by Jayne Hawke
As we sat back up on the untouched third floor with our legs dangling, staring down at an uncountable number of no-longer-living-dead, I couldn’t say I envied the clean-up crew. Maybe they’d just condemn the place.
“Well, that’s the party, folks. I hope hell made some room in the meantime, because these assholes aren’t walking any time soon.”
SEVENTEEN
“Do you think the doughnut shop is open? I’d love some doughnuts,” Kerry said.
I looked down at the blood and gore below us, and back over to Kerry. I had a good stomach, but I had my limits.
Movement caught my eye. The clean-up crew weren’t expected to be there for another ten minutes. Peering down towards the fashion boutique with a pink glittery sign, I saw someone. A living person. He looked up at me with a perfect white smile and flawless skin. His sunshine-blond hair coupled with the lean physique gave him the look of a runway model.
I’m sure a better-trained witch would have picked up on it immediately, but I was too surprised to see anyone there. The magic threads from the zombies wrapped around his hands in thin glass-like threads. They were fading fast, but I could feel them in my mind. He didn’t look to be any older than me, and yet I was sure he was the necromancer.
“Hey!” I shouted down.
He took off towards the exit. I really wished I had some cool power that would have allowed me to jump down and land unharmed. Swinging my legs back over the barrier to hard flooring, I ran towards the escalators and tried to watch where the necromancer went. He was out of sight before I’d even made it down onto the second floor.
“Dammit, he was right there!” I growled.
Looking down, I realised I’d just stepped in some intestines. My morning was getting better and better.
“I thought necromancers were meant to be haggard, old, and skeleton-y,” I grumbled.
Dean smirked.
“No, they’re youthful where they take the life magic they steal into themselves. The very rare few who just dabble in information exchanges with the dead usually look like shit, but necromancers can’t help themselves. They get a kick out of killing people, the rush of power and the high of the magic. This one’s clearly no different,” Dean said.
“So, you’re telling me the movies lied to me,” I said.
“Isn’t it always the way? You can’t trust anything you see on TV,” Kerry said sadly.
“Please tell me we at least harmed him by killing his zombies,” I said.
“The real thing to consider is, why did he fill a mall with zombies?” Dean said.
I needed some coffee. Some really strong coffee. And maybe a few more hours in bed.
“Ok, genius, why did the necromancer fill the mall with zombies?”
I felt like I’d just started the world’s stupidest dad joke.
“Maybe he’s a really big fan of Romero,” Kerry said.
“I bet that this was a distraction,” Dean said.
“Do you have a sense of humour buried in there somewhere?” Kerry said as she poked Dean in the chest.
“It’s a good time for some Solstice shopping. We’ve already beaten the crowds,” Dean said.
Kerry and I looked at each other. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.
After my second cup of coffee it dawned on me. The necromancer was a guy.
“He’s a he,” I said to Dean.
He raised an eyebrow at me over his bucket of coffee. It wasn’t a literal bucket, but the mug was too big for me to comfortably hold.
“The necromancer. Witches are female,” I said.
He wobbled his hand back and forth.
“Technically, there are male witches, but they’re usually weak and are often used as studs. Sometimes a male witch with real magic comes along. They’re more common in the knight covens, as they try to breed for powerful magic and combat ability rather than taking political issues into account.”
It was just me and Dean sitting in the kitchen. Kerry was doing her tech thing trying to find out more about the necromancer, Matt was doing his apprenticeship, and the other three were beating the sweet hell out of each other - I mean sparring.
“Won’t it make him easier to find, though? I mean, if male witches are really rare...”
Dean shrugged.
“Makes sense to me.”
“He’d have a complex, wouldn’t he? From being so damn rare.”
“I expect his life wouldn’t have been all that rosy. Once the coven found out he had strong magic, he’ll have been kept under lock and key as a precious commodity. Lots of witches would kill to have a stud with good magic.”
“Can you not say stud? It’s kind of weird and creepy.”
Dean grinned at me.
“Lots of guys think being a stud is a dream, but there’s a lot of pressure and it’s not like you choose who you screw. They don’t get a normal life. It not really a surprise that he’s turned to necromancy. He was probably looking for power and control from a young age.”
“So, you’re saying the coven brought this on themselves?”
Dean knocked back the last of his coffee.
“Pretty much. If you put people in cages, they’re going to get tired of it and push back. Give them a taste of freedom, and you’re completely screwed.”
“Surely someone should have seen him turning to necromancy and stopped him. I mean, if the coven keep such close control over their guys...”
Dean dropped his bucket-mug in the sink.
“I don’t know his life history. I’m just sharing what I do know.”
“Aren’t you at least a little bit interested to figure out how he got where he is?”
“Nope. Kerry will find out where he is. We’ll go in, kill him, and go about our merry way. Do we have to include the elf in our Solstice celebrations?”
“His name is Sin, and yes. He’s one of us now. What do you buy an assassin that has everything?” I asked.
“Socks,” Dean said flatly.
I went to say something. I mean, who buys someone socks for the Solstice?
