The Necromancer's Seduction (23 page)

“That’s not an experience I wish to relive, and I don’t appreciate you doing vampire
juju on me.” My voice sounded a little too shrill, and I dug my nails into my palms
to release my ire, not wanting to act like the overwrought necromancer woman in front
of the icy vampire.

“Yes, I’m curious. How did you emerge from my thrall?”

“Dominic, what’s the point of all this?” Ewan asked.

Dominic stood and faced Ewan, his mouth a hard line. “For the first time I can remember,
a necromancer not only created a supernatural revenant, but two. You don’t think that
would attract the attention of the supernatural community? You don’t think we would
take an interest in a possible threat to us?”

“You have no proof the demons are behind Cael,” said Ewan. “Until you do, I’d advise
you to stay out of our business.” That was as close to a threat as I’d ever heard
from Ewan. He face was calm, but his voice pure steel.

“For now.” Dominic’s eyes gleamed.

Ewan’s hands circled my arm, and we made our way back to the elevator and out of the
club.

“If I knew Dominic was going to pull that shit, I wouldn’t have taken you up there.
Fuck the protocol,” Ewan said in a savage murmur. We stood on the street next to his
car.

“How did you know my power would drive out Dominic’s thrall?”

“Educated guess. If you can make and control supernatural revenants, what’s to stop
you from controlling a dead supernatural?”

“Can he thrall you?”

“No. Only supes in this realm. He has no power over demons.”

“Bet he doesn’t like that much.”

“You have no idea.”

“So why do you think he put me in thrall?”

“To test his power over you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “And now he knows
you’re strong enough to thwart him.”

Could I control a vampire? I bit my lip. Everyone thinks the vampires and demons are
the untouchables. But if a necromancer could control a vampire? “All I did was break
his control over me.”

“You control the undead, and you beat Dominic at his game. The way he sees it, you’re
a threat to him, to all vampires. It’s only a matter of time before he decides to
take matters into his own hands.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Sorry about the soap opera at the beach Thursday,” Adam said, stretched out on the
lawn chair on the roof of his former apartment.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said from the other chair. “Especially when I feel
I should be the one to apologize.”

He waved to the garden where Kara and I had found his body. “So this is where you
found me, among the rosemary. I hate rosemary.”

“I kind of have some bad connections to rosemary myself these days.” My lips curled.

I reveled in the balmy sky, a sky I could almost touch if I stretched high enough.
Sounds from the street fizzed out in the thick air before reaching the roof, creating
a hypnotizing hum around us, making my eyelids droop. A perfect, lazy Saturday afternoon.

“Too bad our excursion didn’t bring up any more memories of my murder,” Adam said.

“I appreciate you trying. I’m anxious to find Cael.”

“I’ve been feeling anxious myself. How long are revenants supposed to stay reanimated?”

It was a question I’ve avoided, and given his recent behavior, I’m sure Adam had surpassed
the recommended time for revenant reanimation. He was feeding on my power through
the bond in addition to the blood. I was no longer as repulsed by the idea of giving
him blood, knowing it kept him sane, but I’d never intended to keep Adam animated
for more than a couple of days. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up,
especially with Brandon in the mix.

“Every time the hunger hits me, I feel myself becoming more and more animalistic,”
he confessed, “like that logical part of the brain that tells you killing is bad is
losing the battle. Worse is, I’m not sure I care. I’m tired of fighting it.” His expression,
one I couldn’t quite decipher, clung to me. Pain, a plea, fear?

“I’ll help you work through it,” I said. He didn’t respond, and I’d just lain back
in the chair and closed my eyes when a loud hiss, followed by the sound of Adam’s
chair tumbling over, jerked me upright. Adam scrambled in a flurry of limbs to move
away from the salamander-like creature angling towards him. Myyr. It hovered close
to him, its fangs dripping a milky liquid. Another unpleasant demon toxin, no doubt.

“What the!” Adam bellowed.

I stood. The creature’s slit eyes were focused on Adam.

