by Liz Schulte
“I’ll make coffee,” she said, hopping up as I cracked open the top book.
Necromancers seemed to be a popular topic in all of the books, but no one could agree on much about them. There were a few things that were always the same. They couldn’t be touched and their mothers were always dark witches. That was where the similarities ended. One book said that necromancer couldn’t hold back the darkness; it would always consume them. Another said necromancers couldn’t live past twenty and were prone to fits of insanity. It continued on like that. Paragraph upon paragraph of propaganda written by frightened people about something they couldn’t understand.
I took the coffee from Katrina. “How does any necromancer figure out their life? All of this is complete bullshit.”
“I don’t think many people know any necromancers. Had you ever met one before Frost? They don’t seem to roam the world in droves or anything.”
I closed the book on my lap. “The books aren’t going to help. We know more about necromancers from knowing Frost than they do. We have to think through this. What would a fallen angel want with Frost?”
“Well, what can she do?”
“She can control and/or raise the dead, she can kill with her touch, she can pull someone into or out of the underworld…that’s it. That’s all I can think of that is unique to her.”
Katrina nodded. “He’s fallen. I don’t know how or why he is here, but he will eventually have to go to the underworld and when he does, there’s only one way to come back. We learned that the hard way with Selene.”
It was brilliant. The angel wanted to be freed permanently. “He wants Frost to free him from the underworld.” But it wasn’t as easy as that of course. Selene had to travel purgatory. It wasn’t just reaching in and grabbing her. And it still didn’t explain why the angel stopped his quest each year around the same time. Something had to happen around that same time each year that interrupted the search, which meant the angel was on a deadline and the time limit was quickly approaching.
I dug out my notes. The latest a person was ever killed was January seventh and none of them were killed before December 1st. So the angel only had a one month-ish period every year to do whatever it was he was trying to do. But he was moving faster this year than in the past. He had already killed two people and still had four days left. A pissed off angel could do a lot of damage in four days.
Sy came back, looking grim. “Ornias isn’t on anyone’s radar. I don’t know how the hell you stumbled across him.”
“We have a theory,” Katrina said and explained our thoughts on the subject.
Sy ran his hand through his hair. “Let’s go see what Frost and Leslie have come up with.”
15
FROST
I didn’t know why I was outside. It was dark and freezing and completely miserable, yet I felt compelled to be there. Maybe it was because I could feel Orion everywhere. I could smell him in the cold and snow. I could feel him in the brutal wind. And everything I felt confused the hell out of me. He was a bruise on my soul that I couldn’t leave alone. Soon everyone would be here and the snow would stop and my chance to talk to him would be over. He’d be gone again.
The wind whipped my hair, pulling strands loose from my braid. I tugged my coat tighter around me as I stood on the bottom step. The snow was lighter now than it had been, but the wind still howled through the trees.
I still didn’t know if I could or should trust Orion as much as I was, but with the way everything had been presented, I didn’t have much of a choice. It certainly didn’t mean I understood his part in all of this. I understood his version of it, but every time I discovered something new his version changed slightly. Then again, maybe the secrets of the cosmos were meant to be just that, secrets.
Did he blame himself for what happened to my mother? Is that why he was doing this?
“You need to go inside,” he said, appearing in front of me with worried eyes. “You shouldn’t separate yourself from the group.”
With the step difference we were about the same height. “The box was from you. And the key. The spell is so I can reach you. Right?”
His mouth twitched. “Yes.”
“You meant for me to be able to contact you from a much younger age. You didn’t know that’s how it would all end, did you?”
“It isn’t what I saw when I looked to her future, but telling her changed the course of her life and yours. I should have heeded the gods’ warnings. It appears I didn’t learn nearly as much as I should have in my eons of punishment.”
I nodded. “She wanted to know.”
“That doesn’t mean I should have told her.”
I pulled off my glove and reached out to touch the three worried lines between his eyebrows that were so painfully human. His hazel eyes never left mine as the lines smoothed momentarily and his eyes softened.
A moment later, though, he took my hand in his, warmed my fingers between his, then slid my glove back on. He shook his head. “Don’t go soft on me now. You’ll need that anger for what’s to come.” The corner of his mouth lifted wryly. “I am not for you, Frost. I will break your heart over and over and over again. This isn’t my world anymore.” The way he said it didn’t actually make it sound that bad. “I no longer belong here. I belong to the sky.”
“And where do I belong?”
He touched my cheek. “Only you can find that answer. But what I do know is that my story has already been told and I did not get a happily ever after, but yours has just started. It isn’t too late for you.”
I leaned my face into his hand for a moment. I was so tired of being alone. “We’re going to put Ornias back.”
The lines came back as he nodded, not an ounce of triumph in him. “He’s been in your world for a long time. He will have adjusted. Be careful.”
I smiled faintly. “I always am.”
He ran the edge of his thumb over my lower lip and just like that, he was gone again. The snow slowed to the lightest of flurries, and though he hadn’t said it, I could feel it in the air. Orion was getting weaker and would be gone soon. Back to the sky and out of my reach.
