be able to tell just by looking. They would discover it if they used their magic to scan him, but I wasn't too worried that would happen.

If this went well I'd only have been hiding out an hour or two, which would be great. It depends on how deep the rabbit hole goes, and how far I got down it.

The sorcerer, Kenneth, walked into the bathroom and looked around. No one was there so he washed his hands and started to look uncomfortable. I reigned that in a bit, I had to remember not to give him too much control. I didn't have to be strict with my ghosts and it felt odd to be doing it.

I almost sighed out loud when the demon showed up, wrapped Kenneth with shadow and teleported away.

I looked out of his eyes and looked around the room. I started to memorize the faces, looking at each one deliberately. Kristi would be able to take it from my mind and use it for distance viewing. There were about twenty people in the room, including a man that looked familiar. But he was old, and it couldn't be him.

There was no way it was my dad... Standing next to him was a female demon, obviously a succubus. I'm sure my eyes were wide back in limbo, luckily I was just riding and sending orders.

Could those people be my grandfather and grandmother? Dad's parents?

Why would they do that? Grandparents were supposed to give out cookies, not send assassins.

Another person walked in, another warlock I knew. "Dad, is it true, is my niece dead? You said that wouldn't happen." Talia asked.

She didn't look happy about it at least, something strange was going on but I couldn't figure it out. 

My grandfather, Brian said, "We'll find out in a minute, Feinir is almost here to remove the memory block. There is no point questioning him with that absurd fake personality in him."

I could feel the soul inside me cringe, and I couldn't quite blame him. To find out you're just a fake person would be... difficult.

My grandmother Silia smirked, "Wouldn't that be a hoot, after all that work?"

Brian glared at her and she shrunk into herself. I hadn't detected any demon in Talia, so I was wondering if she was my father's sister, but only through my grandfather. I didn't see anyone else in the room by them though.

I was starting to get the feeling the first group didn't really exist. That it was just a smokescreen, attacks designed to fail to kill us, but accomplish something else. But for what purpose would that be? What do they want, or get out of it?

I had no clue. Of course if that was true, Kenneth was meant to die, be expendable. That was horrible. I was getting angrier as I waited. I figured I'd ride this out as long as I could, learn what I could, but I really wanted to lay into them right now.

Even while all this was going on, I was still thinking about Ron. Did he use me, or is he just not calling because he thinks that is what I want? To be fair, I wouldn't have wanted that a week ago, maybe he just hadn't caught up yet to the new me. Damn, I was getting to be pathetic, this had to stop. I just needed to call him, figure it out and move on either way.

Feinir walked in, he looked exactly as I would have imagined. He had a young face, but ancient eyes. The body was human shaped, but he was very thin, and tall. His ears weren't exactly pointed, but the ear wasn't nearly as rounded and much taller on top. I held my breath as his magic came toward me. If all he did was remove his block, it should be okay. If he was curious and looked around in Kenneth's mind I was at the end of the line.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 05



Feinir touched Kenneth's forehead. I felt his magic come in and grab and realized the truth almost too late. The returning of memories was a lie too, a part of the construct of memory. The truth was he was there to rip out the memories of the encounter, to learn from Kenneth's memories. 

I snapped an order and Kenneth punched forward sending the fae across the room and I felt the magic fade from his mind. Kenneth the sorcerer wasn't that strong physically, but Kenneth the revenant was another story altogether.

I weighed my options on if to cut and run, and decided to see what happened next.

To be honest I was tempted to start killing people. These assholes were worse than murderers. They stole people's lives and played games with them. I wonder who Kenneth really was, and if he was gone forever. His soul didn't have any different memories than what his body had when it died.

Just how monstrous was the fae's power? Even an evil necromancer will eventually die and free all his servants to go on to their rest. That fae was... erasing people. But right now I had about twenty supernaturals including one other demon outside my grandmother. I didn't have access to my immortal powers at all in his head, and my necromancy was very limited. If I attacked I'd last all of two seconds with this sorcerer's power.

I really wanted to know what they wanted, to make sure they never got it, even if I managed to kill them at some point. Not that I was a spiteful bitch or anything...

Feinir finally got up and roared at gramps, "What is the meaning of this."

Brian shrugged, "If I had to guess, I'd say that isn't strictly our puppet anymore. Isn't that right, granddaughter?"

Kenneth said in a voice of dripping sarcasm under my control, "So, I've guessed a lot gramps, but an evil monologue would come in handy right now, what do you say?"

He just chuckled and shook his head. I could feel the tension ratchet up in the room, violence was imminent and there was no point in staying any longer.

I sighed, "Very well, I guess we do this the hard way, just remember it's your game, if you want to call time out and come clean... I'll consider it. But I don't play games with pawns or steal lives, watch your back old man," I turned to Feinir, "Especially you memory stealer, you will find out shortly you cannot hide from me."

Back in my dorm room I stepped out of limbo and summoned Kenneth. He appeared in a bright wash of golden light.

I drew in my power, prepared to snap the bonds and release Kenneth on to the next world. Real memories or not, the soul was real and deserved to move on.

Kenneth said, "Wait!"

I stopped and nodded for him to continue.

Kenneth asked, "Let me stay and help. I don't know who I once was, but I imagine he would want revenge as much as I do for their betrayal. Let me stay until this is finished, then I will go."

I nodded, and then wrapped us both up in golden light and teleported home. I had a lot to report, and I had to fix Bree's body.

I did the second one first, but I changed her looks of course. One of me is more than enough. I decided to make it as close a resemblance to the ghost as was wise. I wouldn't want her to run into someone she knows on the street, so I made enough changes that it wouldn't be an issue.

I had to admit she was very attractive. She had long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and creamy tan skin. When I was done she gave me a hug and a shy smile. I had been more focused the last few days and I picked it up. What had been in front of me all this time. She was fiercely protective of me not because she loved me and was mothering, but because she was in love with me.

I marveled that I hadn't seen it before. I may not have treated my ghosts as slaves, but apparently I had been taking them for granted. They were always in the background, willing to do whatever I asked as part of their ten year deal, especially Bree. I felt foolish, and a bit ashamed.

The last few days had been a wakeup call of sorts. My ability to read people was as strong as my mother's, but not nearly as refined. It took awareness of my surroundings, choosing to look and see the people around me. Truly listening to what they said. So much of my life I had spent with my head in the clouds, missing things that should have been obvious.

Not that I was self centered, I believed I had a generous soul and helped people where I could. Perhaps just... self absorbed at times.

I admit I was intrigued with the idea of Bree and me. I had always focused on men, most women fell into the Vinnie trap, and any that escaped inevitably fell for my father. I hadn't explored that part of myself yet because of that. But would trying with Bree be right? She still had to do anything I said for two more years... I'd have to think about this.

I sent Ron a text, I wouldn't chase him, but I had come to the conclusion it was up to me to let him know his attentions would be more welcome now. I would have thought begging him to fuck me would be a big enough clue, but guys were dim sometimes.

I walked into the house with Kenneth and Bree, my family was gathered in the living room along with a few of the coven and Kristi. I told them who was behind it, and what I knew. That it was designed to get something out of us, but that I had no clue what. I basically went over every action and thought I'd had for the last four hours, minus the guy drama and my insecurities of course.

That took quite a while, and they asked questions trying to get more details out of me. My phone went off and it was a text from Ron. He was happy to hear from me and wanted to go out this coming weekend. I smiled and shook my head. All that worry was for nothing, just a misunderstanding.

I replied yes and got back to the family meeting. I promised myself I would be more aware and watchful. I would never be the same again, but that didn't mean I had to give up the fun side, I just needed to pay more attention to the things and people around me.

Mom said, "I'm proud of you, good plan and execution."

She looked a little sad though, I understood, my life was changing, I was changing. I just hoped the person I was to become was someone I could be proud of, and someone my mom could be proud of too. 

One thing was for sure, I was tired of dodging attacks. I was ready to move from defensive to offensive.

Dad asked, "So, what now?"

I sighed, "Two things, we need to find out what is so important that they would twist and manipulate so many people's lives for. We also need to kill them all. At the very least we need to end Feinir. To do that it needs to be me, Vinnie, Kristi and other volunteers."

He nodded his head and I could see the conflict in him. He knew his father was a mean evil bastard, but he was still his father.

Alicia spoke, "I will help," which drew a look from Kristi.

A few other people agreed, but I was in favor of a stealth plan, taking them one by one. If it came to a huge battle we could recruit the family. The meeting seemed to be over so I walked to Kristi and held her hand. I floated the pictures of people in the front of my mind until she had them. She was the key really, she could find them, anywhere, anytime. 

For now though, I needed to rest, and Kristi needed time to watch and learn their movements and see if she could learn anything. 

Mom and dad came over and I waited for them to start. I had a pretty good idea what it was.

Mom said, "You don't have to do this alone. If you're going on the offensive we can be there."

I shook my head, "You can't. Right now they are playing a long game of manipulation on our family, but as soon as they realize they have lost control all bets will be off. They will fight to kill, to survive. That means you two need to be here to protect the rest of the family, coven, and even Chicago. If it makes you feel better I promise to call if we get in over our heads."

They both nodded reluctantly and went off to make plans of their own. I wondered when I had taken charge, and why people were actually listening to me. Especially my brother, he had been following my lead the last few days. It was... different.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and drank it in large gulps on the way to my room. I should go to class tomorrow, it seemed an absurd thing to me, but it was important to me too. I didn't want all this to derail my life completely. We had a plan and didn't need to work it constantly. Plus, I still needed to do something with the professor.

Here's an idea, how about I talk to him.

I got to my room and sat on the floor with my legs crossed. I was working on my shield and glyph while trying to sharpen my mind. It seemed easier to me to hold the ideas together now, though I had no idea the progress I had made toward making the glyph a reality as far as my magic goes.

Since it was easier, I decided to push for more and I let my magic and senses expand into the room. I could feel John and Tammy as usual. Bree too, but she felt different in a real body, and I could tell she was staring at me. I expanded even farther finding my brother, Alicia, Kristi, Ray, and Claudia all hanging out in the living room. I went even farther, but pulled back when I reached my parents.

There are some things children just shouldn't know, and they were in the middle of one of those things right now.

I was twenty two, for eighteen years I had been practicing my magic. For the last twelve I had worked on my shield, worked on mind discipline, and worked on trying to teach my magic a glyph for shielding. I knew the next glyph wouldn't take twelve years, part of the process of sharpening the mind would make the next one faster, then even faster for the third. But still, it would take centuries to build up to the really complicated shit my mom could do.

Despite the fact I had worked on shields for twelve years I was surprised when it clicked. The moment I felt the magic accept it, know it. I still had a long way to go. It would take me another five or so to learn my sword and shield, two more simple concepts that took extreme concentration. Then I could work on wards and ever more complicated spells.

But I completely lost my concentration when it happened. It was a shock to my system and my shield failed and my mind and magic was snapped back into my body. I was almost reluctant when I raised my hand and formed the glyph with my magic and released it. A shield popped up around me and I think I even got tears in my eyes.

Then I grinned wide, Vinnie was so going to be jealous.

I'd have to figure out what to start on next, I wanted to try the sword and shield, but I needed to come up with a glyph first. I wasn't strong enough to manifest a sword and shield fully, but that shouldn't matter. By the time it is ready for the glyph to work, I will have the ability to do so.

I was pretty much recharged and ready to go, the meditation renewing my energy and making me feel rested. I stood and looked at Bree for a moment, really torn on what to do. I could let her decide, but I knew she would if she thought I wanted to, which is what would make it wrong. 

I wanted to know if she wanted to, because clearly I did. She was beautiful, and if I was going to try it with another woman she is the one I wanted. That was when she took two steps towards me and pulled me into a hug.

She pulled her head back a little and looked at me closely before leaning in and kissing me with her soft lips. It was so different, soft and sensual. She broke the kiss and smiled at me, while I panicked a little.

Bree said, "Don't worry, I've been wanting to do that long before you noticed me, long before I had this body. Don't doubt that this is my choice."

"How did you know?"

She smirked, "You weren't blocking off your bonds, all of your ghosts know you want my hot body."

I blushed while Tammy and Tony laughed. I frowned. It had never occurred to me until now, wanting to be with Bree, but I'd been fucking in front of my ghosts for years without a second thought. It didn't bother me that they were there, what bothered me was I hardly noticed the fact. Another shallow piece of my past revealed.

I smiled, "Good, are you going to give it to me?"

She chuckled wickedly, "No love, I gave myself to you long ago, they are seeing you give yourself to me... now shut up and kiss me."

My core clenched at that and I kissed her hard, our bodies pressed up against the other's. Her fingers were so gentle as she explored my body and I returned the favor. We stripped each other down to skin during our Sapphic explorations. I blushed, as part of my new awareness I could feel all my ghosts paying special attention to the bond link, had they always done this?

How blind had I been not to see it? I had probably been just too focused on the man in front of me. This would be different in more ways than one.

Truthfully it turned me on quite a bit. Although I throttled that one, didn't let them know I noticed and was feeling rather exhibitionist about it, there was no point in letting them see everything. I was happy about one thing. My new self seemed to be just as much a sexual creature.

She led me to the bed and laid me down on my back while exploring my body. I wondered when my revenant had taken charge, but wasn't about to object. I was too busy experiencing the sensations she drew out of me and did my best to reciprocate. I grinned. I didn't want to disappoint my audience.

She laid next to me and caressed my breast while we kissed softly with light nips and intermingling of our tongues. I played with her hair and lightly brushed my nails on the back of her neck while I reached down between her legs.

I had never touched another woman there, and a thrill went through me when I slid my fingertip along her labia, first circling the outside before running my fingertip up and down her slit. She moaned into my mouth and her thumb and forefinger lightly pinched and pulled my hardened sensitive nipple making me gasp into hers.

We teased each other's bodies and kissed for a long time. There was no rush, simply pleasure and sensual sensations. I was so ready for it when she got up and turned to straddle my head. I could smell her arousal and I shivered in anticipation and excitement. I was so wet and I couldn't wait to taste her, or feel her tongue delving into my depths.

I reached up and caressed her ass cheeks, squeezing lightly. Everything had been soft and beautiful so far, and I wasn't about to change that. I coaxed her core down to my lips with light and teasing touches and took my first lick down her glistening warmth. I took a sharp breath when I felt her tongue do the same. I ran my tongue along her again, this time pushing in a little, separating her swollen hot labia and flicking her clit with my tongue as I went by.

I had been so worked up before this that it didn't take long to reach my peak under her talented soft wet tongue and the soft touch of her nimble fingers.

I whispered breathlessly, "Oh goddess... Bree I'm going to..."

My voice cut off as my molten core erupted, I could feel her fingers holding me open as she sucked in my rushing nectar. When I came down I increased my ministrations, determined to taste her blissful juices as well.

I didn't have to wait long and she tasted divine. I felt so close to Bree and I could feel her love for me through the bond, it was so easy to fall. She had already been my best friend, and the ghost I'd always called on first. The one I was always happy to see. The one always there for me no matter what I did or how stupid I'd been. I think I was already in love with her and just didn't know it.

She moved back around and collapsed next to me, I turned to face her and we hugged lightly and kissed, sharing the taste of the other.

It was so strange, that a woman would be the first person I'd say it out loud to. The words I had dreaded and feared to utter. But it also felt right, natural.

"I love you Bree."

She knew of course, had been my constant companion. She knew how much it meant for me to say those words to someone. She told me out loud too, though I could feel the truth both in my heart and with my power.

I grinned happily and I leaned in for another kiss...

Chapter 8 - Vinnie

I was sitting between Kristi and Alicia on the couch. To say I felt uncomfortable would be a huge understatement. I loved them both, and there was no way I could choose sides, I just had to hope they would eventually work something out.

The last few days have been crazy, it all started with Alicia and now we were plotting to kill gramps and grams on dad's side of the family, as well as a sick twisted asshole of a fae.

I'm a little ashamed I had been caught up in Kristi over the last few days leaving things for my sister to take care of and plan for. After I had convinced Kristi with much begging, to listen to my story, she finally relented and forgave me. I had little choice and she seemed understanding of the decision I made. But that didn't mean she wasn't still jealous, so I had been very attentive the last few days, showering her with affection and attention.

It wasn't like I minded doing it though.

As a result I had pretty much followed Hope's lead and plans on everything. I'm not sure what happened, but my sister has grown up a lot over the last three days. I am not sure if she sees it but she is on the way to becoming a lot like our mother, which is to say amazing and not just a little scary. Of course, I'd deny that if anyone said I thought that.

She is extremely focused and driven now, which is such a huge change. I can't help but wonder if that benefits the enemy in some way, but I have no doubt it won't for long. Kristi is amazing too, she's been watching the enemy ever since she got a hold of the mental pictures from Hope. I'm not sure what Hope's plan will be, but I am sure it will be effective.

Alicia broke my train of thought, "Could you go meditate, or practice your magic. I need to speak with Kristi alone."

Kristi asked stiffly, "Why does he have to leave?" with a suspicious look on her face.

Alicia shrugged, "You don't want to discuss it in front of him do you? He might figure out just how much worth he holds for us if we do it that way."

I chuckled but Kristi narrowed her eyes. "She's right, go away."

I raised my eyebrow, but wasn't about to argue with both of them, especially not when they were finally agreeing on something. I got up and went up to my bedroom hoping they would work it out, but steeling myself in case they didn't. When I got to my room I meditated and worked on my mental disciplines. I was trying to push down my emotions and sharpen my focus.

I was getting pretty good at it, effort wise it was low. Still, to maintain it in battle it had to be trained into reflex, made into a second natural state I could invoke, rather than something I had to push myself into and voluntarily hold in place.

I knew I was close, so I pushed deeper and just held it. Then I let my power and mind wander, the point being to hold my state of focus and faint emotions while doing something else. I started to spin out simple spells of air, earth, water, and very carefully fire. My mental state seemed to stick so I tried more complicated things.

I couldn't do these in battle yet, but I was capable enough while sitting still and meditating. I created a small water funnel on the top of my hand, then mixed fire and air creating an incandescent ball of fire over my other palm. I was sweating a bit now, so I held all of it the best I could, fighting to keep my focus while maintaining two spells and four elements.

I could tell I was starting to strain on the spells so I banished them and looked at the time. I had held it for close to thirty minutes. I stood up and walked toward my door when I realized something.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 05



I was still incredibly focused and lacking all but the lightest of emotions. And I wasn't trying at all. I knew that would have made me whoop with joy and grin, but in this state of mind I merely cracked a small smile and made note of my accomplishment. I turned it off and things went back to normal and I grinned, Hope was going to be so jealous...

I went downstairs and there was no sign of Kristi or Alicia, I shrugged and moved to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. The house felt a little empty, everyone had gone home for the most part and it was just my family. I heard someone coming through the kitchen door and turned, it was Hope.

I said in a teasing tone, "Hey sis, guess what?"

She looked like she was in a great mood, especially considering the last few days.

She grinned, "What?"

I evoked my mental state and raised my eyebrow. I knew she would get it, she was still watching everything around her, taking in the world even though she looked so relaxed.

Her grin faltered and she stamped her foot.

I turned it off, smiled and said innocently, "What?"

She sighed mock sadly, "Well, that should help you maintain a shield better in battle. Of course, I don't have to worry about that anymore."

She snapped her fingers and a glyph appeared and surrounded her with a shield.

My face fell and we looked at each other with narrowed eyes. Then we started to laugh at the same time.

She stuck her tongue out, "I'll beat you to something new next time, in the meantime, we should go celebrate."

I nodded, that did sound good.

"Any idea where Alicia and Kristi are?"

She nodded, "Fighting in the backyard."

They're what? I turned to run to the door and Hope said, "Stop!"

I turned and looked at her like she was crazy.

She shook her head, "You are so lucky you have a good sister who is too dumb not to meddle in your life. Don't you dare go out there, they may be fighting over you, but this is about them, not you. I'm sure that didn't make sense, because you're a guy. Just let it go, trust me, they need to establish a pecking order, even if it is equals."

I said, "But... I thought that was a guy thing."

She shook her head sadly and said, "Are you kidding? Women are worse, much much worse, trust me."

I was worried about them, but if my sister was right... They had already told me not to get involved...

I changed the subject, "So, where are we going to celebrate? It's pretty late."

She shrugged, "Nightlife in Hawaii, lots of daylight in Australia, breakfast in Paris?"

I grinned, "Breakfast sounds boring, one of the other two. Let's wait for them to get back though."

She winked, "See, you're not hopeless after all."

I watched in surprise as Bree came in with her new body and wrapped her arms around my sister from behind. I had never seen my sister smile so happily in her life, her eyes glowed with it. One more reason to go celebrate... 

I asked, "So, any plans yet on how we are going to do this.

My sister frowned, "Yes, but I think you're going to hate them. I'm taking mom's no rules speech to heart."

"What do you mean?"

She said slowly, "They are all about manipulating behind the shadows, we will never get them to an honest engagement. So I am not even going to try. In fact, my plan involves not fighting at all. I want to know when and where they sleep, take showers, meet a mistress, take a shit, whatever. Anything that leaves them with their pants down that we can take advantage of. We teleport in, step out of limbo and kill without warning and disappear. 

"If they manipulate their targets from the shadows, we will rise from the shadows and kill them. That's my plan, assassination, death, cause fear in the ranks. Make their flunkies into revenants and send them after the bosses. Yeah, pretty shitty right? Still, the important thing is to keep our family safe, we didn't start this war, but I plan to end it."

I pondered that a moment, she was just as terrifying as mom now, but she was right. I just hoped this wasn't their goal to begin with, make her ruthless, manipulate her into it. But it didn't matter really, right was right, and they deserved everything we could dish out.

I nodded, "It does sound ruthless, but it's for the best. I just hope we will still be us when we can reclaim and get back to our lives."

She shook her head, "I'm going to be better. I know I sound ruthless, but I've changed in other ways too. I'm happier with who I am and more confident, and not afraid to live, or at least, I won't let fear stop me from living. I can live with blood on my hands if it's to protect and defend the ones I love. Let me know though if I get too ruthless with people that don't deserve it, I don't think I ever could but... I didn't think I'd ever be like this either."

"I will, but I don't think you ever could. There is a big difference between answering ruthlessly to attack, and turning into the type of person who attacks first to get their way."

I heard the back door open. Kristi and Alicia came in laughing about something and stopped when I looked over. Their clothes were threadbare and torn up, barely covering their skin. I was disturbed by how turned on I got.

I said carefully, "We are going out to celebrate, want to go... clean up? Oh, either Hawaii night life or daytime Australia."

They shared a look and Alicia said, "Sure, going out sounds fun."

Does that mean Alicia won?

Kristi said, "Sounds good, we will go to Hawaii if that's okay with you two?"

I just nodded, now confused. Maybe that was their plan so I wouldn't know who is over whom? Okay, now I am just being paranoid.

We all wound up going upstairs to change, it was only two am, so the night was just getting started in Hawaii, should be nine there. I couldn't find our other sibs, so I assumed they were on a pack hunt and unavailable for party time.

We met downstairs and Kristi put her arm in mine, she was beautiful with a teal blue blouse and short white skirt. Alicia came up and grabbed my other arm, she looked great too with very short jean shorts and a tight red shirt that said wolves do it doggy style with a picture of a silver wolf on it.

I said hello to Bree and complimented her red mini dress, might as well get used to treating her as a family member now that she was visible and with my sister.

Hope shot me a grateful look and asked, "Everyone ready?"

At everyone's nod she took us where Kristi indicated was safe and we made our way from there down to the beach. We were all having a good time drinking and dancing when I developed the theory neither of them had won, and they had an interesting truce of equals going on. Every time one of them touched me so did the other. I was very careful not to make any obvious moves to indicate I had a favorite.

I wasn't as dumb as my sister thought, I hoped so anyway. Still, it was nervous work and I hoped some kind of equilibrium was reached sometime. I couldn't even imagine how dad dealt with four of them.

They didn't try to make me choose either, as they kept handing me back and forth for dances and I was starting to relax a bit as the beers flowed. I even asked Bree to dance a couple of times, mainly to get to know her better. I didn't really know anything about her since she'd been an invisible non-entity to me for the eight years she'd been here. I asked her how she had met my sister and she told me her story. It was a bit darker than I thought it would be.

Bree looked at me thoughtfully before answering, "It is not a pretty story. I was beautiful when I was a young girl, born just south of Mexico in a town that was often visited by Americans. I was the result of one of those visits. My childhood wasn't easy, I was judged for being a mixed child, and for only having one parent, but as I got older I could tell those looks were starting to disguise other desires.

"I was... foolish. Stuck up even, knowing what men thought of me. How badly they wanted me despite my taboo origins. I had control over them, or so I had believed. One night out partying an American approached me. He said he was looking for models and was taken with me. I went with him when he left, he took me to Chicago and I did several spreads for him, but he paid me little. Once I figured out he was robbing me, I left and tried to make my own way in the city."

She frowned, "Like I said, I enjoyed the looks men gave me, the power and control it seemed to give me. What I realized all too late was it was an illusion. I only had the control if the men had self control, and had been lucky until then. Eventually I got in a bad situation. I don't blame myself, not really. The men that took me had no right, but it was my naivety that made it possible. I should never have gone where I had gone or acted the way I had.

"It all ended badly and violently in death, but there were other women there who I had grown to care for, others that were in the same bad situation. So I took a chance and followed the crazy necromancer rumor that passes around the ghost community. Hope got those other women free for me, so I serve. Now, it is so much more than that, it is a dream being here and your sister means everything to me. She believes her namesake came from her mother's wishes, but she doesn't see that she is her namesake for every life she touches and person she saves."

It was a hard story to listen too, but let me understand her a little better. We had been out for a couple of hours and I was dancing with Kristi.

"Do we need to go soon? We have class in about four hours."

She grinned up at me, "Nope. Apparently humans don't have to sleep if they have their magic. I noticed when I went to bed yesterday. I wasn't tired, at all. And I was starting to sleep less and less over the last six nights. Can you teach me some meditation techniques? I imagine I will still need mind slow down moments."

I nodded, "I'd love too, isn't my dad teaching you any?"

She shrugged, "Mostly concentration techniques that speed up the mind and make it sharper, don't I need something that does the opposite too?"

"I don't know? I usually feel awake and refreshed after one of those, even though it may seem like I shouldn't. But everyone is different and I can certainly show you some."

We stayed there for a little over another hour and went home in the early morning hours, it must have been five thirty AM or so in Chicago. I was wondering what was going on when both Kristi and Alicia followed me into my room. I looked over to them and they both had serious face on. Uhoh.

Alicia said, "My mate, which of us will you choose for your bed tonight?"

Fuck, this was a trick question.

I shook my head.

Kristi asked, "Neither of us?"

I clarified carefully with my words, "No, I can't choose, I won't choose. You two decide. I love you both and I won't pick favorites, I'd rather cut off my arm than hurt one of you."

Alicia asked archly, "Even if you will have neither of us if you don't choose?"

I nodded. "Not having sex for me isn't quite as bad as cutting off my arm, so no, I won't choose. You two need to work it out, it's the only way it will work."

Alicia said, "I was afraid you would say that," she turned to Kristi, "I am not backing down."

Kristi answered, "Not a chance I'll back down either. Besides... I am kind of looking forward to it," Kristi blushed and smiled shyly at my werewolf mate.

I was a little confused as to what was going on.

Alicia smiled wickedly, "I have to admit, so am I."

They both walked up to me and walked me toward the bed. Was what I think was happening actually happening? My heart started to thunder in my chest.

They both took turns kissing me before ordering me to get undressed. I started pulling up my shirt, but paused as Kristi started to kiss Alicia. If I slept at all I'd have thought I was dreaming. They were so beautiful yet so different, and watching them kiss had me hard in seconds.

I realized Hope had told me the truth; women do take pecking order much more seriously than men. Or perhaps they wanted to try a threesome and just used the other as an excuse? Right, stop thinking so hard. I was just happy I wasn't stupid enough to pick one and finished stripping off my clothes.

They stripped each other of clothes slowly, quite obviously trying to give me a show, not that they weren't enjoying each other too. Perhaps this is what was needed for it to work, a relationship that worked in all directions. There I was thinking again, until Kristi turned to me with a twinkle in her eyes, she was definitely working the sexy, there was no cute there at all as she locked eyes with me and dropped to her knees.

Alicia's movement drew my eye and she too went to her knees. They both reached for me and caressed my hardness, inner thighs, and balls. The sensation made any thoughts of motivations flee my mind as I moaned softly and closed my eyes. I had been with many women, attracted them easily, but I had never been in a threesome before, much less with two women I loved, and the touch of four nimble and loving hands on my body was overwhelming.

My eyes popped open and I looked down when I felt warm soft lips wrap around my sensitive tip. I locked eyes with Alicia as she slowly took me in. Kristi was leaning forward, their faces brushing and dark and light hair intermingling as she tongued my balls. They both made sounds of satisfaction as they pleasured me.

"Oh god," I moaned deeply and reached down caressing the hair of both.

The feeling was beyond belief as they swapped my hardened pleasure back and forth, whenever I got close to coming they would take a short break and kiss each other to tease me and allow me to last just a little longer. I don't know how they decided, but Kristi wrapped her hand around my base and started to jerk me fast while sucking me deep into her mouth.

Alicia's tongue was on my balls and I felt it slip behind to my taint and then teased my puckered star. My eyesight went dim and my legs numbed. I thought I might fall so I straightened my knees as I grunted and started pumping my seed into Kristi's very warm talented mouth, tongue and throat as she eagerly drained every last drop.

I felt a little wobbly and very satisfied and looked down to see them kissing, Kristi sharing the fruit of their labor. They stood and smiled at each other, then me as they pushed me back onto the bed, and then crawled in after.

Kristi said with a twinkle in her eye, "You should just rest, recover.

Alicia nodded, her eyes bright, "Enjoy watching, join us when you can."

I could no longer see any signs of their game or competition. They were just enjoying themselves now, utterly relaxed and incredibly sexy. They got into the sixty nine position right next to me, they were so close their bodies brushed against mine as they moved. The light sounds of their pleasured moans and delighted gasps filled my ears.

I had a feeling it wouldn't take very long for me to recover. But I didn't just lie there, I took turns teasing their breasts and caressing their curves as I watched them please each other with tongues and fingers. They were truly breathtaking and I felt I was the luckiest man alive...

Chapter 9 - Hope

I walked down the stairs and couldn't get the light smile off my face. My hair was still a little damp from the shower and my body was sore, a reminder of the pleasure I shared with Bree last night after Hawaii. I could heal it with a thought but... it was a pleasant soreness.

Today was going to be a busy day; classes, professor fixing, and assassinations. I kept having second thoughts about that last one, but really, I didn't see another way. They would never fight us unless we cornered them, they would simply send puppets with fake memories and hide in the shadows. 

Vinnie's success yesterday with focusing the mind and keeping a cool head impressed me, but I was still going to start meditating toward getting my sword and shield. It was kind of a tough decision, but I thought I was doing well with keeping a cool head, if not nearly to the level Vinnie was. It still took effort to focus, but wasn't nearly as draining as a sword and shield would be.

Bree was with me, in ghost form, her body upstairs in my bed. Neither of us really liked it, but she couldn't follow me around to classes if everyone could see her, and we both wanted to stay together. Perhaps that was co-dependent, but she was undeniably a part of me, and me her.

I was also looking forward to my date with Ron tomorrow and wondered where he was taking me. I had a lot going on, but I was determined not to let that asshole fae and my grandparents screw up my life and make me put everything on the backburner.

I walked in the kitchen to grab a coffee, and I saw Vinnie and Kristi saying goodbye to Alicia in a very enthusiastic manner. I was happy they had worked it out before Vinnie turned into a basket case. 

Vinnie turned to me and raised an eyebrow, "You ready to go?"

He had sounded a little surprised.

I looked down at myself, I was wearing tight jeans and a light blue sweater shirt. 

"Is something on my face?"

He shook his head, "No, you look great actually, but I've never seen you leave the house with your hair still damp."

I considered that for a moment, I did take time to put on some light makeup, but he was right, usually I'd spend forever with my hair. Instead it was damp and put up in a style that looked good but was easy to manage. Maybe I was less vain... Nah, I still looked hot and knew it. It's just not sleeping usually left me a lot of time to get ready.

I coughed, "I umm, didn't leave myself enough time this morning."

He looked uncomfortable and asked, "Ready?"

I gulped the rest of the coffee down and put the mug in the sink before I nodded.

He held Kristi's hand for a moment, getting a safe spot, and we appeared right in my dorm room. It was odd, I couldn't remember the last night I'd actually spent here. I would usually meditate while Kristi slept. So much had changed, some for the better, and some for the worse.

My morning classes went fine. I had a few party invitations for Saturday night, but I doubted I'd be around for them. Even if something happened and my date with Ron fell through it would be a busy weekend. I also didn't fail to notice Talia, my aunt, was nowhere to be found all morning and was not in the dining hall for lunch.

I wasn't sure what I was going to say to Professor Mendez. I had the idea to talk with him and hope his answers guided me to a solution. Maybe something as simple as lying and telling him I had put him under hypnosis when he pissed me off, and that day had all been in his mind. But I didn't even get to phase one, when I asked for some office time, he begged off.

Professor Mendez had looked scared and said, "I don't have any open slots today, see me on Monday and I can schedule you in sometime next week."

I sighed as I watched him race for the door after class. I'd really fucked up on this one. I really hoped my other plans for today went better. 

We decided to use the house as a base instead of the college. Over the years my mother had added so many wards and protections around the house, the coven, and the council building, we would have advanced warning in case they retaliated faster than we expected. It would be foolish to assume they had no backup plans in place, especially since they already knew they had been discovered.

We needed to start with their support, according to Kristi both my grandparents and Feinir were constantly surrounded by guards. We wanted more information too, exactly why and what they were trying to accomplish by manipulating and attacking us. I had a feeling only Feinir, and perhaps my grandparents, had any clue what the big picture was.

That had to be our end game, kill and enslave the souls of those three, and find out what the hell was going on and just how deep it all went.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 05



Our plan was rather simple on the surface. Kristi was watching up to four at a time, constantly shifting and looking for a vulnerable target. Vinnie and I would be the team to take care of the target since realm hopping was an important part of the plan. Lastly, we were surrounded Bree, Kenneth, Alicia, Ray, Claudia and a number of ghosts for protection in case the enemies counter attacked.

There were also others we could call on if things got too bad.

I was acutely aware we made a terrifying team and was glad the other side didn't have human magic on their side. Between the unique magic Vinnie and I possessed, plus Kristi, it meant no one who targeted our family would be safe. I was trying not to let the power go to my head, it helped that I really just wanted to be left alone to build a life. I think the fact I was a necromancer and already familiar with the temptations of power and controlling others helped me to keep my perspective.

Waiting for the first target took entirely too much time, and yet too short a time. Kristi sent us a visual and we stepped into limbo and teleported. I raised a shield as I looked around. We were in a large bathroom and I could see the silhouette of someone in the shower. Vinnie and I exchanged looks and I felt a deep weight settle on my shoulders and my gut tightened.

Right or not, defending my family and those I loved, it wasn't easy to move forward. Killing was hard, and justified or not I knew it would add a weight to my soul. I could see on Vinnie's face he would take care of it, but it was my plan. My idea. I walked through the shower curtain and saw a man in his thirties. I couldn't feel his magic from the void at all. Not without a ghost there to feed it to me. I just knew he had been in the room with my grandparents.

He had his eyes closed to keep the soap from his eyes as he washed his hair. It was too easy to step out and release my power into him. I turned him into a revenant bound to me. I searched his memories, with him in my command he assisted my search of his mind. I had been right, he didn't know the big picture. He did however add a few more people to the list that hadn't been there that afternoon.

I set him on a mission to cause havoc and we went back to the house. I would let his soul go on after this was over, but for now... this was war and there were no rules, only the innocent would be spared. I passed along the pictures to Kristi and waited for the next target.

The first five went without a hitch. Vinnie had insisted we share the burden and killed two of them. After that we started to run into problems.

The sixth person appeared to be sleeping, but word of our attacks had gotten out and it was a trap. Vinnie and I stepped out of limbo and we were both struck by lightning from wards. Luckily we were both shielded at the time, but it still startled us. The person on the bed smiled up at us and spoke a harsh word, raising a containment ward around us.

It was the one big drawback of attacking from limbo, we really couldn't detect wards or magic in the real world from there.

Two more witches came through the door, which were not on our list, and the three of them started chanting. The inside of the ward started acting like a lightning generator and we were struck multiple times. I wanted to fight, but Vinnie shook his head. I realized his shield was greatly weakened and that the same was true of mine. I frowned, tossed a ball at our host, like we had practiced for the demons, and we stepped into limbo where their circle didn't hold sway.

I watched as my spell literally exploded from inside the witch's body. That was one target that would evade my necromancy. The other two witches ran for it.

"Should we chase them?"

Vinnie shook his head, "They might be leading us into another trap, and we almost lost our shields and died in this one. If they had a true coven instead of just three we may have been toast."

I nodded and we reluctantly returned home. I fed two more pictures to Kristi and we argued about continuing.

Vinnie shook his head stubbornly, "The whole point of your approach is to minimize danger, walking into traps is just a bad idea, we got about a quarter of the people you saw, we need to wait for a while, let their guard drop again. Maybe tomorrow morning, or much later tonight?"

Kristi said, "I think he is right, I can see a lot of them gathered together, and all the rest are in a vulnerable spot. They must all be traps."

I saw the logic of their argument, but I wanted this over with. That was a stupid reason to die though so I just nodded tightly. I monitored the five revenants I made, they did manage to take out three more people in surprise before they were all discovered and killed. Once their bodies were destroyed I released the bond to their souls and let them move on.

So it wasn't too bad a turn out for our first attack, about a third of all the ones that were there when I crashed Kenneth's return were now dead. Still, we had no idea how many there were yet, it was already apparent we didn't know all of them and every kill had produced a couple of more targets.

I considered the possibility of not weakening them first. I reflected on the idea that we should just find a way to get at the top three even with all that protection around them. I just wasn't sure if it would be a good approach, or if it was merely my impatience. I was about to admit defeat when I felt one of the house wards go off. A loud bang sounded like someone had driven a truck into the wall of the house.

What had I gotten us into? I had been so sure we would take them all down.

Vinnie and I shared a look and ran for the door, our shields popping up on the way. When we got outside there were four demons, and my Aunt Talia. She had an insane look in her eyes. Vinnie and I went to work, using the attacks we had trained so hard on. It was difficult, the demons were wicked fast, almost too fast to track at times, much faster than the ghosts we had trained on.

I was getting frustrated when I finally got my first one, it was so strange as he exploded but at the same time his shield kept his broken body contained. We were working on the other three and I saw Kristi facing off with Talia.

They were both hammering at the others shields. Kristi sending punches of telekinesis and fire while Talia sent her magic against Kristi. It was impossible to see everything going on over there as I was too focused on my own fight. I had no idea why Talia would attack us alone like this, but I didn't have time to worry about it right now.

There was more than one close call as the demons charged and attacked us time and time again, if not for our reflex ability to go to limbo I'd have been dead many times over. Vinnie and I exchanged looks and we changed tactics. We started working together and focusing on one demon at a time, catching it in crossfire to great effect. We got the last three with our teamwork as they dodged one of our attacks, only to run into the others. 

We turned to help Kristi but it turned out she didn't need it. The attacks Kristi was trading with Talia had only been a distraction. I was awed as one of the boulders we were using for training shot out of the sky above Talia, smashing right through her shield and slamming her body into the ground with a loud crunch of bone.

I reached out with my necromancy and hooked her soul, wanting to learn what I could. I spoke to her mind to mind, ordering the information I needed and what she thought I needed to know before I released my Aunt's spirit to move on. It turned out to be a goldmine of information but still short on some big answers. It was also information I could have done without ever finding out. The telling of it would not be easy.

Vinnie asked, "What was that about?"

I looked over to them, Vinnie was holding Kristi tight. For the first time I wondered who was first born. Before now it hadn't mattered. Was it me, or was it him?

I said in a soft voice feeling lost, "She was insanely jealous, with the emphasis on insane. I'll go over it when I tell about what I learned. I am still trying to get it ordered in my head, and we need to have Mom, Dad, and Amy here to hear it too. Probably the whole family should be there to hear it."

I went back inside and got a beer from the fridge, and then decided a second one would be good. I wasn't really hungry, but Bree had cooked us dinner while we were carrying out plans, so I ate. I could tell everyone was curious, but I kept putting it off, I didn't want to tell it twice so I was waiting for my parents and the rest of our family.

It took a couple of hours before they could return home, but here I was again in front of my family about to give a speech of sorts, I still wasn't sure where to start. I looked at my family one by one as I gathered my thoughts. What I knew didn't change the fact I loved them all.

I said slowly, "This is very convoluted, I need to start far enough back so it makes sense. When the wars ended although they had worked together, the angels, demons, and fae were very suspicious of each other. When the fae found this world, a number of their seers had visions that the humans of this realm would be the end of their race.

"The fae argued among themselves. Some wanted to simply destroy the humans. They could have at the time as humanity was few and spread out. The seers saw that if the fae were to destroy what the other races would see as a helpless species of humans, the Angels and demons would turn on them, destroying them utterly.

"Talia did not know how humanity would destroy the fae, it was something Feinir kept hidden from all."

I took a moment to push down my emotions before I continued.

"They almost did it anyway thinking it would be better to go out fighting. But one of the seers had a powerful vision and suddenly they had a chance after all. Talia did not know the details of how or why, but what was known is simple. The first born offspring of a Nephilim and a half demon would under the right circumstances, bring about the fall of humanity on this world."

I felt a little sick in my stomach as I continued, "However, the prophecy also says, the second born would stop the first, thereby saving humanity and dooming the fae to eventual extinction."

I heard mom gasp and looked over and nodded.

"That's why the message said to keep it a secret. If Feinir had known who was second born, either Vinnie or I would have been murdered in our cradles. But hold on, I'm not done. We skipped a lot just now. The manipulation goes so much farther."

I took a deep breath, "That's when the fae race took two steps. They locked down the magic of this world under enchantment, and they welcomed all races here. The first was designed to slow down the advancement of humans here, the second was to specifically put warlocks on this world knowing demons would follow. They also knew the angels would be suspicious and send spies here to see what they were up to. The other races coming here were just a side effect of this plot.

"In other words, it was all a set up so angels and demons would have children with other races in the hopes that either their children, or even they themselves, would eventually have the prophesied children. A perfect way to draw the required races and hope that... nature would take its course."

I shrugged, "At first the fae were content to sit back and watch, wary of taking any more overt actions that might change the prophecy. Feinir was sent here to keep an eye on it. But things didn't come together, more often than not the Nephilim were raised to mistrust and hate demons which carried on to how the half demon children were regarded.

"This next part is speculation on Talia's part. But she thinks Feinir slowly went a little mad as the Nephilim populations started dropping. The angels were no longer suspicious and less and less were coming to check on things. As a result of this and time the population fell over thousands of years as the Nephilim died in battle, accidents, and some just got tired of living so long.

"Feinir got fixated on you, mom, as the last one. He followed you for years and knew all about you and the family lines you had scattered. There were no half demon men either, so in his desperation he then started a campaign to force the prophecy into being."

I felt a little sick as I sipped my beer.

"Feinir found a young warlock with no morals at all, and hired him. Promising him power and wealth and whatever he desired. That would be grandpa Brian. He had Brian impregnate a succubus to have dad. Already back then he had planned to somehow get you two together, but wasn't sure how yet.

"When dad moved out, that is when he seduced a witch and had Talia. Talia grew up hearing nothing but things about his plans for our family, it is why she attacked tonight. She had finally had enough. I had always felt a little uncomfortable around her at school but couldn't pin down why. It was because she was just insane. I won't go into what grandpa did to her over the years, there would be no point."

I had gotten off topic and could see my father and mother looked how I felt.

"So Feinir had the players for the prophecy, but no way to get you together. That's when he dove back into all the information he had accumulated over the years about mom. It was when he found Amy that he hatched his plan. It was perfect, she was related to you, mom, but she was also undead, a vampire. Dad of course, was a necromancer. It was the thread, the lure he used to bring you together.

"He hired a necromancer less powerful than dad, just to make sure dad wasn't accidentally killed. Then he ordered the necromancer to steal Amy from her vampire master, and send her to attack dad. Feinir was fairly certain you wouldn't kill her, he had watched you all your life and depended on it.

"Then it was just a matter of time before mom tracked down the Amy family line and found her with dad. He hoped your common interests in Amy would bring you together."

I couldn't really think anymore, it was bad enough knowing it myself. But I had just told my family we had been manipulated into being a family. We all loved each other and that wouldn't change, but to know that Feinir had that much influence on our lives was devastating, at least to me it was.

Even worse, my brother and I was the product of a fifteen thousand year plot. What can I possibly think about that? It didn't change the fact I was going to kill them, except only to perhaps lessen my guilt about it. Plus, was it me or my brother, which one was destined to create humanity's fall? There was really no way to tell when that would happen either. We were immortal so it could be anytime, an hour or a few thousand years, a million years, or even longer? Seriously, that was too big to contemplate for long.

That's what we, I, needed. The prophecy itself might have some insight into it. It all made my head hurt. I was also curious about the first prophecy, how could humanity kill such a powerful race even with magic?

It was clear to me if I wanted any more answers, such as the prophecies, Feinir needed to meet his end... Others were talking so I tuned back in, trying to push down my hurricane of emotions.

Kristi said, "I can't believe either of you would end humans on this world."

Vinnie shrugged, "It's not that simple, I doubt it too. But it doesn't say how. Remember we talked about freeing humans from the fae's enchantment? What if I went and did that right now. It seems like a good thing, I would have good intentions doing it. But if I did do it, the world may descend into chaos and war, maybe even to the destruction of humanity.

"I can't imagine fighting my sister to protect the world either, but perhaps the second born stops the first simply with some good advice. Prophecies are never what they seem, and often we make them self fulfilling when trying to avoid them. The best thing we could do is just ignore it, and live our lives. As long as we are both alive the world is safe right? Well, we can ignore it after we kill that asshole Feinir and our grandfather."

I nodded to myself at his words, they made sense. Still, I wanted to know the prophecies, he thought we should ignore them. My mind spun in circles. If I was firstborn I should follow his ideas, if he is firstborn I should follow mine. But I can never have that information, which makes things even more complicated. I needed peace and quiet. He was right about one thing, we needed to just stay calm and live our lives, after we took care of Feinir and company.

I said my goodnights briefly, needing to be alone. I considered taking Bree with me, but left it up to her. Now that she had a body, she might enjoy spending time with my family. I went up to my room, sat on the floor with my legs crossed, and meditated. 

I needed to clear my mind from the junk and worry that had built up and had been swirling in my mind non-stop the last few hours. Ever since I touched the mind of my insane Aunt and learned far more than I ever wanted to about my family origins I'd had no peace.

When I was calmed down enough I focused on a new glyph and the sword and shield. Any concentration I had left over went into keeping myself focused, calm, and centered. It was wonderful as I didn't have the capacity to think on anything else. I think without meditation we would go crazy never being able to sleep, at least not without a spell.

As I meditated deep in my mind the sword and shield seemed to come easier, take less of my will, though they were still far from being manifest, they were still just made of light. I didn't think I'd made much progress there, it felt I made progress in meditation itself, finding a deeper level of focus.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and checked with my magic. It was mom and I wondered what she wanted, I just wanted to be alone and not think for a while. I brought myself out of it, dropping my spell and the mediation.

"What is it mom?"

Anise said, "Everyone is worried about you, I think it's time to get back to the real world for a while. Come down and eat."

I sighed loudly, "It's only been an hour, maybe two, why are they worried?"

Anise disagreed, "Hope sweetie, you've been up here meditating for fourteen hours. It's just after noon, time for lunch."

I looked at the clock on my end table, sure enough it was twelve ten PM. How the hell did I just lose twelve hours? Was it my deeper meditation?

I shook my head, "Has that every happened to you? I think I was meditating deeper than usual, and I lost the time."

Mom grinned and gave me a hug.

"Yes, I'll show you how to set an internal timer to take you out. I'm proud of you. You'll learn stuff ten times faster that way. Of course, it will still take a long time, but you're looking at a year to learn a new glyph instead of five to ten years."

I grinned back, that means I'm totally going to own Vinnie next time I perfect something.

She took a minute to show me how to shape a timed spell that would jolt me at a preset time. Of course this was the century of technology, so I could probably just use an alarm clock, but I wasn't going to say anything about that.

"Thanks mom, I am kind of hungry."

I was dying to ask if it was me, was I the first born, but held my tongue. She was told to tell no one, and I had a feeling if I knew for sure it would just make things worse, not better.

I reminded myself to keep an outward focus on everything around me and then headed down for some lunch.

"Sorry if I worried anyone. Apparently I went to a new level of meditation and lost track of time. It only felt like a couple of hours to me."

Vinnie looked at me with worried and narrowed eyes. I swear I wouldn't be half as powerful as I was now without the sibling competition we had going on.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 05



Kristi said, "Cool, you should set an alarm next time."

I chuckled, "Mom had me covered, got a new spell for it. Not sure I would even hear the alarm anyway, if I was that deep."

I was really happy my house had wards. It would be nerve wracking being that defenseless otherwise.

"So, has the enemy relaxed any? I have a few hours before my date."

Kristi shook her head, "We may need to come up with a new plan."

I nodded glumly and ate my sandwich... I didn't have any ideas except frontal assault and there were too many for that unless we dragged in the whole community. I was averse to that idea, it was a family problem and doing that would simply put people in danger that didn't need to be.

I asked, "Can you pay special attention to Feinir and my grandfather? We need a plan to take them out. I don't think the rest matter all that much. Without the puppet master they shouldn't pursue us anymore.

We chatted for a while, and then wound up training. Kristi once again went off with my dad, and mom had fun running us into the ground in the backyard. Kristi got back and I was about to go in the house and grab a shower when my phone rang, it was Ron, and I was grinning when I answered it.

"Hi Ron, what's up and what should I wear?"

I wasn't sure where we were going tonight, I needed some guidance here.

There was a few seconds of silence, and I frowned.

"Hey Hope, look, I have to cancel tonight."

I should have kept my mouth shut and had some self respect, but it slipped out, "Why, what's going on with you?"

He sighed and there was more silence, finally he said awkwardly, "Look, you know I like you, have for a long time. But there is a lot of weird shit and talk and I just can't get involved with it."

It felt like someone punched me, "Talk? What talk?"

He said in exasperation, "My mother heard about what's going on, doesn't want me getting involved with you."

What? He's twenty seven and he can't see me because his mom said so? And what the fuck is Violet, my mom's worker, saying about me?

I said coldly, "Well that's good to know, have a nice life Ron."

He said quickly, "Wait, I'd still like to see you, when things calm down..."

I laughed and I felt a bit dizzy with anger at the same time, "Are you kidding? Why would I date a twenty seven year old coward who won't help or protect what he cares about, and steps back because his mom said so. Go fuck yourself and make sure you stay safe."

I hung up and then looked up at Vinnie, Kristi, Bree and my parents who were all looking at me in shock. So much for my dignity. I shouldn't have said that, no matter how true it was. But he'd hurt me and I'd wanted to strike back. Not that I would have taken him back anyway, what I said was truth if rather bitchy.

I was wondering if I was so beautiful and such a catch why the hell all the guys I liked kept disappearing from my life. I managed to hold onto Bree so far, but it wasn't like she had a fucking choice in the matter. It seemed like every time I took a step forward in my life someone or something kicked my teeth in. I knew I was growing, but I was also rather high strung.

I went in the house and walked toward my room, I knew I wasn't good company at the moment. I reached out to Bree and cut the bond that connected her soul to my mind, the bond that gave me power and authority over her being. She was still a revenant, connected directly from my mind to hers, but she now had free will.

I was lying in my bed staring at the ceiling, absurdly wondering why I even had a bed or a bedroom if I never sleep when Bree came in.

She asked patiently, "Why did you do that? I still have two more years of service owed."

I sighed, her voice and concerned tone calmed my anger and my inner bitch went to standby.

"Because of a couple of reasons. I love you, you're family now. Family isn't owed one another. It's not right to have that there with the changes between us."

She smiled and asked, "And the other?"

I blew out my breath, "Because I'm selfish."

She giggled and I stuck my tongue out at her.

She asked, "How is freeing me selfish?"

I smiled feeling a little sheepish, "Because, I needed you to stay for you. I needed to know you think I'm worth it. Silly right? I could already feel that you did and do through our bond. Mostly it was the first one, it was the way Ron acted that made me think about it. I realized that even should you want to leave you couldn't. That felt wrong. I should have severed that bond days ago."

She leaned down and kissed me, "Thank you love," she whispered.

That's when I remembered why I had a bed, and I pulled her down into my arms...

Chapter 10 - Vinnie

"Are you sure you want to try this?" Kristi asked in a tentative voice.

I winked struggling to hold in a teasing smile, "Sure, I've been in you often enough, I might as well return the favor baby."

It was Saturday night and it was just the two of us relaxing in our room. I was giving Hope space. She was having trouble coming to terms with everything we learned from Aunt Crazy, plus that wiener Ron hurt her feelings. I was considering paying him a visit and having some words. 

Alicia was off with the pack on a hunt and would probably be back sometime early tomorrow morning.

Kristi frowned at me, "But, what if I do something wrong? I don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you, now get in there and take a look around. I liked your idea and it's worth a try. Your magic seems to lend itself more easily to the mind. If you can learn and copy some of my meditation techniques and triggers it will save you lots of time and you can get straight to training spells. Otherwise you'll be like forty before you catch up."

She slapped my shoulder and frowned.

I worried about that actually, the aging thing. I didn't think the magic would make her immortal. Although I suppose it is possible, if human magic is supposedly as strong as the big three who are immortal. But strength and type are two different things. At worst I'm at least hoping she has a much longer life, most other magical human races live two centuries or a little more.

I'll have to wait to find out. Maybe if I run healing energy through her every day that would help too.

I tried one more time to convince her, "I trust you, I love you, and I'm not afraid you'll hurt me. You've already passed pictures and other stuff mind to mind. This is the same thing, just deeper. I'll be fine."

The way she looked so concerned and loving made me want to jump her, but I settled down on the floor across from her, legs crossed, and our knees were touching. I held her hands and then closed my eyes, going into my meditation so she can see what my mind was doing.

She said grudgingly, "Ok, but it's your fault if I turn you into a vegetable."

I held my smile, and my joke, knowing it would annoy her and waited. Her magic felt like a cool breeze on my skin and I pushed back the reflex to block out the invasion when I felt her enter my mind. I stayed as still as I could and flipped the switch that would focus me and suppress the lion's share of my emotions. I was much more focused now, but it wasn't nearly as fun without feeling the distraction of her or her magic being so near.

I could actually feel her curiosity as she went over my mind, seeing how I organized my thoughts and abilities. It was surprisingly intimate, though I didn't hear her thoughts and she said she wouldn't look at mine. It was our magic mixing and just the feeling of her in my thoughts.

It was with a little disappointment I felt her withdraw and I came out of my meditation and opened my eyes.

She said, "Wow, I think I got it, but it will still take me a little time to make it work for me. I can't just force it in, our minds are too different for that level of swapping, but it won't take me nearly as long as reinventing it."

She frowned, "I... couldn't help picking up some things, I didn't mean to but it happened."

I asked curious, "What?"

She sighed, "What happens when you stay young, and I get older."

Crap, she had caught those last thoughts I'd had.

"I don't know, my only fear there is a fear of losing you."

She shook her head, "I know, but what about during. When I look sixty and you're still looking the same as you are now?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that, it didn't bother me at all, but obviously it was bothering her. She may have heard my thoughts, but she took them in her own direction.

"We can figure something out. Mom can help me artificially age if I can't learn it myself fast enough, if you're worried about appearance. I don't care about that part at all."

She nodded and looked down, her face thoughtful and worried.

"How can you not care?" she asked, "I'll be all old and wrinkly, dried up. You'll still have the sexual appetite of a young man. What happens then?"

Women drive me crazy sometimes.

I shrugged, "I'll imagine by then you'll be really good with fine control telekinesis."

Why did I always have to make bad jokes? I opened my mouth to try again.

"Sorry, but that's a lifetime away. I love you. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love your body and making love to you, but that's only a part of it. We will figure it out. If you read my thoughts you know it's a possibility we may never need worry about."

She snorted, "Wishful thinking. You just want me young, sexy, and fuckable forever."

I took a deep breath, "No love, I just want you forever. You've put your own spin on my thoughts, I never thought that, ever. Not that I wouldn't want that, just saying it wasn't what I was worried about."

I felt like I was digging myself deeper, but she blew out a breath and nodded her head. I had a feeling this conversation wasn't over, only put away for now.

She sounded contrite, "Sorry, you trusted me with your mind and I turned it into an argument. I love you so much Vinnie, I don't want to lose you either. It's the fear talking. And just so it's clear I love that you love my body, I always feel so sexy and desired when you look at me."

She grinned sheepishly and said, "Well, as long as I still am and we have your room to ourselves tonight, why don't we take advantage..."

I pulled her forward as I was still holding her hands. She moved her legs up and out, and then slid onto my lap and into a deep kiss. It was easy to remember why it was all worth it when her soft lips were against mine. Her skin was silky soft and I played with her long blonde hair as we explored each other's mouth with playful tongues.

She wrapped her legs around my waist and ground against me as I stood and walked the best I could to the bed. She broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. She was so sexy, and I had no idea how, but she looked both adorably innocent and incredibly naughty at the same time. 

How the hell does that work?

It drove me nuts and I knew it had to be her. Who and what she was underneath the delectable body in my arms. I had dated girls just as hot, but none of them ever affected me so much or in so many dimensions.

She dropped her legs and stood, breaking our kiss. We were both breathing heavily when we started to strip out of our clothes. There was a hungry look in her eyes that I knew reflected the one in mine. I laid her down on the bed gently and followed, laying above her but holding my weight up on my elbows and knees.

She said seductively, "I want you, now... please?"

I could tell she was in the mood to go fast and hard, no lovemaking this time.

I grinned and shook my head, "Not yet."

I saw her pout for a split second and smiled as I started kissing my way down her body. I loved the smell of her skin and the way she tasted on my lips and tongue. I loved how responsive she was to my every kiss and touch on her smooth skin. I stopped briefly to pay homage to her aroused and hardened nipples, and to tease the supple flesh of her breasts with my fingertips.

She moaned softly and spoke my name in need, "Vinnie," as she ran her hands through my hair and arched her back, pushing her generous breasts hard into my face.

I started kissing my way down her body again, leaving my hands behind to continue to tease her nipples and surrounding flesh. When I got to the apex of her legs I took another deep breath, taking in the scent of her heated and glistening arousal. I softly kissed the tender swollen lips and brushed along them with my mouth drawing a low moan from my love.

I licked the wetness I had gathered off my lips and a moan escaped my lips. Nothing was better than the smell and taste of a beautiful woman, especially this one.

I took my time, each lick deeper and longer than the one before. When I reached her clit I sucked it in my mouth and bit down lightly while flicking the end with my tongue. She grabbed my hair and roughly pulled me into her and I dug deep inside her honey pot with my tongue. I knew I was doing it right when she started to gasp and grind her hips against my face uncontrollably.

I felt her tremble against me then explode in bliss. I softly and slowly licked the outside of her labia, bringing her down gently from her height.

I kissed my way back up her body. When I reached her lips she kissed me hungrily and wrapped her legs around my middle, pulling me in demandingly. I obliged and speared her welcoming body, feeling her pleasure engulf me in a tight slick warmth.

She whispered, "Please."

I pulled out half way and pushed back in hard. The second time she arched her back and thrust up to meet me. Her body was heavenly. My hardness filled her soft pleasure which was caressing and squeezing my length with each long stroke into her body. I could hear and feel our skin slap together as I plundered her depths with strength and stamina.

I could feel myself getting close, it was too good, too fast, too hard and with a woman I loved. I just couldn't hold it. It was with relief I felt her body tremble beneath mine as she missed a beat. Instead of thrusting up her body locked and her warm silky molten core gripped tightly around my invading flesh with a velvety touch. I could feel her juice flow around me and soak my balls as I gladly released my control and joined her in ecstasy.

It was a short moment of eternal bliss.

I collapsed to the side and put my arm out. She rolled onto it and put her head on my chest, our bodies warm and sweaty. We felt so good against each other in the afterglow of our pleasure. She kissed my chest and reached up to rub my face.

"Vinnie?" she asked tentatively.

I looked down and saw indecision in her eyes.

I asked, "What is it love?"

She made a face, a cute adorable one of course, and I knew I was in trouble.

"I did happen to notice one more thing when I was in your head."

I grinned, what now?

"Just one?"

She looked guilty, "One that's on my mind."

I let that pass, "What is it then, you have a question?"

She blushed and asked in a fast voice, "Do you really like my ass that much?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You mean the fact that it's beautifully rounded and supple. The most perfect ass I've ever seen? That it should be illegal for you to wear high heels because then it's so hot it's a crime? Or maybe the fact I look at it every chance I get?"

She really did have a great ass, I could talk about it for hours, perhaps compose a poem, but that would probably get me slapped. What I said might be over the top but every word was true. I figured if she was mad about it I might as well earn it honestly.

She raised her eyebrow at me again, almost in disbelief. How could she not know she has the ass of a goddess? I saw that look of uncertainty again, mixed with thoughtfulness. But it cleared after a minute and she kissed my chest and she made contented noises as she snuggled into my side.

That was it? I'm off the hook? That was easy.

I felt myself respond to her snuggles and her warm naked body against mine. She grinned up at me and slid her hand down to it and carefully wrapped her fingers around my girth.

She smiled up at me, "That was quick. It's kind of slimy and dirty though," her voice got sultry, "Why don't I clean that up for you."

I gasped as she moved down and took me in her mouth. She bobbed up and down slathering her tongue along my manhood. Then she stopped and looked to be inspecting it as she slowly ran her hand up and down my length. She licked it in a few places and smiled up at me naughtily. She crawled back up my body and started to kiss my neck and over to my ear. She trapped my now very hard full length between my stomach and her wet silky pussy.

She whispered in my ear, "So you really like my ass that much?"

I had no idea where she was going, call me stupid but she was very distracting and running her labia up and down my length. All my thinking was going on somewhere else.

I grunted, "Yes. I love your ass."

She whispered sexily in my ear, "Would you like to fuck it? Would you like to split my ass cheeks and watch your big fat cock disappear into my little tight puckered hole?"

My voice sounded like a question, but yes, I wanted it bad, "Yes?"

She clucked at me like a teacher, "Come now my love, you can do better than that, tell me what you want to do with my sweet ass."

She kept rubbing up and down my length, her slick heat was mind blowing, it was driving me crazy.

"Yes, I want to fuck your beautiful perfect ass. I want to watch myself as I push it deep into your tiny puckered hole."

She said breathily into my ear causing a shiver to run down my back, "Then do it, drill my secret place."

I moved her over off me and got to my knees, pulling her into doggy style position I slid effortlessly into her ready heat drawing a gasp from her full lips. She put her head down and arched her back and pushed back against me wiggling slightly. I summoned the tube of KY from out of my side table and squeezed a large blob out onto her ass crack.

I started to move in and out of her core, it felt so damn good I almost lost sight of the goal. I spread her amazing ass cheeks and using my middle finger to circle and lube her puckered dark hole. She moaned and pushed up against my cock and my finger, I pushed back just hard enough to pop inside her small tight brown hole. She stopped pushing back immediately and froze; her ass squeezed my fingertip like a vise.

I continued moving in and out of her molten core slowly, trying to give her the distraction of pleasure. It took some patience but eventually the pressure lessened and I slid my finger in a little farther, and then I slowly and gently wiggled it in small circles, trying to loosen and help her relax the muscles. 

She pushed back against me again, and I slid my finger in farther, and then tried to work in a second one. She gasped and froze as I slowly worked it in patiently.

I said softly while still pumping into her silken sheath, "That's it baby, relax for me."

After she loosened some more for two fingers I thought she was probably ready so I slipped my fingers out and applied some more lube, I was determined to make this as pleasurable as possible for her.

I grabbed a pillow and put it under her stomach and pushed down as I pulled out. I leaned over and positioned myself, pushing carefully. The tip of my pleasure looked so big over her small brown hole it was almost with surprise that it popped in, stretching her out even further.

She gasped in pain and I froze. I caressed her ass cheeks and thighs, and I could see she was reaching down and playing with her clit. I was patient as she relaxed slowly, but I didn't move. I felt her push back a little, her tight rear taking more of me and I felt her sphincter lock down on me again. With a lot of patience, time, and lube I finally looked down unbelievingly at my fully buried pleasure disappearing between her supple rounded cheeks.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 06



Chapter 11 - Hope

I was feeling a little paranoid this morning as I ate breakfast. My mind was flitting through all the people I knew. Students, teachers, the guy at Kroger bagging groceries...

I had been so confident in my assassination plan. To be fair it had worked fairly well at first, but they had responded much more quickly that I had expected. The enemy was far from stupid and I had underestimated them badly and almost paid a heavy price. On top of that the more I thought about the Robbie and Rafe connection the more I was sure they were the same person.

It all added up to one thing, I was horribly naïve, or at least, I had been.

It had me going back through my life questioning everything, wondering how many of the people around me had been spies. I knew madness lay down this mental spiral. I had to push all this crap down and depend on my new outward focus and reading the people around me. I just wondered if my new discernment would be enough.

I could hardly blame the party girl who knew nothing of Feinir or my grandfather's machinations for not noticing things. But still, it made me feel... angry and violated. Worse though, I still wasn't sure what I would do if Robbie showed up. He had seduced me in order to spy on a new type of human. I was something unique that he needed to gauge as a threat. 

He had also said he loved me.

Was I foolish to believe that? Did that mean I was still horribly naïve? My impulse was to run to mom and dad for support, let them help. But they led the community, and I would forever regret it if I let self doubt push me down that path. I might as well hunker down with Ron in his mother's basement.

Without my brother, Bree, and my best friend Kristi, I think I would have lost it by now. I took a moment to meditate and push all that down, it wasn't going to help me or anyone else. 

Vinnie broke my internal pity party, "Kristi told me Feinir is back at his home, do you want to go after him now?"

I considered that and shook my head.

"Let's wait for this evening. I need to... deal with something else." 

I felt guilty about Professor Mendez, I needed to make that right if I could. 

I made a face, "I also don't want to miss classes. I know measuring college class against a timeless plot doesn't make much sense. But it's the principal of the thing. I don't think we should put our lives on hold."

Vinnie shrugged, "You're probably right, but missing a class or two won't kill us."

I put on my best mom voice, "It's a slippery slope young man. Miss one class and it will be much easier the next time something comes up. You must meet your responsibilities with tenacity and dedication!"

Anise said from behind me in an amused voice, "Well said."

Oh crap, busted, so much for me noticing everything around me from now on. My pity party had me all self absorbed again. Of course, it was easy to let down my guard at home, the wards and my mother's reputation made me feel safe. Still, I gave myself a mental nudge to work on it. I knew eventually it would just be there automatically, always, but for now paying attention to my surroundings took conscious work.

Kristi provided a welcome distraction, "I agree, Feinir isn't going anywhere we can't find him, and I need to keep up my grades. Magic is great and all, but I need good grades to get a job later. It is important, it could affect my whole life."

That was sort of true. She was becoming part of the family though. I didn't think she knew money wouldn't be an issue... ever. Still, I had no intention on depending on that fortune either.

Vinnie grinned, "Fine, you win. I don't have a chance against you both."

After breakfast I took a moment to arm myself mentally and we went back to the college. The weather had taken a cold turn and the air was crisp. I could see my breath fog in the cold. The cold didn't really bother me, but it did force me to change how I dressed so I wouldn't stand out. I had on a pair of black jeans, a light blue sweater and a black wool long jacket.

My morning classes went by and I didn't pick up any signs of hostility or out of place curiosity. I was trying to find that place in between vigilance and paranoia, and make sure I stayed on the side of vigilance. 

When I got to my pre-med class the professor seemed different. Mendez wasn't as nervous. In fact he had a confidence that seemed to almost border arrogance. I was hoping this meant what I did would blow over. After class I went down for a word with him.

Professor Mendez said, "Ahh yes, miss Jones. I have that time for our meeting today. Say four PM in my office?"

I was hoping to be home and getting ready for Feinir at that time, but nodded and said, "See you there sir."

I didn't get the sense he was afraid at all anymore. All I could really read was that Professor Mendez was feeling confident, inquisitive, and looking forward to our meeting. It had me burning with curiosity, because I couldn't tell why at all.

When I got to the dining hall I grabbed lunch and sat across from Kristi.

"Hey, where's the shadow?"

She gave me a look and then shrugged before explaining.

"He went to meet Alicia, she needed help with something to do with the pack and he has a couple of hours before his next class. He wasn't sure if he'd have time tonight."

I smiled, "We should do something soon. A girl's night. Seriously I don't think we've gone out without Vinnie in the last couple of weeks."

She grinned, "Sure, where to?"

I replied, "Not sure, anywhere, on the planet at least. Anywhere you always wanted to go but couldn't before you got your magic? Or we can just hit a club in the city if you're not feeling touristy."

Kristi looked both thoughtful and cute, "I do want to do the world tourist thing, but I have no idea where to start."

We spent the rest of lunch discussing places we could go from the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall of China, major world cities and museums, the pyramids. It was a long list. In the end though we thought those trips should be with our significant others as a group. We would just go clubbing for girls night out.

After my classes I went by the dorm to catch up with some people. I hadn't spent much time there the last ten days and I was feeling out of touch. I was changing, and for the better, but I didn't want to lose touch with people either.

When it got close to five I made my way over to the medical building and went up to my professor's office. This was the latest I had ever been here, and there wasn't anyone else around. It made me a little nervous and I decided to take care.

I knocked on the door and was told to come in. I opened the door and looked around, Professor Mendez was sitting behind his desk, and there was no one else here. He gestured to the chair and I took a seat in front of him.

Professor Mendez raised an eyebrow at our silence, "Miss Jones, you asked for this meeting. What did you need?"

He seemed almost smug, as if he knew something I didn't.

I said cautiously, "Just wanted to make sure we were okay. I regret how awkward our last meeting ended, and hope you don't hold anything against me."

He chuckled, "No Miss Jones, if that is indeed your name. You want to hear something funny?"

I was about to answer when he lifted his hands up onto the desk. He was holding a gun. I had never considered anything like this happening. I had forgotten what I had been taught. I had forgotten why we were never supposed to let humans interact with our magic if at all possible, especially as a target and not just a witness. Humans feared what they didn't understand, and a human's response to fear was generally to destroy or kill the source of it.

I replied, "Sure, what was funny?" while I stared at the gun.

I was ready to shield, but held back. He wasn't pointing it at me and he seemed calm.

He leaned back in his chair looking relaxed, "Now don't laugh at me. But when we had our little encounter I had seriously thought you were a witch. I know it sounds quite absurd, but I was sure I was a victim of evil magic. I came to my senses however. After all Miss Jones, there is no such thing as magic."

That... was the last thing I expected to hear. I swallowed and looked at the gun to suppress my laughter. If he doesn't think it was magic then... what?

I replied, "Sounds understandable, I regret what passed between us."

He nodded, "Once I came to my senses, I decided to find out what was really going on. Doctor Norris, can you tell us what you found out about the hair I sent you?"

He turned his laptop ninety degrees so we could both see it. He had Skype open and connected. Someone had been listening to us the whole time. Doctor Norris was a woman in her thirties. She had short brown hair and brown eyes. She had a very curious look on her face.

Doctor Norris said, "It's fascinating really, it is mostly human DNA, but there are parts of it that are clearly... not."

Fucking damn it to hell. I'd really screwed up.

I cleared my throat, "I see, and you think that means?"

Professor Mendez chuckled, "You are some kind of alien human hybrid Miss Jones. Before you try anything you should know that besides this gun... I have documents ready to be sent to the government should anything happen to me. Not to mention Eva here is out of your reach."

I felt relief wash over me. At least he hadn't gone to the government yet. I wasn't sure why that was. I imagine he probably didn't want to be shut out of his discovery. I really didn't know what to do and I felt guilty for not telling anyone about my screw up. I steeled myself and sent Bree to Kristi, maybe she could find Eva Norris for me. I fed Bree just enough energy to become visible if she wished too so they could communicate. I needed to learn the extent of damage before I did anything though.

I swallowed, my mouth was dry, "So... have you told anyone else and what do you want?"

God, this was so embarrassing, more so because it was dangerous.

He smiled coldly, "It's simple really. You'll let us run tests on you and we will get credit for discovering a real alien. We will of course claim our subject escaped and let you keep your secret. We are not paranoid people, if you were an invader you wouldn't be a pre-med college student."

I could tell he was lying, he had no intention of ever letting me go, only using me until he had what he wanted...

I grinned weakly, "I see, and if I refuse."

He frowned, "That would be a bad choice, I do have this gun here, and a dead body can still be studied. On the off chance you overcame me you would be facing the government."

Right, that made sense. If forgot greed as well it seems. I shouldn't complain though, it was the only reason I could still contain this, with help.

There was a knock on the door and Professor Mendez lowered the gun underneath the desk.

"Come in!"

Kristi entered, her body covered in a green glow. Time to act. I summoned the gun out of Professor Mendez's hand and sent out a small burst of magic, he collapsed forward onto the desk, sleeping.

Eva said sharply, "What's going on."

I felt a sharp image and the feeling of a place enter my mind, I reached out and summoned Eva, and her laptop, to this office.

Eva looked at us and screamed bloody murder. I sent a pulse of magic at her as well, designed to make her sleep.

I looked sheepishly at Kristi, "Sorry, I screwed up bad."

I proceeded to tell her the whole story, at the end of which she was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Okay, being mistaken for an alien was a little funny so I joined in.

After we got a hold of ourselves she looked at them thoughtfully.

Kristi said, "I can get all the safeguards from their minds and remove all the evidence. But I don't think I'm good enough to excise memories from their minds. You need to call your niece and come clean. Really, you're kind of lucky they are greedy bastards. Otherwise you would have walked into government agents and a cover up would have been almost impossible."

It was mortifying, but I called up Amy and asked if she could help me. It was another lesson for me on pride, I should have asked for help ten days ago when it first happened. Hell, I should have a better hold on my temper and not have done it in the first place.

I had no idea it would turn out like this, but I should have had. In a very short time everything was straightened out. However I was not looking forward to the conversation with my parents. It wasn't like I'd get grounded. I was too old for that. It was the disappointment and losing their trust that would hurt.

Amy didn't say a word to me, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. Who needed punishment? I knew exactly what I had done. It could have been a disaster for all supernaturals, all because I got pissed off at some male professor for abusing his position? I wanted to bury my head in the sand and go back to the way things were before. But I couldn't, life didn't work that way.

I couldn't go back to the person I was before I had taken a life, or found out certain truths. I had to just keep going and make sure I didn't do anything that stupid ever again. Kristi took my hand and squeezed it, giving me a wan smile. At least I knew I still had the support of my best friend. We finished the clean up and then teleported home.

Vinnie walked over to me and said in a robotic voice, "Take me to your leader."

He managed to get the last syllable out before he started laughing uncontrollably. I wanted to be mad for a second, but truthfully this was better than I expected.

I smirked, "Not funny," but a giggle or two might have popped out.

Amy cleared her throat and my mirth died, being quickly replaced by guilt.

"I know you want to be independent, and I see the beginnings of a generous, kind, and responsible young woman. But don't ever repeat the mistake of today again. Next time something happens ask for help, learn the difference between being independent and living alone in your pride. We are family and support each other, not even your mother can stand alone, remember that."

I nodded slowly and wondered if I'd ever get things right. I had been trying to grow up and face my problems the last couple of weeks, but I kept screwing up. I just hope I was learning fast enough and I wouldn't repeat any of my mistakes. I also prayed no one would die because of one.

As Amy said, there was a difference between being independent and the folly of living alone in your pride. Was I crossing that line in regard to Feinir and my grandfather? Maybe I had some good points on why mom and dad should let us handle it, and they seemed to be respecting my decision. But surely it wouldn't hurt to get advice and let them poke holes in our plans...

Chapter 12 - Vinnie

I was feeling a little impatient. We had been discussing plans to attack Feinir for two hours after dinner ended. My sister had taken a hit to her confidence and she was just about talking it to death in circles. My parents hadn't really had much to add, they were the ones that taught us all this stuff to begin with. It was a fairly simple thing.

The fae dwelling was rather small, so my sister and I were going to hit it from two directions while Kristi, Alicia, Bree, Ray and Claudia would play backup and follow behind just in case. No one was really sure what kind of power set the fae had, but it was likely to be more like Kristi's than any other race we knew about. Thanks to both Hope spying on the enemy with Kenneth, and Talia's ill advised attack, we knew they had powerful mind control powers as well as the seer's ability to see future and past.

Perhaps that's why they fear the humans so much.

I broke in before she could start over again, "Hey, we got this. Let's go kill us a fae."

