Death Crowned: An Urban Fantasy Series (Modern Necromancy Book 3)

by Justin Sloan

  “Thanks,” she said, then lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. “But now I think our focus needs to be on Mr. Fletcher and stopping the demons.”

  “Ah, right.”

  They exited the car and approached the house, but when they reached the door and rang the buzzer, there was no response.

  Rohan walked along the porch, careful not to stumble over the broken bench swing that lay on the rotting wood. He tried to see through the small gap in the light brown curtains, but it was dark inside.

  Nora knocked this time, then shrugged his way. Something about the way she shrugged caught his attention, and his eyes lingered on her.

  She laughed.

  “Is this the right time to be giving me those eyes?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked. “What eyes?”

  “Oh, come on.” She looked at him with mock lust, and he blushed as he turned away.

  “Whatever.” He looked up at the second story, frowning. “You sure this is the right place?”

  “Positive,” she said. “That broken swing was here last time too. It hasn’t changed a bit. This entire place needs to be freshened up.”

  “You two probably have a lot in common then,” he said.

  “Hey!”

  “I’m just saying, you obviously didn’t have a cleaning service taking care of your place.” He scoffed at the thought, remembering when he’d arrived at her house with Altemus in his body, and how much of a mess it’d been.

  “Those ‘I want you so bad’ eyes you were giving me a second ago?” She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Completely negated by your inconsiderate mouth.”

  “Sorry,” he said, glancing back to see if she was really annoyed. Damn. “I think I’m just distracted by all this. It’s wearing on me.”

  “And you don’t think having my house haunted by spirits was getting to me? How was I supposed to clea—”

  “I’m sorry, okay?” He turned to her and took her hands in his. “Listen, we’re both stressed. I was trying to make a joke, but it was obviously dumb, I get it. Now, can we save the world?”

  She puckered her lips in thought, then nodded. “Fine.” Her eyes went wide and she pointed at the window. “Oh, the curtain! It moved again!”

  “Dammit.” He went to the door and pounded on it. “Mr. Fletcher! James Fletcher!”

  On the fourth pounding, the door creaked open.

  “Huh,” Nora said, with a should we? glance to Rohan. She shrugged, then pushed the door the rest of the way and said, “Mr. James Fletcher, sir, if you’re home… My name’s Nora, and this is my…?”

  She looked at Rohan, and he realized she was trying to figure out what to call him.

  “Friend,” he offered.

  She flinched at that, then mouthed the word back to him. Friend? He held out his hands to the side and nodded, trying to convey that this wasn’t really the time. But she just looked at him like what?

  “Oh, come on,” Rohan said, waving her off in frustration. “He might be lying in his bathtub with his wrists slit while we sit here making faces.”

  He pushed past her and entered the house, noticing how dark it was, but not sure he wanted to turn on a light and scare Mr. Fletcher. The man could be very old, for all Rohan knew.

  “Rohan, wait,” Nora said, tip-toeing in behind him. “We don’t know if—”

  Something moved behind her and she turned, screaming at the top of her lungs.

  Meeowww, a tabby cat meowed before scampering off.

  Rohan stood frozen, hand to his chest, and then the laughter just bubbled out of him. He was pointing at her and laughing, and he couldn’t help it.

  “You… you shoulda seen yourself!” he said between gurgles of laughter.

  “Oh shut up!” She hit him in the shoulder, and it actually hurt enough to make him stop laughing so hard.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Do we check upstairs?”

  “Excuse me?” a voice said, and they spun round to see an old woman in the front doorway. She had on a pretty violet cardigan that did not match her frown. “What’re you doing in Mr. Fletcher’s home?”

  Rohan turned, searching for an excuse, then saw the bookshelf that he’d missed by being distracted. A whole wall full of books, and one that caught Rohan’s eyes immediately.

  It was a pristine copy of the one they’d borrowed from Tess’s house.

