Necromancer Chronicles

Hey all, sorry about the wait. I was on vacation last week, then the book totally changed directions on me, and every time I stopped to proof the new stuff and post, either Anise or Vincent told me not yet and I had to keep writing. Couple of slave drivers. Anyway, this posting has all the same as the last sex wise, plus lesbian and group sex. I wasn't planning on that, it was supposed to be a simple forbidden love story but Anise wouldn't have it. I didn't know Anise was such a hussy until chapter four.

Sure, she's not real, except in my head, but if I didn't blame it on her I'd have to admit I'm a pervert. Anyway, enough rambling and poor attempts at humor, hope you enjoy this next part. This may be my largest post yet...

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Chapter 3 - Vincent

I was lost in thought walking out of the house. April was a hell of a woman. I wasn't one to wallow in thoughts of what I couldn't have, but I couldn't help the pang of regret as I walked over to my car. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, and was startled by a low pitched growl when I got close to my car. I froze and looked right into her amber colored eyes. She was larger than any wolf I'd ever seen, her fur a silver gray. She was also a ghost.

My parents had taught me to avoid other supernatural beings. Fae, vampires, werewolves and the various magical types such as sorcerers, warlocks and witches. Not to mention other necromancers. Considering how I felt about my parents, a warlock and a demonic succubus, it seemed like good advice to follow. I wasn't afraid, I had learned, self taught, how to banish ghosts that annoyed me ten years ago. Sometimes I wondered how much more capable I would be with training, but that wasn't really an option. Another necromancer would just as soon kill me, and a demon, well I'd be lucky if all they did was kill me.

The ghost wolf's growl trailed off into a whine, and I got the impression she wasn't sure of approaching me. This did not surprise me. Most necromancers would enslave a ghost and use them, and a demon could drag their essence to hell. I would do neither, and at this point I was well past being offended by such suspicions. I was tired though, and not in the mood to deal with a skittish ghost, so I went the rest of the way to the car, got in and took off for home.

"She needs your help."

I scowled at the ten year old girl looking at me reproachfully from the passenger seat.

"What's in it for me?" I snapped.

Sara snorted at my question, long past being intimidated by me.

"You mean besides werewolves having more spiritual energy than human ghosts? Or perhaps knowledge of the other supernatural species you know almost nothing about?"

That was a good point, still, I wasn't going to try to win the trust of a ghost out in front of a woman's house I had just fed on. People tend to think you're crazy if you start talking to the empty air, especially at two am in the middle of the street.

I was curious though, a ghost of a supernatural had never approached me before. The knowledge and power aspect was attractive, and I liked helping others, especially when I got ten years of servitude out of it.

"Well, why don't you go reel her in for me?"

She raised her eyebrow at me.

"She was obviously unsure and scared, you could ease her into the idea, and reassure her I'm not going to enslave her or anything." Plus, I was kind of lazy that way. I may not get offended at the way people reacted to me anymore, but it was tedious, and quite annoying at times.

Sara sighed and nodded, slowly fading out as I pulled into my driveway.

I walked in and headed straight for the kitchen to grab a beer. I was still wide awake and would be for the rest of the night, probably until tomorrow night. I was never able to sleep after feeding, not that I slept much on the other nights either. I was pretty sure it was my demon blood, but three hours was a full rest for me.

I heard the footsteps behind me but didn't bother turning, I could feel Amy through our bond.

"We need to talk."

I snorted, "Breaking up with me sweetie?"

I was filled with disappointment, and concern, at her lack of wise ass response and looked up at her. She really was beautiful, long curly jet black hair, doe eyes and a perfect complexion. She was five foot seven, athletic build, but still curvy enough to catch my eye. I carefully kept my eyes above her neck as if I wasn't interested, our forced bond always made me uncomfortable, I just hoped she was happier here than with her old master, I didn't ask for much from her.

"Take a seat, want a b..." my voice trailed off, she didn't drink beer of course... I was an idiot sometimes.

"What's up?" I finally asked, breaking the now uncomfortable silence.

"Local coven," she said, "ran into some of them while hunting tonight."

Amy was pretty good about hunting, I know the humans never had call to complain when she was done with one.