My sister was incredibly smart, a good leader and tactician, strong, loyal, kind, and had empathy for others. But sometimes she was erratic, emotional, quick to anger, and she was way too hard on herself and would spiral down into self guilt and recrimination. Sometimes I had to give her kick, like hitting a record on skip.

Not very flattering I know, but maybe she'd grow out of it eventually. Sometimes I thought I had the opposite problem, I was too laid back. I got angry of course, but tended to shut down and clear away from people when it happened. Still, for the most part that's what kept me out of trouble. 

Feinir and my grandfather needed to go down though, as quickly as possible so we could get on with our normal lives. I wasn't quite that laid back, screw with my family and there is no where they can run fast or far enough.

Hope glared at me, "I'm just..."

I snorted, "Going in circles. You made a good plan, now let's get crackin..."

Hope still glared, "Fine. Kristi, is the area around his dwelling still clear."

My father nodded at me, acknowledging what I did, and then dragged mom off before she could volunteer. It would probably seem strange to a human that parents would let us do this on our own, but the supernatural world could be a violent place. Twenty two was good a time to let us stand on our own than any.

Plus, I didn't really want to ask my father to kill his. I didn't even know the guy at all and wasn't all that comfortable with it. Still, he was an evil bastard that needed to go.

Kristi nodded, "Looks good."

We all stood up. I wrapped us up in magic and teleported myself, Kristi, and Alicia to the north of his dwelling. My three siblings should be in the south. I put up a shield and started making my way south as quickly and quietly as I could, just in case he wasn't watching his surroundings I didn't want to tip him off.

When I was twenty feet from the door I used a spell of earth to knock the door in and followed, hearing a similar noise on the other side. The room was small, there was a simple stovetop and a small table. I heard Hope scream and ran into the next room. As soon as I entered it, I grabbed my head and concentrated on keeping my shield up. It felt like my head was covered in a blanket, and it was tightening like a vise.

My sister was by the door down on one knee, the fae was looking in her direction. I could hardly believe what he was doing could be any stronger, but clearly he was focusing most of the power on my sister who had better shields than I did.

I flipped the switch in my head and my emotions lessened, as did the pain. It was something I should have done already, but hadn't. My focus came back and I could make out the brownish color of Feinir's shields. I screamed, purely for distraction sake, and sent air and fire twisting together into a white hot flame which held a surprise.

He turned to me and chuckled darkly, he didn't even bother to try and dodge it, expecting my feeble attempt at an attack of sorcery to crash harmlessly into his shields.

I could feel even more pressure on my shield as he put his will directly on me. That's when the present I encased in my sorcery spell hit. A ball of immortal magic dropped in and out of limbo as I had so often practiced, appearing and detonating inside his torso. The effect was immediate and violent. It tore his body apart, his shield now containing nothing but blood and viscera. The shield winked out a moment later and his remains fell to the floor.

I could see the struggle and tears in Hope's eyes as she painfully pulled up her necromancer magic and I assume linked the asshole's soul. A part of me hoped that this part of the plan would fail. I would rather not know what the prophecy contains.

I walked over and sent healing energy into my sister, I was pretty sure she got the worst of the attack, I had a small headache, but everything seemed to be working okay. They rest of the force showed up a few seconds later.

I asked, "Are you okay?"

Hope was still on one knee and looked to be in great pain. My healing magic said her body was fine, hopefully it would wear off or we'd have to have Amy or Kristi take a look.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 06



She shrugged, "I think I'll be okay. He didn't get through, but it was like he was pushing so hard on my shield it was crushing my head like a vise."

I nodded, "I think I know the feeling, just not as bad as you had it. Did you get him?"

She nodded, "Barely, but I managed to bond him."

I said softly, "Good, don't forget to ask about grandpa's weaknesses and habits before you let him go."

She glared up at me and I waved my arms, "Just making sure, you look pretty beat up. Let's get out of here."

She nodded. I picked up my sister despite her protestations and I carefully gathered everyone within my magic and moved us home. I carried Hope over to the couch and put her down carefully.

She stuck her tongue out at me, so much for being a grown up.

I'm not one to talk though, I may have reciprocated.

I flipped the switch and my emotions came pouring back. I was still in a bit of pain, but it was manageable. I was also pissed off and would have killed him for hurting Hope if he wasn't already dead. 

I pulled Kristi to the side, "Would you look over my head? Whatever is up with me I think Hope has it ten times worse."

Kristi looked at me in mock sorrow, "Sorry, can't help you there, it's a lost cause."

I just gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. I was pretty sure this was just her way of dealing with the stress. Still, my head hurt and I wasn't in the mood for funny.

She closed her eyes and I saw magical green tendrils reach out for my mind. I almost flinched away, protective of my hurting head, so I closed my eyes. I couldn't imagine anyone messing around in there right now would be good. But I'd do it if there was at all a chance it led to helping my sister.

She slipped in and it felt like a cool balm. It still hurt, but so much better at the same time. Like a cold wet towel on a fevered forehead. 

I heard in my mind, "Anyone home in here, in here, in here," she added false echoes.

I was thinking she really wanted another spanking.

I head a small chuckle, "Promises promises."

I could also feel the idea turned her on. This was a much more intimate connection, and she seemed way more confident she wouldn't do any damage. I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride, love, and attraction for her.

I felt her mind falter, as if surprised at the strength of my emotions. Then a burst of emotions from her showing me how she felt absolutely blew my mind. So many feelings and thoughts are hidden behind imprecise words and the walls we put up. There were no walls between us as we met in my mind. I wanted to take her upstairs and make love to her right now, after a spanking, but we had more urgent things to take care of right now.

I randomly wondered if Alicia would like spanking her too, and felt deep amusement.

Kristi said, "Okay, back on subject. It looks like a bruise to me, but it's really not, just the best I can describe of what my power is showing me. He didn't get in, but he pressured your shield which of course is controlled by your mind. Something about magical mind power translates through unlike the more energy and physical related magics."

I felt the flow of her magic increase, it felt like a cool breeze against my skin, but in my mind. When it stopped the headache was gone.

I thought, "Thank you love, can you do the same for Hope?"

I felt Kristi's assent as she left my mind. Strangely my mind felt empty without her there, which made me chuckle as the obvious joke occurred to me. I drew a few looks from the others that I just winked at, choosing not to explain.

I watched concerned but confident as her magic entered Hope's head. It didn't take long, just a few seconds. I was glad Kristi was on our side, and I was beginning to understand the fear of the fae, though I did not share it. Kristi would be a hell of a force to be reckoned with when she grew fully into her power. Hell, she already was despite how much further I knew she could go.

Hope said, "Thanks, oh god, that sucked, and you Kristi are amazing."

Kristi blushed and they hugged.

Hope continued, "Let's talk about this tomorrow. Feinir was about thirty thousand years old, I have a lot of memories to sift through, even with his forced help it should take a while to get all the useful Intel."

I wanted to meditate on my shield, nothing before tonight had shown me just how necessary that would be. If it wasn't for her breakthrough Hope might have been dead before I got in there. I was very lucky not to be the initial focus I think. Even with renewed determination it would still take me a long while. But before I did that, I had more important things to do. Much more important.

I said, "Goodnight everyone," as I walked over to Kristi, picked her up, and threw her over my shoulder.

Kristi sputtered, "What do you think you're doing?"

I grinned and tapped her ass lightly, "You know you love it babe," I winked at Alicia and waved my head toward the stairs and started up to my room.

Kristi asked suspiciously, "What are you planning?"

I snickered, "Remember all those wise ass comments, it's time to keep my promise."

She gasped and started wriggling, I just held her legs tighter against my chest.

I sounded faux reluctant as if I was disappointed in her, "Come now woman, bad girls need to take their punishment."

I knew for a fact this woman could launch a two ton boulder with a thought, so I was pretty safe ignoring her weak protestations. Besides, with my powers I could tell that she didn't really want to get away. That didn't mean me bodily dragging her along apparently against her will was less of a turn on though.

When we got to my room I carried her over to the bed and flipped her body as I sat down, laying her across my knees. I reached under her and undid the snap to her jeans. Her wriggling body merely helped me pull her jeans down to her middle thighs.

I was staring at her ass when Alicia's voice startled me, "What did she do my mate?"

Kristi gasped, "You can't do this in front of someone."

She sounded both embarrassed and turned on at the same time. I reached down and ran my finger between her legs, touching her soaked panties and gliding once along her swollen slit.

I chuckled, "Doesn't look like you mind all that much."

I said to Alicia, "She was smart mouthing me."

Alicia gasped and looked at Kristi like she had committed a grave offense. I was fairly sure she was playing, but Alicia was hard to read sometimes, and when not actively teasing me she was always respectful.

I raised my hand and spanked her hard, she jumped in my lap and I was sure she could feel the bulge straining against my jeans. It was probably just my ass fetish, specifically for Kristi's ass, but I started to feel that same strange intimacy again that connected us. She was mine, and I wanted to protect her, but I also wanted to finish spanking her. It was a dichotomy of emotion that was driving me crazy. I wanted to finish the spanking to both pleasure her, and claim her as mine in this clearly dominant position.

Kristi let out a gasp as I spanked her again, which turned into a low moan. Alicia walked over and studied Kristi with curiosity.

Alicia said, "This won't do."

I watched as Alicia skillfully stripped Kristi naked then kneeled at my feet. I could hear Kristi breathing fast and shallow, her labia were glistening in the low light.

I spanked her hard on the other cheek then rubbed the red spot. Then again, and again.

She was gasping now and I said, "Tell me you're sorry."

She gasped out, "I'm sorry I said those things."

Lie... Sometimes being me sucks for role play. Still, the fact she liked it and got off on it was more than enough for me. Alicia watched as if fascinated and started to caress Kristi's back in a soothing motion.

I reached between her legs, ran a finger through her swollen gates and flicked her clit once. She gasped sharply then released a long barely audible keening sound as her body trembled on my legs and under my fingertips. It was a beautiful thing to watch, she amazed me. I picked her up and laid her towards the head of the bed, she looked almost comatose from the pleasure.

I started to take off my clothes and turned to Alicia.

"Strip," I ordered harshly.

She stared at me in challenge. I needed to remember who and what she was. She was my mate, but she was also a werewolf. She was wired to both fight for dominance and submit to the stronger one. In a strange way this showed her I cared. And I did care, deeply.

"Now!" I barked.

She put her head down in submission and started to strip. I was glad our relationship had reached equilibrium between us of sorts. It felt much more natural this time than our first threesome did. At least to me, I was a lot more comfortable.

Alicia was as beautiful as Kristi, just in a completely different way. I walked over and kissed her deeply before leading her over to the bed. I guided her to kneel on hands and knees between Kristi's legs then joined her on the bed. 

I reached between her legs and she was just as wet as Kristi had been. I didn't tell her too, but my intentions were obvious and she lowered down to her elbows and started to pleasure Kristi as I teased her labia, running my tip up and down her wetness.

I heard Kristi moan in pleasure and I looked up at her. Our eyes locked in an intense connection as I slid deeply into Alicia's welcoming velvety pleasure. I started to rock my body back and forth, and heard them both moan as Alicia's face was pushed into Kristi's heaven with each thrust of my body.

Kristi said breathlessly, "Going to try something, don't freak out."

I sped up, increasing our pleasure. I caressed Alicia's waist, hips, and ass as her wet molten core caressed and squeezed my length with silken bliss. I wondered what Kristi meant when I saw two green tendrils of magic run to both me and Alicia. I gasped in shock as my pleasure more than tripled as all our emotions mixed together. I could also feel Kristi feel my pleasure, almost like a feedback loop. It was too intense for a few seconds, then it backed off a little as she refined the connection.

I could feel the pleasure, love, lust, desire, and rising ecstasy of all three of us. Theirs were still intense but I could still function now and I started to pump into Alicia faster and harder. I could feel her pleasure at my touch as I caressed her body and ran a finger down her crack, teasing her puckered star. I could feel the amazingly intense pleasure of Alicia's tongue on Kristi's swollen and wet heat.

Each of us was sharing the pleasure of the other two we rose quickly to our height. I'm not sure who fell off into bliss first, but their blindingly intense pleasure ignited the others and we all tumbled into a seemingly timeless explosion of bliss.

When we came down Alicia said in awe, "You have to do that again love."

Kristi giggled when she saw me nodding eagerly in approval, I was speechless...

Chapter 13 - Hope

I needed a shower. I felt so dirty. A mind shower I mean. I wonder if Kristi's breezy thing could help. My best friend is so amazing. I was still meditating, pushing my feelings down, and it was working, mostly. I also had the sword, shield and glyph going, plus I was reviewing all the information I had gleaned from a very long and very twisted life. The new memories I had... I shivered. I needed a mind shower.

I loved this new deeper place of meditation and wished I could use it in battle. It was so easy to multi-task here, yet, it wasn't like the other meditation where my mind expanded and examined my surroundings. No, this was purely internal, almost anything could be going on right next to me and I wouldn't notice it.

Thanks to mom's spell though, it would wake me up at a specified time. She also showed me last night how to make it a simple ward to kick me out of it if I was in danger.

I had happily and enthusiastically been with Bree again last night, but I felt the pull of responsibility after a couple of hours. The prophecies were almost useless to my bitter disappointment. It was easy to figure out the firstborn thing, but other than that there were no clues on what the first or second born would do to make the prophecy come to fruition. Only that it would happen.

One useful bit of information was why the fae were so scared of humans. One, their powers were extremely similar, and in some cases more powerful. Another thing Vinnie was right on about. The second was more the planet than the magic. This Earth had a lot more iron, and it interfered in the fae's ability to use their magic, but not for the humans.

With magic, humanity could invade the fae world and just carry around iron and use their magic just fine. It would be a slaughter. Even without magic and just using modern tech like guns, the fae wouldn't stand a chance because of the iron thing. That was Feinir's biggest secret, the one he never told anyone, and his race's greatest fear.

I had learned a few other useful tidbits, most notably how to alter my shield during casting to prevent mind magic from hurting me with my own shield just by applying pressure. There was no way not to anchor a spell through the mind, so the technique involves adding a second anchor at center mass. So when the shield is pushed, it would push against the second anchor, not the first.

It's a very visual thing. That way only breaking through the shield completely and into my mind would be effective. I shuddered, if that happened my mind would be snuffed out like a candle in a split second. Granted, it's not any deader than being decomposed by a necromancer, or burned alive by a sorcerer. But still, it seems worse in my mind. In the other two cases my soul, my ghost, will have all my memories. The fact that the fae can steal that... I shuddered in my mind.

I think Vinnie was right, although, I probably won't say that out loud. We just need to ignore the prophecy thing completely. With Feinir dead, as long as the other fae stay out of our and our family's lives, they can do whatever they want. No, the challenge now is to kill my grandfather and try to get back to a normal life while maintaining vigilance and watching for signs of more manipulation, spying or another more obvious threat.

Killing him won't be simple. I'm also worried about his reaction at Feinir's death. Grandfather had been working for Feinir, working under restrictions of sorts, so now he will be free to do whatever he wants. The question is what will that be? Attack, go to ground, ignore us, buy a pizza, or some combination? I had yet to come up with a plan to get him, and Kristi hasn't seen him anywhere but his stronghold or when he is out surrounded by demons and flunkies.

The Fae may have been more powerful, but I had a feeling granddad will be harder to kill. I imagine he has a lot of enemies the way he goes about life. Sometimes quantity counts a lot more than quality. I felt the spell waking me up and I opened my eyes. Bree was patiently waiting sitting across from me and next to her was a ghost I didn't recognize who must have been close to a hundred when she passed.

I smiled tentatively, "Hello. I'm Hope, who are you?"

The old woman nodded, "I'm Sandra darling. It's nice to meet you. I heard you do things for a term of service?"

I nodded, "Ten years will get you a boon, what did you need?"

Sandra sighed, "I don't know if you can help but... My great granddaughter Elisha is dying before she has even lived. She's only five and has a rare heart defect. She's too far down the list and I don't think she will survive much longer."

I closed my eyes and sighed. That was a tough one. Cancers go into remission all the time, at least some percentage of people fight off deadly diseases for reasons medical science hadn't figured out yet. Psychical trauma, brain injuries, they were all explainable as simply a lucky but mundane recovery.

But to fix a hole in a heart? To spontaneously grow new heart tissue that didn't exist the day before? That can't be explained away by anything other than a miracle. Since humans don't believe in magic they'll claim divine intervention, or a deal with the devil.

I was so weak though, I just couldn't say no, I would find a way. Saying no felt too much like killing a five year old girl. Sure, lots of kids died and it wasn't my fault or responsibility. But I knew about this one, and I had her great grandmother sitting not four feet away from me with hope in her sparkling translucent brown eyes.

I said while my mind raced, "Tell me about her parents."

Sandra said, "My granddaughter Eloise is a single mother. The girl lost her father overseas, he was in the military. Really, Eloise is it, all her and Elisha have are each other."

I thought I could work with that, but I would need a lot of help from Amy at the hospital, blurring minds, and we would have to take care of the bills and insurance. Possibly meddle with her primary care provider as well and the medical records. It would require minimal exposure to just Eloise, but what would a mother not do for her child?

Ugh, then there are nurses, family friends, distant relatives, preschool, a church maybe? On second thought, maybe I'll just ask mom to make them new identities, which might be easier. After five thousand years she was a pro at it. They can relocate.

I nodded, "It's complicated, but I'll try. Last name, where do they live, and what hospital is she in?"

I memorized the information as she gave it. The last name was Vargas, but we would have to change that. Was I crazy to even try this? Probably, but I'd do it anyway. Sandra had travelled all the way from Texas just outside of Dallas. That was kind of new to me as well. I usually got mostly local ghosts.

It was still early, only six AM, I could get the ball rolling on the ID's and cash, but I probably wouldn't have time to finish it up before classes. I went downstairs and tracked mom down; I talked fast and was very persuasive. She looked dubious about my plan, but I knew it wouldn't be hard to convince her. She was the only one I knew who loved healing dying humans more than I did.

I gave mom the information and descriptions for the driver's license and passports. I could get the picture once I had the mother on board. I just hoped she could handle it, if not I would have no choice but to get Amy to erase all related knowledge of me and disappear. The hard but sad fact is exposure would get so many more people killed it just wouldn't be worth the tradeoff.

There was the possibility of just having Amy use compulsion to ensure she wouldn't talk, but that wouldn't help if she couldn't handle it and went insane.

I knew I could be impulsive, but at least this time I would have people to help if anything went wrong. My magic didn't include anything that lent itself to cover-ups, outside of killing them anyway, and that wasn't an option for me...

I spoke in fast short splurges of information to explain my thoughts and what I'd learned last night between bites of my breakfast. Everyone seemed on board with my ignore the prophecy and kill Gramps plan. Now we just needed to figure out how to accomplish it. Kristi was helpful with the shield knowledge I gained, simply skimming the concept out of my mind and placing it into everyone else.

Vinnie asked, "So what has you so excited this morning?"

I looked at him considering, was I?

I guess I kind of was, "Got a ghost job, I guess it's nice to be focused on something else other than what's been going on lately. Little girl with a heart condition in Dallas. Amy and Mom are going to help me with it."

He nodded, "We all need a good distraction, life's been a little grim lately," he looked at Alicia and Kristi, "With some very notable exceptions," he finished lamely.

I couldn't help but grin and glance over at Bree. Things hadn't been all bad for me either, and now that we knew about all the pieces I was hopeful it would end soon. I got showered and put my face on, grabbed my stuff and it was time for us to get to class.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 06



I wondered if I would ever get back to living at the dorm. In a way I missed it, but between Bree and Alicia, I knew even when things settled down we'd be back at home more often. Next year would be different. I'd be off to medical school and Vinnie would be... I wasn't really sure. 

I was thinking I would need off campus living at that point. That way I could have Bree with me and still maintain a human cover. It was believable to tell people I was going home every night with my house less than a half hour away, but it would be harder when I was in Boston or Stanford.

Our home schooling had encompassed so many college level courses. I had settled on MD for college because I could see myself working and healing when I could. I would need that knowledge, not to heal, but to fit in and be able to talk intelligently with human doctors. Plus, not everyone would need extra help.

I could have just learned it at home, forged my first credentials as I would no doubt do following ones. But my parents, and I, wanted me to have the college experience. I have to admit I tended toward partying a little too hard, but when I can meditate, process, and memorize so much information so fast, and I never slept so had more time to do it, it made the learning pace in human college glacially slow.

I was heading out of my last morning class and going toward the dining hall when I heard a familiar voice, one I could never fail to recognize.

"Hey gorgeous."

My breath froze in my throat, and I felt tears gather in my eyes. My emotions spiraled. I had considered how I would react if Robbie ever showed his face again many times. I was torn between two impulses. I wanted to grab him, screw his brains out and chain him down so he could never leave me again. On the other hand I wanted to vent my rage on him violently for being a spy, for lying to me, and most of all for leaving me when I was finally able to love him back. That is, if he truly loved me at all. 

I chose the third option, another path which I had not even considered before I acted. I took a choked breath and walked quickly away, not even turning to look. I ducked into the dining hall as quickly as I could, trying to hide my tears of mixed relief and rage. I blindly filled my tray with food and stalked over to the table, sitting with Kristi and Vinnie.

Kristi took one look at me and asked, "What happened?"

I croaked out, "Robbie."

Vinnie growled out, "What did he do?"

I shrugged, "Nothing."

He didn't believe me and started to stand up. 

I shook my head at him and pleaded with my eyes for him not to do anything. He was a good brother if a little overprotective, but if I decided any violence needed to be done, I would be the one doing it.

I ate my way through my tasteless meal as I considered what to do. I finally decided next time I saw him I would demand an explanation, something I should have done earlier. I felt a little embarrassed at running off like that, and pushed down the spike of anger that caused in me. I just wasn't prepared for my true reaction, not at all. If he didn't show up again I'd... well, if he gave up that easily maybe I'd be better off without him.

My mom sent me a text that the paperwork was ready. She even managed to pull the picture from Eloise's current license. I found myself looking around both in hope and dread after every class, I know, I am totally pathetic. But I didn't see Robbie or Rafe anywhere. It was with a little disappointment I slid into limbo and teleported home.

I picked up the paperwork and put it in my bag.

"Thanks mom."

She smiled and said, "Be careful in Dallas, try to avoid other supernaturals if you can. Their council is heavier handed than most and there is a necromancer in the city somewhere. Not one like you and your dad."

I grinned impudently, "No starting a war with Dallas... Check. Anything else?"

She sighed and shook her head. I think I really worried her sometimes.

On impulse I gave her a hug before sliding into limbo and teleporting as close to the hospital as I could. I was unfamiliar with much of Dallas and didn't really have a great target point in my memory. I reminded myself to focus outward, and pay attention to what it was telling me, as I ducked into an alley to slide out of limbo.

Back in the real world, I started the just less than two mile walk to the hospital. It was times like these that I always got a bit wistful. Even though I was half angel and demon, and both of my parents had them, I didn't have wings.

I really wanted to fly. Maybe I'd figure it out through my magic one day, still, I wanted wings. I imagined using magic for it just wouldn't be the same as feeling the wind flow over actual real appendages with nerves and the ability to feel.

I bet that bastard Rafe had wings.

I cleared my wandering thoughts as I entered the hospital. I hadn't felt any supernatural presence yet and I was hoping it would stay that way. Dallas was a huge city, so my chances were pretty good. I walked over to the elevator like I belonged and went up to the third floor. She wasn't in intensive care, but it wasn't a general hospital room either. The ward was a square of rooms on the outside, the nurse's station and some enclosed offices were in the center.

It was much like an ER, but with solid walls over each room instead of sliding drapes. I made my way to three zero eight and poked my head in the door. Eloise Vargas was sitting at her daughter's bedside. She looked frazzled, rightly, and she clutched a rosary in one hand and had her eyes closed.

I wondered if that would make things harder or easier for her to accept.

Elisha looked to be sleeping. Her skin was sallow as if she wasn't getting enough oxygen to her body. I took a deep breath and wondered not for the first time today if I was being foolish, or doing the right thing. I knocked softly and slipped into the room.

Eloise looked up and asked in a tired voice, "Who are you?"

I blew out a breath not sure where to start, though I had a general plan.

"I'm Hope. Your grandmother came and asked me for my help. But before I can do that, we need to talk."

Her eyes grew confused and she shook her head, "My grandmother died days ago, and my child will follow soon enough. What could you possibly do to help me," her voice sounded defeated and bitter.

I sighed. "A lot actually, but what I can do needs to stay a secret. If you accept my help, you and your daughter will need to move away from here, take new names. If you accept my help, I will heal your daughter. But you must promise me never to reveal what was done here."

I cringed inside, waiting for an explosion of anger, or bitter disbelief.

I didn't expect her to start crying.

"I prayed, are you an angel then?"

I was... not sure how to answer that. I didn't want to lie, yet I knew thanks to the fae enchantment, she would be unable to accept or comprehend the truth. Even if I typed it in triplicate and signed my name.

"The truth is a bit more complicated, it is beyond your understanding."

Faith could make people believe in strange things. I hadn't lied, yet didn't confuse her with the truth either.

She asked, "Why must I keep it a secret if you heal my child?"

I replied sticking with vague, "It is as it must be. If you want your child to live you must start a new life, and not reveal what happens today."

She nodded desperately, and I felt a little guilty using her daughter's life as a bargaining chip.

I pulled out the fake ID, passports, a bank book, and a wad of fifties and handed it to her.

"I'm going to heal your child, then take you to another city. When you find a place to live, just use those ID's to get a new state's drivers license and you will be legal. If you need help looking I put a contact number in there. As soon as you have a place, update your bank account and get rid of the cash."

I wondered if the fake ID's would throw off her angel theory, but it didn't seem to faze her. She sent me a grateful look.

Things seemed to be going well, until I started healing Elisha. Eloise gasped when the golden light surrounded her daughter's body and bathed the room in warm light. The door opened and someone walked in stepping heavily.

I heard, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, are you trying to expose us all?"

Hmm, must have missed one, or he wasn't here five minutes ago. I finished healing Elisha and turned around.

Using my most charming smile I asked, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

He growled and said, "I don't care who you are, I'm taking you to the council."

My smile turned to a grin, "Good. I'll take that as a no."

I surrounded the three of us with my power and disappeared from the vampire's view, landing in my bedroom.

I sighed. Nothing is ever easy. I had planned to take them to their apartment first just to get clothes and maybe a favorite toy, but now that would be too dangerous. I was specifically told not to start a fight with Dallas. I was pretty sure Eloise's apartment was the first place they would look.

We had given her enough money to start over including furnishings and transportation, I guess it would be clothes now too. I wasn't quite done, but the terms of the contract were fulfilled, and Sandra appeared and waited. I reached out and bonded her soul, for the next ten years she would follow my orders, and provide a conduit for my necromantic power.

I sent her silent orders to watch her family. I was sure she would be happy to do that, although probably not so thrilled she would have to report her granddaughter if Eloise tried to tell her story to anyone. I wanted to trust her, but I wasn't that trusting.

Elisha was awake now and hugging her mother, in a hospital gown. It took me a few more hours to get everything settled. My mother had something that would fit Elisha, probably old clothes of mine, and I took them to Wal-Mart to buy a few outfits before putting them up in a decent hotel in Seattle. I could see the awe rub off as the evening moved on, and the questions in her eyes.

Clearly after seeing my bedroom and hearing me ask my mom for children's clothes she had realized I was not in fact a celestial entity.

But she kept her promise for now, and didn't talk about any of it, not even to me or her daughter. All she told Elisha was that she was healthy now. All in all it was a satisfying thing for me. I got to save a child, and had gotten a temporary reprieve from thinking about my grandfather, and what we needed to do.

Kristi was giggling as I told the tale of my evening and Vinnie kept shaking his head in disbelief. My evening was rather entertaining after the fact. I wonder what that vampire made of it, or even if he reported it after I disappeared from the hospital room.

Kristi said, "We should celebrate and go out dancing."

It made me remember why she was my best friend. She was so wise.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Alicia agreed and Vinnie seemed resigned. I rounded up Ray and Claudia, it seemed like everyone was in agreement we needed to take a night off. Being a Tuesday night, the club we chose was close to occupancy, but not so full we had to wait on line. 

We had a couple of drinks and actually ran into a couple of people from the coven. Faye and Cindy was a couple of years older than we were. I hadn't seen them in a couple of months being away all the time at college, but we grew up together.

I was drinking a white Russian, taking a break from the dance floor, when I heard his voice again.

"I'm sorry gorgeous, I had to leave, didn't have a choice."

This time I spun around, he had that same calm relaxed look on his face he always did. It was the look that both attracted me and drove me crazy. I kept a hold of my emotions, for the most part. He had always been the calm in the middle of my storm, so it wasn't anything new anyway.

"Why, to report what you found out about me? Was it all just games? Is that why you never seemed possessive like every other guy I've ever dated? Because it was just a job and you really didn't care at all?"

I finally ran out of breath and waited for answers. The asshole was still smiling at me so I glared at him. His smile got bigger.

"I missed you gorgeous."

I felt my heart melt a little at that, but he was avoiding the questions, so I frowned. He finally got the hint and started talking.

"Yes, I had to report. No, it was not a game. You had me wrapped around your little finger long ago. It wasn't just a job, but yes, it was a job and I had to do it. I make no apology for that. As far as possessiveness, you were dating children barely on the cusp of manhood, men that were insecure, I am... way too old for that kind of silly shit."

He winked, still looking infuriatingly calm, "So... you like older men?"

I stepped closer, unbelievingly he still had no aura.

"Just one," I said, "So why are you here now? Working? I see your aura is still... nonexistent."

He shrugged, "I found out early visiting here that angels tend to freak out other races. I do it for the same reason your mother kept her aura so tight before finding her place in Chicago, to avoid all that silliness. As for if I am working. Absolutely. I am here to spy on you..."

I opened my mouth, closed it. Not sure what this meant. I was also sure he wouldn't be at all impressed with my sudden insecurity. I had acted like I hadn't cared before now, but that was before I knew I was in love with a stupid spy.

He continued, "It took a lot of fast talking to convince them it was necessary. But there is no way I could ever not see you again."

I stepped closer, our bodies not touching but very close. I could feel our breath mix together as I asked with a challenge in my eyes, "And why is that Robbie, or should I call you Rafe?"

He said calmly, "My cover name is Robbie, so please, call me Rafe, and you already know why gorgeous. I love you."

The words escaped my lips, leaving breathlessly, "I love you too."

He reached out and pulled me into a kiss, my body molded itself against his. We had kissed countless times before, and had rough hard sex more times than I could remember. But this kiss was so different, so much better. I was a little short of breath when he broke it off. My body was still plastered against him, and I could feel his bulge against my stomach. It caused my core to clench and tingle.

"It's about time," Bree said in a teasing voice.

Rafe's eyes widened just a little when he took in Bree's new body, "This is new, nice to finally speak to you Bree."

I said, "Oh, how do you feel about sharing?"

At his blank look I continued, "Bree and I are... a set."

He nodded, "I've never been jealous of you before with others, why would I be now when I know I finally hold your heart?"

Bree snickered, "Nice line."

He smirked, "The ones that ring true always are."

Bree stage whispered, "Take him home before you explode, plus, I'm dying to watch with my new physical form."

I arched an eyebrow, "Just watch?"

She blushed and glared, I grinned unrepentantly back and we said some quick goodbye's before teleporting to my room. 

I had missed him so much, and he knew exactly what I liked. I could yield all my control, give over my body, he had always been amazing that way. I had nothing to fear from submitting myself to his control in the bedroom. Only now it was so much more powerful, with me holding him in my heart.

He kissed me softly and asked, "What's with the mysterious smile?"

I replied sultrily, "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a mystery."

He started to undress me slowly, caressing and kissing each new strip of my bared silky skin as if to claim it anew. When my shirt was finally off, he tore his over his head then picked me up and laid me down on my bed. Then he continued his exploration as he slowly stripped my skin tight jeans off. I felt decadent and I drowned in pleasurable sensation as he worshipped every inch of my body.

My swollen wet core clenched in anticipation as he kissed his way up my long smooth legs and across my inner thigh. He teased my flesh, kissing his way around my aching and glistening lips. When I thought I would scream in frustration he made me gasp, his tongue lightly brushing along the length of my pleasure.

He always knew what I wanted, but he had never done this before. I knew back then I would have hated it. The exaggerated, slow and gentle movement of his tongue and fingertips as he plundered my body was absolute perfection. I could feel his love in every touch, it was what I needed.

I reached down and grabbed his hair, needing to touch him as I felt my core tighten and coil. I exploded into bliss, whimpering soundlessly as rapturous ecstasy wracked my body. It was amazing, but he knew me well, I wanted a different kind of loving now, as I came down from my height.

He slapped my thigh, "Turn over gorgeous."

I flipped my body when my muscles started to respond again. He reached down, grabbed my hips and pulled me to my knees. I gasped as he drove into me hard from behind. I leaned down farther and bit my pillow so I wouldn't scream out.

He said to Bree, "Darling, you're too far away, you used to get right next us. Having a body shouldn't change that. Why don't you get undressed and join us."

My core tightened around his invader, I liked the idea of Bree joining us very much, I could share if he could. I just hoped Bree was okay with it, at this moment I didn't think I could live without both of them.

Bree said confidently, "I thought you'd never ask."

He started to slide in and out of my body, hard and fast. His hands were caressing, squeezing and slapping my ass. I started to buck back, trying to get him in deeper, to slap our bodies together harder. I turned my head and watched Bree finish undressing, her body was so beautiful, and she looked perfect to me.

She climbed into bed and started kissing me. Her hand reached under me, catching one of my bouncing breasts and she squeezed then pinched my nipple, hard.

"Oh god, I'm going to cum!" I declared breathily

I felt her Bree's fingers slide down my abdomen then she found my clit with her fingertips. It felt like a bolt of lightning struck me when she pushed down on it hard while Rafe fucked me hard from behind, my ass stung already but he slapped it again, all the sensations mixing in my core made me explode in rapturous bliss.

My body was trembling, my muscles felt weak as I came down. He pulled out and I collapsed and balled up on my side, my body shaking with after tremors of sharp, almost painful, pleasure. I watched as he flipped Bree onto her back and crawled between her legs. There was a pause as they looked into each other's eyes.

I imagine he was waiting to see if she would object, she didn't say a word, merely smiled. He kissed her sensuously as he slowly slid his length, which glistened with my honey, into her soft waiting body. I watched the two people I love most join together as one and it was more than I could ask for. It was what I hoped would happen, the three of us together.

I watched them pleasure each other as my body slowly stopped shaking and trembling. They looked so hot together and I watched as his manhood plundered Bree's sex. When I felt I could, I moved over to join them...

Chapter 14 - Vinnie

We were sitting in the dining hall at college for lunch the next day. Hope had just gotten done explaining the whole Rafe story, which up until now I hadn't heard about at all.

"Wait, let me get this straight. Robbie is actually an angelic spy named Rafe. His job is to spy on us and you took him back? You love each other..."

My voice sounded a little doubtful.

My sister glared, "Yes, yes, yes and most definitely yes."

Kristi pinched my leg under the table and shot me a significant look.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 06



I sighed, "Alright sis, I trust your judgment."

Her face fell, "I know it's a lot to swallow. But he does love me. I can feel it, even without his aura."

"I know, I just worry. If he had to talk fast to convince them you needed watching, just so he could come back and be with you... What happens if they call him back? Will he leave you again? Will he have a choice? I always thought he was a nice guy, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Kristi punched my leg, so I figured I'd better drop the subject. I supposed it wasn't my business anyway, and as long as she was happy now...

I changed the topic...

I asked, "Any ideas on our final target?

Final target wasn't as hard to say as grandfather. None of us knew him really, and what we did know was all bad. But still, I wondered if the reason we hadn't moved yet was because in the end, no matter how despicable, he was family.

Kristi said sounding doubtful, "I think we need to work something out given what we already know. I've watched him for hours and he is... unendingly paranoid."

Hope said thoughtfully, "Outside would be better than dealing with those wards, but if the attack takes longer than a second or two, one of his demons will teleport him home. Even from his home he could escape easily enough. We need to negate that ability somehow. Teleporting is so useful for retreat, but not so useful when the other side has it as well."

I shrugged, "A circle would do it."

Hope frowned, "I want to limit this to family, the coven worked with mom and dad, but that was when the whole city was on the line, I don't see them lining up to volunteer anyway."

Kristi got a shocked look on her face, "It's so obvious, two of them are not just coven witches, I am sure Amy and Lisa would help, they are your family."

Hope looked considering.

"I think that could work," I said thoughtfully, "If we can get them into a circle and charge it. At that point it would be down to Hope and I. We'd be the only ones able to traverse the circle without breaking it through limbo."

Kristi said, "That would create another problem. Circles can only be so big, it won't be as easy for you two to dodge in and out and keep your distance. Actually, impossible comes to mind. You'll be two against five, four of them demons with hardened shadow that could slice through your shields easily."

Hope shook her head, her voice coming out a bit sick sounding. "No rules remember, we can simply stand outside and toss in our magic, think of the containment circle like just another shield, but bigger."

The three of us looked a little uncomfortable about that. There was a difference between a fight and penning someone up for the slaughter. It was a difficult thing to contemplate.

Hope added breaking the awkward silence, "We wouldn't have much time either. Lisa and Amy are strong, but how powerful a circle could two witches make? I don't think it would hold against four demons and a warlock's spells trying to break it down for very long."

I was almost relieved that idea wouldn't work, despite them deserving it.

I frowned, "I didn't think of that, it may not work after all, let's talk to Amy and Lisa tonight to see what they say about it."

Kristi gave me a quick kiss as we broke off for lunch and I headed for my afternoon class. I envied my sister about one thing. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life, or at least, with her first lifespan so to speak. No specific human job really appealed to me, about the only thing I was truly motivated about was my magic, and to keep a hold of the two ladies who had turned my life upside down.

It would feel strange when this danger passed. I enjoyed the math, the theoretical physics classes as well. But what can I do with that? I'd been so focused going through the motions, outside of learning my magic, that I had no true direction in my life.

I too had only come to college, instead of learning at home, to get out of the house and live. I couldn't spend all my time in my room with a nose in a book, or meditating. I had six months left of college until graduation, where would I go next? What would I do?

Perhaps I could stay in school? I know Kristi planned to go for her masters here. It would also give me some more time to think about it. I was amazed that I had just gone forward on autopilot, not recognizing the lack before. I think it had probably been because of Alicia and Kristi that I looked toward a future lifetime, instead of just not sweating it because I had an endless life to accomplish whatever I wanted.

Maybe I had just been thinking to perfect my magic for a couple of centuries before looking elsewhere, but that was no longer an option.

Their presence had given me a new perspective on it, if that makes any sense. I needed to do something. I couldn't mooch off my parents wealth forever, and the ladies both deserved a nice place to call home that would just be ours.

I got to my class and cleared my mind, no inspiration took me. I needed to pay attention to class. I'd figure it out... if we made it through whatever was coming...

After class Carla grabbed my attention at the door. I had a good idea what she wanted, but headed over there anyway. I had slept with Carla for the first time two years ago. Since then we had been hooking up occasionally every month or so. She was absolutely wild in bed, didn't seem to have a choke reflex, and made these cute sounds when I touched her...

So not the point... The point was that despite how good she was in bed, I wasn't really interested anymore. Kristi, Alicia and I hadn't really talked about being exclusive to the three of us, but it seemed that was the way it was now, at least it was that way for me. I hadn't really given it any thought until now, when the opportunity was presenting itself.

Carla asked confidently, "There's a party tonight, should be a blast. You free?"

I shook my head regretfully, "Can't make tonight, and I'm in a serious relationship now."

Carla's eyebrow went up and her voice sounded amused, "You? Well good luck with that," and she walked away.

What was that supposed to mean? Did I have that much of a reputation as a player?

It also occurred to me I had just been assuming our relationship was closed, I hadn't talked to Kristi or Alicia about it so had no idea what they were thinking. I'd have to figure out a way to bring that up in conversation, hopefully without starting a fight...

We were all together at home, and Amy and Lisa were talking back and forth about esoteric circles, symbols, and other shit I didn't understand. We'd already discussed our half formed plans, and asked them for help. Ever since then they'd been debating what they could do. My mom piped in on something and I was reminded that she knew a whole lot more than just her magic.

Maybe I should be paying more attention. Still, I couldn't learn everything at once, better to concentrate on my own magic, immortal and sorcery, before worrying too much about the other ones.

Amy turned to the five of us and seemed to organize her thoughts.

"You're right that we can't create a circle to confine them completely, not two against five. Circles are usually used against one demon, and there is a gathering of at least nine to contain them if we can help it. What we can do, is a rather large circle that will not allow magical transportation.

"Basically they wouldn't be able to teleport out. But they could simply walk out, then teleport away. It will only work if you attack right away and keep up the pressure, and just hope they don't think to run away on foot."

I asked, "How big a circle?"

Amy shrugged, "Large, maybe a hundred yards. Since we are blocking one specific thing it wouldn't require all that much power. Even better we can set it up before hand and even power it. They wouldn't feel a thing when they crossed over into it, because they wouldn't be trapped."

I frowned, it was an impressive size relatively, but a demon could run that in a second or two.

Hope interjected, "What if we put the circle around a building? Maybe one of the warehouses he deals out of and meets his contacts in? We would have a better chance of keeping them contained. I don't think they would leave it as it gives them a better chance to catch one of us in an enclosed space."

That was a good idea, give them the perception of having the position of strength, and hopefully they would find out retreating wasn't an option from there until too late. 

Alicia asked, "What about wards?"

I shook my head, "He won't have wards there. He meets his contacts there because he can't trust them to know where he lives, and their connections will be... fragile and strained with mistrust. If he put up wards to stop anyone with bad intentions toward him, they would probably go off all the time."

My mom said, "Kill him as soon as you can. It's possible the demons will just leave peacefully after that. After all, he has taken them into his service against their will. But don't take any chances either."

Kristi wrote out an address on a piece of paper and handed it to Amy.

"That location is empty right now. If you can get that set up, I'll keep an eye on it and let everyone know when he heads there."

Amy, Lisa and my mom went off to handle that and we broke up our meeting. I went upstairs feeling the pressures of the day to meditate to refresh myself, and make progress on my shield. It still hadn't yet, but I was hoping I would find that same deep meditation Hope did a few days ago. I was surely falling behind in our competition.

Proud of my sister or not, I just couldn't let that happen...

I came out of it a few hours later, making small but sure progress with things. Kristi and Alicia were sitting on the bed talking, I wondered if this was a good idea or not, but these things should be discussed.

I coughed and walked over.

"You know, we never discussed it but... our relationship, it is closed right? I had just assumed but I realized today we should probably talk about it."

Kristi shook her head in mock sadness, "I guess I should break that date with John tonight."

Alicia nodded in faux wisdom, "I need to call the pack master, the males in the pack won't be able to use me as a cum dump anymore during our hunts."

They continued making comments back and forth, each suggestion more bawdy than the last. It was annoying but I smiled despite myself.

When they ran out of material they both grinned at me, great. I supposed I deserved this being a player for so long, and not letting in others, but still... Eventually they decided to stop torturing me, the teasing comments stopped and the serious conversation started.

Alicia snorted, "You are my mate, there are no others for me but you and Kristi unless you decide there will be. You are the alpha in this relationship, how could you not know that? I do suppose that the subject was left unclear, it is good to know the bounds."

Kristi's eyes rose at that, her voice sounded unsure, "That... I think... I assumed too, that the three of us are it. I am happy with the way things are."

She looked at me and continued, "Do you think you will want more than us?"

She looked worried, as if she thought I might want what we had weeks ago before we had grown so inseparably together, something open and casual. That made me glad I brought it up, she should know where I stand.

I shook my head, "I didn't really think about this until I was... approached today, and found the idea to be unwelcome. I felt like I would have been cheating on you two... I think we should decide it is just us, and if anything changes we talk about it before doing anything. I don't want anyone except the two of you."

Alicia smiled, "Okay, I will let you know if I think another woman would be good for you."

It was so hard to tell if she was messing with me when she said that, it sounded so sincere and as if it was an obvious course to take. Having a werewolf mate was going to keep me on my toes, no more than Kristi though, just in a different way.

I found myself looking forward to the challenge.

Kristi actually looked relieved at what I said, as if she had been worrying about it. I was glad I brought it up, and wished I had done so sooner. What can I say, I'm new to all this and never expected to be quite so lucky.

They both stood and kissed me, one after the other, as they stripped the clothes off my body. I guessed they liked the idea of me being all theirs, because they were both completely focused on me. I sure as hell wasn't going to argue as they stripped me down and guided me onto the bed. 

I was kissing Kristi when I felt Alicia's warm wet mouth take in my quickly hardening flesh. I moaned into Kristi's mouth at the rapturous feeling of Alicia's throat vibrating against my tip. Alicia was purring in contentment while sucking hard and running her tongue up along my length.

Kristi sat back, resting on her knees and stripped her shirt off before leaning back in and feeding me one of her hardened nipples. She ran her hands into my hair at the back of my head and pulled me harder into her supple globe while gasping in pleasure. 

It was my turn to gasp, as the head of my pleasure popped into Alicia's throat. She started to massage the tip by swallowing as she cupped and gently played with my balls, and ran her nails across my taint.

Kristi stripped off her pants, I hardly had the time to miss her breasts when she threw a leg over my head and lowered herself down to me. I reached up and around with my hands and grabbed her ass, pulling her against my face to lick down her wet swollen slit, and across her taint to teasingly rim her tight puckered star.

Alicia popped her mouth off of me and stroked me. She had somehow removed her clothes at some point, because shortly after I felt the absolute bliss of her tight wet core start to take me in. She dropped slowly, her silken swollen lips hugging my girth rapturously as she took it all the way inside her, sheathing my pleasure in her willing body.

Kristi's breath came quickly as she started to grind down on me, my face was getting covered in her juice as I pleasured her with my tongue and fingers. I could also hear Alicia coo softly in pleasure as she shallowly rose and fell on me between grinding down on me in tight circles. 

Kristi came first, drenching my chin and lips as I tried to catch as much as I could. A brief few moments later I felt Alicia's sweet body lock around my pleasure and milk it. Between the two ladies cumming and all the stimulation I let go, my body released explosively inside Alicia, filling up her core with my essence.

After we came down they laid to either side of me and snuggled in. The feelings between us felt overwhelming and comforting and I pulled them both tighter against me, kissing one, then the other.

Kristi whispered sultrily in my ear, "My turn," and shimmied down the side of my body before taking my flagging member into her mouth. 

Alicia started kissing me passionately. It wasn't lost on me that they were cleaning each other's mess up, and getting turned on by it. With the attention, it didn't take long for me to recover for a second round...

The next few days passed slowly. That first night my mother, Amy and Lisa set up the circle, subtly enough that it wouldn't be seen. Most of it was obscured, and even in some places buried beneath the concrete sidewalk. We were all getting a little short of temper while waiting for my grandfather Brian to connect with one of his unsavory associates. 

We were ready for it to be over, and it was becoming a strain as it dragged along. If attacking his home hadn't been a suicidal idea, I think we all would have gone that way just to get it done. We may have been immortal in the sense we didn't age, but we could still be killed, and as the time dragged on I found myself thinking about that more and more.

Despite being sure he didn't have wards set up, we knew he would have some kind of nasty surprise, or at least a good plan. The people he rubbed elbows with were the dregs of the supernatural world, and I was sure he would be alert for their betrayal. Whatever those plans were would work in his favor when we attacked as well.

It was Friday afternoon in my last class when I got a text from Kristi that he was relocating to the warehouse. We weren't sure how long he'd be there, so we decided earlier if it happened we should ditch a class for it. It wasn't us determining the schedule this time around.

We had no illusions we could sneak up on him out in the open the way we had with Feinir, and had come up with a plan to avoid being detected. Hope and I teleported through limbo into the warehouse and got situated. Two of the demons were at the doors and the other two were flanking our grandfather. 

Hope and I split the demons close to grandfather. They would be the first to die. We couldn't take the chance they would kill us right after grandfather died. Hopefully we would have enough time to react to the two by the door.

Kristi was watching us remotely. She, along with the rest, would be teleported around the perimeter by my mother using our attack as the signal. Their job would be to take out grandfather before he crossed the circle in case things went south in here. Our parents would be out there too, just in case the demons at the door went after the people outside, instead of assisting grandfather.

The plan went really well, at first. We silently slid out of limbo behind the demons, our shields up. Hope and I dropped our energy into the two demons, who met their end. That's when things fell apart. As I turned to grandfather to end him, I heard the noise of battle outside. I thought we would have more time to get him before his associates showed up, but it seems our timing couldn't be worse.

I had no choice but to trust they would prevail outside, but when I went to finish it, I was hit by a blur of black, what I could only assume was one of the other demons, and went flying into the wall. My shield held, barely. I slipped into limbo to get my bearings. My sister hadn't fared much better, she was in limbo with me. The two demons were looking around for us.

We had to attack before they figured out they were stuck. I ran behind one, slid out, sent my magic, then slid back into limbo. It only took a second, but the demon was alert now and dodged my attack. Things were moving fast, but I saw Hope take out her second demon, and she stayed in the real world long enough to distract mine. I popped out and finished him off, he ran right into my magic on his way to Hope. Then we turned to my grandfather.

He growled, held up his hand and barked a word. Whatever kind of spell it was, it fizzled when it hit our shields. I shared a look with Hope and we both attacked. He was not a demon, and with none left to protect him we simply used our normal power. Our golden spikes of magic ripped through his shield and impaled his body. He turned to run, but had waited too long. He made it two steps before collapsing on the ground.

I moved to check him but Hope interrupted me.

"Don't bother, he's dead. I have no desire to plumb his mind, if you don't mind I'll just let his spirit go."

I nodded in agreement. He wouldn't know anything about us Feinir didn't, and learning about his other activities didn't seem important enough to subject Hope to his twisted mind. I took stock and I was sore from hitting the wall, but nothing was broken. I took a moment to run some healing energy through me and also to scan my sister.

She didn't even have a scratch. I really needed to get my shield like hers was.

Hope asked, "Does it get back to normal now?"

I smiled, "Maybe, but it won't be the same normal. I think it's going to be better. Let's get outside and see what happened. With mom and dad, Kristi, four werewolves, two witches, a lich, two revenants, and an angel, I feel sorry for whoever it was."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 06



Hope snorted while turning the five bodies to dust before we headed outside.

No one on our side had been killed, although mom was in the process of healing Claudia. There were a few dead, but most of them had run fairly quickly and were allowed to escape. Kristi and Alicia met me with hugs and we all got together to teleport home. 

I still wasn't sure what I'd be doing with my life, but I knew one thing. I'd be enjoying every day I had with my mates, and my family. I also didn't know who the firstborn between me and my sister was, or what that might mean in the future. I would study my magic hard, and live my life, and hope I was up to whatever challenges lay ahead...

Epilogue - Hope

It had been a day since we had taken care of things. Life was going on, but I was so different. I had fallen in love, killed, protected, improved my magic, and discovered things about myself and my family I wish I didn't know over the last two weeks.

I was at a party, and I was still having fun, that hadn't changed. But I found myself not flirting and being playful with every guy that came along. I wasn't looking for Mr. Right Now anymore. Hell, I was hardly even checking the guys out. Really, the only man I cared to let in my bed was right next to me.

Rafe asked, "Penny for your thoughts gorgeous?"

Smiling mysteriously I raised one of my eyebrows playfully and touched his arm, "You'll need to earn it, dance with me," I turned to Bree, "You too."

Rafe grinned, "Dance with the two most beautiful creatures here? That's a price I'm glad to pay."

I'm all grown up now, so I only thought about sticking my tongue out at him, instead of actually doing it, as we pounded down our current drinks. We moved out to the cleared area in the frat house to dance. It was a good night and I really enjoyed it. There was almost nothing to stress about at all. The prophecy was too nebulous, so I was determined to put it behind me.

When we got home, my mother was waiting with an amused grin on her face.

"Daughter, did anything happen in Texas?"

I smiled disarmingly, "I didn't hurt anyone..."

She snickered and handed me a letter. Apparently they had caught me on video entering the hospital and tracked me down by my picture. The letter specified the Chicago council may want to censure me for reckless actions that may have lead to exposure. It went on to say, that I was not welcome in Dallas and would be attacked if I showed my face there again.

I shook my head and snorted in disbelief.

"They're just pissed I didn't obey that vamp and go before the council. He interrupted me while I was healing Elisha."

My mom nodded slowly, "Regardless, no more Texas for you for a few hundred years."

I grinned, "Yes mom," I said in my best teenage voice, sounding completely unrepentant.

She snorted, "You are impossible..."



Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 07



Short Stories: Necromancer Chronicles Book 2.5

Author's note: There is a just over four year gap in the story between the second and third book. I've added some short stories and scenes here at the end of book two to try and preserve some continuity, add some character growth, and so that you can get to know some of the secondary characters a little better.

*****

Alicia's Camping Trip

I pawed silently through the brush. My prey, small though it was, would be cautious, clever, and fast. I pushed down the growl that wanted to leave my throat, sloppy hunters often went without. When I was close enough, I leaped, my jaws open. The large rabbit sensed something and looked my way. I harshly growled, startling it. The rabbit froze for just a split second before it tried to escape. That split second was more than long enough to get its neck in my jaws and break it.

I dropped my kill, threw my head back and howled my victory. 

I picked it up carefully with my teeth, I was trying to minimize the damage done to the body, and started back toward camp. It has been six glorious months since I have taken a mate. He has another mate as well, Kristi. She is soft, not a wolf. Her magic makes her formidable however and she is worthy of respect as a companion.

The three of us spend much of our time together, but four months ago our mate decided we needed separate times together called dates. Something about not taking us for granted, and he wanted one on one time with us. This is the third month in a row he has taken me camping.

My human side understands this puzzling behavior, but the wolf does not. He is our mate, it matters not if we do this alone time together. Yet, I do enjoy it. Who wouldn't enjoy hunting for one's mate on occasion? These trips are also a perfect time to test my mate. I know he will never age, get infirm or feeble, but it is what wolves do, the instinct is too strong to fight. We constantly test and submit to see if the alpha is still worthy.

My mate is different, his wolf never comes out, yet I still hear it. He is too much man though to truly understand, but he comes close on occasion. His wolf still has influence, much like his father's. They draw the human females to them like moths to a flame. For some reason they believe their demon blood is responsible. The truth is the wolf in them is what does this.

My mate is very strong, strong enough to hold many mates. I have suggested a few over the months that he should take, but he always refuses. He tells me that two are enough, all he wants and needs. I wondered at first if this was a weakness in him, but I learned it is a silly man thing. My human side seems to like this behavior as well, though I cannot imagine why.

He is working on getting a house for us, somewhere near the college since he is staying on. Both Kristi and Vinnie are starting graduate courses and plan to get their masters and then a doctorate.

It will also be closer to where the pack runs, which is good. I wish he could join me for that, the hunt, but he cannot. I took his scent in and adjusted my course slightly, heading straight toward the camp. I'd have to shift soon, be human again, when I got back I'd need to dress and cook the rabbit.

When I entered the camp I kept my tail down and bared my throat. I had challenged him again yesterday and he had beaten me soundly without actually hurting me. He was home to me and made me feel secure. I knew my place in the hierarchy of our family. Sometimes having a woman side complicated that, but overall it worked well.

Kim, my mate's father's mate, who was also one of the female alphas of the pack, helped me with understanding our strange mates. I studied him and he appeared to be meditating, but I caught his lips twitching in amusement. I felt a surge of anger, that he would mock me, not respect my power. He seemed to be making light of the importance of establishing dominance.

I chuffed in his direction, dismissing him. This is one of the things Kim had explained to me, the strangeness of the man. Beneath that amusement I could sense his wolf watching me respectfully yet fully ready to answer to any challenge. I could feel the woman inside me wanting out, and I relented, knowing that my mate would want his rabbit cooked and I needed hands for that.

My body started to break down and reform into a woman at the cellular level. There was no cracking of bones, or any other foolishness I had seen watching werewolf movies. How could breaking a bone change that bone into a human bone shape? I chuffed again as my muzzle slowly deformed and started to take a new shape, my paws absorbed my claws and started to reshape.

It didn't hurt, but there was a tingle that seemed to cover my whole body, even within. It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. I felt myself being shunted back as the human in me took over, for now...

I loved the hunt, nothing was more fun. Well, almost nothing. I could feel Vinnie's eyes on me and I slowly stood, I loved the way his eyes roamed all over my body. It always made me feel sexy. I suppressed a grin and stretched luxuriously, as if I needed to do any such thing. I loved giving him a show, or at least, I loved his reactions to them. My smile broke through my control as I heard his heartbeat speed up.

My wolf thought this was foolish and didn't understand, she thought if I wanted him I should just take him. But what fun was that? Better to tempt him into chasing me. I considered putting on clothes, but rejected it. The nearest other humans had been miles away from our camp.

I said, "Thanks for setting up the spit and building the fire."

He grinned at me and looked me in the eyes, even though I stood here naked. I loved that about him, he saw me as a desirable woman, but also as much more than that. His voice was low, relaxed, despite the fast beating of his heart.

"Least I could do if you're hunting down dinner for us."

I winked and grabbed the knife from our supplies. I dressed the rabbit quickly and got it over the fire before going over and sitting on the ground with Vinnie, leaning my body up against him. The forest was beautiful, the sights, scents, and the essence of life surrounded and filled me. 

Some would believe the witches were closer to nature than the other supernaturals. That would be wrong, it was the werewolves. We were little worried about in the supernatural world and because of that, there was a lot the other races of humans did not know about us. Despite our superior strength, the others had stronger magic except perhaps the vampires who were also physically strong. 

We tended to keep out of cities, claim territories of forest and keep to ourselves. We weren't anti-social; we just preferred to be where our other forms could run and we could feel the life around us. Cities felt... stifling. Plus, the vampires infested the cities, obviously because it was the location of their food source.

Werewolves were the strongest but our senses were also unparalleled. Not only could I hear my mate's heart, I could focus my hearing much farther than any other race. We could also feel the magic of the world around us; feel the step of a foot or claw on the grass a mile away. We were perfect hunters, predators.

Our sense of smell was also highly refined. I could scent the pheromones of Vinnie and know what he was feeling. I could not only know if he was turned on, but how turned on he was. We could smell all the emotions, and even glean the intentions of others through their scent.

Our magic couldn't affect the life around us, but we could feel it, become one with it.

I closed my eyes as I felt him pull me against his body. He kissed my hair and I could smell his attraction, love, and lust for me. I turned my head up and to the side and kissed him softly for a moment before breaking the kiss, shaking my head.

"Dinner will be ready soon, we should wait until we have more... time."

In truth I was as horny as he was. I wanted to be taken, badly. But I knew if I could make him wait it would be even better after the buildup. He was always much more... rough and demanding, if I made him wait for it and let him build into a fevered pitch. Being able to make him lose control and take me savagely was one of my favorite things in this life.

Delayed gratification was hard, but always worth it.

I leaned away, my ass pushing into him and rubbing teasingly as I went to my hands and knees. I crawled in a swaying manner over to the pack. I could sense him stare at my exposed pleasure and tight ass. I wiped the smile off my face before I looked back over my shoulder in faux innocence, knowing I was driving him crazy. 

"Wine?"

He cleared his throat, "Sounds good."

I pulled out the Pinot Noir and a couple of glasses and made my way back over with my breasts swaying as I walked the few steps on my knees. He wasn't watching my eyes this time and I felt my nipples tighten under his gaze causing sparks of pleasure to shoot down to my core. His heart wasn't the only one beating a little faster.

My inner wolf was pressuring me to take him already, but I ignored her. She was wise about some things, just not a teasing seduction. If flaunting my naked body in front of him could be considered a seduction. I had to admit it was more like waving a red flag at a bull.

He took the wine and one of the glasses and poured for us both. We chatted for a while about things, both of us intensely aware of the other, as we drank that first glass. My nose told me the rabbit was cooked enough.

"Food is done I think."

It was my turn to stare at his ass as he got up and took down the rabbit. He sliced some of the meat off for both of us and brought it all back on one large plate. To most this probably wouldn't be a romantic meal. But I was not most women. I was in my favorite place, the forest, with my mate who I loved beyond reason. We also had good food I had hunted and a wine that went with it. 

It was absolutely perfect.

We fed each other as we slowly ate through the rabbit between fresh glasses of wine, kisses, caresses, and conversation.

We finished the last of the rabbit and I opened my mouth to express approval of the meal, but found myself pulled into a long passionate kiss. I rubbed my palms against his chest with my fingertips curled, my nails scratching down his skin. I was so wet, and my nose was drowning in the scent of his virility. I wanted to melt against him, but instead pushed on his chest slightly, as if I was trying to break the kiss.

He growled, sending shivers of lust through my body. His arms were wrapped around me like steel as he pulled me possessively against his body and renewed our kiss with animal passion. This is what I had wanted, what I had worked for. He grabbed my hair roughly to hold me in place and checked me with his other hand before twisting my body and pushing me to my hands and knees.

He slapped my ass and impaled my ready pleasure from behind.

His voice was half grunt and half growl, "Mine!"

My tingling core tightened around his rough invader and I gasped in pleasure. He pulled back sharply on my hair and started to pound into my pleasure hard and fast. I arched my back and started bucking back into him just as violently.

He growled, "Tell me!"

His words struck me like lightning. He was never more sexy or powerful then when he forced me to submit. Breathlessly I agreed with my mate, "Yours. Fuck me, fuck your bitch."

Rather than calm him down, my submission seemed to spur him on and he started slamming into me harder. He was so deep inside my pleasure. I felt so full as he stretched out my velvet sheath, hitting all the right spots with the intense wet friction of his hard cock ramming into my hot sex.

I whimpered as my pliant soft body tightened around his length and my core exploded in pleasure. I could feel it as he kept slamming into me, but the rapturous bliss was overwhelming, making my body tremble.

I took deep gulping breaths when I came down only to roll into a second immediate rise to ecstasy. I heard his loud grunt and his girth expand, stretching me out further. I squeezed his manhood with my hot wet molten core and ground back into him as he unloaded his essence deep inside me. I could feel it mixing with my own juices and our combined scent filled me with a contented satisfaction as he pulled out and gathered me gently in his arms.

He said in both awe and exasperation, "Damn woman, you drive me nuts sometimes."

I smiled softly and said innocently, "Really? I had no idea."

I don't think he bought it...

Kristi's Bank Job

It has been two years since the prophecy was known, the time that changed my life completely for good or ill. Two years since I had gained my magic, and found the man I was determined to spend the rest of my life with. I've come pretty far with my magic, but I still had no idea how to trigger, or even stop, a pre or post cognition.

The first time I had a post cognition had been when Vinnie and that trampy witch were about to get killed by a demon. Since then I have only had two. The second had been of an explosion on a subway train. I tried to make a difference. I considered my magic would not have shown it to me if I was meant to ignore it. Yet, in the end, I couldn't prevent it.

The third vision which I had two weeks ago, had prompted me to get this job. I was in my second year of going for my masters and I was on track to complete it this year. Vinnie, Alicia and I had a house off campus and we were still going as strong as ever. I would know, after all we often shared our thoughts and feelings during our more intimate moments. Inevitably other thoughts leak through to me, but they don't mind.

My best friend Hope was also doing well in her second year of med school, but I didn't see her as often as I would like. It was hard being across a third of the country. Even with Hope's teleportation we had to be careful around humans who would notice her gone, or wonder why she was back in town. 

What I had seen in my third vision was horrible. An explosion kills a great number of people. It would happen during a robbery; a man would come in with a bomb strapped to his chest. He would hold a dead man's switch in his left hand and a nine millimeter berretta in his right.

The security guard was looking from the side and would only see the gun in the robber's right hand. He would tackle the bank robber and wrestle him to the ground. The bank robber would have the dead man's switch inadvertently knocked out of his hand. I shuddered at the remembered visual of the explosion.

I was determined not to fail my magic again, no matter how ridiculous that thought seemed to me at times. At least I had a definitive location this time, and a time of day, 3:42 PM. The problem of course, is I didn't have a date. All I knew was people were wearing jackets. Some of them were light and some heavy, which for late November in Chicago was about now.

It felt like the time was close. I doubted I would have to wait a whole year for it to happen. I had a rough sense of when it would happen, but it wasn't that specific. Just... soon. I didn't think it would be today, it was only two, but my manager was wearing a blue shirt today. I was positive he had a white shirt and red tie in my vision.

When I'd had the vision a couple of weeks ago I had started finding reasons to loiter around the bank around three thirty. It was the third day of this I noticed they were hiring. Vinnie took care of a lot of stuff, most of it really, but it was important for me to have my own money. At least, to me it was. So when I saw the hiring sign I filled out an application.

I knew being a young attractive blonde with large breasts opened doors for me, but I almost had whiplash as the manager interviewed me on the spot and wanted me to start the following day. I didn't get any creepy vibes from him, and it had been clear enough he was impressed with my attitude and intelligence. That I was eye candy would just be a plus for him. 

It wasn't so bad dealing with customers and I had been considering just keeping the job to have more money for incidentals and a clothes budget. There were much worse jobs out there, and I needed the money anyway.

I was twenty four now, and as far as I could tell I looked the same as I had two years ago. We still weren't sure what having my magic unlocked meant for my aging. I was the only human we were aware of that had their magic fully unlocked so there was no precedent. Only time would tell. I knew Vinnie loved me, but I still worried about the aging without him thing. I probably would worry until I knew one way or the other for sure.

Bill interrupted my musings, "Kristi, please take the drive through, send Mary on her break."

I smiled and nodded. It felt a little funny as I walked away from the counter toward the back room by the drive thru station. It was something new I was trying, and I felt a little dirty, and a lot naughty, as the ass plug moved and stretched my tight hole as I walked.

That first time I had let Vinnie have my ass was terrifying, I had no real idea what it would be like and had heard a lot more horror stories of how bad and painful it was, than how good it was, from my girlfriends in college.

It had been an impulsive moment. I had just read in his mind how much he liked my ass. It was almost disturbing how much he liked my ass, yet it also had made me feel sexy as hell, desirable, and a little naughty. So on impulse I had given him my anal virginity, something I'd never even considered doing before. The beginning wasn't all that great, it hurt when I had locked up back there, it was only after much patience and trying to relax, that it had changed to something else.

A pleasant fullness, and a thrill at the taboo of it had come over me. Then he had started moving in and out of me causing a pleasant tingling burn. It was amazing when I felt him with my fingertips inside my wet heat, through the flesh. I had cum so hard I saw stars. I had told him I liked it and he was lucky. The truth was, I had liked it a lot, not only the feeling of it, but him violating a place that was all his. 

I tease him for his ass fetish all the time, but the truth is I love it just as much, from being spanked, to him taking my puckered star. I had let him take me that way a number of times the last two years, and I continued to love it. But one thing I hated was the slow build up. It took what seemed forever to get stretched and loosened enough so he could take me hard and fast.

I had heard about butt plugs, and had always had negative thoughts about them, until I realized they would be perfect for what I needed. I was finding out today that I kind of liked it in my ass, stuck up there stretching me out as I smiled and served the bank customers. It made me feel naughty and dirty. They had no idea when they looked at me what an ass slut I was for Vinnie. 

But that was all beside the point.

I was doing this so I could surprise Vinnie this afternoon after work, he wouldn't have to be all gentle and patient stretching me out and working it in. This time, it wouldn't take long at all before I was ready to take it hard and fast. Actually, I was considering another change as well, and hoped he would like it. I loved Vinnie so much I would do anything for him, but I wondered how much of this was giving him what he wanted, and how much was instead taking what I wanted. What I had learned to love doing.

In the end, it didn't much matter.

Traffic seemed to be slowing and I was finding myself daydreaming about it more and more between customers. I fantasized about him coming in the bank, bending me over the counter and fucking my ass in front of the customers. I have to admit I was more than a little wet when Mary came back and sent me up front. I was a total mess and couldn't wait to get home, but I wasn't off until four.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 07



I took a couple of customers and then froze as I got a look at Bill in his office. He no longer had a blue shirt, it was white, with a red tie. I was annoyed for a second, wondering why he would change shirts. Maybe he spilled something on the blue one? I guess it really didn't matter.

My eyes snapped to the clock and it was 3:42. I must have made a worried face because the customer was giving me a strange look. I hurried and finished the transaction.

I said, "Have a nice day," when the bank robber walked in the door.

I was painfully aware I couldn't use magic overtly. But I reached out with my magic to the dead man's switch in his left hand. If he released the trigger, it would send a detonation signal down the cord and into the explosives. It wasn't one of those fancy wireless ones you see on TV cop shows. I reached inside the cord connecting the detonator switch to the bomb and used telekinesis to disconnect the ground circuit.

The little green light on top turned red and the bank robber noticed right away. Before he could do anything however, the bank guard tackled him right on queue and took him down to the ground. I kept my magic out and concentrated as people screamed and ducked for cover. Bang. I shielded the young mother's forehead, deflecting the bullet into the wall behind her. Bang. Bang. One bullet hit the wall, the second bullet I slightly deflected from Cindy, the new account manager's leg.

I let out the breath I'd been holding. That would be it, the guard knocked out the robber with a hard elbow to his temple and the dead man's switch clattered to the floor. The explosives safely disarmed did not go off. I looked around with tears in my eyes. Bill the manager, Cindy for new accounts, Mary who was another teller. All people I had gotten to know over the last week that would have died without my vision; but they were still alive.

Not to mention fourteen adult customers and two children. I was incredibly relieved, and as the adrenaline wore down, I was extremely horny. After giving a statement to the police it was close to five when I got home.

I crept upstairs and Vinnie was meditating. He was buried in that deep meditation that made him oblivious to the world around him. I grinned as I stripped off my clothes and then pushed him onto his back, making sure he didn't hit his head. He didn't wake from his meditation, so I unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off.

I knelt between his legs and teased my labia with a fingertip as I leaned down and sucked him into my mouth. 

I looked up toward his head while he hardened on my tongue. He moaned and slowly came out of his meditation. He looked down and smiled when our eyes locked, then gasped as I teased the underside of his cock with my tongue.

Vinnie said, "Hi baby, it's good to see you home."

I bet it was. I winked and started to suck harder and bobbed my head up and down until he was as hard as steel.

I smiled mysteriously and said, "Got a surprise for you... I think you'll like it."

Without looking I pulled the lube off the end table with my magic, it flew straight into my hand. I squeezed some out and started working it up and down on his manhood, covering every inch of him.

He gulped and asked, "What's that?"

I stood and straddled his middle facing toward his feet. I heard him gasp and guessed he had seen the plug. I reached around and worked it out, then slathered some more lube on my gaping brown hole.

He tried to get up and grab me, but I pushed him down with my magic and turned my head around, making him watch me play with myself.

I said sultrily, "I love when you take me in the ass, but I wanted to try something new, something we have never done. I think you'll like it."

I slowly squatted, reverse cowgirl. I grabbed his hard pulsing length and lined it up, then lowered myself against it. His tip was at least twice as big around as the thin section of the plug, so I was very careful as I used gravity to push my body down on his pole. I gasped at the burn as he popped into my ass. I closed my eyes and forced my body to relax, eventually it listened. It still took a minute, but nowhere near as long as without the butt plug.

I felt his hands brush my waist, thighs and ass.

He said, "God you're amazing Kristi."

I kept up a stream of dirty talk as I lowered down, slowly impaling my ass until he was buried, "Really? You want to watch me impale my ass on that big fat cock of yours? Does that turn you on? That I couldn't wait to get home and get you in my tight little ass? Do you like that I thought of it and dreamed of it constantly with that plug in my ass all day? Wishing it was you in there instead..."

When I got to the end of that, I was wondering who I was turning on more. My fingers slipped effortlessly between my swollen soaked pussy lips.

He grunted and pushed up while I pushed down. 

He said, "God yes, all of it, damn you're so tight."

It hurt, but it was a burning low level pain that actually felt good. I was playing with my labia and teasing my clit with light brushes. On impulse I picked up the plug and stuck it inside my wet heat. It wasn't very long, but it opened me up and the feeling of fullness from both stretched holes was almost overwhelming.

I started to lift and drop. I moaned at the fullness and the feeling of burning friction on my tight ring. I started going faster and faster. There was something so amazing in this to me. I loved it when he took my ass, but actually being in control of it gave it a new level of dirtiness and feeling naughty that went straight to my clenching needy core. The burn of taking him in mixed with the pleasure of my core masturbation and I rose quickly.

I gasped and said breathily, "Going to... god!"

My body locked up and my legs gave out at the explosion of pleasure, burying him deep within my rectum. I felt his hands steady me as my center tightened. I smiled as I felt him reaching bliss buried deep inside my shaking body. When we came down, I slowly pushed up with my legs, my ass feeling strangely empty and hollow without my love in me. He pulled me down next to him and I cuddled into his side.

Vinnie kissed my forehead, "You can do that anytime baby."

I kissed him softly then said, "Glad you liked it... it was better than I thought it would be. And trust me, I had very high expectations."

We kissed and caressed each other for a few moments.

Vinnie asked, "So how was work?"

I smiled, "Good, it was a good day."

After all, I had saved a bunch of people using my magic. I had also fully embraced a part of myself I had always questioned before now. I was a total ass slut, which worked out perfectly considering how much I loved the man next to me. I snorted at the thought, but kept silent when Vinnie gave me a questioning glance.

I reached down and started to play with his manhood. I was still horny and I needed him to satisfy my velvety core as well...

Hope's Training

I spit dirt and blew my breath out hard, trying to clear my mouth. If I hadn't been in my trained mindset for focus and suppressing my emotions I was sure I would be pissed off. I had been finding myself eating dirt a lot lately.

Over the last three years I had learned a lot thanks to my deep internal meditation. My sword, armor, my deep battle focus, and even warding was all automatic by now just like my shields had been back then. I was also able to keep my focus almost constantly while going through my day, only letting it down in the private moments while protected by my wards. I was living in the apartment I am renting outside of Harvard.

As far as battle magic went I was pretty set, I just needed a lot of practice. Meditation wise I was working with the other magics now, and wasn't so intensely driven about it now that I could protect myself. In theory anyway. I was also starting to focus on the magic to change my shape and age. I wasn't quite there on that yet, but had time before I would start looking out of place.

I was twenty five, and had only stopped aging a few months ago.

Bree is still with me of course, as is Rafe. I'm in my last year of med school, and should be starting my internship soon. I applied to a couple of hospitals here in Chicago. I like Harvard, but I miss my home town. I won't know for a few more months though if I'll be accepted or not.

I don't get home often, but when I do my mother drills me mercilessly in fighting. I had thought it a great idea to get my sword and armor spells working and automatic. It was a proud moment when with a thought I could cast a glyph and have my magic actually become manifest into a solid sword, almost as if it was matter and not energy of some kind.

Of course, that was when mom volunteered to teach me to fight that way. In the beginning it wasn't too bad, she taught me the forms, and how to sword fight. Once I was competent at normal swordplay things changed.

It was this next level that was causing me to eat dirt all the time. The secret to the enhanced speed, and the almost unperceivable fast sword movements my mother made was not because of her body speed, or the strength of her arm, it was all about the magic.

That took a lot of focus, concentration, and above all forethought and planning to account for the slower body and reflexes. The sword, armor and shield were all automatic to cast and maintain, but to go fast I had to manipulate the magic, guide it. Just like the normal golden light of my magic, I could send my armor incredibly fast across a field, with me in it.

It's complicated, without forethought I won't have my feet in the right position when I stop. When I use the magic to swing my sword faster, I have to anticipate it, and concentrate to both loosen my muscles and make sure my body works with, and doesn't fight, the movement of my magic.

She assures me that although it will always take great concentration to move and manipulate my magical armor and sword to enhanced speeds, but that it will also get easier to adjust the body, and that muscle memory will kick in after a while. So far that hasn't happened, at all. 

Luckily the sword and armor are just a concept; we can actually specify any size and type of sword in our minds when casting the glyph. Right now, during practice, the blades are extremely dull and won't cut through our armor. But it still hurts when I'm hit by a blunt object and sent sprawling into the dirt. I'd probably also be embarrassed, but I can barely feel my emotions and I have that total focus going.

Without that, what I was trying to learn would most likely be impossible. I would probably also be wishing I was back in Harvard at a party. Instead I was grimly determined to knock my mother on her ass one of these days. Not out of any sense of revenge, just because it would mean I'm getting better. That doesn't mean of course I wouldn't feel a swell of satisfaction when I turn off my battle focus.

I wasn't using limbo either, if it was a real fight I'd use everything I had, but right now I was determined to become the toe to toe equal of my mother and demons alike. 

"You ready?" my mom asked in a no nonsense tone, she was in battle mode herself.

Instead of answering I moved toward her as fast as I could, my feet barely touching the ground as I flew across our backyard and swung my blunt sword at her leg. She parried and we began a series of lightning fast sword strokes. It was so fast, and despite the focus and magically increased speed, it was almost beyond my perception so a lot of it was guess work as to where to move to parry, block, or dodge.

