Finn smiled. “That’s alright. There are several other girls that would love to keep me company tonight.” He ignored my eye roll, though I knew he saw it, and looked at Tanya. “Stay here with her for a bit, will ya? I’ve gotta check something out.” He didn’t wait for an answer, and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in a room with three supernatural beings I’d never met and shouldn’t trust.
Tanya walked back to the couch, moving past the boy who hadn’t spoke yet, and sat down. “Don’t worry,” Holly said. “We don’t bite.”
She smiled at me, and from my spot near the door, I could see her pointed canines, and I wondered if they’d extend in the presence of blood.
“You don’t know much about supernaturals, do you?” Tanya asked, patting a spot on the couch next to her. I slowly moved to the couch and sat down beside her, careful to keep my distance. “For someone who only learned about all of this a few hours ago, you’re taking this very well.”
Only on the outside, I thought to myself. On the inside, I’m freaking out!
I tried not to let her see how freaked out I was, and I forced myself to smile at her. It felt hollow and fake, but she didn’t seem to mind. “Well, I just got dragged out of bed and kidnapped, and then thrown before a strange council because they thought I was trying to raise an army of the undead. I guess I’ve had to learn things as I go. I’ll probably wind up hysterical the first time I’m left alone, and I’ll have a major breakdown.”
“That’s ok,” Tanya said. “When Holly was first turned, she freaked out so badly she didn’t do anything but cry and scream for the first four or five days. After that though, you calm down enough to let others help you. If you need anything, tell Finn to bring you to me, and I’ll help in any way that I can. Supernaturals have to stick together, you know.”
I nodded. “Thanks,” I said. “But I just wanna go home and pretend that none of this ever happened. I’d like to forget about waking up to find Finn in my room, searching through my things. I’d like to forget that I have the power to apparently raise the dead, and I’d like to forget that the Council thinks I’m the necromancer they’re looking for. I just wanna wake up tomorrow in my own bed and be a normal girl–or, at least as normal as I can be, seeing as I can talk to the dead.”
“Sorry, Ronnie,” she said, startling me. I didn’t think I’d told them my name yet. “But you’ll never be normal again. The truth is, you can see and speak to the dead. You can raise the dead, and you can be a valuable asset to our “community” of supernaturals. Or you could be a huge threat, especially if you’re not trained. You’ll be here for a while, and you’ll come to enjoy this way of life eventually, trust me.”
“I doubt it,” I said. I didn’t want anything to do with this community and I definitely didn’t want anything to do with raising the dead. That one thing to me seemed like the worst part of all of this. The dead should always stay dead. They were dead for a reason.
No exceptions.
What about mom? If I could bring her back to life, would I do it?
Finn came back inside the room and he looked at me. “I’m supposed to take you to a more secluded room. The Council’s under the impression that you might need some time to think about things. They think you’ve had a trying few hours.” The way he said it made me think he disagreed. “I think you should just suck it up.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well, I guess I’m not an asshole like you.”
Tanya laughed, and I stalked past an angry Finn. He slammed the door shut behind us a little harder than necessary, and he trudged alongside me. “That wasn’t funny.”
“I thought it was.”
He just shook his head and walked a little faster. Six doors down from the room where Tanya and Holly were staying was an empty room. It was pretty basic, with just four white walls, a small couch, coffee table, and a thick, plush rug. Finn nodded his head to the couch. “Make yourself at home, courtesy of the Council. Try not to fall asleep.”
“Why?”
He smirked. “I think I’d enjoy waking you up too much,” he said, leaving me alone in the room.
The second the door closed, I collapsed against the couch, completely drained and exhausted. Now that I was alone, I had the opportunity to think about everything that had happened since I woke up to find Finn in my room, digging through my things. If I were a normal girl, he would have been arrested and thrown in jail, and I might have had a restraining order against him. But I wasn’t a normal girl, and I never would be for as long as I lived, which, according to Nancy, was a very long time.
“Supernaturals don’t age much once they reach adulthood. Full-grown, you’ll look about thirty for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, having to watch everyone you know die is a horrible thing, and many supernaturals take their lives. That’s why marriage between supernaturals is encouraged.”
Nancy was right. Before this all happened, my dreams for my future would have been graduation, then college to become a social worker so I could help children that grew up like me, then marriage and eventually children of my own. Now I’d never be able to have that.
How can I have a meaningful career if I’m never going to age? It’s not like I can just pretend to be fifty when I only look thirty! I’ll cause suspicion everywhere I go. What if some day fifty years from now, someone I grew up with recognizes me. What’ll happen to that person?
What am I supposed to do about love? I can either love a normal person and watch them die long before me, or I can love a supernatural. But from what I’ve seen so far of supernatural men my age, that’s not very promising. If all of them are like Finn, I’m screwed. I’ll never get married or be a mother.
I’ll never have a career.