  “Just, looking for Mr. Fletcher,” he said, distantly. “He said I could borrow a book.”

  “Well,” the old lady said, tilting her head as if trying to assess him. “That does sound a bit like him.”

  “Do you happen to know where he is?” Nora asked, casting a hopeful glance and a raised eyebrow her way.

  The woman scratched her lower back, squinting, and then her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. I saw him heading over to the park.” She turned and pointed to a hill. “That way.”

  When she turned back, Rohan was sure she was going to say farewell and take off, but she just stood there, arms crossed now, and staring.

  “You two being strangers and all,” she put her hands back on her hips, “I don’t think you two should be sticking around.”

  Rohan nodded and went to the door to exit, but the lady stood there, judging him.

  “That way?” he said, pointing to the hill again.

  She grunted, but finally moved out of the way.

  “Thank you.” He walked past her, and then turned to Nora and said, “Come on, friend.”

  She smiled and followed him out, then pinched him hard in the side when the old woman wasn’t looking. He was certain that was going to leave a bruise.

  “So I’m just your friend now?” she asked at the car. He started to walk over to open her door, but she held a hand up to his chest and said, “No, friend, I got this.”

  When she had entered, he went back to his side, slid into the driver’s seat, and turned on the ignition.

  Since the lady had pointed toward the hill, that’s where they headed, but as they passed several toppled houses along the way, Rohan felt a dread creeping up in his chest. At first he thought it was just him turning into a giant wuss, but then he noticed a strange look in Nora’s eyes.

  “You sense it too?” he asked.

  She took his hand and nodded. “There,” she said, pointing to the way the sky seemed to change color on the horizon—blue above and purple below.

  “The spiritual realm,” Rohan said, the cold sensation sweeping over him. He wanted to pull his coat over himself and zip it up tight.

  They reached the top of the hill and saw a park before them. What would have normally been a grassy field around the swings and slides had been turned into massive lakes of swirling, purple energy. Spirits were converging on the spot, some leaving, some going.

  “I’m guessing this is one of those gateways to the afterlife?” Nora asked.

  “Looks like it.” He pulled the car over and put it in park, then just sat there, staring at the sight. A glance around showed him something he hadn’t realized before—there were other spots throughout the city where lines of silver light seemed to rise out from the ground, others black and red—like a distant rain, they were barely noticeable.

  “How many are there?” She asked, seeing them too.

  “I don’t know, but it’s up to us to seal them,” he said, and proceeded to get out of the car.

  The change was instantaneous—instead of silver, the lake shifted to red and the spirits froze, corrupted as the air seemed to bubble and boil before turning like a wave of darkness to converge on him.

  “What the hell?!” Nora shouted as she hopped out of the car and joined him. “Did you know that would happen?”

  “I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car if I had!” he shouted back, and then wrapped an arm around her. “Brace yourself!”

  They pulled into each other, closing their eyes and focusing on their energy to push back the spirits. He imagined a massive shield, and a moment later felt energy
surging past them, around them, but not hitting them.

  When he opened his eyes, Nora was staring in amazement at a silver and purple dome of light that protected them as the dark wave continued its pointless assault.

  “NOW!” Rohan shouted, and together they stepped toward the lake of energy, pushing their shield with them as they went. Each step was a struggle, and with each step small wisps of the dark energy penetrated their shield, cutting at their flesh.

  Rohan grunted at the force and the pain, but he continued pushing, and felt Nora giving him courage and strength at his side.

  She got hit this time, and nearly fell back, but he held on tight, refusing to let go. Soon she was back on her feet, continuing on. At the edge of the lake, the two lifted out their free hands, the other hands clutched in each other’s, and they focused the energy out and down.

  With a swoosh of air and tearing at their skin, as if tiny shards of glass were flying around them, the energy returned to the lake. With a mighty crash, the energy exploded, sending Rohan and Nora to the ground.

