Page 24 of Necromancers Don't Raise

“What areyoudoing here?” she demanded.

Mercury gave her a respectful bow. “I’ve come to pay my respects. Whatever differences we may have had in the past, we can come together for the sake of your daughter.”

Philip stepped up and gave Mercury a look so cold, I expected my breath to smoke up. “No, we really can’t. You aren’t welcome here, Dealer.” He’d definitely inferred that Mercury dealt drugs and other highly shocking substances with his tone, as contemptuous as my mother’s look.

How had I missed this drama? There was clearly loads of it between Philip, my mother, and Mercury. What could he possibly have done to make everyone angry?

My dad patted Philip’s shoulder, making my fiancé, or ex-fiancé, break his gaze. “Now, now, don’t bring business into this.” As if my mother could possibly stop thinking about business. “We’re here to mourn, to remember, and to pay respects. This is about my daughter.”

Philip looked positively ashamed, and his skin went slightly waxy for a moment. “Of course.”

My mother was still looking at Mercury coldly, but it was not blatantly antagonistic.

I swallowed hard and then said in a screechy little voice that was sure to impress everybody, “How is the case coming?”

My mother noticed me for the first time. “Case? My daughter’s death was a terrible accident, but no one suspects the fire of being intentional.” Her voice was so elegant, refined, like my voice had been before I died. Her eyes were cold, though. So cold, and the way she was looking at me, Mercury’s companion, it wasn’t flattering. Not that I’d thought it would be with my stubbly head and my creepy eyes.

I cleared my throat and edged closer to Mercury’s warmth.

“Of course,” Mercury said, giving another bow. “I thought that I would offer my services if there were any hint of purposeful harm. However, if it is already a closed case, I offeronly my condolences for the death of your fair daughter and her other two friends. I find it peculiar that there are no photos of either of them.”

“They had separate services,” my father said, looking sad. “We though it only fitting that no single life take more attention than any other.”

Mercury narrowed his eyes at him and said, “Of course,” like that made sense, only it didn’t. He pulled me past them, finished with the unpleasant job of speaking to live humans who didn’t have the decency to wear black at their own daughter’s funeral. My mother did look slightly too festive in the blue that matched her eyes as well as it had mine. Not that my eyes were actually that color. Were hers pale and creepy as well? What was the drama that would bring out my mother’s claws in public? I had to know.

Mercury led me directly to the hall with the catering. It was an extremely well-catered function, as I’d known it would be. He started at one table and made a plate of all the best things that he gave to me, looking too tall and brooding to eat in public, but caring for his pathetic dead conscientiously.

I nibbled on a prosciutto wrapped breadstick and tried not to notice the way people were looking at me. Well, mostly Mercury, because everyone was dying to know the drama, but me as someone who was with a dark sorcerer who had dared attend a respectable social function wearing leather and light armor.

“Mercury,” a striking gentleman with dark red hair said, coming up to us with hand outstretched. “You really shouldn’t have come. Stirring things up after she’s already dead? That’s beyond bad manners.”

Mercury ignored the hand, looking bored and French. “Vincent, one of the few perks of being a dark sorcerer is that I don’t have to mind my manners.”

I elbowed him. “Seriously, Mercury, you’re going to get us thrown out.”

He sighed heavily, looking down at me with amusement glinting in his eye. “That would be a pity considering the fact that we are only here for the catering, and we haven’t eaten a breadstick.”

The redhead cleared his throat, looking at me like he’d just noticed me. I was sensing a theme. “You’re here with Mercury? Are you his bodyguard?”

I blinked at him. “No. I’m his…” What was I? He’d never officially hired me for anything, or I’d have benefits.

“Miss Nova is a friend of mine,” Mercury said smoothly, smiling charmingly as he angled us so he was between myself and Vincent. “She’s going to get more figs while you lecture me about my bad manners. Otherwise, I’m afraid she would die of boredom.”

Vincent looked concerned, maybe slightly horrified, but his voice was even. “You brought a friend to Cassandra Clarence’s memorial? Bad manners don’t cover that kind of behavior. That’s outright…” His brows drew together, searching for the word. “vile,” he finally said. “Like the time you came to my own ball and propositioned my wife.”

I took two steps away from Mercury and his friend. My heart ached at the thought of Mercury pursuing someone else. How stupid. I had enough things to make my heart ache. I didn’t need jealousy to add on top of everything else. “I’m going to get some figs. You two have a lovely chat.” I almost ran back to the table with the figs, trying to not look like I cared about whatever Mercury did with other people’s wives.

I was so focused on not looking at Mercury, I didn’t notice Philip until he spoke.

“Do you have any idea how deplorable your date is?” Philip’s voice came from directly behind me, so close that I jumped andalmost lost my figs with blue cheese. I carefully put it on my plate next to my prosciutto wrapped breadsticks and turned to face him. It was a shock to see him up close. Even though I’d just barely seen him, he looked even more perfect and glowing than ever while I’d fallen completely off the table and gotten rolled over by a dump truck. Me and my stubby fingers. But this was exactly the person that I needed to talk to.

“He’s a dark sorcerer. I haven’t personally watched him rip out someone’s heart and eat it, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I understand that you were at the hotel at ten-thirty on the morning of Cassandra Clarence’s passing. Did you see her?”

He raised a brow, looking at me curiously. “You’re a fan of Cassandra? You want more gory details of her death? Would that give you some sick and twisted thrill?” His contempt was clear.

I stared at him while tears rose up in my eyes. “You aren’t as nice as you seem from a distance.”

His eyes widened, surprised. “Do I seem nice? My fiancé just died, burned to death, along with dozens of others. But you want details? Fine. I’ll tell you everything you want to know if you tell your boyfriend to sell me what’s rightfully mine.”

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