I’ll never have a life…
Chapter Eight
The door opened some time later, and I woke up in an instant. I was on my feet and ready to fight off my kidnappers before I realized that it was the boy that had been hanging out with Tanya and Holly earlier. This was my first good look at him and unlike Finn this guy didn’t seem very dangerous.
He looked to be about sixteen and just under six feet tall. His hair was curly, short, and dark red. His eyes were a dark green color, his cheekbones were sharp, and his chin was pointed, giving him an almost feminine appearance. He had a thin build, but I could see the ropey muscle beneath his shirt when he moved. “I’m supposed to take you back to the council room. They need to speak with you. Immediately.”
I followed him out the door, suddenly more nervous and exhausted than ever before. If the clock on the wall above the double doors to the council room was correct, it was already eight thirty in the morning. I’d been here for five hours! I’d gotten very little sleep–none of it restful–and I’d learned so much in the last twenty-four hours that it made my head hurt just thinking about it.
It’s about to get worse…
I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. It was just a gut feeling I had. It was an instinct, deep inside, telling me that something terrible was about to happen. I had the strangest urge to turn around and run away from these double doors and what was waiting inside, but I couldn’t. So, I squared my shoulders, threw open the doors, and strode into the room, hoping the council members didn’t realize how terrified I was.
Marcel Trent was in the middle of the high table, and he looked at me with interest, which scared me more than anything else that had happened so far. He watched me approach the table, and I made sure to stop a respectful distance away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Finn walk into the room and stand in the corner, buttoning his shirt and trying to smooth out his messy hair.
I wonder what he was doing. I thought sarcastically.
He winked at me and I turned away, disgusted. The Council members pretended not to notice him, but I thought I saw a bit of anger on Lisa Valentine’s face. She quickly covered it, due to the obviously serious nature of the meeting, and she peered down at me. “Veronica Parker, we have something to tell y
ou. Something that has caused us great discomfort in the past few hours. Something about your mother you may wish you’d never found out.”
I straightened. “My mother?” I couldn’t believe it. These people knew her. “What about her?”
Lisa folded her hands. “When I was searching through your mind for any sign of evil, I stumbled across something very…sinister. Something you aren’t even aware of.”
“How? If I’m not aware of it–”
“When I was in your mind, I cast another spell, one that would allow me to peer briefly into your future. It wasn’t what I found, but what I didn’t find that has me so worried.”
“What didn’t you find?”
“Any trace of a future.”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Finn. He was frowning, and his pale blue eyes were looking at me like I was some kind of freak, which probably wasn’t very good. I turned my attention away from his piercing stare and back to the Council members. “Is that bad?” I asked. Maybe her spell just didn’t work right, and that’s why she can’t find my future.
“The only reason a person would not have a future is if they were dead,” Lisa said, looking at me gravely. “Veronica, at one point or another in your life, you died, and you should have stayed dead.”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m not dead. I’m standing right here!”
“Veronica, your mother was a necromancer, just like you. We did some digging, and we found your hospital records. When your mother was seven months pregnant with you, she found out that your heart had stopped. You were stillborn, but your mother used her power to bring you back to life. Because of her power, you continued to grow inside of her and, two months later, you were delivered happy and seemingly healthy.”
I was stillborn and she brought me back to life? No, it’s not possible!
What these people were telling me was so horrible, and so disgusting, and so wrong that I just wanted to curl up into a ball and die…again. Sweat broke out over my forehead, my eyesight started to blur, and I started to sway gently back and forth. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t hear anything other than the rapid beating of my own heart. It was strong, fast, and healthy–not the heart of a dead person.
I’m a monster…
Everything went black again, and I crashed to the floor of the council meeting room.
*****
“How long do you think she’ll be out?” Tanya asked.
“I don’t know,” Holly said dully.
“Did she really just faint in the middle of the Council’s meeting? She must have gotten some pretty bad news to just let go like that. I wonder what they told her.”
“Oh, she got bad news alright,” Finn said tightly. “Her mother used her necromancy to bring her back to life when she was stillborn. She’s fucking dead.” Finn sounded disgusted, or maybe repulsed was a better word for it. “And she came back to life and kept growing when she should have been buried six feet under.”
There were a few gasps. “No!” Tanya said. “That’s not possible. People can’t grow after dead, Fin. You must have heard the Council wrong.”
“I didn’t. Lisa couldn’t find her future, so they went digging through her medical records and stuff. It’s the truth; they found a document stating that her heartbeat was gone at the seven month check-up. She’s a freak.”
“Don’t say that about her!” Tanya said angrily. “How would you like it if you just found out your whole life was a lie, that you were part of our world, and that you had…well, died? How would you be feeling right now?”
“I wouldn’t be feeling anything, I’d be dead!” Finn snapped. “Tanya, she’s not one of us; she doesn’t deserve your pity or sympathy. She’s a freak among freaks, and nothing will ever change that. The fact is that she’s dangerous to have around.”
“Why?” I asked, opening my eyes.
Everyone jumped and Tanya looked down guiltily at me. “Ronnie, how do you feel? Finn told us what happened in the Council’s meeting room. I guess a shock like that can really take its toll on a person’s health.”