  “Ughh.” Rohan pushed himself up, trying to clear his mind of the pain, and then he froze, smiling. The lake of energy was gone, the grass park back as it was meant to be.

  “Only, what, a billion of those left to close?” Nora said, wiping a line of blood from her forehead.

  “To know it’s possible though,” Rohan said. “That gives me hope.”

  A shadow fell across them, and they both looked up to see an old man in a light brown trench coat, a sweater vest underneath. His hair was white, his glasses silver.

  “You might be on their side,” the old man said, looking at them skeptically. “But since you just closed that gate, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. The name’s Fletcher. James Fletcher.”

  Chapter 15: James Fletcher

  James led them to his house, where they each pretended they’d never seen the place. When he placed two sarsaparilla sodas on the table for them and sat at the table, they joined him.

  “You must tell me how you closed that portal,” he said. His eyes were very serious, lacking any expression other than suspicion, until his cat leaped onto his lap, purring, and then James seemed a different man. Instantly he was all smiles, rubbing the cat behind the ears as he said, “There you are, Creamsicle.”

  “You have a wonderful cat there, Mr. Fletcher,” Nora said.

  James looked back up with the suspicion returning, but then it was gone just as fast and he smiled wide, revealing perfectly white teeth—fakes, if Rohan had to guess.

  “Of course I do,” he said. “Do you two own a pet?”

  “We’ve been on the market for one,” she said, taking Rohan’s hand.

  He loved the warmth of her hand in his, the soft touch of her skin, but wasn’t so sure about the fact that she was stretching the truth a bit.

  “I’d love a cat,” he quickly added, figuring it wouldn’t do any good to change course now. Plus, it was the truth.

  James nodded, assessing them as if he approved. “So, back to this gateway you closed….”

  “Ah yes.” Rohan leaned in, took a long drink of his sarsaparilla, and then breathed heavily before saying, “We’re both necromancers.”

  The man’s eyes went wide, but he simply grunted.

  “Not by choice,” Rohan added. “That goes for the both of us.”

  “I know how that is,” James said, his posture relaxing. “My studies opened up a world I never knew existed, one that I’d erase from my brain at the first opportunity if I could. But that world followed me, stuck with me, in the form of spirits. The only way I could find to rid myself of them was through the study of the dark arts.”

  “So you know about this world first hand?” Nora asked.

  “Oh, I know it.” His expression turned grim and he stared out the window, toward the hill with the park. “And I paid a high price for it. My marriage, my kids… even friends. All gone, either dead or turned insane, because of this spiritual warfare of mine. Those little books I wrote were therapeutic for me.”

  “But given the opportunity, you’d do everything in your power to see these spirits cast out of your life for good?” Rohan leaned forward farther.

  “By the heavens, yes.” The old man squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them, they were moist. “More than anything I want to be with my family again… but only after I know this world is safe. What did you have in mind?”

  Nora took the book from Tess’s house and placed it on the table. She thumbed to the story about the king, and pointed at the page. “We can’t do it without him.”

  James’s face went pale. “The Lich King….”

  “Your book, it’s clearly talking about him, right?” Nora stared at him, and for the first time there seemed to be a speck of doubt in her eyes.

  Before she could ask again, and Rohan could tell by the way she was leaning in that she was about to, Rohan said, “Listen, you’re our only chance against all this. We’ve taken down a few demons already, but that was difficult. Considering the most powerful demon is still out there, we think we’re going to need some help.”

  “That,” James said, looking at them warily, “and the fact that the demons can just keep returning until you banish them. Yeah, I’d say you need my damn help, and yeah, I think, think mind you, we can summon the Lich King.”

  “Great!” Nora sat back, clearly looking relieved.

  James, however, did not. He held his face in his palms and rocked back and forth.

  “Um, Mr. Fletcher?” Rohan knocked on the table to get his attention. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “If just anyone could summon the Lich King, it’d be done, don’t you think?” James stood now, letting the cat run off. “Here’s the deal, okay. It’s not going to be me. As long as we all understand that.”

