Necromancer Chronicles Pt. 02

I said with awe in my voice, "How... that spell takes so much power."

Willa giggled. "Normally yes, but these oaks have power to burn and then some with three ley lines crossing. Since it's on my land and warded, only our coven can access the power here. It only takes a little power to initiate a connection to the grove from the city, after that all the power to transport us here comes from the grove."

I smiled. I could feel their joy in their art. There was no coveting or gloating over their power, just simple joy of their gifts. We walked about two hundred yards to the back of the mansion. It was three stories; based on the windows I'd guess it had at least twelve bedrooms on both the second and third floors. They gave me a quick tour of the kitchen, den and library then showed me to a guest room. The room was huge, twelve by fourteen, and it had its own attached bathroom.

They said goodnight and left me to sleep, of course, I don't exactly sleep. I couldn't help but notice Willa looked back at me, rather wistfully, as she stepped out and closed the door. Perhaps it was just the alcohol, but I found myself rather intrigued by that look.

I pulled out my phone and brought up the browser, it was a pain using the small thing, but I didn't want to risk summoning my laptop, I wasn't sure what kind of wards the witches had up and didn't want to set off any alarms. It took me a while to remember Amy's last name. I had long ago paid for accounts with various websites to search genealogies. I put Amy's name, her date of birth and let it do a search.

It took hours to chase down a number of false leads, but I finally discovered she died not very long after I left, maybe two years? It didn't say how she died however, nor if she had any children before doing so. Back then birth records were hit or miss, and if she did have a child, it would have been less than two years old, so may have been given the name of whoever took him or her in. I really needed the paranormal records, they would have a complete record of it.

I sat there staring at the walls, my mind turning in circles. I was deliberately trying to avoid thinking about the big library Willa, Lisa and Leanne showed me. No doubt it had the genealogies of everyone in their coven, and Amy had been a witch. Chances are my line had died here, but my heart twisted at the thought. Did I move here for no reason? I must know. Guiltily I checked the time, I was sure they would be out cold by now from all the alcohol.

I bit my lip and stared at myself in the mirror. I had to know, but this felt too much like a betrayal of the immediate trust these young witches have given me. I couldn't do it. I was too old to do anything so thoughtless. So I waited...

Time dragged, if I was at home I could use the web, or watch TV, read a book on kindle. Something, anything. But here in this guest room it was like a prison. I snorted at myself for that thought, it wasn't my host's fault she didn't know I didn't sleep and needed something to do. I wound up loading up angry birds, and was happy to see there was a new level added on since I last played in which to destroy those diabolic pigs.

I heard a knock on the door and jumped up to open it. I giggled and said I was sorry when Willa jumped back, surprised at my quick answer.

Willa asked, "Breakfast? Did you sleep alright?"

I smiled and dodged the question without lying, "The room was wonderful thank you, breakfast sounds great."

I followed her down to the kitchen and we chatted over breakfast, mostly them pumping me for information about how I hid my healing from the humans and what my plans were. Finally I broached the subject I was dying to ask.

"Do you mind if I look over your library? I am curious about genealogy specifically, my family split in this area almost two centuries ago. That kind of thing fascinates me."

Willa said, "Sounds fine to me, your more than welcome to check. I need to be in council in about an hour, but Lisa and Leanne can keep you company while you look."

"Thanks, that would be wonderful. Maybe we can all meet for lunch later? I still need to do food shopping to stock my apartment, and I need to pick up my RN paperwork this afternoon anyway."

Willa nodded and we chatted some more before she left. They were telling me all about the covens, which for the most part got along. They even talked about the shifters, I noticed however they avoided talking about the vampires at all... What was going on in this town? It was also hard not to notice Willa was sending me vibes, and I had to admit she was a lot of fun to be around, and very attractive.

I am old, but forever young. As a result not many of the societal hang-ups from the time I am living in effect me. By today's parlance, I am 'bi'. I am pretty sure every woman is to a certain extent, they have just been programmed not to be by society. There are exceptions of course, in both directions. What is sad to me is only the woman that are on the far end of the scale will freely admit they like other women. It is rare, when those of us, the majority in the middle, will be open and unashamed, although that has gotten better over the last couple of decades.

