by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Twenty-One
Shanna looked behind her as they stalked up the road to the old plantation in plain sight, daring anybody who would bar their path to try and stop them. Krystal, Damien, Serene, Lupe and Ash followed her lead. A necromancer, a vampire, a siren, a werewolf and a sorcerer who used the magick of a demon. Who would have thought that she would ever be in such company? Battling monsters at the side of monsters. It really did prove that not everything was black and white. There was good in monsters. Her eyes lingered on Lupe. Well, some of them. And that they were willing to put their lives on the line in order to help her regain her friends made them better than most people in her eyes. She would be in their debt. They were her allies, whatever manner of beast they may be.
“You okay?” Damien fell into step beside her and offered her a crooked smile, causing her heart to do a flip in her chest. He was gorgeous. He had to know what effect he had on her. He was probably listening to her heartbeat quicken right now, and loving the power he had over her.
“This is what I do,” she replied, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes and trying to appear as if his presence didn’t affect her. “I can handle myself.”
“I don’t doubt that, but in this company, you may need an extra pair of eyes.”
“Perhaps.”
Damien’s hand brushed against hers and she flushed, before silently cursing herself. She was really happy to see him again, but she had to stay focused. Her friends’ lives were at stake here. She couldn’t let her crush distract her from that.
“After this, I’ll take you to a great place I know,” Damien said softly. “You can get the best Cajun food around. I stumbled across it a few years ago and always have to stop when I’m around these parts.”
Shanna glanced over at him. “You come here often?”
He shrugged. “When I’m touring.”
She nodded, suddenly besieged by images of him playing his guitar, like when she’d first met him. Frowning, she recalled how he had traipsed through her mind their first meeting as well. She wondered if she could rely on him to help reclaim her memories. He wasn’t a mind reader exactly, but he certainly had some experience prying into the mind. Not that she particularly liked the idea of him poking around in there, especially given the more…graphic thoughts she’d had of Damien since she’d met him. But it would be worth the embarrassment, provided he was able to retrieve what she so desperately needed. She would have to ask him later, assuming they survived this.
Shanna suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked back to see Serene behind her, a worried expression on her face. “Serene? What is it?”
Serene looked past her and pointed in the direction they were walking.
Following her hand, Shanna saw a figure shuffling toward them in the distance, not trying to hide, but steadily walking their way.
“What do we do?” Shanna asked after watching it for a moment.
“Keep moving,” Damien said.
“What is it?”
“A zombie.”
“Told you so,” Krystal said loudly, satisfaction thick in her voice.
Shanna frowned at the figure that was slowly growing closer. It was dark, but the moon highlighted enough for her to see that the creature was dragging one its legs stiffly as it walked, and stood stiff as a board instead of swinging its arms and bending like a person. It gave the creature the illusion of being pulled by strings like a marionette. It was somehow unsettling.
“Don’t worry,” Lupe said. “It won’t eat your brains.”
Shanna rolled her eyes and ignored her. In fact, they were all silent as they approached the zombie. When they were only a dozen feet away, Shanna slowed and came to a stop, watching the creature warily. He was a black man, tall and broad-shouldered, with a scar running down the side of his face from his right temple to the bottom of his ear. He stared straight at her, but seemed to look right through her, his eyes milky and unfocused. He wore a loose shirt and pants that were practically rags, but he certainly didn’t seem to notice his state.
“It’s like a machine,” Krystal frowned, stepping up to Shanna. “I can’t believe that’s a person.”
“It’s merely a body,” Ash told them.
Shanna glanced back at him and caught his eye. “What do you mean, merely a body?”
“Just what I said. There is no soul in that body anymore. Roma has extracted it. She will have sold it at The Soul Market, or used it for her own dark sorcery. But she can still use the body. The mind will process simple commands and will remain loyal to her, provided that she spelled the body correctly, which I’m sure she did. When her vampires have taken refuge during the day, her zombies and loup-garous can still protect her, even if she doesn’t have complete control over them like she does the undead flesh of the vampires. At least the zombies will remain loyal, won’t question her. And her loup-garous, well, she takes care of them well enough, doesn’t she?”
“We get by,” Lupe sniffed.
“So, there’s no helping him?” Shanna asked, turning back to the eyes of the man, which truly seemed dead and void of life.
“No, there is not.”
She nodded, starting as the zombie held a hand out to her. She glanced down at its hand and noted the yellow envelope it held out to her. Glancing nervously back at the others, she accepted the letter, opening it slowly, as if something might try to leap from its folds and attack her. She pulled out a card, written in beautiful silver script.
“Indigo Roma requests an audience with Krystal and her friends,” she read aloud, glancing up once at the zombie. “You will be expected shortly.”
She looked back at the others with an eyebrow raised. “Well, she was certainly expecting us to be here.”
Krystal suddenly straightened. “And I really don’t think we have much choice in the matter, you guys. I just felt dozens of vampires circling us, just on the periphery of my powers. I don’t think they’re going to just watch us walk into those caves and ignore Roma’s summons.”
“No, I think not,” Ash agreed. He sighed and looked up at the zombie. “Very well, minion. Take us to your master.”