EIGHTEEN
I took Cade to one side. We had important things to discuss.
“How do you guys do the Solstice? Are gifts a big deal?” I asked.
Cade leaned back against the wall in the sparring room.
“Well, Dean gets everyone socks. If he’s feeling really creative, they’ll be socks with a small image on them.”
I looked at Cade in horror.
“You’re joking...”
“Sort of. He does tend to get people socks, but they’re really nice socks.”
“I need to talk to him.”
Cade laughed.
“Good luck changing his mind.”
“Ok, what do I get Ethan? It needs to be something special, but I’m normally too poor to buy gifts. Matt and I do the same thing every year.”
“He’ll love anything from you.”
I glared at Cade.
“Not helpful.”
“Get Kerry something cat-themed, Dean some socks, Ethan some nice lingerie, Sin might like a knife polishing kit or something. I don’t know what elves are into.”
I sighed. This was not going as well as I’d hoped. This was our first Solstice together. I needed everything to go well.
Cade pushed off from the wall.
“I meant for you to wear the lingerie for Ethan, just so we’re clear,” he said.
That seemed tacky. I needed something heartfelt, not raunchy. Rubbing my temples, I wondered if Kerry would have any better insight and ideas.
I’d gone to my room and sat looking out over the river thinking about the upcoming Solstice. Chewing on my bottom lip, I tried to figure out the very best present. It needed to be thoughtful, memorable. Cufflinks? No, they were too practical, and I wasn’t sure Ethan even wore cufflinks. Clothing seemed weird, like something a wife or mother would get him. It needed to be something handmade. That was part of the Solstice.
I got Matt handmade f
udge every year. It cost me as much as I’d earnt in a month as a bounty hunter, but seeing the happiness on his face as he relished the rich creamy confectionary was worth every penny. Maybe I could get Ethan some nice chocolate? No, that felt wrong, too. He could buy chocolate whenever he wanted. This was ridiculous. Why was it so hard to figure out a simple present?
I needed to do something more with myself. Thinking about presents was driving me mad. Throwing my hands up, I decided to go to Mom’s library and see what I could dig up on my father. She’d left that weird note in her grimoire about him. It was time to find out what she meant.
The deep gnawing sadness formed in the pit of my stomach as I stepped outside. He was my father. He’d been my world when I was a little girl, and yet he had shown so little caring for me when he had returned to my life. Pushing aside the sadness, I tried to focus on something usable. Anger. Mom knew something about him, something that might explain what had happened. I needed to figure that out.
Not all is as it seems with Liam. Beware his magic. Falling changed something within him.
Mom’s words rattled around my head as I walked to the library. ‘Not all is as it seems;’ what did that mean? There had certainly been something off about him when I saw him. His eyes held a deep coldness that I didn’t remember from my childhood. It was the part about ‘beware his magic’ that concerned me, given half of my magic was his.
I was starting to get a feel for the huge array of bookshelves in the library, but there hadn’t yet been a section on ‘weird stuff about my husband’. I’d been through Mom’s grimoires multiple times and not found anything else about Dad. There had to be more notebooks, a journal, something.
Heading upstairs, I tried to think of potential hiding places. There had to be something. It was hanging in the air, the feeling of secrets and hidden passageways. I’d laughed at Cade for looking for them, but he wasn’t wrong. My parents had kept so much from me, and it hurt every time I thought about it. Mom had a whole life she’d hidden from me. Did Dad, too?
NINETEEN
Kerry came and dragged me from Mom’s library when I missed dinner. I’d checked every space I could think of and found nothing. There was something I was missing somewhere, I just knew it. Maybe it was time to head home and see if she’d left something in my childhood home. We hadn’t really touched her and Dad’s bedroom. There was no reason to think that I hadn’t missed a hidey-hole somewhere.
“You’re taking tomorrow off to go Solstice shopping. This necromancer is proving to be difficult, as the witches are blocking our access. You need to relax, unwind,” Kerry said firmly.
“If I can find something of use-” I started.
“No. You’re no good to anyone if you continue on this emotional spiral. Your father showing up was a dick thing to happen. Just go and shop it off,” she said.
A little retail therapy wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It was the first time I’d ever had enough money to try and make the Solstice really special. It’d been nice with Matt. We’d enjoyed what food we could afford and watched the Solstice specials of our favourite TV shows. It wasn’t flashy, but we set the entire day aside to just be a family.
“You’re earning the same money as us, right? So, head into those adorable little boutiques in Old Town, get yourself some nice boots and whatever Solstice stuff catches your eye,” Kerry said.
I didn’t think I’d stepped foot in Old Town before for fear of being kicked out for being too poor.
“Trust me. Killing stuff doesn’t fix every problem. Sometimes you need to buy pretty things,” she said sagely.
It looked like I was going gift shopping the next day.
Kerry drove me over to Old Town.
“I don’t want you to come home until you’ve bought at least one pretty thing. Nothing practical!”
