Necromancer's Control (Trix SinClara)

by Emma Faragher

Copyright 2013 Emma Faragher

Amazon edition

Book 1.5 in the Trix SinClara series

Please note that this short story contains spoilers for The House (book 1 in Trix SinClara series)

Other works

Necromancer’s Revenge (0.5)

The House (1)

Necromancer’s Control (1.5)

The Solstice (2)*

*coming Spring 2014

This book is a work of fiction and any similarities to people or events are entirely coincidental.

Copying this book in whole or in part without express permission from the author breaks copyright laws. If you have received this book without purchasing it or having it purchased for you then please return to either amazon or Smashwords to purchase your own copy.

If you would like more information on this series or on other works by Emma Faragher visit her blog at: trixsinclara.blogspot.co.uk

Or contact her at [email protected]

I woke up exhausted and after the sun had already set. For someone with almost non-existent eyesight I seemed to be spending a lot of time awake at night; moving about in the dark when it’s even harder to see. I got up and dragged my behind to the bathroom without walking into anything, which meant that Ali hadn’t rearranged the furniture again. It had taken months to get it all how she liked it and I didn’t mind except unless it was painted very bright colours I couldn’t see where she’d put it until I hit it.

A skirt and
top were hung up on my wardrobe door. Something else Ali had started to insist on doing. She seemed to think my clothes needed to at least coordinate and unless I put my tacs in I was likely to choose differently coloured socks. As near as I could tell the long skirt was black and the top was some sort of pale bluish colour. Next on my agenda was breakfast. Then we needed to get out the door. We’d been very busy lately.

“Ali, where did you leave my boots?” I
shouted up the stairs. She replied from the lounge.

“Shoe rack, far left. Remember to take the horns out.” The laughter in Ali’s voice made me stick my tongue out at her as she poked her head around the door. I could see well enough to put together the smudge by the lounge door with the sound of steps coming across the room.

I’d just laced my boots up when Ali came out to the hall. The swish of her coat reminded me that it was December and bloody cold outside. My coat was more like a cloak so it was very much like wearing a blanket with sleeves and a hood. I even added the gloves I usually kept in my pockets. The weather forecast said snow by the end of the week. Snow. Actual, real snow. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that as I checked the various scabbards sewn into the cloak. I’d not been out without at least one blade in several months.

Ali was wrapped up in coat, gloves and a fluffy winter hat.
She wasn’t wearing any weapons. It was a point of contention between us that she didn’t want to learn. It felt like she just didn’t want me to be teaching her but
her
argument was that I’d always be there to protect her if things went awry and that didn’t sit well with me. It was too much responsibility for one person. Even a necromancer.

I didn’t lock the door behind us
, trusting instead to the spells and my reputation to keep the house safe. It wasn’t much but the former brothel had become my home. I liked the anonymity of living entirely in the back alleys and the way the rooms filled the spaces between legitimate buildings meant that I didn’t have to pay tax on it either.

We followed the
narrow alleyways to the square. Nobody greeted us but we weren’t bothered by anyone either; a testament to both being known as a friend to many of the locals and the revelation that had led many of those camped around the place to some wild speculation about me. The supernatural had been forcibly removed from the closet only a few short weeks ago and people were looking around them with new eyes. Half the people in the square would have already known enough not to have it come as a surprise. The general public just seem to forget that the people on our side of the path have eyes and ears.

I’d spent so much time out at night that people were
starting to suspect I might be vampyre. I supposed the long dark skirts and general air of not being bothered by anything I saw helped with the impression. Although it is much easier to seem indifferent when you see the world through different eyes to everyone else. I could see people because I could read the energy they gave off; it was more inanimate objects I struggled with. But to really ‘see’ people I’d have to bring on my power, which was not only draining but also made just about every other sense worse. Or I’d need my tacs and wouldn’t be able to use my other-sight at all. It was a trade-off I dithered over, back and forth.