Of course, I crave children as well, so it is a rare when I choose a woman as my partner for an entire lifetime, but it has happened in my past. There is never a shortage of orphaned children after all.

I went to the library with Lisa and Leanne and they gave me a tour of the book layout. There were twenty three witches in the coven, which meant it wasn't difficult at all to track down thirteen in an emergency. The most difficult spells took thirteen, but never more. Even so, all twenty three could participate if they wished, the extras could form an outer circle and shield the inner circle of thirteen from evil and other magical interference.

The advantage there was obvious, the thirteen could dedicate all their energy to the spell and not split their focus. Twenty three was an impressive number actually, and my respect for Willa went up, herding witches could be like trying to herd cats.

Thank god I was a sorceress on my human magical side.

I read through Willa's genealogy first. There was no mention of Amy, so I moved on to Lisa's. I figured it would be nice to do theirs first, since they were in the room with me. Lisa's didn't turn up anything either, so I went to Leanne's. I had to school my features when I found it, I could feel the tears that wanted to form and a lump formed in my throat.

Amy had a child a little over a year after I left. Jennifer. Before the child saw her first birthday, the coven was attacked by invading vampires. Amy and some of the others were carried off, but Jennifer was left alone in her crib by some twist of fate, and adopted into another witch family. I looked up and studied Leanne. She was beautiful, barely twenty years old. So very young, and precious. Red hair, deep green eyes and a ready smile. She was mine. My family. I had to choke it down, the tears of relief and happiness that my line lived. At the same time I grieved for the loss of Amy, though I knew she had to be gone already, reading about it made it real.

Leanne was eight generations from Amy, ten from me. It boggled my mind. No matter how old I get, the miracle of family never, ever, gets old.

I finished going through her book, then grabbed the next one, and the one after that, before taking a break. I couldn't tell her the truth, no more than I could tell my beloved Ginnie back in Seattle. When lunchtime came around we took the oak tree to the city and met up with Willa at a mom and pop lunch style place. I had soup and sandwiches and on a whim started returning all of Willa's signals. I walked her back to the council, picked up my paperwork, told the ladies I'd be back later and went shopping.

It took a few trips without a car, I needed to pick up all the little things you need in a new apartment, I also verified the truck would be in sometime in the morning, anytime after nine am. It was late afternoon and I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd sit in on the council for the rest of the day, wait for Willa and see if I could gain a clue into Silas and why he was the way he was.

When I got to the council room and walked in, it was a madhouse. There were more people than yesterday, and a lot more vampires and everyone seemed on edge. I couldn't figure out why until I noticed the man standing facing Silas with a scowl on his face. He was gorgeous, well built, but I scowled, I could see the aura of shadow around him, this man was a demon.

What the hell was a demon doing in the council room? There were no warlocks here. I studied him closer and opened my perceptions more, and almost yelped. He was surrounded by ghosts. As an Angel I could see them, but I couldn't communicate really, I couldn't hear them. But I did see the bindings that led to this demon. Could he be part demon? He would have to be to be a necromancer as well. I almost laughed out loud. The last beings that would be welcome in a council meeting were a necromancer and a demon, and this guy was both.

I took a seat and got ready to enjoy the show, I noticed a few people glare at me, and I realized I was smiling and totally relaxed sitting down, when no one else was. What can I say, I'm old, and this was something new, of course I was smiling. Most people though, didn't notice my odd behavior, their wary eyes were locked on the young man. I managed to reign in my smile after a few seconds, but I imagine my eyes were dancing with amusement for all to see.

Silas demanded, "What are you doing here? You are not welcome."

The young man frowned and said calmly, "Nor do I want to be, but we have a problem. One of your master vampires wants what isn't his. He leaves me and mine alone, and we can go back to ignoring each other. I won't allow you to plot to steal what isn't yours."

"And what gives you the right to one of mine," Silas demanded.