I gave her a salute before I got out of the car and looked around me, feeling distinctly out of my depth. The buildings were all white with black beams criss-crossing their frontages. The paths were ancient cobblestone, and the air sang with gentle magic from the security systems. That was where people with money shopped. It felt weird to have thousands of pounds on my bank account and no bills to worry about covering.
Taking a steadying breath, I started off down the narrow cobblestone lane and began looking at the shops on display. The first one my left with a metallic silver sign was a witch supply store. The window showed off an array of dried plants, beautifully engraved glass vials, and liquids in every imaginable colour. I paused, looking at the prices for a moment. My heart froze in my chest as I saw just how much people were paying for measly dried plants. I was in the wrong business.
I was ready to walk away when I saw a beaker with a silver swirling sigil engraved on the front. The note below said the sigil would ensure that any alchemical product made in the beaker would remain true. That sounded like a pretty good thing to me, and I wanted to support Matt in his path as an alchemist.
Lifting my chin, I walked into the store and reminded myself that I wasn’t dirt poor anymore. The interior was sleek and modern with pitch black tables and shelves displaying the wares. The shelf to my right was filled with beautiful glassware in ascending size. Next to me were tiny vials which would easily fit into a shirt pocket and running down the line they gradually grew in size up to full glass bowls.
The engraved beaker I’d spotted for Matt sat in the middle of a small square table near the front of the shop. I reached over the engraved ceramic mortar and pestles to pick up one of the beakers. A quiet cough came from behind the counter. I clutched the beaker safely to my chest and gave the older man a broad smile.
“I’d like to buy this,” I said with far more confidence than I felt.
His thin lips pursed, and he gestured me over to the white acrylic counter. I carefully set the beaker down and tried not to fidget. It was ridiculous, it was just a shop. I felt as though the items themselves were judging me.
The man carefully wrapped the beaker in delicate lavender-coloured tissue paper before he lay it in a pitch-black box with the shop logo engraved in snow white.
“That will be one hundred pounds,” he said as he kept the box near him.
I tried not to swallow hard. I could afford it. I’d never even thought about dropping that much on a bit of glass before, but I would afford it and Matt was worth it.
I pressed my cobalt payment disk to the small indent in the counter. The circle around the indent glowed gold where the payment had gone through successfully. I let out my breath and reached for the box. The man put it into a shiny black paper bag and gave me a stiff smile. One gift down, a heap to go.
TWENTY
Cade and Dean were easy when it came to presents. I got Cade a nice red t-shirt with a small pawprint over the left breast, and Dean a simple black cotton long-sleeved shirt. It was time to see if they really were allergic to wearing something new.
I had to text Matt for ideas for Kerry. He said that she loved everything cat themed. Having seen her in her adorable kitten pyjamas, I believed him. I wandered around a few fashion stores until I found the perfect collection of small gifts. There were a couple of cat-themed pins, a nail care set in a pale lilac case with a pair of kittens on the front, and assorted others along the same line.
That just left Sin and Ethan. It was Sin’s first Solstice with the pack, and I felt a bit bad for him. From what I understood, elves were supposed to live in clans in the forest, and he hadn’t been given that opportunity. He hadn’t made any mention of friends, so I wanted to make him feel welcome.
Sitting down on a simple wooden bench in a small square in the heart of Old Town, I tried to figure out what was best to get them. The streets were relatively busy where everyone else was beginning to prepare for the Solstice. The square had been decorated with traditional fare including a huge pine tree in the very middle. Small candles, crystal berries, and glass snowflakes had been hung from the tips of the tree’s branches. Holly, ivy, pine, and mistletoe h
ad all been artfully arranged around the edge of the square along the roofline of the old buildings.
The area had a buzz about it that brought a smile to my face. The Solstice was a time of coming together and enjoying each other’s company, and that sang through the air. Looking around me for the third time, I spotted a small street that stretched down between the high-end boutique and the enchanted jewellers. Standing, I went to explore the little narrow street in hopes of finding something truly special.
The tall old white buildings stretched up around me as I walked down the cobblestones and found I was the only one there. The first shop on my left displayed candles in every shape, colour, and form that you could imagine. I couldn’t imagine burning the beautiful fox in its full russet coat with fine details marked into the wax. The pair of hummingbirds were even more delicate with a rainbow of colour running over their tiny feathered bodies.
Candles weren’t going to cut it, though, I needed something more. The charms and wards shop wasn’t much use. I suspected both Sin and Ethan would be insulted if I tried to give them a charm or ward. They were both skilled fighters, after all. A confectioners caught my attention just up ahead. Someone opened the door, and the world filled with the scent of warm butter, vanilla, decadent chocolate, and fresh orange peel. My mouth watered.
I walked into the confectioners and breathed in the scents. Glass cases lined the wall at the very back, displaying beautifully produced chocolates with artistic designs on their surfaces. Boxes wrapped in satin had been placed on a black table in the centre of the room. I walked over and saw that each box contained a different assortment of chocolates and sweets. The selection of toffees was tempting, but it wasn’t quite right.