"How is that a problem?"

She rolled her eyes, "Normally it wouldn't be, I've run into some of them before, but a master was there tonight, and he tried to take me."

My brows furrowed, I didn't really know much about the community, just what little I could glean from my parents. Since supernatural ghosts normally avoided me, and the human ones were ignorant, it was hard to get information that way as well.

I sighed, "Can you explain, I don't really have a good grasp on your... our society."

She furrowed her brow, "I know I give you shit about our bond, but vampires work much the same way. A master vampire has ironclad control over the rest of their coven. The older a vampire is, the stronger their compulsion and ability to control other vampires, as well as humans. One of the masters was there and apparently liked what he saw. Normally non-coven vampires are left alone, but when his compulsion had no effect on me, he didn't take it well.

"I am fairly sure they will try to attack you, and take me."

She coughed and I realized as my mind tried to process the possibilities I had started staring at her tits. Crap... In my defense, they were quite nice to look at.

"So... this asshole vamp wants to own you?"

She dropped her glare and shrugged, "Partly, the other part is about you. Vampires don't like necromancers very much either, especially ones that enslave vampires. Scares the shit out of us actually."

"You think they might come tonight?"

She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling and said, "Probably not, they will have to convince the council you are a danger, and get them to help. Vampires attacking a necromancer without other support would be suicide."

My choices here were kind of limited. My bond did not destroy the first necromancer's bond, it was just more powerful. If I freed her, the old bond would kick in and she would try to kill me again, against her will. Shit.

"What do you want?" I asked softly.

She frowned, "I want to be free, and being bonded to you is the closest to freedom I have ever had. My old necromancer master was horrible, and the vampire masters aren't much better. I'm just worried, I don't want anything to happen to you."

This was a surprise to me, I thought she hated me, well, maybe resent would be a better word to use. Of course, it could all be just concern for herself, if I died she'd be screwed.

She continued, "I think the best thing to do would be for you to talk to the council. The problem with that idea is the head of the council right now is a vampire. I'm not even sure that would help, it's not like anyone would care about me except as something to own or control, it would all be about the politics and the give and take of power in Chicago."

I wasn't sure what I would do. I bonded her to me, because I could, and it was a much better choice than killing her. That was quite different from taking a stand against the city council. I still didn't like the idea of killing her though, even if that would solve the issue, and it might not. Plus, it was a shortsighted, selfish and petty alternative. Our sniping and banter had made her closer to family in my mind. I was a demon and necromancer, the problem is I was very young at twenty five, and being self taught I had no doubts I was not nearly as powerful as I should be.

I wielded my powers instinctually, there was no finesse, complexity, or fine control in what I did.

I said, "I think that it might work, but I'm not sure how to approach it. Let me think on it."

I could go in with a show of power, make them fear me. Or I could present myself as a possible powerful ally, actually join the community. Either way they might not want to risk a fight with me for the gain of one more vampire, no matter how desirable she was.

I finished my beer and took a moment to get a fresh one.

I finally said, "I won't let them take you, and I will not kill you."

I wondered how foolish I was being.

I was lost in thought and drinking my beer when Amy got up, kissed me on the cheek and sauntered out of the kitchen. It surprised me, the kiss I mean, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was playing me in some way. I knew she wasn't lying at all, I could detect that through our bond. That didn't mean she couldn't leave things out though.

As I finished up my beer Sara faded in with a middle aged woman. She had golden eyes and I could tell right away this was the werewolf ghost, her soul felt exactly the same, no matter the form. She was a small woman, hard to believe she could turn into such a large and dangerous predator. She had long shiny black hair, brown eyes and Asian features.

I was a little suspicious, the community had basically ignored me the ten years I'd lived here and now I had two issues to deal with? Assuming I took on the wolf's problem.

"So what is it you need?" I asked, looking into the wolf woman's eyes.

She shuddered and asked, "I'm May, what do you know about werewolves?"

I shrugged, "Not much. They live in packs like wolves. Alpha runs the pack, word is law."