I lasted a few seconds, which is pretty good considering how fast we were going, when she disarmed me and sent me flying with a hard kick to the stomach. Her foot of course was encased in solid white armor.

My sword turned to light then dissipated as soon as it left my hand. Another thing I didn't know about the manifested weapons until it happened, I had to be touching them to channel enough magic to keep it going. It was the reason really for the sword and armor in the first place, I couldn't make anything that strong and throw it at an opponent.

It was also the reason the demons did the same thing, just making the blades part of their arms instead of a separate weapon.

The limitation seems obvious in retrospect, but I hadn't known it then.

I casted the glyph with a thought and got up off the ground with my new blunt sword, it was time to try again. We spent about two hours training, considering the speeds it was probably equal to human sword training for a day or two straight. My arm was sore as hell and I was exhausted when I dropped battle focus.

My mom smiled and ran some healing energy through me, "You're getting better daughter."

I snorted, "Yeah, I only ate three mouthfuls of dirt today."

She snickered, "Maybe, but I've been ramping up you know. I actually had to work hard to win a few times today instead of concentrating on going slower."

I shook my head at the back handed compliment, "Thanks, I think..."

She laughed lightly, "Seriously, you're probably good against all but the truly well trained demons and angels right now. You have a lot of work left though, so don't get overconfident."

I giggled, "With you pounding me into dirt? Not likely. I'm way too competitive to quit until I introduce you to the ground a few times."

She shook her head, "Yeah, I can see that. I couldn't be more proud of you, I love you Hope."

I felt a lump in my throat but said, "Nice try, you'll still be eating dirt soon old lady."

We both laughed and headed into the house. I took a quick shower and got ready. We were doing a mother and daughter night out before I went back to Harvard for morning class. Ours were rather unique since we looked so much like sisters now, appearing the same age. Tonight was going to be a blast...

Elisha's first lesson

Ugh, my babysitter Kathy was such a... I sighed, trying to not even think the bad word. My mother was on another date, I wished she would just let me stay at home alone, I wasn't a baby anymore. I was almost ten... well, I would be in six months. Still, I wanted to watch something on TV, and Kathy took it over and told me to bug off. She didn't feel like a bad person really, just completely selfish.

Things had gotten strange for me when the sweet blonde lady had taken me and my mom from the hospital. I was pretty sure the same was true for my mom, but she never used the pretty green stuff. She was afraid of it really, but I wasn't sure why. I could do all sorts of neat stuff with it. I never showed off though, something told me the other kids would get angry.

I didn't understand why, but I picked up from the adults around me that being different would cause problems. I also noticed adults lied constantly, and I wondered why I always got in so much trouble when I did it.

I sensed someone here, and reached out. It was just great grams. I couldn't see her, but I could feel her, and talk to her in a way.

"Hi Grams."

I could feel her smile. I didn't hear her voice out loud, but in my head it was quite clear.

"Hi little one, having a good day?"

I opened my mouth to complain, but thought better of it. I'd probably get a lecture if I started to complain. I'd rather get a spanking than get a blistering lecture on how good I had it. In her time she had it much worse, or so she claimed. I had my doubts because she talked about walking uphill both to and from school and that just didn't make sense.

"It's okay, I just can't wait until I'm old enough to not need a babysitter. Why can't you do it?"

She chuckled, "I'm afraid not, that wouldn't work so well."

I frowned and said a little too loudly, "Why not?"

She sighed, "Because I'm a ghost, and human laws don't count ghosts. You can't be alone for three more years."

Kathy yelled from the next room, "Who are you talking to? Are you on the phone?"

I yelled back, "No one and no!"

I felt a little guilty for lying, but telling her the truth would be worse. I closed my eyes and let my magic out, asking it to spread out through the building. I wasn't reading minds, I tried not to do that so much since it made mom mad. But I could feel their auras, their moods and all that. Playing with the pretty green stuff was better than whining to myself about Kathy and the TV.

I felt a weird aura walk by the building and I took a closer look. It was a man and in his aura I could see stuff like my green stuff, but it was grayish and felt icky. I could also tell he was a very bad man. I didn't want to feel it anymore so I pulled back, but before I broke contact I sensed him stop and look up at the building.

I kept my stuff away from him, but I kept it by the door to the apartment building. I ran over to the corner of my room and sat down against the wall. I was kind of afraid and hoped he would go away. But I felt him again as he entered the building.

Grams asked, "What's wrong, you're shaking."

I told her what happened. She disappeared for a moment and came right back.

Grams said in a scared voice, "I'll get some help."

Why did she sound scared when she said that? "What is it?"

Grams sighed, "A necromancer, and not a nice one."

I asked, frozen now, "What's a necromancer?"

She said, "I'll be back, do whatever you have to do to keep safe, even if you have to hurt him, he won't hesitate to kill you or your mother."

"I'm just nine, why would someone want to kill me?"

She answered, "For your magic, it's very unique and if he kills you he can use both you and it. Enough questions, I'm going for help."

I gasped, "My green stuff is magic?"

She didn't answer, she was gone and I was alone. I started crying and pulled my magic back again, but I knew it wouldn't be long until he found me. I could feel the cruelty and greed in his aura as I felt him get closer, riding the elevator up. I felt presences surround me, like great grandma, but a lot of them, I screamed!

I could tell he was on our floor now, and that broke me out of my frozen state. I wasn't sure to where, but I knew I needed to run. I ran over to my window and pulled it up. There was no fire escape, so my widow locked after an inch or so. I told my green stuff, my magic, what to do and with a loud crack the window opened all the way.

I climbed up on the windowsill and looked down into the alley below. I froze again as I felt a little dizzy. I had played a game with my magic where I pushed myself up away from the floor, and then around my room by pushing against the walls and my furniture. It was a lot of fun to float around.

But there was a big difference between a few inches and twelve stories. I heard the door splinter, and knew the man was here, that broke me out of it and I jumped. I had never been more scared in my life, not even in the hospital when I was dying. I didn't jump evenly, so when I slowed myself pushing off the ground, and the walls of the alley, I started to move toward the open street.

There was nowhere to push against in that direction, and I knew landing in the road would be very bad, so I stopped pushing so hard and fell to the ground fast, pushing down hard at the last moment. I sort of bounced in the air, and then landed hard on my feet. My feet stung a little, but I was safe, sort of. I felt the ghosts surround me again, leading the bad magic man to me.

I wasn't supposed to watch mommy on her dates, but this was an emergency. I found her and it was pretty far away, so I started running out of the alley. I stopped short of the street when a pretty golden light appeared followed by the blonde lady from the hospital. I started shaking not sure what I should do, run to mom, or chance the nice blonde lady would help me.

Her magical aura seemed good, but it was so... strong that it scared me.

She said softly, "Elisha calm down, I'll take care of this, stay here with your grams."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 07



She disappeared again with another flash of light. I could feel her up in my apartment with the man. I don't really know what happened, all I know is his aura went away, and shortly after that all the ghosts except grams were gone. She came back and took me up to the apartment. Kathy was sleeping on the couch, and I felt a little guilty for leaving her behind.

She stayed with me though, and played magic games with me until my mom got home later that night...

A week later...

I've had lots of fun this week. I met some new friends who have been teaching me about magic and all the other stuff I'm not allowed to talk about with the kids at school. Even my mother is learning to use hers too. 

At first though, there had been an argument. I didn't really understand it all, but the blonde lady, Hope, said that us having the pretty green magic was her fault. She said that she had never teleported with humans before, and that action while being surrounded and protected by her magic had broken an... enchantment, or something like that.

She also seemed to be angry at great Grams for not telling her about the magic despite not having orders for it. Then she said something about ghost lawyers, mixed with looks of both frustration and amusement. I didn't get that one at all. I heard my mom calling me from my room in my mind, which made me wonder if her using magic would be a good thing after all...

Bree's Day Off

It felt so strange as I walked out the door of our apartment... alone. Hope was in one of her fourth year med classes and I could feel she was just fine through our bond. Trina and Daniel were watching her since both Tammy and Tony had moved on when their ten year contract was up two years ago. Still, I felt very uncomfortable about not being there.

I had been by her side constantly for the last twelve years, the last four of them as a ghost only when I couldn't follow with my physical form. I had never been more than a room away from her for longer than a minute or two. 

I had made such a mess of my life, and made a lot of stupid mistakes. Then I had tracked down Hope, and she had helped me free the other women that shared my dark circumstances, yet still had life. At first, I had been beyond grateful, and awed at the power and kindness in her spirit that far outshone the not inconsiderable physical beauty she possessed. It hadn't taken me long to fall in love with her after that.

It had taken time for her to notice that in me, but the last four years have been more than I could have asked for. She treated me as an equal, never as a servant or something beneath her. Still, she was my life, so I never left her side. Until today that is.

I smiled wryly, Hope had pushed me into this. She wanted me to have my own wants and needs separate from her, that I was always welcome with her, but she wanted more for me. She wanted me to have a life. I didn't think I particularly deserved it. After all, I had already lived my life. Did I deserve her love and the endless youth and beauty she had given? I didn't think I did, maybe that's why I never left her side, perhaps I was trying to earn it through service.

She was concerned however that if our relationship was to last, we needed to root it in equality. I finally said yes last night, that I'd take a day off from following her around and try to find joy or purpose in the world around me outside of her. It wouldn't be easy.

I stepped outside, the sun was bright, but it was still cool this late in March. I took the car and drove down to the closest mall. I thought I might stop in Victoria Secrets and pick up some lingerie, things Hope would like me in. It wasn't lost on me that this wasn't what she had in mind, since I was still focused on pleasing her, but I figured as long as I was away that maybe I could surprise her with a new sexy ensemble or two. But I had promised I would do something just for me.

The thought that Rafe would almost certainly be enjoying the outfits as well soothed my conscience and I walked into the store. Rafe was good for both Hope and I. He treated us well, and loved us. He gave no demands, had no jealousy, and merely wanted our love in return. Nothing else seemed to matter or make a difference to him. 

Sometimes I felt like he had discovered the secret of life. I had a feeling it was part of being so old, he had literally done everything so many times, that he had discovered what was most important. Live your life to the fullest with those you love... and don't sweat the small stuff. I was sure he wouldn't mind adding to our bed, or not, but so far it had just been the three of us.

That was fine with me.

After the incident with Elisha, Hope had tried shielding all of us human ghosts, trying to get us connected to our magic. I was intrigued and hopeful at the idea, but it didn't work. We weren't sure why, but apparently to gain back our magical birthright, it had to be done when alive. Maybe because ghosts were outside life, and the change of the soul to embrace our magic would need to be done when our souls were still being molded into who we would be.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, having magic would be wonderful. But really, I was happy and already had more than I ever dreamed or thought I deserved.

We didn't see Vinnie, Alicia, and Kristi much more than once a month being on the East coast. But we were still close, and looked forward to all being in the same area again soon. Both Vinnie and Kristi were getting their doctorates this year, if their thesis passed muster. I wasn't really a math and science person, but they were both excited about it. Alicia seemed to come into some position of authority in the pack, I didn't fully understand their hierarchy but I knew it was important, especially to her.

A lacey white bra and panty set caught my eye. It also came with a sheer negligee. I grabbed it along with a red one and tried them both on. I looked... really hot actually. I grinned, when Hope had made me this body she went overboard. I looked a lot like I did when alive, but the small changes she made and the slight flaws she added to make me look real and just different enough not to be recognized, worked together perfectly.

I bought the lingerie, thought guiltily of my promise to find something just for me, and headed out into the mall. I wandered around the stores, but nothing really spoke to me. Why did I need a hobby for myself? Why did I need something I could call only mine? It was frustrating. I understood it really, but I didn't feel it. Nothing attracted me. I walked by a yarn store and when I found myself looking in and considering it, I snorted and headed for the parking lot.

This would have to be enough progress for one day, being away from Hope was hard enough.

I had my keys out as I walked to the car. There was a minivan parked next to me, but I barely gave it a glance. When I went to unlock the door, the minivan door slid open and two guys grabbed my arms and started to drag me inside. I looked around quick to see if anyone was looking before I took these guys apart.

I may have looked like a beautiful and helpless young woman, but I wasn't. I was a revenant, strong enough to pick up their minivan and toss it like a ball. Fast enough to snap their necks before they could blink. I may have been beautiful, but I was extremely dangerous, and men like these had taken my life, I had no qualms about stopping them.

No one was watching, and I started to react when another thought popped into my head, staying my hand. How many other women had they done this too, and were any of them still alive? I started to ineffectually squirm and pretend I was trying to escape. I felt something hard hit my head, and I lolled my head as if I'd been knocked out. 

"Finally, I thought that bitch would never be alone."

The other guy grunted, "Yeah, just wish we could have bagged the blonde at the same time."

"To dangerous, one of them might have gotten away, we'll get her though."

It would be a cold day in hell these two would ever get Hope, but I remained motionless. They had me tied up in the back and I couldn't really see. They went on, discussing plans on snagging Hope. Apparently they had been stalking us both for weeks.

The drive was a good thirty minutes, we had long left the suburbs and were now in a rural area when my kidnappers, or so they thought, pulled off the road on a bumpy dirt driveway. It must have been a mile long or so, it took a few minutes before the minivan stopped.

I heard them get out and come in the back. The hatchback door opened and one of them slapped my cheek lightly.

"Get up."

I got up slowly, as if I was having trouble with my hands tied behind my back and took a look around. There was a small house about three quarters of a mile away, we were parked in front of a red barn. The red was washed out with age and some of the wood looked rotten and split. They led me into the barn and kicked some hay out of the way, revealing a ring to a trap door. They pulled it up and pushed me toward the stairs.

I walked down the stairs into a large underground room. There was a nasty bed in the corner with a video camera facing it from about fifteen feet away. On the other side of the room there was a tub and a line of cages. There were two women in the cages, about twenty three, and they were looking at me in a mixture of despair and sadness at seeing another.

I considered ending it right there, but one of them had a gun. I wasn't worried about being shot, it wouldn't stop me, or even slow me down. But I was worried one of the other two might get hurt, so I let them put me in the cage.

One of them said, "I'll be back later with food. You two explain the rules to the new girl, if she breaks them, I'll break something on you, understand."

The two girls nodded meekly and I understood quickly how easily that would break a new person. Who would want to watch another person get tortured because of their actions? I mean besides those two assholes.

We waited in silence until we heard the car start overhead and move off.

One of the women said, "I'm Stacey, this is Mia."

Mia rasped out, "The rules are simple, don't try to escape, and do everything they tell you to do."

Well, I'd had enough of this, I knew enough to save these girls. I gave a thought about how to explain what was about to happen, but shrugged. Fuck it.

I kicked the door, and meant it. The metal protested as the cage door popped open.

"Hi Stacey, Mia. Give me a few minutes and I'll be back."

I ignored their protests to not leave them there while I bent the metal back. First, they were safe where they were. Second, I also didn't want them to see any more impossible things if I could help it. I considered just killing the men, but that wouldn't work anymore, not without a major cover up. The women had seen my face, and the mall cameras just might have caught something to connect me to those bozos.

I pushed open the trapdoor and looked around outside. The car was by the house, so I ran over there fast. It was unlocked so I grabbed the rope they had in the back seat and went in the house. It didn't take me long to track them down.

I took down one from behind, hitting him in the back of the head, he fell like a sack of potatoes.

The second one managed to say, "What the fuck!" when he too joined his buddy. It was satisfying in a way, they wouldn't hurt anyone else. On the other hand it was entirely too easy, I really wanted to beat them to a pulp and took a deep breath. I tied them up, found my bag and made sure my keys and wallet were in there along with everything else. I even found my VS purchases.

I went through the house until I found a phone, and dialed 911. Then I got out of there, I knew there were probably holes in what would be my story, so I disappeared. I waited from a vantage point until the police got there and I was sure they'd found the caged women. Then I ran back toward the mall partway, before hitching a ride with a teenager who couldn't keep his eyes off my tits for the rest of the way.

I got into the car and was thoughtful on the way home. I hadn't found a hobby exactly, but I knew what I was passionate about. Maybe that's what I could do, find a program or charity to help abused women. That would be a worthy reason to have my own separate time and something I would enjoy doing. 

I hid my new lingerie away and got on the computer to do exactly that. After chasing down a few leads I looked at the time. Hope would be home soon, I had just enough time to shower and put on one of my new purchases to greet her at the door in style...

Rafe's Honor

I was old. Ancient beyond even my love's mother's reckoning. I remember not only the realm war of their legends, but the ones that came before it. When I had first seen Hope I thought her wild, undisciplined, erratic, and frivolous. But it had been me that had my eyes opened when I infiltrated as Robbie to spy on her.

I had gotten too old, I defended life and my realm, made sure it stayed prepared, but I had forgotten to live life. What I discovered was Hope was erratic and wild at times, but she was far from undisciplined. She was... enjoying life. I also learned as I studied her as a possible threat that she was loyal, giving... in short one of the most amazing creatures I had ever met. She lived life with a joy that was foreign to me but also affected me deeply.

By the time I needed to move on, I found myself reluctant. It took me a while, but I figured out while spying, sleeping with, and judging her... that I had fallen in love with her, and was enjoying life for the first time in ages. So I took a chance, and revealed the truth of who I was, what I was, and why I was here. I expected far worse than what I got, and was amazed when it became apparent she loved me too.

She had once compared me as the eye to her storm, a place of stillness. If that was true so was the opposite. She swirled around me and made the world new again, but in a way I had never seen it before. 

I enjoyed Bree as well, but with her it was different. She felt for me as well, but the center and rock in her world was Hope. We loved each other through Hope in a way; she was the one that brought everything together. It seemed almost absurd to me, she wasn't even thirty years old, yet I, one of the oldest in existence, would follow her anywhere.

I had convinced my sovereign back in our realm that she and her brother needed to be watched. They did, with that prophecy hanging over her and Vinnie it wasn't hard to push it through. I could almost feel the possibility of another realm war looming in the near future. Still, I was more concerned with keeping her safe than anything else, and I hoped when the danger came I could reconcile my duty with my love. 

It would break me to pick one or the other. So my goal was obvious, make sure my realm and Hope stayed on the same side of things. Perhaps easier said than done, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

I used my magic to teleport home into the living room knowing Hope would be home any minute. Hiding my aura wasn't easy, it was like an invisibility spell but instead of bending the light, I bent my magic. Other magic just slid around me, not finding purchase it couldn't read my aura. It took a long time to perfect, and is more complicated than it sounds.

I glanced around and my lips twitched. Seems Bree had the same idea, and she was certainly dressed for it. She had on a sexy white negligee which was sheer. Below that she was wearing lacey panties and bra. Let me just say, no matter how many countless years pass, looking at a beautiful sexy woman never gets old...

"Hey darling, looking good," I drawled while checking her out.

She turned her head and grinned back cheekily, "That's the idea, you and hope can unwrap me when she gets home."

I smiled. "Sounds good, why don't I get something for us all to drink?"

I went in the kitchen and grabbed some beers. I tried wine once but Hope had just rolled her eyes at me. She was a beer and hard liquor type of woman. I opened one and drank a bit. I figured I'd stay in the kitchen for a bit at first, I didn't want to steal Bree's thunder so to speak. I wasn't a jealous creature at all.

The whole point was she brightened my life, and we loved each other. If she wanted to brighten other lives, even add more lovers, why would that matter to me? It was what we had together that counted to me. I wasn't sure if she really understood that though, or if Bree did. They were still young enough for foolish insecurities and jealousies.

That was why I wouldn't do anything on my own, if there were to be others let Hope decide that. She had changed a great deal in some ways over the last four years. She was more focused, and quite a bit more powerful, but that joy and love of life hadn't changed one bit. The part of her that just wanted to have fun and enjoy life, it was one of her core traits.

I heard the front door open and was a magical voyeur from the kitchen. They seemed to be greeting each other in a rather enthusiastic manner based on their auras. I grabbed the drinks and headed for the bedroom.

I stepped in and saw them kissing, they looked amazing together.

"Hey gorgeous."

Her heart jumped at that and I suppressed a smile. I loved sneaking up on her and saying that, I was probably the only person on the planet who could do so with my aura hidden. 

She broke the kiss long enough to look at me and smile, then went back to her lover's lips. They looked so damn hot together. I thought I'd watch for a while and join when the timing seemed right. Hope was very strong willed and opinionated at times, but in the bedroom she was completely mine and submissive to the point of blind obedience. I sure as hell wasn't going to argue. I was pretty good at reading her moods too, and at giving her what she needed at the time.

Right now she needed to make love to, and reconnect with Bree. Today had been the first day in a long time that they'd spent apart. I think they both needed to reconnect for reassurance. I drank another sip of beer as I watched Bree strip Hope's clothes off. The weather was still cool, but she had broken out the spring wardrobe and had on a tight short black skirt and a skin tight sweater shirt.

I hardened as I heard them moan and make other noises of pleasure while exploring each other's bodies. Their kiss was soft and slow, but the way they nibbled each other's lips and the sight of their darting tongues was hot and passionate. I smiled a little, it was also clear to me they were performing a bit, the exhibitionism making them even more turned on.

Their breathing was definitely heavy by the time Hope was nude. Hope then caressed and teased where the sexy lingerie met Bree's silky smooth skin as they continued to kiss and neck. Hope looked like she was thoroughly enjoying unwrapping Bree as she slowly removed one piece at a time, as if savoring every moment.

I reached down and adjusted my now completely hardened flesh as they got into the bed together, kissing for a while more before Hope turned and straddled Bree in the sixty nine position. My pants were rather restrictive and uncomfortable at this point and I stripped them off to free my raging hard on. I wondered where I got the patience as I watched, and listened, as they slowly reached their blissful height together.

I walked over to the bed and crawled on, caressing their bodies as I moved toward Bree's head. I gripped Hope's ass and felt her body tremble, and then slid my hands to where her hips met her waist. She was absolutely soaked as I pushed into her heaven. 

"Oh god, that feels so damn good," Hope said breathlessly, her voice muffled by Bree's wet tasty core.

I felt Bree lick my ball sack a few times before going for Hope's clit. I started sawing in and out of her, soft at first, then picking up speed, my balls slapping Bree in the face with each stroke. I held her waist tightly so they could continue to please each other as I plundered her sexy body.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 07



I didn't last long, not after watching them together first. But neither did they having already reached rapturous bliss once. I heard Hope gasp right before her hot molten core tightened around my length, milking me, as if demanding my seed. I felt her cum wash over my pleasure and soak my balls. My legs grew numb as her undulating silken pleasure claimed my body's offering. I grunted and buried myself once more hard and fast, and kept pushing into her as hard as I could as I emptied myself into her.

I pulled out slowly when I came down. I felt Bree grab my legs. Then she lifted her head and she started licking my length like a popsicle, cleaning off the mixed juices of Hope and I while making very sexy contented sounds. I was absolutely mesmerized watching her worship my cock in contented satisfaction with her warm, soft, and wet tongue. 

When she finished she went back to Hope's pleasure and started cleaning there too. The look she gave me was clear. It was her turn, so I made my way around to the other side, more than happy to comply with her wishes...

Vinnie's Decision

I sat staring at my computer. My thesis was complete; all the math had been worked out, the equations elegantly balanced. I tried to see where this would lead if I actually submitted it. It was impossible to predict.

My sister and I had won free of the lies and manipulation of others over four years ago. Our lives were our own, and we told each other we would not let the prophecy control us. Yet, it was impossible not to think of it, especially now as I stared at my screen.

Scientists had been trying to figure out the theory of everything for a long time. The Einstein universe just didn't match up with the quantum universe both on paper and even observations as things currently stood.

The reason was obvious, humans couldn't perceive and their minds were constantly tampered with when it came to magic. It would be very hard for other theorists to arrive at these conclusions because of that. Yet, the data was empirical in my thesis, and the math worked out using test data and observations from both realms of scientific theory.

They wouldn't have any problems seeing that all the data fit though.

But dare I submit it? What if I was firstborn, this paper would have a huge impact on the world, and open up opportunities for new technologies and inventions. The world would change very quickly. I was also fairly sure, that with this knowledge, a portal between other worlds would be possible technologically, without magic.

Was I firstborn? Could I depend on my sister to counteract the damage? It was so easy to say I wouldn't worry about it, but how could I not? Not when a whole species of human was on the line, it would be irresponsible... wouldn't it?

If I wasn't firstborn, perhaps the advances this would lead to would be necessary to stop whatever disaster my sister inadvertently will cause. The circular argument went around and around. I was tired of second guessing myself, and I knew we were right. All we could really do was live our lives, and hope that our choices didn't lead to disaster.

I took a deep breath and attached it in an e-mail, sending my thesis to my professor. He had known what I was working on of course, but he hadn't known I'd succeeded. Not until he reads what I just sent him. I was committed now it seemed, and only time would tell...



Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 08



Author Note: Hey all, I enjoyed my week off and this is the start of book three, same series, same copyright warning. If you made it this far, (Pt. 8), then there is nothing to explain. Hope you like it. 

*****

Firstborn

Chapter 1 - Vinnie

Monday morning

It seemed hard to believe things were starting to die down, but there the phone sat, being silent. When I had published my paper a few months ago it had taken the world by storm. Talking heads had been debating on what kind of advances would be made, and if the world would destroy itself in the process.

The religions seemed split; some seemed to think it was our destiny through our god given intelligence. Others argued it was against god and unnatural to try and manipulate the universe he had built. In short I was both demonized and hailed as a saint, and everything in between.

Being scrutinized in the public eye when I'm an immortal sorcerer that had the blood of both angels and demons' running through my veins wasn't the best idea in the world. I've had to be extremely careful about magic use, never knowing when some paparazzi would be around with a camera.

Then there had been the discovery and my subsequent judgment in the media and tabloids when it was discovered I was shacking up with two young women. They went on about the shocking immorality of our unholy threesome. Okay, I made that last part up, but the reality was rather brutal all the same.

I felt lucky both Kristi and Alicia had endured the scrutiny gracefully. The three of us had been together for more than four years now, and as a group we had decided to continue living together. Choosing two of us to marry would seem... wrong.

We considered ourselves married and committed to each other for life, if only in our minds. Doing that for real was against the law, unless we moved to Utah, which wasn't an option for us. Chicago was home.

It was where Alicia's pack was, and the majority of my family. It seemed like a silly reason to move in any case. Kristi's aging had seemed to stop a year ago when mine did, but it would be another decade or two before we knew if she was actually immortal, or just had a greatly increased lifespan.

During all this, I also endured a number of companies trying to recruit me to develop technologies related to my discovery. Though at least, it hadn't been hard to weed through them with my ability to feel the intent behind the people asking. It had just taken a long time and more interviews than I would like to remember.

Some had wanted to use me while making it rich and keeping most of the profits. A couple even had grand plans to take over the world; I really wish I was kidding about that. There are some disturbing people on this planet. Some though, looked forward to improving humanities future and would be cautious about the more dangerous discoveries. While they made a profit of course, but that was really the best I could hope for.

We had purchased a house a few miles from my parents' home after Kristi and I got our PhD credentials. It wasn't nearly as large as my parent's house, but it was more than enough for the three of us, and even for a number of family members to visit.

I was set to start my first day at work in the morning. Kristi had actually started a new job last week, she worked for a green technology company in the research part, trying to make environmentally friendly technology cost efficient. Even now it was just simply cheaper to burn oil, as long as that remained true, going green, would be a luxury only the rich could afford. Never sleeping certainly gave us advantages, right now it was about one in the morning, and she was busy at work on her laptop.

She kind of disappeared into her own world when she did that.

Alicia was out on pack business, perhaps a hunt, and I was... bored.

I had been going over some ideas for months; really I just needed access to test equipment and fabricators to get started on it. I had theories about gravity control, ways to harness the suns waste energy both light and heat, and various other ideas. It would be a delicate time for the world as we tried to move forward and avoid the pitfalls.

Originally I had thought to work on my own; my family certainly had enough money to get the ball rolling. But doing certain research required government approvals and permits, and they weren't going to give them to a non-entity that just got his PhD. Plus, I wasn't sure my supernatural life would survive the intense scrutiny of the government.

There was also the part where I wanted to be out there living life, not just be in my own solitary space trying to invent things and make money. My mother had stressed the idea while we grew up that we needed to live a full normal life the first time through, Hope and I would not want to get into the habit of ignoring the world around us. That would be a horribly boring way to spend forever.

The money would come anyway; the company that signed me was giving me twenty five percent on any IP for inventions I was involved with, which was an unheard of percentage, at least when working for a company, some colleges did offer more than that.

The key would be to get results and data and to get it all patented before anyone else did. There was a serious technology race going on around the world right now and I knew I had very little advantage on getting things going.

I sighed and started to meditate. I had not been keeping up with it as much as I should since getting a solid grounding in immortal combat magic, but I knew I had far to go with some other things. I was a lackluster sorcerer at best, and there were many applications of magic besides fighting.

When I came out of my meditation it was still only three, I didn't have to be at work for five hours. I looked over at Kristi, and she was still absorbed in whatever she was doing on the laptop. I doubted she knew how late it was.

She was wearing short red stretchy shorts and a yellow t-shirt. Her long light blonde hair was up in a pony tail, and I could tell she wasn't wearing a bra as the t-shirt was a little tight. She had her right leg under her left on the chair, and she looked totally absorbed. She had come far with her mind magic and abilities over the years, but I knew she had no idea I was studying her, she always got lost in her work like that.

I probably should have let her work, but I stepped over to her and put my hands on her shoulders and started softly massaging them. I paused a moment to brush my fingertips up and down the graceful curve of her neck.

Kristi sighed, "That feels so good babe, was I ignoring you again?"

I kissed the side of her neck while continuing to work her shoulders and upper back.

"No, I didn't say anything; I just couldn't keep my hands off you any longer."

She snickered and looked up and said both breathily and sarcastically, "Right... in my fancy clothes, no makeup and my hair up in a pony tail. It's a wonder you managed to hold off for so long. Oh crap, it's three AM? I didn't mean to work on this so late."

She clicked a few things and closed her laptop, then rolled her head in a circle while letting out a humming sound of approval. Everything she said was true, but that didn't mean she wasn't sexy as hell. I actually thought she looked better without the trappings, the attraction I felt now was all her.

I didn't bother telling her that, she'd never believe it even though she could see it in my mind; women were strange that way sometimes.

I started massaging the front of her shoulders and worked my way down in slow circles. I started to kiss her neck again, and tease her earlobes as my fingertips started to knead and tease the top of her breasts through the shirt.

She sighed in pleasure and closed her eyes, she bent her arm up and back and started to caress the back of my neck, encouraging my explorations.

She said softly, "Mm, lower..."

I let my hands rove lower and I brushed her nipples through the shirt with my fingertips, and then pinched them through the fabric drawing a gasp from Kristi. I could see her nipples grow through the tight fabric of the shirt and felt my pants tighten.

I reached down and pulled up on the bottom of the shirt, taking it over her head. Her breasts were perfect; her nipples called to me so I spun the chair and sank to my knees. I looked up into her eyes as I took one into my mouth and swirled my tongue around it before playfully biting down.

She arched her back and pulled my face into her harder, "Bite harder."

I bit a little harder, causing her to gasp. She gripped my arms and tried to pull me up, so I stood and her hands darted to my pants. One hand rubbed along my bulge as she unbuttoned my pants with the other.

She looked up at me playfully as she fished out my hard cock and leaned forward. 

I moaned as I felt her perfect little mouth take me in, the heat of her breath teased my tip as her full lips wrapped my pleasure in wet warmth. She teased me for a minute then sat back up and at the end of the chair, and then pulled me closer. I saw her take her hand out of her shorts, and she ran it between her perfect D globes, leaving behind a sheen of wetness.

She looked so sexy when she asked, "You want to fuck my tits? Hmm? Stick that big cock between them until you explode all over me?"

She chuckled sultrily at the look on my face when I nodded in agreement.

She pulled on her nipples hard and then leaned forward, wrapping my hardened length in her soft flesh lubricated by her own juices.

"God, that feels good love," I moaned.

She started working her breasts up and down my length, while she continued to twist and abuse her nipples. Her moans made it clear she was enjoying it.

She grinned naughtily at me and let go of her tits, putting her hand on my chest, "Well, then fuck them..."

I watched as one of her hands worked back into her shorts, her other hand cupped my balls in her palm as she teased my taint with her fingernails. I grabbed the sides of her breasts and thumbed her nipples as I squeezed them together on my cock. Then I started to thrust between her globes of flesh as she looked up into my eyes.

Her breathing got faster and her eyes hooded as she worked her pussy and my balls while I railed myself between her slick cleavage. She winked then bent her head down and started to tongue and suck my tip each time I thrust forward, my cock head peaking out of her cleavage and in between her sweet lips.

I knew I wouldn't last much longer, and I could see her arm moving rapidly as she frigged herself under her shorts. This is probably a guy thing, but she looked so damn sexy masturbating with my member between her D size breasts. She was breathtaking and I could feel my balls begin to tighten.

She looked up at me with wide pleading eyes and begged in sultry tones, "Cum on me... cover me with your sticky seed."

She looked so hot... and still had that innocent look to her face that she'd had when I met her so long ago. The dirty words and the feeling of her flesh and all the sensations overcame me. I started spurting, my seed shot onto her neck, some dripped down onto her soft breasts. I spurted a second time in her face as she dipped her head and took me in her mouth.

She sucked hard as if to claim every drop and then even harder as her arm stopped moving and she started trembling in bliss.

When we came down she started to clean herself up. She wiped the results of my ecstasy off her breasts, neck and face, during which she occasionally licked and sucked it off her fingers and into her mouth. She stood up and smiled before she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the shower. She had a wicked twinkle in her eye and I knew we weren't done playing.

After all, we had at least four hours before work, and neither of us slept...

Before I knew it I was in the shower again, getting ready for work. Over the last few years Kristi had become an amazingly uninhibited and insatiable woman. She was a far cry from the woman who nervously gave me her anal virginity. I'm not sure why, but I think her powers have something to do with that. 

Not that it matters, it is what it is, but I wonder since she can read my mind and has no doubt about how I feel about her, if that made a difference. If it perhaps made her feel secure and loved enough to completely let loose on her inhibitions, and be so creative in bed.

I didn't have any doubts about her either; we often joined together in those intimate mind touches along with Alicia. Besides the intimacy just for itself, it does wonders against preventing all the little doubts and worries normal relationships encounter.

I got out and dried off with a thought and then finished getting ready. It was business casual, so I had on black shoes, gray pants, and a college shirt. I was about to leave when Kristi called out to me.

"When Toni asks you a question, say yes! It will all work out."

Who the fuck was Toni? And what would work out?

I yelled back, "Alright honey," in my best teasing wise ass voice and left the house. 

I had considered teleporting to work, but my job was in the suburbs outside of Chicago and had no really close Metra station available. It was also in a business park so chances are we'd be going out to lunch quite a bit. I didn't really want to have to explain why I had no transportation. I hopped in the car and headed into work. The drive wasn't all that far anyway and there was plenty of parking when I pulled in.

It wasn't a startup company, but for security reasons we had a separate location and only a small number of people had access. I went up and hit the buzzer and a young woman about my age opened the door and let me in. She was cute, with long and curly strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. She was also human.

She said in a professional tone, "Hi Mr. Jones, I'm Lina, your... well, everyone's assistant in this building. If you ever need to order something, or have a business question, I'm the one to talk to. Here is your badge, let me take you back to the conference room, Darnell is waiting on you and one other person."

I grunted, "Please, call me Vinnie, or Vincent."

I wondered how she knew who I was for a second, but my picture was right there on the I.D. I clipped it on and followed her back. When I walked into the conference room I saw Darnell. He was the one who interviewed me. He was somewhere in his fifties and although he was professional he had a bit of salesman to him. But I could tell he meant well. In the room with him was a woman in her early thirties, brown hair and eyes. She had a tentative smile on her face and looked a little excited.

Darnell smiled, "Welcome aboard Vinnie, I see you met Lina Matthews. This here is Abby, Abby Healy. She is a part of the team, very good engineer. She'll take whatever you cook up and make it viable pricewise to manufacture. Abby, this is Vinnie Jones, I'm sure you've heard of him."

I smiled, "Nice to meet you."

Abby nodded back, "And you, I look forward to working together.

She looked a little nervous, but that wasn't surprising, it appeared like it was her first day as well.

Darnell said, "Grab a coffee if you want, there is one more we are waiting for to round out our team."

I went over to the sideboard and poured a cup before sitting around the table.

Darnell said, "The third person should round out your group, she is already an inventor and has a good grasp of your theories. I have no doubt she will be able to keep up."

I heard the buzzer as I sat down, Lina headed back out into the hallway. She came back with another woman. She had long dark brown hair, doe eyes and light brown or tan skin. She had full lips and a tentative smile on her attractive face. 

She was very petite, just over five feet and she immediately went for a coffee when she saw the sideboard. I'd guess she was maybe a year or two older than I was. She was also the only other person in the room that wasn't human, she was a sorceress.

Darnell introduce the rest of us with a small blurb of information, and then introduced her.

"Team, this is Antonia Hernandez," he continued on talking about her accomplishments. Something was bugging me though, why did her name sound so familiar?

I almost breathed in my coffee when she said in a friendly open voice, "Please, call me Toni everyone. It's so nice to be here."

Okay, so I knew who Toni was, now what the hell was the question? Sometimes living with someone who sees the future at times can be a mind trip. We spent the rest of the morning going over a confidentiality agreement and signing all our paperwork. Then we had a short security conscious class and took a tour of the building.

The front of it was just a few offices. I even had one, though I probably wouldn't use it much. The back had a few labs with different types of testing and measuring equipment. The last room had a fabricator. It could print out digital chips and circuits on demand. In fact about the only thing it couldn't print was a power source, but we had that covered.

It seemed clear that would be Abby's domain as she helped us make our theories a reality.

We broke for lunch, Darnell had pizza brought in and we threw some ideas around. We decided to settle on gravity and anti-gravity. Darnell thought, and I agreed, it was this technology that would change the world around us the most. It would touch almost everything. All forms of transportation, space exploration, satellite station keeping, any medicines or products that required zero-G manufacturing would be possible on earth.

I won't like to say there was no greed involved in our decision. But I couldn't, the person who figured that one out and got it patented would be very rich as the world adapted to the tech. That meant everyone in the room currently would be rolling in money. Still, there were so many other options, clean power systems, instantaneous communications, folding space, the list just went on.

After lunch we went to the lab and set up an experiment. It would take some time to get it right, so I wasn't holding my breath for it to happen today. Having the theory against the tech was a leap we still needed to make. Although knowing that we had competition working somewhere on the same thing motivated us. It would be wasted time and money if someone else beat us to a patent.

The real problem with the new science we were creating is the up to date lab equipment couldn't generate the type of fields we needed to, much less monitor the results.

It took a few hours after lunch before we made any progress clicking as a group. It didn't help that both women were so attractive, especially Toni with her exotic looks and accent. But after a while all that faded away as we threw ideas back and forth trying to decide what modifications to make. We eventually settled on a configuration but we needed something made to generate the right kind of field. 

We watched as Abby typed in the parameters and circuit design into the fabricator interface.

Abby turned to us, "This is going to take about four hours and it's... already five thirty? Should we call it a night and get started in the morning?"

I said in agreement, "Yeah, that's a good idea. It was a good first day."

Toni said, "That does sound good, but does anyone else want to cut loose and celebrate our new job? I think getting to know each other past our resumes might help us work better together too as a team. Please don't make me go to the local bar alone."

She said the last part playfully and winked.

Abby smiled, "A drink sounds good."

I was inclined to say no and take a rain check for next time, I was missing Alicia and she should have been back today, but I remembered what Kristi told me. It was always a good idea to take advice from a post cognitive.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 08



I smiled from that last thought, "Sounds good... where to?"

We ended up at a large bar not very far from the business park. The place was packed already and I wondered how many of these people came here straight from work in the same area, probably all of them. The music was loud, but not so loud we couldn't talk to each other easily. It had the comfortable neighborhood bar feel to it.

Toni bought us all drinks despite my protest. She took a long sip and smiled.

"I'm glad you came out, I'm new in the area by the way. I moved here for this job."

I grinned and knocked glasses, "Welcome to Chicago, nowhere else like it. I grew up here."

Abby took a drink then said, "Me too," turning to Toni, "So what made you take the job?"

Toni shrugged, "There was just something honest about Darnell. I didn't feel as good about the other interviews. Besides, who needs all that sunshine down south anyway?"

I snorted and was tempted to raise my hand, but remembered Abby was human.

We drank a few more drinks and told each other a few amusing stories about ourselves as the night moved on. It was difficult not to fall back into business talk and Toni mock scolded Abby and I a couple of times when we backslid into throwing theories which made us laugh.

Found out a few things. Abby was married, had been a few years now. She had been headhunted for this job. She was pretty reserved but managed to loosen up a little over the night.

Toni turned out to be raised in San Antonio. I'd never been there but I knew it got hot. Chicago was a little warm right now in August, but it was nothing in comparison. She was open and friendly and easily dragged Abby and I out, I found despite missing Alicia I was having a really good time. I realized over the last few months of hiding myself away from the media I had turned into somewhat of a geek and forgotten to have fun. Well, outside the bedroom anyway.

I ordered another round and made an effort to get to know my co workers a little better.

It was around nine when Abby called it a night, said she needed to get home to her husband. When Abby left I thought about calling it a night too, but Toni ordered us a round.

Toni grinned and said teasingly, "I was surprised when I walked in this morning, I didn't think you'd be one of us. Not with all that attention you've been grabbing in the media."

I couldn't help but smile back, "Yeah, you shocked me too. I wasn't expecting to see a sorceress walk through the door, especially one I didn't know."

Toni winked and said conspiratorially, "So give me the dirt, how is the community up here. San Antonio is pretty strict. I've heard a lot of different things about up here. To be honest reporting to the council kind of freaked me out yesterday. I mean, how do you deal with having a Nephilim on the council? And a half demon necromancer..." 

She shivered, "Doesn't that freak you out?"

I broke out in a big smile, "Well... they are strict if you break the rules. But they don't try to run your life, or make you report in like an ex-con with a parole officer. What do you mean by strict?"

She blew out a breath, "They made us get approval to do anything. Move to a different neighborhood, take a new job, leave for a college."

She frowned, "To be honest I kind of took off when this job offer came up. I did like Darnell, but..."

She kind of trailed off.

"But?" I prompted before taking another drink.

She sighed and after a pregnant pause started to talk, "It's no big deal. I wasn't thinking of this story thought when I mentioned getting to know each other better. I was dating the sorcerer on the council for a short time... It didn't end well as he was horribly controlling. He wasn't very happy about me leaving...

"He tried to tell me I couldn't in fact. But that's against council law; you can't hold someone in the city against their will, so the head councilor overruled him. The rules are strict, but it wasn't quite that bad... Sorry, I don't want to be a downer, can we talk about something else?"

I nodded, "There aren't any rules like that here, and you can do what you want as long as you don't risk exposure. Look at me, Mr. newsworthy, they haven't killed me yet. The Nephilim isn't so bad; she'd be more likely to help you than try to control you."

I was trying really hard not to crack up laughing about the parent thing. I didn't want to embarrass her after her question about my parents freaking her out, so I kept it to myself. She'd find out of course, but hopefully after she was more comfortable with me.

Toni asked, "So when are you expected home?"

I shrugged, "Not sure, Kristi knows I went out so I'm sure Alicia does too."

Toni asked, "And are they like us?"

I nodded, "Human and werewolf."

Her eyes widened at that, and I had to explain a bit about Kristi having magic of her own, although I didn't explain how, or that all humans had that potential. We got back to more mundane things. She told me she had two older brothers and a younger sister. I told her about my three siblings. She was extremely easy to talk to and I had a good time. Before we realized it was close to eleven. I didn't have to sleep, but I knew she did.

But as we got up to leave I wondered why Kristi had wanted me to go, I had been expecting a little more than just getting to know my co-worker, though I wasn't sure what. She had also said it would all work out, which implies a problem of some kind. I loved Kristi to death, but when she hinted at the future it always spun my mind.

I was getting into my car when I heard a loud explosion, followed by a scream. I turned to see her car on fire and ran around to the other side where I had heard the scream. She was lying face down on the ground and there was a man standing above her with fire in his hands.

He growled, "You shouldn't have left me. How dare you embarrass me like that in front of the community."

I heard her moan and felt relieved she was still alive. I knew I needed to hurry up and do something, but I took a moment to scan for other people. It was ingrained in me now to make sure no one would take a photo of me using magic. There weren't any so I stepped forward out of the smoke from behind the car.

I said confrontationally, "Who the fuck are you? And what do you think you're doing, were in a human parking lot."

Toni groaned, "No, don't get involved Vinnie, he's strong, he's the sorcerer on the council in San Antonio."

He growled, "You bitch, is this who you were spending time with?"

He moved his hand and with a thought I casted two shield glyphs, one for each of us. The asshole released his fire into her and me simultaneously, but then jumped back at the golden light surrounding us.

I said, "You picked the wrong city asshole."

He had attempted murder, and arguably worse, risked exposure. He had also technically invaded our territory and attacked one of our own. His life was forfeit on all counts. Plus, he seemed to be an asshole to Toni, and that had me pissed off. Blow up his ex-girlfriend? Who does that?

He brought up shields with a sneer and tried attacking with ice. That didn't work either, but it did give me a fourth excuse, five if you include him being an asshole.

I casted more glyphs and spikes of golden light ripped through his shields like they weren't even there. His body was thrown back to the ground as his life fled. I turned off the shields and then put out the fire. I really needed to work on my sorcery, as that had been the hardest for me to do.

I kneeled down and touched Toni on the back of her hand. I healed her as I searched for any watchers. The music was loud in the bar and no one had come out, it must have covered up the explosion. There were also still no paparazzi. Toni was okay, completely healed but still passed out. Her car however was a lost cause. I used my magic to move the wreck somewhere it wouldn't be noticed, destroyed the assholes remains, and then I picked her up and carried her to my car.

I wasn't sure where to take her so I shook her shoulder and fed her a bit more magic. She woke up all at once and winced. The wince slowly went away as she realized she wasn't in pain anymore.

Toni asked, "What the hell happened?"

I coughed, "He's gone, the bad news is so is your car. Can I drop you somewhere?"

Toni cursed under her breath in Spanish.

"Yes, I'm staying in those council apartments until I find my own place, only got here two days ago. What do you mean gone, what happened?"

I started the car moving and said, "He tried to kill you... three times. Me just twice, he won't do it again."

She gasped in shock.

When I turned my head she was crying. Well, she had liked him at one time; it can't be easy for her even if he did deserve it.

She said softly, "I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "Not your fault. In fact I think I was meant to be here," I couldn't help but think of Kristi.

"Do you need a ride in the morning?"

She snorted, "I almost get you killed and you want more?"

I grinned, "Sure, we're all crazy up here. Besides, you were the one almost killed, not me."

She shrugged and seemed a little defeated, which really bothered me after getting to know the vivacious and beautiful young woman I knew her to be. Still, nothing I could say would help right now so I just waited for an answer.

Finally she said grudgingly, "Sure, seven thirty?"

I agreed and suggested we exchange numbers. We rode the last few minutes in silence.

As she got out of the car she said softly, "Thank you Vinnie," and then shut the door before I could reply.

Chapter 2 - Hope

Two days ago, Sunday morning...

I was running late for my first day of residency. I had a three bedroom townhouse I was renting near the hospital, mainly because I didn't want to commit to a house until I actually had a real job, not just my residency training to be a surgeon.

But that was beside the point, the point was I had a townhouse close the hospital, I didn't sleep, I had a cadre of ghosts and a zombie or two that kept my place clean. So how they hell am I running late?

Oh right, because Rafe and Bree had convinced me to stay in bed just a little longer, and me being a total slut for them couldn't say no. I finished putting my hair up and looked critically at myself in the mirror. I didn't look bad per say, but I was far from my best. I looked at my watch and cursed. I didn't have time for driving or the Metra; I only had five minutes to get there.

I pulled on my shoes and slid into limbo, then teleported straight to the hospital. It took me a minute to find a free corner and I was feeling a little frantic. I knew it was just first day jitters and when I stepped out of limbo onto the hospital floor I felt my body relax. I smiled as I walked up to my new boss, a whole minute to spare.

He coughed, "Dr. Jones, in the future I expect you here a half hour early to review the charts before our walkthrough."

I nodded, "Of course Doctor Andoman."

Paul Andoman was my boss; he was also the head of surgery at the hospital. My fellow intern whom I'd met yesterday in orientation was Allison Martin. She was rather... unpleasant. As we walked out of the room she gave me a vicious grin. She was very... ambitious, and she seemed to believe wishing others failure would get her ahead somehow.

Okay, she's a total bitch, enough said about Dr. Allison Martin.

Sam Chambers, another intern, gave me a friendly smile and wave as I left the room which I returned. It would have been nice to have him on the team instead, but he was under a different doctor.

Life had been interesting since I got back to Chicago a few weeks ago while I waited for my internship to begin. My brother was famous and in the public eye, so I'd been avoiding him, which sucked because I'd missed him while I was away. Still, the public scrutiny seemed to be dying down now for him. Mostly because of the riots that have been happening in other countries.

His discovery seemed to have stirred the pot so to speak. There are a lot of people pushing for advances as fast as possible, and then there are the ones that want to bury the information and forget it. It's kind of funny, neither one of us ever talks about the firstborn prophecy, but both of us are constantly updating each other on what we are doing, even if only in e-mail.

Callie, a security guard, nodded to me as she walked by on the way to the first patient's room. I had met her yesterday as well, though not at orientation, we had met at the council chamber to be introduced since we were working at the same building. Callie looked about twenty four, which is when she was turned into a vampire. 

She was very friendly and I thought she had the most beautiful shiny long and straight black hair, and I was a little jealous at her expressive almond eyes. It's not that I didn't like my long golden blonde hair or blue eyes... because I did. I probably liked hers so much because it was different. Callie's job, besides the human one of guarding, was to guard the hospital from vampires gone a little feral.

Apparently hospitals were favorite targets for vamps that lose control, or are just passing through a new town and want a snack. I focused back on the job as we entered the patient's room. This was the first step in surgery; a surgeon needs to gather information before operating, to limit the chances of a death on the table because of some other medical reason.

The morning was going pretty well I thought. I had answered every one of the doctor's questions correctly in the first five rooms. I was tempted to send Allison a smug look, but I suppressed it. I didn't want to be an ugly person, but her attitude was bringing out the worst in me.

Ironically I could see the head doctor didn't care. Nice and sweet or mean and nasty, as long as we did our jobs right and wouldn't kill a patient, he truly didn't care.

The sixth room however was a disaster. I felt the magic as we neared the room and I froze outside the door. I was trying to understand how a warlock and demon was here on my first day at my job, and why that would be. The doctor gave me a strange look and I followed him in. The warlock was lying in bed in a hospital gown. There was a demoness there and she was...

Holding his hand?

When the demoness saw me she jumped up and stared at me aggressively though she didn't attack. I was frozen in place as my two worlds seemed to be colliding. Mom didn't talk about days like this. My eyes flitted to the bed for a second and the warlock... the patient... was staring at me like he was terrified.

Then I noticed Dr. Andoman staring back and forth between us.

Andoman said, "What's going on here, do you know this man?"

Sortof... I knew what he was, so I nodded once slowly.

Andoman sighed, "Very well, wait outside then, you get a pass on this one Jones since it's your first day, but you may wind up treating someone you know in the future. I don't like that frozen look on your face."

I suppressed a scowl; at least he came up with his own explanation.

"Yes Doctor," I said slowly as I backed out of the room.

It was probably just showing Andoman I was stranger than he thought, but no way was I turning my back on a demon. In theory I knew they weren't all evil, probably not even most of them as their actions on earth were usually the result of a warlock's order. At first I couldn't even make sense of the idea of a warlock in a hospital. I knew that witches wouldn't heal him, but can't they heal themselves?

My curiosity built as the day went on. One good thing about being immortal and not needing sleep is I knew when they worked me to death, and without sleep, that it wouldn't matter all that much. My first shift was twelve hours, and everything seemed to go well. Dr. Andoman told us he'd see us tomorrow, adding pointedly a half hour early to review any changes or new patients.

My curiosity had built over the day, so smart or not, I headed over to the warlock's room after reading his chart. Jeremy Ashton was a mystery. I also thought Andoman would expect me to be over whatever he thought today was about, so I needed to at least get them not to freak out... like we all had earlier.

I knocked softly and stuck my head in. The demon was on her feet again, and Jeremy looked extremely wary. Now that my mind wasn't blowing up I took in the details. The demoness of course had long black hair, dark brown eyes with sinfully long eyelashes, and a body that Barbie would kill for. She looked like pure sex. She didn't look angry though, if anything she looked worried, and protective.

I thought that was very strange. Demons are usually constantly pissed off when enslaved to a warlock. Jeremy was a little older than me, twenty nine. He had black hair and gray eyes.

"Umm, can I come in?"

Jeremy nodded and grabbed the demoness' hand.

I walked in but kept my distance, I felt very focused and ready for anything.

I explained why I was there, "I'm an intern here, this morning was just as much as a shock for me as it was for you. Can I ask... why are you here for knee surgery?"

He frowned, "Like the witches would heal me, or a sorcerer?"

I sighed, "But... can't warlocks heal themselves? Sorry, you're the first one I've ever spoken too that wasn't trying to kill me at the time."

He looked sick, "They can, but not like witches or sorcerers. Warlocks have to create a healing medallion and perform a ceremony over it before it will heal. The ceremony includes... human sacrifice, so I'm here instead."

I shook my head, curious as hell to ask about the demon too, but I felt like I had reached my quota for personal questions in this first conversation. I considered healing him, but held back. I wasn't sure he would trust me to use my magic on him. So curious.

"So, tomorrow when I show up in my doctor like coat, can we play nice? I give you my word I will bring no harm unless attacked."

I saw them both relax, and realized I probably should have started with that.

Jeremy said solemnly, "You have my word as well."

I felt that he spoke the truth, about all of it. He was a warlock who found the idea of human sacrifice disgusting. I bemusedly nodded and left the room. I ducked into the locker room; no one was there so I popped into limbo and went home. It was only as I stripped off my clothes and got in the shower did I realize I hadn't even asked the demoness for her name...

I had never even considered it before. They had always been trying to kill me, but they were just as sentient and alive as all the other races. I felt a little guilty as I remembered the protective look on her face; I had as good as treated her as the warlock's appendage. She was just as much a mystery as he was.

I got out and threw on a robe. Bree had the news on the TV so I plopped on the couch and rested my head against her.

Bree asked, "Okay day?"

I smiled, "I'm so proud of you, taking another day off."

She stuck her tongue out at me.

"It was okay, met a warlock and demoness. The strangest thing is he seems like a really nice guy. Even the demoness didn't seem all that bad."

Bree growled, "I'm coming tomorrow."

I smiled and stretched up her body to kiss her cheek, "You'd better love."

We watched the news for a while. There were riots going on in Russia. Some scientist claimed him and his partner opened up a window into another dimension, and saw a strange looking city. The device however exploded and killed his partner, so he had no proof. The talking heads were making fun of him, some of the guests were freaking out about defying the laws of god and nature.

It was kind of a mess actually. Why the hell did Vinnie submit that paper? What would happen if the humans opened a portal that was stable? Would they stay at home and panic, or kill what they couldn't understand. I still wasn't sure which of us were first born, but from where I was sitting Vinnie had just handed the humans a way to end the world.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 08



I felt the edge of an idea, but on the surface it sounded both insane and reckless, crazy seemed an apt description. It would be like cutting off a leg to save a life, and I needed to think on it a lot more.

Bree and I turned off the television and I put on some music and grabbed a drink. My thoughts were a little dark and I wanted to change that.

"You up for the beach? I asked.

Bree grinned, "Sure, sounds good to me. Rafe said he would be back tomorrow. He went home to report all the dirt he's collected on you."

I mock glared in her direction.

She snickered, "Don't worry; I'm sure your bedroom perversions won't make the report..."

I stuck my tongue out at her, "Go get a suit on, unless you want to go to a nude beach?"

She blushed, "Maybe the private one?"

I went to tease her a little more, but smiled instead when I gave it some thought, "That sounds wonderful actually. But I don't think my pager will work there..."

As a resident I needed to be available twenty four, seven.

She shrugged, "Have a ghost watch it and tell you if it goes off."

I smiled wider, "Why didn't I think of that?"

She snickered, "Don't worry sweetie, we'll do all that thinking stuff for you."

I growled and spanked her ass, "Remind me why I love you again?"

I did as she suggested before I surrounded us in my magic and teleported to the island.

She giggled, "For the abuse obviously."

It was rather dark, being nighttime here as well, but I set up some soft magical lights just bright enough to see the ledges around us and the surface of the hot spring, but not bright enough to ruin the reflection of the moon on the ocean below us. There was a slight breeze.

I shook my head in mock exasperation, "That can't be true."

She stepped into me and pulled me tightly against her while kissing my neck right below my ear. Her hands pulled my robe apart and it flowed off my body onto a pile around my feet.

She whispered, "There might be other reasons," as she slid a hand between my legs, teasingly cupping my mound. She wiggled her middle finger slightly against my barrier, teasing the slit separating my labia but not penetrating.

I moaned in pleasure and worked at her clothes, I wanted to feel her smooth silky skin against mine. When she was naked, she led me into the pool and pushed me back onto the smooth seat. The hot water felt good as my body was enveloped, with an anticipatory smile she crawled into my lap, her ass was far back on my knees and she pulled my face forward with one hand while holding her breast up to my mouth with the other.

I gladly wrapped my lips around her tight nipple and sucked it into my mouth. She moaned very lightly in a breathy voice into my ear. I felt my center tighten and tingle.

Over the past few years I had become much more focused in my life. I hardly ever let my guard down. I was in control and competent with my magic. Conversely, my need to be controlled and dominated in bed had gone through a similar transformation, becoming much more intense. I needed to let it all go, to give myself over to my partners, to be a vessel for their pleasure. Nothing got me hotter. I always felt so sexy when I submitted to my lovers and they found pleasure in me. It was the one time I could truly let go, and I knew I was safe with Bree and Rafe.

I heard a small pop as my suction released, she had grabbed my hair and pulled my head back hard. Her nipple was swollen and glistened in the light. She pulled my head to her other nipple by my hair. I was caressing her waist, hips and the bottom of her breasts while suckling her other nipple. She put a hand between my legs and teasingly ran it up and down my slit.

My voice was muffled into the flesh of her breast as I moaned in need.

She pulled my head back again and then stood up with a wicked grin on her face. I wondered what had put that grin on her face and it made my ready core clench.

Bree ordered in a sultry tone, "Ask nicely and I may let you eat me."

I blushed, she usually only got this demanding when we were alone. Although for me, alone was relative. I was also incredibly turned on as I watched the beads of water from the hot spring run across her soft skin, tracing the curves of her incredibly body and the tight channels of her mesmerizing sex.

I said breathless begging tone, "Please let me eat you, taste you, pleasure you with my tongue..."

I couldn't tell you why being submissive turned me on so much, all I knew was that it did... It just felt so... freeing. There was nothing more that I wanted at that moment but to pleasure her until she covered my face with her juice. In the end it didn't matter, it was what I loved and that's all I needed to know.

She pulled my face between her legs and I licked into her tasty heat, the gasp I drew from her made me shiver in pleasure.

"Good girl," she purred, which made me double my efforts at pleasing her.

I felt a flush of pleasure when she said that to me. What made it even hotter was I could feel all the ghosts I was bonded too paying attention through the link, and they all felt my reaction to her words through our bond. It was the ultimate experience in exhibitionism, they all knew I was a little tramp for Bree and how proud I was of that fact, and it drove me crazy with lust.

I couldn't help myself; I whimpered in need and reached down between my own legs and worked two fingers inside myself, causing me to groan in both pleasure and desperation up into her body. My other hand reached between Bree's legs and pulled her toward me with a grip on her ass, my middle finger rubbing and teasing her tight little brown hole.

She gripped my hair tighter and said between gasping breaths, "That's it, suck in my clit. I'm almost there, don't you dare cum before me."

As soon as she said not to, I felt myself rise almost uncontrollably as my fingers moved in and out of my tight channel. I felt myself start to bear down on my fingers and froze as I desperately sucked, flicked with my tongue, and bit down on her swollen clit.

I was desperate to taste her cum.

She pulled my hair hard and grounded her wet heat against my face. Her scent and taste were overwhelming. I felt her honey rush onto my face, covering my lips, chin, and running down my neck onto my breasts. The feeling of it set me off...

My core tightened and then exploded into ecstatic blissful rapture.

When I came back to the real world, she was breathing hard and sitting on my lap again. She held me as I did her, and we exchanged soft kisses. We spent quite a long while just worshipping each other, the tenderness between us so much more intimate after what had just passed.

I realized we had nothing to drink, had come unprepared, so I summoned a couple of beers from the fridge at home.

Bree said smiling, "Thanks love."

I laughed, "Your welcome."

Bree frowned, "I want you to be extra careful okay? Rafe didn't say anything, you know how tight lipped he can be about his job, but he looked worried."

I nodded, "I'll keep a look out, if I was any more alert though I'd have a stick up my ass."

Bree tittered and said in a naughty considering voice, "Now there's an idea."

I snorted and spanked her nipple playfully. I could tell she was really worried about something, but I gasped when she slipped a finger into my core. She started to work it in and out while holding me still. I could have escaped with my necromantic power, but as far as muscle strength she was a revenant and had me beat hands down. Even more than that, she would never feel fatigue, her invading fingers would never grow tired. I couldn't move at all as she teased and pleased me.

I was completely under her power and still couldn't move at all, which made it all so much hotter for me. I eagerly gave up my control to her, stared into her eyes, and let her take me where she willed. I gasped and felt tears in my eyes as my core tightened and I felt my body tremble against hers as I uncontrollably exploded from her ministrations. But she didn't stop.

Bree said sultrily, "You're so hot when you do that... Such a pretty slut, and all mine. I don't think I can stop until you're a quivering mess of flesh."

I whimpered and then cried out in ecstasy as I felt another crest coming only to have it cut off into a silent gasp as the rapture broke over me, stole my breath, and wracked my body in intense pleasure. It was a long time later when she finally stopped and I had long ago lost count of how many times I'd cum. I was a hot mess and my whole body was sore and weak. She held me for a while and we stayed there and talked between the comfortable silences until we watched the sunrise together.

It was time to start a new day...

I actually wasn't running late for my second day. Despite the shared shower and the opportunity I'd taken for a little payback, not that she'd minded, I was running on time. The Metra ran right by the hospital, so I just decided to take it a couple of stops. Teleporting was great and everything, but it gets old, and I'd miss a lot of things if I travelled that way all the time.

I sensed someone with magic on the train, it had a familiar sense to it but it took me a moment to place it. I'd only felt it once before. Fae. I snapped a shield up. Two years ago I couldn't have done that in the company of humans, but Rafe had been trying to teach me to hide my magical aura.

I was nowhere near capable enough yet to do it completely, it was very complex. It was more like a bunch of little tricks on top of each other. One of the ones I had mastered pretty easily was just hiding it visually, so despite being covered by a shield, there was no golden light. Any other supernatural would still sense the magic, but it couldn't be seen.

It took a bit of concentration and wasn't automatic, which is why I didn't do it all the time, only to practice or when humans were close by. I sat down and looked around, catching the brown aura of magic across from me and over a few feet. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and light jacket with a hood to hide his ears.

I felt him probe my shields with his mind magic and could see the frustration he couldn't get through. Why was he here? I had thought we'd be done with this. I thought I'd be able to kill him fairly easily if I had to, but he wasn't pushing that hard on my shield, and there were humans all around us. I could cloak my magic, but I wouldn't be able to hide it if he started bleeding all over the place.

He followed me off the train and toward the hospital; it was a two block walk. I stopped halfway there and turned on him.

"What do you want?"

He looked around at all the people around us and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. Then he attacked my mind. I felt my shield struggling and looked around as well. My normal shield was strong, but it wouldn't hold out forever, I couldn't cloak my sword and shield since that magic actually became solid. Those would have held him off indefinitely, but the humans would see it.

The only advantage I had was he couldn't use any of his powers that would be apparent either; he had to stick to his mind attack. I looked around again and ran for the nearest alley. I wasn't sure if I would make it, and as I turned the corner I slipped into limbo and blew out my breath.

I just had to take the fucking train...

I walked back out and could see him walking away, briskly but not fast enough to call attention to him. I called a ghost to me and set him to follow from within limbo to prevent any chance of detection, and then I teleported to the hospital as walking no longer held any attraction.

I slipped into my scrubs and I took the time to review the updated charts and two new ones. I still had about twenty minutes, my mind was trained to read fast and remember stuff, memorizing patient charts was not a hard task. I grabbed a coffee and sat, and started to consider what the attack could mean. I had thought they were too afraid to take action.

Did they know who the firstborn was? Or did they think one of us had done what needed to be done and they were targeting us both, or something else maybe? Shit. I wasn't sure, but something had changed. I took out my cell phone and texted Vinnie, letting him know to be careful. I also planned to have a long conversation with Rafe when he got his ass back here.

I also had a Fae to kill...

"Good morning!" her cheerful voice startled me, though I'd felt her come in.

I smiled, "Hi Callie, how's life treating you?"

I giggled when she smacked the back of my head.

"Yeah yeah, like I ain't heard that before. By the way, you smell absolutely divine."

I snorted, turned my head and looked up into her glowing almond eyes, "Like I haven't heard that before?"

She shrugged, "Vampire humor, fairly straight forward. You busy tonight after work? They have a new club opening and I bet we'd paint the town red together..."

I groaned loudly but couldn't help my grin, "Really? Red? You want to go dancing?"

She nodded sagely and winked, "Yes, I like living dangerously, plus it will really freak out the coven."

I arched an eyebrow, "Dangerously?"

She snorted, "Of course, vampire hanging with a necromancer? It's like a mouse playing with a lion, I'll be a legend..."

Why not? I could use an infusion of fun in my life.

"Sounds like fun actually, but I have something to take care of first. Text me the time and place? I should be there around ten."

She nodded and said, "I'll do that, see you tonight," as she walked out.

I checked the time and I only had a couple of minutes. I dumped the rest of my coffee and headed out to meet Andoman and Allison. The day went well; the rounds went off fine this time, even for Jeremy's room. The demoness still looked wary, but didn't act confrontational this time.

When my shift ended I went back to his room before leaving for the day. He seemed surprised to see me again when I knocked on the door and walked in tentatively.

I smiled, "Hi. I'm sorry to intrude and all, but I'm a little curious. If I'm being to nosy just kick me out."

The demoness snorted and I asked, "I didn't get your name yesterday."

She frowned and looked surprised, "I'll not give you my true name but you may call me Bell."

A demon named Bell... huh.

He still seemed a bit untrusting, but he asked, "What do you want to know?"

I shrugged and said awkwardly, "I am not sure, you tell me? I guess I'm just curious about you, never met a warlock who'd flinch at sacrificing a human, or one that had a demoness that didn't look pissed off to be chained down."

We talked for about a half an hour. I found out his mother was a witch and had raised him not to take lives. His father was... absent. He's kind of been wandering the country since his mom died, usually leaves before the local council can chase him out. He also explained why the demoness acted as she did.

"It's not that complicated. When a warlock summons a demon he or she can set the rules and compact however he or she wants. Most warlocks simply enslave the demon, where I chose not to. It is more of a partnership. Demons benefit from being on this plane by gaining more power, though I am not exactly sure how that works it is so.

"Still, despite us both having incentive to work together, it was a nervous thing at first. But... she saved my life when I was in a normal car accident. I was knocked out, and the dash collapsed in and ground up this knee pretty good. So I'd say it was a good decision, if I had enslaved her, she wouldn't have lifted a finger to help without a direct order. I'd have gone up like a torch when the car did.

"Anyway, we've been pretty close since then; it's hard to mistrust someone when they save your life."

I could see the way the demoness looked at him, it was a lot more than just trust and I wondered if he knew. I bet grandma never looked at grandpa that way...

I said, "Well, if you trust me... I'd be willing to heal you, let you walk out of here tonight. Of course I couldn't sign you out officially, you'd have to go under protest and all that."

He looked surprised, and a little nervous, "Let me think about it."

I added softly, "Also, you might consider making Chicago your home. We have a Nephilim sorceress and a half demon necromancer on the council here. Adding a unique warlock won't be such a stretch, I'd even be willing to introduce you."

I knew he'd been telling the truth, even beyond my normal truth telling abilities which were far more refined and powerful than most. Good warlocks were so rare as to be thought myth, it would be an asset to the community to have him, and of course, he would get a home out of it.

He frowned and looked a little uncomfortable, "Let me think about it? I need to discuss it with Bell I think, both offers, my surgery is tomorrow afternoon. Will you stop by in the morning?"

I replied, "Sure, I understand."

I knew what it was like to be hunted just for what you were. Speaking of hunted... 

I got the location of the Fae from my ghost. He and one other were in a house a few miles to the west. I found a place to hop into limbo and teleported that way. As I walked toward the house I cast the glyphs to surround myself with my armor, shield, and sword.

I walked in right through the wall of the house and stepped out of limbo. I moved toward the one that attacked me this morning like a bullet from a gun and swung my sword at his neck. I almost got him, but they were a top race as well and I was hit by a flying sofa and knocked across the room. It didn't really hurt, but it was disorienting. My shield protected me, but the laws of physics mean I fly across the room when something that heavy slams into me.

They both hit me with a mental attack after that, but my hardened shields held. I didn't bother to stand, merely used my magic and desire to move across the room. The world blurred around me while I swung my sword. This time I took his head. The other fae screamed in anger and went for the front door.

I took a moment and hooked the fae's soul, us two needed to have a little conversation. I stepped into limbo right before the credenza flew through where I was and stepped right back before I rushed the second fae. He tried to lift me and throw me as he had the furniture, but his magic slid right off my shield much like his mental attack.

My sword slid between his ribs by at least six inches before the love seat knocked me to the side. The Fae took the opportunity to run out the door. I chased him out but he was gone. I felt his signature and looked up, he was flying. I sighed and let him go, assigning the ghost to follow him, maybe he would lead me to someone else. I walked back into the house and closed the door before someone saw my golden armor and sword. YouTube is evil.

The fae was old, but I didn't care about most of his memories or past and just spent a few minutes questioning him before letting his soul move on. Some of the fae believed the humans would kill themselves with the knowledge Vinnie discovered and gave. Some also believed I should be killed before I could somehow find some way to undo the damage, save humanity, and doom the fae instead.

The problem was, they weren't completely sure, they were desperate and guessing. It wasn't hard to believe, after all I had come to the same conclusion about Vinnie they did, though I wasn't sure either, how could I be? And how could I possibly undo what he did, or make enough of a difference?

Point being all the fae weren't after us, only a fraction of them believed it enough to take action. Still, a small fraction of millions is a lot...

I teleported straight to my bathroom and stripped off my bloody clothes. I'd have to go shopping soon if this turned into a habit like last time. Fights were hell on my wardrobe. I cleaned up and got ready for clubbing tonight. Dancing sounded good, and I'd be able to let off some steam. 




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 08



I asked Bree if she was coming or not, and she was. I was fairly sure she wouldn't be taking any more days off in the near future. She looked very protective of me with the shit starting up again.

I had that thought again, but it was crazy. A lot of people would die... just, not all of them, or even most of them. I pushed it down not wanting to think of it. It was too big, I didn't want the choice of what race died, and I prayed my thoughts about Vinnie were wrong. Not that any of this was Vinnie's or my fault; the fae had sown the seeds of destruction a long time ago.

Bree and I headed into the city; it was about quarter of ten when we arrived at the club. It was an opening night and the line was kind of long. From what I could see there were a lot of knockouts in line as well, so no skipping. I sighed and walked toward the end when I heard Callie call my name.

Callie yelled, "Hope! Bree!"

I turned and looked; she was at the door waving us to come with a big smile on her face. I heard a few disgruntled comments from the line as we walked over and she took us into the club.

I asked, "How'd you pull that off?"

She grinned, "The coven owns it of course. How else could we get all these tasty morsels to show up?"

I snorted and shook my head, "Aren't they going to freak out about a necromancer being here?"

She turned and winked at me, her eyes wide and innocent. What was she planning? We followed her to a VIP area where we sat down on a very comfortable chair in a booth. It felt more like a couch then any kind of normal booth seating. A waitress showed up and we all ordered some drinks.

So far I hadn't detected any vampires present except Callie. I was starting to wonder if she was pulling my leg as we received and then started sipping our drinks. We got a second one shortly later and chatted as we drank it. Callie seemed irrepressibly cheerful and I was glad we had come out. Even Bree was relaxing her vigilance over me.

After our second drink we went out to dance, I was feeling good from the drinks, but still short of a real buzz, I didn't really like being out of control and kept focused, but I loved to have fun and was having a blast dancing with Bree and Callie.

I felt a few other vampires come in at that point. They didn't do anything really, but they sensed me and kept their distance. It wasn't like I was unknown to the community but I still felt a little awkward about it. After about five songs we went back to the table and Callie ordered another round.

I narrowed my eyes, "What are you up to?"

She snickered. "Just making waves, thought it'd be fun. You don't mind do you? I really want to be friends but I couldn't resist."

I shrugged, "I guess not, but I don't want to ruin their night either."

She replied in humor, "You won't, it will be the talk of the coven. I might sell t-shirts to the survivors."

I decided not to worry about it and just have fun. In that Callie seemed to be a perfect partner in crime. I had one or two more drinks throughout the night and did a lot of dancing. We split around two in the morning and I wound up teleporting home from the store room in the back.

Bree and I turned on the TV and things seemed to be getting worse, more riots and disturbances around the world. I flipped it off not wanting to watch and checked on my ghost. The other fae hadn't met any others yet and seemed to be going west into the wilderness.

I meditated a couple of hours trying to improve my magic, until Bree forcefully got me up and marched me to bed...

Chapter 3 - Vinnie

Tuesday Morning...

The next morning I got ready for work. Alicia still wasn't home yet but when I talked to her she said it would be this afternoon. She was at my parents' house and Kim was working with her on some stuff, though I had no idea what. When I picked up my phone I noticed it was on silent, I turned the sound back on and checked for messages. My eyes went wide as I saw my sister was attacked yesterday and the damn fae are back.

Something else I would have to deal with.

I was also a little disturbed by the news last night. I had avoided watching it for a while, tired of hearing shit about me. Kristi had filled me in on what was going on and I could hardly believe what I saw when we turned on the news.

I could see where the fae thought I might be first born, but I didn't really believe humanity would destroy itself. Still, I was regretting it a little. All advances in humanity have been surrounded by strife, bloodshed, and violent change. Did that make me responsible? I wasn't sure. In any case it was far too late to put the genie back in the bottle.

I kissed Kristi thoroughly and spanked her ass before I left for work. She glared at me as I slipped out the door with a wink. I was sure I'd pay for that later. Not for the spank, but for not finishing what I had started.

I pulled up in front of Toni's place and she came out to the car. She looked even more exotic today, despite the business attire it was perfectly tailored to her body. When she got in she scowled at me and closed the door.

I asked tentatively, "What's wrong?"

She blushed, "You could have told me who your parents were last night."

Oh...

I replied carefully as I pulled away from the curb, "I was going to tell you today, I didn't want to embarrass you last night and ruin the fun we were having."

She asked in a higher tone of voice, "Oh, so you had fun last night? So did I... at least until my car exploded. Sorry, I should be thanking you for stopping that asshole from killing me, not whining at you."

I asked, "Yeah, about that, the asshole that is, is there any chance someone will come looking for him?"

She shook her head, "I don't think so. He was kind of a hothead; I doubt anyone will look too hard for him if he just disappears."

We chatted for the rest of the car ride. She seemed over my failure to mention who I was, or who my parents were. When we got into the office, Abby was already there and waved us back to the lab. The fabricator had finished sometime last night. The experiment was simple. In theory we would be able to weaken or even cancel gravity inside a field. We set it up, which took a while, and put a book with a plate under it where the field should be.

We used a long non-conductive plate simply so we wouldn't need to put our hands in the field. We could have rigged something better up, but I think we were all in a hurry to see it working.

When we turned it on nothing at all happened. I lifted the plate with the book on it, and lowered the plate. The book stayed on the plate instead of hovering as I'd expected to.

Abby asked, "What do you think went wrong? I ran the diagnostics when the part came out, everything is in tolerance."

I shrugged and felt a little disheartened, "It's hard to say. We put the cart before the horse I think. We need to build something that will measure the phenomena first."

Toni grinned, "I'd have been surprised if we got it on the first try. Nothing to be upset about..."

We spent the rest of the day coming up with a way to measure what was happening, if anything. I knew Toni was right though, theoretical and applied science is very rarely in agreement. Chances are the device would work just fine in a perfect world, we needed to figure out where the shortfall was and adjust.

We still weren't sure what was going on when we left for the day but had hopes for a new diagnostic device we believed would detect the field output for our device. She had me drop her off at a car lot and promised to call if she couldn't find a car she would like. I was a little frustrated when I got home, although I knew Toni was right, it would take time to get things working.