“Uh, good boy?” I asked. “Heel?” How the hell do I talk to this thing? “Adam, move
to the other side of the roof. I don’t think he’ll hurt you.”

“Says you.” Adam took careful steps, crouching away, almost as if he were riding a
surfboard. Then Myyr widened its mouth, emitting another hiss.

I pulled out my cell and called Ewan while, appeased by Adam’s retreat, the creature
curled up on his chair, licking the venom that had dripped on its chin, smacking in
satisfaction.

“You going to explain?” Adam’s voice came from behind me.

Explain to a witch revenant the presence of a zombie demon creature? I giggled, clinging
to the absurd humor of it all, lest the despair bury me.

“So glad you’re amused at my expense. I on the—”

I held up my palm. “Stop. You’re going to upset him.” Probably not, but I didn’t want
to hear an Adam rant at the moment. He immediately shut up and sat on the roof’s ledge.
Maybe I should keep Myyr around.

The demon perched his head on the back edge of the chair and bobbed his head between
Adam and me, almost like a kid at the zoo staring at an animal exhibit. Myyr veered
his head when the door to the roof opened, and Ewan emerged. The creature shot up,
its amphibious body swelling and vibrating like a hose newly infused with water from
a spigot.

Ewan wore an amused expression as he watched Myyr slink around the rooftop, hiss at
Adam, then settle back on the chair in a curl.

“Can you explain?” I asked him.

The amusement left his face, leaving his jaw slightly askew. “When we left him in
the demon realm, I told him to contact us about any activity at the portal.”

“You told him to come here?”

“No. He decided that on his own. I’ll have to give him more specific instructions
for the next time.”

Ewan stepped closer to Myyr and spoke to it in the demon tongue. It responded in a
combination of hisses and clicks. At each hiss, Ewan’s frown grew more pronounced.
Myyr smacked his lips a few times, then curled up again.

Ewan faced me, rubbing at his eyebrows, loosening the frown. “Myyr stopped another
assassin from breaching the portal, like the Frerac.”

“Cool that he stopped the—wait—
assassin
?” Fear creeped up my spine. Adam left his spot on the roof’s edge to stand next to
me as I asked, “Did he happen to find out the intended target?”

Ewan nodded. “Cael.”

The ring of my cell phone dampened the shock that crackled the air around us. I stepped
away to take the call.

“I have to go,” I told them after finishing the call.

Myyr mewled, and I reached over and patted his head, eliciting a noise from his mouth
that resembled a purr.

“My mom’s ex-boyfriend, police detective Greg, found a mutilated body and wants me
to check it out,” I said. Ewan had met Greg, and I didn’t need to elaborate. I figured
I’d explain the Greg deal to Adam en route. “Adam, you should come with me. Maybe
you’ll pick something up at the scene.”

“Should I come?” Ewan
asked
instead of insisting.

“I don’t want to freak Greg out by bringing the supe brigade. Thanks for asking, though.”
I cocked my head and smiled, my message clear—
I get it, thanks
. I knew he wanted to come, but he’d suppressed his protective urge, and I appreciated
him even more.

He studied me for a moment, and I half expected him to make some monumental declaration,
but instead he said, “Let me know what you find. I’ll make sure Myyr finds his way
back to the realm.”

I smiled, more at my sentimental notions and nodded.

Myyr, however, was not impressed and hissed his disapproval. Ewan responded with gruff
words in the demon tongue, and Myyr returned his head to the chair back and flicked
his tongue at him.

“Can I borrow your car?” I asked Ewan. Greg wanted me to arrive quickly, before he
reported the body, and public transportation was not going to do the trick.

He tossed me the keys. “Bring her back in one piece,” he said with a wink.

I gave him one last glance over my shoulder before leaving the rooftop with Adam and
heading for the Land Rover.

I only drove when I wanted to escape the city and took long, leisurely drives along
the winding coastal roads with my music turned up full blast. I wished now my destination
was some state park beach instead of an alley where a dead body waited.

* * * *

The second my brain registered the sight in front of me, I whirled around and forced
down the vomit rising in my throat.