She nodded, "That is true if simplistic, but the hierarchy is more formal than that, all wolves have their place, and can only gain or lower status through challenges. As long as they do not violate the law, any wolf can order those lower in the hierarchy. About a year ago, a pack from Springfield tried to take our place in the city. We killed most of them, but some were absorbed into the pack after they submitted.

"One of them, Mark, challenged me to become my mate."

I raised my eyes at this, but didn't say anything. She must have read my face because she explained.

"The women in the pack would never submit to a male without a challenge, we would never mate with a male who was weaker. We are also not chattel to be fought over, we can refuse a challenge if we have no interest in the male, at least, in my pack. Anyway, he challenged and I accepted. Not because I wanted him, but because I hated him enough to want to kick his ass. Normally that would have been the end of it.

"Unfortunately, some wolves have no honor. Mark bided his time until he could get me alone. He drugged me through trickery, raped me and killed me. If the alpha knew, he would get me justice and kill the fool, but the bastard was clever and didn't get caught."

I asked, "So, you want revenge?"

She growled, her eyes growing brighter, if I hadn't been a necromancer I'd have probably been afraid.

"Yes, but I have no way to communicate with the alpha. Even worse, Mark has challenged my daughter and they will fight in a few days. She is strong, but I worry even if she wins she will meet her end at his treachery as I did. You would have no standing in the pack, and the alpha would never take an outsider's word above Mark's. I want you to talk to my daughter, make sure she knows. She is stubborn and may not believe you."

I asked, "And if I do this you will serve me for ten years before moving on?"

She looked very nervous, but nodded her head. "That is more than fair for my daughter's life."

We talked for a while longer, she told me about herself, and things that no one else would know but her daughter with the hope that she would believe. She also gave me information on where her daughter, Kim, works. It would be the best place to approach her. Approaching her at home with the rest of the pack around would be a bad idea, undoubtedly leading to confrontation.

I made plans to head up to Kim's work, which was at a bar in the city, the next night. I could talk to the council as well afterwards about Amy's problem. I wasn't sure what tack to take with the council, and decided to wing it. It would depend on them I think, I would try for a peaceful solution, but wasn't counting on it. The problem was, I wasn't really sure why supernaturals hated necromancers so much. Ignorance was a bad place to stand but I really didn't have a choice.

I was kind of partial to an ignore it and it will go away attitude, but I really didn't think that would work this time.

The day went by slowly, it always does when I can't sleep. I worked with Hardin for a while on expenses and reports, then I worked with my powers a bit. I didn't discover anything new and gave up after a while, getting frustrated. There should be a way I could destroy the link to Amy's old master, the point would be moot after that. I felt like a child with a puzzle I couldn't solve.

I was tempted to ask May about why supernaturals were afraid of necromancers, but I held back. Admitting ignorance to one not bound to me just couldn't be a good idea. Maybe once she was bound I would try, but it was possible she didn't know.

Amy hadn't when I asked her, she had just been told to avoid them like the plague, but not why outside of the obvious.

Late afternoon I drove to the local Metra station and took a train into the city. The first thirty minutes were fun, I practiced on all the humans, getting to know all their greatest desires. It was fun to guess before looking. It was all situational, since desires change from moment to moment for the most part unless they had an unhealthy obsession.

It was a nice day so I decided to walk the ten blocks to the bar, generally ignoring the stares I got. I don't think I am all that good a person, but I know I could be much worse. If it hadn't been for meeting Sara when I was younger I am sure I would have been. I certainly didn't learn right from wrong from my parents.

I walked into the bar and scanned the place, it was still early but there were a few groups of people scattered around, the men wearing suits, women in business attire. It was the time for the after work crowd. I saw Kim and once I knew what area she was covering I went over and sat down. She looked to be in her early twenties, which for a werewolf could have been a year or two younger than me, or close to forty.

She came over and I was amused to see her nose wrinkle, it was very cute. I wondered if she could smell the death on me.

"What'll you have?" she asked in that way you just know she says it a million times a day.

"Whatever is on tap, domestic, and a few minutes of your time."

