Page 73 of Necromancers Don't Raise

Her brow rose. “It’s not from me, but from her.Sheworked tirelessly for everything, from her apartment to her collection of lovely firearms. Also, I have a shortage of relatives. If Mr. Good can publicly declare you his heir, it is requisite that I claim you as well.”

But not as her daughter. “You’re going to make people think that Mr. Good and the Clarence’s are connected.” I frowned at her. That seemed like a very bad idea if she’d been running away from that world for some reason I still didn’t understand.

Her smile was calm, her words firm. “We are, now that he’s made you his heir.”

She was so exasperating. “I have no more connection with him than I do with you. Both of you are mad. Play your games without bringing in someone who isn’t interested.”

“You’re not interested? But I found out so much useful information about the fire.”

I held perfectly still while my heart raced and I wanted to scream, run away, and curl up on Mercury’s lap. Finally I sat with a sigh of defeat, back in Mercury’s arms because I couldn’t possibly stay upright on my own against my mother’s force of will. I felt so much better on his lap, with his warmth seeping into me like a cozy fire on a cold day.

“What did you find out?”

She smiled and leaned back, satisfied with her victory. “It was caused by demonic magic, interestingly enough. The darkest kind of magic, and the darkest kind of fire. Infernal flames devour everything, but here you are.”

“I wasn’t in the fire,” I said numbly.

“No, of course not, or even you would have some scars. All of you here have magic of some kind, so I shall ask the general group. What would be the purpose of taking someone’s fingers, nose, and other parts of their body before killing them?” It was surreal listening to her talk like she was at a board meeting when she was discussing my murder.

No one looked horrified at the question, just like it was a technical debate. “Sampling can be done by humans under demonic influence,” Apples said clearly with a great deal of certainty. “It’s purpose is to channel the life force and physical constraints of the victim to the demonic human.”

Gabby looked at him with a wrinkled brow. “You’re saying that someone is running around with Nova’s face right now?”

Apples shrugged. “And the rest of her. Interesting that there’s been no sign of the culprit since the fire. Once they start destroying, they don’t stop, and that fire took a lot of lives.”

“You made a study of demonology?” Mercury asked, looking at Apples with interest for the first time.

He shrugged and took a bite of salad, apparently done being useful.

“Why would a demonic human want Nova’s face?” the Grand Sorcerer mused.

“Well, she’s now an heiress twice over,” Gabby said. “Or maybe she has a thing for dark sorcerers and wants to seduce the Dealer.”

“I wasn’t Nova at the time. I was actually…”

My mother gave me a sharp look. Magic users were not to be trusted. Neither were mothers. Apparently.

I gave her a bland smile and continued. “Cassandra Clarence. So whoever took my face, my life, my fingers, wanted to become Cassandra Clarence. Unfortunately for her, without surgery, I look like this.”

Apples whistled appreciatively. “That’s what I call, poetic justice.”

Mercury growled, tugging me closer. “All of this was told in confidence. None of you may use the information you have learned for any purpose whatsoever, in or out of a court of law. This is a private dinner and you are not under the authority to disclose anything. Understood?”

Apples hesitated, then nodded. “Very well.”

Vincent sniffed. “I am always discreet.”

Anna the Sorcerer shrugged. “Who would I tell? My squirrel? I suppose there’s Libby, but she wouldn’t have the slightest idea who Cassandra Clarence is. I’m personally a bit fuzzy on it.”

Gabby held up her phone, showing her a picture of Cassandra Clarence and a brief description of my epic life.

“Ah, thanks Gab. So, this demonic girl must be stopped before she opens a portal to the underworld and launches the second Armageddon. Yes? But how do we find her?”

“I’d like to know how she was able to enspell so many to not question the fire or the deaths,” my mother said tersely. “Is that a demonic talent as well?”

“Interesting,” Mercury said, but his hand tightened in a way that said it was more frightening than interesting.

“That is interesting,” Bellham agreed.

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