When I walked in all I could sense was Kristi. The magical signature and the scent of Alicia were still gone. It had been a few days, what the hell was going on? Something didn't feel right, I went up to the den and Kristi was on her laptop.

"Kristi, do you know what the hell is going on with Alicia? Why is she still not home? She's never been gone longer than a day before."

She replied absentmindedly, "Huh? Oh. I'm not sure. I know they got a new pack alpha. She's been arguing with him about spending most of her time away from the pack."

I growled. I needed to know these things... 

I asked, "What? Why didn't she tell me?"

Kristi shrugged, "You know how she is. She wanted to handle it herself. I don't think the new alpha likes that she's mated with someone who really can't shift either."

Fuck. If I'd known I would have dealt with it last night.

"Do you know where she is now?"

Kristi nodded absently, still absorbed in what she was doing and only half listening. She did send me a mind picture though. A moment later Kristi gasped and looked at me, as if finally taking in what she just saw and passed on. I growled and teleported.

When I appeared in the field I felt sick to my stomach. She was shackled around her neck so she couldn't shift and chained to a large spike in the ground. There were about twenty wolves in the field and three in human form. Two men and Kim. Kim screamed at them demanding that they release her.

With a thought my magic reached out and snapped the collar around Alicia's neck. I scanned her carefully with my magic. She had several broken bones, contusions, and nasty swollen bruises. I healed her as quickly as I could and she woke up.

She growled when she saw me, as if challenging my right to interfere. So not the time for that shit.

"Be still!" I commanded loudly.

She may have wanted to handle it on her own, but I sure as hell had the right to defend my mate. I grabbed her hand and dragged her along toward Kim and the two men. Kim looked terrified, and the two men were glaring at me. Two wolves tried to jump me on the way and found themselves flying through the woods until they met a tree, I wasn't sure how far they flew but I heard the impact and the bones breaking, I didn't take my eyes off the two men.

"Explain this," I said in a deadly whisper.

The man on the left growled, "She disobeyed her alpha, I have the right."

"By disobey, you mean wouldn't allow you to keep her away from her mate, correct? Something an alpha should never order much less let happen to a wolf under his command."

He growled, "You're not pack. You're not even a wolf; her wolf must be confused or spelled. I refuse to let a member of my pack live off pack land with a freak. This stupid bitch is arguing with me too."

He gestured to Kim at the last comment. Then he took a step toward me. I wasn't sure if he was going to attack me, posture some more, or try and grab Alicia. In any case, I wasn't about to risk him touching my mate again, enough was enough.

My next move would shock most humans. But this was a violent world, the alpha had beat and chained my wife and looked to be about to do the same with my step mom. I surrounded my fist with my magic. He didn't even see the punch coming, I followed through viciously and he lost about half his face in an explosion of blood, bone, and cartilage. His body fell to the ground and shook a bit before it went still.

All the wolves in the field were frozen. I wondered where the hell Ray and Claudia were. If they were here and allowed this to happen I'd be pissed, so I didn't look very hard.

I turned to the other guy, "And who the fuck are you?"

Kim said softly, "Him and the new... dead alpha were new to the pack. It looks like they had designs to take over since they got here a few weeks ago."

I said to him coldly, "I should kill you but you're not the one that ordered my mate beaten. Leave Chicago now, or die. Choose."

He shifted and ran. 

I looked around and no one was moving still, "So what now? I need to have a discussion with my mate."

Kim shrugged, "They'll fight and choose a new alpha. You have the right to claim it, but it would probably be a mistake."

I agreed with that, besides not being able to shift I didn't have time to keep a whole pack of wolves in line.

I took Alicia's hand and teleported straight to the bedroom at home. I loved her, but I had to keep her wolf in submission, so I grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against the wall.

My voice was whispery steal, "If any wolf suggests that again, you will tell me. You are mine to protect."

She lowered her eyes and bared her throat as best she could with my fist around it.

Alicia said, "I promise, I didn't think he would go that far. He was supposed to be protecting us and our bond, not trying to destroy it. I'm sorry. I thought I could handle it. He wasn't right in the head I don't think, my wolf instincts failed which shouldn't happen."

"I know, and he paid the price."

I pulled her into a hug and kissed her neck. Then I led her into the shower and treated her gently. I hated forcing her submission right after she had been beaten. The fucking wolves were nuts, but I had to do it. If I hadn't done it, her wolf would have challenged me and we would have a real fight instead of a simple stare down.

I was also angry at her for not telling me sooner, I could have put an end to it before that asshole harmed her. 

No... I was angry at myself. Why the fuck did I wait that extra day, I should have known something was wrong when she didn't come back after that first day. She never stays away more than a day; her wolf doesn't like being away from me that long.

Why did it take another full day before I noticed? I failed to protect her, whether she told me about it or not.

She was naked of course, had been back in the field. I took a moment to strip down and we took a shower together. She was completely healed. She was absolutely perfect, as beautiful as the day I'd met her, and the first time I'd made her submit to me and she'd absolutely turned my life upside down. 

She had long dark black hair and the sexiest light golden eyes. She had a toned body but she still had mouthwatering curves and she felt soft against me. She was five foot seven and had perfect perky C cup breasts. I took my time as I soaped up her body, I couldn't help but react as I touched her. Still, I put off doing anything for now. When I finished she took over and cleaned me with the same soft touches.

She kissed me when she was done. It started out soft and loving as she melted against me. It slowly transformed though into passionate, needy, and demanding. I ran my hands down her waist and around her thighs to grab her ass and pull her tightly against me. My pleasure was locked between us as she growled into my mouth and nipped my lip playfully.

I pushed her back against the tile and held her up by her ass as she hopped up and wrapped her legs tightly around my lower back. Her arms were over my shoulders, her hands playing with my hair and neck. She moved her hips around until I felt my tip against her sex, I let her drop slightly down while I pushed up, impaling her heaven in one hard stroke. She gasped loudly as she ground against me. She was so damn tight as her body constricted around my hardened pleasure with warm wet sensation.

She growled, "Fuck me."

I started to stroke in and out of her as her hips swung out from the tiles, grinding into me as our flesh met with a slap. I put my head down and sucked in her nipple and bit down hard, just like she likes it. Her grasping heat felt rapturous as I slammed into her over and over. She put her face down and whimpered into my hair as she grabbed it in her hands and pulled me tighter against her breast.

I started going faster, working with my hands to lift and drop her in the same rhythm, taking her as hard as I could. I felt her heaven grasp and undulate up and down my pleasure as she flooded me with her juice. I cradled her against me and walked out of the shower and into the bedroom, drying us with a thought.

I dropped her onto the bed, crawled in after, and then flipped her over onto her stomach. I grabbed her hips and pulled her up to her hands and knees before spearing her from behind. I started to pump in and out of her, and she began bucking back into me. She met my every thrust and she gasped a breath in rhythm with each time our flesh slapped together.

I spanked her hard and then pulled back on her hair. I started fucking her as fast and as hard as I could. I let go of all my inhibitions and claimed my mate, took my mate. No matter that this was hardly the first time, it was the give and take between us, the wolves in us constantly testing and playing.

I wouldn't last long going all out like I was, and she was so sexy and beautiful the way she kept impaling herself back on me I could tell she wasn't holding anything back either. We rutted together with everything we had. When I felt her reach her bliss I buried myself twice more and kept pushing as her hot wet sheath demanded and claimed my seed.

When I was able to move again, I collapsed on to the bed and took her with me, pulling her against me in the spooning position.

Alicia said breathlessly, "I love you mate."

I told her I did too...

The next few days involved a lot of head banging at work. Although everything at home had settled down. The pack had a new alpha, which I met and approved of. I was glad I did, because I knew not having a pack would hurt Alicia. As far as the fae, I still hadn't been attacked. Whether Hope had been the only target, or they decided to rethink the whole plan after Hope counter attacked, we weren't sure.

I had also gotten to know Toni a little better and we seemed to have a tentative friendship going. She was a lot of fun, easy to talk to and it didn't hurt that she was very easy on the eyes. We had gone out again to the bar last night, though Abby had to bail for some family thing. We had a good time, and no attacks that time from her home town.

It was Thursday early morning and I was lying in bed with Kristi, our legs were tangled together and she was lying on me with a satisfied expression that I was sure mirrored my own. She still had our link connected and I could feel the after affects of our shared pleasure between us. She was so beautiful, and the amount of love I could feel in her regarding me was continually astonishing. I just didn't think I was that amazing. There was no doubt I was blessed.

Kristi said, "You should invite Toni over tonight for dinner. She sounds nice from what you tell me, and I bet she would appreciate meeting more supernaturals from the Chicago community too."

I kissed her hair, "I'll ask. What about Abby? I know she's human but..."

Kristi giggled, "You can ask, she can't make it though."

Why do I even bother asking? Her answer always gives me a headache.

She slapped my chest, "Be nice. I'm really a mind reader you know."

I said in a sharp tone, "Don't make me spank you young lady!"

She giggled and hit my chest again. I could feel the anticipation in her mind as I pulled her across my legs...

When I got to work and headed for the lab I walked in and saw Toni and Abby talking excitedly.

I smiled, "What's the news?"

Abby grinned, "Well we finally got a field analyzer working, and the problem with the anti-gravity device is the field it makes is coming out degraded. I had tested all the circuits to make sure they were up to spec by powering them each up separately, but with it fully on when I test it, one of the circuits fails. It looks like the field leaks a bit before the emitter and affects another circuit, so in essence it is interfering with itself."

I nodded, "So what can we do to fix it, I don't think we have anything that will isolate it, do we?"

She shook her head, "Not yet, we'll have to invent one, but in the meantime I isolated that circuit on a separate component. We should know by lunchtime if it will work."

I grinned, "Awesome, and a great idea to get around the problem for now."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 08



She shrugged, "It's still pretty small and in one piece, even if it's in two parts inside."

We talked about another project we had on standby while waiting for lunch. New theoretical power sources, although we couldn't settle on an approach. For a lot of it we would have to wait for the tech to catch up but there were a few things we could try.

We went out for lunch a little early; waiting for the fabricator had been driving us nuts. We wound up eating Mexican. Toni rolled her eyes at the idea, but she was outvoted. Apparently if you're raised in San Antonio, it isn't really Mexican food up here. 

When we got back to the lab we replaced the failed experiment with the new device. I held my breath as I turned it on. We cheered when we lifted the book up, and it stayed there, apparently unaffected by gravity. Though we noticed after a few minutes the book seemed to be a tiny bit lower. We took more measurements and the field was much more stable, but still a little too weak from signal loss.

We turned up the voltage going into it by a hundredth of a volt at a time until our readings were right. It seemed pretty stable but thought the resistance might change enough to matter when it got hotter, or colder. We'd have to figure out some software to control minor tweaks.

The device couldn't create gravity; we had theories for that but not enough power to make it happen, yet. But still, as it is it would be worth a lot and extremely useful. If a person wore a device that cancelled gravity they could literally get to space by pushing off with their toes, assuming of course the wind didn't blow them down at some point.

Point being it would take very little resources to create lift and forward motion. Downward motion could be created by weakening the field and letting just a little gravity leak in. Past flight and easy access to space, it could be used for moving, construction, rescue work, zero-g training and labs, cargo weight limits on boats, planes, and rigs would no longer matter, and I'm sure the list was much longer if I put just a little more thought into it.

The scary thing is it was a simple toy really, with the discovery I had made. And it would change the world. I frowned for a moment, worried about what I had seen on the news. Still, I couldn't help that the geek in me felt elated by it.

We flagged down Lina and got her started on filling out papers for the patent, giving her all the relevant information and schematics along with all the possible uses we could think of for it.

We decided in the late afternoon we would vote on what to do next tomorrow, we had gone over a large number of ideas this morning and this afternoon. We thought it would be better to sleep on it.

Before we left I asked, "Hey, are either of you busy tonight? My... partners want to meet you, and we should celebrate with some dinner and drinks."

Abby blushed at that, I guessed she wasn't too thrilled about me having two mates.

She said, "Sorry, my husband told me he's taking me out for dinner when I called earlier. Maybe next time?"

I nodded and looked over to Toni who said, "I'd love to."

On the drive over Toni asked me a little curiously how I'd ended up with two women. Even in our world it wasn't all that common a thing, though it did happen.

I grinned, "I was head over heels in love with Kristi. Then one day I went home and a werewolf attacked me. Apparently that's how they pick their mates, it's all very instinctual. Kristi wasn't exactly pleased at first, but they fell in love too."

Toni looked over at me and sounded surprised, "They did?"

I nodded, "I don't have a harem. The three of us all love the other two. I don't think it would work otherwise, jealousy would screw it up. Plus, I told you Kristi has mind magic, as well as some other stuff, it's hard to miss the fact you're loved when you can feel it."

She looked thoughtful so I let her think about that as I finished the drive. I wanted her to understand, for some reason her opinion mattered to me, maybe because I had to work with her, or possibly because I already thought of her as a friend. It would make it rather uncomfortable if she couldn't understand and judged us for it.

I pulled into the driveway and she looked a little nervous, I've never seen her act that way before. I shrugged, not sure what to say, if anything at all. I walked her in the door and could feel my mates in the kitchen so headed that way. Kristi was still in her work clothes, Alicia was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, they were both moving about.

Kristi smiled, "Nice to meet you Toni. I'm Kristi and this is Alicia. We're almost done getting dinner going. Vinnie, why don't you give her a tour of the house? We'll meet you in the living room in a few minutes."

Toni replied, "Nice to meet you both too."

Alicia seemed to look her over, as if sizing her up for trouble. She finally smiled and nodded in greeting. Wolves...

I showed Toni the first floor, all that was really upstairs was our bedroom and a couple of spares. I showed her the den, where the bathroom was, and the deck in the backyard. Since she wasn't a guy I skipped the garage and cars. Eventually we got back to the living room where I offered her a seat on the couch and got us drinks.

Toni whispered, "Is Alicia always so intense?"

I whispered back, "It's a wolf thing... and so is great hearing."

Toni blushed but I heard Alicia's light laughter in the kitchen. They both walked out and took seats.

Alicia said with self deprecating humor, "It is a wolf thing, territory and all that. As long as I'm not growling you're fine," she winked and her lips quirked into a half smile.

Kristi said, "So congrats on the breakthrough today, that must be exciting. I know I am excited about it, I work as an engineer for a green company and I've already drawn up a few proposals on it."

I snorted and narrowed my eyes as I hadn't told her yet, "When?"

She coughed innocently, "This morning after you left for work. Don't worry; I won't submit them until the patent is in."

I shook my head, "That non-disclosure agreement is worthless with you around..."

Toni smiled but otherwise ignored my interplay, "It is, we're already trying to figure out what to do next while we wait for patents and then I guess we'll be able to think about manufacturers. That's really our boss' job though."

We chatted for a while longer, by the time we made it to a second drink my mates had Toni looking a lot more relaxed. I was a little relieved myself; it would have been a nightmare if they'd hated who I spent eight to ten hours a day with.

Dinner was very good, we had broiled steaks, mashed potatoes, veggies, and some dinner rolls. I was fairly stuffed when we finished. We had some cake after and time flew by fast. Toni was curious about Kristi having magic, so Kristi explained a little more about what she could do, but was rather vague about where the magic came from.

At the end of the night Kristi gave me a thumbs up to indicate my destination was clear and I teleported Toni back to her car in the parking lot.

Toni said, "Thanks, they're really great, we should do this again, or go out one night?"

I replied happily, "Sounds good to me, I'll let them know..."

We stared at each other awkwardly for a second, and then she got in her car and drove off. I teleported back to the house and found my mates in bed already. They had started without me and were demanding my attention. I watched them with a smile as I started to undress.

Chapter 4 - Hope

Tuesday Morning...

Crap. I checked on my spy ghost after meditation, the fae had gone all the way to Montana and opened a gate to the fae world. There seemed to be some stones set up in the area and strange markings that could be spell work. I left the ghost there to see if he, or more of them, came through again, but I had no idea if there were any others already here.

It hadn't occurred to me to ask before I let the other's ghost move on. I hadn't been expecting the other one to run on home so to speak. Oh well, I'd be more careful next time. I jumped in the shower to start getting ready for work. I smiled as Bree joined me. That always led to a pleasant result. 

My body felt pleasantly sore and tingly when I left the house. I took the Metra in and was a little disappointed the fae didn't take it as an opportunity. It also forced me to dwell on other things, like the prophecy. I'd have to make a decision and figure something out soon, it seemed like all the news and riots around the world were pushing me to choose.

As usual my mind shrunk from the task. In theory I knew this had been set into motion long ago. Vinnie and I weren't responsible for more than being involved in a pivotal moment, but how do you choose? The fae had done very little to earn my favor, but did they truly deserve to die as a race? The humans I grew up with, some of them I loved, but they could turn into a horror and invade world after world in the future. It was what they did.

There had to be more too it as well. There was no way the other worlds would just step back and let the fae destroy humanity or vice versa. Perhaps something I would do will push them to a certain side? I could go crazy thinking about this. Too many possibilities.

It wasn't quite that simple either, I had an idea what I could do to at least stop the downward spiral of the current violence, but not if it was what was needed to make a difference in the end. The fae should have hung their seers a long time ago, it was impossible to understand. I pushed all that down and got to the hospital even earlier this morning. I checked the charts to get them out of the way then went to get Jeremy's answer.

I could understand his skittishness, he didn't know me that well and hadn't been treated the best by the communities so far. How could he trust me to use my magic on him and keep his defenses down? I was sure he had felt the truth of my promise last night, but often emotions get in the way and can lead people to make foolish decisions.

I knocked lightly on the open door and stepped in. Jeremy was sitting up, his knees propped up by a pillow, Bell was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Good morning Jeremy, Bell."

Bell nodded and Jeremy returned my greeting.

I asked, "Have you made a decision?"

Jeremy said, "Yeah, we talked about it. It seems hard to believe but there was no doubting you meant what you said last night, go for it."

He flinched a bit when my magic covered his body. I ran a scan after I started his knee healing and noticed a few other things. I fixed his eyesight, which wasn't bad but he was on his way to needing glasses, I also cleaned up a badly healed break in his arm.

When I told him what else I got he smiled and moved his arm around.

"Thanks, it was actually a little sore still, so should I stick around a bit? I plan to tell them I have a family emergency and have to reschedule."

I nodded, "Sounds perfect, thanks. Did you want to exchange numbers? I was serious about you two sticking around here. You'd only be one oddity of many in this town."

He chuckled and pulled out his phone, we took care of that, and then I got myself to where I was supposed to be. I was changing into my scrubs when I felt her come in.

Callie grinned, "Morning. Last night was a rousing success. I even got yelled at."

I snorted, "You really do like living on the edge don't you?"

She nodded unrepentantly, "Of course, how do you think this happened," she said while running her hand along her body.

"I was a bit to wild for my own good when I was alive. Believe it or not, this is mellow me."

I grinned and finished getting dressed, feeling a little self conscious as she watched me.

"When was that?"

She chuckled, "A long time ago. France in the sixteen hundreds actually."

My eyes got a little wide at that, "Why aren't you in charge then? You must be way more powerful than the current councilor."

Vampires got more powerful the older they were, the current councilor was probably just around a hundred or so.

She snorted, "Would you really want to put me in charge? No, I'm the... disruptive element and like it that way. Life is too short not to have fun. We should go out again soon," she smiled evilly.

I frowned, "Just for the thrill of it?"

She shook her head, "I'd be lying if I said getting along with you so well was the only reason. I do like you and we would have been friends regardless. But yes, it does give me a little bit of a thrill."

I asked curiously, "Why..."

She stepped forward getting close to me. Her almond eyes were mesmerizing and although I knew I could enslave her with a thought she looked like a goddess of some kind in the flesh.

She said with a sexy smile, "You're dangerous sweetie, in more ways than one. You are the only one in this town that could take me out with a thought, you are sizzling hot and exactly my type, and your blood has the scent of life itself. Add in everything else and how could I not be drawn to you like a moth to a flame?"

I wasn't quite sure what to say to that, she was incredibly bold and I was a bit flatfooted. Was it kind of hot in here? I also seemed to be having some trouble breathing and my mouth felt dry. She thought I was hot? I hadn't felt so attracted to someone in years, not since Bree, Rafe, and I had formed a solid relationship. It was thoughts of my family that broke me out of her mesmerizing gaze, and no, I wasn't talking magically.

"Maybe, but I'm not the only dangerous one," I whispered harshly.

She smiled at me mysteriously and walked out of the room. She had clearly known and quite enjoyed the fact she had managed to fluster me so thoroughly. Bree wasn't upset at my reaction or feelings, she thought it'd been kind of hot actually, and I could feel her amusement at my reaction through our bond.

I had no idea what to do about it, but she wasn't the only one who enjoyed fun. If nothing else she was that, so I figured I'd probably go out again with her sometime for another girls' night out.

My work day went pretty smoothly after my interesting morning. All of our patients seemed to have good a good prognosis for surgery being effective. It was only my third day. I hadn't snuck in any healing at all. I wondered how hard that would be with Andoman always looking over my shoulder to make sure I didn't screw up.

I could hide any visual aural affects of my magic, but he wasn't stupid.

Wednesday was a little interesting. I got to observe two surgeries. I knew it would be a few months before I was trusted to participate, but it was interesting, and at the same time a little frustrating to not be able to just heal them as I knew I could so easily do. 

Wednesday night got a little too interesting. Four fae came through the gate. I set ghosts on them all, to follow. I thought about attacking right away, but against four I'd definitely need my brother's help, possibly more than that. Also, I wanted to leave them enough rope in case there were more fae around that they would lead me too.

I kept an eye on them while at work Thursday morning. I should have Friday and Saturday off, if I don't get paged, and I could deal with it then. Hopefully with some help. It was Thursday afternoon when I started to regret putting it off. I had worked seven years of college to get to this point, and if I disappeared or didn't show up it would be very bad.

My ghost on portal guard called out and I reached out through the bond with my senses to see what he was seeing.

The strange writings were glowing brown, and there was what looked like a rip in reality. I couldn't see through to the other side, the surface of it was a mottled swirl of black and brown colors. I watched as fae started to pour through, when it got to twenty, one came flying out of the portal and slammed into a couple of his buddies.

My ghost looked closer and he was bleeding, his leg looked mangled. I looked up to the portal and some more fae were coming through backwards while surrounded with their brown shields. I thought perhaps some other fae on the other side were trying to stop them. The next one that came through was clearly dead, then there was a magical explosion of some kind and the portal closed violently, the stones containing the strange writing were destroyed.

A little over thirty fae had come over and were still alive. What's worse was I didn't know if this was the only portal, or if there were more to worry about. They separated into five groups of six and moved out while a couple stayed behind, trying to help the wounded one. I assigned five more ghosts, one to each group, and took a deep breath. I had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was didn't look good.

Another thought occurred, all the escalating violence worldwide. The humans were certainly capable of violence, but what if they were being helped along? I was sure Kristi could do something like that if she wanted too. The original four fae were still hours away, and it would take at least a day for the others. So I decided to finish my shift.

We were doing the last check that evening on a patient after surgery when I felt the first fae. I tensed for a moment, wondering what to do as I felt his magical aura enter the front of the building. I had obviously been right about others being there, but they had foregone contact. Maybe they had just used their magic and spoke mind to mind, or maybe they were all independent.

After all, they should be well aware of our capabilities with ghosts spying and information retrieval after death. Solitary cells all with the same mission would make sense.

As I considered what to do, I felt another fae come in a back entrance, and then another through the ER. Would they attack in the open? Well, if they did, they could either erase it from the humans' minds, or simply not worry about it. I had a feeling they would want the instability that would follow, anything to get the humans to panic and start killing each other.

"Jones!"

Uh... "Yes Doctor Andoman?" Shit. I had no idea what he asked me.

Dr. Andoman rolled his eyes and asked the question a second time, he didn't look pleased even though I was able to answer it. But it was late and he cut us loose.

I was going to teleport out, but I felt Callie moving toward one of the fae. I shut my eyes a second to get focused and used my magic to move much more quickly as I took the stairway down to the first floor. I was moving pretty fast down the hallway when I heard her voice.

Callie asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

She had no clue of course, I hadn't told her anything yet really. I got to the room in time to see her raised off the ground and flung into a wall. I heard a few humans scream, I really needed to get out of here. I ran to pick her up and teleport, but two of them hit my shield at the same time from different directions.

I went down to my knees knowing I either needed to bring out my real shields, or get out of there when suddenly the attack stopped. I looked up and saw Callie staring at someone in shock, but before I turned around to see who it was I heard...

"Hey gorgeous, can't you keep out of trouble for a few days?"

I felt so relieved my eyes moistened a little bit. That asshole.

Callie floundered, "He's human, how in the hell did he do that?"

I turned and saw two decapitated bodies, Rafe looked to be wearing a t-shirt and shorts, but I bet his magic was out.

I snorted, "Meet Rafe, he's an angel, and I don't mean his personality."

Rafe snickered, "It's good to see you too. There are more of them coming you know."

I said, "Just lay low Callie, they're after me so they'll leave when I do."

Callie asked, "I'd like to go..."

Her eyes were lit up with excitement and I rolled my eyes.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 09



Chapter 5 - Vinnie

It was official, my sister was nuts. She sat there with a coffee in her hand; she looked confident and sure, something that she had grown into over the last four plus years. It looked good, and natural, on her now. But I could sense she wasn't nearly as confident as she appeared about this decision.

Kristi pursed her lips, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Rafe asked, "Why?"

Callie asked, "Humans have magic?"

I coughed loudly.

"We talked about this sis, it would kill millions, destabilize governments, religions, everything! You can't do it."

Hope shook her head, "No, it's the only way to save them Vinnie. You have already guaranteed their destruction; you are the eldest, first born. It's the only thing that fits... If we don't do this, and let millions die, they'll all die."

I felt like she slapped me with that accusation, "How can you know? What, do you think the humans will beat the fae if they have their magic?"

She shook her head, "It's not that simple. And no. I think if they have their magic, they won't attack at all, and the fae will attack here instead. You see, it's not just the technology that is going to get them killed, it's that plus the fae enchantment."

I was a little lost, "Explain that?"

She gathered her thoughts, "I believe that when they do create a stable portal and find the fae, that with the enchantment still in place they will attack. Humans won't understand, mostly because of the enchantment, they won't believe the truth. They'll be incapable of understanding. Even more than that, the enchantment screws with people in subtle but different ways, so there will be multiple opinions, all of them wrong.

"The humans will go in and start massacring the fae with superior technology and the fae's greatest weakness, iron. I can't be positive of course, but it lines up with history and what humanity has done in the past."

I frowned, "So why then does that lead to humanities destruction?"

She said, "Because it's not limited to the fae and humans. What do you think the demons and angels will do, when they see humanity start a cross realm holy war that will spread? It's simple really; they will unite with the fae and destroy this world."

I nodded, "So you think if they have their magic, they will understand the fae and other realms of humanity? And not attack?"

She said, "Yes, but it won't get that far. As soon as I cancel the enchantment I believe the fae will panic and attack earth. They will see earth with the tech and the magic to beat them, and will try and exterminate the humans before they can perfect the science or learn control of their magic.

"Then the demons and angels will... take the other side instead. They don't want another realm war; I don't think any aggressor has a snowball's chance in hell. They'll be cut down. Of course, a lot of this is guess work, but even without it, ending the enchantment is the only way humanity will be able to deal with true reality, which you opened up to them.

"Lastly, even if I turn out to be wrong about everything, it's the right thing to do. The price is high but it's all right now, if the enchantment lasts so many others will continue to die for no reason at all, simply because humans can't see or understand the whole of reality."

Kristi nodded, "I think she's right love. And no, I don't know for sure, but it feels right."

I asked, "How would you even do it?"

Hope shrugged, "Remember Feinir? He was around when it was done. It won't be easy, I'll have to disrupt the power spells first to make sure there isn't a huge explosion, and then take out the center stone where the enchantment is while it is shielded so it can't hurt anyone."

I nodded and breathed out a sigh. "Alright, I don't like being the bad guy here, but assume you're right. What will the rest of us do?"

She snorted, "You're not the bad guy. Just pivotal. If the fae hadn't put up the enchantment in the first place your paper wouldn't have mattered at all. This will all be the fae's fault. We are responsible for our own actions, but it was theirs that started this. I'm trying very hard to think of it like a doctor in surgery. Yes, I have to cut this guys leg off so he heals, but it wasn't my fault his leg has gangrene on it. It was the guy who stabbed him and his fault for not taking care of it sooner. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't feel bad doing it.

"Make sense? As far as what I need you guys for, there are a lot of fae running around, I'm sure they won't just allow us to waltz in and turn off their enchantment. Oh... one more thing. We'll be totally outing ourselves when we do this, not only will humans have magic they'll have evidence others do too. We may want to hide out afterwards, until the humans adjust. On the other hand, if we stick around we might make a big difference against the fae as well as teaching humans."

I asked, "Okay, looks like you put a lot of thought into this. If you're right about everything it's a good plan. I can also agree it's the right thing to do regardless, but why will we be exposed?"

Hope shrugged, "Stonehenge..."

Shit... Figures. They not only have guards there, but a damn live webcam.

I asked Rafe, "What do you think, will the angels and demons react as she predicted?"

Rafe shrugged, "Most likely. The first part I'd say is more definite, if the humans invade the fae realm and start an extermination... the angels will feel threatened and will attack Earth. The demons will most likely follow. The second one is a little iffy. They will find the fae's attack a bit abrupt, maybe even uncalled for. But the fae are an old and accounted for threat in the universe. The angels won't feel threatened by the action and will only respond if it looks like it might spread to other worlds."

Rafe smiled wryly, "In short, I don't know. I think she is right about one thing for sure though, if you don't take out the enchantment, Earth will be toast in some way or another in the next decade or two. Their only chance is to see reality clearly. Not that I would ever advise you to take such an action..."

I snorted.

I suggested, "Let's go with the first part of the plan and reassess based on what happens after that. Hope's suppositions sound right, but it gets a little murky the farther it goes out. I also don't want to just hide away, but we shouldn't flaunt ourselves either. Say, be in a position to help, but not out in the open?"

Callie giggled, "Like a secret base... maybe a bat cave?"

I snorted, "Something like that yes, but I was thinking of the island. Also, another issue, what about the communities? Without an explanation they will probably all be trying to kill us, or at least find us, like the humans in the beginning. We can have my parents brief Chicago, but most other places will freak out and forbid the action."

Shit, phone. I picked it up and it was a one word message from Toni, "Help."

"I gotta go, let me know what you come up with."

Hope asked, "Do you need help?"

I shook my head, "I don't think so," as I stepped into limbo and teleported to outside Toni's apartment.

Her door was banged in. I walked through and found her on the floor hurt, but she looked to be yelling at the guy, who had her phone in his hand. I had thought the message strange, she wasn't one to ask for help. I snorted, what woman was?

I stepped out of limbo with my shield up. This seemed so familiar. I'd never had to rescue a damsel before; this was my second this week.

"Let's hear it, I suppose although you've broken into council property and assaulted one of Chicago's sorceresses I'll hear you out anyway."

I cast a glyph to shield Toni, just in case this guy tries to hurt her more. When she flinched I remembered she hadn't seen my immortal magic yet. I sent a healing magic her way as well and she seemed to relax.

The guy asked aggressively, "So are you the one that killed..."

I interrupted sharply, "Who are you? You're in my city, if you ask nicely after answering my question I might tell you. You're the intruder here."

I realized I was being an arrogant asshole, but I was really pissed, where do these women beating assholes keep coming from?

Toni said softly, "He's Manny, the head council in San Antonio and a vampire."

I frowned, wishing I'd taken my sister up on her offer. Just for the fear factor, the guy was staring me down.

I said angrily, "Very well, I'll satisfy your curiosity. Your brave sorcerer ambushed Toni here and blew up her car. Then when I asked what was going on, he tried to burn both Toni and I, when that didn't work he tried ice. That's when I killed his stupid ass. Are you happy now that you sacrificed your life for such a fool and coward? You should have gone to the council with any queries... and not done it this way.

"Any more questions or last words?"

Manny sneered, "I am a master vampire and head of a city council. How dare you threaten me! As if you could kill me."

I stressed the word as my patience was about gone, "You... are... in... Chicago. That makes you an intruder, a thug and bully who assaulted one of our own, not a council member. If you're head councilor why didn't you follow the rules?"

Manny growled, "If you succeeded this town would be drowned in blood as my coven took revenge. You wouldn't dare."

I shook my head, "You do know we have two necromancers in this town right? One on the council? Plus, you seem like kind of an asshole, I'd bet they'd all be happy to be free of your compulsions."

He still hadn't attacked me despite my insults, probably nervous about the golden shield. This was a waste of time, but even though I was in the right, I didn't want to kill him in cold blood. He wasn't actually attacking anymore.

I wrapped the three of us in magic and transported to the council building, which had a prison that could hold any of the races.

"Have fun in here waiting, the council will decide your fate."

I pushed him in with my magic and shut the door, and then I warded it.

"You okay Toni?" I asked softly.

She jumped into my arms and gave me a tight hug. Her body felt... really good against me. After a minute I started having an awkward reaction.

"I'd invite you home with me and my mates, but were in the middle of something kind of crazy."

She asked, "What? Do you need help? It's the least I could do, you've saved me twice."

I was both relieved and disappointed when she stepped away, and resisted the urge to fix myself. I tried to give her the short version, but even that took about a half an hour.

She looked incredulous, "So... you're going to expose magic, free humanity's magic, then hideaway and react on the fly as needed to keep casualties down? All to save the world?"

I snorted, "Exactly. But it sounds a little crazy when you boil it down to bullet points like that."

She chuckled but her face turned serious when she said, "I'd really like to help."

I looked at her closely, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, so I wrapped her up in my magic and took her back home with me. I took a minute to introduce Toni to everyone and I filled them in on what happened. Hope sent a ghost to fill in dad, so the council will know about the dumb ass in holding. They'd probably just kill him, hopefully.

I noticed Kristi took charge of Toni and they were talking with their heads together. I hoped I wasn't in trouble; most guys can't get in trouble for thinking about other woman... I can. Kristi gave me an amused look and winked. Just more proof I'm screwed but I smiled back.

I asked, "So what did you guys decide?"

Alicia said, "There really is no way to warn them all to go to ground. They'll have to lie low when it all hits the news. Our little group here will keep away from supernaturals as well, although if we succeed at Stonehenge that appellation will become meaningless. Point being, until the why is as widely spread as the what, we'll need to hide.

"I'm sure your parents will be helping to spread that word, so hopefully it won't take too long. The fact that cities don't cooperate that much will slow us down though."

Alicia took my hand and dragged me out of the room.

She kissed me softly and before I could ask she covered my mouth with a finger, leaned in, and whispered in my ear.

"My wolf likes this Toni... you have my blessing to take her as another mate."

Alicia had been trying to push another mate on me for years; I think it was a wolf thing. The more mates I had, the stronger I was, the more secure Alicia would be. It was a pack thing and would prove my strength as well. This time was the first however where the idea didn't seem quite so absurd to me. She must have scented it on me because she smiled, and then kissed me again briefly. When she turned I followed her back into the room.

Of course, Alicia was the easiest as I didn't have to convince her at all. I wasn't quite sure what Kristi would think of the idea. Toni seemed attracted to me, but I wasn't sure if that meant she was up for such a... unique arrangement. I was sure Kristi would let me know though; surely she knew where my thoughts were. If it was no, it would be no. I wouldn't hurt Kristi for anyone or anything.

I suppressed a snort, we were going to be changing the world soon, this probably wasn't the best time to be thinking about Toni's body and all the things I could be doing with it. She was exotic and lovely, and she was an open giving person. And this line of thought wasn't helping me at all.

"So, should we move this group to the island, stock it with food and all? That way when were done in England we can go straight there without worrying about it. We should also have some sort of portable satellite radio or TV?"

Hope shrugged, "If you want, my ghosts can keep an eye on all that stuff. I have over a hundred I can put in strategic positions, including in front of a TV. But yes on all the rest, let's do that then get this done. The longer we wait will just be extra deaths with all the riots and shit going on right now."

Kristi came over with Toni, "We can help you with that. Toni would be perfect for building an underground freezer and keeping it iced up. And I am course am your muscles."

She looked so damn cute when she said that, it was hard to remember she could toss a two ton bounder like most people would a pebble with her telekinesis.

Everyone split up at that point and we got to working on it.

Kristi and Toni took care of food, Hope took Callie on a blood raid so she would have food, the others split up to buy tents, air mattresses, a grill, a kid pool for a tub, which Toni or I could fill as sorcerers, and some soap and shampoo. We didn't bother with bottled water since we could make it on the fly. By Friday midday we were all on the beach drinking beers. We were going to wait until after dark to go for Stonehenge.

We might have been exposing ourselves, but there was no reason to do it in broad daylight with a bunch of tourists around, mostly because they could die in the crossfire if the fae came in force. With any luck they had no idea of our plans, though it was an obvious attack point, they shouldn't be caught flatfooted.

Kristi pulled me aside and we took a short walk, then she kissed me. When she pulled back her smile was wide. She extended her magic and connected us, not even bothering to try to explain with words. She was joyful with me, and I with her. 

She shared what she thought of Toni, and how she knew how I felt and wasn't threatened in the least. That she had in fact known how I would feel about Toni, and Toni about me, long before my first day of work. She saw an amazing life for the four of us if we managed to get through the tumultuous events ahead. She also agreed with me that Toni was a wonderful person, and she found Toni as exotically beautiful as I did.

She kissed me again and I knew I was the luckiest man alive as she withdrew her magic.

Now all I had to do was to seduce Toni, although based on what I saw in Kristi's mind I didn't think that would be too hard a chore. We still had hours before the mission, so I went and searched her out. When I saw her my jaw almost dropped. She was wearing a creamy white bikini with a sarong; her dark brown hair was down and flowed in the light breeze. Her petite body was sexy; her perky B cups looked perfect on her five foot one frame. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

Her beautiful eyes spotted me and she smiled at me. I made my way over.

I held out my hand, "Go for a walk?"

She nodded and held my hand, an amused look in her eyes.

"You look great."

She looked me up and down and said, "You too."

I asked, "So what do you think of the idea of my unique family?"

She stopped walking and pulled my hand so we were facing each other.

She put a hand on my chest and said softly, "So, is this where you seduce me into joining your little harem? You've got your sexy blonde and the submissive black haired wolf bitch and figured you'd add me for a little exotic, sexy, dark brown haired and tanned skin variety?"

I choked, "I wouldn't put it that way."

She sighed and shook her head sadly and pouted, "You wouldn't? But I was really looking forward to it."

I saw her lips twitching in the corners. I'm ashamed to say I sputtered a bit at that point, but I finally came to my senses and tossed her over my shoulder. I carried her, as she hit my ass and back in a very unconvincing attempt at outrage, to a somewhat small but secluded stretch of sand.

I summoned a beach blanket right before I dropped her on it.

She blew out a breath and glared up at me.

"You're really sexy when you're mad. I know it's only been five days, but I really do care about you. I can tell Kristi and Alicia do as well. So Toni, would you like to join my harem? I don't have the exotically sexy position filled just yet and you'd fit that description perfectly. You're also an amazing woman and intelligent, which makes you so much sexier than just what is on the outside."

I grinned as her mouth dropped open.

"Are you going to answer me? Or should I assume silence is a yes and just take you. You'd like that wouldn't you?"

I could tell the idea of it was turning her on. I could smell her arousal, her nostrils were slightly flared and her breathing and heartbeat had quickened. But something was off, she also looked very nervous with a dose of shock mixed in. It took a moment but I realized my mistake. Perhaps four years in a committed relationship had totally screwed up my seduction abilities.

I had felt she actual meant what she said, but she also wasn't all that serious, she'd just been flirting.

I sat down close to her and when our skin touched slightly on our legs and arms it seemed to kick start my libido. She smelled as good as she looked and felt as well, but I simply claimed her hand and waited for her mind to catch up with it all. I could feel her slowly relax next to me, taking my cues from her body language and how she held my hand.

"So... what do you really think of the idea of my unique family?"

There was no point backtracking to earlier, I wanted to get over the awkwardness, not rekindle it. Hopefully we were talking on the same level this time.

She shook her head but said softly with disbelief, "I think it's wonderful. I'm just surprised, I was only flirting and... Why me? I could tell you were teasing about the harem thing but..."

I said slowly, "I can't lie and say attraction doesn't enter into the equation. I couldn't take my eyes off of you that first day, you truly are beautiful and the way you deal with people just enhances that. But the more I got to know you, the more that faded into the background. 

"You were easy to talk to, and I mean about more than just chitchat. I'm not really asking for a commitment, it's only been a week since I met you. But I do want to see where it can lead, and I know Alicia and Kristi do too. You need to get to know us better as well. They're probably hatching some plan to do some girls only thing right now."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 09



She looked confused, "They want this too?"

I nodded with a rueful smile, "Sure, they made that very clear to me earlier."

She bit her lip in thought and looked up at me through her eyelashes. I had to restrain myself from kissing her and nipping her full lips with my own teeth.

She still looked nervous, I didn't want her to feel pressured so I said, "If you want to think about it, even talk to Alicia or Kristi before we take this any further? I can tell you're a little nervous and I know it's all moving fast with everything else going..."

She cut me off with a kiss. It was the slow exploring kind and her full lips felt electric against mine and I moaned into her mouth as my shorts tightened. She explored my torso with one hand as we explored each other's mouths with questing tongues.

She broke the kiss and whispered in my ear, "I'm not nervous about being with you at all."

She didn't volunteer why she was nervous, and this was clearly the wrong time to ask. I wasn't that rusty...

I pulled her into my lap and started kissing her hungrily. She gasped as her core pushed against my hard pleasure. I reached around and pulled on the string of her bikini. I brushed away the fabric and cupped one of her breasts as we continued to kiss hungrily. I could feel her hardened nipple against my palm as she started to grind her warm center against my hardness.

Something seemed to click in her and she released her tense muscles and pushed my down on my back. There was a hungry look in her eyes as she pulled down my shorts. She stroked me up and down a few times, then dipped down and took me into her mouth. I moaned as she took me in deep to the back of her throat while slathering my length with her wet tongue.

My eyes were locked with hers, but I could also see her firm B cups clearly for the first time. Her areolas were large; her nipples tightened stretching and reddening the surrounding skin. She popped off of me, leaving behind a generous amount of her saliva. She arched her back never taking her hungry eyes off mine as she slowly removed her sarong. Her stomach was tight and flat, her curves in all the right proportions for her height.

When she slipped her bikini bottoms off I could see her swollen lips were glistening from her juice. I started to move wanting to take her, and she glared at me with heat while she pushed me back down as she crawled up my body. She was so beautiful, hot, and exotic. Plus the intense look in her eyes I didn't even consider not letting her take me instead.

Besides, I already had two submissive women in my life, although for Kristi that was only in the bedroom. This would just be an added bonus on the variety side though, my cock was straining as she held it, lining it up with her waiting molten core.

I should have seen this coming, she was so outgoing, but almost submissive in the way she treated me and others. She was willing to go along with other ideas and not force her views forward. It didn't surprise me she would be the opposite in bed, and actually I was quite delighted by the idea.

She lowered herself slowly, when her silken hot labia hugged the sensitive tip of my manhood I moaned. It was a slow torture of pleasure as she took me into her body, wrapping me in a wet tight heat, I couldn't help my body's response as I pushed up into her, and our bodies fully joined together.

Toni ground in and gasped. She dug her nails into my chest as I felt her core flutter around me, muscles tightening and loosening as she became accustomed to my size.

She said breathily, "God, I've been wanting this. Your cock fills me up..."

I reached up and pinched her nipples between thumbs and forefingers while massaging my other fingers into her supple breasts.

She moaned, "Yes, harder."

I pinched them harder and felt her core clench around me. When it released she started to ride up and down my pole with abandon. Her perky tits bounced and shook violently each time she impaled herself down on me. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and my body started to push up to meet her down stroke without any conscious thought of my own.

She arched her back and sped up, then suddenly gasped right before her silken wet heat started to squeeze and milk my manhood as she gave it a honey bath. She looked wild and sexy as she came on me, her whole body trembling above me. My orgasm came in surprise as my cock surged and expanded in her tight grasping channel and I filled her with my seed.

I caught her as she collapsed forward and drew her into a soft kiss. I felt her tremble and her core tighten as a small aftershock took her.

When she came down a bit, she started kissing my neck and rubbing her nubile body against mine. She bit my neck playfully and purred as she rubbed her body along mine like a cat in heat.

She whispered sultrily, "I'm not done with you, or that big cock, yet..."

I felt a surge of lust and could hardly think, much less disagree. The sweet soft spoken beautiful woman I had gotten to know had turned into an aggressive sex goddess. I wasn't sure what to say back, and just caressed her hair and neck. Sometimes silence is best.

She kissed her way down my body and took my wet member in her mouth; I felt myself responding quickly to the sensations she caused in me as she aggressively brought me back to hardness in her soft, wet, and warm mouth and with soft roaming hands. 

"Oh god Antonia, your mouth feels incredible," I couldn't wait to find out what she would do next, it didn't take long for me to find out...

 

Chapter 6 - Hope

I was running out of ghosts. I had about one hundred forty. I had some tracking the fae, some watching Stonehenge, a few in my house, some at my brother's. I had one with dad in case he had a message for me. I was also spying on key people in a few governments so we would have time to respond to human movements. I felt a little guilty about that, but we needed to know what would happen.

The plan was to try and keep the death toll down, but I had no illusions we could stop it all, we would just have to focus on the biggest problems that we could handle. Assuming of course we were successful with the enchantment. My ghosts hadn't seen more than a few fae currently around Stonehenge, but I wasn't sure if that would go up when the tourists were gone.

I felt Rafe start to massage my shoulders.

"How are you doing?"

I snorted, "Stressed, but good. I know it's the right thing, but it doesn't make it easy at all."

He kissed the side of my neck, "You should take a break, and relax if you can before the attack. We're planned out until we find out what happens next, you'll be a wreck if you stress another few hours and then fight."

I suppressed a sigh, easier said than done.

I said in a small voice, "What if I'm wrong about the human reaction?"

Rafe asked, "What do you mean?"

I said, "What if they are violent anyway? What if they do understand and that doesn't change enough? The last of a few humanoid races left their dying worlds to come here and be safe. What if the humans decide to exterminate the rest of us, squatting on their planet these last fifteen centuries?

"With their magic, and in the billions, we would be crushed in days. Sorcerers, Witches, werewolves, vampires, necromancers, warlocks... all gone forever. Do I really have the right to take that risk? But if I don't they'd die anyway with the humans of this world. I really fucking hate the fae."

I felt him shrug behind me before answering.

"There will be some that want to do just that, and some that will embrace us for our differences. I think the only real difference, is those that in the middle will be free to choose on their own, instead of being led by fear, lies, and misunderstanding. Don't forget they will all be emphatic as well as telepathic, can you imagine Eloise, Elisha, or Kristi reacting in death and violence?

"Before they were changed there would have been fear and condemnation. I hope that we will be welcomed to say the least. It will be interesting in any case. If the worst does happen, we can always evacuate as many as possible to other worlds."

I nodded and asked archly, "So what did you have in mind for my relaxation?"

He grinned against my neck, "You'll find out..." and he took me to the hot spring...

A few hours later we were all getting ready to go. I had to admit I was feeling much better. Being Rafe's fuck toy for a few hours really took the edge off.

The plan was pretty straight forward. Everyone here would be protecting my back as I took care of the enchantment. No one would be without at least Vinnie's or my shield cast onto them. It would be the lower power one, but it would still be stronger than anything they had, and would give them breathing room.

Vinnie would make the call if we needed to retreat and just teleport us all away. There were only eight of us, seven not including me since I wouldn't be fighting much, and only three of those that could stand against a fae equally, Kristi, Rafe, and Vinnie. To support those three, Bree would be working with Callie in a team and Toni would be working with Alicia.

If there were more than a handful of fae we would have serious problems. The bad part was if we had to retreat we'd be exposing ourselves without freeing the humans, which would be... very bad.

Of course, being a necromancer I had the possibility of increasing our odds by a lot.

I took a deep breath, "Everyone ready?"

I took in the series of nods and grunts of assent. I almost laughed when I saw Callie's face; she was the only one that was jazzed about it. Everyone else looked grim and determined where as she looked like a five year old about to ride their first rollercoaster.

I wrapped us all in magic and took us to England...

We appeared right near a couple of fae sentries and overwhelmed them quickly. I hated the idea, but anything to increase the odds. I would let them go after the battle, but for now I turned them into revenants and we had two fae on our side.

There were two more sets of two. We split and went after them. They started to run and one even took flight. Rafe hopped into the sky reminding me I didn't have wings... bastard.

I was quickly overtaking the other one when I ran into good size rock that he'd hurled with his mind. Callie was very fast, and tackled the fae, slamming him into the ground. She couldn't get past his shield but had slowed him enough for me to cut him in half with my sword.

Vinnie had similar luck, and all six fae were now my bitches.

We had no idea how long reinforcements would take, and I didn't want to waste time asking about it. I sent one to Kristi for her to plumb his mind, then got to the reason we came here. Stonehenge looked like it had seen better days, but out of the visual range of humans I could see the glowing brown spell glyphs that looked similar to the portal stones on the large stones.

The surrounding stones collected magic, and fed it to the actual enchantment in the middle, in essence this world's magic had been fueling it all these years. I needed to cut off the flow of power before I could destroy the enchantment, or bad things would happen.

I'd studied the information I'd stolen from Feinir long ago, and knew what glyph to look for. I wondered briefly how many people were watching the webcam. Maybe we'd get lucky and it would only be some sleeping security guard somewhere.

I found the correct glyph that held it all together and took a deep breath. I sent my magic at it, trying to disperse and break down the magic, much like I would while trying to break a shield. I thought my sword might work, but the glyphs had depth and I didn't want to cut the stone in half. I wasn't sure what would happen if it collapsed before the spell was broken. I also didn't want to break Stonehenge. So it took me some time, as I sent my magic in a stream at it.

Eventually the glyph seemed to shudder and break apart. The surrounding glyphs that made up the rest of the spell faded away a few seconds later. I went to the next stone, and the next. As I worked on the second to last power stone, things rapidly went downhill. Fae started showing up and attacking. I took a few mind attacks against my shield as they tried to get around everyone else, but I had my armor and sword out so my shield absorbed their attacks.

Hitting this thing with magic wasn't taking all my concentration, so every time I felt a fae die behind me I added him or her to my group. The glyph broke apart under my magic just as a royal air force jet screamed by overhead at about fifty feet. It was really loud. I just hoped the fact this was a national treasure they wouldn't start dropping bombs on me.

When I started on the last power stone, I had fifteen undead fae enslaved to me, plus our seven. But I felt at more fae start to gather at the edge of my range. They stopped charging in small groups, and were waiting until they had overwhelming numbers to charge.

I felt them start to move and Vinnie screamed, "Out of time!"

I felt his magic start surrounding me, but shielded from it, I was almost done as they all disappeared on me. I sent my twelve fae to intercept, knowing it would only gain me a few seconds at most. The power glyph failed and I felt a great number of mind attacks. My body popped into limbo by reflex where I collapsed on the floor. I got up and walked to the enchantment stone, which was now surrounded by a number of them. 

I growled in frustration.

I didn't know if I'd be fast enough, I'd have to shield the stone completely, even under the ground, and then I had planned to drop in one of those exploding magic grenades to destroy the enchantment and most probably the stone itself.

The reason for the shield was to separate the enchantment from humanity, I didn't know what destroying it would do to the humans if it was still connected to them. Even at its greatly reduced power. Vinnie popped up next to me in limbo and Bree showed up a second later as a ghost.

"What are you doing? Why did you block me?" he didn't sound happy asking.

I growled, "We are too close to fail now, I only need two seconds to finish this."

I saw the fae look around, and then start to leave. We couldn't hear sound from limbo so it confused me a little until I turned around. There were helicopters landing, and troops unloading.

I grinned, "Awesome, be right back."

He grabbed me and said, "Wait. Let's do it together, I'll shield, you blow it up. We'll cut off a little time that way."

I nodded. "On three."

We counted off, I dropped out of limbo and tossed the compact ball of magic, it skipped through the shield as Vinnie raised it, and we popped back over to limbo. The enchantment did get destroyed, so did the stone. What we hadn't expected was the very large crater in the shape of Vinnie's shield, barely visible through the rock dust.

I swallowed. Did I do the right thing?

Bree said with a frown, "Let's go, I'm sure everyone is frantic waiting for you to get back."

I guess I was in trouble. Still, not so bad for a Friday night out...

I let Vinnie teleport me this time, and we stepped out of limbo as soon as our feet hit the beach. A second later Bree was back in her flesh and in my arms.

She whispered, "Callie is hurt."

"How bad?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

Bree said reassuringly, "Not too bad, part of her leg got crushed when she was protecting me during the last wave we fought. She says she'll be fine."

I growled, "Where is she?"

Bree said, "In the cold room, drinking blood."

Everyone else was asking for an update and what happened. I gladly left that for Vinnie and took off to Callie. She was a mystery to me at times, why wouldn't she just ask me for healing? My necromantic magic could fix her even faster than that.

I went down the ramp and felt the chilly air, but it didn't affect me.

Callie looked up, she had a bag of blood in her hands, and her teeth were out. Her almond eyes were glowing and she smiled. She looked like a savage goddess, at least until I looked at the mangled leg that is.

Callie said cheerfully, "I'll be back to normal in a day or so, don't worry about me."

I walked over until I was only a foot or two away.

I said softly, "Don't you trust me? I'll heal you."

She froze like a statue for a moment, and then said teasingly, "If you're sure, I might have to express my thanks though," as she looked me up and down.

I let out my necromantic power and caressed her body with it, making her shudder and close her eyes. I sent it down into her leg, rebuilding the tissues, making them perfect. Then I swirled my magic all over her body fixing any imperfections I could find. I'd never done this for someone not bonded to me and her obvious reaction caught me off guard. Her face looked blissful.

I chuckled warmly and asked innocently, "You like that Callie? Does my magic feel good? Do you like the danger of it, being so close to enslaved, yet feeling such pleasure?"

I knew I was teasing her, but she flirted outrageously with me all the time, it was my turn and I stepped closer so there was barely any space between us.

Callie whispered, "Yes, yes, and yes..."

With a thought I ran my magic between her legs, adding more nerves and increasing her sensitivity. She froze and I could see her tremble as I pleasured her with my magic.

She shivered and looked at me with hooded eyes that seemed to be asking me something. It was then that I understood her. She was like me, except that she didn't know how to step back from her alpha role and power, she didn't know how to let it all go and submit like I did with Rafe and Bree.

No, she either didn't know how or couldn't. Even worse, she was incredibly powerful at her age for a vampire. So she played her little games, and I think deep down she did it not only just to have fun, but in the hope that she would be taken and put in her place so to speak. She was so beautiful, and although I liked to be submissive, the idea of giving her the gift of dominance appealed to me greatly.

She challenged me in a way Rafe and Bree never had, perhaps that's all I needed to make contact with my inner mistress.

I leaned forward and kissed her. She whimpered in my mouth as we kissed, my magic still stimulating her hot wet core while holding her body still. I was toying with the idea of leaving her that sensitive; I'd have to ask her later. I increased it again, holding her on the edge of pleasure as I broke our kiss. I found myself enjoying the power I held over her more than I expected. It was heady to have this beautiful powerful woman under my control and whimpering in need.

Enslavement was wrong, distasteful, but this sexual play was a different story entirely and I was getting wet. I could feel Bree's lust too as she watched us, which added another dimension to the lust and desire I felt.

I whispered in her ear sultrily, "I know what you desire, tell me and I'll let you have it."

She said between moans of pleasure, "I want to fuck you; I want to be with you. Please let me cum..."

I shook my head against her neck, my lips brushing along her silky skin as I played with her long black hair.

I said with my sultry voice filled with innuendo, "Close, but not quite what you want. What do you want? Or don't you know?"

She whimpered, "I want to be yours..."

I held her in my arms and gave her a shove with my magic. She made high pitched noises which cut off as she exploded, her juice flooded out of her and ran down her legs as she trembled against me.

I whispered as she came down, "Good girl, now pleasure me..."

I stepped back and pulled off my clothes. I looked back at her and saw her eyes widen as I bent over a large sturdy container. I could see her pride fighting with the urge to submit now that she wasn't on the edge of cumming.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 09



With a burst of power I pushed her onto her knees and ordered in an arrogant and demanding tone of voice, "Crawl over here and pleasure me... This is what you wanted; now you're my pussy pleasing vampire pet."

I could see her eyes glaze over in desire and waited. I knew this was new for her and her deepest darkest desire or not, to force her to eat me out would be rape. Putting her on her knees had been one thing, but it was as big a push as I was willing to give, so I waited. I hoped she would give in. I knew what it felt like to struggle with letting go, and the pleasures and happiness that awaited her if she submitted.

I thought she wouldn't break, wouldn't let her inner desires have their way. In the end though it was Bree's little comment that pushed her over.

Bree said breathlessly, "If you don't, I'm going to get me a taste."

Callie practically growled at Bree, and then started crawling toward me. I moaned in pleasure and satisfaction as I felt her tongue run along my labia, slightly dipping in and tasting me.

I pushed back a little, "Deeper."

I told her what a good girl she was when she started to dig in deep, her tongue sliding into my waiting body. I gasped in surprise as she licked up my slit and kept going across my taint. She started to rim and push her tongue against my puckered star as she slid a finger into my grasping center. I pushed back and grinded my ass into her face as she licked deeper into my forbidden hole and thumbed my clit.

It felt so good and I was so close I demanded, "Don't stop. Fuck that's amazing."

I felt my core coil tightly, crushing her invading fingers as rapturous bliss came over me. As I came down she was still licking along my crack and teasing my rosebud. The fingertips on her other hand were exploring my body. She brought me over a second time and it was so much more powerful, I was taken into blissful ecstasy and I seemed to hang there forever in that brief moment of time.

When I came back down I said, "Enough."

She looked up at me with a strange expression on her face; she was totally relaxed and asked, "How did you know?"

I just winked, wrapped the three of us in magic, and teleported up to the hot spring.

Bree and I got very creative as the three of us pleasured each other time and time again. I could sense my ghosts had some news for me, and I was a little sore, so we were cuddled together in the water. Bree and I were both giving her lots of loving attention; it was an important part of being a sub. I know I would feel like yesterday's trash if they didn't do it for me every time.

Not that it was a hardship, it was easy to feel that way for her.

I smiled at Callie, "So sweetie, you like cumming at the drop of a hat? Or should I change it back."

She looked horrified, "Don't you dare!"

I laughed, "Okay, it's up to you. But when Rafe gets a hold of you, you'll be a ragdoll in no time flat."

I laughed harder when she smiled at the thought...

We made our way back to the beach, not in any hurry to get there as I got reports from my ghosts through the bonds. When we got there, I filled them all in on what was going on.

"The government seems to be taking a wait and see approach. They aren't sure what to make of it yet and so far there aren't any reports of people discovering their powers. If I remember right, Kristi's was weak the first couple of days, and it took a few months before she was up to full power."

Vinnie nodded, "Yes, it felt like a newly planted tree. Plus we were working with her to pull it out, who knows how long it will take. I mean, we can't exactly give the world a class... can we?"

I grinned, "That would be a neat trick. We could probably reach the richer countries if we invade a TV station, but that wouldn't work for the third world countries. Plus, China might suppress it."

I continued with the update, "There is a controversy in England about what happened at Stonehenge, but we certainly aren't exposed yet. They have some video, but it was dark so all they really got was lights. It hasn't even made the news in America or anywhere else internationally. I'm sure there is some in the military over in England that has an interesting report to read, but being the military they might stonewall and suppress it.

"I think we have an opportunity here with that, mom and dad should have plenty of time to get word out to other communities before the shit hits the fan."

I shrugged, "So far nothing on the Fae. They are all holed up together in a warehouse outside of London. The ones that came through in America are just milling around as well. Who knows where the rest of them are? Big question, do I go to work tomorrow, or should we lay low here to avoid other communities?"

Vinnie shook his head, "I think we should all call in sick. We may have a short window but I'm sure something will hit the fan in the next day or two. Let's wait until mom or dad sends us the all clear for it at the least on the community side."

I sighed, so much for seven years of med school.

"Any other ideas?"

Rafe said in a faux alarmed voice, "I think we're running low on beer."

I chuckled, "Take care of that babe?"

Rafe grinned, "You got it gorgeous."

"Any other ideas, related to our situation?"

Kristi sighed, "How about that invade the station idea? I know when my magical abilities were new, they were hard to control when I got angry. When people start popping with magic, they'll probably be throwing people, or hurting minds etc...

"Like you said we can't reach all six billion people, but we can inform a third of that maybe."

I shrugged, "Sure, I just hope we don't start a panic."

Vinnie said thoughtfully, "Why don't I take this one sis, I'm relatively well known already, and have repeatedly turned down offers of being interviewed. I bet I could get in the door. And if Kristi can teach the interviewer to do something simple, like telekinesis during the interview it would add credibility. Otherwise it may be taken as a hoax. Still probably will."

I frowned, "I guess it would be overkill to take us all, you'll be taking your whole family or just Kristi?"

He shrugged, "All of them, I don't want them out of my sight until this is all settled one way or another. Plus, a werewolf and another sorcerer may come in handy too."

I sighed, "Fine big brother."

His eyes went wide.

I giggled at his expression, "I've been waiting to say that for twenty six years, well, that or little brother," I stuck out my tongue.

I said still smiling, "I guess that's for the best, I can stay here and keep an eye on all the things my ghosts are keeping an eye on. I'll try and let you know if anything huge happens, or if I respond to something else."

When things got quiet for a few seconds, Callie took my hand and pulled me up off the sand. She had a determined look on her face so I allowed her to lead me away. When we were far enough for privacy, with the possible exception of Alicia, she turned to me.

Callie said, "There is something else I want between us..."

I asked curiously, "What is it sweetie?"

Callie looked away for a minute, and then looked at me in the eyes, "Will you bond me?"

I froze, not expecting that question, "Why?"

Callie frowned, "Am I not important to you? What is this then between us?"

I pulled her into a hug and kissed her, "You are important to me, I think you'll fit in perfectly with our little family. I just don't understand, do you mean like Bree?"

She chuckled, "Yes, I don't want to be your slave silly, well, maybe in bed... I just want the connection to you the way she has. I want to feel you, to know you that intimately. I want you to feel me, know what a thrill it is to be yours, to please you. You have no idea do you? How wonderful you are. I've been alive for a long time, and I've never met anyone at all like you before.

"I... love you Hope."

I couldn't speak past the lump in my throat, so I reached out with my necromancer magic and created a mind to mind bond. I pulled her in for a kiss, and then I opened the bond wide between us. We explored each other then, in mind, emotions, and body. It was quite a bit later when we returned to the camp to find my brother and his mates already gone.

But Rafe was sitting on about ten cases of beer. It was the perfect combination...

 

Chapter 7 - Vinnie

I squeezed Kristi's hand, Alicia and Toni followed us in. I noticed Toni got that nervous look on her face still, from before we made love, okay... from before she fucked my brains out. But she wouldn't tell me what it was, neither would Kristi. I shrugged and tried to put it behind me, maybe it was one of those women things us guys didn't understand.

We were at one of the major all day news stations, just not the one that only had like four viewers. I didn't really have a plan per say, just a goal. Hopefully things wouldn't go too far off course. I stood in front of the security desk and waited for the guard to look up.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a NYC accent.

I said, "Hi, I'd like to see one of the producers? I'm Vinnie Jones, I'm fairly sure they will want to talk to me. I have a... major story."

The guard rolled his eyes, but didn't respond except to pick up the phone. He spoke for a minute, mentioned my name, and then hung up.

"Someone should be out soon, sign in here and take a seat."

The four of us signed the ledger and grabbed seats by the window facing the street. We waited about thirty minutes when a short blonde girl about nineteen came out and joined us. I guess my desirability for an interview had gone down because it looked like they sent an intern.

She smiled, "It's so nice to meet you Mr. Jones. I'm Sherry; the guard mentioned something about you having a new story?"

I nodded, "Did you hear about what happened at Stonehenge? It's related to that and will change the world in more ways than my scientific paper ever could."

She frowned, "We did, but it was a non-story, we couldn't make anything out except strange lights and shadows. How does it relate?"

I took a deep breath and spit out, "Because Stonehenge was built to suppress humanities magic, and we want to let people know so they don't panic when that becomes apparent."

She giggled, "You're joking?"

Kristi got the girl's attention, then lifted her chair an inch off the ground and lowered it back down.

She gasped, "How did you do that, and what was that green stuff?"

Kristi said, "My magic, and soon you'll be able to do that and so much more."

She looked at all of us, "I can't take you guys back there, they'll laugh at me, seriously. If it's going to happen anyway why are you even here?"

I sighed, "Because we want to teach people to consciously access it. Magic is dangerous. Can you imagine a frustrated parent suppressing the urge to hit their kid? Well what happens tomorrow when a few thousand kids get thrown through a wall by their minds? The saying if looks could kill is about to be a reality."

We argued back and forth a few times, until Kristi offered to teach her to do it. It took Kristi about fifteen minutes before Sherry could access her magic to lift things up. Sherry's eyes got wide as we listed all the magic possible for humans... that we knew for sure about. 

It took her at least as long to superficially come to terms with it as it had for her to learn it. I was sure she had a ways to go, but she was at least functioning again as a human being. Kristi had a harder time, but to be fair she had almost blown up with the car that day.

Sherry finally grudgingly agreed to take us back there. The young woman seemed way too afraid of losing her job, but I imagine getting an intern position at such a big news organization would come with a lot of competition. I started to wonder if this was such a great idea, on the other hand, were there any good ideas right now? All we could do was try to lessen the impact.

We met another woman, about thirty five. We went through the whole spiel again, and maybe an hour and a half later, in the middle of the night, we were put on live. We basically were walked through the same spiel again on live television. It was a little boring by the third time around and everything seemed to be going well... until the SWAT team showed up.

We had almost been finished going through it all; if they'd have been five minute later we would have been gone.

I frowned as they actually came into the studio with assault rifles and gear. The host looked terrified and Kristi just looked amused. I could hear Alicia growling from ten feet away off stage.

I turned to the host, "This is what I was talking about, and something the government absolutely should not be doing. It won't help in the long run. Everyone will have the same abilities, making guns like those obsolete"

Of course, bigger ordinance would still work, but I wasn't going to say that.

One of the cops shouted, "Get down on the ground."

Kristi stood up and asked, "On what charge? What you're doing is illegal... and inadvisable."

The interviewer was kind of slumping in his seat.

The cop shouted, "Do it now!"

Kristi shook her head and sat back down as a transparent green dome surrounded all of us.

One of their team must have panicked, because he opened fire without an order. The bullets stopped dead at the shield and just hung in the air. Kristi turned and moved her head along the line of men, and they all fell to the ground... asleep.

I kind of wanted to take her right here on national television... she was so hot when she got violent, maybe because most of the time she was the kindest woman I'd ever met.

She grinned at me, "Later dear."

She added talking directly to my mind, "You're a bad boy aren't you, I bet you'd like to bend me over this desk over here and push that big cock into my little tight ass, wouldn't you?"

I groaned, I love when she teases me but sometimes... it just drives me crazy, she does have a really sexy ass. I love that she's a lady in public but a submissive ass slut in my bed.

The interviewer gasped interrupting our silent conversation, "What did you do?"

Kristi explained, "They are just sleeping. But this goes back to what we were saying. Fairly soon every human in the world, six billion of them, will have the power to take out what in today's world is a nigh unbeatable force outside of the military, without even trying.

"Of course, the swat team will have powers too then, but the point is our society is about to greatly change. We can handle it though, we have too. Everything will change."

The interviewer asked, "How so?"

She shrugged, "Besides the magic, everything that has been hidden from us because of it. Certain truths. Think of it as a blind man sure he knows everything about the world. Then he gets his sight back. The rose in the garden, a sunset, the stars at night, will all fill him with awe. Things of that nature."

She was doing well; I didn't think talking about other dimensions and human races was a good idea right now. Once they accepted magic, and the change it would bring, the other truths would go much more smoothly.

The interviewer asked, "Anything else we should know?"

I shook my head, "I think just accepting the idea of everyone having magic is enough, isn't it?"

He snorted, "I think it's going to be a long hard road."

He signed off after that and the live feed went back to the studio. We shook his hand then got out of there. I teleported us to the island, grabbed Kristi, and summoned the lube as we found a nice private section of beach. Alicia and Toni followed, but were more focused on getting to know each other intimately than on what we were doing...

The others seemed amused when we came back later and we filled them in on our night. My sister told us the government wanted to stop it, but were clueless on how. At least they hadn't done anything irredeemably stupid... yet.

Hope said, "The fae are worrying me. They just sit there. What could they be doing?"

We found out a few hours later. Toni and Alicia were sleeping. The rest of us didn't have to sleep, so we were just enjoying the morning sun and the cool breeze. Bree and Kristi were making us breakfast over a grill and seemed to be chatting up a storm. I was really glad there were no real personality conflicts in the group. Even Rafe had grown on me a little.

Hope reported, "The television went out... shit. The government is freaking out; I think I know what the fae are doing. They must be joining minds or something, because they are ripping all the satellites out of orbit, maybe to start a war or at least hamper communications around the World? 

"Everyone in the white house is on edge; they are discussing the probability of it being a new weapon made from your scientific theory. So is England and Russia. The second theory that's been thrown around is magic, of course, that's the right one but they don't know about the fae.

"Any ideas?"

I shrugged, "We can try and gather a force big enough to stop them, or tell the humans the truth about it all... I hate to say it, but a drone and a few missiles would take them all out and implode the warehouse. I don't want to give them any ideas though. Plus, there are a lot of groups out there right now, and we only know where two of them are, the one in England by London, and the one in America in the Midwest."

She nodded in agreement but said, "We can't not do anything, can we?"

I snorted, "What do you suggest, teleporting to the oval office?"

I groaned at the gleam in my sister's eye.

"Let's try mom and dad first."

She frowned, and then nodded, "The president sounded like more fun, but I sent a ghost, so they should be here... soon."

She said soon right after they teleported in.

We filled them in and they asked us for the locations. They asked for an hour to gather a force and disappeared to make some phone calls, which would hopefully be working. We ate breakfast together, saving some of the food for Toni and Alicia.

Callie actually hadn't drunk any blood since my sister bonded her. We weren't sure what was going on with that. She wasn't actually a revenant, even with a mind to mind bond, but she wasn't strictly a vampire either, she seemed to be feeding from the link energy. She wasn't a lich either, and I wasn't sure my sister would ever do that, linking soul to soul as my father and Amy had done which lead to a transformation.

After an hour my parents came back, with a warlock and demon in tow.

Hope asked, "Jeremy? Bell?"

Jeremy said, "I'm here to help."

My mother said, "Your father and I will take the American group, we have help from Chicago of course, and also Seattle. None of the others want to get involved, now that humans can see and remember magic they're all basically in hiding until things shake out. 

"You two take care of England, there are some people who volunteered from a community over there, so meet them about a mile west from the warehouse before moving in. I love you both."

Hope and I hugged her and we waved as they left.

Hope took a moment to introduce Jeremy and Bell after I woke up my sleeping mates. I imagined that working with a demon and warlock would be an interesting experience.

I said, "Welcome and thanks for your help. Feel free to grab some food; we'll leave in a few minutes."

We gave them and my mates time to wolf down the rest of the breakfast and wake up a little bit, then we teleported back to England. I was sure there were much more fae around, but it couldn't hurt to take out these two locations. It should slow them at any rate.

We were joined by a coven of witches who warily kept their distance from Jeremy. There were also a number of vampires, two sorcerers, and fifteen werewolves. We came up with a quick plan. The coven would put up a power circle around the warehouse after I raised it out of the earth. The rest of us would then attack from both sides.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 09



They'd probably be able to break the circle but hopefully not fast enough to escape. My sister teleported the witches into a surrounding position, Bell teleported half the group to the east side of the warehouse as I went to the west side with the rest of us. I channeled the earth and a circle and spell glyphs rose out of the ground. The witches poured their power into it.

The first part of the plan went off great. But we were about to charge fifty or so fae with a little over sixty people, most of them werewolves or vampires, who one on one wouldn't have a chance in hell against a fae. The only advantage they had was the shields my sister and I provided, but that wouldn't buy them much time.

At first it was a slaughter, they seemed to be in some kind of trance. My sister, Bell, Kristi, and I tore through three a piece in a few seconds. Then they started fighting back. The warehouse was empty for the most part but they concentrated their attacks against the strongest of us. What little debris there was, the fae used to slap us around and distract us, though they couldn't push through our shields.

If they had all concentrated and taken us on one by one they may have prevailed. But they were too unfocused, their attacks split between the four of us and even the others.

A lot of them started to float up off the ground. We jumped, but they were fast and could usually dodge while we were stuck on a single trajectory.

For a while, the four of us were completely on the defensive, struggling to maintain our shields. There were at least fifteen fallen fae however, and my sister added them to our numbers. The sorcerers, wolves and vampires worked well together in small teams and with enough time they too were taking out the fae.

For what seemed forever we appeared to be at a stalemate, as we failed to close with the fae anymore. But every once in a while we took one down, or provided the distraction so the others could.

It may have seemed like forever, but in what was probably in reality a short time, it started to turn into a rout as my sister raised the zombie count. Once their dead numbered around the same as their living it broke quickly in our favor as the hovering fae were torn out of the air and thrown into the ground.

The last ten or so made a run for it, but by then it was too late. The ward held and they were torn apart by their own fallen brethren. I was really glad I was on the same side as my sister, she scared the hell out of me sometimes...

In the end we lost four werewolves and two vampires and one sorcerer. We had wounded, but between the witches, my sister, me and the other sorcerers with the talent we managed to heal them all.

Hope said, "Shit, they really did take us necromancers into account, none of these guys have a clue where the other pockets of fae are. They just know there are at least three more."

Vinnie asked, "Do they know them though? All we need is a picture and Kristi can track them down."

Hope's answering grin was evil as she closed her eyes and then looked lost in thought.

She said, "I got about three hundred images, we should head back to the island I think."

I nodded, "Are you going to let them go? They might come in handy for the next attack..."

She frowned at me and all the fae collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut.

"That's a line I won't cross. Enslaving them in the moment is one thing... but no. It would be easy to do it, to justify it, but it's a slippery slope. It's too much power. How tempting would it be to keep them a little longer, just in case something else comes up. No, they are gone and I'm glad of it."

I just nodded; thankful I'd gotten my mother's magic instead, and didn't have to deal with temptation like that.

We gave everyone who helped a trip back to the country and headed back to the island. Jeremy and Bell decided to join us. I didn't understand it, but he seemed to think he owed my sister something. I knew we would have to keep a watch; I started casting wards around the island. When my sister asked about it I let her know my thinking.

"Remote viewing was one of the first things Kristi learned, the humans know what she and I look like at the least. I don't know that they would attack us, but I don't think we'll be hidden much longer. At least they can't teleport, but they could send a cruise missile if they're of a mind to. The wards will let us know if we need to evacuate.

"I really hope they don't though, mom would be pissed if they blew her island up."

We both stared at each other a moment and started to laugh, we couldn't stop either, it wasn't funny, it just struck us that way. I was sure the day's stress and the relief at still being here was part of it as well. I could picture my mother giving the president a piece of her mind for blowing up her island.

Kristi was hard at work filtering through all the pictures she'd pulled out of Hope's head. We knew some would not be here on Earth, and some would have been in America. But... maybe some would be elsewhere.

I stripped down to my shorts and dove into the ocean. It was a perfect day out, and the water was warm. I still wasn't sure I was first born, even though Hope seemed to think so. What if her freeing the magic had been the act? If the president panicked and started world war three... It could have been as simple as me going on television and changing one man's mind to balance out the damage.

Okay, maybe I was in denial, but how could we really be sure? Only one person in the multi-verse knew for sure, and my mother wasn't talking. Toni and Alicia joined me and we swam around for a while, just trying to let the pressure go for a while. I felt a little guilty that Kristi couldn't join us, but not enough to stop.

When we'd had enough of the ocean, we wrapped ourselves in towels and walked along the beach. It seemed so peaceful here. Alicia and Toni each took one of my hands as we walked. I was reminded how lucky I was to have them as we walked together in a comfortable silence. The sun and cool ocean breeze against my skin felt good.

They stopped and Toni spread out a blanket for us and we laid down on it. It felt really good in the sun, surrounded by the scents of my mates. It was soothing. They both cuddled into my side, burrowing as close as possible and laid their heads on my chest.

Toni kissed my chest and sighed in contentment.

I kissed the top of her head and started caressing in circles on both of their backs. I went into a very light meditation, just enjoying the moment and trying to recharge. I'd been going non-stop since Friday morning and needed to rest. Before I knew it, Alicia and Toni were asleep in my arms, so I pushed myself deeper into meditation, knowing my body needed it.