“Sorry. I should have warned you. I guess I thought you’d be used to seeing—” Greg
paused. “—uh, anyway, are you okay?”

Greg patted my back as I tried to settle my quivering stomach. I didn’t need to look
at the mangled body again to know what had attacked the man. One quick glance at Adam’s
face from my hunched over position told me he had the same theory.

I straightened and scanned the alley where Greg had found the body while investigating
another homicide in one of the sleazier blocks of the Tenderloin. Greg’s voice had
been urgent when he’d called and asked me to meet him at the scene before he called
it in.

“What do you think? Is this related to supernatural stuff?” Greg asked. He kept his
eyes fixed on the body and a hand on the butt of his gun. I opened my mouth, ready
to utter the lie necessary to maintain Greg’s sense of control over his world. I closed
my mouth. Didn’t he have a right to know, to defend himself?

Who am I kidding? Greg couldn’t defend himself from a zombie any more than this poor
homeless man.

I shook my head. “Animal attack?” My tone was not convincing.

“You aware of an animal in San Francisco that could tear someone up like that?” He
lowered his head to look into my downcast eyes. “You’re not telling me the truth.”

I shrugged.

He slapped his hand on his thigh and straightened. “Shit. Don’t make me take you in
for questioning.”

“And what would you write on the report?” The irritated flicker of his eyes told me
I’d struck a police procedure sore note. I knew Greg wouldn’t make our conversation
or my take on this murder official. His threat was empty, but the police threat wasn’t.
I had to locate Cael—fast—before more bodies began turning up in dark corners of the
city, bringing the police and official inquiries into the realm of supe dirty business.

His pager buzzed. “Don’t touch anything while I call the station.” He peeked around
me to eye Adam standing over the corpse. “You too.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Because we want to touch a bloody corpse?”

He strode to his unmarked police issue Crown Vic parked just outside the alley.

I turned to see Adam’s eyes locked onto the dead body. His hunger gnawed at my insides,
making my stomach shrivel. Before I could stop him, he reached down and wet his fingers
with the blood marring the man’s neck, then pressed the fingers to his lips. Apparently,
Adam had wanted to touch the bloody corpse. I chanced a glance at Greg, relieved to
see his back to us as he talked on the radio.

“Adam?” My pulse raced. What if I lost him right here? I sought my power, felt it
brimming inside me, a small ripple in my subconscious. I stepped closer to him. Ice
hit my core through the bond, and I winced from the pain. He thrust a bloody palm
at me.

“Keep it together. A little while longer, okay?” I pleaded.

He stepped closer, palm still thrust towards my face. Blood stained his lips. “I want
to finish the job the zombies started.” His eyes shone, feverish in their intensity.
“Drinking blood is not enough. I want to tear through flesh, like the zombie tore
through that man.” He groaned and fell to his knees.

Greg approached us, taking one look at Adam hunched over. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Um, I think he ate something that made him sick.” I cringed.
Stupid. Stupid
.

“Let me help him.” Greg moved towards Adam.

“No.” I jumped in between Adam and Greg’s outstretched hands.

Greg stepped back, suspicion etched on his features. “Ruby, I hope you guys aren’t
doing drugs.”

The laugh I tried to hold back came out as a yelp. I’d take drugs over this madness
any day. Greg’s eyes narrowed even more.

“Seriously. He’s sick. Let me take him home. He’ll be fine. Sorry I wasn’t able to
help you.”

I pulled Adam up, careful to make sure Greg couldn’t see his bloody hands and face,
and ushered him to Ewan’s SUV. By the time I belted myself in and drew in a large,
slow breath, Adam’s face had lost the pained creases from before. He looked almost
relaxed.

He met my stare and smiled, a ghastly grin. A perfect Jack Nicholson
Shining
interpretation . . . after he’d gone nuts. A shiver vibrated my spine. I hit the gas
pedal, and the SUV lurched off the curb. I exceeded the speed limit several times,
anxious to drop him at the demon lair before that taste of blood compelled him to
seek more . . . from me.