She looked me up and down, then studied my eyes for a moment before walking away without a word. A human would see a small vulnerable and fragile woman. I studied her as she went to the bar and returned, I saw a predator, a strong one. The aura of her magic filled the bar. I suppressed my demon side. I wanted to unfurl my power, fill the bar with the power of my darkness, my shadow, show this pup what real power looked like, show her who was boss.

I had felt it before, the need to dominate, control. I had learned to suppress it, my human side, my guilt at what I was, mastering the demonic side of me. I still had to feed, but I didn't have to leave a swath of destruction in my wake, no matter how appealing it was at times. But this was much more powerful, and I had a real struggle with myself. Humans were weak, it was easy to suppress the desire then, because I had nothing at all to prove.

Kim was another supernatural, another predator, an alpha female. It was much harder this time around. I took a deep breath and managed to get a hold of myself, barely. I focused on Sara, that perpetual ten year old girl, held her in my mind's eye. I knew there was manipulation involved, but it would kill me to see the look of disappointment in her eyes if I lost it in this place. I was half demon, but I refused to be a monster.

She came over and put the beer down, looking at me warily.

"Who are you, what do you want?"

I said, "You aren't going to like it, but I am here to give you a warning. Mark killed your mother through deception. Poison and... other things."

It was a bit blunt, but I wanted to get the warning out just in case she freaked out about me being a necromancer.

She narrowed her eyes and said angrily, "Who are you, how do you know this?"

Her body was shaking and she looked furious. Her eyes were a bright gold, and her body was shaking. She looked to be on the edge of losing it. Damn, she was so hot I wanted to grab her and take her right there on the table.

I cleared my throat, "My name is Vince. I made a deal with your mother, she sent me to tell you."

I saw the alarm on her face and she took a sniff of air, her eyes widening a little. I felt both my demon side preening, knowing I could dominate this bitch, and also... shame. I did not want this strong proud woman to fear me. Or at least, a part of me didn't.

I deliberately took a sip of my beer and took on a relaxed pose.

She growled out, "Why should I believe you. My mother would never be stupid enough to deal with a necromancer after death. Did you enslave her, what is your purpose here."

I sighed. "It is a desperate act of a mother to protect her child. Stupid perhaps, but she would not see you fall to the same man and similar treachery. She was desperate to prevent it. I agreed to pass on the warning if she served me for ten years. After that she will be free to move on. I don't expect you to believe me, but I think enslaving the dead against their will is a perversion of my gifts. There is also a number of benefits to the way I do it, so it isn't entirely selfless."

Blah, I shut my mouth. I hated trying to justify myself and now I was pissed. It wasn't like she would believe me anyway.

"I gave you the message, I'm done here."

I threw a twenty onto the table and stalked out the door. I walked a few blocks and went into another bar. Alcohol wasn't much of a solution but it was all I could think of. I ordered a beer and sat down. May appeared before me looking both apprehensive, and grateful. Using the amulet I bound her for a term of ten years. Then I ordered her to watch her daughter. I could draw power from the bound ghosts wherever they were, and she looked too much like her frustrating kid, so I sent her away. I figured it might make her happy too, but mostly, I felt alone. Alone and angry wasn't a good head space for a half demon. I was too dangerous for that.

Oh, I had the other ghosts, and although I didn't know really where I stood in Amy's mind I enjoyed her company too. But ghosts and a bound against her will vampire weren't a replacement for people who were alive and had their own will. Friends and family, they were only concepts for me. Problem there is, people were my victims. So I drank. Stupid, I know, but I had a good buzz on by the time I left to meet with the council.

I made it about two blocks before heard Sara and Miri yell in my mind, "LOOK OUT!"

I saw an explosion of light as someone nailed me from behind in the side of the head. If I hadn't been half drunk, and paying attention, there was no way someone could have snuck up on me. My last conscious thought was that I'm an idiot.

It was with some surprise when I woke up, head splitting. I took stock of myself and seemed okay, outside of the pain in my head anyway. I took a look around, I was in some kind of wooden building, a large shed, or a small barn. I was trussed up and in what looked like a stall, but there were no doors. I tried calling out with my mind and drawing power from my ghosts, but it didn't work. I felt the cuffs around my wrists, it was definitely cutting off my necromancer magic.