I was on the couch in the small room Finn left me in earlier, and I sat up and looked around. Tanya was by my side, looking at me with large, earnest, turquoise eyes, and Holly was on my other side, looking like she could care less about being here. Finn was lounging against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, and he was looking at me with such disgust that it actually unnerved me.
“I feel like everything I ever knew about myself was a lie. Finn’s right; I’m a freak, and I shouldn’t be here.” I skewered him with my eyes and he nervously ran a hand through his long hair. “Why do you think I’m dangerous?”
“You’re unpredictable. After you fainted during the meeting, the Council members decided that you’re to stay here for testing and observation. They can’t in good conscious let you leave this place, because you might do something harmful to humans. You’d risk exposing us.”
“They can’t keep me here!” I shouted, getting to my feet. The room spun a little and Tanya steadied me. “I have a home and a life–even if it’s not a really great one at times. I have school and my cat. This is kidnapping!”
“Actually, the kidnapping was what took place when they grabbed you from your home. This is more like unlawful confinement or something like that,” Tanya said, trying to be helpful.
“It doesn’t matter!” I said, exasperated. “This is not right and I’m going home. I need to think and I need to be with my at, and I just…need to be.” I got up and headed for the door, but I was blocked when Finn stepped in front of it, barring the exit. “Finn, get out of my way!”
“I can’t let you go,” he said, looking at me with no emotion whatsoever. “The Council has ordered that you stay here until they’re completely sure you won’t be a threat to anyone. We can’t risk you exposing us. Life for supernaturals is already hard enough when the world sees people that never age; we don’t need an untrained necromancer running around raising the dead or doing something equally stupid.”
“Let me by, Finnley.”
He glared at me. “Don’t you ever call me Finnley,” he growled. “And I just told you; I can’t let you go. You’ve been ordered to stay here until the Council deems you safe to live among normal humans once again. We can’t take any chances with you. They’ve also ordered me to be your bodyguard, to make sure you don’t try to escape.”
“I’ve gone almost seventeen years without any accidents. Nobody knows what I am. Until a few hours ago, I didn’t even know what I am! You guys can’t keep me here! I’ll call the police and have you arrested.”
He chuckled darkly. “Go ahead and try. We have people in high places. Nothing will happen, so you can make as many threats or phone calls as you want.”
I tried to shove my way past him, but it was like trying to move a boulder. He stood his ground and crossed his arms over his chest again. “You are not getting by me. Try all you want, I’m not budging.”
I glared at him and stamped my foot in exasperation. “Move!”
He laughed. “Did you just stamp your foot? I thought only little girls having a temper tantrum did that.”
I tried to get by him one more time and he wrapped an arm around my waist and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and screamed, and he stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He walked down the hall, ignoring the curious glances people gave u, and stopped at a door farther down.
He opened the door, revealing a room with a twin-sized bed, a small pine dresser, and a comfortable green rug on the floor. He walked into the room, dropped me down carelessly on the bed, and shut the door behind him. When I got off the bed and tried the door, I found it was locked, and it refused to budge, much like Finn.
For a few minutes, I banged on the door, hoping that someone would open it and save me, but nobody arrived. After a while, I gave up, and sat back down on the bed. There was nothing to do but try and relax, and think about everything
that happened since I first saw Finn standing outside my bedroom window.
I’m a supernatural being–a necromancer–and I have the power to raise and control the dead. I’ve been stalked by a werewolf, kidnapped by other supernaturals, and now I’m being held against my will. All because I died while my mother was pregnant with me and she stupidly used her necromancy to bring me back to life…
Chapter Nine
A few hours later, the door opened, and Tanya walked in. Her large blue wings fluttered rapidly behind her, and she closed the door, before perching on the edge of my bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m still being held here against my will. How should I be feeling? Why are you even talking to me? Don’t you think I’m some kind of freak like Finn does? Shouldn’t you be glaring at me with disgust?”
She sighed. “It shouldn’t matter what choices your mother made when she was pregnant with you. They define what you are, not who you are, Ronnie. You’re still the same girl you were two days ago, and nothing is going to change that. So what if you’re a necromancer that was brought back from the dead. Who cares? I’m a fairy with magical abilities. I have wings, Ronnie.”
“I noticed,” I said dryly, making her laugh. “But that’s different. All fairies have wings, right? All necromancers aren’t brought back to life while still in the womb, right? You’re a freak. I’m a freak among freaks. How many people are going to react like Finn did? Will I be shunned everywhere I go for the rest of my life?”
“I’m not sure what Finn’s problem is. But to be honest, he’s not much of a people person–few werewolves are–but he doesn’t generally like women unless he’s sleeping with them.”
“What’s the deal with that?” I asked. “When we passed through the halls after my first meeting with the Council, like three girls gave him the look as we were walking by. And when he came back during my second Council meeting, he was disheveled and was buttoning up his pants.”
Dark Heritage Trilogy Page 5
