The demon kept droning on, and on, and on. And he was zeroing in on my fears and what hurt. I was hoping it would take longer. I started to feel beaten and bruised. I’d live, but Isaac… I was worried about him. His face was even paler than before, his skin clammy and shining under the lights. An odd rattle started coming from his chest every time he breathed.
“Do you want to hear about what you’ll become?” it asked. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. 7:32 a.m. Where was Ethan? I needed to hold out a little longer.
“Do you know why Necromancers are usually killed?” it asked cheerfully. When I didn’t answer it didn’t faze it. “It’s their connection to the dead. They have one foot in this world and one foot out.” It tilted its head to the side and grinned. “That foot that’s out is always pulling the rest of you into the dark. Necromancers love death. They enjoy being surrounded by it.” I took a breath and let it out as I tried not to let him get to me. “You’ll end up like everyone else has; killing to have more dead under your command.”
Yeah, I was a real fan of the decaying and rotting crowd. Well, I was - as long as it was in a movie.
“That darkness will build and grow inside you, that fascination with the dead,” he said, “until it touches everything about you, and everyone in your life.”
The door to the room opened and I looked over my shoulder. Craig gave me the cut gesture.
I turned back to the demon and smiled. “That will be all for our session. I’ll see you next week. Please pay your copay at the front desk,” I said in a cheerful voice. It growled at me as I got to my feet and walked out. Hades didn’t even budge from his spot.
In the dim observation room, I groaned loudly and rubbed my hands down my face. “That thing can talk! We should call it the Jabberer.”
Craig chuckled as he took the microphone off me. “You did amazing in there,” he announced. “You shattered the old record of three hours. You managed just over seven and a half hours with a demon.”
“Think I can sell the movie rights?” I asked, my voice raspy.
He chuckled again as I handed him the battery pack. “Not really. But go get some sleep. Ethan is outside and so is my replacement for the day. And, uh, there’s a situation out in the hallway for you.”
Not wanting to ask, I opened the door and looked out. The souls of the dead filled the hallway almost wall to wall. I stumbled in the doorway as their energy hit me. My beads began to heat against my skin. The guys seemed to know something was wrong; the corridor was freezing, their breath steaming as they exhaled. The guys turned to me.
Miles was the first to speak up. “Lexie, is there—”
“Yeah, it’s packed with ghosts,” I admitted. The others cursed. I was about to tell all the souls to get out when Father Andrew made his way through the mass of souls.
“What is the meaning of this?” Andrew demanded as he finished buttoning his shirt. It wasn’t even tucked in. He must have just woken up.
I raised my hand. “Yeah... this is my fault. I kinda look like a light to the dead.”
“They follow her,” Asher added.
Father Andrew ran his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “We can’t have this many souls hanging around. We can’t even get down the corridor.”
I grumbled to myself as I stepped out into the hallway and cupped my hands. “Hey, dead people!” I shouted, my voice straining. “Get your asses upstairs and out to the courtyard or no one is crossing over!”
Father Andrew eyed me, as if I had done something truly offensive, but the dead didn’t think so as they started making their way up the stairs and out of the hallway. My beads continued to burn my skin until they were gone. I let out a deep breath and turned to the guys.
Ethan’s eyes ran over me as he moved towards me. I hugged him, careful of his bruises.
“You okay?” he whispered into my hair.
I squeezed. “Yeah, I’ll live.” I pulled back. “Look, it’s gonna talk and it won’t shut up. The beautiful part is you can sing songs in your head and not pay attention because you’ll be wired, and someone will be listening so you don’t have to.”
“What did you sing?” Ethan asked.
I grinned. “Everything from Pink to DeBarge.”
The guys grinned.
“The point is, don’t listen. And don’t say a word. It irritates the fuck out of it,” I offered.
Ethan smirked. “I’m all for that.”
My grin faded. “Isaac… he’s paler, clammy. It’s like he’s got a fever. So, just be prepared for it.”
He nodded and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Thank you for being here,” he whispered against my skin.
“Always,” I answered before he walked around me and inside. I rubbed my temples; my head was pounding again and I just wanted quiet. But that wasn’t going to happen yet. “Off to ghost land,” I muttered as I started down the hallway.
“Asher, will you stay with Ethan for now?” Zeke asked. I didn’t hear his answer.
When I reached the stairs, I cursed before starting to climb. I was exhausted and the last fucking thing I wanted was to deal with the dead. But I didn’t really get a choice anymore. At least it felt that way.
Father Andrew walked beside me. “What exactly are you doing with the dead?”
“I’m crossing them over,” I stated. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the dead aren’t crossing on their own anymore.”
“We have noticed an increase in souls, as well as… disfigured ones,” the priest admitted.
I sighed. “Yeah, here’s the Cliff Notes version: the Veil is closed and souls can’t cross. I have to cross them myself.” It wasn’t nearly the whole story, but it was enough to get him to understand what he was going to see. We reached the first floor and headed for the courtyard.
The courtyard was packed with the living and the dead. Templars were everywhere, scattered amongst the souls. They seemed to be waiting just as much as the dead were.
“Why are they here?” I turned to Father Andrew.
“Well, this is a rare opportunity to observe what you do,” Father Andrew explained. “Word probably spread you were doing something in the courtyard.”
“And as the resident witch, I thought it best if I make sure you aren’t doing more harm than good.” A woman walked forward wearing the Templar uniform. Her brown eyes watched me carefully. “I know all about Necromancers and their perverse powers.”
I raised an eyebrow. It was all I had the energy to do. Normally I’d say something, fire back. Right now, I didn’t give a fuck.
I turned to the courtyard. “Templars, get your asses to the edges of the courtyard. Dead, get into the center of the courtyard and start deciding which twenty-five are going. Start with those who have the most rot damage. Then come back the same time tomorrow and we’ll do it again.” My voice cracked. I winced. No yelling. Damn it.
“Why only twenty-five?” witch-woman asked.
“Because I like living,” I bit out and I rubbed my eyes with one hand.
“But surely—”
“I’m not about to explain shit to you right now,” I snapped, dropping my hand to turn and meet her eyes. “You said you know Necromancers and their perverse powers, which I call ‘bullshit’ to since we’re so rare.” She opened her mouth again but I steamrolled right over her. “I’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours, sitting in a room with a demon who enjoyed throwing painful parts of my life in my face for over seven of those hours. Do you really think I’m going to stand here and give a flying fuck about what you think or want?”