  “But we came all this way,” Nora said. “You have to help!”

  “Stop!” He turned from them, then said, “You didn’t understand the part about sacrifice, I’m guessing.”

  “A blood sacrifice?” Rohan said, heart sinking. He’d had his fair share of exposure to blood sacrifices and portals to the afterlife, thanks to Altemus. Somehow, he had hoped this time would be different.

  “Kuso,” Nora said, in what sounded like a foreign swear word. “So we basically have to kill someone to save the world?”

  “Hold on,” Rohan said. “I’m no stranger to the sacrifice part. But we just need to talk to the Lich King.”

  “But if we are to banish the demons, a sacrifice would be required,” James said, smiling wryly. “It’s in my book. Didn’t you read it?”

  Rohan thumbed through the book quickly.

  “The sacrifice is not for the Lich King. It’s for Lady Death.”

  “Can’t we just sacrifice some already-dead person?” Nora asked.

  “No. It has to be one of the living.” James shook his head, eyes full of pity. “Someone must die a noble death. Meaning… your best bet here would be one of you two.”

  Nora gulped. Rohan felt his arms shaking.

  “Are you serious with this?” He said, his voice rising. He stood and the chair scraped across the floor. “This isn’t some sort of ploy to, in some sick way, get your goodies off from watching one of us die?”

  “I’m afraid it’s simply the truth of it,” James said, that look of pity stronger than ever. He took the book and pointed to a passage. “Right here it says the demons must meet Death. That doesn’t mean become dead in some typical human way. No, they’re demons, after all. It means they must be sentenced by the Lich King, held by Lady Death herself.”

  “This is so not cool,” Nora said, staring at him, and then shifting her eyes to Rohan. Was that doubt he saw?

  “Nora…” Rohan started.

  “What?” she asked. “Are you going to convince me to kill myself now? This is part of our grand, romantic adventure? We meet, you save me from demons, and then we kill ourselves
like ROMEO AND JULIET!”

  “Just one of us,” Rohan said, steeling his nerves for what he was about to say. “There’s no questioning this. It has to be me.”

  “NO!” she stood, knocking her chair back in the process. “Don’t you dare say that. Don’t you dare leave me alone in this world.”

  “You’ll learn to live on, to move on.” He stood too, and took her hands. “I did, and you’re a million times stronger than I am.”

  They just stared into each other’s eyes, both watery, both doing their best to stay strong, for the other.

  James stood, went to his cupboard, and grabbed something. When he turned, he had a pistol in his hand.

  “I can’t be the one to do it,” James said, holding out the pistol.

  “There’s no need,” Nora said, snatching the pistol and walking for the door, refusing to look back at Rohan. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Rohan looked at her, waiting anxiously.

  “Yes, Rohan, of course I’m going to do it,” she said, pausing at the doorway. “You think I’m going to let everyone else burn… Because I’m scared? Because I’ll be left a tattered, emotionless shell. Hell no. But it’s got to be me. And that’s final, okay?”

  He walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away. “But that doesn’t mean I forgive you for dragging me into this mess, even if I know it isn’t your fault.”

  “So it’s settled then,” James said. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

  Chapter 16: Final Battle

  James led them to the center of the field where the lake of energy had been, his eyes nervously glancing up at the sky, watching as an occasional spirit flew by. In the distance, smoke rose in the places where spirits did not. The sky was red, the ground glowing in a similar hue. It was beginning to look a lot like the underworld.

  “The energy of the spirits will still be strong,” James said. “You must not dawdle.”

  “This can’t seriously be happening,” Nora said, glancing back down the hill and then back to Rohan. “We can find another way… can’t we?”

  “By the looks of it,” James put his hands on his hips and looked out at the chaos, “I’d say your chances are slim to none.”