I almost giggled, completely inappropriate, but Silas really rubs me the wrong way.

The demon frowned, "I don't have the right. But she is not yours. She was sent from another city, another necromancer to kill me. I had no choice, it was either bind her against her will, or kill her. I chose the lesser evil. I can't release her binding without her having to go back to the other necromancer anyway. Even if you persuade me to do so, or kill me, you still won't have her."

I perked up at that, a necromancer that believes binding someone against their will is evil, and a demon at that? He even truly believed he couldn't break another necromancer's binding, did he not have any training?

"Lies, I demand you bring her here so we can question her to determine the truth."

I choked, the necromancer was telling the truth, and Silas knew it, his words of accusation were lies. And Silas had no intention of determining anything, I wasn't smiling anymore. I looked at Willa and she had a sick look on her face, as if afraid to speak out. The werewolf was scowling but also silent. What the fuck was going on here, it was like Seattle all over again.

The necromancer sighed, "Do you want a war? For what purpose? I have ignored this council and respected it from a distance for ten years. You have broken the peace. And for what? What is this really about, why do you want her so badly? Your fellow council know exactly who is lying, what will you do if I bring her out of the safety of my home."

His shield was fascinating. His necromancer power shielded him, and below that he had shadow armor, hidden from all but me. I wondered if he would be able to see my shields, I wished he would look over but he was so intensely focused. Hmm, I think he's actually keeping an eye on everyone around him through the ghosts he brought.

Silas blew out a breath in frustration, "You have my word you and her will be safe here, we wish to question her."

The demon furrowed his brow, "I want your word we will be safe from the moment we leave my house, until the moment we return there. Being safe here helps, but not if I am jumped while leaving the building."

Silas nodded and then demon shook his head in negation, "No, your word on it."

Silas said grudgingly, "You have my word, I swear it is not a trick to attack you, you will arrive safely here and back to your home afterwards."

I was a bit confused, Silas had been planning something I was sure, apparently he has changed his tactics. Meh, I hate this politics and backstabbing crap, but I have to admit this demon necromancer is making it interesting.

He said, "Very well, I will return tomorrow after lunch, with the vampire if she agrees."

Silas spluttered but the necromancer cut him off.

"I will not force her, bond or not. I believe that is the whole point."

He turned and froze, staring right at me. His mouth open. He really needed to work on his poker face. He recovered after a few seconds and walked out with a thoughtful look on his face. I shrugged, to be fair I had a shit eating grin on my face when I saw him at first, I could hardly hold his lapse against him.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped when I saw two of the ghosts were staying behind. So that was how he knew they were plotting last night. Too funny. I smiled apologetically to Silas when he glared at me, but wasn't about to explain. At least Willa was happy to see me, she winked then sat back down. I realized then she must have been shielding assface from necromancy the whole time.

The awkwardness died down as they got on with things, it got a little boring after the demon left. People requesting help for this or that. That was good to see, that was the purpose of the council, to protect from outside threats and to help those they protected when needed. If people could still ask for help maybe Silas wasn't as much a heartless brutal dictator as I thought. Still, there was something up here.

When the day ended I couldn't help but ask Willa what the real deal was. The answer didn't surprise me, but it should have.

"Well, the vampire is a known witch that was taken from around here a long time ago. She was presumed dead until that vampire saw her the other day. Vamps that were once witches or really, any supernatural, are more powerful, a lot more powerful. Stronger, faster, sometimes gifted in other ways like levitation, flying, telekinesis and other abilities. Silas is desperate to get control of her.

"That's why vampires have laws against turning anyone but normal humans, it can throw off their age/power/seniority setup. Normally the power curve with age is very predictable, not so in a vampire paranormal. Still, forbidden or not, when one turns up they are coveted if the head master is old enough to be stronger, and usually targeted for death if the new vampire is stronger.

"It worries me, I think Silas just wants to see her to measure her power, then he will decide to either try and kill her or steal her away from Vince. It's the only reason I can think of for him backtracking, he absolutely needs to see her to decide. Unfortunately no matter how distasteful the rest of us find it, it is an internal matter for the vampires."