I was working on a general healing glyph, trying to teach it to my magic. It would be useful even in battle if I could launch a glyph with a thought and just leave it to my magic to heal. It wasn't anything that was close to ready, but it was worth doing.

I was brought out of meditation by a very pleasant feeling. Alicia and Toni were still asleep in my arms, so I looked down to see Kristi staring up at me with my fleshy invader deep in her mouth. I moaned and pulled Alicia and Toni into my side hard, which woke them.

I could sense them looking down too, and it seemed to electrify Kristi as she doubled her efforts and started putting on a show for the three of us. Toni got to her hands and knees and started kissing me passionately, her breaths were short and I could feel her hard nipples brushing the skin of my chest. Alicia started to kiss down my chest and joined Kristi between my legs.

Toni broke the kiss and said in my ears, "Goddess that's fucking hot."

Somehow I managed speech despite what was going on down below, "Toni... get on my face, I've been dying to taste you..."

She smiled mysteriously and nipped my neck before whispering, "Beg for it... for my sweet hot pussy."

I moaned, as Kristi passed my member to Alicia who took me all the way in, popping into her throat. I felt Kristi's tongue start to slather my balls and taint.

"Please, I need to taste you, feel you flood my face with your sex," I begged.

It was true, nothing was better than tasting a beautiful woman, or having her tremble on my tongue. Especially one I cared for so much. I had wanted to yesterday, but she had taken charge and I'd let her... I could smell all their arousals and it was driving me nuts on top of the triple stimulation.

Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle all three of them for very long... but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

Toni smiled sexily and nipped my lip before she got up, straddled me, and slowly lowered down.

I knew she was teasing me, but she was teasing herself too, I could see her labia were already moist and puffy, her heart was racing and her breath was racing.

Screw this teasing shit. We can do some give and take; take turns being in charge. I didn't think I could do this submissive shit very long otherwise. I reached up and grabbed her, pulling her sexy petite little body down onto my face. I took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of her sex before I dug my tongue into her heaven making her gasp and grind down on my face.

I couldn't see down below as I happily ate out Toni for the first time, I loved her taste, and she was creating a lot of juice for my invading tongue to lap up. I could only feel Kristi now down below, and my cock gagged the whimpering sounds she was making, which created a wonderful sensation on my sensitive tip. I wondered for a second what Alicia was doing to her, but on balance was happy to live in ignorance at the moment.

I sucked in Toni's clit and held her still. She cried out in pleasure and tried to move away, but I flicked the tip of her clit with my tongue as I bit down. Her body locked up and she squirted into my mouth and all over my face. I held her up while I licked and cleaned around her swollen labia, bringing her down slowly.

Apparently Kristi gave up on teasing me and keeping me on the edge. She gripped my base and started jacking me off, giving it a little twist on the top of her stroke. Her mouth was perfectly in sync with her hand as her full warm lips created suction.  

She was also circling my head with her tongue during each twist. I was already on edge, so I didn't last more than thirty seconds with that intense stimulation. I pushed up hard into her mouth as I started to fill it. She made a muffled noise of lusty approval as she softly stroked my base and sucked hard claiming my seed.

Kristi smiled up at us, her face was flush and I could tell she had just cum on Alicia's tongue. The three of us grabbed Alicia, the only one of us who hadn't cum yet, and held her down on the blanket and teased her to orgasm mercilessly with six hands and three mouths...

Kristi looked a little guilty, "We have some locations, I came over to get you all. But I just couldn't resist... You looked so sexy with both of them in your arms..."

I raised an eyebrow, "Was I complaining? I guess I can always spank you later if you think you deserve it?" 

Kristi licked her lips, eyes twinkling in anticipation, "Well I have been a good girl..."

I took turns kissing them all as we got dressed before heading back to the main beach almost regretfully. I had a number of ideas with having four of us now, but they would have to wait until later...

"So how many?"

Kristi said softly, "Three. One in Russia, Germany, and China. Your parents are trying to make contact over there, but the communities are even more insular over there, so we might be on our own. Should we be trying to do all this at all? I get it's our world too, but there are only ten of us."

I looked at her and asked, "You okay?"

She nodded, "You and Hope, the rest of us, we did a lot. We literally changed the world to give it a chance. I'm just worried we'll lose someone if we keep doing this. We gave the humans the tools they needed; shouldn't we let them know what's going on? Let them take over, or at least help?"

She had a point, we were way outnumbered. And even with the help earlier some died. The wolf could have easily been Alicia instead of a stranger, the sorcerer could have been Toni... we couldn't just turn our backs on it though. At least, I couldn't, I doubted Hope could either.

I suggested, "Let's see what my parents come up with, if we don't think the force is big enough, we'll try and find help another way. Hope might have some ideas too."

She nodded, looking a bit ashamed. I pulled her into a hug and Alicia and Toni both rubbed her back to comfort her, "None of that, you're right. Protecting the ones you love is not selfish. I feel the same way and I'm not looking to start a fight we can't finish. It's worth fighting for however and we will find another way if we need to. I'd much rather wrap you ladies up and keep you safe, but sometimes safety is relative. I know I can't hold you back, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about it all the time."

The problem was, there was danger in asking the humans. I wanted to wait until things settled down for good reason. What if I went and asked for help? Yes, they would want to get rid of the fae who had been plotting against them for so long. But what if they chose none of the above and got rid of the fae and tried to destroy us as well?

The other races may have lived here for fifteen thousand years, but that doesn't mean humanity won't see it as an invasion either. I was hoping for more stability first; give humanity time to slough off their old ways. Either way there would be great risks.

Toni said softly, "I agree to a point, but really, we are saving ourselves and our family too right? If Earth goes... so do we. Fighting to keep the Earth safe from the fae is too big. I'm doing it for you three, does that make sense? I know you're caught up in some big prophecy, but really it just comes down to keeping what you love safe, doesn't it? Life isn't safe though, sometimes we have to take risks and fight to get to where we need to be."

Alicia nodded in approval to Toni, "You would have made a good wolf. For the pack, family, it is why I fight as well."

We were all silently thoughtful at that. That was what I had been trying to get across, but Toni had explained it much better. It wasn't that we wouldn't fight for others, we would and already had. But trying to save the world was just too damn big.

 

Chapter 8 - Hope

We were still waiting to hear back about backup for our attacks, and I was feeling a little impatient. I and the others had quickly agreed with my brother that trying to do it ourselves was tantamount to asking one of us to die, if not straight out suicide.

It was Sunday, and I should have been at work. We all took turns going to Vinnie's house long enough to get a real shower. We had stuff on hand to get clean of course, but nothing beat a real shower with pressured water.

Rafe had left an hour ago to report to his sovereign. I hadn't wanted him to go, but he had too. He told me he had slim hopes the angels would help, even though the fae had a small invasion force and were trying to stir up war, because the fae here were basically a small faction and not representing most of them.

But he thought it might help in the end when they finally did take a side. I hoped it would never reach the point of open war, but according to the prophecy it was an inescapable conclusion. I was meditating and trying to rest. My connection to Bree and Callie filled me with their reassuring presence.

Hours passed and we brainstormed, but didn't come up with anything new. The longer my parents took, the more I believed the communities in those countries wouldn't help. We were discussing how to make contact with the human government. Teleporting into the oval office tickled my funny bone, but it would be a major mistake and get things started on the wrong foot.

Plus, the secret service has no sense of humor whatsoever.

We were discussing it when one of the wards went off.

Kristi said softly, "Helicopter coming in from the north, looks military to me."

I blew out a breath. Anyone still just in bathing suits started to get dressed, which made me smile. We'd look pretty good fighting in bikinis, might even distract the enemy that way. I shook my head to clear my ridiculous thoughts and get my head out of the gutter. We'd all been having sex with our mates a lot over the last two days, as if to prove we were still alive, to forget about the stress, and out of fear of losing the ones we loved.

Kristi put up a shield around us; I put one up below hers, an invisible one. I wasn't sure if our shields would stop a missile or not. It might, has never been tested before. I could see the shadows writhing around Bell's legs, as if preparing to evacuate us all. But the helicopter didn't attack. It circled us a couple of times, and then set down on the beach about fifty feet away.

Two marines with weapons got out, followed by a man in a black suit and tie carrying a briefcase. He walked over toward us, Kristi looked reluctant as she took her shield down, I wasn't all that excited about lowering mine either. But I was sure I could restore it before those marines pointed their guns and fired.

As the man got closer I could see he was in his late thirties and looked in top shape. He had brown hair, hazel eyes and a friendly smile, but his aura was all business. I wondered how fast humans would get over that, no more lying...

He walked up to us and said, "Mr. Jones, Dr. Jones..." he greeted everyone here by name except Bell. Apparently she didn't have a fake identification in the system.

He said, "I'm Mr. Johnson, FBI, and you people are hard to track down."

He was lying about his name, and agency, but I let it go. He was probably a spook from the CIA; leave it to a spy agency to figure out how to distance view so fast.

"What can we do for you Mr. Johnson?" I asked sweetly.

He sighed, "We need to know the truth about the satellites. We know you did something in England, and something happened here as well. The amount of debris and satellites falling off NORAD's scopes has fallen since then, but not stopped.

"You know young lady, the government is supposed to protect the country. To do that we need to be in control of things, we get itchy when we lose it. Lately, we haven't felt in control of shit. It would help us if you could fill in all those blanks from your brother's interview. All of you..."

I traded looks with Vinnie, he nodded reluctantly.

I asked, "What's in the briefcase?"

He said deadpan, "The President of the United States."

I snickered, "How'd he fit?"

He rolled his eyes at my poor attempt at humor and opened the case. It was obvious to me this man was sent to handle us, and find out what he could. He was being awfully open for a government agent. Still, he was careful not to tell me anything he didn't already know I knew. 

Apparently they had some kind of sat phone video link going, because staring back at me was the president. At least not all the satellites were gone.

The president was silent though, and simply watched as Mr. Johnson started asking questions. I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed.

I ignored his first question and asked, "Do you want a drink Mr. Johnson?"

He sarcastically asked for a coke, and Callie ran over to the cold room and brought one out for him. He looked a little amused.

He said, "Alright, will you tell us what you know?"

I sighed, "It's complicated, and it all starts about fifteen thousand years ago. We weren't planning on leaving you in the dark; we just were waiting until the blinders of the enchantment we destroyed are gone. But I suppose that doesn't matter now."

I went on to tell him everything, the first war, settlement by multiple other humans, the enchantment, and the prophecy. The fae's involvement and everything we had done because of it, and why it wouldn't be a good idea to do more than defend this world. My mouth was a little dry by the time I got them briefed up to current events.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 09



I could tell Johnson was advanced enough in his magic to read the truth of my words. Then I told them where the last three fae gatherings were, and offered my help.

I was intensely relieved when they didn't look at me like I wasn't a human being; perhaps the release of the magic had already changed their paranoid mindsets a little bit. It could also be they were just that desperate.

Johnson asked, "So you are saying we should just kill the fae here, and leave their version of Earth alone?"

I nodded, "Yes, because there are the other races that are watching. No one wants another large war so any that are seen as aggressors would be... dealt with by all in my opinion. Think of it like this world after World War 2 until the late eighties, but this cold war has been going on for fifteen millennia. This Earth just got their magic back, though through no fault of our own, but if the first thing we do is invade...

"There is enough to do already; it will be hard enough to simply preserve our way of life internally."

Mr. Johnson asked, "And you think of yourself as one of us?"

I said, "Yes, I do."

Johnson said, "Mr. President, I didn't feel her lie to me once."

The president coughed, "Very well. We will have to figure out a way to incorporate your communities into our society at some point. I also know politics is about to get interesting now that we can't lie our asses off anymore. So I take your point about cleaning up our own yard first. I'll call those countries and see if we can't get some cooperation to take out those fae."

I went to answer him, but the screen went dark. I raised an eyebrow to Mr. Johnson, "So what's next?"

He shrugged, "We wait to hear back."

Kristi asked, "Do you want a crash course on human magic?"

He asked, "Will it take long?"

She shrugged, "Not if you let me in your mind. I promise to do no harm or deception. I can do the same for the marines too. After a little practice you can teach your CIA, and they can teach their unit, etc..."

He coughed, "FBI," he blushed.

She snickered, "Good luck with that in our new world agent."

He assented to her offer. It took her about three seconds to pass on the mechanics of how their magic worked. I was almost a little jealous, but then I could heal... and teleport. I was only screwed in the wings department. She did the same for the marines when they were waved over.

She shrugged, "It will take years of practice to get good at it all, but it shouldn't take long at all before you can pass the knowledge on."

Mr. Johnson asked, "So are you the only human from this... realm here on the island?"

She nodded.

We just chatted and waited for either the president or my parents to get back to us. Eventually Mr. Johnson's smile started to match what was going on in his aura as he started to relax. I took that as another good sign.

I suppressed a snort, four down and sixteen billion to go. It would be nice if everyone understood, but I was afraid that wouldn't be the case, the world had some growing pains coming. The magic would help prevent misunderstandings, and killing from fear or ignorance. But it wouldn't prevent violence or normal disagreement, after all the supernatural community could be a very violent place. All it would really do is stop the witch hunt type of stupidity. Which granted, was a lot.

I smiled; maybe the fae problem would be a good thing in the end. It might help unite us with a common enemy. I could hope right? It was my name after all...

I noticed after a few minutes I didn't see the marines anymore. I also noticed Bell was missing and coughed to cover my smile. I bet she had been starved; she certainly hadn't been feeding off of my mates the last couple of days. 

Sure enough, when the marines came back fifteen minutes later they both looked a little tired and out of it, but very happy. I'd have been tempted when I was younger myself, she really looked good... too good to be true. Now that she fed it was even more pronounced, I felt like I'd cum if I just stared at her long enough. But my little family was enough for me, especially since I had a new addition.

Callie asked in a whisper, "See something you like?"

I turned and looked in her eyes, "Yes... yes I do."

I got up and dragged off Callie, I hoped we had enough time before word came back... and we did. My goddess could that girl move her tongue fast...

When the president called us back later he looked annoyed. I waited patiently while he and Johnson discussed things. It looked like we had permission in Russia and Germany to help. China was stonewalling the president. Not a big surprise, but still annoying. He was of the opinion they were going to try and handle it themselves.

The plan was pretty simple. Simple is usually best, it's the complicated plans that usually go south. We were going to teleport outside the target building, and they were going to bomb the damn thing. Our job was to take on any of them that managed to survive the explosion. I wasn't happy that Rafe wasn't back yet, and I hoped it wouldn't be another four days.

We planned it to happen together so they wouldn't detect our presence. Everyone agreed if the bombs didn't get most of them, we would bug out. There were only twelve of us, three of them humans that barely knew how to use their abilities.

I sent a ghost to dad to let him know he could quit trying. I didn't get what the communities were thinking. It wasn't like they'd be able to hide much longer, and helping with this could only bring good will. We are staying on your planet but protect your own damn selves wasn't a very smart stance for them to be taking.

I sort of understood, humans with magic or not resisted change, and that's why this was so dangerous to begin with.

Everyone was watching Kristi. She looked like she was barely paying attention as she spoke to my brother, but I knew she was watching the location in her mind. She was so good at looking like a helpless and innocent ditz, but she was far from it.

When she nodded, we teleported outside the building they were holed up in. It wasn't a warehouse, this time it was an old office building. The building was half knocked down and burning. We surrounded it the best we could in three groups. There were also some Russian troops on the ground, though I wasn't sure what if any help they would be.

I reached into the building with my necromantic magic and found fifteen burnt corpses. I bound them before their souls could move on and sent five to each of the groups. I guess sometimes revenants are disgusting corpses, because I didn't restore their flesh. It would be an easy, if disturbing, way for everyone to track who was on their side.

I still felt over thirty in there, but they were separated throughout the burning building. I saw no reason to rush in there, so we waited for them to try and escape past us. One made a run for it, then another. I lost track of the bigger picture as I along with Bree, Callie, and one of the marines tried not to let anyone past.

The bad part of blowing up the building is there were a lot of big things on fire for the fae to throw at us. Callie was a blur, if anything she was faster and stronger than she had been before I made her into a sort of revenant. She took a few down to the ground for me to dispatch. Some of the fae that were more beat up from the bombing lost their shield entirely when she crashed into them and tore their heads off.

Bree was having similar success. I was busy dodging flying debris, killing the ones my mates took down, and also doing my best to attack too. The five zombie fae on our corner were integral to stopping some of the more heavy attacks against us.

In less than ten minutes we had the building empty of fae, only two of them managed to escape past us, but we could hunt them down later, I had their faces burned into my mind.

No one died this round, the fae had been too eager to escape to put up a good fight.

Two others escaped in the other directions, but we were done here for now. The target in Germany was next, so I held on to my toasted corpses. Perhaps it was semantics, but without a break in between I was considering this the same fight. About ten minutes later Kristi gave the signal again.

This second one was another warehouse like the first. The difference was the smart bombs of course; the whole damn thing had collapsed in on itself. But when I reached in to look there were no corpses. They must have caught on at this location because I could feel fae moving away, under the ground into the city. I sent the corpses I had to a manhole cover and they quickly dropped into the sewers.

I teleported the group past the moving underground magical auras to cut them off from escape. They were detecting us as well, so turned. I growled in frustration and then felt Vinnie and Toni reach out with their earth power and collapse the sewer tunnel. We teleported again, getting ahead of them, but this time when they turned back they ran into my crispy fae.

My brother and Toni did it again. The fae would eventually be able to dig out, but not fast. Now their retreat was cut off. My crispy fae were outnumbered, but they were just as powerful magically, and much stronger physically.

Vinnie asked, "Should we go down there?"

I shook my head and reached down with my necromantic power to take control of the dying, if we were lucky we wouldn't have to fight them at all. I went to grab the two newly dead ones, but someone beat me to it. I narrowed my eyes, but the new dead were attacking the live ones so I didn't sweat it.

Vinnie grinned at me and they reached down again, collapsing the sewer system right on top of the live fae. It sort of worked, because the fae used telekinesis to catch and prevent the heavier pieces from crushing them. As a result the zombie fae started to kill them a lot more quickly for a few moments.

I managed to snag a few more, but so did our mystery necromancer. The last few fae were in a panic because they punched straight up with their power, breaking the street open. They tried to lift themselves with telekinesis. Only three managed to live long enough to reach the street, and Vinnie's and my swords...

When the dust settled a young woman still in her teens swaggered out from behind a building and walked toward us. All the fae I had missed ran to cluster around her. She also had a few other zombies, a revenant sorcerer and about ten vampires enslaved to her will. She was wearing a black leather halter, tight leather pants, and was pierced in quite a number of places.

She smiled, "Welcome to my city. Normally I'd be pissed you invaded it and started a ruckus. But I've been trying to figure out how to kill those blasted fae for a while now."

This is what I could be if I wanted, oh, not the piercings, black makeup, or leather, but the power. This girl could be eighteen, maybe... and she already ran a major city. They weren't here but I could tell she owned a great number more of vampires. She didn't seem to be killing for troops though, or I was sure she'd have more than one sorcerer. But I wasn't tempted at all, if anything I felt sorry for her, that kind of rule must be very lonely.

I nodded to her, "Yeah, they're the ones fucking with the satellites and trying to start wars. We'll leave now, but things are changing fast."

She nodded at me, "I hear that Glinda."

I blushed, "I'm Hope..."

She chuckled, "Of course you are, have a nice day blondie..."

She turned and walked away, taking the fae with her. I decided to release mine elsewhere; I didn't want to do it here where she could just grab even more.

I teleported us back to the island and made a face. I was getting kind of sick of it. I wanted to go home, and spend a lazy day in bed. I love the beach, but living at one sucked. I released all but one of the fae and turned their bodies to dust. The last one I fixed up and sent to Johnson.

"Hey Johnson."

Johnson raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged, "Thought you might want to question a fae for yourself, seeing as how you government types like to do that sort of thing. He'll answer all your questions, no coercion required, just tell him when you're done and I'll cut him loose. Don't keep him too long though, he deserves his rest no matter who he is or what he's done."

Johnson smiled, "Thanks."

I frowned, "Do we really need to stay here anymore? I don't think going home will be an issue with all the fae being gone except China. The government seems happy with us, and the communities seem to want to be left alone. I expected the humans to react worse than this too, if anything the riots and panic have slowed down since we took out the enchantment."

Vinnie shook his head in mock horror, "One word for you sis... reporters."

I snorted, "Really, I'd like to go to work tomorrow, unless the shit hits the fan in some major way, and we can always regroup."

I thought about that, did I really need to go to work? No, I didn't. It wasn't until now that I realized it. I had no reason to be a doctor while I sneakily fed healing energy to others. Not anymore. Now I could just do it in the open. I would never replace doctors of course; my mother, Vinnie, and I can't heal everyone. Even with the witches and sorcerers we would still need doctors and hospitals.

But I wouldn't have to hide anymore. I felt a surge of emotion rise in my chest, and I could feel the tears in my eyes. I loved to heal... and there was nothing to stop me anymore. I hadn't realized just how much I hated that, the limitation, until I realized it was gone.

Rafe still wasn't back yet. My brother hadn't decided yet but I could feel that Callie and Bree were with me on the going home thing.

I said, "Well, I'll leave a ghost here to keep track, and feel free to have Kristi check up on us, but I'm getting out of here. I love mom's island, but I'll go nuts if we stay here when we don't have to."

I surrounded the three of us with magic, and I went home... I'd have to see about getting a house now. I'd also have to find a way to make money if I wasn't going to be a doctor. I wouldn't charge for healing.

I talked things over with them both in the shower, but neither of them had any ideas offhand as to what to do. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do either, money wise I mean, the healing part was a given. It wasn't like I still couldn't be a doctor, but without the need to hold back that would just be ridiculously annoying to me. What would be the point? I was sure I would figure it out, the world was changing.

I was confident I'd find a place to fit in, until then I did have a rather sizable trust when I'd turned twenty five last year. I could probably invest and live off that and watch myself get richer over the centuries. Just heal for free as a job? A personal mission?

No, I needed more than that; I was too ambitious, driven, and focused. I let it go for now knowing it would be stewing in the background; I'd also meditate on it when I could.

Callie and Bree cooked me dinner. I felt a little guilty abandoning my brother, but I was sure he'd come to the same conclusion. It was only Sunday afternoon, so he'd actually be able to get back to work tomorrow.

After we ate, we retired to the bedroom for a little fun. I was tongue deep inside Bree as she laid back with her legs spread wide open. I had my back arched and up as Callie both tongued my tight ring and slid a large vibrating dildo into my wet heat.

Two things were getting me incredibly turned on, besides the obvious. One, I felt Rafe come in, and I could feel his eyes caressing down our little train of bodies. The second was that along with my ghosts being little voyeurs, I was imagining how many humans could be watching me at this moment. My face had some recognition now, getting on the news for what we did.

And any or all of them could be watching me at any time. I knew I should be horrified by the implication to privacy issues, popular people would be so screwed in the new world. But all I could think of was how hot it was that anyone could be watching Callie dig her tongue into my ass while shoving a dildo roughly into my sex, as I was eating out my beautiful, exotic, and desirable Bree.

I felt like I was putting on a show. It made me feel sexy... would people talk about it? Would men pass around my mental picture with the guys at work so they could watch next time? Old men, young men, would they all watch in their mind's eye and jerk off... cum for me anonymously as I put on my little show?

At that thought my body locked up and I exploded, my core clenching tightly around the dildo. When I could see again, I redoubled my efforts on Bree's wet hot core and already felt myself rising for another.

I heard Callie squeak as Rafe joined us, I knew he hadn't had her yet... and she was a submissive and sexy goddess. I wanted to turn around and watch him fuck her silly; I wanted to stare into her eyes as she came in uncontrollable bliss to his hard cock pounding into her soft supple body. But Bree's clit just tasted too good, and Callie's tongue felt way too good, not to mention the fat dildo I kept cumming for...

I could watch another time. We kept it up for a couple of hours, switching positions and each finding time to pleasure the other three at one time or another. It slowed down there toward the end though. Our expression of relief and desperate affirmation of life turned into tender expressions of love. My whole body was sore and tingling as we lay there after, a tangle of arms and legs.

I knew my fantasy earlier had gotten a lot bigger than the reality would be, but it was still fun to think about.

Rafe didn't say much, only that there was no change and the angels remained neutral. As I caught him up to what happened on this side he had the absurd idea I should enter politics. Be a liaison of some kind between the humans of this world and the communities. A last option before violence became necessary. I didn't like the idea at all at first, but I also knew I would do a good job at it.

After all, I'd been doing it already in a way. But that had been out of necessity, not choice.

He also felt a bit guilty, and I was annoyed that he hadn't been there. But he'd also never lied. He loved me, I know he did, but he had his responsibilities too. It was my choice to keep him, and I would always choose to do so. I never forgot he was the one that taught me to let go of my fear and love. I took a shower, washing off all the fluids, and the hot stream of water felt good on my sore and abused muscles. I got dressed in a nice skirt, a blouse, and three inch heels.

I felt like I was on autopilot, obsessed. I had to go...

I told them I'd be home soon, and then I teleported to the front door of the hospital, without going to limbo first. I wouldn't hide anymore. If I felt like this, I could hardly imagine what my mother would feel like after hiding for thousands of years. I walked in and headed for the children's ward first. I had my badge, but the nurse still gave me a funny look as I went into the large room.

Once I started I could not stop. I healed them one at a time, and then went to the next room. It was a cathartic release as I cried silent tears as I roamed from room to room. There were people following me, but I hardly took notice of it. I cried though, for all those I let endure pain for weeks, or even pass on to the next life, in the name of staying hidden, of ensuring we were not exposed.

There was a deep seeded guilt in my heart that died while I healed, one I barely acknowledged before tonight. One I had hardened my heart against out of necessity and survival. But one I would no longer need to heed.

I didn't heal everyone; I was too emotionally exhausted after a while. But I did get all the terminal cases, and everyone in the intensive care ward. No one would die in this hospital tonight. There were a great many people watching me toward the end, but I never turned to them, and I don't think I'd have known what to say, how to explain myself.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 10



Chapter 9 – Vinnie

My sister had been emotional, I wasn't sure why, but she'd also been right once I thought it through, but there were a few things to take care of before we split.

I said, "Johnson, you want a ride back to civilization? I think we are ending our island vacation."

Johnson seemed thoughtful, "No, they'll get upset if I abandon a multi-million dollar aircraft on an island somewhere. I'll fly us back."

I went over to Jeremy and Bell. I was starting to understand the affect my father had on human woman when I got close. Bell was temptation personified, and I was more than happy with what I already had and had no intention of straying. But my body didn't want to listen.

I smiled, "Let's swap numbers. Assuming you want to keep helping? Also, we should get together some time when the world isn't ending. Hope tells me you're staying in the Chicago area?"

Jeremy chuckled, "Sounds good," and we swapped numbers.

Bell said, "Call us if anything comes up," as shadows rose, clinging to their bodies until they disappeared. Even her magic looked sexy.

I decided to leave all the food here for now just in case. I had a feeling we would need it. I created more cooling wards to keep the food and drinks cold, and then teleported the four of us back to the house.

By the time we were home I was excited about going to work on Monday and seeing if we couldn't come up with an energy source that would replace fossil fuels. And I don't mean batteries that take electricity to charge and fossil fuels to burn for electricity. That kind of green technology defeated the purpose. 

Alicia said as she put her arms around me, "I need to check on the pack, I'll be back before you leave for work," she kissed me smolderingly and winked while she pulled away.

I'd miss her, but her pack was a big part of her life, so I just pulled her in for another kiss goodbye and gave her a smack on the ass when she turned to walk away. She looked back over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

She growled, "If you're going to smack my ass, do it harder next time..."

I winked and she headed out the door. Kristi and Toni were already working in the kitchen so I grabbed a beer and joined them.

Toni said tentatively, "I need to go by my apartment for a change of clothes..."

I nodded, "About that, I'm wondering if you need to even bother looking for a home now... if you're interested. It's kind of fast but... I want you here."

She raised an eyebrow, "Yes sir, right away sir."

I snorted, "No... you're supposed to tell me what you want now... that's how it works. I ask you to move in... tell you what I want, then you decide yes or no..."

She said irately, "Oh, I'm so sorry I'm doing it wrong. Is there anything else you want me to change?"

I shrugged; I seemed to be in deep anyway so I raised an eyebrow and said, "You could cook naked..."

Her lips twitched and she said in a softer tone, "Let me think about it."

I asked raising a brow, "Which one?"

She glared. 

I figured she wasn't really mad at me, just a little spooked at the idea of moving so fast, so I quit while I was ahead and just drank my beer. To be fair it was a little fast. I cared for her a lot, she was an amazing woman. But I didn't love her yet, not like I did my other mates. That would take time.

Kristi muttered, "Never asked me to cook naked," under her breath.

There was just no correct response for that, no matter what I said it would piss off at least one of them, the joys of multiple mates. So I got up and went to the living room for my own safety, maybe there was something on television... 

I watched the news for a while; it was all the same stuff over and over, but nothing overly bad. Even the anchor seemed a little optimistic. Maybe they were all just a little excited to have magic, like some fairy tale. Nah, they were probably just in shock so going with the flow for now. Things would change soon.

I got up and went back in the kitchen for another beer.

I said, "Is it safe for me in here?"

I heard a muffled moan and peaked around the island. They were naked in the sixty nine position right in front of the stove. See, that's why I wasn't serious about the cooking naked thing. Still, I goggled as I saw Kristi on top, her long blond hair a sharp contrast against the silky tan brown skin of Toni's thighs. I berated myself for being dumb enough to watch television.

I walked around to the other side, summoning the lube from our bedside table. I locked eyes with Toni as she dug her tongue into Kristi's sweet honey pot. I slapped Kristi's ass hard and watched it shake, her perfect butt tightened and I heard her moan into Toni's heaven. Kristi came twice at the combination of Toni's tongue and as I spanked her repeatedly. Her ass turned red as I got her puckered star ready for my length with two fingers while Toni feasted on her silken swollen lips.

As I started to push past her ring she bucked back popping me in and groaned in pain and pleasure. My eyes rolled back in pleasure as I felt Toni lick my balls as I slowly sunk into Kristi's perfect tight little rosebud. 

Kristi begged me in a muffled voice, "Fuck my ass hard baby. Hurt me with that big strong cock."

I started to pull out slowly, then rammed back in making her gasp. I never got tired of hearing her sweet innocent voice spewing lustful perversions. I still started slow though, I didn't want to truly tear or hurt her, even if I could heal it. I wanted her to love it... so I was both rough like she liked it and careful as I slowly picked up speed.

Before I knew it her tight ring gripped my hard shaft. I froze as she came all over Toni's beautiful face. When she came down a bit, I started up again and slammed into her while she bucked back into me, grinding her hot heat along Toni's face. I heard Toni gasp and Kristi's moan of approval and knew Kristi's tongue was getting a tasty bath.

And all this happened in front of the oven on the kitchen floor. I started to lose it, and Kristi must have felt me start to expand because she started talking...

"God yes, cum in my slutty ass, fill it, claim it. I love it when your big dick cums in my tight little puckered hole," she begged as she bucked back into me harder.

When I came down, I pulled out and sat back, before leaning down and kissing Kristi's perfect ass, and then Toni tasting Kristi on her lips.

The food had a ways to go so we moved it on up to the bedroom.

On the way Toni said, "I'll be happy to spend the night... but I'm not ready for more. And Kristi is..." she trailed off.

I grinned, "I know, I thought you'd hit it off in bed, she loves being a sub."

She raised her eyebrow, "And us?"

I winked, "You're incredible Antonia, and we'll have a lot of fun trying to one up each other."

She kissed me as we reached the bed; the three of us were quite hungry by the time dinner came around...

The next morning before work I put on the television again. My mouth dropped open as I saw footage of Hope with a glowing golden visible aura walking around the hospital healing people. It looked like cell phone footage, but it was still good quality. I knew what that would mean for her. I liked healing well enough, but I had never felt the same intense need she did. My passions lied elsewhere.

Still, I guessed her career as a doctor was over. I looked forward to getting back to mine later this morning. Kristi looked excited about it too, we had only missed one day of work, and with everything going on I'd be surprised if there was any fallout over it.

What I hadn't counted on the following morning, was the gaggle of reporters in the parking lot when Toni and I arrived together shortly before eight. They started to yell questions as we walked toward the door. When we tried to pull the door open human magic flew by me and the door slammed shut.

I turned and glared at the reporter the magic led back too. This could get complicated.

I said firmly, "No comment, please don't bother me at work," and took Toni by the arm and teleported through the door.

I smiled smugly. Not having to hide may have its uses... 

When we walked in Lina frowned at us from behind her desk and said, "Conference room."

We went down the hall and knocked before opening the door and walking in. Darnell and Abby seemed to be arguing based on the looks on their faces. I grabbed a coffee and took a seat.

Toni asked, "What's going on?"

Abby glared at Darnell and said, "He wants to shut us down for a while... And I'm telling him there is no point."

I asked, "Why?"

Darnell frowned at me, "I'd figure you of all people would understand. The FBI are using remote viewing and catching all the people on their most wanted list, and they'll probably have them all within a day. The CIA is watching other countries. What do you suppose our competing companies are doing? They'll steal the results of our experiments and read the monitors. Get blueprints, all of it, without ever having to come near the building.

"It's quiet out there now, but what you and your family did will change everything. It's only a matter of time until criminals figure out concrete can't stop them, and guns are a joke. It's only a matter of time before everything falls apart. Do we really want to add new powerful inventions to the mix?"

I liked that he was concerned about his inventions getting in the wrong hands, but he wasn't playing what if far enough along.

I nodded, "I know, but the alternative to loosing the magic was worse, trust me. Society and government will eventually change drastically. Those people that steal your stuff, well they won't last long... and the peeping toms and other spying will all die down. It's all about being forced into an honest society where you can't lie. 

"Also, all those people in prison that escape won't last long against the rest of you. Forget the old way, waiting for the police, it may take a while to get there but we'll work as one society.

"Consider one man with magic against a room full of hostages, that all have magic. It would be completely different from a man with a gun and ten helpless people. They also can't escape for long if they run. No one can lie and get away with it, which means swift justice that isn't in doubt. No... the criminals will be screwed, not rolling in luxury and taking what they want. It goes the other way too, people falsely accused will be let out of prisons and be able to reclaim a life.

"It will be an honest but brutal change in some ways. Not sure though that a power source would matter at all that much to the chaos that will happen. All it would really do is provide easy and cheap power. Plus boss, my inner geek is dying to build it."

Toni said, "Vinnie is right. People may steal it, but in the long run they'll be screwed. No long protracted court battle, just two people, one honest, the other a liar and a thief. It won't be that simple for a while, but it's coming."

Abby added persuasively, "They're making sense boss. When they are interviewed to make that patent, the clerk will know they are lying about it being theirs. When the reporters interview them, it won't take long either. A few stupid ones will fall, and then after that, corporate espionage will stop as a crime despite how easy it would be, simply because there'd be no more money in it."

Darnell closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, "Fine, but if I lose my shirt you're all fired."

I snorted and lifted my eyebrow to make a point. He'd tried to sound like he was joking, but he'd meant every word of it.

We went back to the lab and got to work...

We didn't really have anything solid that first day. I was working with a theory that would collect solar energy and heat out in space, then transmit it here using exotic particles. There were other implications and possibilities, using the energy created by the planets themselves as they orbited the sun for example. But we had a long way to go in applied science before we reached the point we could even try advanced theories like that.

Still, even what I was planning was impressive. I could hardly imagine what benefits collecting energy from the sun and sending it to earth would engender. It would be possible to create a large field electric field, much like cell and radio towers worked, but transmitting energy instead of data. It wouldn't be easy, hell, even getting something close to Mercury's orbit would be tough, but a small proof of concept device in the lab shouldn't be that difficult.

Actually I take that back, it won't be that hard with anti-gravity to get something close.

All we had though at the end of the day were conflicting ideas and dead ends. We could take it up again tomorrow.

Abby asked, "You up for drinks tonight?"

I shared a look with Toni, and then said, "Sounds good, as long as we can avoid the press."

We wound up at the same bar we did on that first day, after I relented and answered a couple of questions from the press. The disturbing part was they seemed much more concerned about my personal life than anything else. 

Abby seemed to have as many questions for us as the press did, but I was much more comfortable with a drink in my hand and a relaxed atmosphere. She also seemed more concerned about magical topics, not my sex life which was kind of a relief to tell the truth.

By the third drink, I was feeling pretty good.

Abby asked, "So what do you think the fae will do?"

I shrugged carelessly, "I don't know. They may attack or do something else entirely. It's hard to say. The longer it takes though, the better it is."

Abby nodded, "I suppose, the more we learn about our magic the better."

I offered, "If you want I'm sure my wife would stop by and give you the basics mentally. Then it's all just practice instead of discovery."

She asked, "Wife?"

I shrugged, "It's how I think of them, of course not legally... But Kristi has had her magic for four years, so she knows what it can do."

We chatted for a bit more and had a couple of drinks. Abby said she'd have to think about it. It wasn't all that surprising, the magic was new and the thought of someone in her mind that she didn't even know... It would take time for people to trust their new senses.

We stayed out until around nine, Abby needed to get home to her family, and so Toni and I got in the car and started for the house.

I asked, "Do you need to get anything from the apartment?"

She took my hand, "No, I got what I needed last night for the next few days."

I said carefully, "Is everything okay? You seem a little tense."

She shook her head, "Just something I need to work through on my own. Nothing to worry about."

"So you're getting along with Kristi and Alicia?"

She nodded, "Their amazing actually."

I nodded sagely, "Of course, they put up with me don't they?"

She snickered, "You're not so bad... most of the time."

She squeezed my hand as we pulled in. I wondered if we should even bother with the car. Now that I don't need to hide, all those little habits I'd created almost seem silly now. I did like driving my cars though, so I would have to think about it.

I gave her a kiss before we got out and went into the house, which was full of people. Toni and I looked at each other with surprise as we looked around. Kristi walked up and kissed my cheek.

"Surprise, thought we might throw a little party tonight."

I pulled her against me and kissed the top of her head, "What's the occasion?"

She shrugged, "Been a while since we were all together. There seems to be a break in the fight so..."

I smiled, "Great idea."

Besides my sister and her three mates, there were quite a few people. My parents were here along with their other mates; Kim, Amy, and Lisa. Along with my brother Ray, sister Claudia, and Elisha and Eloise who were the only other humans with magic up to a few days ago, and who were family friends. I also recognized a few coven members, most notably Willa, Tara, and Stacy who were still known to visit my father on occasion. Last but not least I noticed a few sorcerers wandering around.

I took the opportunity to introduce Toni to the latter, while also trying to catch up with all the former. It was a long party, with lots of drinking, although everyone behaved themselves with a child here. I laughed when Elisha was telling me how she was teaching her teachers how to do magic so they could teach their classes.

It was definitely a good time to be alive right now, with all the changes going on. But there was also a caution hanging over our heads. The news was starting to show what I predicted; the harshest of the governments that kept their people in a stranglehold were quickly being put down. Not that it was such a bad thing, people deserved to be free, but death and destruction is never fun to hear about.

Toni looked like she was a bit overwhelmed meeting all these new people, so we stepped outside onto the deck for a quick breather.

Toni giggled, "You remember what I said about your parents when we first met."

I nodded, "What about it?"

She whispered, "They are wonderful people, you have a great family. But... they are still sorta scary."

I laughed, "Yeah, a bit. I can't argue that."

She on the tips of her toes and kissed me softly with her hands on my chest, "You're just like them you know."

I shook my head, it was hard to picture, I was just me...

She smiled, almost like my denial pleased her, and she kissed me again before pulling me back inside...

When I asked how things were going with my parents my mother made a face.

"The council is shut down right now. We were holding a meeting this morning and humans came in curious. I'd guessed they sensed all the different auras in there. Next thing I knew there were reporters coming in. I'm proud of you and Hope, but so much is changing. At least it was peaceful though, they were just curious."

My wife flipped on the television, and gradually silence fell in the room. I had wondered what the fae would do, and it looked like I was about to find out. There was quite a bit going on and it took watching for about fifteen minutes to get through it all.

There were reports of fae appearing in remote areas, away from the cities where their magic would be most blunted. A few small towns in Middle America had gone dark at the latest report. As for how the fae planned to deal with the cities. I could barely believe my eyes when the television showed an image through a telescope.

There was a large blank spot in space, and coming out of it were a number of small meteors. They brought in experts who believed we were about to be bombarded from orbit. Some even suggested, and it made sense, that the fae would be guiding them in for maximum damage in the cities.

I looked all around me at who was here, and then at Kristi, who had turned on the television. All this had been her work. Had she known this would happen and shielded it from the rest of us? I don't think I could have been that strong. She smiled at me weakly and I went over to hold her.

This wasn't something even all the people in the room could fix, what could we do against an orbital bombardment? Or even the thousands of invading fae. It seemed like a bad dream. We were at war.

The noise started to build up as everyone absorbed what they had seen. Ironically in a few months the humans could have joined together and tossed the meteors like pebbles back through the hole in space. The magic of six billion joined in a single purpose. But right now? They were learning but still had too far to go in both skill and trust.

Everyone seemed scared, but also promised to help if we came up with something, before they left for home. What now?

I had absolutely no idea...

 

Chapter 10 – Hope

They say ignorance is bliss. I had always wondered how they made worlds uninhabitable during the wars with magic. There may not be nuclear radiation, but all those meteors hitting would cause megatons of damage, spewing dust and dirt into the air and possibly starting an ice age.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 10



I really wish I still didn't know.

Everyone was gone from Vinnie's now, except for the eight of us. We were sitting on the couch staring off into space. 

I asked grasping at straws, "Any ideas? What about that anti-gravity thing you made?"

Vinnie shook his head, "If we had six months... maybe. As it is, we have what, five days before the meteors hit the atmosphere?"

I asked in a strained voice, "Rafe?"

He frowned and looked a little defeated when he said, "Nothing I could do would help. My world is protected from this type of attack, but even if my sovereign wanted to we couldn't implement the solution here in a week. It would take months to build the spells to cover your planet from this type of attack. We don't really have high technology either, we use magic for everything."

Vinnie asked, "What race does have the tech we are just learning? Magic wise it seems like your race as well as the human race here is limited by time."

Rafe looked thoughtful, "The grays I believe your popular fiction calls them. But we are back to the same problem. It would take a longer than a week to build a gate to their world and they might not even help."

I asked, "Have you ever met one? I need to know what their magic feels like."

Vinnie looked up at me sharply and Rafe asked, "Why?"

I replied, "Because Vinnie and I can cross realms remember? We only go to limbo because it's empty and close enough to ours to see across. Just because we haven't gone to others doesn't mean I can't like I'm walking across a room. But there are too many to search, I need a place to start."

Bree growled, "But you can't take anyone with you."

I shrugged, "I can take Vinnie with me. The rest of you can work on the fae problem here," I turned to Vinnie, "Unless you think you can make a difference here, then I can go alone."

Rafe didn't look happy, but he transferred the memory to me with Kristi's help.

I added, "Are you sure the tech you made won't help? I imagine the president would make sure you got access to all the fabricators you could want."

Vinnie shrugged, "There are hundreds of them, and even if I could figure out a way to change all their trajectories, the fae here would just pull them back. I don't even have an idea how to do that. AG will help get things to the asteroids, but that's a lot of mass and momentum to redirect."

I shrugged, "Not if they're dead. Or running for their lives when you do your thing... I'm sure the rest of our family would take care of that little detail."

Vinnie asked, "If you're so sure we can pull it off why go at all. I don't like the idea of you being alone. You won't even be able to take ghosts with you."

I wasn't sure about that, "I might be able to pull them there through our bonds. But I shouldn't need them; if the grays are violent I'll just come back... Besides, we need allies. Even if we do protect the earth this time around the fae will only try again in a different way."

I turned to Kristi, "Do you think if the president gave you a battalion you could train them to join minds, would that be enough to push away an asteroid?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I could teach them, but it would take a lot of practice. Joining minds isn't something you can rush."

I closed my eyes and grated out with gradually increased volume, "What are we missing? There has to be a way. Either Vinnie or I have to be able to fix this right? Isn't that the whole fucking point of the god damned stupid fucking prophecy?"

I might have been losing it. For all my back and forth, I was pretty sure I was wrong before. Me freeing the magic did this, caused this attack. We hadn't been expecting meteors for hell's sake. Problem was, I wasn't seeing Vinnie stepping up right now to fix my shit. I know that wasn't fair, he was probably thinking hard to come up with something. But shit, this was too much to deal with.

I felt arms go around me and I knew it was my mates.

"Sorry," I muttered.

I walked over to the bar set up for the party and grabbed a drink.

Toni said softly, "I have an idea..."

Everyone looked at her and she blushed.

Toni explained, "So, I think we could create enough AG devices to make a smaller size rocket weightless, that would be enough to extend its range to reach the asteroids. After that, the solution isn't tech, its magic. If I were close enough, Vinnie or I, could easily turn it to dust with sorcery. I think we could come up with an earth ward that would do something similar, since we can't go ourselves."

Vinnie smiled, "That would work, you're a genius. Of course, if Toni and I are doing that, the rest of you need to hunt out the fae and work with the government again. They could probably stop any launches if we don't."

I took another sip of my drink and sent a ghost to dad. He and mom showed up before I started on my third drink. Yeah, it wasn't healthy but the world was ending, and I was fairly sure it was my fault...

Before I started I had Kristi locate Johnson and I reached out and grabbed him. Once he calmed down, I started explaining the plan. Vinnie and Toni would deal with the asteroids and needed all the resources the government could supply, including missiles. I also suggested if there was anyone else at the office that could help to bring them in on it. He had told me about Abby and it seemed to me an engineer might have some ideas too.

My parents and the rest of our family, including my mates, as well as Kristi and Alicia would work with the military to track down and kill the fae as fast as possible. With my father there they would be able to gather the dead fae as troops along the way. If he could collect enough of them, maybe he could have them fix the issue.

Although I doubted they could push away the asteroids, I think they were only here to bump them into a better attack profile, which would be a lot easier.

I added, "Hopefully the communities will fight back now that death is imminent. You could probably depend on Jeremy and Bell too if you contact them."

Then I told them what I'm doing, "I'm the backup plan, I'm going to go ask for help from the grays. Johnson, I need permission to negotiate for us, and no, I can't bring anyone with me."

No one looked especially happy about me going alone, especially Bree and Callie. But it was what it was. I wished I could take them with me, but it wasn't an option.

Johnson picked up his phone and said, "I'll call the president and see what he says. If he's as smart as I think he is, he'll let you speak for us."

When he walked off Bree said, "I want you to pull me there in spirit form, I don't care if you need me..."

I sighed. I should have expected that, and truthfully I was glad of it. There was one more thing I could do, so I could still help back here. It would be as close to being here as was possible, if Callie were willing. I couldn't use Bree for it, though she would be my first choice. One, she'd hate to be locked into her body, two was she wasn't a vampire.

I said with a smile, "Okay, I promise I'll try. It should work..."

I grabbed Callie by the hand and pulled her into the other room, Bree followed. Rafe didn't, but then he always knows what I want, and he probably knew what I was up to already.

I kissed her softly and caressed her hair. She looked back at me concerned.

I said softly, "There is a way for us to stay in communication, and for me to even act through you. It would also give you access to my magic directly, as a result you would be very strong and even able to self heal. All my ghosts would be bound to you through me, and you could order them. It is not a small thing I ask.

"You met my Aunt Amy right? She's my father's lich, that's what I'm talking about. I won't get angry if you say no, once it's done you would die without the bond, so it does come with risks. If I ever died, you would follow me quickly."

Callie's eyes widened, "You would trust me with your magic and the spirits under your dominion?"

I smiled, "More than that love, I'd trust you with my soul, which is what we would be sharing."

I could feel Bree was content, and understood the reasons behind my choice.

Callie smiled brightly and pulled me into a hug, "I'd be honored, I love you so much Hope..."

I reached for her soul... and mine, and bonded them together. It was so much more intimate than the mind bond; there was no closing this one, or keeping anything private. Callie was a part of me, and I was a part of her. Literally until death do us part, there was no going back, and I honestly couldn't imagine ever wanting to.

I kissed her softly and we walked as one to the sofa. Bree watched with love in her heart as Callie and I stripped. She was breathtaking. Despite her previous strength she was so much stronger now.

But in my arms she was soft, yielding, and gentle. I lowered her onto the couch and lay beside her. There would be no mistress Hope this time. We explored each other with soft fingertips and light caresses and the intimacy seemed to build as our souls also explored each other's. Her skin felt like silk against mine and I felt a fingertip run up my inner thigh, and then teasingly circle around my heating core.

I barely brushed against her labia and she gasped loudly, which was quickly followed by mine. I had no idea just how sensitive I'd made her, and I could feel it clearly through our new soul bond. I broke our seemingly endless kiss, I had to taste her, and I wanted her sweet wet tongue on me as well.

I couldn't tell where my desire for it ended and where hers began, we both sighed in pleasure as I straddled her head, while I lowered my head down between her legs. Her labia were puffy and ever so sensitive. I ran my tongue under her hood and flicked her clit, twice, and gasped as she licked mine. She was so sensitive we both fell into bliss together as our need, feelings, and pleasure all mixed together.

It was only a small one, but it was fantastic, I felt decadent and sexy... loved and cherished, all at the same time. We dove into each other again and I moaned into her velvety pleasure at her taste. We teased each other, rising slowly to our height, going higher and higher until we broke in rapturous pleasure.

When we came down there was no reason to talk, her want was mine and mine was hers. We turned to Bree and beckoned her over, a duplicate smile of wicked anticipation on our faces. Bree came over to join us, and things got a little naughtier at that point. Both Callie and I were subs at heart, so when we finished stripping Bree we dropped to our knees and each took a side.

Our knees were touching between Bree's spread legs as we both started tonguing a hole each.

Bree gasped, "God, yes... lick deeper."

A bolt of pleasure went through me at her words, and while I doubled my efforts to enter her tight hot body with my tongue I reached down and slipped two fingers into my hot wet molten core. A short few seconds later we all fed back on each other's pleasure and went into ecstatic bliss. We worked together on Bree for a while longer, and reluctantly stopped when she reached her third orgasm.

It had been important, almost a necessity to come together like this after the bond formed. But we were well aware the World's time was running out. We got dressed and walked back into the room. We were all flushed and sweaty, blushing as everyone took us in.

Johnson said, "He said yes, but try not to sell our souls okay?"

I grinned, "Don't you trust me?"

I winked when he glared.

I said, "Sorry, too much pressure you know? I'll contact you through Callie if it seems like too much, or something I'm not comfortable with approving."

Johnson said, "Good, now can you send me back to the meeting you stole me out of? I've already given Vinnie and you're parents the contact information they will need to get their side rolling."

I shook his hand and told him thanks, then sent him on his way, back where came from.

Vinnie asked, "Are you sure about this sis, you don't have to do this."

I nodded, "Just in case. We have a lot to do, and only a week to do it."

I hugged everyone self consciously, I really did think I'd be back, but just in case...

I kissed and hugged Rafe and Callie last, then took Bree's hand and teleported home. I took a quick shower and changed my clothes. Bree was with me in spirit, her body lying on the bed. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was habit, simple and easy to walk into limbo. But this time I was looking for another Earth. I focused my magic to access that ability and stretched it out.

It was almost overwhelming how many worlds there actually were. Uncountable. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. The magical... essence of worlds were closely related. The further apart, the more different. I strummed across them with my magic and went in the direction that felt right.

Every world I sampled came closer and closer to the memory in my mind, until it finally happened. I found it. I took a deep breath and stepped into grays' world, dragging Bree's spirit behind me...

 

Chapter 11 – Vinnie

It felt strange letting her go without me. But I had my own task to do and only a few days in which to do it. The first thing I did was call Abby; she would definitely help and perhaps bring a unique perspective. Toni and I packed a few things and I spent some time talking to and kissing Kristi and Alicia.

I didn't like the idea of them fighting without me, but I wouldn't embarrass any of us by expressing any doubts in their abilities, so I only told them to be careful. We met Abby at the building and grabbed the information we would need. I explained to Abby what we needed and she had an objection almost immediately.

Abby explained as I teleported us to a hidden army base, "We need to figure out how much acceleration one of the missiles can handle without burning up flying through the atmosphere. I wouldn't be surprised if we needed to leave at least a half G or maybe a quarter G until it leaves the atmosphere."

I snickered, "I knew there was a reason I called you."

She smiled, "So are you two official yet?"

Toni blushed, "Is it that obvious? We are kind of dating right now."

She snickered, "No need to worry, it's only obvious to a budding empath, so you know, only six billion or so people would know by taking one look at you."

I snorted a laugh and Toni elbowed my side.

A few men came out in uniform and jogged over to greet us.

"Please come with us, we can get you settled and get anything you need that we don't have."

We followed the two men to a warehouse.

One of them said, "I'm Mike, this here is Bob. I'm instructed to make sure you only have access to this building, so remember it and try not to get lost."

I nodded and they brought us inside. There were three fabricators, they looked much bigger than the one we had at work. I also figured all the feature restrictions on what could be made had been removed on these.

Abby had a big smile on her face and sat down at the interface and started typing. Then she turned and started to talk excitedly.

"These three will create what we need, making five at once every hour. That's... three hundred twenty a day. That will give us two days tops to try different approaches and see what will work. Most of that will be programming though."

I asked Mike, "Do you have one of the missiles we'll be using."

He nodded and pointed to a crate in the corner. I brought one out. It was small, but shouldn't have trouble leaving atmosphere with the gravity reduced. The tradeoff was fuel though, the more stable the climb the more fuel it would take. That gave me another idea.

"Can these be fired remotely?"

He nodded, "Yes."

I turned to Abby, "What if I teleported them up there, then we wouldn't have to worry about them burning up in the atmosphere. I'm sure I could get them to L.E.O."

She nodded, "That should work, I'm going to build one out now, we can try it in an hour."

An hour was so fast to make one, and so damned slow at the same time. Still, we threw ideas back and forth for a while as it was built. Toni added her earth magic ward to the tip of the missile while we waited. It didn't look too hard and I thought I could duplicate it, but it didn't look easy either.

When the device came out we added it to the missile. We had to wait another ten minutes for Bob to get back with the control device for the missile. It looked like a small laptop. Once it was up, I teleported the missile straight up to low earth orbit. The gravity up there was still close to earth normal, but out of the atmosphere, so with the anti-gravity switched on, it just hung there.

We waited a few seconds as the telemetry came in, and then launched the missile at one of the closer meteors. It went fast, accelerating toward the target. Space was big it still took some time.

The missile hit the asteroid, so as far as it went, that part was a success. Not so much on the destroying it part though. I stared in disbelief at the image, it didn't look touched.

I said, pointing out the obvious, "You don't suppose they shielded them do you?"

Abby frowned at me and Toni sighed in disgust.

I shrugged, "Well it worked as far as the AG and missile goes, so why don't you start printing them out. In the meantime we need to figure out what to deliver once we have them."

Toni asked, "Any ideas?"

I shook my head, "Just a crazy one," I turned to Bob and Mike, "I need two things, an EVA suit that will fit me and someone to remote view an asteroid and give me a picture. If you can't get that last one I can bring in someone who can."

Abby looked at me like I'd lost my mind, "You're going to teleport out there?"

I shrugged, "Only way to see what's shielding them, and to experiment in a reasonable amount of time. It takes too long to get a missile up there and we learned nothing from the failure. There has to be something we can do. Plus, it sounds kind of fun."

I'd never really dreamed of being an astronaut, but space was cool, I wouldn't pass up the chance to go up there now that I had a good reason to. 

Bob got off the phone and said, "It will be here in four hours, along with an astronaut to put it on you and make sure you don't kill yourself."

I thought that a little insulting, but probably accurate.

Then we heard screams outside, and the sounds of gunfire.

Toni said in an alarmed voice, "Shit, they must have traced that test here somehow."

The sound of fire was getting closer, so I casted my sword and armor and made for the door. I could feel about fifteen of them attacking. There were a lot more humans but I wished they were better at magic. We had to protect the warehouse, and I hoped I wasn't stupid for charging them. I stepped into limbo, fifteen to one odds means it was time to cheat.

The first one I came up to I blinked back to the Earth side a moment before my sword went through his shield and into his neck, the next step I was hidden again. I took about three out that way, but the humans were still losing, and the fae were still gaining ground.

There were still ten left when I stepped out and took my fourth head. This time I stayed out, hoping to give them a target and slow them down... hopefully without dying. I got close to the next one when I was hit by a jeep and slammed into the wall of another building.

That was such a bad idea.

I slipped into limbo and started to snipe them again with my sword. I got two more when they reached the warehouse. I growled in frustration. I knew I didn't have a chance at stopping them but I was still pissed off. I teleported into the warehouse long enough to grab Abby, Toni, Mike and Bob, and then I got us out of there with my magic.

Mike glared at me as if it was my fault, and then got on the phone.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 10



What I wanted to know was why my parents hadn't been notified immediately. It wasn't like my project was important or anything. I realized if my sister had been there, they would have been by ghost messenger. We'd have probably also won the fight.

Mike got off the phone and said, "We have another site, can you get us there?"

I shook my head, "Bad idea. They traced my magic somehow. They didn't even check other buildings and went to the exact spot we were in. How about I leave a wild goose chase while you guys take Abby and Toni to the new site and get started on the making what we need. 

"Just tell me where to end up, and when, to get my space suit on. When I have something figured out, you'll have to come get me and bring me in. Also, you need to have my parent's attack team on speed dial and call next time. They could have stomped those fifteen easy."

He scowled but nodded. "Be in Edward's AFB in three hours. They'll know how to get in touch with me when you want to come in."

He got back on the phone and ordered a helicopter. I waited with them, not willing to risk them to another ambush without me here. If my theory was right, the fae knew where we were right now. I told Abby to be careful, gave Toni a hard lingering kiss and gave Mike and Bob the glare that said they better be okay when I catch back up.

Once they lifted off, I began my tour of the world. I popped in and out of Hawaii, NYC, California, France, Japan, Russia, Chicago, Seattle... I hoped I was driving them crazy.

I stopped for a while New Orleans and got some Cajun for dinner. I missed my mates and wondered how they were doing. Normally a few hours I wouldn't turn a hair, but it was the end of the world and I couldn't be there to protect them. I had to protect them in a different way.

I hopped to the AFB when it was time. I was ushered quickly to a hanger where a gruff looking old man looked at me like I was dirt he'd found under his shoe.

"Listen up boy. This ain't a track suit. You will pay attention to what I tell you or I'm taking the suit and going home. I could be fishing out the end of the world, so don't waste my time."

I couldn't help the smile and said, "Yes sir."

He frowned, "Something funny boy?"

I shook my head, "Just one of those days."

He grunted and finally got to cases. He gave me a bottle of high content oxygen to breath while he explained how everything worked. The mask muffled my voice, but he seemed satisfied with my answers when he checked on me.

He helped me get the suit on, which was a genuine pain in the ass. Then to my surprise, he sent the location straight to my mind. I grinned; he must have worked on that so he could see Earth from space again...

Once he gave me the all clear, I teleported to the asteroid...

 

Chapter 12 – Vincent Sr. & Anise

-Anise-

I shut my eyes to contain my anger when Johnson finished explaining what happened with Vinnie and Toni.

I said as evenly as I could, "Vincent, why did you not have a ghost on our son and his new mate? They were alone and the most vulnerable."

I could swear I heard him wince and I fell into light meditation to deal with my anger.

Vince replied cautiously, "It didn't occur to me; I figured they were safe in some hidden government facility," he paused for a moment, "There, I have one on each of them now."

I blew out a breath and nodded. I've been perpetually angry lately. First, four years ago I had to let them find their own way and learn how to stand. That was hard enough. But now I was frustrated, my children had asked for help and the communities seemed to have their heads buried farther in the past than the humans did.

I flinched when I felt Vince's arms go around me, but then I melted into him as he kissed the top of my head. I hugged him back.

I asked impatiently, "Johnson, we have a target yet?"

He nodded and I felt guilty when he said warily, "There are close to a hundred that seem to be gathering near NORAD, we think they are going to attack to take out our ability to track the meteors."

I raised an eyebrow, "Would that work?"

He shook his head, "Not by itself, but it would be a good first step."

I nodded and pushed my feelings down. I was very tempted to take out my frustrations on the enemy, but fighting angry would just get me killed. Still, I knew I would feel fiercely satisfied about it when I let go of them after the fight. Kristi gave me the target site. They were out in the open in the mountains, which would make it both easier and harder.

We split up the groups. Vince teleported his group to higher ground, north of the fae, I took mine their south. This was going to be messy. I was surrounded by my white armor, and wielding two swords as I rushed into the enemy. I moved with a thought at the speed of my magic and took the first head.

I felt several head sized rocks coming toward me, but I was a sorceress too, the earth was mine to command and with a thought they fell to dust as I took the next head. The truth about the most powerful races was their long lived lives. They had the time to learn and perfect their magic beyond most others.

There was a cluster of six fae attacking my mind in concert, before my shield could fail I concentrated the air, raising the air pressure high enough to squeeze their shields and hold their bodies in place. It also made it impossible for them to breath. They switched their focus from attack and struggled to move out of the compression field, but they weren't fast enough.

I couldn't go into melee range so I hit them with fire. It wasn't quite as hot as the sun, but it was close as it ate into their shields and burned into their bodies. They quickly turned to ash.

I turned and headed for the next fae who launched a thick branch at me like a spear. It was surrounded by a fae shield. There was no way I could destroy it in time, so a pillar of stone rose from the earth to intercept it. It sounded like a thunderclap when it hit, and my pillar was falling over, but I was already around it.

I saw the consternation on his face as I closed the distance. He jumped up into the sky and I followed, my wings flared out behind me. I hated to fly, but I wouldn't let him escape. I cut him in half at the chest with my sword; his body fell back to the Earth in two pieces.

I took a moment to look around, and no one seemed to be getting overwhelmed. There were a few wounded and I launched a glyph of healing their way. I could also see Vince had a number of the dead ones enslaved. I picked my next target and dove for him...

-Vince-

When we had landed at the top of the slope, we could feel the fae below us, but not see them with all the trees and shrubbery. We started moving down. Lisa casted spells next to me while I surrounded Amy and Callie's fists with dark shadow. There were a number of other smaller groups with me, but we couldn't fight as one large group any more than the fae could in this dense mountain forest.

We moved together toward the enemy we could feel but not see until we were close to them. Callie and Amy were both liches, and with my shadows on their hands not to mention their own considerable power they started to take out the fae with crushing blows to their enemy's bodies and heads. Lisa and I followed in their wake, concentrating more on defense.

I raised the dead fae and bound them to my purpose, and worked on deflecting attacks from the fae. A stone heading for Amy's head was pulled aside by shadows with a determined thought. It all seemed to snowball in a short time as the more fae I gathered the faster the enemy went down.

The last fifteen took off up in the sky but didn't get far. I sent all my fae up after them as I spread my wings and took to the skies myself. I could also see Rafe, Anise, and Kristi join us there. We killed all of them without mercy. This was war on a scale I could scarce imagine; they were trying to kill the whole planet and I had no moral doubts at all as we took them out without mercy.

When we were finished we regrouped on the ground and Anise started healing those that were damaged. She healed both simple contusions and crushed limbs with ease. None of us had died, but for three it was worse than that. Two of the younger witches and a werewolf were being held down. Kristi did something with her magic then shook her head.

She sounded a little fragile when she said, "Their memories are gone, their minds crushed into insanity."

Kristi took a deep breath, "I can probably fix the insanity, but they'd have to start their lives over."

We waited while she did that, then we sent them home to be cared for. I felt a little guilty because all I could think of was thank god it wasn't anyone in my family.

Anise said coldly, still suppressing her emotions, "Next target?"

Johnson sighed and nodded before pulling out his phone. It was such a waste, I was already tired of this and we were just getting started. Of course, the odds would be even better next time; outside of the ones Anise burned to ash I now had an army of fae almost a hundred strong at our backs...

 

Chapter 13 – Hope

I woke up having no idea where I was. It was even stranger because I don't sleep, so I was fuzzy headed and alarmed, trying to clear the cobwebs from my mind.

Bree asked nervously, "You okay?"

I muttered, "I think so, what happened?"

I took a quick look around. I was lying on a metal table in an empty room. I didn't see a door.

Bree asked, "You don't remember?"

I shook my head, "Last think I remember was stepping to grays' world."

Bree replied, "Well you weren't shielded or anything, and a few seconds after we got here, a number of the grays teleported to our location. It looked like you were about to say something, but they shot you with some kind of knock out beam."

I shuddered, "What else happened?"

"They brought you here. They didn't do anything invasive, but they scanned you with devices and stared at you for a while. I don't think they know I'm here."

I snorted, "Well, they do now if they're listening, either that or they'll think I'm nuts."

A crack appeared in the wall where I was sure there wasn't one a second ago, and opened up. I warily raised my armor, but not my sword. I wasn't here to start a fight, and apparently if they wanted me dead... I would already be.

A short man with gray skin came in. He didn't look like the fiction shows, but he did have a somewhat larger head, and the eyes were all black and larger than human. But not that much larger. They did have thinner limbs, but they were still in the human proportion, it was only that they were much shorter. I guessed he stood around four foot five.

He nodded, "That is not necessary. You are safe and welcome here, please come with me."

I shook my head in disbelief, "Welcome?"

He turned his head and looked back at me, "Our world is protected from magical gates. We did not permanently harm you, but your uninvited arrival was somewhat... alarming to us. Please, follow me and I will explain everything, we did not harm you, merely scanned your mind to ensure you did not pose a threat."

Oh, right. No harm in that, just download a damn copy why don't they.

I sighed and followed him down a hallway. Everything looked... sterile, uniform, and utterly boring. I was lead into a room with a table and chairs, another gray was already sitting there and the table was covered with different foods. I took a seat and waited for them to speak.

The one who brought me said, "I am Aris, this is Tenna. I apologize for the intrusion into your privacy, but we must protect ourselves, and you were not known to us."

His voice was without inflection, I was starting to wonder if they had emotions.

Tenna said in that same monotone, "The war before the one you know about, approximately forty five thousand years ago, happened when we were emerging as a race using high technology for the first time, much like Earth is now. I won't go into all the details, but during that war the fae tried their best to destroy us.

"However, when we went to counter invade it became clear other races would not allow it. But we have not forgotten even after all that time. It was in the Great War fifteen thousand years ago, that we sealed off our world to all but a few allies. I am telling you this, so you will understand why we are willing to help you, but only under certain conditions."

I shivered. I hadn't even asked yet. Maybe they actually had downloaded my mind. I found that thought very... disturbing. On the other hand, I didn't have to go through long interrogations as my world's time ran out. Apparently I didn't have to find someone in charge either, they'd found me.

I briefly checked in on Callie. She seemed to be enjoying killing the fae and as far as she could tell, things were going well minus a few casualties.

I asked, "What conditions?"

Tenna said, "For one, we wish you to join our alliance."

I thought for a moment and then asked, "To what end?"

Tenna explained, "Mutual defense, a promise never to attack us or the others in our alliance. We can also freely trade. The main reason we ask though, is it will make it possible for us to annihilate the fae. The politics has somewhat changed recently, but we can't follow up on a forty five thousand year old slight, even if it was to destroy our world and race. But we can attack them if you are in our alliance."

I nodded, "So you would like us to help with the attack?"

Aris shook his head, "No, if you join the Alliance, we can destroy the fae world while the humans of your world destroy the current fae invaders. Your world is not yet ready to join an attack on the fae, and I fear if we waited until it was, the politics would change again."

I frowned, it seemed like they just wanted us to join this alliance so they could get revenge. On the other hand, at least I knew what their motivations were.

Tenna said, "We will honor the alliance afterward. It is not a little thing we offer for the chance of revenge. Beyond that your world would have our friendship, we would not offer this even for revenge if we thought we couldn't honor the alliance. Besides, we also realize your Earth will grow quickly and become powerful. The alliance will be good for us both on many levels."

I asked curiously, "Who else is in this alliance?"

Aris said, "There are two other races of human that we are partnered with. One is a race not unlike the werewolves you know, but they shift into great cats. The second race is peaceful. They look much like the Sasquatch of your myths and legends. Both of the other races have high technology but prefer more natural surroundings. I can tell that you aren't very comfortable here at all."

I nodded, "So, if you've read my memories you know I can't speak for the whole planet. And entering into a treaty would probably be way past what I could offer. Let me get instructions and I'll let you know how it went."

Tenna agreed, "We expected this. We will wait."

I sent Callie the message and all the particulars. She'd go to Johnson, who'd likely call the president. Now all I needed to do was wait. It might be a long time though; the president may try and get other countries to sign it too. I sampled some of the food. It was a bit bland, but much better than I thought it would be based on how it looked.

I wondered if this is what the prophesy meant when it said us or the fae would be destroyed. Who would anticipate finding a race bent on destroying the fae and that they would be the only ones able to stop the meteors if we failed to do so ourselves. It also made me reevaluate the statement about the second born. It only said the first born would bring about humanity's destruction without the second born to stop it, it hadn't said anything about the reverse.

Maybe it would take both of us to save it...

 

Chapter 14 – Vinnie

Having no up or down was extremely disorienting. I pushed down the feeling of having to throw up while cheating with a little healing magic to calm things down. The view was amazing though, and I took a few minutes to look around before moving closer to the asteroid.

The asteroid was definitely surrounded by a shield. I wondered how long they took to prepare this attack. Not that it truly mattered, but I wondered if it was my push forward in science or my sister destroying the enchantment that prompted it. The idea they could set up this many meteors and enchant them all in just a few days was an intimidating thought.

Just to be sure, I sent my earth magic at the asteroid, and the signature brown of the fae's magic held it at bay. I could make out an enchantment running the shield, and wondered what to try next. My first thought was to use my own magic and just bypass the shield through limbo. But all that would really accomplish is to break it up into a bunch of smaller pieces, which probably wouldn't be any better.

I also couldn't manifest my magic into a sword out here to break the shield, because that magic was solid, and required me to be touching it to keep it active. I couldn't do that in this suit without putting a big hole through it.

Just to see how long it would take I sent a continuous attack of my magic trying to destroy the shield. After about five minutes I stopped. There was no ward powerful enough to do what I just did, and it was a failure. My sword could probably do it, but that enchantment was easily resisting my distance magic attacks. I was back to thoughts of going around the shield through limbo again. Could I wrap my earth magic inside my immortal magic and bring it along through limbo?

I'd never tried, never had a reason to, but now was as good a time as any.

Instead of condensing it into a magic grenade of sorts, I thought of it like a water balloon in my mind. I created a thin shell of immortal magic that would simply break against the meteor releasing the earth magic. It worked on the first try, but the earth magic ran out of juice when the meteor was only a quarter of the way gone. The meteor was just so huge.

Even without the shield that first missile wouldn't have been a hundred percent successful. The shield was gone now though, so perhaps it had something to do with that? The earth magic reacting to the enchantment as it ate the rock it was embedded on?

I threw more earth magic at it, and this time the same amount took out the rest of the meteor. So it was definitely the enchantment that caused the earth magic to burn out so fast. I moved toward another I could barely see, and it took me twenty minutes to get there. I didn't see how I could possibly destroy them all from up here, I'd run out of oxygen long before they hit, even getting a refill I'd fall way short of the total.

Did this mean we needed two missiles for every meteor?

We didn't have enough time for that either. It would take at least three days to make enough AG devices for one missile each. I growled. The suit was so damned quiet, my breath sounded like a damn hurricane in my ears. I needed to be calm and think. If I couldn't have two missiles, I'd need the magic itself to be in two stages.

It was a lot to hold in my head at once. A layered spell. The top layer was the thin bubble with the first earth spell under it. The next layer of immortal magic under the earth spell would be harder and hold together on impact, and then it would release the second earth spell when it sensed the enchantment fail.

I had to go into meditation to make sure it was all in my mind correctly as my magics came together. I sent it at the meteor, and it worked very well, the different stages breaking down the asteroid as designed. I needed to personally put the spells on each and every missile.

I took one last look around before I teleported back. It really was awe inspiring out here in space. 




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 10



I teleported back to Edwards AFB and the older astronaut helped me get out of the suit. By the time I did that and took a shower, my flight was ready to my new destination. It would be good to get back to Toni, I missed Alicia and Kristi as well, but it would be a while longer before I saw them.

I know it had only been a few hours, but the humans had already failed to protect Toni once, so I was more than ready to go when I jumped onto the helicopter. It was an apache; they flew me east toward Arizona where we stopped in the middle of nowhere. We went into a cave of all places where there was a checkpoint about twenty yards in.

After that it was straight down in an elevator. Some military bunker I would assume. The doors opened up and I could tell it was built in the fifties, but there were some upgrades done to it over the last eighty years. I was led down a hallway. The soldier with me pointed out the infirmary, somewhere to lie down and sleep, and a basic cafeteria with limited food choices.

When we reached the end of the hallway, we went through double doors that led into a cavern size room that was filled with jets, helicopters, tanks, and various types of ordinance. It was the ultimate break open in case of emergency for the military. We walked through the cavernous room toward the back and over to the left. I smiled when I saw Toni and Abby over by a number of fabricators.

I felt the stress melt from my body when Toni turned and met my eyes with hers, which danced brightly along with her wide smile. 

Toni asked, "How was your space walk?"

I winked, "Easy..."

She snorted as I enfolded her in a hug, her body fit perfectly against mine and I held her for a minute before letting go.

I went over what I discovered and asked them how it was going on this side.

Abby sounded hopeful when she said, "It's coming along we'll have ninety already when these finish in a bit. We also have a detail of soldiers attaching them to the missiles. Really it's just a matter of time."

I nodded. "The one problem is I have to do all of them spell wise. Also, the spells will only last a couple of days at most, so we need to wait for the last day before I start with it. I'm guessing in mediation I can do over a hundred an hour, perhaps more. It will be maybe eight to ten hours of constant work for nine hundred missiles."

I grinned, "So I get to slack for a day or so, either of you hungry? I haven't eaten yet."

Toni took my hand, "Yeah, let's go see what the U.S. military has for food."

Abby said, "This batch is almost done, go ahead. I'll catch up when I get the next set of fifteen cooking."

As we walked by the tanks I squeezed Toni's hand and raised an eyebrow.

She chuckled and shook her head, "No... we won't be fucking on the tanks. But feel free to take me to one of those rooms after lunch."

She kissed me like she meant it, and then dragged me down the hall to the cafeteria...

What? I'd never had sex on a tank before. That would be even sweeter than the mile high club... I doubted she'd go for it on one of those large missiles either.

Lunch was okay. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. I wound up eating a roast beef sandwich and some potato salad while we talked.

Toni said softly, "I wish I could help with the missiles."

I replied, "It's fine, I count on you to tell me where I'm going wrong. You have a lot more experience with practical applications. I'm not going to have much to do for a couple of days myself."

Toni shrugged, "I feel kind of useless."

I sighed, "You aren't though. I know what we are doing is important, but I still feel like a coward hiding down here doing it, while Kristi and Alicia are up their risking their lives fighting the fae. I know my parents are looking out for them, but shit happens. Having you here really helps me hold it together."

Toni nodded, "Things are screwed up, what scares me is what will the fae do next. You know the axiom; wars are better fought away from home ground."

I took her hand and pulled her up from the table, "Let's give Hope time, because we sure as hell aren't invading fae without help. We can't even open a portal yet. Until then we need to just concentrate on staying alive."

I led her into one of the rooms with a bed in it. It was starkly furnished with simple double bed metal frame with a thin mattress on it, and a night table with a lamp. I'd take her somewhere else, but I was afraid to teleport anywhere near the base, we were stuck here until we could launch the counter attack on the asteroids.

I kissed her softly and she sighed into my mouth, her soft supple body melted into me until it was plastered against mine. She felt soft and yielding at first, then the kiss changed as our passion grew. It became harder, demanding, and had an edge of desperation to it in an emotional release from the present circumstances.

We both breathed heavily as we stripped each other's clothes away, I explored her silky smooth skin as I bared it. When we came back together I could feel her already swollen nipples and the soft silky surrounding flesh of her breasts rub up against the skin of my chest. I wanted to taste her badly, so I went to pick her up but I was too slow. She dropped to her knees and moved to take me into her hot wet sexy little mouth. Her eyes looked up at with me with lustful desire.

I gasped sharply as her full lips closed around the ridge between my shaft and tip and sucked hard while running her tongue in circles around my sensitive flesh. Her fingernails teased my ass, taint and balls as I watched her lips lower, sinking down my hard shaft as she hungrily took me into her mouth.

She moaned in approval and wanton need as my tip hit the back of her throat. Then she made love to my long shaft with her mouth, bobbing up and down. I could feel her tongue as it bathed my sensitive underside each and every long stroke between her lips.

I moaned loudly and reached down to grab her hair.