We nodded to Track
as we passed but didn’t have time to stop and chat. The giant was fully human – his height was due to a medical condition rather than supernatural ancestry – but he too had been the subject of rumours. He smiled at us, showing teeth from behind the hair he’d taken to flopping over his face. I wondered if he’d not done something to at least feed the rumours whenever I saw him playing to them like that. It helped to keep people from messing with him or his at any rate.

“What’s the goal for today?” Ali asked as we left the square and passed into even narrower alleys. Ali had convinced me to let her have a small light spell instead of a torch when we went out. At night in the back alleys even someone with perfect vision would struggle so I’d relented on the condition that she didn’t use it where the majority of the mortals would see us.
She got it out as we left the square, lighting up an area several metres across and completely obliterating everything else from vision, even hers.

“The Lowers,” I replied, m
y voice as emotionless as I could make it. The place did not hold fond memories for me.

The big reveal had brought more problems than I liked to contemplate.
The Covenant had not very subtly conveyed to me that they would hold me responsible for any trouble coming out of the back alleys. They tended to dislike necros on principle and I was no exception. I’d been tempted to simply disappear again into another part of the country but I liked Devon and I knew the alleyways like the back of my hand. No witch was going to force me out of my home. Not that they’d really be able to find me anyway. They always worked through intermediaries, mainly our local police captain. Jessica Telhari had been owed a debt of honour by my mother that I’d finally paid off six months ago. It had been that which had brought me to the attention of the Covenant in the first place.

I’d not been down to the L
owers since finding out that my Wraith of an ex-fiancé had been draining humans to keep himself alive. It wasn’t so much the humans that I’d worried about as the attention it brought on our world. Not to mention the fact that it had brought me to the attention of the Covenant and by extension the High Council. Carlo had been far more trouble than he was worth but he got what he deserved in the end. So far, I’d been putting off going to the Lowers and instead making myself known to the general population of the back alleys, specifically the odd rogue witch and a couple of vampyre who were actually very sweet but nearing the end of their lives. The magic they’d had as witches was starting to run out but they were very welcoming. Not even a hint of naughty spells to keep them alive either. I liked that in a vampyre.

The
Lowers were always a bit dodgy. The rickety-looking wooden platforms and struts looked like they should fall down the cliff at any time. It was one of the reasons people stayed away from the place if they could. This was also one of the few places that I could see better than Ali. She let go of my arm so that I’d have my hands free and waited for me to start a step ahead of her. This was mostly a cataloguing mission but it never hurt to be careful. Nobody had been able to tell us exactly what was down here. Especially on the bottom levels.

The glow seemed to have intensified in the months since I’d last been here. More spells I didn’t recognise were splashed about the place in a show of power that
surely even a human would feel. It looked far less natural too. There were several parts that were very clearly not held up by any natural means. Looked like someone was using magic to keep away the human interlopers. Although, honestly? That big a show of power would make most witches pause at the very least.

We didn’t bother with the top level but started down first one flight of stairs and then another.
Further down than I’d ever wanted to go. The sound of the waves intensified as we descended. The spray was still metres and metres below us but the sheer driving force behind the sound made it feel like the rock itself should be shaking.

The second set
of stairs was recessed into the actual cliff as opposed to attached to the side of it. There were symbols carved into the slate. Parts of spells that I half remembered from my mother’s teaching but nothing that I’d specifically learnt. Not really important. Showy, but not all that powerful. The real protective magics didn’t advertise themselves.

“What are those?” Ali asked as we walked down.
Ever curious despite all that she’d seen.

“Drawings mostly. To scare away mortals no doubt. Don’t worry.” I felt Ali relax at my words. For all that she’d seen me do she still trusted me implicitly and I wasn’t going to
prove her wrong to if I could help it. Honour was something my late mother had instilled in me since before I could clearly remember. Honour meant that when you gave someone your protection you damn well kept your word. Even if you
really
wanted them to know how to use a knife if the worst should happen.