As if the zombie understood what he’d said, it began to shuffle off back in the direction it had come from, taking a dirt path away from the caves and toward where Shanna assumed Roma resided.
Shanna let out a deep breath and offered Krystal a smile of encouragement. “Well, we’d better see what she wants.”
Krystal looked worried, but nodded, following quietly, like the rest of them, as the zombie led them through the dark night.
They walked for miles, along a path that ran between fields of cotton and sugar cane, then through an orchard with trees whose branches were weighed down with apples and pears. Shanna looked down the rows of trees, at how uniform each row was, until the trees suddenly ended. She looked up to see a large three-story mansion, yellow lights glowing bright in every window, illuminating the surrounding landscape, which was populated by dark figures on high alert. Nobody tried to stop them, however, as they followed the zombie to the front door, where it stepped to the side of the doorway and ushered them through, into the lion’s den.
Shanna couldn’t help but stick close to Damien as they ventured within. He made her feel safer, even facing down something as horrible as a necromancer who sold the souls of human beings, before using their bodies to serve her.
Two loup-garous stood at the bottom of a sweeping staircase, along with two vampires. Shanna recognized one of the werewolves from the forest, and it seemed to be grinning at her triumphantly, despite its muzzle.
“Ah, here they are!” a voice rang out.
Shanna looked up to see Roma appear at the top of the stairs. She bounded down gaily, a wide grin on her face, as if she were greeting old friends.
“I was hoping you would come,” she said. “It saved us all plenty of bloodshed.” She continued to bound down the stairs until she stepped off
onto the floor in front of Shanna, where she stopped and smiled at them all, a note of smugness in her eyes. “Welcome to my humble home.” She eyed Shanna’s set jaw and stiff demeanor and clucked her tongue. “Come now, you’re my guests. You won’t be harmed unless you’re planning on being all stubborn-like.”
“I doubt we will be cooperating with you fully,” Ash said.
Roma glanced at him and laughed. “No, I suppose not. But that’s no reason not be friendly for now, is it?” She turned to Lupe. “And just what are you doing in this company, Lupe?”
“Just keeping an eye on them for you,” Lupe said, bowing her head slightly.
“I knew it,” Krystal muttered.
Roma grinned at them. “Now, don’t be upset with Lupe. She’s a loyal one. Obedient to a fault.”
Shanna refrained from snorting as Roma swept past Shanna, eyeing Serene and Damien. She stopped in front of Krystal. “And here you are,” she sighed. “I’ve so been looking forward to chatting with you. Shall we have some tea?”
Krystal opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Roma didn’t seem to notice the lack of a response, however. She clapped her hands and a beautiful brunette vampire in a maid’s uniform stood at attention beside her.
“Some tea, if you please,” Roma ordered, then smiled demurely at her guests. “Come with me so that we can have that talk now.”
Shanna sent a wary look Damien’s way, but complied, letting Krystal take the lead into the next room, as she was obviously the one that Roma was most interested in.
Roma brought them to a parlor full of stiff-backed chairs and sofas, with what looked like gold trim. It was a large room, with a grand piano playing lightly in the background, a handsome black man on the bench, paying them little mind. Beyond the piano, there were plenty of people observing them. Loup-garous, vampires, slack-jawed zombies, and a few people in robes, their faces covered by masquerade masks, probably witches. One of them had red hair billowing from out of the hood, and Shanna hoped for an instant that it was Amelia, but she could tell that that wasn’t the case rather quickly. The hair was too orange, like lava.
Then her eyes focused on the man beside her. A brunette man with a cocky smile on his face. Even with a gold mask in place, he looked a lot like Cameron. Her eyes widened and she found that her lungs were suddenly empty. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as anxiety washed over her. She’d been expecting to come face-to-face with him eventually, but now that he was here, she was terrified. He wouldn’t let her just walk away.
“I have other guests,” Roma said, motioning for them to take a seat on the sofas. “But don’t you pay them any mind. They’re interested in you as much as I am, and are certainly willing to wait their turn.” She paused as she noticed Shanna’s stare. “Dear?”
Shanna closed her eyes and saw the wild desperation in his eyes again as he came after her in that muddy field. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, willing herself not to be so frightened in his presence. She forced herself to look at him, to meet his eyes. And then she frowned. It wasn’t him. The man she was looking at hardly resembled him at all, in fact. Was she imagining things?”
“Shanna?” Damien touched her arm, and she looked down at him, read the concern in his face. Sending him a reassuring smile, she took a seat beside him on the sofa. She turned to look back at the man one more time to make sure, but she was certain that he was not Cameron. Her imagination had been playing tricks on her.
Damien turned to look at the masked figures to see what she was looking at, but stared back at her blankly a moment later. She shook his head at him. “It’s nothing,” she whispered.
“Well, then,” Roma said, watching her carefully as she took a seat. She sat down in a chair beside a handsome black man, a tattoo spilling out from the collar of his shirt, in the shape of a crow. Shanna stared at the man for a moment, because he seemed to be sitting uncomfortably in his chair. Was he perhaps in a situation similar to their own?