“What the hell are you doing outside?” Jessica yelled from the doorway. “Now is not the time to build a snowman.”
I drew in a deep breath and let it out in a steamy cloud. “About time you got here. I thought we were going to have to do this without you.”
She gave a one shoulder shrug. “I doubt my presence will make a huge difference. I’m mostly here for moral support and bait if you need it.” She came out a few steps, letting the door shut behind her. “What’s the deal with these other people?”
Just then the raven came back, landing on the porch as Dom. “Ladies,” he said with a nod as he took long steps back inside never missing a beat.
Jessica’s eyes followed him, her lips pursed until he was gone. “Like that. What’s going on here?”
“It’s a long story, but apparently there’s another coven I was born into. Leslie has spoken to them more than I have.” I came to a stop a few feet from her.
“Not surprising really,” she said, looking across the snowy field. “Looks like the storm is mostly over.”
I nodded, ignoring the sadness trickling through my insides. The connection I felt to Orion was undeniable. I’d miss him, though I couldn’t honestly say why. “Yep.”
“Any idea who Ornias is or how we can defeat him?”
“Not really, but apparently everything we need to do it is in the house.”
“Well, that’s convenient. What are we waiting for?” Jessica nodded toward the door.
I followed her inside with heavy legs that didn’t want to move—and was immediately hit with a blast of warmth and noise. The house was a different world than it had been when Leslie and I first arrived. Two chatty covens and the blazing fire made it almost homey, which was strange.
A loud cracking sound split through the house, leaving my ears ringing and then silence. Jessica and I started
forward at the same time, nearly colliding with one another. Everyone converged in the hallway; it was filled with toxic smelling yellow smoke.
Terrick, Dom, Angel, and Aisha slowly got to their feet coughing and waving the smoke from their faces.
“Did it work?” Angel asked between coughs.
“I can’t see a damn thing,” Dom said.
“No one can,” Aisha said, pushing them out of the hallway. “We have to get the smoke out of here.”
“I got it,” Katrina said and with a wave of her hand, the billowing plumes vanished, smell and all. Nifty trick.
Everyone turned back to the door. The frame was cracked, but the illusion held.
“Well, I’m out of ideas.” Terrick threw up his hands.
“That was your only idea,” Angel mumbled and Terrick mocked her.
Leslie smiled and Katrina laughed at them.
I shook my head.
“This is home?” Sy’s voice came from behind me. “I wouldn’t have pictured it like this.”
I glanced back at him. He knew better. I didn’t have a home. “Me either,” I said.
Concern dulled the edges of his normally cheerful eyes. “Take me on the tour.”
Sy had become the coven’s self-appointed guardian it seemed like. Maybe it was because he was determined to be actively involved in Selene’s life, or maybe he sensed strength and power in us and he was monitoring that. Either way, none of us hated having him around.
Though it felt like monumental effort, I did take him on a tour. He didn’t say much as he followed me through the house then outside to the cellar. The light I had made was out, but Leslie’s was still going strong. I concentrated on making another light to fill the other side of the room and watched the shadows scatter away as it brightened.
Sy’s gaze lingered on the door for a split second longer than on anything else. Other than that, he was as passive as if he were standing behind the bar in the Office. “You know, this house isn’t too far from the coven, but it might be just far enough,” he said casually with a little smile.
“Are you meddling, Sy?” I gave him a stony look.
He shook his head innocently. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Just pointing out geographic facts.”
I rolled my eyes. He was as bad as Selene, who happened to be his cousin. They were an entire family of meddlers.
“It’s close to them, but far enough you would still have privacy.”
I crossed my arms. “I work out of Chicago. I hadn’t planned on changing that.”
He went to the wall and poked at the drawn doorway. Satisfied nothing was coming out of it he pressed his full hand against the door and closed his eyes for a moment. “You could though.” He opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “If living here was something that interested you, that is. If not, then none of this really matters, does it?”
It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about staying here. Being closer to the coven would be convenient, especially now that things were finally rolling. “Sick of having me around?”
He flashed that crooked grin that made it almost impossible not to smile back—almost. “Frost,” he said very seriously, letting the smile fade away. “You will always have a home with me. You know that. I wouldn’t let anyone else become your new handler.”
“Then how would it work?”
He reached to his left and tapped his fingers on the door. “Once you put Ornias back and the doorway is sealed, it could be reopened to another location. Like the Office perhaps.”
I stared at the wall. “You could do that?”
He shook his head. “You could.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. So many changes happening all at once, too many, but at least it was quiet down here. “You aren’t worried I’ll go dark out here all by myself.”
He laughed. “I don’t care what kind of witch you are, and I doubt the coven does either.” My eyebrows shot up. That couldn’t be right. They were all so good. “Life is a combination of light and dark. Nothing exists in a bubble. If the coven wants to be its very strongest, it won’t just search out the strongest light witches it can find. It will look for the strongest mix of witches it can find. All sides should be represented. Just because you have an affinity toward dark magic doesn’t mean you’ll be like her.”