The symbols were getting more obvious and more gruesome as we continued. Ironically they also had less and less to do with actual spells. The glow was less here. Whoever was setting up shop hadn’t expected anyone with power to come knocking.
The feel from beneath us was getting stronger though. There were older spells down here and the further down we went the stronger they felt. I really, really wanted to avoid the lowest levels of the place. Since nobody had come up from there in years I might actually get away with staying near the top. There wasn’t likely to be anything down there stupid enough to catch the attention of the Covenant.

“Why?” Ali asked. I got the feeling it was a rhetorical question. It had taken me a while to get used to Ali’s way of thinking through things out loud. “It’s a lot of effort for something that just looks scary.”

I laughed. “If you think this is a lot of effort you haven’t met enough witches. And the vampyre are worse. Pretentious lot the Covenant
are but real power isn’t quite so obvious. The Covenant looks just like any other building until it just doesn’t any more. Do you feel any uneasiness or undue fear? Do you want to turn away for no real reason?”

“No.”

“Then there’s no real power here. The spells on our home are stronger.” It took me by surprise to realise that I called it our home instead of mine but Ali had been there near enough six months now, making the place her home too. Rearranging my furniture and playing guide and donor when I had a job. She just nodded at my statement. Ali had no real idea of what power was. I knew she’d had a tough life but I was still halfway convinced she wasn’t prepared for what was going to come next. My coming here was aggressive, overly so, and it was likely to stir up all sorts of trouble. Less than poking at the Covenant but still...

A metal door was fixed into the rock at the bottom of the stairs. There were lights dotted about the railing but I was seeing by the soft pulsation of magic layered into the wood. The magic here was older than most of the showy stuff further up but it was more powerful. Most of it was concerned with keeping the whole Cliffside from falling into the ocean so I didn’t do more than identify that it wouldn’t hurt us. My own magic wasn’t quite up to replacing wayward spells and I didn’t want us to fall
quite that far.

The door was cold under my palm with a rough texture I couldn’t see. It swung open easily and without a squeak. Another thing that was more show than defence. A squeak announced visitors but a silent door was more likely to give confidence to people coming for business. Ali whispered that there was a small step into the room before I tripped into it and I gave her a smile. The last time we’d been in the Lowe
rs she’d seen me use my power and hurt Carlo. I wasn’t ashamed of it; I just didn’t want to expose Ali to any more danger.

“What can I do for you today my lovelies? We have many delights to offer.” A man stood up and spoke as we entered. He appeared to have been sitting at a desk against the far wall with old
-fashioned ledgers lined up on shelves around it.

“You can tell us what you do here. I am most curious.” I smiled at him and let my coppery curls bounce a little bit around me. My eyes were always a cold grey but without my power upon me they still looked human and the man in front of us hadn’t noticed I was anything but.

“Who are you?” he asked. He stood ever so slightly stooped as if he was used to a very low ceiling. “We don’t deal in silly charms here.” Apparently I played the vacant teen a little too well. I’m not sure what that said about me as a twenty-seven year old woman but nothing good.

“I don’t need silly charms witch. I need to know that the Covenant is not going to come down on my head for your little business.” The words left me in a very purposeful rush. There was distrust tingeing the man and the fact that I could see it meant that I’d let more of my power show than I intended.
So much for the act; at least I’d start to look more my age. Although, honestly, twenty-seven was pretty much a teenager in necromancer years.

“Necromancer. You are not welcome here.”
But instead of venom his voice held fear and I found myself smiling. The effort I put into stopping Carlo hadn’t been forgotten by the people here and I enjoyed it. Probably a little too much but...oh, well. Nothing I could do about that.

“Yes
, well, I
am
here and I need some assurances that you aren’t going to follow in Carlo’s footsteps and piss off the Covenant with your business.” I ran my hand along the edge of the desk he stood at. The tingle through my fingers spoke of the magic it had been imbued with but it didn’t zap me properly. Meaning that either I wasn’t what the magic was keyed against or it wasn’t too inclined to protect the man behind it.

“And I don’t answer to you.”

“Perhaps things are about to change.” I spoke softly but I let just a smidge more of my power through. “It comes down to whom you would prefer to answer to.” I sent a tendril of power into the desk. Surprisingly it accepted the magic with what felt like a contented hum and settled down again. The man didn’t seem to notice and I filed it away for later use.