I whispered, "Too good Antonia, if you don't stop I'm going to cum in your sexy mouth."

She didn't stop; instead she moaned in approval and started bobbing up and down my length even faster. Her tongue swirling the tip each time she pulled back. She rolled my balls between her fingertips and gently squeezed. Her eyes were full of a wanton need as she worked desperately for my cum and that's what pushed me over. I gasped as my legs locked and felt myself erupt into her mouth. Her eyes were lit with lust as she slowed down but continued to work up and down my shaft as she sucked me dry.

She said with a smile when she popped off, "I love it when you call me by my full name in bed."

I pulled her up lightly by her hair and she stood. I kissed her softly, and then pushed her onto the bed. I spread her legs and pushed them up and over, bending her in half as I lowered my face toward her core. The scent of her arousal hit me like a drug and I licked all the way down her labia and back up, my tongue barely touching. 

I wanted to dive in and suck, nibble and bite. But I went slowly driving myself and her crazy as she rose slowly toward her height. 

Toni demandingly begged, "My clit, suck my clit..."

I ignored her and kept slowly licking up and down her swollen hot wet lips. She started to squirm, whimper and beg... but I kept her pinned down under her own legs as I drove her crazy. When I thought she was at her limit, I used my thumbs to expose her clit and merely blew softly on it.

She gasped and her body locked up and trembled as I held her down, her liquid silk shot out in a squirt and soaked my lips, mouth, chin, and neck. I licked her the same soft way on her outer lips as she came down. Once she was back with me I dug my tongue in deep, and greedily sucked in her tasty honey. I flicked her clit with my tongue once, twice, and then a third time.

She came again, hard, but her juice merely ran out in a rush this time as I lapped it up. I raised my head as she trembled beneath me, and rested her legs against my body and over my shoulders as I crawled forward on my knees. I was long past hardened again.

As she came down, I slowly pushed into her center. Her eyes widened in shock and pleasure as I stretched her very wet, tight, and grasping center wide enough to accommodate my hardened flesh as I pushed into and invaded her sheath. The feeling of her wet silken heat wrapping around me tightly as her muscles fluttered and tightened was beyond bliss as I buried myself deep within her. The angle we had was perfect for maximum penetration and I could feel her ass cheeks against my upper legs and thigh.

When she seemed ready I started to pump in and out of her hard. Her perky B cups stood straight up from her chest, and although I had my eyes locked with hers, I also watched them bounce and vibrate as I slammed into her velvety passage over and over.

She started to roll her hips each time our flesh slammed together, grinding against me as her core squeezed down on me. 

She said between gasping breaths, "Goddess, Vinnie... harder... faster... fuck!"

I started going faster and grunting as our bodies slammed together just short of painfully as I railed into her. She screamed my name right before she came for me for a third time. The way her tight sheath squeezed and milked me along with the amazing feeling of her liquid heat bathing my shaft and soaking my balls pushed me over the edge. I pumped into her roughly a few more times, and then buried myself hard and deep as I emptied my seed into her waiting womb.

I collapsed next to her on the small bed, and pulled her up against me tightly as we recovered our breath. 

I wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it, but I whispered the truth into her ear, "I love you Antonia."

She turned toward me and kissed my lips. She had a sheen in her eyes as she said it back in a almost disbelieving voice, but I heard the truth in her words, and on her aura. I don't know what she was unsure of, but it wasn't in her love for me...

 

Chapter 15 – Hope

I was back in that room, but they had taught me how to open the doors, so I wasn't a prisoner. Still, I felt like they would prefer it if I didn't snoop around too much. I closed my eyes when I felt Callie reach for me.

Callie said, "He wants to talk to you, the president I mean."

I asked, "Do you mind?"

Callie laughed, "No... we'll have a blast in the same body."

I grinned and said out loud, "Bree, going on a little vacation. Get me if I need to be aware here."

She nodded.

I went inside myself and stretched out my senses and mind. It felt a little strange, it was more than seeing or hearing through someone like I could do with a ghost, it felt like I was in this body. Then I moved and the material of the shirt brushed my overly sensitive nipples, and my panties felt amazing against my super sensitive labia. My goddess, how does she live like this? I'd be begging for sex all the time.

I heard her giggle and could feel her in my... our mind.

Callie said, "Watch this."

She reached through our link and grabbed a little of my necromantic power and sent it straight to our shared core. My whimper was barely audible as I exploded in bliss. Holy shit.

I asked with an internal smile, "You do that often?"

Callie smirked internally, "I have to. Besides, you said it yourself. Without that relief I'd be begging for sex constantly. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to the rush of it now."

I shook my head; it had been her choice to keep it this way. I doubted a normal human could take that kind of thing all the time without something going wrong, but her body was perfect and she was a lich with access to heal herself at any time.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Johnson was over by the door with a smirk on his face. I shrugged and got up. My panties were soaked, but I had a long skirt on along with a silk blouse that felt amazing against my nipples. I envied her B cups for a moment; I couldn't get away with not wearing a bra with my D's.

"Why does he want to see me?"

Johnson said, "You'll find out."

I followed him out and made it halfway down the hall before I realized I was in the white house already. I had to distance myself a little bit from Callie's body. I felt like I was going to cum just from walking. It was very intense.

He escorted me right into the oval office.

The president got right to business, "I'm having trouble selling this to the other countries. They feel like it might be a trick or trap. Besides that, it looks like your brother is going to handle those meteors just fine. But I wanted to hear it directly from you, so I know if I can trust them or not. If that makes sense?"

I said softly, "Perfect sense. What good is reading lies going to get you through a third party? I get it. So yes, they can be trusted to do everything they said. They and the two other groups will be good trading partners. It also wouldn't be bad to have someone who knows who the other neighbors are. I get that it seems too good to be true, but when you weigh it against their desire for revenge against the fae, helping us into the greater community is a small price for them to pay.

"Eventually, they will have a bad ass world with a mutual defense agreement. They are seeing what we can be as well, and the people of this earth have strong magic and an inclination toward technology. For a people that plan over millennia a couple of hundred years is a short time to wait for a bountiful return.

"Beyond that, the fae are convinced they will die as a race if we don't. This isn't something they will back down from. If their meteors fail, and it looks like they will, they'll just do something else to kill us all.

"We don't have the ability to fight on their ground at all, we have no portals and even our tech is falling short of their magic. Maybe in a year when you all have a handle on your magic we could, but right now it's just a matter of time until they kill us. You can't win a defensive war and we are incapable of fighting offensively."

The president nodded slowly, "I had thought of all that of course, but hearing you say it and knowing it is the truth will allow me to push back a little harder against the other world leaders. Thanks for stopping by, I'll let you know soon."

I took that as a dismissal and left with Johnson. He led me back to the other room and pulled his phone out. A moment later Rafe was there and I jumped in his arms and kissed him like I was in heat, rubbing our needy body against his. Oh goddess, this body was insane.

I whispered in his ear, "Take me somewhere and fuck us both silly... please," the please came out in a desperate breathy tone.

Callie crowed in delight at the idea of us getting fucked together, and I had to admit I kind of liked the idea of it too. What could be more intimate than sharing a body and mind with a woman I loved that was being pleasured by the man we both loved? Add in the extra sensitive girl parts and it sounded both wonderful and crazy. Not that I could think straight in this body. 

He smiled and teleported us away...

 

Chapter 16 – Vinnie – Hope

-Vinnie-

The next couple of days went by both slow and fast. We got some report updates. My sister was still trying to get a treaty going with the grays who would destroy the fae. I wasn't sure exactly why they needed the treaty first; they seemed almost desperate to want to kill them. I guessed the treaty of mutual support would give them the excuse to do it that would be upheld by the other races.

Until then their hands were tied.

As for why it was taking so long, a few of the countries on the U.N. council wanted to wring more concessions out of the grays, to take advantage of their desire. Some others wanted to limit what we would owe them for it. I thought it was ridiculous, we were on the verge of getting destroyed and human greed was entering the picture.

As far as the growing pains, they were still going on around the world. It hadn't quite hit a boil, but as people learned to control their magic it was getting closer every day. There were some prison breaks, but as I predicted they didn't last long. The common man and woman was no longer a helpless victim.

My parents did well against the fae, and continued to do so as they had them on the run the world over.

I was in a light meditation attaching the four layer spell to the warheads. We considered sending them out as we did them but worried the fae would start on the next idea right away as soon as they saw this would end in failure. So we planned to launch them all at the same time with NORAD and the Pentagon coordinating the launches for each target.

It was boring work, but I'd suppressed my boredom about an hour back. Now it just was.

Another thing my sister had learned which I thought interesting was the grays magic was all internally focused. At one time they all looked like the rest of us. At some point though, they increased their lifespan, intelligence, and cranial capacity. That part was pretty cool, but in the end they sacrificed their emotions to the changes.

I had a hard time understanding that. I suppressed my emotions when I needed to, but to simply not have them anymore seemed... wrong.

I finished the last one and came out of my meditation. It took just over nine hours and ironically I felt rested thanks to the meditation and due to my emotions being suppressed.

I asked our newest liaison to the president, "So what's the plan?"

Kate was sharply dressed in a business suit and had her light brown hair up in a bun. I hadn't seen her smile, but I knew it was a fiction. She looked that stern because it helped her get where she was. I was curious how long it would take her to get over it, because with magic released she wasn't fooling anyone anymore.

Kate said, "If you're done I'll call the president."

I nodded and stretched to try and relieve my tense muscles after sitting in one place for so long.

Kate hung up and turned to me, "He said one hour, we'll get everyone on a conference line to coordinate."

I sighed, "Hungry anyone?"

Toni took my hand while Abby and Kate trailed after. 

I hadn't eaten in nine hours either...

-Hope-

I was losing my mind a bit in this place and getting impatient for the leaders who were being disruptive to get on board already. I was a bit of a party girl still, though I was faithful to my mates, but I still loved to dance and have fun.

Being stuck on a planet with emotionless people for three days was not my cup of tea. I took a minute to reminisce on my threesome with only two bodies. It was great, but almost too much. I could barely move, or even breathe. I'd lost count of the amount of times I came in the first five minutes, and he had fucked us for over an hour.

I was sure I'd have had a heart attack if I wasn't in a lich's body at the time.

The only thing keeping me sane since then was Bree, and I was glad I brought her with me. Still, all we could really do was talk since she had no body.

Callie connected to me and said, "They decided. Apparently the last holdouts panicked at the fact we were launching the missiles in less than an hour. So they caved in fear of what might be coming next. Score one for the survival instinct kicking in... finally."

I snickered, thanked her, and headed out of my room in search of Aris and Tenna.

I found Tenna in the dining hall and got her attention.

"They want to sign up with the alliance."

Tenna stood ignoring her food and took out a device. I felt myself being transported away.

"Where are we?"

I heard Aris' voice behind me, "On my ship, don't worry, the trip won't take long."

They opened a forward view screen and I could see the blackness of space, the stars were so bright with no atmosphere in the way I couldn't help but just stare. I held my breath when a beam of light left the ship opening an aperture in space, the ship flew through it.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 10



These guys didn't lollygag, at all. My mouth dropped open when I saw the UN building through the port. Maybe it was a good thing they no longer had emotions, or all the delays from our world might have annoyed them, and it was quite clear to me they could squash our world like stepping on a bug.

I followed them out of the ship and into the U.N. There were some surprised expressions at their appearance, but no one could doubt the veracity of their words when given in person. In a surprisingly short time the U.N. was signing a document, one nation at a time.

I walked them back to the ship, but they didn't even say goodbye. I wondered how they would do it, how they would destroy the fae world, but a part of me hoped I never found out. 

I surrounded myself in magic and teleported to our apartment, so Bree could collect her body. After which we shared a long kiss. It was easy to find the others with Callie tied to my soul. I just thought of her and the connection we shared, and let my magic take Bree and I home...

-Vinnie-

When we got back from dinner we only had a few minutes to wait before we were on a call with a number of people. We had a three star general at NORAD, a four star general at the Pentagon, the president, and some telemetry people from NASA.

When they all reported ready the President gave the order and I teleported close to a thousand missiles to orbit ten at a time. It took me a few seconds each batch, but I was able to keep ahead of them as they received the telemetry and fired off one missile after another in quick succession.

We had maybe a quarter of them in space on the way when the first one hit. A few seconds later we were looking at an expanding dust cloud instead of a meteor. There was some cheering from someone on the phone line, but I was focused on moving the missiles up there.

It took a little less than five minutes in total to get all the missiles in space, after that it was out of my hands. I didn't want to be rude, but as the asteroids were destroyed I wanted nothing more than to get out of here, and see the rest of my family.

I said a quick goodbye to Kate. Abby asked me to send her home, so I did. Then I called Kristi and asked where she was. Everyone was at my parents' house so I held Toni's hand and surrounded us with my magic and took us home.

Before I could even get my bearings, I was in a four way hug with all my mates. It seemed like all our plans had come together, and we would be able to wipe our hands of the fae forever. My sister wormed her way in and gave me a hug.

Hope said, "Hey little brother."

I lifted my eyebrow.

She shrugged, "Just saying, I have no idea which of us is first born."

We both turned to mom and said, "Well... prophecy is over... which of us is which?"

Anise got an impudent look on her face, "I promised I'd never tell..."

We glared, but she just laughed at us, and then Johnson's phone went off.

His face drained of color and he looked over at us.

"A gate opened in Yosemite Park, and thousands of fae coming through. So far that's the only one we know of."

I felt the touch of Kristi's magic and a teleport site showed in my mind.

My mother said loudly, "Let's go!"

I surrounded as many in my magic I could and teleported to Yosemite Park...

-Hope-

There were over a couple of hundred of us. Over the last five days while I'd been visiting the grays more of the coven as well as others from the various groups had joined to help. There were also quite a number of military who over the last week had gotten to the point they could shield and use telekinesis, none of them had rifles anymore.

My father had hundreds of zombie fae bound to his will as well. No one looked happy; we thought the nightmare of the fae had been finished. Now we were being flooded by them. The thought was depressing; I had been looking forward to a celebration and now this. I suppressed my emotions, we'd have plenty of time for that later and it wouldn't help me fight.

The target point Kristi gave me was to the East. Apparently they had a system worked out, because I could feel the fae to the west, but I also felt two other groups to the north-west and south-west. There was probably another farther west outside of my detection range.

Surrounding them wouldn't do any good though if their bridgehead got too large. I brought up my armor and sword and we moved swiftly to engage. With Rafe, Bree, and Callie around me, we ran into the first of them quickly. Scouts, or perimeter guards most likely. 

They screamed and attacked us savagely, something they had never done before. But there weren't that many of them out here and they fell quickly. Still, there was something about this that bothered me. I felt as if I was missing something.

The ground shook as there was a large explosion of magic throwing most of us to the ground. I looked up and there was a brown pillar of magic shooting into the sky. It lasted for several moments, and then disappeared. I got up and we continued the charge. We cleared the tree line and the ground was littered with fae bodies. Some were groaning, others were still as if they were knocked out.

They were helpless, like a field of wheat ready to harvest. A few moved forward to finish them off when what I was seeing finally registered.

I yelled, "Hold!"

This wasn't an invasion force. There were thousands of fae here, but many were young, I even saw a few children being protected by the adults as they laid over them. The fae had tried to destroy us, had targeted me for assassination, and had manipulated my entire life and my family. But none of that mattered now, they were beaten, their world destroyed.

I couldn't imagine another reason the gate would have exploded so violently. We didn't do it. 

These were... refugees. I wasn't sure, but we had the time to sort it out. They were the last of their kind. That said, I was wary when some of them started to stand up.

I called out, "Surrender now, and we can talk."

They surrendered.

I wasn't sure where this would lead, but it would be up to the world leaders to sort out, not me or my family. A number of helicopters showed up after a while and the military took over the quarantine. The fae had been instructed to stay in the area until things were sorted out.

My family and I left at that point, went home. It was hard to believe I was free of it all now, but it certainly looked that way. I was looking forward to the party...

 

Epilogue – Hope, Vinnie, and Anise

-Hope ten years later-

I cringed as sand was thrown up in the air next to me and fell onto my back. I looked up at Rafael, my grinning seven year old son. My five year old, Anise, who also gotten bombarded with sand was scowling up at him. She looked adorable, but I knew laughing would be a mistake. She was as stubborn as her mother.

I said with exasperation, "How many times have I told you not to fly at the beach, and to not land next to mommy and kick the sand."

He tried a pout but I wasn't going for it. It was also a miscarriage of justice. My parents had wings, my Rafe had wings, and so did my children... Where were mine at?

I was enjoying a day at the beach after enchanting my last healing ward. I had learned those seven glyphs, and used them to power a healing ward for the first time a little over five years ago. I'd spent the last few years setting them up in different cities around the world in my spare time. Now if someone was sick all they needed to do was get within the area of effect and the glyph would heal them.

There was some outcry from the pharmaceutical companies about overpopulation, but they are full of crap. The highest percentage of deaths is from old age, accidents, and violence. Not a child with cancer, or even a forty year old from a heart attack. The highest cause of overpopulation was the birth rate in any case. Regardless, it was a heartless argument for such a small contributor to the population question.

They just didn't want to lose money. Luckily they were mostly ignored, if only because my brother's inventions had been putting many other larger industries through troubled times, and those current and hot issues seemed to dominate the news in comparison to an issue that wouldn't blow up for a few generations. The oil based economy was going away, like it or not.

There were some overpopulation concerns, but not because I refused to let people waste away and die in pain when I could make a difference. Some medical scientists had determined that humanity's new life span was six hundred years or so. So instead of living three to five generations, a human could look forward to living close to thirty and contributing children for five or so.

My brother though, assured me he has plans to alleviate that problem.

As for my regular job? I work for the president, through Johnson mostly, on trying to integrate the communities into the general population. Society is changing, but slower than I had expected, probably because of simple human habit. There had been some major changes though.

The calls to nine one one have slowly been declining every year, as people realize they can just protect themselves and their neighbors. The courts have been thrown on their ears, and the lawyers who had lied for years to get their defendants off now find they have a jury that can't be tricked or manipulated.

Justice is a lot faster and surer as a result.

Life on Earth will adjust, in the meantime, I needed to get some revenge and get this sand off me.

I grabbed my son and ran toward the water with an evil laugh as he screamed in delight.

-Vinnie forty years later-

Kristi straddled my lap and rubbed her core lightly against me while she kissed me teasingly. It had been over forty years since I met her, and she still looked like a woman around thirty. She was incredible and more beautiful and sexier than ever. When I first heard the news that humans were not immortal through their magic, I'd been upset, but I came to the conclusion I needed to live my life with her in joy while she was here.

We still had a long time to spend together; there was no sense borrowing grief from the future.

My communicator went off and I ignored it as I grew hard from her touch. She knew it was time to go and was driving me crazy on purpose. That was Kristi, anything to earn a spanking later.

Still, it wasn't like they could leave without me... Fuck it...

An hour later we moved out into the corridors and slowly made our way to the bridge. There were a few smirks and shaking of heads as we walked past people, but it was a good natured thing. It made me wonder how many of them had looked to figure out what was holding up their captain and got an eyeful for their efforts.

We reached the bridge and I took in the view of outer space around us in the view screen that wrapped around the bridge. It was the first ship of its kind, able to carry over a quarter million people for short trips.

The real advancements came from mixing our magic with technology. We had the knowledge to create an FTL drive, but why bother when we could build technological controls around a gate enchantment, and cross light years in the blink of an eye. Our power systems used a shielded chamber that had a similar enchantment as a gate to connect directly to the power of the sun itself to power the ship.

I was the captain of the ship, and it was built with one purpose in mind when Toni, Abby, and I designed it in its first rough form thirty five years ago. To spread humanity out among the stars before life got too crowded on Earth in just a few more generations. 

The grays had given us a database of all the worlds fit for settlement or that were in a good place for terra-forming in their universe. Since our universes were all similar, we had a good chance of most of those lining up with what we would find in ours. Even if only a half were accurate, it would lead us to thousands of habitable worlds and ten times that many worlds where we could make them habitable. And that was just in our galaxy alone.

Toni and Alicia were also with us, along with half our children, although we wouldn't be leaving Earth and the rest of our extended family. I liked to joke we were just the first inter-world taxi service, that would be taking settlers to new worlds.

As for the first born, my mother still refused to tell. The warning had been clear, tell no one ever. It seemed a moot point now to continue to hide it, but I suppose in the end it didn't matter. I don't think the fae would have lost if either my sister or I had died. We had both been necessary to correct things. Things had turned out, on balance, very well.

I gave the order to jump to the closest star that we suspected had a life bearing planet. Despite the database, our universe was truly unknown, and I wondered at what we might find out there in it...

Anise sixty six years ago...

As things went, the births were easy ones as my body had gone through it so many times before. I had cradled them in my magic as they were born, and used it to cut and tie off the umbilical cords. If I hadn't been able to suppress the pain and most of my emotions, it would have been much harder.

I cleaned them up and they were both beautiful to me, we had decided on names a while back, Hope and Vincent. I was concerned though, about the message I was sent in the augury. Everyone believed I would just keep it to myself and hold it in my heart. But I was worried about mind reading and things of that nature. In an unguarded moment, my granddaughter Amy could pick it right out of my head, or even worse, an enemy could.

So I kissed both my children and put them in the bassinet and walked over to the wall covered in runes. I looked back with a sad smile, I didn't want to do this, the memories of their birth were precious to me. But I would die to keep them safe, this seemed a small sacrifice.

I looked at Hope one last time, my new and already beloved daughter and wondered what life would bring her as my firstborn. I turned back toward the wall, tears in my eyes as I touched and activated the glyph that would steal the memories of the birth of my children. Now no one knew at all, and no one ever would.

I wouldn't tell anyone what I'd done or sacrificed to ensure the information stayed a secret. I turned back to my children and wondered which one of them was firstborn as I gathered them up in my arms and took down the ward shields.

My eyes were still filled with tears when my family came in to welcome the new additions to the family, but these newest were tears of joy...



Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 11



Authors Note: Book four of the necromancer chronicles titled Warlock's Sacrifice. If you haven't read the posts in order, this won't make as much sense. Although it can stand alone, I don't go over a lot of info and facts you should have from the first three books. Lastly, copyright is still in effect from post one of this contiguous story, hope you enjoy it.

This book is about Jeremy, Bell, and another character from the previous books that I didn't name and had a very short part but the character kind of grew in my mind. After all, it's the necromancer chronicles... It has to have a necromancer in it.

*****

Chapter 1 - Jeremy

Damned humans... The warehouse I had ducked into to lose my pursuers was possibly the stupidest thing I'd ever done. There were pipes, bricks, and other junk flying around trying to flush me out while I huddled behind this low cement wall. I was shielded from their blasted mind powers, but not against the physical, I didn't really have the energy for both right now. It was just a matter of time before they found me.

"Where are you hiding warlock. I wonder where your demoness could be at."

I frowned. We had arrived in this city hoping for a little peace before we had to move on. The world had changed greatly since humanity had claimed its magic. Some was for the better, and some for the worse. For a few years I'd lived in peace in Chicago and made actual friends with many of the supernaturals in that city thanks to Hope and her family. Then one of the dumber and crueler warlocks had gotten caught sacrificing humans for power.

Most humans realized the truth, not all of us were like that. If I was honest with myself however, I knew most warlocks were. It was a plain fact that outside of demon summoning and certain offensive spells most warlock abilities and powers came from two sources. One was power sharing when a summoned and bonded demon snacked down on a soul during sex, the power was shared between the demon and warlock. The second way was human sacrifice.

I was something of an oddity, I never sought sacrifices. I stayed away from the second way except in special circumstances. Sacrificing in self defense probably sounds like a weak defense, or perhaps the objections of a psychopath, but there it is. I had no compulsions about putting my sacrificial knife in the heart of someone trying to kill me.

If I had, I'd be dead by now; it was the only way I could heal. That was the one exception to the two kinds of energy. I could do most things with either, but healing required sacrifice, a trade, a life for a life.

As far as the first, that sounded a lot worse than it was. Souls always recovered after a couple of weeks, even faster now that the humans had magic. I didn't see what the big objection was, sex with a demon was said to be better than any drug and worth the temporary affects. Now that humans had magic they even were aware of what Bell was. Sometimes there were problems, but unsurprisingly enough she hardly ever had trouble finding a willing meal.

Point was, there was a growing group of humans that took a perverse amount of pleasure in hunting warlocks down, and I was currently in deep crap with two of them. Luckily they were relatively few in number, if they had all been hunting me this would have been over a long time ago. 

When the movement first started, the community had promised me I was safe, they would stand with me. And they did. I chose to leave when those very people started dying, I didn't need that on my conscious. They were my friends, I'd be damned if I'd watched them die in my place.

There really was no permanent escape either, not with them being able to distance view and find me wherever I went, so I had started globe hopping. At least humans couldn't teleport, and it gave me a couple of days of peace before I had to move on again. We had only been here a few hours; Bell had gone out to... eat. I wasn't even sure where I was, somewhere in Germany I think.

I was also worried about what he's just said; I'd called for Bell twice but so far no answer. I could still feel our bond, but something was keeping her from responding. I had enough power to paralyze someone, or toss them across the room. I could also crush their body to paste, call down lightning, or simply hold them still while I ran. Problem was, none of those abilities or the myriad others I had could get through a human's shield.

My dagger could get through their shields, but it would take a second. It was designed to absorb magic. The trick was I couldn't get close without being seen, it was only my mind that was hidden. A human's telekinesis, or TK, could turn me into paste before I got close. Even if I managed to get one of them that way, the other would kill me.

A warlock's strength really rested with their bonded demon, or demoness. And Bell was missing in action, sort of. I could feel her to the east about a mile away but our mental connection seemed weak. Normally we'd be able to exchange thoughts through the bond, but not right now. Most warlocks enslaved their demons. I had taken a different route, more of a business arrangement.

She got to hunt for energy; I got a share of it for bringing her here. There were both advantages and disadvantages to the way I'd done it. But what I hadn't imagined was that I'd ever care for her, or become friends with a demon. It was ironic but even though I was pretty well screwed here I was more worried about her right now.

I could hear them get closer and I muttered a few words under my breath and disappeared from view. Ironically their own noise as they searched for me covered my muttered words. I wasn't truly invisible, or I'd try and escape. It was more an illusion, if someone peaked into my hiding spot all they would see was empty floor.

I heard one whisper, "He's still here somewhere. He must be here somewhere, fucking roach is hiding." 

I suppressed a growl, it was bad enough I was hiding, I hated it, but unless I wanted to die I didn't really have a choice right now.

The other said, "Well we need to find him, that witch we hired said she couldn't hold the demon for long."

Fuck, of course. She's stuck in a circle. How the hell did she fall for that? I considered it for a moment and pushed the rest of the magic I had remaining through the link between us. Now the question was would that help her break free before these assholes found me?

I held my breath and looked up as one of them walked around the wall and looked at the floor. He lifted a hand and a pipe flew around the corner and toward me. I rolled to the side and it missed, but I cringed at the sound of my movement. I saw his eyes narrow as if he were trying to see through the illusion, but of course he couldn't.

I lunged up out of the illusion with my knife leading. My knife stopped at his glowing green shield but I could feel it already drawing his power. I didn't stop and continued my lunging tackle and took him down. Before his back hit the ground, my dagger broke his shield and slid between his ribs and into his heart, where the magic was generated.

He died with a low gurgle and we were now both covered by my illusion. I held back a hysterical laugh, they shouldn't have split up, but I'd take it.

I'd have gotten more power if I'd done it in a ritual, with a circle to prevent any magic from escaping, but as I'd indicated earlier, I didn't do that sort of thing. Self defense sacrifices only. And it was enough. I felt my waning power fill and routed some of it into amulets. One that would heal me, the one that shielded my mind from others, and the other to hold the overflow of magic my own core couldn't contain, kind of like charging a battery for later use.

One of these days I'd carve an amulet to protect from physical harm, but for now I had to use a spell when I had the juice for it. It would take a long time to do right, and my life has been a nightmare of running for a long time now.

"Are you okay?" Bell's sweet toned voice entered my mind.

I felt a huge surge of relief as I heard her voice. It was always startling how much Bell seemed to care about me. She sounded truly worried, and she had saved my life more than once without me needing to ask.

I replied, "Got one, the other is still searching."

I felt her grim smile and she said in a hard voice, "I'll be there in a minute. I'm almost done with this witch."

I winced. What some people didn't know was sex wasn't the only way a demon could take part of a human's soul. The other way was rather unpleasant, and ended in death. Sex was their preferred method; it was enjoyable for both partners. Also, killing someone for it would thin the herd; the soul was a renewable resource, so they didn't really do it unless it was necessary.

I felt more energy flow through our link, my portion of the witch's soul, and I sent it all to my amulet. By the time the stream was finished I sensed her presence move to the warehouse. I grimly smiled as I heard the man's scream. A few humans might be a danger to Bell, but not one.

I stood up as I heard the clatter of all the flying debris fall to the floor. Bell was dropping the dead body to the ground. She looked perfect, not a hair out of place. She was timeless. She had long raven black hair, dark brown eyes, and a body built for sin, literally. She exuded a sex appeal that was undeniable. I returned her smile and she blushed rosily.

"Sorry about that Jeremy, I can't believe that witch got the drop on me."

We were close friends I reminded myself. I did that often in fact. She was ageless, and I was closing in on thirty. I had considered many times trying to change the nature of our relationship, but I honestly couldn't see how it would work. Sometimes though she gave me a look of caring so obvious I felt foolish about it.

Plus there was the whole eating my soul part during sex, if I did go there our... activities would be extremely limited. There was also the link, I wasn't sure how that would factor in if we slept together either. Lastly, I really wasn't sure I'd be able to handle the way she fed if I let myself fall for her. I was very careful to suppress the jealousy I already felt as it was, after all, it was the reason she was here.

"What?" she asked, kicking me out of my wandering thoughts.

I shook my head breaking eye contact, "Any idea how they found us so fast?"

She shrugged, "Local chapter? I don't know, I just know warlocks are becoming a lot rarer."

I nodded, "Should we just stay then a couple of days?"

I figured if we took out the local ones it would take time for the other warlock hunters to get here. I also felt a little guilty, when we'd first made the contract humans had no magic, and were rather clueless. It had been a safe feeding ground for her. Sure, we had to dodge other supernaturals. Warlocks weren't exactly welcomed by sorcerers, shifters, or witches for the most part either. But it had been much safer regardless. About the only more hated group had been necromancers.

Whenever I brought up the idea of letting her go home though, where it was safe, she rejected the idea out of hand.

She nodded thoughtfully, "Sure, let's get out of here though. After the witch I won't need to feed for a while, I took most of her soul before allowing her to pass on."

Another side effect to always being on the run was that it prevented me from finding a real job. I didn't even have to ask as Bell surrounded us both with shadows and we disappeared from the warehouse and appeared in a living room. There were leather couches, hard wood floors, a large television, and bay windows facing the street.

Bell said in a matter of fact voice, "The witch lived alone, and she was doing quite well for herself. The coven she belongs to won't miss her for a week until their next gathering, so we should be fine here until we move on."

I nodded and walked around the house. There was a full kitchen and plenty of groceries. Bell didn't really have to eat, but she enjoyed the experience of it. When Bell fed on a soul she got quite a bit of information as well. It wasn't something we let get spread around though, I imagined less men, and women, would be willing to sleep with her if they knew she'd walk away with all their banking information. Not to even mention all the skeletons in their closets.

While I whipped up a dinner, she was logging on the women's computer and initiating a number of bank transfers. I didn't really like being a thief, but I did what I had to survive. At least I only stole from the people that tried to kill us. Those men I spoke of earlier were quite safe, and what they didn't know actually wouldn't hurt them in this case.

Bell walked in with a smile, "You up for a night out?"

I replied absently as I put dinner in the oven, "Sure, that sounds good, what did you have in mind?"

She replied, "Drinks, live music, dancing? I need a break from hunting, both those after us and mine."

I nodded and turned to her, "It does wear after a while doesn't it? Did you have a place in mind?"

She grinned, "Sure, how about Milan, we'll give them whiplash when we come back here at the end of the night."

I smiled at her excitement, "Anything you want. After all, you're driving."

She snorted, "When will that be ready?"

I looked at the clock; it was already close to eight, "About forty minutes."

She said, "I'm going to get ready now then, we'll go after dinner."

I heard her head upstairs and the shower turned on. I grunted, she'd be gorgeous beyond belief in a paper sack, I had a feeling getting ready meant irresistibly sexy. It was going to be a fun, but very long night...

 

Chapter 2 - Katrina

Celane stood their patiently. There was no other way for her to do anything of course, she was my slave. One of the fae I had bound to my will a few years back and the only one I bothered even conversing with. She was a step above a simple zombie, as a revenant she had limited choices and full access to her fae magic. I was curious what she had to say, but I was focused on my workout.

I was jogging on the treadmill; I didn't get out all that much, at least, not in my own body. I usually chose to inhabit one of my liches when I started to feel stir crazy. But I needed to stay in shape. Despite taking care, going out was just too dangerous. My entire home was protected, as were my minions, from both far seeing and mental searches thanks to the fae I'd acquired. The question was what were the hunters doing here if they couldn't find me?

I sighed as the treadmill's timer went off and started to slow and asked, "What's your report?"

Celane said, "The two hunters are dead, they may have come here looking for you, but a warlock and his demon showed up and they went after them."

I pondered that for a second. I knew the idiotic human hunters went after warlocks as well as necromancers, but I'd never really given it much thought before.

I asked curiously, "Are they still here?"

She nodded, so I reached out and put a ghost to watching them. Before human magic I would have confronted them about being in my city, but those days were over. Now the best I could do was keep a low profile. I had a large number of revenants consisting of fifteen fae, two witches, and a sorcerer. I also controlled close to forty vampires, two of which I had turned into liches.

I also had twenty empty shell zombies to keep things running around the place, and close to two hundred ghosts to keep an eye out for threats around the city. It may be ironic being surrounded by so many beings, but I was often lonely.

I may have been a necromancer, but I didn't go around collecting every supernatural that died either. Still, I wasn't as foolishly high minded as that irritating Hope. All the ones I had taken over had at one point or another attacked me and tried to kill me. They got what they deserved, and now they ensured my protection, letting them go would be weak and foolish. But ultimately they weren't good company for that very reason, they were forced to serve.

Celane was about the only one that I didn't get hostile vibes from, which is the reason she was here. I wasn't sure why, but more often than not I felt both amusement and resignation through our bond. I could force her to tell me why, but I hesitated to do so, she might start hating me too if I did that. I used to have my hatred to keep me company, but lately... it hasn't been enough.

The vampires, my sorcerer Neal, and the two witches Neda and Fran were my oldest. They were the first I had taken. I was just sixteen when they attacked and turned my life upside down, when I got my revenge and took over the city, and now they served me. Yet, all that was six years ago. My rage had longed cooled at the loss of my parents and since then my grief as well.

Although the fae were more recent, that threat wasn't personal, they were trying to destroy the whole world, not just kill me and my family. Still, I had grabbed them at the time with the intentions that they could protect me from other fae if they showed up. Ironically I was now using them to protect against the very people I was saving when I took them to begin with. Humans... 

I hated these walls; I was going to go crazy sooner or later if something didn't change.

My ghost reported back my visitors were going to Milan to go dancing, and then they'd be back. I bit my lip in consideration, the human hunters were out of hand, perhaps I could find an ally in those who were also hunted. Surely they would appreciate what I could give them, hiding them from the hunter's sight would be simple for me with my fae. A warlock and demon would come in handy as well as allies for me; they would open up more possibilities. We may even be able to fight back. But could I trust them?

I considered that long and hard, it was true they would be useful allies, but I wondered if I was just searching for excuses to reach out and make a connection to someone I didn't own. In short, was I just lonely?

I shrugged. Did it matter? If they betrayed me I'd just have another couple of slaves. Either that or I'd be dead...

"Celane, I need a portal to Milan, make it happen."

I also sent a few ghosts there, to find the warlock when they transported there. Even a ghost can't keep up with a teleport. The fae were handy in more ways than one. Intra-realm portals were much easier than crossing worlds, I had a room dedicated to it along with four fae would could adjust the target spot at need. 

It wasn't as convenient as teleportation though, I'd need to return home from the same spot I arrived at. I also couldn't go directly between two other places, I'd have to come home, and then have them aim it at the new destination which took a few minutes... Still it opened up possibilities for me, not least of all an escape plan.

Celane replied respectfully, "At once mistress, are you going in person?"

I thought about it and shook my head, "No, I'll take Katie."

I wouldn't risk my true self on a first meeting, especially not on a whim because I was lonely. Katie was one of my liches. She was five foot eight with light blonde hair, green eyes and a shapely body. She also looked my age, twenty two, and was more appropriate for clubbing and had a nice girl vibe and a pleasing voice.

My other lich, Allie, was just about eighteen when she had been turned vampire. She had a major Goth look, piercings, black clothing. She also had the perfect voice for confrontations. I usually wore her when I needed to go kick some ass.

The really ironic part of all that is Allie's personality is sweet and generous, although she hates me. I can't really blame her, but still, her fault for attacking a child and helping to kill my parents. It had occurred to me that she was under orders from her master vampire, and maybe I would let her go someday, but although I wasn't living on rage these days I was long way from forgiving. The catch though was once a lich, always a lich. I could never sever that bond, only the enslavement bond.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 11



And Katie, who I used to be friendly, or just go out on the town because she's attractive and nice looking, is a complete and total bitch inside. Luckily though I don't have to listen to her mind when I ride her, I just shut her ass down so all she can do is watch and stay silent. I'm not proud of it, but there were a few times I hooked up with a guy in her body simply because she thought herself to be too good for them.

What can I say, I wasn't very nice back then right after my parents died, that was nothing compared to the torture I'd put Neal, Neda, and Fran through though. There is a reason necromancers are feared after all, they took a risk to try and destroy my family and paid the price for partial success.

I went into my room and looked in the mirror. I could go as myself, I looked pretty good and if people couldn't detect my necromancer aura they would say I looked innocent and adorable. I frowned; I hated that, although not as much lately. I had long reddish blonde hair down to my ass, my eyes are a bright green, and I have a heart shaped face. Some may say I was beautiful, but most would think cute before that. I was five foot five and didn't hate my body. I had curves in the right places.

I also had trust issues. I may have been far from a virgin, but this body was still untouched in that way... well, except for myself and some toys of course.

I lied down on the bed and closed my eyes while I connected with Katie. I moved through our bond and in layman's terms, possessed her. I was literally her now, her personality was pushed down. As far as I was aware, this level of connection was only possible with a lich. It was possible to share, but I had no desire to do so, not with Katie.

I jumped into the shower and got ready. I chose a little black dress that hugged all my, or rather Katie's curves. I put on some light makeup and put on some diamond and ruby earrings. I grabbed my red pumps and a red clutch purse and I was ready to go.

It took a short while before my ghosts reported back and I had a location. It was one of the more laid back clubs that had pool tables and other amenities like a full kitchen, but still had a nice sized dance floor in addition to live music. I made my way down to the transport room and stepped into the portal the fae had set up and out into an alley close to the club.

I walked out into the street and the few blocks to the club. The bouncer at the door gave me a double take, no doubt not being able to figure out my aura. Liches aura's were unique, neither vampire nor necromancer. That would change if I started to use magic, but I wouldn't do that unless I had to. In a lot of ways I was much tougher in this form than I would be in my own.

The strength and speed of my body was many times that of a vampire, I could also call upon my necromancer magic. Still, humans were not to be underestimated and I was in public. I had no doubt I'd be squashed if I started trouble. The reverse was true as well, humans no longer stood by when someone needed help. It was one of the hunters' greatest weaknesses as they had to strike when others of their kind weren't really around.

I smiled sweetly at the bouncer drawing one in return and he waved me through. I got a mental report from the ghost watching them. I never actually had to speak to my minions out loud, but the quiet could get to me at times, that's why I always used my voice when speaking to Celane when we were together. The warlock and demoness were on the dance floor, according to my ghost the humans were pretty much ignoring the demoness, which I thought was odd until I spied them from the bar as I ordered a drink.

She seemed to be giving off a look away vibe, something I hadn't known they could do. I found that interesting, this wasn't a hunting trip for energy, was it a date? I watched them for a while as I sipped my drink and picked up a few things just off their body language. They both wanted each other badly, if they weren't actually in love already, and I was positive they'd never been together.

I couldn't imagine why that would be. If it had been me, I'd have grabbed on and never let go.

"Can I get you another?" a voice asked.

I turned and looked. He was in his late twenties and looked good, and very confident. I was actually tempted for a minute but slowly shook my head.

"No thanks, I'm not looking for company tonight," I hoped that would make him move on, no such luck.

He said, "I'm Mike, you sure you don't want a drink? You're too gorgeous to be over here by yourself."

I rolled my eyes, "No means no Mike. Take a hike."

I giggled slightly when that rhymed and saw his eyes tighten in anger. I really hadn't intended that to happen. Sometimes I could be a little clueless and tended to strike out when I didn't get my way, had I mentioned I didn't get out much, even as someone else?

Mike's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he got up and walked off. 

I took another look up and saw they were sitting at a table now. I ordered a second drink for myself then walked over, promising to be on my best behavior. It really was a problem I knew I needed to work on. I'd been on my own since I was a bratty teenager and was surrounded by souls who could do nothing but what I commanded. It tended to skew the mind a little, it was an understatement to say I usually got my way.

I pulled out a chair wearing a tentative smile, "Hi, can I join you for a moment?"

The demoness was really sexy up close. She had on a wraparound dress that accented all her good features, which was pretty much all of them. I still felt like I should look away, but I ignored the feeling. She was staring at me like she'd rip my head off if I made the wrong move toward the warlock. Interesting.

The warlock himself was close to thirty. He had short black hair and kind gray eyes. He had a square jaw and a body that looked very much in shape and defined, like an athlete's. I stood there and waited for one of them to answer as they gave me wary looks.

The warlock nodded at the chair I'd pulled out and checked me out. It was obvious he liked what he saw, and for some reason that really annoyed me. Huh, was I jealous of the body I was riding? That never happened before, maybe because I was actually trying to make friends instead of just blowing steam with a night out? God, I had no clue what the hell I was doing.

I said softly, "I'm Katrina, I thought we should talk. I know this is coming out of nowhere and you probably shouldn't trust me, but I think we can help each other. I know we can actually, it's kind of complicated though and..." I trailed off.

Holy diarrhea mouth, they must think I'm a mental case.

The warlock said, "I'm Jeremy, this is Bell. What're you talking about?"

I sighed, "Okay, my fault, straight to the point then. Those hunters, they were in town looking for me, I thought maybe we could help each other out, maybe even fight back a little."

Bell asked, "Why would they be after you."

I sighed, "Let me reintroduce myself, I'm Katrina, necromancer. This body that serves as my ride tonight is actually Katie my lich. Don't you know those freaks are after both warlocks and necromancers? I think we could help each other in a number of ways. I don't have anyone that has powers like you do, and I have some that would definitely benefit you."

I saw Jeremy's face go white, and for a moment I couldn't figure out why, until I went over the words in my head and gasped.

"No no, I'm looking for allies, maybe friends, definitely not looking to... you know."

Oh crap, I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I just throw in I was desperately lonely and wanted a friend too. Maybe point out I had a pool and a Jenga game. Of course they'd be afraid of a necromancer.

Bell asked me with an attitude, "What benefits?"

Just freaking great. Already with an attitude.

I frowned and said sarcastically, "I have a number fae. They can block both mind and far seeing. How about not needing to run anymore sweetie? And oh yeah, I could give you a fertile feeding ground so you don't have to risk hunting for food. As for what's in it for me that's obvious, a demoness is powerful, and warlocks are clever and strong as well. I could hunt down the hunters with my ghosts, but taking them out on my own while possible is problematic."

Jeremy asked, "Why problematic?"

I shrugged, "My strongest revenants are the fae, but I imagine most humans would freak out if they saw a fae killing a human, no matter what the reason was. I could overwhelm them with the vampires, witches and my sorcerer, but that would get messy. Honestly I need people to plan with more than anything else, and life gets a little boring when you're surrounded by those that never disagree."

I frowned and reddened, I hadn't meant to say quite so much.

Bell said scathingly, "I won't feed off the unwilling."

Her comment made my embarrassment mix with anger. Of course they would think the worst of me, why not. I was a necromancer; all the ones I'd enslaved must be innocent right?

I returned her attitude and raised the stakes as I lashed out, "Don't be stupid, have you looked in the mirror? I have over a hundred male ghosts that I guarantee will all beg me to put them in a body so they could fuck you. If you're a little nicer I'll even change their form to something you would desire... perhaps Jeremy's? I thought I might find open minds and common ground here tonight, but you two are just like everyone fucking else."

I was angry as hell and might have gotten a little loud there at the end. I cringed inside but didn't let it show. Yup, I was a total bitch. Based on their reaction I'd guessed my earlier observations about Bell wanting Jeremy were right on target.

I cursed, "Fuck," and said slowly, "If you change your mind call this number."

I dropped a card on the table that was a number to one of my human zombies before human magic was released that didn't live at my location. It was a safe way to make contact. I took one last look at them, Bell looked livid and embarrassed at the same time. Jeremy looked pissed, but I could tell it was on Bell's behalf. It wasn't that hard to figure out, I hadn't insulted him, but they he hadn't insulted me either. The demon bitch started it.

Oh crap, I need to get out of here before I regress a few more years and stick my tongue out.

What a waste of time this was, I should have known better. Bell could probably have traced my incredibly fast movement, but I was sure that to Jeremy and the humans I'd been there one second and gone the next. I had the fae open the portal back up in the alley and stepped through. When I released Katie's body I felt amusement coming from the bitch. I thought about punishing her for it. I could always order her to go back to the bar, find Mike and seduce him. I didn't even have to go along, but I wasn't quite that petty. Well, not anymore at least.

I was back in my body but didn't move, after all it was late, and I was already in bed. How had things gone so wrong so fast? Right, I'd embarrassed myself and the demoness got all judgmental. Judged by a soul devouring demoness, I laughed at the irony of that while trying not to cry. I closed my eyes and tried to get to sleep but it was a long time arriving...

 

Chapter 3 - Jeremy

What the fuck just happened?

I was having a great time with Bell and then everything went to shit. Even worse it was Bell's fault. I get necromancers are dangerous, but Bell had goaded the woman, who apparently was a beer short of a six pack to begin with.

It was really awkward now too, Katrina had taken the mutual attraction we'd both been ignoring and not talking about and threw it in our face. I wasn't sure what to say, but asking her what the hell she'd been thinking would just make things worse at this point. I picked up the business card and slipped it in my pants pocket.

I heard in my mind, "I'm sorry, I know I overreacted, but we can't trust her, she's a necromancer."

I frowned, "Like I'm a warlock and chased out of every town?"

She shifted uncomfortably, "That's different, she said herself she had a number of supernatural slaves."

I smiled at her, "Like I have a demon? Look, I'm not saying we should trust her, not without finding out more. But I just wasn't getting that vibe. If she wanted to take me as a slave and you by extension, would she have announced herself like that?"

Bell shrugged, "It was all too good to be true, solve our running problem and give me an endless supply of willing food? She was after something else, I just don't know what."

"Maybe she is just lonely. The clues were there, and she seemed very young. If you really believe that though, we shouldn't go back to Germany, I bet she has ghosts watching us."

Bell nodded curtly, "That's why I've been speaking mind to mind."

I considered that a second, "How about Puerto Rico? That might give us a few days of peace."

Bell gave me a look that was hard to decipher, "You just want to see me in a bikini."

"Duh"

She laughed lightly and took my hand. We didn't even bother leaving the bar as her shadows rose up around our feet, moving like smoke to cover us and we disappeared from view. We stopped at the witch's house long enough to grab our few belongings and our clothes and immediately left for Puerto Rico. It was the truth too; I loved it when she wore a bikini.

When we arrived it was close to sunset and we found a nice hotel and got a room. Generally that's what we did when no one attacked us; it's why we needed the money. I was pretty tired, so I took a shower, threw on a pair of shorts, and lay down on the bed. 

She had changed out of her dress while I was in the shower. She was wearing a pair of short jean shorts and a tight t-shirt. She looked as beautiful as ever and was watching me. She didn't sleep of course, ever. I couldn't imagine watching me sleep was all that exciting, but she never complained, instead she pulled out her kindle and pulled her legs up underneath her on the sofa.

I closed my eyes and remembered Katrina's harsh comments. Was I a fool for not pursuing more with Bell? It seemed that way right now, all my reasoning sounded like lame excuses, nothing but personal fears and doubts. It was hard to imagine such a beautiful and immortal creature could fall for me, but then that was just a small difference.

Deep down inside where it counted we were the same; neither of us could choose whom we loved. She was so beautiful outside that it was easy to be blinded to what was inside. She was a treasure and I really don't know what I'd do without her. She was fierce, loyal, protective, and patient. At least when it came to me she was.

I was clearly the one keeping us apart. Could I handle the jealousy? Or would crossing that line doom our friendship? That really, more than anything else, was what held me back. I considered the fact I still wanted her despite what she needed to do, so would that carry over if we were together? Maybe I could convince her to only hunt woman? I smiled at the thought, I wouldn't be jealous of that; I might even want to watch.

She fidgeted with the kindle for a moment, and then looked up at me and quirked a smile.

"You know, it helps to close your eyes when you're going to sleep," she said teasingly.

I blurted out the question, "If I asked you to, would you only hunt women?"

She looked confused by the question, of course I hadn't exactly shared the thought process that lead to it.

"Why?" she asked. 

A moment later she shook her head and added, "Yes, I'd do almost anything you asked, but why?"

I got out of bed and walked over and sat next to her. Her eyes followed me every step of the way and locked on mine as I sat down. I reached out and took her hand, she had the strangest look on her face, as if she was afraid and hopeful of what I might say.

"Because I need you, but I can't share you, not with another man, for any reason."

She asked softly, "You need me? Need me how?"

I smiled, "You aren't going to make this easy are you?"

She blushed and shook her head.

Instead of answering I pulled her body to mine as I leaned in. My heart was pounding as her soft and warm full lips met mine for the first time. She sighed in pleasure in my mouth and opened up to my tongue as I ran it along her lips. I moaned softly at the taste of her tongue as we kissed slowly, softly, but passionately. It was an amazing first kiss and I didn't want it to end.

So much better than all the times I'd imagined it.

I started to caress the smooth skin her face and neck before playing with her hair as she ran her hands over my chest. I cupped the back of her neck with my teasing fingertips and deepened the kiss. Just a little harder, a little more primal as my body responded to the feel of her soft body in my arms, the scent of her, and the incredible feeling of her lips on mine.

Bell gasped breathily in my ear as I started to kiss on her neck; my hands ran slowly down her back then came back up pulling the t-shirt up with them. She raised her arms high and I pulled it over her head. As I leaned back in for another kiss I could see her perfect D cups, her nipples tightened as the cooler air of the room hit and I felt them push into my chest as we came back together.

Our kiss ramped up in heat as we devoured each other, my fingertips now teasing the silky smooth skin of her lower back in circles, teasing the skin where her shorts met naked flesh.

She broke the kiss and said breathily in need, "Bed."

We both lost our shorts on the way to the bed and she looked up at me with desire and love as she crawled onto the bed and laid on her back, her legs parted in invitation. It wasn't the first time I'd seen her naked, I'd joined her on some of her hunting trips in the past, especially in the beginning. We'd had some threesomes out of that, yet we had never joined together before, simply had shared the woman that had been her target.

But it was different this time as my eyes feasted on her amazingly tight and curvy body, this time it was for me, and it wasn't a hunt, it was surrender. She was mine and I could hardly comprehend it. We'd put this off for so long, I was already in love with her, and finally ready to take a chance on it; I couldn't resist as I crawled onto the bed and slowly kissed my way up her body.

The taste of her flesh on my lips as I blazed a trail up her body further quickened my pulse. I stopped at her breasts and took in a nipple, drawing a low moan of pleasure from her. I teased her hot moistening core with the fingertips of one hand while the other found its way to her other breast. As I sucked harder on her nipple and bit down playfully I squeezed the other nipple between forefinger and thumb and pulled softly.

Bell said breathlessly with longing and with just a tinge of desperation in her velvety smooth voice, "Explore later, need you in me now... please. Waited so long..."

How could I deny that voice or the deep desire and longing it expressed? I kissed my way up her neck and onto her lips while I lined up our bodies. Her sex was wet, warm and welcoming as my hard length breached her labia and entered her pleasure. She was so tight but her wet heat gave way to my girth as I slowly slid in.

Bell sighed my name in pleasure, "Oh Jeremy."

I waited as her body adjusted, I had thought her tight when I pushed in, but he wet molten heat rippled and hugged my length. She had perfect control over her body and I was frozen in pleasure as her body worked my length.

Bell kissed me fiercely and I could feel her core grasp me tightly as I pulled out, milking the skin of my length for the entire stroke, she mewled softly in displeasure but that turned into a gasp as I pushed back into her fast and hard. Her body quivered beneath mine, but the next stroke she met me, arching her back and pushing her hips up and toward me as our skin slapped together. I had no idea how long I could hold my ecstasy back; there was nothing to compare this sex to as her perfect body was made for pleasure.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 11



She matched my rhythm effortlessly as I started to stroke in and out of her body faster and harder. I felt my pleasure fast approaching and broke off the kiss to stare into her eyes. They were wide and open, and begging me for it.

Her face froze in ecstasy as only half my name fell from her lips.

Her body started to tremble beneath mine and as she went into her bliss the milking and pleasure she brought to my invading flesh was beyond belief. Her silken nectar washed over me as her center latched on tight and undulated around my length in waves. I felt my legs numb and my balls tighten as my body prepared to fill her.

Then it happened, the incredible pleasure of filling my Bell with my seed tripled in intensity, my breath caught and muscles locked up even tighter as the bliss grew and grew. Then I felt the power wash over me through our link, as she shared the very power she was reaping from my soul. When I could move again I collapsed off to the side.

I was breathing heavily and my heart pounded. My muscles were a little sore and I still felt a kind of after bliss. I laughed.

Bell giggled and asked breathlessly, "What's funny?"

I swallowed and caught my breath a little, "I was an idiot for waiting so long."

She rolled onto her side, I could feel her soft breasts push into me, and the heat of her core as she threw a leg over me.

"It was worth the wait."

I asked confused but still feeling it, "Why am I not sleeping?"

Usually her victims fell into sleep immediately.

I felt her shrug against me, "I don't know, I've never slept with one of my warlocks in the past. Maybe the big inflow of energy offset it a little. We'll have to experiment my love."

I shivered when she said the words and pulled her closer, "I love you too Bell, I have for a long time."

She traced her fingers around my chest and between the defined muscles in my stomach for a moment.

"I know," she said softly, "This is all new for me as well. No matter how old I truly am."

There was an obvious question there, but I didn't want to ask it, didn't really want to know.

I asked, "So how should we test it?"

Bell giggled, "Silly. It's simple. You keep fucking me and filling me until you pass out."

I blushed and playfully reached down and spanked her, "Bad demon."

She nodded against my chest and whispered sultrily, "Very bad, and naughty."

She started kissing down my chest. The anticipation was killing me as she reached me down below. She teased me, licking softly up and down my length, brushing it with her full lips, and breathing on it lightly. When she finally took me into her warm wet mouth I gasped. Her mouth enveloped me in one movement, her throat opening for me as I popped in.

Then she started humming and swallowing as she teased my balls with her fingertips. I popped out of her mouth and she mounted me, slowly sinking down. I couldn't take my eyes off of her amazing body as she took me in, her breasts bounced and swayed as she started to ride me. I reached up to give them some support and attention as I locked eyes with her. She was smiling naughtily and I wondered what she was up to.

It didn't take long to figure out. I gasped as she kept picking up speed, then faster, and faster. The wet warm friction felt incredible. It was then I remembered demons could move very fast indeed. I wasn't sure how many times it would take until I passed out, but I hoped it would be a lot as her body locked up above mine and once again I was pushed into blissful ecstasy by her fluttering, grasping, tight, wet, and hot pleasure...

 

Chapter 4 - Katrina

I groaned as I stretched my body awake. I checked my ghosts with a thought and tried not to let the fact they fled Germany, and I had no idea where to, get to me. It was a foolish idea anyway, necromancers stood apart. My parents had been foolish enough to reach out to the local community.

Look what had happened to them.

Betrayed and killed. I could deal with being alone, trust was weakness and to invite death. A few of my other ghosts reported in. There was a new witch on the other side of town. I considered going over there and laying out the rules, but really was this town even mine anymore? It belonged to the humans now.

I didn't even consider reaching out to those in the community here, which again was what had gotten my parents killed. I'd only thought that another who knew what it was like, who was being hunted too, might actually understand. Perhaps they did, they didn't trust either.

I considered the idea of taking a hunter as mine, learning his secrets. I hadn't done that yet, I was afraid of a general backlash against it. Most humans were good people I thought. It helped that they were powerful. Ironically if they had been weaker in their magic than the rest of the supernaturals they would have destroyed us by now.

No, it was only the hunters, the humans that had an axe to grind, or just weren't well balanced people that I had to fear, I didn't want to add to that by enslaving any of them.

As for how the hunters were finding me, when they couldn't see me or even detect me, I had no idea. With a thought I summoned Celane. She was short and thin for a humanoid, though she still had the curves so no one would ever mistake she wasn't a woman. Her face had an odd exotic beauty to it. Her hair was light blonde and she had gray eyes. She stood there and waited patiently, I could feel curiosity through our link bond, I could also feel compassion.

I was uncomfortable with that second one, but didn't control her or block the connection. I needed one person I could talk to, she wasn't free from me and she couldn't harm me, but otherwise I let her be for the most part, at least in her mind anyway. It was hard for me to accept such a calm and accepting soul had wanted to destroy humanity.

I asked with annoyance coloring my voice, "Do you have any idea how the human hunters are finding me? They show up in the city and look, so they know I'm here somehow, but they can't find exactly where I am."

Celane replied carefully, "I'm not positive, but if I had to guess an enemy in the community that knows you are here, but not where you live tipped them off in some way. Another possibility is they experienced post cognition, they saw you here, just not your home. We can't block those, just your mind and the distance viewing."

I nodded. I had ghosts watching for more of them, but it had been blind chance I found the last two. I'd still been deciding how to act when they'd gone after the warlock and his demoness. I felt a surge of anger at the bitch. I could tell Jeremy had been receptive at first but she'd done nothing but goad me.

I felt Celane touch my back and flinched.

She asked softly, "What happened last night, you seem... very angry."

I opened my mouth and closed it. How could I explain it? I had been foolish enough to hope something better might be coming. Even worse I could feel her actually worry for me. What was up with that? I should probably release her, but I was too selfish to do that. I needed her for my sanity's sake.

"It just didn't go as well as I'd hoped."

I felt sudden and intense pain through one of my links. I owned all the vampires in the city, but outside of the two I'd converted to liches they didn't stay here with me. They stayed in their own place. They were mine, but I didn't micromanage them, I just had some rules they needed to follow. 

Regardless with the advent of human magic being released vampires were pretty easily identifiable. Some of the humans had freaked out over it a little, but nothing violent and it had eventually turned into a live and let live situation. As far as blood, well there were plenty of humans who were willing donors for the high and the pleasure. There were a couple of clubs in town where my vampires hung out for that purpose.

But as I followed the link I could tell the one in pain, Gina, was at the house, and there were a couple of humans fucking with her. More hunters? Didn't matter, I was inside Allie and running out the door, full speed for the coven house. No one got to hurt my vampires but me.

I heard Allie's voice in my, her head, "Thank you."

I snorted in our head, "You're not going soft on me are you?"

I felt her smile as she thought at me, "Not a chance you stupid psychotic bitch."

It may sound strange but that made me smile. Allie is the nice one though and I wasn't surprised she'd thank me for rushing to help what had once been her family. I could feel Gina getting thrown around the room with TK, hear the laughter. I wondered if this was a trap for me, these had to be hunters trying to draw me out. 

As a necromancer I was fairly scary in person, but I had a few weaknesses, like having the weak strength and slow speed of a human and not being able to absorb much damage. Being in a lich removed those weaknesses. I started to pull magic from all two hundred of my ghosts, building a necromantic shield capable of stopping their direct TK, as well as protection from physical attacks.

I kept pouring in more and more, a lich was more than enough to take out a couple of humans, as long as I was smart about it. As far as speed and strength went a lich blew a vampire out of the water. An angel or Demon could possibly match my speed. That was about it.

I wasn't worried about dying exactly, but I'd feel guilty if Allie died, I already felt a bit guilty about reducing her lifespan to mine when I made her a lich. She should hate me. But then, she shouldn't have tried to kill me either. It was just hard to keep up the resolve about it sometimes.

"Aww, how sweet," she thought sarcastically.

I frowned, "Bitch," as I kicked in the door and ran inside.

I froze at the sight of Gina, her body was a bloody pulp, her breath a wheezing rattle.

"I told you it would bring the necromancer here."

The other guy growled, "Fine, I'll pay up, after she's dead."

I was so angry I couldn't even think of anything to say. I ran forward faster than they could track and punched one of them in the face. His shield held, but he was thrown into the wall with a crash.

I felt the other guy hit me with TK, but my shields were strong, and getting stronger as in my anger I pulled even more power through my ghosts. My shield which had always been a dark gray, darkened further. It almost looked black, like rot. I ran forward and started pummeling the guy against the wall, full speed and force I must have hit him twenty times in less than a second.

I growled and pulled harder, and I took all that extra energy and focused it around my fist. The dark black shield aura around me was still see through, but the death magic engulfing my hand looked like a void of solid black death. I punched him again, this time my fist went through the shield and right into his chest. With a growl of victory I ripped the heart from his chest.

Fuck playing nice, I hooked his soul as I dropped his heart.

The second one turned and ran for the door, his feet leaving the ground. I knew if he made it to the door and went up he'd be out of my reach. Damn flyers. To my speed however, he was practically crawling. I circled him in a few steps and punched forward, he impaled his body on my fist before he even registered I was there.

I was still angry, but I was also in shock. I'd never channeled so much power before, I had no idea how powerful I'd become in the last few years as I'd not only grown, but had two hundred and sixty two souls to pull from, including the vampires, fae, sorcerer, and witches. When combined, that magical power plus the physical power of this form was... insane.

I kind of scared myself right now.

I hooked his soul before he could escape to the next life. Make that two hundred sixty four souls now. I relaxed the pull of magic from my ghosts, but the shield still looked solid, it would be for a long while unless I dismissed the power. I walked over and picked up Gina and started to feed her power as I reshaped her body. I turned her broken bones and torn flesh to their former perfection.

When she was healed I sent an order that no vampires should be alone for a while then did the same repairs for the hunter's bodies. I hooked in their souls and locked them in their flesh, ordered them not to betray me in any way or try to contact their people.

Then I got started looking through their memories. They weren't very nice men; they had enjoyed hurting women before they even got their abilities. They didn't know who everyone was in their secret society, but they knew a few. I also verified it was the damned witch the demoness killed that clued them into the fact a necromancer lived here.

They were stupid too, they had deluded themselves into thinking necromancers and warlocks were inherently evil, but really all it was about was talking themselves into justifying letting their cruelty out. Give them an excuse to cause harm to others. I considered taking them back with me to the house, but changed my mind. 

The first thing I had them do was start locating all the people they knew in their organization, perhaps it was time the hunters became the hunted and now I had two humans who could remote view the other assholes. Either way I would hold onto them for a while and damn the risk of other humans finding out. Hopefully if that happened they would agree it was a punishment well deserved. I also started assigning ghosts to watch the targets they found; maybe I would find others that way.

The second thing I did was order them to stay here and protect my vampires from people similar to them. I didn't want the filth in my house. Not only because their very presence pissed me off, but I was worried others would be able to follow them. So far my home has remained a secret and I didn't want to risk it.

Lastly, I gave an order out loud, "Short of betraying me, you will obey every order Gina gives you to the best of your ability."

Okay, a bit hypocritical. After all, Gina was, at the heart of it, my slave. But still, I wasn't needlessly cruel. I had been defending my life when it happened. If she wanted to screw them up a bit, or get revenge so she could feel in control again a bit, I didn't mind at all. Plus, the grateful look Gina sent my way made me feel better about things.

I left the house and raced home fast enough most humans wouldn't even register my presence. When I got home I practiced what I had just done. It was much harder without the anger. It took a lot of focus and concentration to turn my shield so dark. Wrapping my hand in what I was starting to think of as the void of death was even harder, but I was able to do it.

It was definitely a combination of the amount I was channeling, plus how focused my mind was. As I cooled down I wondered how smart it would be to hunt them. Self defense was one thing, but actively going after them was quite another. Perhaps I would just have my new human pets keep an eye on them. I think I'd have an easier time with killing them if they were attacking someone else at the time. Even at my most angry years ago I didn't go looking for people to kill, I wasn't about to change that.

One thing was for sure, I didn't feel depressed anymore. Reluctantly almost I returned to my own body. I felt that same thankfulness from Allie, apparently her and Gina had been close friends at one time. I told her via our link she could go visit if she wanted to.

I tried again with the magic, and it was a little easier in my own body, but of course I was physically slower and weaker, so unless someone found me or cornered me in some way, I wouldn't be fighting with my own body.

I could shoot the necromantic energy from me of course, but I could only achieve a darker black aura with that, the magic I could focus around my hand wouldn't extend very far from my body before it lost that tight cohesion. It made me sad for a moment; I wished my parents were still alive so I could ask about it.

I told Celane all about it, even though she had probably been aware of it all as it happened. I was probably more excited about it than I should be. But it felt good to have something to focus on outside of these walls. It would be just a matter of time before I acted again now that I had eyes on some of them.

Celane said softly, "Good. Just be careful, try not to start a war with all humans as you fight against these rabid hunters."

I nodded slowly. I considered the idea of just defending my city, keeping them out of here and screw the rest of the world. What did I really owe them anyway? I was tolerated at best, at worst thought to be a threat that should be dealt with. No, not even that good, at worst I was something they tried to kill. They say though that the best defense is a good offense. It wasn't as if the human authorities could really do anything about it. Most of the world was hovering on the edge of anarchy; the governments didn't have nearly as much power as they once held.

"I'll do my best to stay safe," I promised, "But safe is relative."

I opened my mouth to ask why she would care. She was stuck here, unable to move on, until I died. I could easily live another hundred and thirty years if no one kills me first. Why would she want to be stuck here so long, or care about the person who enslaved her very soul?

I closed my mouth, I wasn't really sure if I wanted that answer or not...

 

Chapter 5 - Jeremy

I smiled as I woke up. Five times... It had been so much better than I ever imagined, for more reasons than one. I loved her but she'd also been my best friend for years, I was happy to note that I didn't feel awkward about things at all, it just felt right.

I felt her legs entwined with mine, had she lain here the whole time as I slept? I turned my head and saw her looking down at her kindle. She was still nude and I took a moment to admire her beauty before I said anything. Okay, perhaps a little longer than one moment.

I finally asked, "How long was I out?"

Bell looked up and smiled, "Just about fourteen hours. It's close to noon. Your soul is healing fast as well. I think we don't have to worry much about things unless we go overboard. Would you like to go down to the beach?"

I waggled my brows, "Of course, how else can I get you in a bikini."

She snorted and raised an eyebrow before she said suggestively, "I have other outfits in mind I think you'd like a lot more."

I slapped her ass playfully, "Bad demon, no sexy lingerie until I'm recovered. That would be torture, and probably a violation of the Geneva convention."

She smiled at my goofy joke, which must mean she really loved me, "Yes dear."

I was starved. I got up, bent over the bed for a lingering kiss, then took a shower and got ready. We got some lunch and ate out on the beach. It was a perfectly clear day, and close to eighty degrees. I enjoyed our time together as usual, but I couldn't help but think about Katrina on and off all day. 

Bell was probably right, we couldn't trust her. But it was tempting to take a chance and make sure that was true. I was tired of always running. Survival seemed to be our only focus, and as a result I felt like a leech on society for the most part. I didn't do anything productive, more often than not stealing from those that we killed in self defense. What if she could hide us, help us fight back? Maybe even put it behind us one day. 

I frowned. Even if she could be trusted it would just turn into a nightmare like Chicago had. Someone else would die trying to keep me safe. If I really wanted to stand and fight I could always go back to Hope and Vince for help. On the other hand, as far as I knew they didn't have a way to hide me from the human hunter's sight as Katrina had claimed she could. That would be a huge advantage.

I tried to push it all down, and I half managed to do it and have fun with Bell. She looked really amazing in her white bikini.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 11



I noticed that the men on the beach hardly gave Bell a second look, but some of the women were freely checking her out. I smiled a bit at that, she was clearly doing it for my benefit, changing her vibes, pheromones, or whatever it was that made her so irresistible to other men.

That night was probably still too soon for any fun, but she still joined me in bed and cuddled her body against mine. I fell asleep that night knowing she would watch over me as she usually did. Sleep was a vulnerable time where she couldn't really leave me; the humans didn't sleep anymore at all, which wasn't a good thing for my life expectancy if I was alone.

Regardless, as I held her close, the scent and feel of her skin against me was both comforting and tempting. I considered we should probably limit ourselves to twice in the future, I think that way we wouldn't have to skip days and I wouldn't be so worn out. Despite the temptation, I was tired from our day and didn't have trouble finding rest...

I woke extremely hard. My length was cradled in the velvety smooth skin of her ass crack and she was pushing back, wiggling, and squeezing her cheeks together. I couldn't imagine it was easy what she was doing, all three things were done in perfect concert and it felt like she was jacking me off with her ass.

"Good morning," she said sultrily.

I moaned and kiss the back of her neck and across her shoulder before muttering, "Hell of a wakeup call."

She turned her head and reached her hand back, pulling me into a seriously hot and lingering kiss. I moved my hand from her flat stomach up to her breasts and tweaked her nipples one at a time before breaking our kiss. I started to move down her body with my lips, slowly working my body above hers as I went down. I continued to play with her breasts, getting a little rougher as I pulled her nipples and twisted slightly drawing a gasp from her mouth.

She said demandingly, "Where are you going, I want you in me now."

I slapped her ass lightly and teased her entrance with my fingertips before sliding them in. I couldn't wait to taste her. I slid two fingers in and curled them, searching for her g-spot as licked up her labia. Her taste shot a feeling of raw lust through me and I dove in eagerly, determined to bring her to orgasm before taking her.

Besides never having tasted her essence before, it was plain to me that we were limited by my orgasms, not hers. 

She gasped, "God, don't stop, bite me!"

I sucked in her clit and bit down. Her legs locked around my head and squeezed as she pulled my hair and ground up into my face. She was frozen, trembling; my head was locked in position between her powerful legs as I lapped up my reward. Her liquid ecstasy was so good I couldn't stop. I brought her to bliss two more times before crawling back up her body. I took her hard and fast at that point, her core was even more pleasurable around me than I had remembered from two nights ago. I lasted just long enough to bring her one more orgasm before I filled her with my essence.

She looked completely sated and the way she looked at me said it all. She knew why I'd gone down on her for so long. I knew I'd be down there a lot more in the future. Just because I couldn't cum more than twice a day didn't mean I couldn't rock her world with the help of a lot of foreplay. It didn't help that I couldn't last long either, when we joined it was just too good, when she hit her bliss and her core milked me holding back was virtually impossible. We kissed and held each other for while before reluctantly getting up when my stomach growled.

We showered together and got dressed before going down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

Bell asked, "Do you know where we're going next? They should be here soon, if they haven't already taken an overnight flight."

I shrugged, "I'm not sure, maybe Australia? Or..." I said softly, "I was thinking maybe we could give Katrina a chance. If she could..."

I trailed off at her frown. 

She echoed my thoughts of yesterday as she said, "It would be nice to stop running if she could really shield us. But I don't trust her. I don't like the way she looked at you."

I raised an eyebrow and teased her, "I know she checked me out but... what are you thinking, she wants to enslave me? And here I just thought I was attractive..."

I winked at her amused look.

Bell didn't look to sure but said, "I don't know for sure, maybe she just thought you were hot. But it isn't worth the risk. We've protected each other for a while now... I wish we knew who was behind all this though."

I shook my head, "Aren't they all?"

Bell nodded, "But they can't all be independently wealthy to afford to do nothing but chase us and others like us around the world. Constant plane tickets and hotels take money; someone must be bankrolling the group. If we could stop that person the others would have no choice but to give up and get a damn job, but I don't see how we could do that."

I shrugged, "Katrina might be able to help us with that. Something to keep in mind, we don't have to decide right now. I just want us safe, and to have a semi-normal life. Outside of the couple of years in Chicago my life has been nothing but running." 

She took my hand, "Should we go now?"

I shrugged, "Probably, but is there anything you want to do here? There are some tours we could try. It might be fun, and they won't attack us in a huge crowd. We could skip out tonight."

She looked considering for a moment but I saw her smile. She loved that kind of stuff and I was in the mood to spoil her. I didn't think it was all that big a risk either.

She said teasingly, "Alright, but you were getting lucky again later anyway."

We did a couple of tours, one of a fortress, another to a rain forest. All day long she teased me with her ideas of overcoming the two shot limit I was under. I had to admit I was intrigued with some of them. Especially joining her in the hunt like when we first started. She wasn't jealous at all of the idea of sharing a target with me, and me getting off a couple of times with another woman as Bell fed from our temporary partner's orgasms before we ended the night by me filling her up had my libido going.

She got quite graphic about it as she talked to me mind to mind through our link and by the end of the day I was ready to tear her clothes off and take her in public. She had absolutely no shame and she knew me so well she had me crazy by the end of the tours. That wasn't to say she wouldn't be jealous of my heart and mind if I fell for someone else, but not so much pleasure and sex. It was how she was built.

She wouldn't have given a second thought to lying with another man either, but she would not do that for my sake. It felt a little hypocritical as I fantasized about our future threesomes as she filled my mind with her naughty thoughts, but not enough to change my mind. I had to make her mine in that way, or I knew it would all fall apart due to jealousy.

She also made it clear to me she was open to being taken in more than one place. I considered her sexy ass and liked the idea. This part of our relationship was new and I wanted to lock us in a room for a month until we'd tried everything we could think of, multiple times, and then surfed the internet for more ideas... but I knew I'd have to be patient given the limitations. The good side of that was our sex life wouldn't ever get boring.

She grinned at me, "Have I driven you crazy yet? I still seem to have all of my clothes on."

I frowned, "We'll find a hotel room as soon as we get to Sydney. I don't want to risk being separated from the other humans longer than grabbing our stuff and checking out."

She took my hand, "You're right of course, I wasn't thinking. Well, not past my desires anyway. I love you Jeremy, I have for a long time. Mixed in with my own desire I just want to please you."

I winked, "I won't argue with that, as long as I get to do the same."

She kissed me softly on the elevator, then the way she held herself changed. She may have been soft and loving with me, but she was a demon and I could tell she'd gone all business. We walked out of the elevator with shadows pooled around our feet, almost caressing as they obeyed her will. They grew and shot in front of us as we neared the door, sliding underneath the space between the door and the floor.

I asked, "Anything?"

She concentrated a few more seconds and said, "No, no traps and I don't feel any magic."

"I don't feel anything either."

She relaxed a little, "Just being cautious, I don't want to walk into another containment circle, or a trap."

I nodded, "We should have left this morning, but we had fun today."

We went into the room and I used the automated checkout as Bell packed our stuff into our bag. I heard a click as she picked up the bag, and saw a small grenade roll a few inches. I yelled a one word incantation and the grenade flew across the room as Bell's shadows encased us. I saw the explosion as we disappeared and reappeared in Australia.

I had been protected from their minds and TK with my amulets, but it appears they were changing their tactics. Bell's and my search for magic wouldn't find technology, or normal explosives. It was a close thing. I turned to her in alarm as she collapsed to the floor. I could see the blood spreading and a few humans gasped and gathered around.

Ignoring them I pulled out my healing amulet. I still had the energy stored from when I sacrificed that asshole in the warehouse in Germany. I knelt by her and using the command word I felt the healing energy fill her body, and close the wound right below her chest. We'd need to be careful, I couldn't heal again, not until another sacrifice anyway.

"Are you okay love?"

She nodded but looked groggy. I knew she would recover quickly, and in the future we would be adding explosives to our list. I picked her up and moved her to a couch while I went to check in. The humans didn't give us another look as I picked her up and carried her up to our room. I was hardly in the mood, I was scared. She could have easily shielded us from the blast, but it had caught us both off guard.

But I knew she needed the energy to heal faster, so I gently undressed her after which I disregarded all her kinky and rough ideas of the day, and proceeded to make love to her gently. She wasn't very responsive at first, but I could see in her eyes how much she loved me. When we reached completion together she looked much better and mostly recovered as she came down.

She whispered, "I'm sorry."

I held her tighter against me, "No love. They changed tactics. We'll be more aware next time, it wasn't your fault."

She frowned and said, "I need to keep you safe."

I smiled, "You did, it wasn't me that got hurt love."