I shrugged. "You know, that was about the nicest necromancer I ever met, you should just give him a seat on the council. Then both he and the vampire girl would be required to defend the city."

Willa laughed. "Yes they would, but Vince is more powerful than Silas despite his youth. Silas would never give up head council. I know that's wrong, the city should come first. But to be honest I'd be a little worried about a necromancer in a position of power, not to mention getting to know us on a day to day basis, we'd be too vulnerable."

I nodded, "I would trust him, but I know my opinion doesn't count."

She looked askance and asked, "Why?"

"Because he meant what he said with every fiber of his being, he finds the idea of binding others against their will evil, it disgusts him that he had to do it. The only thing worse in his mind would have been killing her, since in his mind she is an innocent. My lie detection is a bit more refined than most others."

Willa just nodded so I changed the subject, "So what's the plan for tonight, can I impose on you one more evening, my stuff will be here tomorrow morning."

"I would enjoy your company very much," she briefly touched my shoulder while speaking, I have to admit it made me tingle a bit. Okay, maybe more than a bit. In my defense it's been a long time.

I reached over and took her hand, long before we got close to the park with the oak tree. I guess we were eating in tonight, Willa verified with her next words.

"We are having dinner at the house tonight, there will be a few others from the coven who are curious to meet the new girl in town. Hope that's okay?"

I squeezed her hand and said sincerely, "I'd love to meet anyone from your coven."

They had to be good people, it was just the way it worked. Morals, beliefs, how to treat others, always came from the top down. Oh, there might be one or two sour apples, there usually were. As always, exceptions to the rule.

Something was bugging me, something obvious. I felt like the doctor who staring at the Ferris wheel looking for a large metal circle somewhere in London. It was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't bring it out. I gave up on it and enjoyed the walk with Willa, her soft hand wrapped in mine. How is it after so many centuries, something so simple could make my heart race, cloud my mind with lust and anticipation.

She opened the Oak tree gate, whatever it's called, and pulled me through. When I got through my mouth fell open and she started giggling.

"A few more?" I asked, my voice coming out weak and edgy.

She nodded, "Two of them couldn't make it, they were out of town."

Twenty one people, how the hell will I memorize eighteen more faces tonight. I saw Lisa and Leanne wave us over, there were a couple of other ladies standing with them, probably in their thirties. Lisa looked speculatively at us, and I realized we were still holding hands. I smiled and winked, I wasn't going to let go if Willa wasn't.

There was a bonfire, and a picnic table covered in food, probably potluck. The night was fun, I did meet a lot of nice people and marveled that over half were older woman, in their thirties and forties, a couple in their sixties, all following this younger woman holding my hand. Willa was truly an amazing woman. This is how it should be, following power and wisdom, those with the talent of leadership regardless of age, but so often jealousy and bitterness from the older people get in the way of that, not here, not in her coven.

That was probably a good thing, we had enough of that going on with Silas.

At the end of the night they did a circle, just for a simple blessing having nothing more serious to do. Just for the joy of joining their power, communing and becoming one with the power of nature. I was wistfully watching. I would always enjoy and love the raw power, subtlety and infinite possibilities of wielding the five elements, but I wondered what it would be like, to feel the natural world around me, to be one with it.

Witches had some scary stuff they could do, but on the whole were much more gentle than sorcerers. More nurturing. It wouldn't do to forget though, that nature can also be a merciless and entirely unforgiving force if not respected.

After the blessing we all headed to the house, I realized quickly that no one was going home tonight, they would all stay together. The house with twenty four bedrooms suddenly made perfect sense to me. Willa took my hand and led me up to her room, when she closed the door she looked at me with a question in her beautiful storm gray eyes. I didn't leave the question hanging long, I leaned into her and kissed her full pink lips. I almost giggled at what I tasted. She was gorgeous powerful and completely sure of herself, but she was wearing pink lip gloss that tasted of strawberries. I swiped my tongue across her bottom lip and then inside when she opened up to me.