Her, of course, being my mother. “What about what happened to Jessica? I would think after that the coven would want nothing to do with dark magic.”
He shrugged. “She was a light witch dabbling in dark magic and it weakened her. You managed just fine. Something to think about.”
I rebraided my hair, which was still unruly from being outside. “You’re sort of a know-it-all. I bet you were insufferable to grow up with. It almost makes me feel sorry for Selene.”
His laughter filled the room. “Nonsense. I was a joy to be around. The living embodiment of what she should aspire to.” He pushed himself off the wall and carefully placed a hand on my back, guiding me out of the cellar. “Let me know what you decide.”
The wind hit us harder and was colder than it was before, taking my breath. “You going to stick around?”
“Damn, it’s chilly.” Sy slipped his hands into his pockets. “For a while. I don’t know how long I can stay.”
“Can the other coven see you?” I asked.
He held the door open for me. “Only one way to find out.”
As a half-elf, humans couldn’t necessarily see him unless he wanted them to. However, the human exceptions were witches if they had significant magical abilities. Otherwise, they had to have their eyes opened to the world of the Abyss. I had only witnessed an exceptional magical ability in Dom, which made me genuinely curious about the rest of the coven. So, whether or not they could see Sy was a fairly easy test of their strength without having to openly challenge them like Alexis did me.
Sy stayed in the living room, taking a seat on the center of the couch with his arms stretched out over the back. I stood between the kitchen and the hallway where most everyone was. I cleared my throat. “Let’s meet in the living room and discuss our plan. Working as two separate groups isn’t going to help.” I tilted my chin at the girls from my coven and they lingered behind. I told them what was going on before we went to the living room.
None of the other coven chose to sit on the couch next to Sy, which was a good choice. He definitely looked shady. I smiled at my own thought and Sy winked at me from across the room. Katrina and Leslie sat on either side of him then Jessica squeezed in, too. But then the new coven all looked at me and I had no idea what to do next, short of asking them how many people were sitting on the couch.
“Let’s start with introductions,” Leslie said, coming to the rescue. “I’m Leslie. I’ve been a practicing witch for eight years. My innate abilities are more empathic than anything else, but the rest of my powers have grown a lot in the last few years with everything our coven has been through.” She reached around Sy and poked Jessica to go next.
Jessica slapped her hand. “I’m Jessica. I’ve been a practicing witch for…I don’t know seven-ish years. I used to be able to read lies and had some simple suggestive abilities, but last year my magic was stripped from me. That’s pretty much all.” She crossed her arms in the universal sign she wasn’t taking questions.
“Hey all, I’m Katrina. I have been a witch probably my whole life, but not officially until I met these ladies. My abilities started off with being able to see fairies and talk to them. My parents used to call them my imaginary friends, but they were real. All of it was real. I guess I’ve always had a connection to fae. Like Leslie, my powers have been getting stronger over the last few years.”
We looked at Dom who was sitting on the floor closest to the couch. “Dom,” he said. “I was born into this along with the rest of these losers. Angel is my blood sister, but growing up we were all always together so they all feel like family to me. I can shapeshift into a raven. What sort of stuff did you guys do to make your powers stronger?”
<
br /> “We can ask questions at the end,” I said. “Next.”
Angel’s head popped to attention. “I’m Angel, Dom’s fraternal twin and significantly better half. I haven’t found my ability yet, but why’d we skip the guy on the couch. What do you do?” she asked Sy directly.
All of her coven members looked at him and Sy smiled. “I’m not a witch. Let’s just say, I am here representing my cousin Selene who is a part of their coven until she can get here. We are half-elves, but Selene was recently raised as a human. It’s a long story. She has a fair amount of magical ability.”
Jessica snorted and Katrina shook her head. “Selene has a lot of power. More than any of us.”
Sy shrugged, looking unimpressed. The other coven looked at me for confirmation.
“She’s stronger than me,” I said honestly and their eyes widened. It was a different sort of magic, but I definitely couldn’t do what she could do. Then again, she couldn’t do what I could either. Sy’s pep talk about needing dark and light came back to mind. “Let’s continue. Terrick?”
He smiled. “I’m Terrick. My ability is a bit more pyro.”
Dom rolled his eyes. “He accidentally blows things up.”
Terrick shrugged. “It’s better than not being able to blow things up at all.”
Aisha shook her head like she couldn’t believe she was friends with these people. “I’m Aisha. My magic leans more toward divination. Those spells are the easiest for me and sometimes I get feelings about things.”
“Her feelings are always right,” Dom chimed in. “If Aisha has a feeling we all listen, even Alexis.”
“Where’s Alexis?” Katrina asked.
“She didn’t come,” Aisha said. “She’s threatened by Frost. But she is a pretty powerful witch in her own right. She’s adept with fire.”
That only left me. “Frost. I’m a necromancer.”
The front door opened wide.
16
JESSICA