She burrowed her face into my neck and kissed me. I held her close and played with her hair and her back as we talked.

"I think I need to work on the physical protection amulet. What if they decide to use a sniper rifle next? It will take a few days of almost constant work. We should stay indoors until I'm done."

The next week I focused on the amulet as much as I could during the day. It was very boring but exacting work as I cast spells over it and carved the symbols that defined its function. 

At night I focused on the many ideas Bell had for bedroom games. We skipped to a new town every afternoon to ensure they wouldn't catch up and didn't go outside at all, instead ordering room service. It took a little longer than I thought it would for a few reasons. 

The first was Bell refused to leave me, the attack had shaken her more than she admitted. So I became her food source for that week, which was fine with me, but it left me a little tired. Ironically however I had more than enough magic to fill myself, and all of my protection amulets from the energy she shared feeding on my soul. It was definitely one of the benefits to our new relationship. Neither of us lacked for power.

The only amulet I couldn't charge of course was the healing. But by the end of the week I had physical protection along with TK and mental. I also had my emergency reserve magical amulet full, it held as much magic as my body did. The added bonus to this is I didn't have to worry about shielding at all now, unless we came up against a non-human enemy I could dedicate my magic to offensive spells.

I wasn't shielded from the magic of other races, but I really didn't think we needed to be. If I was attacked by a witch or sorcerer I was more than powerful enough to shield and between the two of us we'd tear them apart, in theory.

Bell was brimming with power as well; apparently I was enough to satisfy. She still wanted to pick up women in the future though, I wasn't at a hundred percent stamina wise as my soul healed and the less she needed to feed from me the better. I was sure we would eventually find the right balance.

I noticed some other changes in Bell over the week. She was always touching me now, which was more than okay with me, she was very demonstrative of her feelings now that she didn't need to suppress them. I also didn't miss the wistful longing looks she used to send my way, now she looked at me differently, love and contentment, and of course desire. One thing was a fact though, despite being almost completely absorbed in each other now, we were both bored out of our skulls when I had the amulet completed.

When we left our latest stop, we decided to go to Hawaii. We hadn't been there for a long time, and although we considered one of the smaller islands which would give us more time, we were both starved for social interaction.

After we arrived we went shopping. Bell picked out a casual red dress that stopped mid thigh and showed a mouthwatering amount of cleavage when she tried it on. After we checked into a hotel, got cleaned up, and ready for a night out, we headed down to the beach where there were outside bars and a luau going on.

It was our first night there, so I felt a little relaxed, I lived for these moments when we could let our guard down just a little bit. Staying safe seemed to be a full time job, and this was our time off. We started off with a couple of drinks before I took her to the dance floor. In the moments I could take my eyes off of Bell I took in the ambiance.

There were a number of couples dancing as well as groups of women, and the live music with hula dancers added to the atmosphere. The air was warm, but we could smell the sea air and there was a light breeze and I continued to relax as we danced together. 

Bell asked over our link, "Enjoying yourself?"

I replied, "Yes, we both needed this I think."

Bell smiled mysteriously and said in my mind, "Look over my right shoulder, yellow dress alone at the bar."

I glanced that way and took her in. She was in her late twenties and looked like a native. She had beautiful dark skin and long wavy brown hair. She was facing us, away from the bar, and taking a sip of her drink through her full lips. She had a small waist and looked to be on the shorter side. She had B cups that looked perfect on her form and she was showing a teasing amount of cleavage. She was very attractive.

When I looked back at Bell she sent, "She hasn't taken her eyes off of us since we got here. Do you want to go say hello?"

Bell's eyes were sparkling when I nodded, she took my hand and we walked over to the bar, taking empty seats right next to her.

Bell asked in a friendly voice, "Hi, do you mind?" as I ordered a couple of drinks.

She shook her head and said with a smile, "No, I don't mind at all. My friends bailed on me tonight and I was thinking of calling it a night, but maybe not. I'm Kari."

Bell said, "Nice to meet you Kari, this is Jeremy and I'm Bell."

After a moment I asked, "Did you need another drink Kari?"

She turned her smile on me and said, "I could use another, thank you." 

We spoke for a few minutes circling the attraction we all obviously felt.

Kari asked, "So what brings you to my island?"

Bell reached out and touched her arm and said suggestively, "Just a little vacation, we're here to let loose and have a little fun."

Kari replied with a shy look but bold words, "Are you looking for a guide? I'd be willing to show you some hospitality and make sure you have a great time."

Bell asked, "Would you like to join us upstairs for another drink?"

Kari reached out and touched Bell's leg and said sultrily, "Actually I was looking forward to some time in my hot tub tonight; you two would be more than welcome to join me if you want."

Bell agreed. We chatted for a few more minutes as we finished our drinks and we followed Kari out to her car. It was clear she knew what Bell was and I wasn't sure if Kari or I were more excited about this little get together. Her house was only a few miles away. We skipped going in the house, simply going through the gate into her backyard which had a view of the ocean and was rather private.

Kari said, "Make yourselves comfortable, I'll be back in a minute."

Bell and I got undressed and left our clothes folded on the decking before we slipped into the hot tub. It was hot, and Bell was very distracting. I pulled her into my lap and kissed her hard and passionately.

We broke the kiss and Bell chuckled throatily when Kari said, "Now don't start without me."

We turned and she was wearing a white robe, and put down some glasses and filled them with wine. I watched her as she slipped the robe off. She was beautiful as she made her way into the hot tub, her B cups had large areolas that looked puffy with her large hard nipples stretching the skin. Her core was shaved except for a little strip up top and I could tell she was wet with anticipation at the glistening on her labia.

We both made room for her and she sat in between us. I felt her hand on my inner thigh as she turned to Bell, and without a word they were kissing. At first it was tentative, but as it got more passionate Kari slipped her hand higher on my inner thigh and then around my throbbing length.

She turned to me next and we kissed. Kari stroked me a little faster, but lightened her grip considerably as I explored the swollen wet lips of her sex with fingertips. She groaned into my mouth and straddled me, before I knew it she had impaled her center on me. I gasped at how tight and warm she felt around me. I'd thought things would move a little slower but Kari was being very aggressive.

Bell moved closer and they started kissing just inches from my face as Kari's tight wet center fluttered up and down my length trying to get used to me. 

Bell gasped and I could see Kari's hand working her sex under the water as they continued to kiss. Kari started to rise and fall on my length as she guided Bell to stand between us. I could no longer see Kari, Bell's beautiful ass was in my face, and I heard Kari start to lick and suck on Bell's heaven as she rode and grinded my pleasure.

I reached up and separated her butt cheeks and started doing some licking of my own. I loved the scent of her and the taste as I heard Bell's cries of pleasure from above us. I was lost in the scent and taste of Bell, and the warm wet blissful friction of Kari riding me with abandon.

We all came together, falling like dominoes as Kari reached her bliss first. Her tight wet heat locked around me and milked my length as she cried out in pleasure. This triggered Bell to feed which increased Kari's bliss and the grasping and tightening heaven around my cock. Bell herself started to tremble against me from our double stimulation along with her feeding. I held her up as best I could as she came from the rush of power which split off and filled me as well.

I lost it at that point and felt my legs and balls tingle as I exploded in pleasure, filling Kari as she continued to milk me and claim my seed. I wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but with Bell's energies locked on Kari she didn't feed from me, which of course was the entire point of having a threesome. To increase the amount of pleasure we could share.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 11



When we all came down she sat between us again, and she handed us both a glass of wine and she still had a huge smile on her face. I guess she liked the effect Bell had on her orgasm; I knew I sure as hell did when it happened. 

Kari said sultrily, "I hope you have time for round two, though I'm thinking perhaps we should do that in my bedroom."

We assured her as we finished the wine, that we did have time for round two, and perhaps more. She gave us both towels as we got out, and after drying off we went into the house. I started to feel a bit dizzy and stumbled when I got to the other side of the kitchen into her hallway. It took me a few moments to connect the dots and I tried to say something to Bell through our connection, but I found I couldn't concentrate enough.

I glared at Kari, or rather the out of focus blob, who smiled at me cruelly as I lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

 

Chapter 6 - Katrina

Things seemed to be growing, alarmingly. One of the men I had followed was the contact for the two hunters I'd taken. That had led to about ten more men to follow that he controlled, and had led to his boss. As far as I could figure out, they worked in cells of ten with a leader. The boss had so far met with two other leaders, but I had also heard calls indicating he reported to someone else.

How many levels were there? I had no idea, but I was hoping to find out. The problem was so far the boss hadn't had any physical contact with his boss, only phone calls. I'd already had Celane try and track the number, but it was one of those burner phones so no joy there. 

I was hoping that meant it was only one more level, but I hadn't expected quite so many humans would be involved. There were also other cell leaders, three that I knew of, that he'd talked to on the phone. So that was at least another thirty people right there on top of the thirty some odd I knew about and had followed.

I asked Celane to keep track of it all; she had a nice spreadsheet going of names, numbers, addresses and all that as they came in. I hadn't done much this week except review memories of conversations. I now had more information than my two humans did, but I kept them regardless. They were mine now, that's what they get for torturing my people and trying to flush me out and kill me.

Plus, it might come in handy to have remote viewers in case any of my targets lose their ghost escorts. The chances of that were low, but it could happen. I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised at the numbers, even if it's just the fringe of society, one percent of one percent, that would still be a staggering number out of seven billion plus. Sixty hardly even registered.

I watched Celane as she typed on the computer, she was getting the reports directly now as I was. She was also changing. She no longer felt resigned, she was more... hopeful. She still worried about me though, and she had touched me a few more times since that night I'd been so upset. I didn't understand at all, yet I was still afraid to ask, afraid to look in her mind and find out.

I tried to leave my enslaved souls' minds alone. Leave them that last dignity. It was partly because I didn't want to see how much they despised me, but it was more than that. Outside the initial search of the hunters minds for what I needed I wouldn't do it to them again either. Especially those that hadn't attacked me directly which included all the fae. She must have sensed me watching because she turned and looked back at me and smiled.

Celane said, "Things are going well mistress."

I frowned as I felt a lump in my throat.

I said softly to disguise the turmoil of emotions I didn't really understand, "Celane, please call me Katrina... or Kat."

Her smile was like watching the sun come up, "Okay Katrina."

I left her to her work and retreated into the kitchen for some lunch... and a drink to calm my thoughts. I knew I was being a coward, but Celane was the only one who genuinely liked me, although I thought Allie might be slowly changing her mind about me. Sometimes it felt like her anger and words are more habit than true ire.

Still, point being if I screw up with Celane I really will be alone. I'd have to have a talk with her soon though, if she didn't want to tell me I'd just deal with it. I thought about going out, I hadn't been out of the house in a week, since the attack. Not out of worry, I'd simply been busy trying to map things out and track them.

I frowned as a new message came in. They were sending five more since the two teams of two failed to get the job done, or even report back. Well at least I wouldn't be surprised tomorrow; they would get here on the morning flight. I would make sure I was ready for them.

Over the last week I'd also been keeping tabs on the new witch. As far as I could tell she didn't belong to any coven, and I wondered what had brought her here. There were a few sorcerers in what I had considered my city, and we just left each other alone, kind of live and let live. They were older and too stubborn to move, they also hadn't ever attacked me or my family.

The werewolves were in the country and we never butted heads. But witches had steered clear of the city since I claimed it six years ago, and took two of their members for trying to kill me.

This new witch seemed to just be living her life. I was fairly sure she wasn't another plant like the witch the slutty bitch demoness killed. I considered the idea again of reaching out, but what was I expecting to get out of it? Most likely I'd just panic her and she'd either fight or flee. I frowned. This wasn't the same; I'd be talking to one person, not reaching out to a whole community that could kill me.

I wasn't afraid of one witch. But was that plus me being lonely a good reason to disrupt her life and perhaps put mine in danger? It was easy to get angry about it, the reputation of most necromancers made it virtually impossible to have a friendship. Only Glinda in Chicago had managed it, and that mostly because she was only half necromancer, she didn't even keep the people that attacked her... But honestly I couldn't blame them for their fearful reactions; I could only blame the other necromancers.

The witch was young too, relatively young, she was a couple of years older than I was, maybe twenty four or twenty five. Her name was Sue and she was about five foot six. She was cute with her short blonde pixie hair cut and deep blue eyes. From what I could tell she made a living making potions and selling them online. She was also attempting to start a storefront business.

It was a good idea; witches had a lot to offer humans and had no reason to hide anymore. I was surprised more of them didn't open shops in that way, probably just continuing to hide out of habit. She was young enough to see the opportunity in change.

I snorted; maybe I could send a note? I couldn't decide what to do and just put it off. I didn't want to approach her at her house, it felt too stalkerish. I know, irony, since I'm having her watched by the dead. But maybe when she got the store going, or if she went out to a club or something I could go introduce myself. I knew I was being a coward, but it was more than fear of rejection, or fear I'd be attacked. I didn't want to screw up her life either.

Celane's voice shocked me and I almost knocked my beer over; I hadn't even felt her walk into the kitchen.

"What's the plan tomorrow, do you think you'll be able to take five of them?"

I said thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. My shields handled one of them easily enough while the second was too disoriented to fight. But if all five hit me, even my new shields might crack. That said I can take Katie with me, she can move fast and be a distraction for a couple of them. I can also take tweedle dee and dumb with me. Those two jackasses might confuse them being on my side now and all. I might just have them followed for a couple of days, see if they talk to anyone else here first.

"I'm sure I can pick a good time to attack, unless they go after the coven again. I'll have them lay low in the morning, stay somewhere else. I might even get Neal to help, a sorcerer couldn't hurt."

Celane said softly, "One of us might help as well."

I frowned, "Maybe, but you all are support and defense. You keep me hidden, safe, and mobile. I'd rather have you here guarding over my body while I'm out there in Allie."

I felt Celane's worry as she asked, "Why not just let them fumble about, do you have to attack them?"

I sighed, "They might grow bored and go away, but it's more likely they will continue to shake down the vamps to get me to come out. Plus I'm tired of hiding. I'm not even really angry about it, how messed up is that? I just want to stop them; they need to be stopped before they make us extinct. Stopping bad necromancers and warlocks are one thing, but genocide? I'll be taking the fight to them as soon as I have them mapped out, not only just defending this territory."

I felt a surge of both concern and relief from her, how did that make sense? I couldn't stand not knowing anymore so I pulled up my big girl panties and turned to look at her.

"Celane, can I ask you something?"

She gave me the strangest look and then nodded.

I asked slowly, weighing my words, "Why do you care about me so much, and why are you so relieved right now? Why don't you hate me, you're a good soul, I should let you go yet I'm way to selfish too actually do it. What were you even doing here with the others? I can't imagine you hurting a fly, much less trying to destroy a world."

She answered patiently, "You were very angry when we met for the first time. I don't know why you never searched my memories, but I'm grateful you didn't then; it wouldn't have... been good. You were too angry and too young back then to understand. I'm relieved because you are handling this so well, I thought it might fill you with rage as you were in the past. I could feel your anger yesterday, but it was more at Gina's treatment than anything else.

"As for the first question, I think you should look for yourself. If you let me guide you into my mind, I'd like you to see some of my memories. Then I will finish explaining."

I nodded and walked back into the den, taking a seat at the couch. She sat next to me, and I was surprised when she took my hand. I wasn't used to being touched, but I found I didn't mind it, not when it was Celane.

"Come into my mind Kat."

I followed our link and entered her mind. The landscape around me was alien. There were trees that seemed to go up forever as they reached for the sky. I was standing next to Celane and she was still holding my hand. I wasn't really in control, Celane was. I picked up then that she was over a thousand years old that day when I snagged her soul.

In the middle of the clearing I saw a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. It was obviously Celane and she was sitting there and appeared to be meditating. Slowly the young lady's thoughts became clear to me, and then I felt like they were mine, I was in her mind inside the memory.

I heard Celane whisper in my mind, even as I became her younger self, "This is the day, the moment when my powers matured, such a very long time ago."

My mind was connected with everything around me. I was close to maturing into my full powers, and to becoming a woman. The light breeze caressed my skin as my mind wandered, connecting to the local wildlife. My mother was a seer, and I wondered if I would be one too. Seers were both revered and feared, I wasn't sure I would want that. I wanted to find a mate, have a relationship as wonderful as the one my parents shared. I felt my attraction to others changing as my body changed and developed.

I gasped as my power grew and a bright light seemed to overpower my mind. As it faded I found myself in a strange place. It was obviously a bedroom, but of a kind I had never seen before. I walked over to the bed and gasped. I saw myself lying in bed with another person; it was far into the future, impossibly far.

I looked at the person my older self I was laying next to, and when I saw her I was filled with both boundless love and shock. Shock because not only wasn't she a man, she wasn't even fae. She looked human, but I could feel her power over the dead. I was confused as intense feelings of love, hope, and rightness swept over me. I studied her carefully, wistfully, knowing I wouldn't see her again for a very long time.

She had beautiful long reddish blonde hair, and bright green eyes. She had a face that was cute and I adored it already. She was beautiful to me, even the strange ears. I couldn't see her body under the covers, but I already knew every curve, the firm suppleness of her generous C cups, the cute tight butt, and thin waist. I longed to touch her, but this was just a vision and that was impossible.

I clutched my head as the bright white light came back and I found myself back in the glade. I felt tears falling down my face and I got angry that I was a seer. I had seen my future, the love of my life, but I would have to wait over a thousand years before I could meet her...

I came back to myself still in her mind and felt her wipe my tears off of my face. The feelings had been so raw and powerful. She loved me? Her fate had been to be enslaved by the woman she was destined to love?

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked as my breath choked up.

Celane said softly, "It wasn't time. You were too young, too angry, and in too much pain. You weren't ready to love me back. You're right you know, I never wanted to destroy Earth, I had simply joined them so I could get to you. Other visions led me down that road."

I studied her carefully. She looked nervous as if unsure how I would respond. It was obvious though, my confused feelings had been guilt and shame at keeping her, and love. I hadn't recognized it in myself, until I had felt hers.

I pulled out of her mind and opened my eyes. My cheeks were wet and I wiped them off.

I took her hand and asked, "Will you join me in our room? It seems very unfair."

Celane asked in a rasping voice, "Our room? Unfair?"

I nodded and smiled shyly, "Yes, you seem to have an intimate knowledge of my body already, I think I deserve the same."

It took her a second to catch up, and her smile was followed by tears. I couldn't even imagine waiting that long or what she went through. And she got stuck with me on top of that, what a crappy deal. Good for me though.

I pulled her gently to me and kissed her softly, something I would have never imagined doing even ten minutes earlier. I kissed the corners of her mouth, and below her eyes, softly brushing away her tears with my lips as I played with her long hair. It took a little while for her to calm down before I stood and walked her to my... our bedroom.

Celane asked in a barely audible voice, "Are you sure mis... Kat?"

I squeezed her hand, "Yes, very sure. That must have been hard, waiting so long only to find an angry child that needed to grow up."

Celane smiled, "In some ways, in others I didn't mind. The hardest part was suppressing my love so you wouldn't feel it through the link."

I turned as got in our room and started to take her clothes off little by little, relishing her slowly revealed beauty. I had rebuilt her body and was familiar with it down to the smallest detail. I had shaped it into its former appearance when I took her soul. Yet it was different this time as I caressed every new inch of revealed flesh, so much more intimate.

I felt vulnerable, and loved, as she returned the favor, slowly stripping the clothes off my body. Her soft touch set my core afire as she explored my body. Her lips were silky smooth as she blazed a trail of fire down my neck and across my shoulder. She may have been mine, but I was utterly under her control at the moment.

We broke the kiss reluctantly and walked over to the bed, I ran my eyes up and down her glorious body and caught my breath as I saw the desire in her eyes as she gave me a heated gaze. She guided me to lie down on my back and she laid half on me, half on her side and started kissing me. I gasped as she moved her body slowly up and down, her velvety smooth thigh pushed lightly into my core as she grazed it and pleasure coiled in my center. I could also feel her wet heat rubbing against me, leaving a slightly moistened trail on my body as she moaned deeply into my mouth.

I reached a hand down between her legs and she gave me access immediately, rubbing against the soft touch of my fingers as she reciprocated. I was content, relaxed, and all hers. I was more than willing to let her set the pace as we made love for the first time. I knew sometime soon we would break out a toy, or sixty nine, but for now we kissed softly and gently brought each other closer to rapture on soft touches and fingertips. We teasingly held each other on the edge. My core tingled and tightened further and further, until I thought I had to explode, then she teased my body expertly and brought me even higher.

This was so new to me, I had sex before in Katie, but not with this body with another. I had always feared the vulnerability of it, the trust. Celane was my first in a very real way and she was setting me a fire in a way I had never felt before.

We were connected through our bond and I could feel what she liked. I knew how hard and exactly where to touch her to give her the most pleasure. I whimpered as she broke the kiss and bent her body to tease my nipples with her lips, tongue and teethe. I gasped loudly as she bit down hard, it both hurt and felt incredibly good and I felt pleasure shoot like lightning from my nipple down to my core. 

"Please Celane," I begged in breathless longing. 

I thought I might break if I didn't reach my bliss soon, then she pushed down on my clit with her thumb, and brushed my g-spot at the same time.

I was barely able to do the same back to her as I was overcome with explosive pleasure, my tightly coiled core came undone all at once and my body was wracked by rapturous bliss. I couldn't move or breathe. There was only the pleasure and the feel of Celane's soft and supple naked body against mine as we trembled together in ecstatic bliss. I had no idea it could be so good...

Celane said breathlessly, "So worth the wait."

I thought about that for a second, and then started to giggle. She started laughing too and nipped playfully on my nipple before kissing back up to my mouth. I couldn't wait to see what she would do to me next...

The next morning we were sitting in the kitchen, I was sipping my coffee and my body was pleasantly sore. We had just finished a morning encore when my ghosts reported the five ass wipes had gotten into town. They had been discussing their plans, two of them wanted to hit the hotel and relax, see if anything came up that would lead them to me. They were scared to force a confrontation and just wanted to find me and then plan an attack.

One of them wanted to attack the vamps and set a trap, but the other two wanted to go talk to the new witch Sue and find out if she knew anything. I couldn't tell if they knew her, or if they were just planning on bullshitting her or shaking her down for info. It was impossible to tell. I just knew I'd be annoyed if she was another spy. 

I knew most witches absolutely loathed warlocks, and weren't excited about necromancers either. But I just couldn't buy that many of them would work with these twisted humans. It was just a matter of time before witches, werewolves, vampires, and sorcerers got added to their list. They were people that thrived on violence and were more than a little crazy; if they wiped us out they would no doubt need a new enemy to hunt.

They decided in the end to talk to the witch, and if she didn't know anything to go to a hotel. I was extremely curious how they knew there was a new witch here, what was their source? There were no more council registrations, or rules. Not here anyway, not after I was done with them. Very few had stayed after that.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 12



Chapter 7 - Jeremy

I woke up to a scream. My mind was still clouded and I could barely think. It took a moment, but I realized it had been my own scream. There was stabbing sensation going up and down my legs.

"Good, you're finally awake," the tone of Kari's voice was chilling.

"What the fuck?" I asked in a pained grunt.

She snorted, "Don't act innocent with me, I know what you are."

My head spun as I tried to make sense of that. I looked up and around. I was in a cellar, and there were lines drawn on the ground around me. Bell was in a similar circle close by but she was still out.

"What did you do to her?"

Kari smirked, "Drugs, I can't risk letting her wake up. You on the other hand I can play with until the others get here. I wanted to just kill you, but they want to question you first, something about some sick bitch necromancer killing humans."

I looked up confused, "Why? We didn't do anything to you."

She snorted, "Because I did unto you first. I found your sacrificial knife and I know what you planned to do once I was knocked unconscious by round two. You're not the ones that killed my sister, but you'll do."

Pain lanced up and down my other leg, I could only imagine what she was doing to me. I couldn't even lift my head to look down my body. I also couldn't touch my magic or connect with my amulets. They were still on me, lying on my chest. No one else could remove them unless they knew the specific command word, or they drained it of magic.

I wondered how long she'd been attacking me with TK to drain that shield amulet, probably hours considering how strong I'd made it. She obviously hadn't broken the mind one, or she'd know what she was accusing us of wasn't true. 

Fuck. I'd never talk her out of this if a warlock and demon had killed her sister. She was also a little crazy, why the hell did she go through with fucking us the first time for? She could have started with the wine; of course I didn't actually ask her that...

She laughed darkly, "I'm kind of glad now actually. This is very satisfying. And if another of you evil bastards dies because of it even better."

I struggled to connect to my magic, anything, but it was impossible through the drugs and the pain. Even if I did, I was inside a circle; I doubted I could break out that easily. Even fully healed it could take a while to break a witch's circle. I looked over at Bell and felt a little sad that we'd only had a week together after denying ourselves for so long. What a waste of time, I was an idiot.

Then I got angry at myself for giving up, I didn't want to give up but I had no idea what to do.

I heard her cackle as the pain moved to one of my arms. If anything my legs hurt more now, absence the constant piercing feeling they started to throb, like the pressure of her TK had lessened the pain somehow. I started to cough violently as I inhaled my own saliva and I wondered if I would drown, but my body turned over and I continued to cough into the floor, my arm on fire.

Kari said, "You won't get away that easily."

I said, "We don't hunt to kill," but it came out all garbled.

It didn't matter anyway, I was pretty screwed. Even if by some miracle we escaped my body felt like hamburger, although I didn't really know, maybe she was torturing me through my nerves. I clung to that hope for a second, even though I knew it was a lie.

I screamed as loudly as I could when the pain rolled across my back onto my other arm, which was barely a pitiful squeak. Wasn't she not supposed to kill me? All the sudden it all stopped and my body throbbed in pain all over.

"I think that's the front door, I can't wait to see what they do to you," she said with cruel anticipation, laughing as she walked up the stairs.

Maybe picking up women for threesomes was a bad idea... 

I'd have laughed at that thought, if I hadn't been choking in pain. My eyes widened as I spit out blood. I was really angry, some life I had led, constantly running from people who judged me wrongly. I reached for my magic, all I wanted to do at that moment was crush that stupid bitch. Yet, it remained out of my grasp.

I turned and looked at Bell. I had to face the truth, I was a dead man. But maybe it wasn't too late for Bell. I had gotten used to the idea that she would live forever and the idea of a world without her hurt more than the torture I'd just endured. Not that I could actually do anything to stop them.

"Well well, I'm impressed Kari. I don't suppose you'd reconsider my offer and work for us full time. We've been hunting these two for a long time now."

I gurgled a laugh, "Yes, and it took a backstabbing slut to stop us, you're too weak to take us in a real fight."

I choked and gasped as my back lit up with pain, but it stopped almost immediately.

"Stop that, don't let him goad you. You can torture him to death later, once we have the information we need."

I turned my head as far as I could, there were six of them, plus Kari, and I could hear more coming downstairs.

I laughed, "I have no idea where the necromancer is. She is paranoid, we didn't even meet her, we met her lich. Good luck and I hope she spills your entrails and bathes in your blood."

He growled and said, "Let's see if this makes you spill your guts."

The footsteps turned out to be five witches, they surrounded Bell's containment circle. They all looked nervous, like they'd rather be somewhere else. I wondered if they were willingly working with the humans or not, but it hardly mattered. They started to chant and the circle lit up with power.

To my horror they weren't trying to banish Bell; they were trying to destroy her completely, including her soul.

Bell woke with a scream that cut straight to my heart. She jumped up and started attacking the circle with shadows and her fists, trying desperately to get out. There were only two ways for her to escape destruction, overpower the witches, or be banished, neither of which looked like it would happen.

He motioned the witches to stop and turned back to me. If looks could kill he'd be dead.

He asked calmly, "So warlock, tell me what you know and I'll just have her banished. It doesn't really make a difference to me, as long as she is gone from my world."

I coughed up some more blood and took a half breath, which is as deep as I could take in. 

"I really don't know where she lives, why don't you believe the truth? Can't you feel it? Can't you dig into my mind? Fucking bastard."

He nodded at the witches again who put Bell through it again. After trying to escape again she looked at me in sorrow, and love. I could see as she struggled not to scream for my sake and I felt the tears in my eyes.

He cut it off again and growled at me, "Last chance, next time I let them finish the spell and destroy her soul. There is no hope at all, you must tell me."

I could hear in his voice how frustrated he was. I think he did believe I didn't know, he was just so rabid and desperate. I was also sure he enjoyed this immensely.

I said as loudly as I could, "She's at your mom's house. I heard your mom likes zombie cock."

I knew it was childish, but I still grinned at him.

His face turned red and he struck out at me. My body went flying into the wall of the circle and I landed with a sick sounding wet crunch to the stone floor as I bounced back. Damn it, still alive. I'd hoped he'd kill me in anger. It was the only way to save Bell. If I died, as her warlock, the contract would be broken and nothing could stop her from returning to her world.

It was my last hope, or rather; it had been my last hope.

I heard the witches start to chant again. I shut my eyes tightly in anger, I couldn't even move. I reached desperately for my magic, for anything as I searched inside myself. My eyes popped open, I couldn't touch my magic, but I could feel the connection to my amulets. My TK shield was dead, but my mind shield and physical shield was still active. I could also feel my magical storage amulet.

I looked over at Bell one more time. 

Her eyes widened and she screamed, "No," with a look of horror on her face.

I supposed she had guessed my plan, or her side of the link was working. I'd never know which. I muttered the command word that would unravel the magic of the amulet that stored a very large amount of raw magic. I had no way to direct it, or even use it, so it exploded in quite a volatile fashion. Bell would be safe, I'd won.

I just wished this would kill everyone in the room too, but the circle would probably contain enough of the explosion before it failed that they would have no trouble blocking it.

I smiled through the pain as I felt the magic start ripping through my body. The last thing I would ever see while alive was Bell. I wouldn't live to see her turn to shadows and disappear, but it was enough I knew it would happen, she would escape. My life was a small sacrifice to keep Bell alive. My body was ripped apart in a swirl of energies.

 

Chapter 8 - Katrina

Two hours ago...

I stared at the front door like it was a deadly enemy. Had I been hiding so long that I was truly afraid to leave my own house? The humans called it agoraphobia. It was a creepy ass word in my opinion. I had gotten so used to only going out as Katie or Allie, I didn't see anything really wrong with it.

But when Sue asked me to call her, through my ghost no less, I did and she invited me out for coffee. She told me after she'd calmed down she had realized I had saved her life. Although it felt odd to her, she'd like to meet. She didn't have any family or friends here either, she had moved away from her coven because they didn't see eye to eye and was here for a fresh start.

Why not a friendship with a necromancer?

That's when Celane made the comment that although Katie and Allie could drink coffee, as undead they really didn't need to, so why not go out as myself. Celane also told me I could have Katie and Allie follow me just in case I needed to get out fast, but she also assured me Sue wouldn't harm me and could turn out to be a good friend.

Who was I to argue with my lover? Especially when she was a seer and saw the future.

I had agreed at the time as it was all very reasonable, but now I was just staring at the door. Was I really this much of a coward? Was I only brave when riding my liches and in no true danger? I felt a little wobbly. For so long reaching out to me meant betrayal, the death of my parents, foolishness and weakness. All that was possibly true, but I saw it for what it really was as well, fear. I took a deep breath and reminded myself not everyone was like Fran, Neda, and Neal.

Them, plus the vampire master were actually the only ones in the community that attacked me if I didn't include the vampires that had no free will, although most of them did run when I won and then took over the town I hadn't really blamed them.

Allie sent in a reassuring tone, "I'll be really close by, nothing will happen to you. Now move it you stupid bitch."

I snickered and shook my head. It was just coffee right? It wasn't like I'd have to fight. Even if I did fight, I was more than a match for most beings with Allie and Katie along. God I was pathetic, living life was a risk, there was no avoiding it. I'd hidden enough. I moved forward and out the door.

Allie sent, "About time." I could feel her roll her eyes at me.

Katie stayed silent which was a good thing. Allie and I seemed to be growing into frenemies, and it was kind of fun to swap insults. Katie though was just a bitch and I wouldn't have put up with it at all. I had wondered more than once how stupid the vampire that turned Katie was. He must have had a hard on for cute blondes.

In a way I felt like Allie was giving me a friendly push out the door.

I sighed; the world hadn't ended after all. I was getting a few looks as I walked to the coffee shop, it was only a half mile or so, and I didn't have a license... or a car. The looks though were not odd, worried, or even assessing how dangerous I was. They were instead looks of appreciation. I had my long reddish blonde hair down and I could feel it tickling my lower back, swaying as I walked. I was wearing a half shirt and a pair of jean shorts that did wonders for my ass.

I never really questioned my looks, but it felt good to be checked out, like a shot of confidence. I had never felt that way in Katie, who cares if they thought she was hot...

I knew humans were mostly live and let live. I'd seen it time and time again going out as Allie and Katie. But it was different now. I knew if they moved as one, I'd be dead, but the thought was ridiculous and paranoid, they wouldn't do that. Still, I felt vulnerable, but at the same time very much alive.

I walked into the coffee shop and stood in line. I wound up with a mocha with whip cream and sprinkled cinnamon. I walked over to Sue who I'd spied on the way in and sat across from her.

"Hi Sue, everything good?"

Sue looked at me puzzled, "Who are you?"

I giggled, "Sorry, I'm Katrina. You know that wasn't me the other day, I was inside Allie."

I blushed as I realized how that sounded and it was Sue's turn to laugh.

Sue said, "Well thank you again for saving me, I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them."

I shrugged uncomfortable with praise, "They were after me, and I'd have had to face them anyway. But you're very welcome. Now that we know each other I'll send you a message if more of them come."

Sue nodded, "Are there a lot?"

I nodded, "A little over fifty right now, although there are ten I can't find yet that I know are there. There could be more besides I don't know about yet, so be careful. Ironically you're in danger from moving to where I live, just not from me. I'm kind of stuck until the boss makes a mistake that leads to him."

We chatted some more about the hunter assholes, then we moved on to more pleasant subjects, namely ourselves. I gave her a little of my history and she gave me part of hers.

She was an orphan who came into her magic at puberty with no idea what was going on. A local coven detected her and snatched her up. There were problems though, she was a natural, and quite powerful which made half her coven want to control her every move, and the other half to be jealous of her power. It was an ugly scene when she'd left.

I found myself smiling and laughing as she told a funny story about her childhood. Some of the crueler kids at the orphanage had met their match in a young confused Sue that suddenly had magic.

Sue asked, "Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night? I'd love to have you... over," she finished with a shy smile.

Was she flirting with me? She was attractive but I hadn't given it any thought before, and there was Celane. Still, I wanted to be friends at the least so I nodded yes. I could think about it later, and even ask Celane for advice.

"Sure, that'd be great. What time should I..."

I got cut off as an urgent message came in. Six of the ghosts following six hunters had just found Jeremy and Bell, I'd had them looking for them and forgot. From the visuals I was getting it wasn't good. Jeremy was... bad. And Bell looked unconscious.

I said fast, "Call me with a time, I gotta run, emergency," and I stood up and ran toward home.

A small petty part of me wondered why I even cared. If they had taken my offer, they wouldn't be about to get tortured to death, although it appeared that had already begun in Jeremy's case. But I rejected that part of me, I wouldn't let them die because they'd hurt my feelings, especially the bitch demoness.

I sent orders first to the fae, to get the portal moved to that location against the stone wall behind the group. That would take the longest, perhaps too long. I wasn't sure they even had the ten or fifteen minutes it would take.

I made sure Katie and Allie were following me, they were. Then I ordered the six humans I had to the house. If it was just me driving Allie with Katie along, we would have major problems with seven humans and five witches. My six humans would more than even it up, and now that they were protected from distance viewing I wasn't worried about the location being betrayed.

There was always a chance of discovery though, that last group could be here quietly watching the vamp house, waiting for me to betray myself in some way. But that was also no way to live; I wouldn't let them die to eliminate all risk.

Besides, if they ever did discover and attack my house they'd be in for a hell of a nasty surprise. Between Neal's warding with sorcery, and the two witches warding, plus all the fae the humans didn't even know about yet, it would be a slaughter.

My parents had died in an attack, to say I over planned my defenses would be an understatement. Regardless, I wasn't worried about that and the six humans were on the way. When I got in the house I ran to my room. Celane hugged me before I lay down and went into Allie.

My enslaved humans got here as they were torturing Bell for the second time. I was feeling like we needed to go now, but the portal wasn't ready yet. I cringed and made a fist as Jeremy was picked up with TK and thrown into the containment ward, he bounced back and when he landed blood splashed everywhere. I worried I'd be too late.

Celane said to my mind, "Relax love, just another minute. Just follow your heart when you get there and it will all work out."

I shook my head, seer talk drove me crazy. The portal opened as I watched Jeremy's body literally start to glow brightly with magic and then explode. I froze for a moment and watched as Bell turned to shadow and disappeared. Then in anger dashed forward and put my arm through the guy standing in the back. I linked him in the fly, but I'd fix his body later when I had time.

After all, he could do magic with a hole in his chest, he was undead now. In just that brief second the odds had turned in our favor as far as human numbers. I went for the next one as the six left turned toward me and gaped. Two down. Two hundred seventy. I drew even more power as I felt the other five attack me. The witches were busy with Katie. Katie didn't need the humans help as she turned them all to pulp one at a time.

I directed my seven, make that eight humans as I hooked the last one, to shield me, adding their shields to mine, I could feel the magical energy even out. There was no way they were getting through now. Still, I killed them quickly, no mercy. I think there was a part of me that went so fast because I was afraid one of them might surrender, and they all deserved to die.

Another reason I went so quickly was because I was tempted to torture them, to do to them what they had done to Jeremy. I suppressed that dark impulse. They were animals that needed to be put down, nothing more, nothing less.

Two hundred and eighty now as I hooked the last of the human souls along with the five witches. I felt so powerful as I pulled necromantic magic through so many. I now had thirteen humans, and I considered the idea that I should just take their souls in the future, and not make them revenants. I was getting to the point I'd make humans very nervous if they saw my numbers, no matter the justification.

The five witches however I hooked in. I now had my own coven of seven.

God... I could feel him hanging there, just watching. Why would Jeremy stick around? I could hook him, it was tempting. I didn't have a warlock... I'd also get a demon out of the deal. It would be so easy, but he wasn't my enemy. I felt slightly ashamed of myself for even considering it.

I resolutely turned around and took everyone back through, leaving orders for the fae to make sure the new humans as well as the witches were immune to distance viewing before they left the house.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 12



They were safe here for now in that way, the whole house was covered after all. I also gave my new recruits the standard orders for my protection, and then left Allie's body returning to my own. I was too late to save them, I hadn't had enough time.

Celane held me as I sobbed, and whispered promises that it would be okay. I just didn't see how that could be true, but then, I wasn't a seer. 

When I calmed down, I told her about Sue inviting me for dinner and all that. I explained though Sue might want more than I was prepared to give because of what Celane and I shared. I also told her how hard it had been to let Jeremy go, how tempting the power was. I wondered if I was too greedy already having forty vampires, twenty fae, thirteen humans, seven witches, two liches and a sorcerer. The rest of the two hundred eighty were just ghosts and normal zombies.

I wouldn't let them go though, not even the witches who had been forced to join them. They had other options, could have gone to other humans for help. They chose their side, pushed toward it or not. Maybe I would reconsider after this silent war, but the rest of them were mine until I died.

To be fair, the number was so large because that's how many people tried to kill me, or went after people I defended. Despite the temptation I'd had the strength to let Jeremy go.

Celane said, "You should go tomorrow and have a good time at Sue's house. We're stuck for now if we don't want the bosses to go underground and hide. They'll never make a mistake if we kill more of them unless it's necessary. I think we'll have some breathing room. After today I doubt they will send more here unless they all come."

I frowned, "Sue? I like her but... what about us?"

I was confused, weren't we together?

Celane answered in a reassuring tone, "Nothing has changed between us Kat. I only showed you one of my visions you know, keep your heart open, we will be sharing with more than just Sue if you do. We are both destined to find others, all together the love flowing in all directions. But that won't happen if you keep your heart closed to the possibility."

I frowned, I wasn't sure I could share Celane, even if she could share me. Although that wasn't exactly what she said, apparently if Sue got together with me that would eventually include Celane as well. More of an everyone loves everyone thing. I shook my head at the idea there would be others as well. I'd try not to worry about it until it happened, I wasn't so sure it was a good idea to worry about the future and try and plan around what she saw.

Isn't that why their world was destroyed in the end? It was a self fulfilling prophecy because they all panicked over a seer's vision. I'd just live my life, and try to be open but the choices were mine... and hers for that matter. After all, I didn't love Celane because of a vision she saw, I loved her because of who and what she was.

Speaking of love, I felt very safe and loved in her arms. I lifted my head and started nibbling on her neck as I rubbed against her like a cat in heat. I was very horny now that the rush of battle was fading. I wouldn't be doing much thinking at all for a while as she pulled me up into a heated kiss...

 

Chapter 9 - Jeremy

I wouldn't have thought a ghost could feel shock. But as I died, and then watched Bell fade away, it just didn't seem real. Even though I'd made the conscious decision to save Bell, by dying, I wanted to deny it. I didn't regret it, I just wish it wasn't true.

I stood... floated? I floated there and watched while Katrina ripped through them with ease. She wasn't in the same body, but I knew it was her somehow. In a straight fight Bell and I would have stood a chance against five witches and seven humans, but Katrina had come in like a tsunami of death. She killed them and enslaved them all. It made me wonder why she wanted our help in the first place, maybe I was right. Maybe she was just lonely. Outside of Bell I could relate to that. 

I hadn't even considered I was in danger as a ghost until she was gone. Foolish perhaps, but like I said, I was in shock and denial.

I laughed though, a little darkly when she left. Perhaps it had been a good thing I hadn't run. I had watched my enemies die, and I had found out the truth of Katrina. We should have trusted her. Perhaps I'd still be alive if we had.

So what now? I could feel the pull of the other side. It was subtle, but it promised peace, rest, and even new life. But I could also feel the anger burning in my stomach, the sadness of loss. Bell was immortal, if I crossed over... I would never see her again. Perhaps when she finally died, or more accurately, was killed, I would see her again. But that was a faint hope.

I was also afraid, it promised peace. How could I have peace without her with me? What would happen if I gave in to the growing urge to just let go. I'd been fighting and running for a long time. Would I even remember who I was, or would everything change? Would I be reborn?

Maybe it wasn't too late. If Katrina would work with me I could get the revenge I desired on our enemies, and just maybe get Bell back in the bargain. Of course, to do that I'd have to let myself be enslaved, though the fact Katrina just let me go spoke well of her, I would still be under her power. I frowned, it wouldn't be forever though, just another century or so.

It seemed like a small price to see Bell again, to have a body, to get revenge. To live a lifetime with the woman I loved. But it was still a risk, I could be enslaved and not get any of that.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the witch's house we'd lived in for a day. It was my strongest memory of the city we were in. I knew ghosts could travel great distances by thought, so I tried to figure out how that was done. I imagined being there, the feel of the place. When I opened my eyes I was there. That was easier than I'd expected.

I didn't feel any ghosts close by, assuming I even could. I thought any I found would probably be hers already. From what I knew of necromancers, ghosts tended to avoid them. I smiled sardonically as I was doing the opposite. I walked toward the front door and stopped. 

I had as yet not touched anything solid, and knew I wouldn't be able to and had been instinctually avoiding it. I guess I was still partly in denial, because I didn't want to see my body pass through anything solid. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and walked through the door out into the sunlight.

I wasn't sure how long I walked, I thought it would be easy but I didn't see one ghost. Could they be avoiding me? I remember Hope telling me about limbo, but I wasn't sure how to make the transition, I could still feel the peace of the other side calling me, I didn't want to screw up and cross over by accident.

I could still feel magic around me, and as I walked I found a large group of vampires. I went in the house, of course they couldn't see me. I felt like an idiot when I spoke to the empty air.

"Hello, any other ghosts around?"

I was sure I'd be blushing if I still had a flesh and blood body. I saw one appear though, she looked me over then shook her head.

"You should move on you know, but if you really want to I'll take you to Katrina."

I furrowed my brow, "How..."

She said, "It's written all over you. Both loss and desire for revenge. Are you sure?"

I nodded and she held out her hand.

As soon as I took it I felt disoriented and I was suddenly standing in a den. There was a desk with a laptop on it, a number of bookshelves filled with books. I also saw a fae sitting at the desk. She was petite and attractive with long light blonde hair. But I hardly noticed as I stared at the gorgeous young woman with reddish blonde hair. She was extremely attractive, cute, and undeniably beautiful. I was confused for a second until I felt her power. I felt drawn to it and at the same time it made me want to run.

The woman said neutrally, "One last time, are you sure?"

I was staring at her like an idiot as I put it all together. This was actually Katrina, neither of the bodies I had seen her in before were. I also realized she was talking to me earlier, not the ghost. I was also trying to put what I knew about her, ruthless with her enemies and very powerful, into this very cute woman. Even her voice was cute. No wonder she wore the lich to a fight, she looked helpless and I had the urge to protect her.

I knew though, that it was me that needed her.

I nodded slowly, "I want revenge, and I want time with Bell. I'm sorry I didn't trust you earlier, but I'm hoping I am right now, that you won't abuse my trust."

She raised her brow archly, "Really? So what do you expect? That I will set you up with a life and hide you? It will not come free. I will not abuse your trust, but I will order you to protect me always, and never do anything that could lead to my harm. I'll also expect your service beyond your need for revenge, but I will promise not to force you to do anything you would find wrong. 

"In other words I won't be making you sacrifice children or anything stupid like that. I will take into account your needs and even your opinions, but the bottom line is I am in charge and you will do what I say for the gift I offer. Does that seem reasonable to you? I'd be giving you what you wanted; surely it would be worth the price."

I frowned; I hadn't thought it through that far. She was right. I couldn't expect her to gift me with a physical body, life, and the opportunity to be with Bell for free. It was a gift beyond price in my eyes, and many would give much for the chance to live again.

"Yes, of course."

She smiled mysteriously as I felt her magic reach out and invasively tether itself to my very soul. The thought of it hadn't been too bad, but I had no idea what I was really asking until that moment. I was hers; she held my very existence in the palm of her hand. Not just my life, my very soul. Any freedom of thought or action was now at her whim and sufferance. I prayed that I had judged her correctly. The fact she had left me behind, and asked me if I was sure three times did make me feel a lot better.

She sent those orders she mentioned to me through the link, they settled without any struggle. It had been my intention to protect her, if she died so would I. Betraying her would be betraying myself, but I couldn't blame her for the commands, most of my free will was left intact, and she hadn't invaded my mind either.

She said softly, "Come, I could craft you a similar body but I'm sure you want one exactly like your old one."

Curiously I followed her down the hallway, down the stairs into the basement. We followed a long hallway that opened up into a small room with four fae standing in the corners. She didn't speak that I could see, yet the fae all sent power into the symbols on the floor and a gate opened. When we walked through I found myself where I had died, back in the basement.

I followed her across the room, to the ground where I died. I didn't know what she planned but it looked hopeless. There was blood, and maybe a few strips of flesh, the rest had been destroyed by the magic. I turned and looked at Katrina as I felt her draw power. She glowed with her magic and nearly took my breath away with her power and beauty. Embarrassed at my thoughts, and not a little ashamed I desired Katrina when I needed to focus on getting Bell back, I turned back to my bloodstain and gasped. 

She must have been using my blood DNA as a template somehow. I watched as a body was slowly built right in front of me. It didn't take long, and I was looking at a perfect copy of my body, but I was without blemish or scarring. Then I felt her power take me and I bonded into the body. I could feel a small constant trickle of her necromantic power coming to me through the bond connecting my soul to her, I realized after a moment that was what gave this body life.

I frowned, that wasn't exactly right either. It was more a circle. The bond moved in both directions. She drew necromantic power through my soul from the afterlife, then it came back to me and gave my body life.

I opened my eyes and looked up. I could feel my magic as well but it was weak right now, drained. I got up carefully and practically jumped off the floor.

Kat looked amused for a moment and said, "You're a revenant now, you'll have to get used to your new speed and strength. You're a little faster and much stronger than a vampire, so be careful until you get the hang of it."

I noticed her eyes flick downward for a second and she looked back up at me and blushed before turning away. I was happy to see I wasn't the only one with an attraction, but I couldn't really think about that right now. I found my dagger and my other protection amulets. I wouldn't need the healing one anymore for myself, if I took body damage Katrina would restore my body with power. But it could come in handy again for Bell if she was hurt, or even Katrina, although it was empty right now.

Katrina asked patiently, "You got everything?"

When I nodded she took me back through the portal, where the fae from upstairs held out some clothes for me.

"I'm Celane. If you need anything let me know."

It was my turn to blush when Celane deliberately checked me out. I had to admit I was above average, but I wasn't a porn star freak show either at just about eight inches. I quickly put on my clothes. When I was finished Celane winked and turned away. This place was going to be interesting.

Katrina said, "Follow me," in a pleasant tone and led me back out into the hallway.

At the next door she ordered, "Don't ever go in here, the witches do their spells and make their potions in there, they get upset if their sanctum is invaded."

She led me down to the next door and opened it. It was an eight by eight room with blank white walls and a cement floor.

"This room is yours for any magic work. You can use this room to summon Bell, or any other rituals you might need to do."

She showed me upstairs and into the kitchen, "Feel free to eat if you want. You don't have to of course, but a few of my revenants do just for the pleasure of it. It's hard to give up food. Plus, I like to have company when I eat."

She took me down the hall and up the stairs and showed me to a bedroom. It was gender neutral but very nice with a large red oak dresser and bed frame, it also had its own bathroom and a walk in closet.

"You don't sleep anymore, but you need a place of your own if only to store your clothes and get some privacy. There are other obvious reasons," she said as her eyes moved to the bed, "I'll give you time to summon Bell and get your stuff in order, but if you have any questions come to me or Celane."

She turned to go but then turned back, "I almost forgot, you're only covered in the house right now, I'll let you know when the fae's enchantment against distance viewing and mind reading is in effect on your person. It shouldn't take too long. Bell will have to wait as well when she gets here."

She turned to leave it was my turn to stop her.

I said softly, "Katrina."

She turned and looked at me and I said with feeling, "Thank you."

She smiled at me, "You're welcome. But I didn't do it just for you. You'll be very helpful to me in the future..."

She trailed off as if she had more to say, but decided not to. 

I nodded, "That doesn't mean I don't feel thankful."

She nodded and left. My head turned as she walked down the hallway. I could feel exactly where she was and it was a little strange but I was sure I'd get used to it. I looked around the room one more time then left for the den. I had a job to do. Celane looked up and smiled at me as if she knew me already. It was a little disconcerting, but seeing a welcoming face made me feel better at the same time.

I asked, "I could use a few things. I need five candles, chalk, and salt. I could also use a few blank amulets like this one."

I pulled the amulet out of my shirt, I would need to make a new one for power storage after blowing up the old one.

She said, "Of course, I'll show you where the supplies are."

Celane led me to the basement, and we turned the other direction and she led me to a storage room filled with rows of shelving. There were thousands of candles of different colors, chalk, bowls, and other magical aids. In short everything I would ever need. There were also herbs and other stuff that only the witches would use. It was pretty impressive.

I gathered everything I needed for the ritual and thanked Celane who just waved that away.

Celane said encouragingly, "Good luck," as she left the room.

I walked down the hall and locked my ritual room and got to work without delay. I was excited but pushed it down as I tirelessly drew the complex designs of the containment circle. I had died which broke our contract, I would have to forge a new one and I planned to make it the same as last time. Bound together to share power, but she would be free otherwise. It would base it on a free relationship and our love; otherwise she could back out whenever she wanted.

It took me hours to get it all finished, but with this new body I felt neither fatigued nor sore. I closed the circle with salt and a little of the power I had by cutting my palm with my dagger and sprinkling my blood into the circle. I chanted the words ending with Bell's true name and then I held my breath and waited.

I watched as the circle filled with smoky shadow and formed into Bell. She looked at me with disbelief.

I smiled and my voice throbbed with emotion, "I love you Bell."

She looked over me carefully and narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"

I replied, "What I had to. What I needed to do to get you back, and to take my revenge. I went to Katrina..."

Her frown grew deeper but as I told my story, about how she didn't take me when she could have, and about what followed the rest of the day. Her eyes softened slightly.

Bell said in a resigned tone, "I'm just worried for you, worried for your soul. But yes, of course we have a contract, I could never leave you if there was a chance we could be together and happy. I also add to the contract that I will not harm Katrina, though I don't promise to like her."

I voiced agreement and felt the connection open up between us again. The circle broke and I found myself being kissed fiercely. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand cupping the back of her neck as I kissed back even harder.

Bell asked a little breathlessly, "You said you have a bedroom?"

I nodded and sent her the feel of it and what it looked like through our link and I was covered with her shadows and we disappeared, reappearing upstairs. Suddenly I felt her naked body against mine. I neither knew nor cared where our clothes had ended up. She kissed me demandingly and I returned it with desperation. We were both overcome by desire and lust, our love demanding we join, to reassure ourselves that we were still together, and still alive.

There was the feel of her body, the feel of her touching me, and the feel of her smooth skin under my fingertips. Nothing else mattered to me but that and the scent of her in my arms, and the taste of her lips and skin. She was the center and focus of my universe. She mewled in need and broke the kiss and crawled onto the bed, with her head turned and looking back, her ass waving in invitation. 

Bell said with a sultry growl, "Come put that cock in me now Jeremy."

I usually liked more foreplay, but neither of us could wait anymore as I joined her on the bed and grabbed her hips, and roughly pushed into her tight moist heaven from behind. I grabbed and squeezed her ass cheeks and slapped once hard as I started to pound into her. 

She started to buck back and said breathlessly, "Jeremy, that's it, take me with that big cock. Spank me."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 12



I slapped her ass hard again and she trembled beneath me.

She whispered demandingly, "Harder."

I wasn't sure what she meant, our joining or the spank. So I started to take her even harder, digging into my enhanced speed and strength and I slapped her ass again a little harder than last time. Her sharp gasp turned into a low mewling moan as she kept bucking back into me. I felt her lose rhythm and start to tighten around me, so I spanked her hard again and her breathing stopped as her body trembled in ecstasy.

Her slick hot sheath played a symphony of rapturous pleasure along the length of my invading flesh. There was no way I could hold out against the pleasure of her body so I didn't try. I buried myself hard and fast into her twice more as I felt my balls boil over and started to fill her with my essence. My pleasure tripled as she fed on my soul, and I felt a rush of magic enter me through our bond. 

As I came down I felt close to full with my personal store of magic, but I had a long way to go filling my two protection amulets, and the storage amulet I'd now have the magic to create. We didn't leave the room for over a day as I worked on all that, along with just spending time with the love of my life. It felt like a miracle getting her back...

 

Chapter 10 - Katrina

Celane said in a salacious voice, "Have they come up for air yet?"

I giggled, "Nope, they're still in there. He leaks too, doesn't know how to shield our connection properly yet."

I blushed as Celane lifted an eyebrow, "Do you like him?"

I shrugged, "I don't not like him. He's gorgeous of course, and he has... well you saw what he has when we came through the portal. He also seems to be very giving in bed from what he's been leaking. I don't want to rush anything though, really. I'll be happy if we can just be friends. I still can't believe he came to me like that."

Celane smiled and shrugged.

"What?"

Celane gave me a teasing smile, "He did seem to stare at you quite a bit."

I nodded thoughtfully and bit my lip. I think though that I was building it up in my head a bit. I was lonely except for Celane, and she seemed to be encouraging it. I smiled slightly, wondering if she had seen something. I'd take it slow, relatively. 

With the bond it had been obvious we were both physically attracted, but that wasn't enough for me. I'd just let Celane in my bed and she was my first with my real body. I wasn't going to... what? Turn into a slut? No, it had to mean more to me than how big his cock is, how hot he was, and how giving in bed.

Didn't it?

I blushed and stood. Speaking of slut behavior I had a date with yet another person tonight. I didn't really believe that about myself of course, I wanted more than just sex, much more. Despite my best efforts to ignore Celane's comments about the future, it was hard not to want it. Being loved and loving many others was attractive to me. I had been alone and isolated for too long, and now I wanted it all. No, I wasn't a slut. I was just trying to keep my perspective.

Celane told me to have fun and went back to her spreadsheets. I think she had a spreadsheet for everything, not just tracking the human hunters. There hadn't been any changes since yesterday in that regard either, which was a good thing. I jumped in the shower to get ready. I also still felt a little guilty about taking Jeremy even though he had wanted it so bad.

Because I had wanted him from the beginning. 

I wouldn't have taken him, he wasn't an enemy. But taking him had satisfied a dark part of myself that was gleeful I had another two races in my pocket. My powers were even more diverse with both a warlock and demoness. I knew I would have to be careful about that, my desire for more power. I was powerful enough as it was.

I got out of the shower and put a towel around me. I shook out my hair and dried it the best I could with a towel and then called in one of my zombie's. No soul in this zombie though, just reanimated and perfected flesh. It was the perfect minion for holding a hair dryer, which would take a long time since my hair was so long.

Once that was done I walked into the bedroom, put on my makeup, and got dressed. I wore a simple yellow summer dress with three inch heels and had on a pair of diamond stud earrings. I was out the door and halfway down the block before I even considered taking anyone with me. It was both a startling and pleasing thing to realize that I wasn't afraid of leaving my home anymore.

"Dumbass."

I snorted, "Silence minion, or I shall play dress up Barbie with thee."

Allie giggled as she started walking beside me, and then covered her mouth in horror. 

"Whatever," she said nastily, trying to cover for her lapse.

I gave her an amused look, "Are you chaperoning?"

She nodded, "I'm glad you aren't afraid to go out, but it's stupid not to take basic precautions."

I nodded, "So you care if I die then?"

She snorted, "Whatever, if you die I die."

I felt a stab of guilt; she was immortal when I changed her, now her life and soul were tied directly to mine. There are degrees of guilt that I was too angry to take into account back then; now that I was finally starting to live I was realizing how I'd fucked things up.

No, I chose Allie because she looked like a bad ass. That was it. Never mind that she'd been forced to attack me by her vampire master, and for the crime of losing her free will I'd sentenced her to a slow death in an even tighter form of servitude.

She gave me a strange look and I blocked our connection. I knew she'd felt my guilt. My liches were the most closely connected with me, connected soul to soul. I always blocked Katie, but I was more open with Allie lately. I thought about all the Fae, Jeremy, Bell, and others. Some were evil, I wasn't worried about all of them, but if I died it would affect a lot of lives, end a lot of lives. Only the vampires would really prefer it, they'd be free again.

I think that's the first time I considered my powers to be an actual benefit to others, not just myself.

"Thanks for the walk, you'll be outside?"

She smirked, "I set a ghost perimeter and can be back in under a minute, I'm going to the coven house. But yes, I'll be back when you leave."

I nodded and shook off my darker thoughts. I was here to have fun after all. I rang the bell and Sue answered. She smiled when she saw me.

"You look beautiful Kat, please come in," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

She gave me a short tour of the house. It was a cozy two bedroom ranch, but the kitchen was huge. That wasn't really a surprise to me, witches loved to cook, and more than just potions. 

She asked, "Wine?"

I said with a smile in my voice, "Please."

She said, "Dinner should be ready soon, let's sit?" as she led me over to the couch.

She added, "I'm glad you came, I don't know if you can tell but I'm nervous. I haven't dated a lot lately and..." she trailed off.

I grinned, "And you can't believe you invited a necromancer to dinner?"

She blushed, "Sort of, I can't believe I invited a necromancer to dinner that I really like."

I took her hand, "We don't have to rush anything, this isn't easy for me either. It doesn't matter what I'm really like for most people. The ones I find that can see past what I am, which are few, I hold onto."

We talked then for a long time over wine and then dinner. I was shocked at how much I was telling her, and candidly, about my earlier life and my present, specifically my relationship with Celane and that there could be others on the horizon. I wanted to be honest with her, if this went somewhere there would be other people involved. I found myself in the position to defend polyamory, and I wasn't even completely sure about it myself.

Sue looked thoughtful as we ate a pastry for dessert, "I'll have to think about that, I've been searching for Mrs. Right. I hadn't ever even considered a group thing. If you're wondering I do like you, a lot. I'm not concerned that you have witches either; I know how evil we can be. After all, it's why I'm here."

She smiled, "If it wasn't apparent, I don't feel attracted to men at all. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, you mentioned a Jeremy?"

I shrugged, "I don't think that would be a big problem, not if you don't hate them. You don't have to share sex to share love with someone. Nothing has happened between us though, not yet. I'm not even sure if it will happen. From what Celane told me, it's not quite an open relationship, once we find the ones that will be a part of it, it will be closed. In other words we will be faithful to the group, and not stray outside of it. We'd all share equally with each other."

She nodded, "I think I get it, I just need to consider if it's for me."

I said in a hopeful tone, "I'll call you in a few days, invite you to dinner if you're still interested?"

It would be ironic if she accepted me as a necromancer but rejected me for my lifestyle choice.

She nodded in reply and walked me to the door. She looked at me thoughtfully then stepped closer.

Sue said shyly, "I have a lot to think about before we go too far, but I've been dying to kiss you all night. You look amazing."

I smiled and stepped closer, we both leaned in at the same time, our hands tentatively touching each other as our lips met. Her lips were soft, and our kiss was tentative at first. Slowly the kiss grew more confident and I parted my lips slightly and sighed into her mouth. I felt a tingle between my legs as she ran her hand down my hair, all the way to my lower back. It was with some reluctance we stepped back from each other.

I could see I'd affected her too, but I said goodnight and let myself out. She was too confused and I wasn't far behind her. I wasn't ready to sleep with anyone outside of Celane either if I was being honest with myself. My body completely disagreed with that assessment, it would have been quite content to surrender to Sue's advances had there been any. It was almost painful to walk away.

I smiled at Allie when she showed up; she just rolled her eyes at me. Right, frenemies.

Allie snorted, "Guess if you're smiling at me it must have gone well."

I shrugged, "I think it went well."

Allie asked in a wiseass tone, curious despite herself, "When will you know?"

I laughed, "If she accepts my dinner invite in a couple of days. I think the polyamory thing has thrown her even more than it did me."

Allie looked confused and I sighed, "I don't want to go through it again, ask Celane about it later. She explains it better anyway."

Allie said crudely, "I get it, you can spread your legs for more than one person."

I snickered and blushed, "That's certainly part of it, but not all of it."

She smirked, "Sure it's not..."

I shook my head, "Bitch."

She chuckled and we fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the walk home. When I walked in I immediately kicked off the heels, the zombie housekeepers would make sure they got back to my closet, and massaged my feet a moment before walking to the kitchen.

Jeremy and Bell were finally out of their room. It was apparent to me they had thrown off their restraint only recently, since I was sure they hadn't been together the first time we met. I could see the connection between them, they were intensely aware of each other. I hadn't been looking forward to this moment, Bell and I had words our first time meeting and this was the first time we'd met since.

And I had her lover on a leash.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down, "Everything going okay? We have some time before we'll need to do anything being in research mode if you need time to get up to power. But feel free to get the lowdown on the enemy's organization from Celane."

Jeremy said, "Everything is great, I found what I needed and my amulets are almost fully charged. I just have to rest for a while before..."

He paused a moment and said, "You had volunteered at the bar to ask for volunteers to feed Bell, was that still possible? And umm, only women please."

I smiled at him, "Sure, I can..."

Bell interrupted me sharply, "I can do my own hunting, when will I be able to leave this place?"

Damn, same judgmental bitch. What exactly did I do this time? Besides give her lover and best friend back I mean.

I frowned, "Earlier this morning. But we need to work together, what's wrong with me helping, and what is your problem with me? I'd have thought you'd be thankful for what I've already done for Jeremy, and you."

Bell snarled and I could tell Jeremy hadn't seen this coming, "Help us? You helped yourself and have exactly what you wanted to begin with now."

I wasn't taking that shit.

I growled, "Thanks to you. If you hadn't been such an untrusting bitch and talked him into running he'd still be alive. I would never have taken him if he hadn't asked over and over again like he had."

Crap, I'd hoped it would go better than this but my inner bitch had risen to the challenge.

Bell stood up and shadows started rising from the floor. I didn't think she would attack, her power was just responding to her anger. Still this didn't bode well for us working together in any way, shape, or form.

I felt an immense draw on my power and a blur went by in the room and I heard a loud crash. I turned at the noise and with shock saw Allie, her hand as black as a void, around Bell's throat. The only way Allie could have done that is if she thought I was truly in danger. Liches had full access to my abilities and powers, but only for certain things and they had to want to do it if I didn't order it done.

Which is why I was so confused she was defending me.

Allie rasped out, "You ungrateful jealous piece of shit. If you even look at her wrong again I will end you, even if I have to cut Jeremy's soul loose and cross him over to do it. Do you fucking understand me princess?"

Bell rasped out yes, I could see she couldn't really breathe that well. I also knew Bell was holding back, for Jeremy's sake if nothing else. The outcome of such a contest was in doubt, but I knew she was strong enough to break that hold.

"Good, now get the fuck out and find a whore, because trust me, you won't find any volunteers here, not anymore."

Jeremy squirmed in his chair, his face was thunderous. Then he ran out and went up to his room. I couldn't blame him, he was unable to take either side, and I wouldn't force him to defend me, not from words and attitude.

Bell disappeared in a swirl of shadows. Before I could ask Allie where the hell that had come from she ran from the room. What a damned mess... I sat there a while and finished my beer. I was curious about what was going on with Allie.

I felt Allie in her room and got up, but I felt Bell's power and she appeared in a swirl of shadows. I looked at her warily. Her eyes were bloodshot like shed been crying. She sat down across from me slowly, as if she realized I'd gotten spooked. I pulled my chair back out and sat down.

"He's been yelling at me through the link. I'm sorry for what I said. Allie was right, I am jealous, and angry, and guilty. But that's not what set me off. I'm a demon, offering to feed me is like someone offering a grown human a baby bottle, or offering pity sex. I'm not sure if you can understand that or not, but it's a major insult for a demoness. Being attracted to me, sleeping with me and offering yourself as food is fine, offering others because you think me incapable is something else entirely. Please don't do it again."

She frowned and I stayed silent, I didn't think she was done yet.

Bell looked up in thought and smiled, "I've been with Jeremy for fifteen years. I absolutely adore him, I love him. We've protected each other and saved each other more times than I can count. The last couple of years have been frustrating as hell. We couldn't catch a break. Those assholes just kept coming. Then in you walk offering us the moon. I didn't trust it, and I was a little jealous at the time too. You were in that gorgeous blonde's body and I could tell you were attracted to him at the least, covetous of his power as a necromancer at the worst. He is mine to protect."

She shook her head for a minute then continued, "It is my fault he died. Pride and jealousy wouldn't even allow me to consider it. He trusted me of course, I had never made a bad decision like that before, I was blinded by it." 

"Then I had to watch him die," she whispered painfully.

She sighed, "Then when I came back, I knew he was yours already. His heart is mine, but his soul belongs to you now. And it was thanks to you I still had even that much. Even worse, he starts singing your praises... He really likes you beyond just physical attraction. He admires you, and that made my jealousy worse. 

"Me... a demon, jealous. It isn't a familiar emotion for me, it isn't normal, I know that's not a great excuse for me being a bitch but... He's also excited about working with you against the threat and thinks we will all eventually be good friends, if not more.

"Then to top it off, your blonde lich was the inferior model, you're actually a stunning young woman with the most beautiful strawberry blonde hair I've ever seen. Hell, even I want to fuck you when I'm not dreaming of tearing your head off I mean."

I asked cautiously, "So... where does this leave us?"

She shrugged, "Back at the beginning? Just don't ask for volunteers to feed me. You can tell your people that I am open to meeting some of the woman, but I won't sleep with just anyone either. You understand the difference between the two things right?"

I nodded, "I had no idea I was insulting you. You do know you're the most attractive woman I've ever seen right?"

She nodded and shrugged but not in an arrogant way. 

She said in a matter of fact voice, "It's all part of the magic. Without it I'd still be a nine or ten depending on someone's taste, but the magic ramps it up off the scale. You really are easily as attractive as I am."

I smiled, "Did we just compliment each other? Maybe this can work after all."

Bell nodded, "Just be good to Jeremy, and I can forgive anything. I hope you forgive my rash comments. I know you did want him, but I also know you wouldn't have done it against his will. Oh, if you do want him in your bed don't hesitate. It's his emotions I am jealous of, if you can understand that."

I blushed, "I'll have to think on that. I hope Jeremy is right, I want to be friends with you as well as him if I can."

She nodded slowly, "I think we will get there, I just have to get over it, time and getting to know you will help. I think I am still a jealous bitch, just not so ungrateful. I will tell you this, and please pass it on to Allie. Not harming you is part of my contract, the shadows were just responding to my anger. I am literally incapable of harming you."

She got up and went for the stairs; I was amazed she had admitted that, she was virtually powerless against me. Maybe she did trust me, or maybe she was just giving me enough rope to see if I'd hang myself. But I was pretty sure it was the former, she hadn't been lying.

My mind was a bit off balance as I thought about Celane, Sue, Jeremy and Bell. I was physically attracted to all of them, and I had other feelings as well, though none as strongly as I did with Celane. She had told me to stay open to possibilities. I sighed, I felt like I was in over my head. I went from alone to seemingly multiple possibilities at once although it all felt fragile, like it could break apart at any moment and I'd be empty again. I groaned and stood up, enough with whining to myself.

I stopped on the way to my room which was at the very end of the upper hallway. I knocked on Allie's door and she told me to come in.

She smirked at me when I walked in, "You do know we have this mind thing, where we talk silently?"




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 12



I stuck my tongue out, "Were you paying attention?"

She nodded, "Yes, I heard the whole apology. I bet you two will be bumping uglies in no time."

I frowned and asked in a concerned voice, "Is everything okay? I've never seen you that angry or pissed off except maybe at me."

She froze, as if unsure how to answer that.

I shrugged, "That was a pretty violent reaction, if you don't want to tell me what's going on I'll get up and leave, no questions asked. I've never violated your mind and I'm not starting now. I won't make you answer me either, but are you okay?"

She stared at me for a minute and then said, "Fine."

I blew out a breath, maybe she would tell me another time. I said, "Goodnight," and got up to leave.

I heard her say very softly, "Goodnight Kat."

I reached for the door and she whispered, "Wait..."

I turned and she did the last thing I would ever expect. She opened her side of the connection between our souls wide. I could feel her pain, doubt, jealousy, and how very much she loved me. I realized then that my list earlier had been one short. She hurt because she didn't think she was beautiful enough, didn't think I'd want her. She hated her body, hated that she looked like a badass hoodlum. She didn't even like looking Goth. 

That had just been camouflage for the people she was feeding from. She didn't have anything against them of course, that's why she'd chosen them, she just wasn't into all the dark makeup and piercings.

I returned the favor, and opened up my side. Showed her how very brightly she shone to me, how guilty I felt at what I'd done to her, that it was impossible to undo. How she was too good for me, and how much I cared for her. Loved her really, but it was all mixed up in my mind with the guilt.

I took her hand and pulled her over to the mirror. Using my magic the piercings fell out of her body, I changed her skin as well a second, to clear the heavy makeup off. Her dark brown hair was short and spiky. I grew it out down to her shoulder blades. I didn't do anything to her body, it was already perfect to me no matter what she thought.

She asked, "But what about the whole intimidation factor?"

I shrugged, "Not that important, killing people works just as good for intimidation. You should go shopping tomorrow, buy whatever you want clothes wise, or else I really will play dress up. And, you are beautiful Allie, both inside and out. You've just been hiding it on the outside."

She snickered and smiled at me. She knew I hadn't lied to her, my soul was hers to read, the gate was still open.

I sighed in mock sadness, "I'd just gotten used to having a frenemy."

She snorted, "Bite me."

I raised an eyebrow and stepped closer, my body was flush against her back and I wrapped an arm around her.

"Do I get to choose where?" I asked archly

She looked shocked for a moment, "You meant that..."

The time hadn't felt right with Sue or Jeremy and Bell. But somehow this felt right. It was Allie, my Allie. I trusted my feelings though I was afraid.

I said lightly, "Shut up and kiss me bitch."

She giggled then turned and claimed my mouth. Our kiss wasn't tentative at all; it was explosive and passionate from the moment our lips met. My core tightened and I parted my lips as her tongue demanded entry. I felt her pull the spaghetti straps of my dress off my shoulders and then she chased the fabric with her fingertips as she peeled it down my body.

I pulled off her shirt and then went for her jeans. We couldn't get naked fast enough to satisfy, and then suddenly we were. I laughed when she picked me up and raced to the bed. She was strong, powerful, but gentle beyond expectation as she started exploring my body with lips, tongue, teethe and fingertips.

I moaned softly in bliss as she reached my core with one hand, her other hand and mouth on my hardened nipples and the soft supple flesh of my C cups. She was frustratingly out of reach as she pleasured me, I did the best I could, caressing her face and running my fingers through her now long hair as she parted my swollen labia, slipping in two of her fingers.

I gasped and arched my back, pushing into her invading hand as I pulled her head tightly to my breast. I surrendered myself to the pleasure, surrendered my body to Allie's loving touch as she brought me closer to orgasm. Her warm lips sucked in my other nipple, her hot wet tongue circled it before she tapped it with the tip of her tongue.

"Oh Allie, that feels so good," I said in a daze of pleasure.

She tapped my clit once, then twice as she curled her invading fingers and hit my special spot. My back bowed and my muscles trembled as they locked in place as I pushed into her hand. I could feel my core grasping her fingers as my body was overwhelmed with pleasure. When I came down she was above me, staring down into my eyes.

She had the warmest hazel eyes I'd ever seen.

She kissed me softly, slowly, and very passionately. I felt like her soul was in that kiss and my whole being responded. She grinned down at me after breaking the kiss, and turned her body around. She could feel what I wanted; I wanted to pleasure her too. I could see her beautiful puffy labia, wet with arousal as it lowered onto my thirsting tongue. I gasped as I felt her tongue invade my very wet sex and flicked my still sensitive and swollen clit with the tip.

I sucked hers in and bit down lightly, and she gasped.

"Told you I'd bite you," I murmured into her sex.

We both laughed for a moment and then I got to work. I loved every moment of it as I brought her to blissful pleasure with my tongue, lips, and fingertips as she did the same for me. It was hard to concentrate though, the feel of her invading fingers and her hot mouth between my legs was blissfully distracting. When I reached my ecstasy the best I could do was suck her clit in my mouth and bite down, it seemed to be enough as her body trembled above mine.

When I came down enough I sent Celane a mental message that I was staying with Allie tonight, and then I kissed around her pleasure, teasing her.

I wasn't nearly done making love to her yet...

 

Chapter 11 - Jeremy

I wasn't sure what exactly had passed between Bell and Katrina last night, but apparently they had worked out whatever it was that got both their backs up. I had to admit Bell started it, but Katrina had been touchy as well. Since then Bell hasn't been more than ten feet from my side, and more often than not was touching me. We were pretty good magic level wise, but I was close to exhausted, we would have to have another partner soon.

I wasn't worried about it, we'd figure it out. It wasn't like that was hard for her.

I was on the couch, and Bell was curled up against me, her legs across my lap and I held her under my arm. Celane was a few feet away, on her laptop and going over all they knew about the enemy. It was both welcome and disheartening, we really hadn't a clue. But then a necromancer was about the most perfect spy imaginable.

I frowned, "If we know where all these people are why aren't we killing them?"

I realized that was probably a dumb question, but I was still pissed about being tortured to death. They were my enemy and I was itching to start putting my dagger in their hearts. I realized I was close to crossing a line, but I believed it would still be self defense, just... more preventative in nature. I pondered that a second while Celane tried to frame a reply to my bloodthirsty question.

Self defense just didn't cut it in this case. The enemy was an army and we were at war. It wouldn't be murder or self defense; it would be fighting to keep me and the people I wanted to protect safe and alive. I wasn't sure about good and evil, but as far as the us versus them I was more than sure. I was fairly confident as long as I didn't start twisting a mustache or killing innocents I was in the right.

Celane said patiently, "We could, but then the ones on top would hide, and we would never find them. We need to find the money and the person in charge, the person who took the former victims of warlocks and necromancers, and the crazies from the fringes of society to turn them into mobs of vigilantes to hunt us. We are watching though, that's how we found you, it was just too late to..." she trailed off.

I opened my mouth to suggest just picking off a few, and I knew I needed to calm down. Having Bell at my side helped a lot with that, but I was still angry. If I hadn't had her with me, I'd probably be more insistent. There way was better though, I wanted to catch all of them, not let a few from the top escape. I took a deep breath taking in Bell's scent, it was alike a drug. She was also caressing my chest slowly which calmed me down.

I heard humming and looked up at the door. My mouth just about dropped open when a short petite woman with flowing dark brown hair and hazel eyes walked in. She was wearing a light red blouse and a skirt. She was very attractive and not scary in the least. Her skin was perfect and she had a light tan complexion. She looked not a day over eighteen and her smile was captivating. And she was humming a tune.