“I don’t answer to anyone.”

“Your words taste like lies, witch. It is not wise to lie to me. Not wise at all.” I pulled a sliver of power about me, activating some of the spells my mother had laid on me. One of them meant that nobody could lie to me. It also prevented me from lying as well but I’d long ago worked my way around spinning the truth. “I am here and I am demanding that you answer me.”

“Then we are at an impasse.” The words would have been threatening if his hand hadn’t been shaking ever so
slightly. “Don’t touch that!” he shouted at Ali as he jumped from behind the desk and rushed across the room. Ali had been fingering some texts against the wall. “They are very delicate.”

I laughed and leant against the desk to support me. It felt like the wood was amused too but at what I couldn’t say. I wasn’t all that comfortable around an object that seemed to be sentient either so I pushed myself away.

“Delicate they are not.” The texts were grimoires of some kind and no witch worth their spells would ever leave their personal spell book vulnerable to anything as mundane as human touch. For the most part, grimoires were designed to handle some rough treatment. “Although they may be temperamental,” I added as one of the books started to emit a faint hum I knew Ali wouldn’t hear. In fact, I was fairly sure the witch couldn’t hear it either. There are some advantages to a necromancer’s senses.

Ali stepped away from the books looking a bit sheepish. She’d caught the undertones to my no
nchalant statement. It made me hope that maybe she would do better than I’d expected in the strange world I inhabited. Leaning back against the desk, I was glad that the energy from it had subsided to a faint tingle. It felt quite nice really; warming against the cold of the rest of the stone room.

“Now, w
hat are you planning to try next?” I asked the man. “For that matter, why don’t we start with your name? That way when I find the witch you answer to I can be sure to tell him how long it took you to tell me
his
name.” I inspected my nails while carefully allowing a small show of power. Witches tend to be jumpy around necros and I planned to take full advantage.

“Edward. My name is Edward.”
He edged back around the desk and sat down, waving me away from leaning on it as he went.

“Alright the
n, Edward. Why don’t you start by telling me how you aren’t pissing off the Covenant?”

“We’re selling spells mostly. With some
dealings in blood and energy and some in cash. That’s it, I swear. No bodies on the road. Carlo was a wildcard and most of us down here aren’t stupid enough to draw that kind of attention. Now, are you planning to leave or are you going to scare off all my customers?” Edward had transitioned to sitting ramrod straight in his chair and glaring at me. I smiled at him.

“Was that so hard? I still want to know who’s running the place but I’m not unreasonable. Let me know if anyone wants a raising.” Ali raised her eyebrows at that one but I just winked at her when Edward wouldn’t see. He nodded once and waved us away. I could hear people coming down the steps outside very slowly. They seemed to be pausing every few moments. If this lot weren’t careful they’d scare their own clientele away with those stupid symbols on the walls.
Although maybe the symbols were a sign that the kind of spells they were selling weren’t as small fish as they wanted us to believe.

I let my own power wash through me as I left the stone room. Ali trailed just behind me, trusting me to deal with any trouble and know that there was nothing behind us. My copper curls fell blood
red around me as the magic took hold and I knew my usually grey eyes would be almost entirely white. Ali had said it looked like I was glowing softly when my power was upon me. I couldn’t see well enough to check.

The pair of men coming down the stairs did a double take when they saw me and stopped a couple of steps from the bottom. I just stood there and brought Ali around to walk as we did when
she led me. The white eyes tended to make people think of blindness and assume that I couldn’t see anything at all. With some of the magic-obsessed humans that had a peculiar effect. I’d had more than one assume I was some kind of seer.

We left the Lowers after our less than informative introduction. I let my power fade from me and regained what little normal vision I had. The small witch-light I’d given Ali actually gave the perfect kind of light to see by but I was still wary about losing our night vision. Or Ali’s night vision anyway. The alleyways were pitch black to my eyes and I wouldn’t have seen my hand in front of my face.