Roma saw where her attention had wandered and nodded. “Yes, this is my husband, Wilhelm. He doesn’t talk much these days.”
“That’s because he’s dead,” Krystal said. “You keep his body preserved with your powers, I take it?”
As if she hadn’t heard this question, Roma smiled at her husband. “He really is a good man. Quiet, but kind. He leaves everything to me. At least this side of him does. You don’t want to see his bad side.”
Shanna met Krystal’s worried gaze and offered her an encouraging smile.
Roma looked up as tea was brought in. Shanna paid little mind to what she was receiving in her cup, and turned down offers for sugar and milk. She took a sip of the bitter brew before holding the cup in her hand, untouched the rest of the time.
“Well, I believe that introductions are in order,” Roma said expectantly, then frowned when no one spoke. She glanced over at Lupe. “Lupe?”
Lupe sat up in her seat. “This is Ash, Damien Farr, Serene, Krystal Fellstar and Shanna Hunt.”
Roma’s eyes widened. “Shanna Hunt? The Shanna Hunt?” She stood up angrily, then seemed to recall herself and sat back down, replacing a smile on her face. “I have heard much about you, hunter.”
“Have you?” Shanna asked, swallowing hard. “Good things, I hope.”
Chuckling, Roma sat forward. “You killed my associate, Scarlet Fever. We had big plans, her and I. Her murder is hardly an offense that I can ignore.”
Shanna paled, but Damien put a hand on her arm reassuringly.
“She is under the protection of La Faer Noir,” he said in an authoritative voice. “No harm may come to her.”
Roma raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know why you deem to tell me what I may do. La Faer Noir has no authority here, and certainly none over me. I will do with Shanna Hunt as I please.” Her eyes narrowed. “I will do with all of you as I please.”
“This isn’t going very well,” Krystal murmured.
Roma turned to her. “Krystal, dear Krystal, I’ve heard of you, of your powers. And when I met you in that little shop, I knew that you were a special girl. I could feel the power rolling off of you in waves. I still can.” She tilted her head. “I could perhaps be persuaded to forgive your friend her offense if you stood at my side. Think of what we could do together, with so much power between us. You are a necromancer, I presume?”
Krystal licked her lips. “Ah, yes.”
“I thought as much. One of my zombies felt your power and followed you around the other night, thinking you were me. An embarrassing mistake, I assure you. I hope he didn’t overly frighten you?” Roma watched her for a moment, expecting an answer, but sat back when she got none, a dreamy smile coming over her face. “I expect the power of two could expand my range considerably. I don’t think two necromancers have joined forces before. It’s worth looking into. Just think of how powerful our cumulative power could be.” She perked up suddenly. “Oh, let’s play a little game, shall we?”
Damien suddenly tensed beside Shanna. She turned to him with a questioning look to find his hands reaching for her throat. She scooted away, but he continued after her until his fingers were sliding over her neck.
“Stop it!” Krystal jumped to her feet.
“Make me stop!” Roma laughed. “Yes, see if you can stop me from having this vampire kill your friend.”
Krystal’s eyes blazed and even Shanna felt the power charging the air through her desperate situation. Damien’s fingers hadn’t so much as squeezed around her neck, and it seemed that they wouldn’t, as he rather quickly dropped his hands.
Roma frowned. “Well, you’re much more powerful than I expected. And for such a little thing.”
Krystal glared at her. “Don’t do that again.”
Roma lifted an eyebrow. “Would you stop me if I did?”
Damien sat down again and offered Shanna an apologetic smile. He looked exhausted from the effort of fight
ing off Roma’s powers. She patted his hand reassuringly.
“I’m not evil,” Krystal said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Roma.
Roma chuckled. “Is that right, now? Then every necromancer who has come before you is, what? Wrong? They weren’t giving in to their true natures when they allowed themselves to be lost in to the power coursing through their veins? No, girl. Our power is over death and decay. Dead flesh and rot. There’s nothing sunny and happy about it.” She reached over and touched her husband’s arm. “There are advantages, of course. My body has stopped aging. I don’t need to bottle up my essence into a new body every time mine gets old like other sorcerers. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? To live forever without the disadvantages that vampires and werewolves face?” She looked expectantly at Krystal, who didn’t blink. Roma sighed. “And of course, absolute power over the dead. Why, even over the living in some ways.” She flicked her wrist and Krystal’s hair pulled away from her scalp, as if it had a mind of its own.
Krystal looked panicked for a moment, before her hair seemed to return to normal, falling into those beautiful curls once more.
Roma nodded. “That’s right. Hair is not alive. It’s made up of dead calls. So are fingernails. You can take advantage of an opponent, even a live one, if you know where to strike and when. I could teach you these things. Make you into a formidable necromancer.”
“I’ll have to decline,” Krystal said with a tight smile.
Roma sighed. “Very well. I’ll give you some time to think it over.” She glanced back at the vampires, zombies and loup-garous in the room. “Please see our guests to the dungeon. The nice one.”
“Oh, good,” Damien murmured. “A nice dungeon.”
Shanna sighed as she stood up. “I would much rather be having that Cajun food right now.”