"Allie?" I asked in a shocked voice.

She smiled at me and winked, I was speechless. Apparently so was everyone else, because we were all staring at her.

She turned to Bell and said, "I'm sorry if I overreacted last night, it won't happen again. Katrina passed on your message later on after... before she went to sleep. Can we start over?"

Bell nodded against my side, "I understand, I was never mad at you. You look great by the way, I like the new look."

She pushed up on my jaw closing my mouth and said, "So does Jeremy."

I pinched her side and she grinned up at me unrepentantly. 

Allie blushed, "Thanks," she looked down at herself seeming unsure. She walked over and took a seat on the couch.

Allie asked, "So what's the plan today?"

Celane replied, "Just letting Jeremy know what we know so far," she turned to me, "It's slow going to find the top, so far no contact but it's just a matter of time before they make a mistake. I'm sure something will come up soon, we don't want to spook them, but we won't let others die for the information either. Hopefully the former breaks before the latter."

We spent a little while longer talking. Allie was like a different person altogether than the gruff angry woman I'd met. It became obvious quickly the source of that change and I was happy for both of them. 

Celane seemed entirely imperturbable. She had an inner calmness that was almost palpable, if the house was a storm, she would be the eye of it. I also got the distinct feeling she was available to Bell and I. She never actually said anything, but I remembered her looks and flirty demeanor from the first day and I could tell it was true. Yet, she seemed content to wait. She was a mystery, but then, so were most women.

Then we left the house for the first time. It was strange, knowing we couldn't be seen from a far. I was still observant despite the feeling of safety that I felt. I couldn't take anything for granted, not even a simple hunt for a threesome apparently. 

Why we were out was a little boring though necessary, we were shopping. No longer limited to what could fit in a pack we took some time to start a more complete wardrobe for both of us. In typical fashion I was done in under an hour and spent the rest of the afternoon dutifully following Bell around as she tried on dresses, skirts, jeans, shirts, and other clothing and accessories. The only high point in shopping hell was watching as she tried on lingerie.

I seriously considered taking her right there in the dressing room but I was still exhausted from our marathon sex and magic recharge day. I wondered for a minute if I could still sleep if we took it too far. Still, I got to enjoy the view.

When we got back to the house we got busy hanging up our new clothes when I heard someone come in. I turned and it was Katrina. She was wearing tight black jean shorts and a Doctor Who shirt with the timey wimey saying on it next to the Tardis.

Katrina said in a business tone, "We might have something, not sure. A leader and all ten of his people from North Carolina just boarded a flight to Vancouver. We aren't sure if they are hunting yet or not, but we may have to move quickly, so stick around tonight. It will take them about five hours, they connect through Dallas."

She smiled and her voice changed to thoughtful, "Of course, Bell can get you back quick, I guess I didn't think that through. Dinner is in an hour if you want to join me."

I nodded, "Thanks, we'll be there."

She added, "We also have a number of zombies around to do that kind of stuff, unless you want to do it of course."

Bell winked at Katrina, "I'd prefer only some people touch my lingerie. Of course, you're welcome to help," the last came out in a sultry flirting tone.

Katrina blushed and cleared her throat, "I'll... keep that in mind," she finished lamely before leaving the room.

Bell giggled.

I asked, "What was that about?"

Bell sighed, "We made peace last night, but she's still nervous around me. Just trying to break the ice. She really likes you, and I know she wants to be at least friends with me. But she's too used to disappointment and betrayal. I feel bad about what I said, I was jealous."

I frowned, "What does that mean? You're willing to share me now?"

Bell said softly, "I don't think I have a choice, not if I want to keep you. I can see you already care for her, even if it's new and barely there as of yet. You'll have to share me too you know. If we share our bed with her or others in this house, it isn't just a pickup for a quick meal. It will mean more than just sex, to me as well as you. That they are women won't change that. It scares me, I just hope that what we have will grow stronger as a result, I don't think I can bear to lose you."

I hadn't really even considered that before, yet it seemed obvious. It wouldn't be the same as picking up a total stranger to share pleasure for a night. I was already growing friendships with Kat, Celane, and Allie. You can't have meaningless sex with a friend, by definition it would become a relationship. I frowned in thought and Bell caressed my cheek and kissed me tenderly before she went back to hanging clothes.

Maybe it was just me, but sharing her with other women, even her affection and heart, didn't seem nearly as bad as her falling for another man. Why that was I wasn't sure, maybe built in instincts, but I thought I could deal with it. We either had to, or we had to not sleep with any of them, which was probably simpler said than done at this point. I did like Katrina, she was beautiful, fragile, and powerful all at the same time. To say I wasn't attracted to Celane or Allie would be a lie as well.

I also considered what I knew of Katrina. It seemed she was emerging from a dark place, trying to open herself up after living in her rage for years. Like a flower opening it's petals to the sun for the first time after spending too much time in the dark. The trust she was showing us and others had to be extremely hard for her, especially since we had thrown it back in her face the first time.

Something worried me though. If she was betrayed again, or those she loved died, she could easily slip back into that rage and become a monster. I wasn't worried about me, or her people doing the betraying, but there were a lot of others out in the world. I just hoped we could give her enough support that she finds her way to solid ground before it happens, because if one thing in life is sure, betrayal is inevitable.

I've had to fight off dark urges more than once, a fuck them all attitude that would lead me down a twisted path. It would be all too easy to lose my own restraint from using the more darker aspects of my magic if I'd lost Bell for instance. I shook my head, releasing the dark thoughts. There was a positive side as well, if we all cared and loved in a group, it would be easier to hold out against the darker side of our natures.

Much like Bell was keeping me from hunting down those bastards right now. She kept me on an even keel so I could act smart and with deliberation.

"If we can deal with the jealousy, I believe it will make us all stronger, not just us, but them as well."

Bell smirked at me, "Easier said than done."

I nodded thoughtfully. I wondered how Hope and Vinnie did it. I hoped we would figure it out soon. Celane had practically offered herself, and Allie and Katrina seemed open to the possibility as far as I could tell. Would they be insulted if we went elsewhere? Even avoiding the issue could be fraught with problems.

"We'll figure it out."

I finished helping her hang all the stuff as I thought it through. I chucked a bit, all my clothes were squeezed into a small corner of the closet, and she was taking up the rest. 

We were here for two days now, normally that would mean moving on. It felt almost surreal as I found myself relaxed and walking downstairs to share dinner with a... my necromancer. I had gotten used to my enhanced speed and strength over the last couple of days as well, although when I got excited... Let's just say it was a good thing Bell liked to be spanked hard during doggie style.

The both of us sat, Katrina and Allie were already there and Celane came in a few minutes behind us. We had a roast, with wedged potatoes, greens, and a custard pie for desert. It was a little awkward at first. It wasn't just Bell and I being new in the group, Katrina was changing, Allie was changing and Celane was finally letting her true self out. Still, it didn't take long to get the conversation flowing. 

At first it was about tonight, and discussing different attack setups with me and Bell added to the group. She clearly expected Bell and I to act as a team while also keeping an eye on Allie and Katie. Katrina would be inside Allie, and Katie would have a couple of humans along to help her breach shields.

That should be more than enough against ten. Just our enhanced speed gave us a huge benefit.

Eventually though we branched off into other subjects. When books came up Bell and Allie dominated the conversation and bonded while the rest of us watched in amusement. I wasn't surprised, Bell had been a voracious reader, after all she didn't sleep and it was her favorite activity while she had watched over my sleeping form for the last fifteen years.

It didn't surprise me at all that Allie had done the same when Katrina slept. Of course, Katrina and I got a lot of eye rolls when we discussed TV and the two of us bonded over Doctor Who. Who doesn't like the Doctor? It looked like the two of us had work to do in gaining converts.

When dinner broke up I was startled to see we'd been talking for hours. I took the time to double check my amulets, make sure the spells on my sacrificial dagger were strong, and then tried to relax. All I could really think about though was getting revenge; giving myself time to think alone hadn't been a good idea, so I tracked down everyone else.

When I walked in the room it went silent and four heads snapped in my direction, Allie and Katrina started giggling and blushing. Celane looked serene, but that wasn't a surprise. I glanced at Bell who looked perfectly innocent. Lies. I had a feeling Bell had been over sharing, most likely about our sex life. So I did what any man would do in that moment, I strategically retreated.

"Going to get a beer, anyone want something?"

I ignored the laughing as I left, I really didn't want to know. When I came back with three beers and two glasses of wine things were a bit more normal. Allie filled us in that the plane had landed and they'd rented a large van and headed northeast out of the city toward the forest. 




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 12



Katrina let us know she was having the portal narrowed down to that area. Bell couldn't take us, we'd never been to Vancouver before. She could get us anywhere we'd been, but not a new place. The gate however was more mathematical and could go somewhere new, as long as we had the coordinates.

Allie said, "They pulled over, they're getting out and going into the woods. Should we go? I can't imagine they'd want to walk far."

I nodded in agreement; no one was shocked by my willingness to go now.

Katrina said, "We don't know who the target is yet, although I guess that doesn't matter."

She bit her lip, "Be careful."

Then she lay back on the couch in Celane's lap and closed her eyes. I could feel something different about Allie, and knew Katrina was in there now. We went downstairs, not in too much of a rush. It would take a few more minutes to lock the portal on the van. I activated my shield amulets when I saw Bell surround herself with solid shadow armor. Allie and Katie also had a shield so dense it was such a dark gray most people would just call it black.

There was also a stronger concentration of magic on Allie's hand; it looked like a void of darkness, almost an absence of all light. I pulled my dagger out and when the gate was opened we ran through. We all followed Allie and Katie, I could make out the ghosts up ahead as well, the humans hadn't gotten very far, but then we were running extremely fast, only the thick trees slowing our pace slightly.

We stopped about fifty yards away to wait for the humans to catch up.

Allie turned to us, "I can feel it. There is another necromancer in there. He has a wolf pack. I'm going to assume that's why he's in the middle of nowhere. Based on the power signature he doesn't have very many ghosts, and he has no other races but werewolf and human. I'd say it's a good bet to say he has his place and is relatively peaceful. Aggressive necromancers aren't that weak."

She frowned as the obvious occurred to her and said defensively, "He hasn't been attacked nearly as much as I have either."

I touched her lower back and we shared a look, and she shot me a grateful smile. The humans finally caught up and without a word we moved forward as quietly as possible. None of us were at home in the woods, so we did not move very silently, we were still fifteen yards away or so when they turned toward us. We gave up any effort at stealth and charged.

I felt TK coming at me and ignored it, stabbing out as I lunged. The shield held back the knife for less than a heartbeat and I guess I was pushing too hard, because the knife went into his chest, but my arm followed. The knife exited his back, along with my clenched hand, his heart skewered on the blade. My knife took his magic and I sent all of it to my healing amulet as I turned for another.

I watched Bell backhand someone with what looked to be a gauntlet with spikes made of shadow. It obliterated his head and chunks of bone and blood splattered into a high arc. I lunged for the next one and I drove the knife in more careful of my strength this time. I pulled back when the shield snapped, I checked on the others while I sent more magic to the healing amulet.

The more the better, each life I took meant I could heal the equivalent.

I heard Bell smash her second head as I looked for Allie and Katie. Allie was standing over three dead bodies already, and Katie was taking her second. That was it, all ten were dead. My mind spun, it had been way too easy and there were only six of us. I considered how much power Katrina had left behind at the house and it just boggled the mind.

I wondered though, humans were powerful but still only had their magic for a few years. When they learned to truly focus it, like Bell's solid shadow, or my dagger, or Katrina's solidified death magic, what would happen then?

Hopefully the ones that reach that level of power will be more enlightened than these animals.

Allie sighed, "Let's go, I talked to him through one of my ghosts, he's grateful but nervous. He'll be happier when we are off his land."

Instead of walking back to the road, we were surrounded by Bell's shadows and taken directly to the basement shower room. It had a row of shower stalls and large drains on the ground. I shrugged and started taking my clothes off, it was better than getting blood all over the house. I looked up to see three pairs of eyes watching me as they too stripped. I looked them over too, obviously so, and then I winked and walked over to the shower.

The showers down here were great; a really powerful stream of water to slough off the blood and anything else that might have gotten on us. After the shower I took one last look at Allie, and then Bell and I headed up to our room. Katie was very cute too, but she was a total bitch from what everyone said and I really wasn't interested at all. Besides her attitude being a turn off, that would cause problems.

When we got to our door Bell stopped and turned around, and put her hand on my chest. She kissed me softly and searched my eyes for a moment before smiling mysteriously.

Bell said, "Wait out here for a moment."

I was naked outside of the towel around my waist but didn't even think about saying no. As I waited I imagined all the lingerie outfits she had tried on. At least I hoped that's what this was about, why else make me wait outside?

She called me and with some effort I kept my mouth from dropping open when I walked in the room. She was in white lingerie, top and bottom with a sheer white negligee, she looked stunning. What had surprised me however, was lying beside her in the bed in a provocative pose, wearing the same outfit but in light blue, was Katrina...

She had a tentative smile on her face and she looked heart stopping gorgeous. Her hair was artfully arranged around her and the light blue really set off the colors of her long and shiny strawberry blonde hair.

I looked toward Bell again and heard in my mind, "Go ahead my love. I want to watch you take her, and then I'll join you both. But be gentle at first, you are the first man she's lain with in her own body."

I released the towel, revealing my already half hard length as I walked toward the bed and joined them. Realizing I hadn't said anything yet I finally spoke.

"You both look beautiful," I said simply but with feeling.

I caressed Katrina's face and felt her hand tentatively explore the cut of my muscles on my chest and abdomen as I slowly leaned in. She smelled divine as she leaned toward me, meeting me in the middle as our lips joined. Her natural scent wasn't overwhelmed by the slight scent of strawberries, her skin felt like silk beneath my fingertips as I slid them from her cheek to her neck, and around to the back of her neck as we deepened the kiss.

I gasped as I felt her roaming hand moved down and around me, lightly stroking me. She moaned into my mouth, and I felt my cock jump in her hand as she nipped my lip and squeezed me a little tighter. I roamed my hands down her body, teasing her breasts with light touches I continued down.

She moaned deeply into my mouth and kissed me harder as I slipped my hand inside her panties and cupped her pleasure. She was already ready for me, moist, puffy, and very slick. I parted her gently with a fingertip and slid inside. She gasped and her hand stopped moving on my length as I pushed down lightly on her clit as I slid in and out. I broke the kiss and started down her neck, kissing toward her chest as I pleasured her with my fingertips.

The bra and panties were really beautiful, but I wanted to see below them. I unsnapped her bra, pushing it off her shoulders. I felt Bell move and knew she was taking it off of Katrina, but leaving the sheer negligee on. Her breasts were supple C cups, creamy white skin and her nipples were a dark pink. I just stared at them for a moment, continuing to pleasure her sex with my fingertips.

I lifted the negligee out of the way and kissed and softly sucked on the underside of her breasts, slowly working my way around her sensitive flesh, spiraling up toward her nipple. Based on her many mewls of pleasure, and her arching back I knew she was extremely sensitive, there would be no pulling, pinching, or biting on my part.

I brushed my lips softly across her hardened nipples and then softly sucked it into my mouth before circling it gently with my tongue.

"Oh god that's incredible, don't stop!" Katrina said breathily.

She arched her back again, pushing her core into my hand and her breast into my face. She gasped as I let her breast go and moved to the other while picking up speed with my fingers. My manhood was rock hard and against her silken leg. Bell had been right; this was more than just sex. I was feeling very tender and protective toward Katrina as I brought her to bliss, almost in awe that she would share her beautiful body with me and the rest of her as well. I was her first, of a sort.

I felt her body start to tremble as she cried out, "Don't sto..." her breath cutting off mid word.

I stayed away from her nipples and her clit, but kept kissing the flesh around it, and working my fingers in and out of her grasping hot wet center as she reached explosive rapturous bliss.

When she came down she said softly, "My god that was..." she trailed off.

I smiled and kissed her, then whispered, "That was just the foreplay."

Her eyes widened a little at that but she smiled, "I want you in me," she said almost shyly.

I pushed up from the bed by one hand, reached down grabbing myself to line up. I started to tease her, running the tip up and down her now soaked and creamed labia. I pushed slowly forward, she was very tight, so tight I was going extra slow, giving her time to open to me. But apparently I was being to gentle, because she bucked up into me, taking half of me inside her in a second.

Her eyes widened as she gasped, "You're so big."

I smiled and kissed her softly, "No Kat, you're tight, I'm not all in yet."

Her eyes went wide again as I pushed forward, gaining another inch, then another. She looked like she was balanced between pain and pleasure; I reached down and grazed her clit with my thumb. When she relaxed a little I pushed in the last couple of inches. After that I kissed her, caressing her face and hair. 

She was so tight, warm and soft around my invading pleasure. I felt like I was engulfed in the softest silk and velvet. I filled her perfectly, and eventually her walls stopped undulating and fluttering against me, her tight body was ready. When the time seemed right I started to rock slowly, in very short strokes.

She lifted her legs and wrapped them around me, "I'm ready, now fuck me... please," the last word was a begging question. I was lost in her bright green eyes and the tone of her voice for a moment.

I kissed her and whispered, "My pleasure and whenever you wish."

Despite what she said I gradually increased both the speed and length of my strokes, watching her reactions carefully. It wasn't long until I was I was creating rapturous wet silken friction as I stroked fast and hard in and out of her young nubile body. She seemed to be lost in the pleasure of it at first, but then her body started to buck up slightly as she arched her back to meet me.

I was so lost in the feeling of joining with Katrina that it was a surprise when I felt Bell's hand start to caress and push my ass, as if she was helping me push into Katrina.

Katrina arched her back and stayed that way, as her body trembled and her milking sex grabbed my invader in a vise grip of velvety pleasure. She looked so sexy as she came for me. She was so tight I had to shorten my stroke to almost nothing, trying to extend her orgasm. That's when I lost control.

I grunted, "Kat..." and felt my body pump essence into her womb as I reached blissful ecstasy.

We kissed softly for a moment after catching our breath, before I rolled off to the side.

Bell joined us then, first kissing me, and then kissing Katrina. I lay on my side and watched, it would be my turn until I recovered. They were both so beautiful and sexy together.

Bell whispered in her ear, Katrina blushed but nodded, her face filled with desire. I watched as Bell turned her body around and lowered her heat onto Katrina's tongue, as she put her head between Katrina's legs. I felt my cock stir as I realized she was eating Katrina's and my combined cum, and looked to really be enjoying it.

Bell said in my mind, "Do you want my ass love?"

We hadn't done that yet, and I wondered if she was offering now out of jealousy, to show that she was all mine and loved me, or simply because having a tongue pleasuring her at the same time would help balance out the initial burn. I was however enough of a guy to put off the talk we should have until later... much later.

I sent to Bell, "If you're sure, I'd love to."

I saw shadows swirl on the bed next to me, and saw a small tube of KY appear. I was taking that as she was sure, and crawled around to the back of her body. I smiled down at Katrina as I watched her pleasure Bell, I'd enjoy watching that as I got her ready. I squeezed some KY out onto my fingers and slid them down the crack of her ass, teasing her puckered star open with a fingertip. It was going to be a long night...

 

Chapter 12 - Katrina

I woke up slowly, with something very hard resting between my ass cheeks. Last night was incredible; I don't know why I'd been so nervous. Jeremy was a gentle and giving lover, and knew exactly when to get a little rough. I wasn't sure if he figured out we'd been planning this when he walked in on us. Bell had convinced me she was okay with it; I hoped she was telling the truth.

Regardless, the orgasm he'd given me was the most intense in my life, then when Bell started feeding my mind went completely blank with the pleasure of it. It finally occurred to me that Jeremy was spooning me still. Did he hold me all night?

I wiggled my butt a little and pushed back, a smile on my face.

"Morning Kat."

My heart melted at the tenor sound of his voice and I knew I was in trouble.

I replied, "Morning, you been here all night?"

He said with a smile in his voice, "Mostly. You don't mind do you?"

I asked confused, "Why would I mind?"

He kissed the back of my neck, and I moaned softly, my body pushed back against him again without consulting me.

He whispered, "Because I watched over your sleep while Bell and I talked, some people would be bothered by that."

"I'm surprised that didn't wake me. But no, it wouldn't bother me at all."

It made me feel safe. But I didn't say that out loud.

He sent over our bond, "Bell and I can talk like this too. This bond is different than the one between demon and warlock, but both bonds work to communicate."

I nodded slowly, "Where is Bell?"

He kissed the back of my neck again, it felt like he left a trail of fire around my neck and to my shoulders with his gentle warm lips. It made me want him in me instead of nestled between my ass cheeks.

"She went to chat with Celane I think, the threesome was good but... we should have some alone time don't you think?"

I froze for a second, "Won't that bother Bell?"

He replied, "I hope not. But it's important, not only the group dynamic, but developing personal connections between us. I really care about you Kat."

I thrilled at the words and sincerity in his voice, but it also scared me. I was trying to be open, to be open to love and the connections Celane had told me were coming, but it also made me feel vulnerable.

I whispered, "I care about you too Jeremy."

I gasped as he started to kiss my neck and reach between my legs. I was absolutely helpless as I pushed back against his hard cock in need. His touch set my body and senses on fire. He was so tender as he held me to him, gently caressing my sensitive breasts and nipples, and at the same time so rough and forceful as he invaded my aching sex and took me mercilessly with his fingers toward bliss.

I pushed back against him hard, arching my back as my center coiled tightly and exploded, all my muscles locked as pleasure speared through my body. When I could move again I arched my back as far as I could swiveling my hips. He moved his body down slightly, kissing from my neck to my shoulder blades before driving into me from behind, continuing to spoon me, cradling me in his arms as he filled me.

I gasped as my body locked down on him. I knew the truth then, I may have enslaved his soul, but at this moment, while in bed together, I was his. My body was pliant and soft in his arms, yielding to him and giving as he took me hard from behind, but he was still gently cradling me at the same time in his arms. I felt both desirable and cherished in his arms as we coupled and I was completely defenseless against it. 

I ground back into him wantonly as he pushed into me. Sideways wasn't an easy position to build a rhythm, but once we had it he filled me perfectly and every stroke hit all the right spots as we ground into each other again and again. It felt so right, and so scary, and very natural to surrender my body and senses to his delicious and pleasurable assault.

He brought me to ecstasy two more times before filling my body with his essence. When he pulled out, he turned me around and we kissed. We cuddled for a few minutes; I don't remember the last time I felt so warm, content, sated, and safe. I was also worried; this couldn't be real could it? How could this last? He was a bright spot in my life that I was afraid to lose, and he wasn't the only one.

He kissed the top of my head and murmured, "Shower?"

I nodded and reluctantly got up out of the warm bed and followed him into the shower...

After getting dressed I found him waiting for me in the hallway, he walked with me to the kitchen and then whipped up a breakfast as I watched. Bell came in and gave me a kiss good morning that curled my toes, and reassured my worries about jealousy to an extent. I was completely breathless by the time Celane and Allie followed suit. It was overwhelming as I sat there and realized I was eating breakfast with four other people, all of them now lovers.

I could also tell that Bell had been doing more than talking with Celane this morning, and found I didn't mind at all. I was still kind of blissful from my morning love making, so I wasn't sure if that was suspect or not. We ate breakfast in a comfortable silence. My mind was still spinning, and I was trying to incorporate the idea that not only was Jeremy here to stay, but he'd also be sleeping with Celane and Allie soon if things went the way I was thinking they would.

I didn't get upset thinking about it, but I did feel a little confused by it. I blushed as I realized it'd been a couple of days since my date with Sue, and I should call her. I guess I wasn't used to the idea yet of multiple lovers, because thinking about her after such an incredible night and the intense connection I had shared with Jeremy this morning made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

I knew that was the opposite of the mindset I should be going for. It wasn't easy though.

After breakfast I took care of calling Sue. She seemed tentative about it, but she accepted my invitation for dinner. I would just have to wait to see how it went.

A ghost sent me an urgent report; apparently we were finally getting a break. The boss who met with all the cell leaders finally made contact with someone new. It was only for a few minutes, inside a car in an alley of all places. The man had been very careful beforehand, I was sure based on what my ghost told me he'd have lost any living tails.

Luckily it wasn't so easy to lose a ghost.

I put a ghost on the new guy; it didn't take long to get some information, about him anyway. His name was Dan Havers. He worked for a very large publically traded company related to foodstuffs, although that seemed like a dead end. Companies were for profits, not revenge. Still, it would take time to gather some information on him. The only thing I was sure of based on his home address, what he drove, and how he dressed, was that he wasn't our money man. Most likely he worked for that person.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 13



Chapter 13 - Jeremy

Allie was going to kill me. She was... to say she was wild in bed and liked things rough just didn't cover the reality of it. She had turned into a sweet young woman in front of my eyes the other day, but in bed she was the polar opposite. It was a good thing I didn't need sleep anymore, I could see the sunlight peaking in the window. I'm not complaining, it's more awe than anything else. As for energy, as a lich she'd been feeding me magic all night to keep my stamina up.

Bell had left a couple of hours ago, not able to feed from either of us again for a day or so.

She was bouncing up and down on me in complete abandon, her hazel eyes full of pleasure as she arched her back and ground down into me each time our flesh met. Her pert B cups shook enticingly each time our skin slapped together. I had cum more times than I could remember over the last six hours, and had no trouble holding back for her as she pleasured herself over and over on my length.

She screamed, "Now!"

I knew what she wanted, I slapped her breast, right on her nipple, hard. Her body started to buck uncontrollably like she was struck by lightning. It was so erotic watching her and feeling her tight wet heat squeeze and milk my length as she bathed me in her silken nectar. I was shocked as what I thought to be my now iron control broke under her body's determined assault for my seed. My hips bucked up into her beautiful nubile body as I started to pump yet another load deeply inside her.

She collapsed on me and claimed my mouth, nipping my lip playfully. I moaned when I felt her squeeze me with her sex. My tip was extra sensitive after just reaching bliss. I popped out when she raised slightly and rolled off me. She cuddled into my side and laid her head on my chest, caressing my chest with her hand as I felt her body tremble and shake in aftershocks.

I started to caress her back, neck, and her hair. She kissed my chest and sighed in contentment.

Allie said softly, "I guess we should clean up, breakfast will be ready soon."

I smiled and held her tighter against me; her voice had sounded a little disappointed at the idea.

I pulled her up for a quick kiss before I said, "That's probably a good idea, if we lay here too long..."

She giggled and got up and I followed her to the bathroom, admiring her backside as we walked to the shower...

At breakfast Celane filled us in on the new information. Dan Havers had contacted two others who appeared to be at the boss level. My eyes narrowed as I considered that there could be another hundred and twenty people, if they both had the same setup as the first, with six leaders and cells beneath them. I was a little startled by the idea of that many and my first reaction was to get to the killing part as soon as possible.

"How many ghosts?"

Katrina looked at me for a moment, "I have enough, over two hundred which is more than enough to track them all. If we find more bosses though, I will run out. I'm hoping that's it though, it would make sense."

I asked, "How?"

Celane answered, "It's the company he works for. We don't think they are involved as an entity, but the three bosses coincide with the three cities Dan works in for his job. He does a lot of travelling between the corporate offices around the world."

I nodded. That made sense, he wouldn't need to create more boss level people in one place, and he can't go recruiting in places he really doesn't go. I frowned.

"So we're still waiting to find out who his boss is then, before we do anything?" I couldn't help but grumble a bit when I asked the question.

Katrina looked at me carefully, she could see right through my question of course, can we start ending them now? I just wanted it over with, so I could start living a normal life. Or... as normal as my life could get as a revenant mated to a demon and possibly several others.

Katrina nodded slowly, "That's exactly what we are doing. Dan is pretty high up, but if he's isolated from the top then taking him just means we'll have to start over when whoever it is rebuilds. If they attack another person we will kill them first, although only the soldiers sent to attack. We just aren't going on the offensive until we know what exactly who we are fighting and what we are up against."

Katrina's concerned face and even tone of voice made me wonder what I looked like right now. Murderous? Maybe a little unbalanced? I blew out a breath and tried to relax. I even managed a brief smile when Bell took my hand under the table.

I said, "Okay Kat, I can wait," though I didn't feel like I could, I just knew I had too.

I was surrounded by four beautiful women, I was sure I could think of a way to stay distracted. Actually five with Sue joining us for breakfast after a night with Katrina, but I wasn't counting Sue since she didn't swing my way. I just hoped my anger stopped when we finally stopped them. It was hard to just sit here, remembering what they had done to me, how they had tortured Bell, not to mention the years Bell and I ran before they finally caught us.

I'd also made amulets yesterday. With my new strength, speed, and heightened dexterity it cut down the time required to inscribe the symbols and spells by a great amount. I'd also managed to inscribe small enough that the three of them held shields against both TK and physical on the same amulet. Between Bell feeding on Allie and I, and then Celane earlier this morning, they were filled up.

I'd made three more healing amulets as well, but of course they are empty right now requiring sacrificial power.

After we were done eating I stood up and put one around Bell, then walked around the table and put the second on Katrina. She raised an eyebrow but didn't stop me. The third one I silently offered to Sue. I didn't know her well enough, and she was a witch, so I wasn't sure if she would even take it.

Sue looked at me like I was holding a snake and asked, "What is it?"

I shrugged, "Shielding amulet from TK and physical harm. It's set to kick on if you're in danger and your own magic fails. It should give you enough time to recover, or for someone to get to you if anything happens. Think of it as backup. I figured a backup is good, and I thought you three should get the first ones since you're the most vulnerable."

Sue frowned, "In what way?"

I said simply, "If Allie's, Celane's, or my body gets destroyed, we can still come back."

Sue still looked a little nervous about accepting a gift from a warlock, but she nodded. I put it around her neck.

Katrina said sweetly, "Thanks."

If the look in her eyes was any indication I'd be getting more thanks later, of a different kind.

Sue looked reluctant when she said, "I need to do some work at the store today..." the statement kind of hung there a second.

Katrina asked, "Are you doing anything tonight? I had the idea we could all go out tonight as long as nothing comes up. Maybe dinner and dancing?"

Sue replied, "Sure, I'd love too."

Allie spoke up, "I'm in."

Bell and Celane both said at the same time, "Sounds like fun."

I just nodded, clearly outvoted by the estrogen. It did sound like fun; I just knew I didn't really have a choice.

Bell volunteered, "Can I help at the shop; we can get to know each other a little better."

Sue smiled and nodded, "I'd like that."

I wasn't jealous, but it was strange as she left the house with Sue. She'd been mine for so long, always at my side. It would take some getting used to having to share her time with others. It helped though that I wasn't left alone, I had others to share my time with as well.

Ironically I spent the next few hours alone on another project.

For most of the morning I worked on the house protections. It was already warded with necromantic wards, witch wards, and sorcerer wards. I figured why not warlock warding too. It was what I could do for Katrina, for all of us, in return for her gifts to me. I decided I needed to do it right and started another amulet by carving in and powering the control spells.

At each windowsill and doorway I carved a protection symbol in and I also added a duplicate symbol to the amulet matching each entry point. Katrina interrupted me about an hour into my work when I was in the downstairs bathroom standing in the tub and carving into the windowsill.

Katrina asked curiously, "What are you up to?"

I replied absently as I finished the symbol, "Adding warlock wards to the house protections."

When I stepped out of the tub Katrina came closer and touched my chest, her eyes sparkling with the same desire as earlier. She was as always, absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

She said sultrily, "I think you need a break," and she kissed me.

Somehow the kiss was both surrendering and aggressive as she molded her sexy body to mine. We didn't make it upstairs; we didn't even make it out of the bathroom. I took her hard and fast from behind. She was bent over the sink as I pulled her head back by her hair, as I pushed her body down. It was so intense as we locked eyes in the mirror as we coupled.

Neither of us could break our gaze away. She mewled and gasped in pleasure through slightly parted lips as she bucked back into me over and over.

When we reached completion I pulled her into my arms, holding her up as she came down. The rest of the warding took at least twice as long because she stayed with me while I did it. We talked a lot that day, sharing our hopes and fears. I had an anchor in Bell already, which kept me from running over the edge and crossing lines in my desire for revenge.

Katrina added another that day. I wasn't sure if I fell in love with her that day or not, but I know she had become much more important than my need for revenge, like Bell was. Instead of just someone who gave me the power and life to seek revenge, she had become much more than that. I would have protected her before, for many reasons, but now I would also protect her because she had become precious to me.

When I finished the last warding symbols we went back to the den. I held the amulet and whispered the command word, my power flowed into the amulet, which was connected to the wards of the house and empowered them. They weren't that strong yet, but with all the power available now from Bell being with so many others, I knew it wouldn't be long.

Katrina asked curiously, "So, what do these wards do?"

I took her hand and led her over to the couch. She sat and leaned against me and I held her.

I explained, "Right now they will just warn, and try and stop someone from entering. But I can control the severity of the reaction through this amulet. If we are attacked I can change the wards to a deadly response. I can even monitor and control the wards from very far away, feel if they are violated from a distance.

"The command spell on the amulet can change what the wards do at any time."

We sat there for a while in a comfortable silence. I realized it was after one in the afternoon and kissed the top of her head.

"Lunch? It's getting late, and you haven't eaten."

She snickered, "Yes dad."

She gasped followed by giggles as I spanked her and pulled her up off the couch. She looked amused as she let me drag her into the kitchen. I made a couple of sandwiches, then another when Allie walked in. I knew she had a couple of zombies with souls that could take care of it, but I liked to cook sometimes, it was relaxing.

Allie smirked, "We are so keeping him."

Katrina smiled mysteriously and nodded, "I'd have to agree..."

I felt a surge of magic as I sat down and routed it to the wards with a grin. I would guess Bell was doing more than just helping Sue clean the store.

Allie asked, "What's the grin for?"

I snickered, "Sue just powered the new wards."

Katrina looked confused a second, and then smiled...

 

Chapter 14 - Katrina

I had a distracted smile on my face as Celane filled me in. The second boss had contacted a few of his cell leaders and things were filling out there. The third one didn't seem to be making any contact right now. So far there was no fourth branch and I was hoping it would stay that way.

I was a bit distracted because my mind was wandering to other things. I was glad Sue had slept with Bell, it seemed to me that meant she was softening toward the idea of a group thing. I was also distracted thinking about Jeremy and our little tryst in the bathroom. I was becoming completely shameless when it came to him. When he touched me and I heard the sound of his voice all I wanted to do was...

"Are you even listening to me?" Celane asked loudly, snapping me out of my fantasy.

I blushed, "Sorry Celane, I am just tired of it right now. On top of that, everything is changing at home and you're all spinning through my mind. If they aren't attacking anyone let's get a fresh look at the information tomorrow. I just want to relax tonight, go out and have fun. I'm not using Katie either, I'm going as myself."

Celane's frown softened, "You're right, we all need a break I think."

I closed the laptop and sat in her lap, giving her a soft kiss, "You too, the ghosts can remember what happens and report to you in the morning. It's strange Celane, I'm trying to be open to things, like you said. I already love you and Allie, and I'm falling in love with Jeremy and Sue. Bell... I'm working on it. It's distracting physically as well; I'm constantly horny around all of you, which is very new for me. I worry if that's all this really is at times."

Celane shushed me with a deep kiss then said, "It's more than that, I promise. But it will take time before you really understand that and believe it deep in your soul."

She grinned mischievously, "Until then, just enjoy it."

I didn't trust her not to go back to work, so I dragged her up the stairs to join me in a bath and to start getting ready for tonight. Jeremy and Allie had insisted I pick the restaurant, since no one was a vegetarian I chose a steak house. After that we were going out dancing at a local club I'd never been to but Sue had gone to once or twice before. I was really looking forward to it.

As we did each other's makeup and hair, Bell and Allie came in fresh from their own showers. We chatted casually as the four of us helped each other get ready.

Bell said, "Sue went home to shower and change, she should be here soon."

I asked, "Is Jeremy getting ready?"

Bell nodded, "He showered with me, should be ready way before we are."

I found myself surrounded by three other women, laughing and telling jokes as we got ready. Even being a little silly as we picked out hairstyles for each other. For most women this would be normal, but for me it was new, and it made me feel extremely happy. My life was changing for the better. There was a small part of me that worried, that thought this couldn't last, but I did my best to ignore it.

When we were done I thought everyone looked beautiful, and I felt almost wistful that we were finished, I'd been having fun. I was in a little black dress and high heels. Bell looked amazing in a bright red dress that covered everything but left very little to the imagination. Celane was wearing a blue silk blouse and a tight black skirt with a white flower design on it. Allie was wearing a dark green dress that hugged her curves and flared out at her hips, but barely reached her mid thigh.

We went down the stairs and found both Jeremy and Sue sitting on the couch chatting. That was a welcome sight as well, I knew they'd never be together physically, but they were getting past any assumptions they had and coming together as just people, rather than a witch and a warlock at odds.

Jeremy's expression when he took the four of us in was very satisfying. He was wearing a shirt that looked a little too tight and nice pants and shoes. I could practically see the cut of his muscles as the shirt hugged his body. Sue was wearing a tight cream colored skirt, and a red silk blouse, she looked great.

Bell played the part of our transportation tonight. The steakhouse was a little far to walk to from my house. When Jeremy and Sue stood, we were all surrounded by shadows only to reappear across town outside the restaurant. Thanks to the instant transportation, we were actually a few minutes early for our reservation.

We got a few looks when we came in. I was sure some of them were because of our auras, but there were a few men who checked us out, as well as some women with those men looking annoyed. There was a short line as the hostess seated people, but with the reservation we didn't have to wait long. I found it didn't really bother me at all anymore as I felt a few eyes on me as I walked back to the table. I had no ridiculous fears of being attacked.

In fact I was positive if one of the hunter were here they would not attack, the rest of the humans wouldn't stand for it. One crazy man's violence just wasn't tolerated in this new world anymore. If they acted out here, in the middle of normal humans who just wanted to live their lives, live and let live, they wouldn't last more than a second before they were put down.

That went for all of us too of course, but none of us would start trouble. We just wanted to finish it. I wanted this life so badly, to just spend time with those I loved, and make a living. I yearned for it, and that's why now that I seemed to be getting it, it scared me.

I wound up sitting between Jeremy and Sue. Before I knew it we'd all ordered and had wine in front of us. We were just chatting when I felt someone's bare foot against the inside of my legs, sliding up my skirt. I suppressed a gasp and looked up; Allie was smiling at me naughtily.

"Excuse me?" I heard a low voice and looked up.

There was an older distinguished gentleman in a suit looking right at me with an apologetic look on his face.

"Yes?" I asked back, my voice slightly cracking as Allie pushed up higher with her toes. I was so going to spank her later.

The man smiled, "I'm sorry to disturb your evening, but I wanted to give you my card, if you can call me at a better time?"

I smiled back and nodded while Allie reached the apex of my legs with her toes. I suppressed another gasp and cleared my throat. I smiled wider and Allie gasped and withdrew her foot as I sent a burst of magic between her legs in retaliation.

I reached out and took the card, "What is it about?"

The man looked around, "It's rather private but I need your assistance. Please, enjoy your night. I'll look forward to receiving your call tomorrow."

I nodded wordlessly, surprised at the contact. What could he need a necromancer for? Maybe he was haunted... Regardless, I was intrigued someone was actually asking for my help. That had never happened before, from a human I mean. I read the card quickly and sent a message to one of my zombies with the information to add it to my phonebook online. Probably lazy on my part, but I didn't want to dig the thing out of my purse right now, the food was coming.

I took the first bite of my steak and glared at Allie as her foot reappeared between my legs. I almost ordered her to stop, but it felt so damn good as she rubbed her foot against me through my white silk panties that I held back. All I knew was it was the best damn steak dinner I'd ever had in my life.

Of course, I was horny as hell by the time we got to the club. I had a lot of fun dancing and rubbing up against everyone as we drank and had fun. Whatever had come over me in how much I craved sex only seemed to apply to our little group. There were sexy guys, and ladies, all around us, and I hardly noticed them as I had a great time with everyone. 

By the time we left I'd been very glad I'd decided to wear panties tonight, they were so wet I was sure I'd have dripped down my leg if I hadn't. We stepped outside and got out of the way before Bell took us all home in a swirl of shadows. We grabbed drinks and talked for a few minutes, but I could feel that it was more than just me that was looking forward to bed.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 13



Bell and Jeremy dragged off Celane to their room while Allie and Sue came up to mine. My whole body was humming in anticipation. Allie had been teasing me all night, keeping me close to the edge. Sue stepped into me when we closed the door and kissed me passionately. I felt Allie's hands join Sue's on my body as they stripped me down. I gasped when they picked me up and carried me to the bed.

They put me down and joined me, still fully clothed. By the twinkle in their eyes and the way they were both moving in on me as one I figured they had planned this. My breathing picked up and my heart sped as they assaulted me with pleasure, both of them concentrating on me. Allie took a moment and put a blindfold on me, I couldn't think much past that. 

Not being able to see intensified every teasing touch on my body. Four hands and two mouths started to pleasure me as they held me down.

I had Sue gently working my breasts with her hands, mouth, and tongue while Allie assaulted my aching core with three long slender fingers, her lips, her tongue and her teeth. I gasped as I felt a wet finger from her other hand push into the tight ring of my puckered star. I'd been practically on the edge all night, and that broke me as I whimpered in pleasure, my body started to buck and I arched my back as I exploded in ecstasy.

I heard Allie's pleasured sounds as she lapped at my nectar and continued to finger me fast in both places. I came down long enough to catch a few breaths before I was rolled into another orgasm. They switched places, kissing each other as they passed while I laid there trying to recover. I wasn't sure how long this would go on, but I knew I couldn't wait to reciprocate...

The next morning over breakfast we reviewed everything we had gathered on Dan and the bosses. We had found a number of other humans involved in the cells in the second group but the third group was filling out extremely slow. There was also no indication of who the big boss might be which was frustrating to me.

Bell asked, "I know we can't attack yet, but how about something sneakier."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you have in mind?"

Bell said, "Well, we know he has a laptop, I imagine he needs to keep track of things. People, money etc... Do you think he's dumb enough to keep it on his laptop? What if we go grab a copy of it or something?"

Celane grinned, "This is the real world, not TV. We could do that but it would take a long time to ghost his drive."

Bell looked a little crestfallen.

Celane continued, "But it's still a good idea. I have his passwords from the ghosts watching him work, if we went in at night we could poke around, even copy any files we find. Just taking the data will go much faster."

Jeremy asked, "Why do we have to poke around first, can't we just take all his documents?"

Celane shrugged, "What if all his stuff is online on a work server? We need to be on his laptop, check his file history, all that."

I nodded, "Can you three handle that? If we are going quiet we should keep the numbers down to a minimum."

Jeremy replied, "Sure, that shouldn't be a problem, where is his house?"

Celane said, "He's in the US corporate office, right outside Phoenix."

Bell looked thoughtful, "Closest I can get us is Vegas..."

Celane typed on the laptop for a minute, "We need to leave by noon then local time, so about nine here. It's a five hour drive."

I snorted, "Don't you mean by seven? I assume you'll be doing this late at night."

Celane grinned and looked up at me guiltily, "Of course, but I want to stop and check out Hoover's dam."

I kissed her, now I wanted to go too, "Sounds good. I'm going to call that human back. James Burnheimer."

Jeremy asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

I nodded, "I think helping out a human if we can is a very good idea. We all should where our talents can be of use. For a price of course, like a new business. I was thinking about it last night, well, earlier this morning. I still need to talk to Sue about it, but maybe we could advertise services at her store. Yes, it's a risk, but the less marginalized we are, the safer we'll be."

Jeremy frowned, "What services could I offer?"

I shrugged, "Security? Extra warding, monthly payments for keeping things charged? How about an amulet of protection for a person's child, it could protect them when the parents aren't around if their magic gets away from them." 

I continued thoughtfully, "I don't know, you're aware of your magic more than I am, but I know your magic has a light side, it isn't all sacrifice and blood. I was thinking of the other witches and sorcerer too, it would be good for them to do something positive for once."

There were a lot of little possibilities in there, between us all we had a lot more covered magically than the humans did alone. Maybe I was crazy to think it would work, but I was willing to give it a try. If we were able to stop the people after us I thought it had possibilities.

I kissed all three of them, giving Bell a wink and pinch and on the ass when I was done with her. I still felt a small barrier between us and I didn't like it. I wasn't sure what to do though to get past it. Maybe it was just that we couldn't open ourselves to each other, the way I could with my bond with the others. Actually, now that I thought about it, I was almost sure that was it.

I went into my office and picked up the phone...

"Burnheimer residence," a pleasant female voice answered.

"Hello, I'm calling for James Burnheimer. Is he in?"

"Hold please," she said and I heard her put down the phone.

It took a moment, but someone picked up and said, "James Burnheimer."

I recognized the man's voice from last night and introduced myself.

He said, "Glad you called. I was hoping you could come down to my house, I think I'm being haunted."

His voice lowered to a whisper, "By my damned mother."

I held back a laugh and composed myself, "I can do that Mr. Burnheimer."

He asked cautiously, "When can you come by, and how much will this cost me?"

I considered that for a moment, "Can we talk about that after? I was thinking a thousand, but maybe we could make a deal instead?"

He replied, "That's fine."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see it as my mind spun with possibilities.

"I'll be there in an hour or so."

He said that was fine and hung up.

Sue was gone to work on the store, so I put on a nice dress skirt, blouse, and heels and left with Allie. I didn't feel like I was in any danger, but I remembered what she had said, it would be foolish to risk it when I didn't have to. I took the bus across town, I really needed to break down and get a car, I could more than afford it and now that I was leaving the house I needed it.

When we got close to the house I could feel the ghost. It got a whiff of my power and tried to run. I didn't want to hook the soul; it wasn't why I was here. But I couldn't let it run off either, not until I'd talked to it, so I reached out with my power and surrounded the soul so it couldn't escape. The ghost was under my power, but still had free will. As soon as I released my magic the ghost could leave.

I knocked on the door and a middle aged woman opened it with a smile.

"Hi, you must be Katrina, please come in and feel free to call me Fran. We're about to pull our hair out over this."

I smiled and walked in, and when she extended her hand I shook it. I wasn't expecting her to collapse but Allie didn't miss a beat and caught the woman easily before she hit the floor.

Fran opened her eyes, "I hate that. I'm okay now, thanks for catching me. I usually wind up on the floor with a bruise or two."

I was curious what she saw when she touched me, but was afraid to ask at the same time. She didn't volunteer any information, just leading us into the house. I pulled the ghost in like a kite on the string of my necromantic power. She looked young and was clearly related to the woman.

"Who are you?"

The woman frowned, "Nan. What are you doing in my house?"

I knew the appearance of age meant nothing as a ghost. More often older people looked younger after they died, it was what they related to better, what they wanted.

I asked her, "They brought me here because you're haunting them, are you Fran's mother?"

The ghost nodded and looked uncomfortable.

Fran asked, "Can I get you a drink or something?"

I shook my head no as James walked in the room and said, "No thank you."

James asked, "Is she here?"

I nodded, "Nan right? I'm talking to her now."

"Why are you haunting them?"

She scowled, "My daughter needs me, that James is nothing but trouble, a good for nothing man!"

I tried really hard not to laugh. It probably wasn't funny at all to these people, but it was so cliché I felt like my sides were about to split. When I felt in control I let them know what was going on in a diplomatic voice.

"Nan is... watching over you Fran. She feels that you need her. What do you want me to do? I can force her over and make her move on, or I can leave her here. The former would be what I recommend, but she's your mother."

James said decisively, "Send her to he..."

Fran cut him off, "Will you give me a moment with my husband?"

When I nodded she said, "Excuse me please and walked off with him to another room."

Nan looked at me furiously, I ignored her. I could try and talk her into it, that leaving was for the best, that all she was doing was making herself more frustrated and making her daughter's life more difficult. I could add that her frustration will just make her angrier, but I know she wouldn't listen to any of it. She already knew, she was living it, and she had already decided. Some people just like misery; her soul was one such example.

They came back out and Fran said, "I'm sorry mom, but we need to move on, and so do you. We'll see you soon enough on the other side."

They nodded to me, and I gave the soul a little push. It was the same conduit to the afterlife that I would usually pull magic through, this time, I pushed the soul through. I actually felt a little guilty even though I knew it was for the best. After all, even I wasn't completely sure what awaited them over there.

James asked, "So, what did you have in mind?"

I said carefully, "Just word of mouth if you wouldn't mind, and maybe leave a review once we have a website? That would help a lot more than a thousand EUR. Not many people would have asked me for help, it never would have occurred to them. I'm trying to... integrate more?"

Fran smiled at me, "I'd be happy to do that dear, and so would James."

James looked dubious, but agreed. They were a well to do family and if my ideas about selling services were to work out, networking would be key. And a website, I wondered if Celane could build one.

We left a few moments later; I felt a strange satisfaction that things had gone so well, outside of Nan's point of view anyway.

Allie whispered as we walked to the bus stop, "You're nuts."

I snickered, "Probably, it could backfire. Make even more humans upset that we'd dare to integrate, not stay apart. But there will also be a lot of them like James and Fran. I just hope the scales balance in the right direction."

Allie nodded thoughtfully as we waited patiently for the next bus...

 

Chapter 15 - Jeremy

Hoover Dam looked big in pictures, but they really didn't do it justice. Celane actually looked excited as we walked on top of the dam, surrounded by human tourists.

She was usually imperturbable and calm about everything, but apparently her passion was sightseeing and the dam was on her list. So after a late dinner we had teleported to the Vegas airport and rented a car. We were all dressed casually in jean shorts and t-shirts, looking like true tourists. Of course, we also had a duffel bag full of darker clothes, a portable hard drive, and my dagger sitting in the car.

The day was sunny, and hot. But I still had a good time. We got a few funny looks, I hadn't really considered the fae angle, but no one actually confronted us. The river looked to be very low when we looked over the side, the rock was worn and discolored and it was easy to see the river used to be much deeper. 

We spent a good portion of the afternoon there and then hit the road for Phoenix. The drive wasn't too bad and we chatted about other places Celane had on her list as we took in the scenery. We also discussed Katrina's idea from earlier.

Celane asked intently, "So what do you think of Katrina's idea. She's already hit me up to build a website, Facebook page and Twitter account for it."

I frowned, "I don't know honestly, I'm probably not the best one to ask advice about that. I've been getting chased out of towns since I was a teenager, and hunted for the last few years. Volunteering my location to the world just... doesn't sound sane to me.

"That said, it wasn't the humans chasing me out of towns, and the hunters are an aberration from the fringes of society. It could work, but I'm not holding my breath. But I'll do my best if that's what Kat wants, and make sure she doesn't get hurt in the process if I can."

Bell's assessment was a little more optimistic, "It will raise the stakes. I think we'll gather more enemies, but I also believe we'll gather more friends as well, or at least humans that think we should stick around. I think it will work out."

I asked curiously, "Why Celane, have you seen anything?"

Celane shook her head, "My seer powers don't work on the large scale. I could tell you that most likely we will work in the long term, all of us as lovers. Or that our closest neighbor is about to turn up pregnant and it will be a boy, or... you get the idea. My magic doesn't show me large events, and I'm grateful for that, it's much safer trying to guide individuals to happiness than it is to see world changing events."

I couldn't argue with that.

We got into town around eight and did a drive by of the guy's house. The houses in the neighborhood were a little close together, which would make this harder. We wanted to be in and out without being detected, but that would be hard to accomplish being in magical detection range of a bunch of neighbors.

We drove around town for a while to give Bell the feel of a few places in and around the city before we returned the rental car to the local office. 

"What now? Want to get something to eat?"

None of us really needed to, but it was habit, and it gave us somewhere to plan.

Celane replied, "Sounds fine to me."

Bell just nodded. 

I hoped we were up for this, I wasn't a subtle person, sneaking around just didn't appeal to me. I'd have preferred to just take the guy out and take his laptop, but I knew Bell would be good at it. It wouldn't be easy though; humans didn't sleep anymore after all.

We wound up at a Mexican restaurant, the food was good but I hardly took note of it as we discussed the possibilities.

Bell asked, "Can you blur short term memories Celane? We may have to knock him out if he doesn't leave the laptop."

Celane shrugged, "Maybe, if he was out I'm pretty sure I could yes, conscious though he'd be able to fight it off."

Bell nodded, "Last resort."

We stayed at the table ordering some drinks as we chatted and watched the sun go down outside the window. It was around eight when Celane got a message from the ghost we had watching him, and the laptop.

Celane said, "He left his house, with the laptop and he's driving across town."

I asked, "Any idea where he's going?"

She shook her head, "No, we've only been following him a day or two. We don't know enough about his habits yet to even guess."

I nodded as she described the five minute ride, we'd been in that area earlier, which was a relief since we'd already turned the car in. 

Celane said, "He pulled over in front of another house, looks like he's going in, there's a woman answering the door and... oh. This is good, their kissing and heading toward the back of the house, the laptop is in the car."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Bell beat me too it, "Be right back," and she got up and went to the ladies room. I didn't object to her going solo on us, I thought of myself as the incase something needed to be stabbed person on this trip, and Celane was the tech support.

She came out a few minutes later with a smug smile, carrying a laptop bag. She handed it to Celane and kissed my cheek looking both a little excited and sheepish.

"Sorry, it was just easier going alone and I didn't want to waste any time. I grabbed the laptop as shadow and got out of there. Hopefully he was too busy to notice me."

I sighed, "It's fine," acting put upon.

I stole a kiss, "I'm not really very stealthy anyway."

She grinned at me, knowing me too well to miss the truth.

Bell and I watched as Celane turned it on. After a few minutes she frowned, "There's nothing on the laptop, hold on."

She connected to Dan's work and started checking things, really she was going so fast through screens I could barely follow what she was doing.

Celane said triumphantly, "I think I found it, "and plugged in her thumb drive and started copying files.

I felt kind of useless right now, but I was still glad I was there. If anything went wrong...

Celane cursed, "Shit, he's putting on his pants to run outside. His girlfriend doesn't look happy about it, but he's going back for his laptop. He's being defensive about it, not supposed to leave it alone. I guess we only got this chance because he was thinking with his other head."

I snorted, I supposed I couldn't judge him for that, I'd been thinking with my dick when we ended up drugged and tortured. But I said, "We need to get it back there then."

Celane frowned up at me, "Just a second, he's still in the house arguing. It won't take long to finish copying."

Every second we sat there and waited felt too long for me.

She pulled the thumb drive out, put it in standby and shoved it in the laptop bag and said, "Hurry, he's leaving the house now."

I was just about to tell Bell to go already, but shadows rose up around the laptop bag and it disappeared.

Bell said with a smirk, "I didn't need to go back. I can still feel the space where it was from when I took it."

I nodded and held my breath, which really as an undead wasn't a special feat, so I crossed my fingers as well.

"Think he'll notice it was moved?"

We waited a second, both staring at Celane. Finally she chuckled and shook her head.

Celane said in a relieved tone, "No, he didn't even look at it, just reached in and grabbed and ran back inside. His mind is clearly somewhere else."

I asked, "So what now?"

Celane said, "We go back, and I go through all this financial data and spreadsheets and see what I can find."

We finished our drinks and asked for the check. After paying on our way out Bell surrounded us in shadows and moved us back home. It struck me then, and I wondered when I had actually started to think of this place as home, and it was...

Bell and I grabbed drinks for everyone and took turns filling Katrina, Sue, and Allie in on what happened. By the time we were done with the story of our day, and had heard about the haunting mother, Celane had made some progress.

Celane reported, "Good news and bad news. Which first?"

Katrina said, "Bad."

Celane said, "It could take me a while to trace the money trail. Right now it's looking like it is skimmed from the company's community outreach programs. But I haven't been able to figure out who is behind it, although they have to be high up in the company to be getting away with it like this."

I nodded, "The good?"

Celane said, "Well, the second group is like the first, sixty people split into groups of ten under one leader. The third group however is new and only has one and a half cells, so just fifteen people outside of the boss. I supposed a little over a hundred people in total isn't great news, but it could have been worse."




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 13



Katrina said, "Well, I'm tired, it's three am and I couldn't sleep with you three gone, so I'm heading to bed."

All the other women in the room looked at me pointedly as Katrina walked toward the door. I wasn't one to catch subtle hints, but this was more like a hammer and anvil, it must be my turn. I put my arm around her as we went up the stairs, and she seemed pleased with my presence. When we got to her room I kissed her softly and we undressed. She did look a little tired, so I just held her as we slipped under the covers. 

She smelled really good and scooted her body back against me. I loved the way her long strawberry blonde hair teased my chin and chest, and the way her butt felt against my manhood, but I suppressed my need and just kissed the top of her head.

She whispered hopefully, "You'll be here all night?"

I said softly in her ear, "If you want me."

She made a contented sound and pushed back into me. It was all I could to hold back the moan as I hardened a little bit. A few moments later she was asleep. I'd have thought it would get boring, but it didn't. I felt incredibly protective and knew I was falling in love with her. All of them really, a bit at a time except for Bell who had claimed my heart a long time ago. It didn't matter to me that Katrina was more powerful than I was; I would be here to protect her anyway.

Bell sent, "I love you too Jeremy; and I'm glad you're growing closer to all of them. I guess I was more jealous of the idea than the reality, because it isn't bothering me at all. Maybe because they are all mine too. It's good to see you finally find a place we could both call home. We were great just as us, but the running and isolation wasn't ideal."

Hmm, guess I'd had our link open if she was getting my feelings.

I replied, "What are you up to?"

I could feel her grin in my mind as she replied, "Doing my own bonding with Sue, Allie, and Celane, with a roomful of toys."

I dropped the subject at that point. I was having hard enough of a time not taking this sleeping beauty in my arms. I didn't need to get even more worked up by picturing that in my head. I wasn't exactly bored, but I was glad when her mind rejoined me an hour or so later, she volunteered to read me a book. So that's how I spent the next few hours, holding Katrina as she slept and listening to Bell's pleasantly expressive voice in my mind.

When the time to wake her up came around, I slid underneath the covers. She moved when I took my arms from around her, but didn't wake up until I had my head between her legs. I'd been fantasizing about it on and off for the last few hours and was quivering in anticipation as I gave her outer labia a long slow and light lick with the very tip of my tongue.

I knew right when she woke up, somewhere around lick number eight the covers flew off and she arched her back, pushing into my face. I looked up, my eyes locked with her beautiful green eyes. She tasted so good I moaned softly as I kissed her folds gently before sliding my tongue into her hot heaven.

I couldn't move my eyes away from hers as I read the pleasure, heat, and desire in them. My length hardened further and felt confined between me and the bed and I licked deeper inside her as she started to play with her breasts, lightly brushing her nipples. The sounds of pleasure and need escaping her lips drove me to lick deeper, then move up slightly and tease her clit as I slid two fingers into her now very wet core.

She gasped, "Please," in a begging voice.

I curled my fingers slight to brush her sensitive wall as I started working my fingers in and out of her, when I judged it right I sucked in her clit and circled it with my tongue before brushing the tip. 

She arched her back and pushed into me hard, grinding against my face, still looking into my eyes.

She gasped, "I love you Jeremy..." right before she went over the edge. She started to tremble on my tongue and I could see her eyes widen in pleasurable ecstasy. I licked around her labia, trying to extend the orgasm and bring her down gently. Her eyes looked a little panicked when she came down, and I thought I knew why.

I crawled up her body and kissed her passionately, our bodies finding their way together I slid into her tight heaven like I belonged there.

I broke the kiss when I was balls deep and looked into her eyes.

I whispered, "I love you too Kat..."

Her eyes widened and then softened. Her whole body seemed to relax under me and her core undulated up and down my length. There was something different in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down into a fervently loving kiss.

Her core was adjusted to me now and I started to move in and out of her...

 

Chapter 16 - Katrina

I'd been horrified by what slipped out of my mouth, until he said the words back. I'd never felt anything like this before. The first time I'd slept with Jeremy had been amazing, and falling to sleep in his arms made me feel safe, protected.

There had still been a part of me that was worried though, about if this could last, if it could be real. When I heard him say it, and saw it in his eyes, that worry had melted away. It changed the way our making love felt to me, magnified it. I'd never felt so alive as right now as he took me. I had just completely surrendered myself, and my body, to him.

I gasped as he filled me again, meeting his thrust with my own. I had no idea it could be this wonderful, this incredible. I hadn't known how much my reservations had affected the pleasure we shared together. But I just let it all go; there were no more second thoughts. All my focus was on sharing my body with him, surrendering to him, and I was completely lost in the ecstasy of him.

I heard him whisper in my ear, "Cum for me Kat, now."

It was as if his voice and the command had pulled a switch deep inside me. I arched my back and pushed against him, desperately wanting him deeper as my tight core exploded in pleasure. I rode the ecstasy, breathless, as he continued to fill me over and over.

I gasped as I felt him expand in my already full pleasure, stretching me out further. I muttered words of encouragement, wanting to feel him fill me with desperate abandon. I felt myself roll into a second bout of rapturous pleasure as I felt him surge within me. It felt like finishing the act of surrender, accepting his seed into my body, taking it wantonly with no reservation.

When I came down he kissed me again and held me lovingly. Even now when we were finished, I was no longer nervous. I finally understood I got to keep him and his love.

My stomach gurgled totally ruining my moment and I giggled.

He raised an eyebrow, "Hungry love?"

I nodded and he picked me up and took me to the bathroom. We jumped in the shower. I was hungry, but as I washed his back and the rest of his naked form, I figured that could wait a bit longer and took him in hand...

When we got downstairs breakfast was coming off the stove and I dug in, I felt like I was starving between getting a late start and the mornings activities. I still felt as if I was walking on air, I'd never felt so relaxed and at ease, at least not that I could remember. Everyone else was there as well, and I was surprised Sue was still there, thinking she'd be at the store.

When I asked why she blushed, "I wanted to hear what Celane found as well. Allie offered to send some zombies over to finish cleaning and start painting the walls."

I smiled, "You're always welcome to both stay and to the zombie help. I was just taken off guard,"

I turned to Celane, "So what have you found out?"

Celane said in that calm unruffled tone of hers, "Melanie Lirrou is behind it all. She sits on the board and is responsible for all the siphoning of funds as far as I can track."

"A woman?" I asked, that surprised me for some reason.

Though I knew it shouldn't.

Celane nodded, "She had a nine year old son that was sacrificed by a warlock when the demon was done with him. I'm not sure where necromancers come in, maybe that is Dan's beef? Or maybe they just made a snap decision after hearing a story or two."

I nodded, more than possible.

Jeremy said, "So..."

I filled in the rest of his sentence inside my mind, can we go kill them all please?

I blew out a breath, "She's fairly high profile isn't she? I'm not sure us just taking her out is a good idea... If it gets a lot of news coverage she may become a martyr, especially with her kid's death. I can see the headline now, non-human warlock and necromancer kill grieving mother after her son was sacrificed by same."

Bell asked, "So what then?"

I asked thoughtfully, "Celane, do you have enough proof? Maybe we could just tell the rest of the board, let them deal with it? They would probably deal with Dan as well."

Celane simply nodded, "More than enough proof, what about the other hundred or so?"

Jeremy sighed, "We watch them. They all have an axe to grind out of revenge or simple prejudice, but without money it will be harder. I don't want to kill them because they might do something. I know it will tie up half your ghosts Kat, but I don't like the idea of a preemptive strike."

Everyone in the room looked surprised by his words and he scowled.

"What? I'm not that bloodthirsty. I just want us to be safe. I was itching to take out Dan and maybe the bosses. Taking care of Melanie and Dan is enough revenge for me if it causes their group to fall. The ones that actually tortured us are dead and enslaved, so really, I'm good."

I nodded, "Sounds like a plan then. Celane, can you figure out the next time their board meets, and print out the relevant proof and make electronic copies of everything."

Celane replied, "I already know, they meet the day after tomorrow. I can have everything ready by then."

I said in a hopeful tone, "Good, then we can focus on us, and becoming more visible as people, instead of just faceless bodies from another race with the humans."

Allie interjected with feeling, "Please tell me you're hitching a ride in me? This sounds kind of risky and I don't want you going in person."

I thought about it for a second. I was mad and did want to go, but going along with Allie was just as good and wouldn't put us all at risk, so I simply nodded. It was hard, but I had to put the others above my own pride. It would be both impossible and wrong to hide in the house, life was risk, but it would be foolhardy not to consider everyone else when I evaluated those risks.

Over the next two days we discussed all the possibilities, from the whole board being in on it to no one but Melanie. What if they called security, or wouldn't listen? What if they just attacked? In the end we decided that just Allie with me in her, Jeremy, and Bell would go. Three people against twelve would seem like less of a threat.

If it turned out to be the whole board, we could just run and attack them separately later. Although I was giving serious consideration to just leaking it to the press. They were a publically traded company and would be in a lot of trouble for siphoning funds with both the government and the shareholders.

When the time came I entered Allie, but instead of pushing her down, I just joined with her. It was strangely intimate, and confusing at first, but she eventually relaxed and just let me drive. Still, our thoughts ran together, our feelings, I wasn't entirely sure where Allie ended and I began. She was also just as much a sweetie as I knew she was, though fierce and protective of what she loved. It wasn't awkward at all either; her soul welcomed me with love.

It was close to four in the afternoon here, but it was almost nine in phoenix. We had no way to get right into the boardroom, but we had mapped out the building with ghosts yesterday and took note of security. We wouldn't get lost.

We were surrounded in shadows and Bell took us just a block away. I had a couple of thumb drives in my pocket, as well as the most damning evidence printed out so they could take a look. I had to admit my stomach was a little tight, a mixture of both nerves and excitement. I knew it wasn't exactly normal to be excited at the idea of upcoming conflict, but I wasn't a normal woman.

Allie shared, "Hey, I have a crazy idea..." and she showed me a visual of both of us in her body screwing Jeremy's brains out.

I gasped and I felt my... our core tighten in desire.

I growled internally, "That does sound like a lot of fun, but now isn't the time."

I felt her pout for a minute, but it faded away quickly, "I bet it would be twice as good for Bell, she could feed off of us both at the same time..."

I shivered as I felt a tingle go up our spine at the idea. I had pictured this event a number of times, going up to confront Melanie with a moist pussy had never even entered my mind. Yet here I was.

"Sorry, I'll be good," Allie thought.

I shook my head, and hoped she wouldn't. I loved my wild and sweet Allie, but just a little restraint right now would be good. I also felt a lot better about how often I found myself thinking of my lovers, and wanting them. Allie was ten times worse than I was. Of course, she couldn't get sore like I could...

When we got close to the building we turned into an alley and once again we were surrounded by shadow. This was different, not immediate travel. I felt better with Allie with me as my senses were cut off for the most part. I could still feel my magic, and the magic around me, but I had no sense of sight or smell, though I did have a strange sense of touch as we moved through the storm drain. I could also swear I could taste everything we touched. Hearing was different too; it was like picking up vibrations, not true sound. Yet, I still understood what I was hearing.

We entered the building from below and we, as shadow, flew up the wall of the elevator shaft to the top floor. The one thing we had planned and rehashed the most was how to get past security, and this was the solution we'd settled on. It was one of Bell's more magically draining powers, so we all had fun last night making sure she was charged up and then some.

When we reached the top of the shaft we entered the hallway of the executive floor, and moved for the boardroom, changing back from shadows as soon as we reached the door. We weren't sure how long we had, we were all positive someone had to have picked up our three magical aura's, shadow or not, as we'd rose past all the floors.

Rather than wait for the shocked group of people to say or do anything, I spoke up immediately.

"Melanie Lirrou has been embezzling money to fund a group of murderers to go after other races of humans, we thought rather than take justice into our own hands we would let you decide what to do with her."

The room erupted into talk which quickly degenerated into yelling. The CEO banged his fist on the table and called for silence.

He turned to me and said, "That's a serious accusation miss. Our security will be here in two minutes, you have that long to convince me."

I couldn't help my eyes flicking to Melanie, her face was white. I dropped off a thumb drive in front of both the CEO and CFO, sure they'd both want to see it, and then handed him the files we printed out.

"The printouts have the general idea, the nitty gritty is on the thumb drives."

He frowned, "How did you get this?"

I replied, "Dan Havers is the middle man, he works for Mrs. Lirrou as a general troubleshooter and salesman. What he really does is form terrorist cells and pay the expenses for them to find and murder any warlocks or necromancers they find. We umm, kind of borrowed his laptop for a few minutes a couple of days ago.

"Just to be clear, we don't want anything from you outside of justice for Mrs. Lirrou and Dan Havers. We will not be going to the press or releasing your company information if that happens, this I swear."

He raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged, "I was worried you would think yourselves exposed, I have no need or desire to blackmail anyone, or ruin them by releasing this information."

He chuckled, "I hadn't gotten there yet, but I appreciate the thought."

Then he said in a deep voice, "Freeze Mel, don't even think about leaving this room."

Melanie had been half out of her seat, she looked terrified as she settled back down into her chair.

The security finally arrived, but he just told them to wait outside a few minutes.

It didn't take them long to reach the right conclusion. There was no calling the police, no trial. This was the new world where people took care of their own problems. Perhaps it was more violent, but when the government can't control the populace, the people have no choice but to step up. Melanie was guilty of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and an accessory to everyone her little hate group had killed. 

The CEO looked at Melanie and there was a brief mental struggle, then her neck snapped like a twig.

He turned to me, "We will track down Dan's whereabouts and take him down as well. What are your plans for the rest of the people on this list? It's quite long."

I replied, "Benefit of the doubt, maybe not all of them have the stomach to murder. I'll be having them all followed by ghosts, and they'll be left alone unless they try and harm one of us."

He nodded, "Maybe we can do something, at least for the ones that appear to be reacting in grief. The security guards will escort you out. Thank you for bringing this directly to us, instead of taking... another route."

I thanked him and we turned to leave. One of the other men in the room handed me a card and asked me to call. I shrugged and put it in my pocket after sending a message to Celane to get the information down. I had no idea what he wanted, but maybe it'd be good.

The guards looked stern, but were polite as they escorted us out. I imagine they were annoyed we'd gotten past them so easily. It felt strange, there were all those people out there, but without money and direction things felt... finished. All that was left was the cleanup and it looked like the company would help with that too. No doubt for the good press incase this did get leaked and blew up in the media.

When we got outside we were surrounded in shadows and we went home. Allie and I shared a mental hug before I returned to my body. I was still intrigued by the idea of shared body sex, but it had to wait, right now it was dinnertime...

 

Chapter 17 - Jeremy

I considered how much my life has changed over the last few weeks as I sat in my room after dinner. I was trying to work out a few things in my mind before I went back downstairs. This new body had a lot of advantages such as speed, strength, and endless stamina. It also had a few downsides, although I could still eat it wasn't quite the same, and I missed sleeping. The advantages however seemed to overshadow that by a great deal, despite how much control another person technically had over me I didn't fear Katrina treating me like some kind of puppet.

I was with Bell, and other women I was quickly coming to love, but I had to come to accept the idea my life was not entirely my own any longer. I belonged to... with Katrina now. It was different from the time I had felt in Chicago, I had been welcomed, but it hadn't truly felt like home. This was home for me now. It hadn't really sunk in all the way until today, not until the group after us had been stopped at any rate. Now I would need to find a reason beyond my revenge to drive me forward.

Still, I had very little to complain about, if anything my life was more stable and grounded than it ever had been in the past.

"Hiding?"

Her voice startled me a little and I looked up. Celane stood there with a slight smile on her face. Her gray eyes were kind, and her long light blonde hair was up in a ponytail revealing her long slender neck and upswept ears. Her face was slightly more angular than any of the other human races, but that and the ears gave her an exotic attractive look, rather than alien.




Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 13



The wards weren't powerful enough to break their shields, even with just ten of them that was still more than enough to resist. But it would make it easier for us to break them. I trusted Bell to protect Katrina and ran to back up Katie's position. Between the wards, witches, fae and humans there, not to mention the vampires physically pounding on them, the shield buckled the moment I hit it with my dagger.

I didn't hesitate to plunge it into the first chest I saw, routing the energy to my healing amulets. I managed to get one more before the vampires finished tearing their bodies up. I felt Katrina's familiar energy rush by and snag all the dead, and start rebuilding bodies.

Katie looked beyond pissed when her body finished reforming.

She growled, "Next group," and we all followed her as she ran for the hallway. 

All the humans were in the house and I could feel the last eight groups reconfigure as they became four and started knocking down walls. I wondered if we should retreat, this wouldn't be good. Sure, the odds went down, it was three groups to their four now, but I wasn't so sure we could breach their shields anymore.

"Oh fuck," slipped out of my mouth.

Katie asked impatiently, "What now?"

I asked, "Can't you feel it?"

She looked to retort sharply, but then her eyes widened...

-Katrina-

I closed my eyes, I felt Allie get torn apart, and the rest of that group was following. The enemy had doubled the size of their groups and I wasn't feeling very hopeful we could breach them as we were now. Katie and Jeremy's group was too far away for us to join up anytime fast.

"Holy shit," I muttered when I felt it.

There were thousands of humans coming this way. I sent the signal to retreat and we ran for the basement. I didn't think we were going to make it as one of the groups got in our way and started attacking. I knew my shields wouldn't last long when they focused their attack on me. I was channeling from over three hundred souls now and focused purely on defense, but I was just one person.

I felt Bell's shadows rise around me and smiled at her. I didn't want to run, but we could rebuild the house and most of the people if I lived. But then I felt the attack stop cold, it was no longer there. Bell hesitated a moment and held back teleporting us.

I looked curiously at the group of twenty humans before us. Their eyes had gotten wide and panicked, and then I felt it. The shield that had risen up between us, it was a second shield and not theirs. It closed in around the hunters and squeezed. The sound of snapping bone and compressing flesh was horrifying as they all were all turned to mush.

I was in shock as I felt all the hunters in the house dying around me. The power behind the strikes was the combined might of the thousands of humans I had felt outside. My power started reaching out and snatching them all up, almost by habit. 

They weren't even running, still in shock from their violent deaths. I now had close to three hundred and ninety souls. I'd be happy if I never had to take another one. But there was a mystery, why would all those humans have come to our defense?

I wasn't sure how to feel about that, outside of grateful I mean. It was just so... surprising. I also felt incredibly vulnerable. I was sure they could reach out and crush the house and everyone in it like a bug with all that power behind them.

I looked at Bell gratefully when she put an arm around me and squeezed my shoulder. We walked in the direction of the front of the house even while I pumped out magic, repairing the bodies of the revenants that had been destroyed. Luckily, Sue was fine. Unfortunately four of the twenty vampires died, I let them choose, and three of them were old and ready for the next life, one of them chose to stay and became a zombie.

It was a hell of a sight when I walked out the front door. Jeremy took my hand and we were staring at them. Two humans separated from the immense crowd and came forward, my knees almost buckled when I saw who it was.

Fran Burnheimer said in a voice both annoyed and apologetic, "Sorry we were late, sometimes those damn visions are so hard to pin down."

My mouth dropped open, "You saw this, and gathered all these people?"

She nodded, "Remember when we met, I almost fell on the floor. That nice woman that was with you caught me. Anyway, that's when I saw it. Well, my husband and I started spreading the word and everyone that has met you volunteered.

She made a face, "As you can see, after that it sort of snowballed. We weren't about to let a bunch of hoodlums kill one of our own. We don't hold with murderers, so we came to put them down."

I was speechless and felt my eyes start to water. 

I cleared my throat, "Thank you."

She nodded, looked at the house, and said critically, "Well, at least it's still standing. I'd meant to get here earlier."

I giggled, "Don't worry about the house; that we can easily fix."

She said, "Let me know if you need help with anything, or just someone to talk to."

It was in a kind of daze when I agreed and we said our goodbyes.

-Jeremy-

It took less time than I thought to fix the house. In less than a week, with all the zombie labor we had and a few people with knowledge of building, we had the house back. Supplies were easy to arrange. Katrina had sent us out shopping for wood, replacement doors, siding, and windows. Bell had easily moved it all straight from the lumber yard so we wouldn't have to wait for delivery.

I did eventually get that date with Sue, and we hit it off even better than I had expected. I'd always gotten along with her around the house, but after some one on one time she felt like family. I found her attractive, but it didn't really bother me that she didn't feel the same; she had no problem sharing a bed with me though when Bell joined us later that night.

It seemed like the hunter problem was really over now, there were none left. The battle made its way on the news and we, and our city, were shown in a good light. Katrina was ecstatic about being so welcome and we pushed forward with our plans and Sue's store.

I wasn't sure what the future would hold, or even where the next enemy would come from. It was a harsh life sometimes, and I was sure some asshole would start a fight sooner or later. But I was happier than I'd ever been. I had five women who loved me and we were a family. We also had a city that accepted us and valued us for who we were and what we could provide, instead of what we were born as.

I'd just take life as it comes, and with my family at my side I couldn't wait for what might come next...

Authors Note: Hope you all enjoyed it. This is the last story for now in this world, but you never know. I'm thinking about doing another story in the Jezebel/Ashley universe, or maybe something altogether new. Either way it could be a while for my next post as I have another project to finish.