Page 51 of Court of Heathens

They are serious.

Necromancer.

The word rings in my head, and my soul revolts. No, I can’t be. I’m not like him. I don’t kill people and bring them back. I’m not evil.

No, it can’t be true.

I’ll prove it.

I leap to my feet and rush to the zombie, pressing my hand to its head to prove to them and myself I’m not evil.

That I’m not a necromancer.

“No!”

I ignore their bellows.

As soon as my hand makes contact with the zombie’s decaying skin, I regret it. All that power flows through me, and something within me reaches for the spark within the zombie. I can see it, like a flower or a vine dying and decaying, but that darkness within me feeds it. It grows, blooms, and spreads, and when I jerk back, the zombie turns its bright eyes to me, it’s skin fuller.

It’s more alert as it waits for me to order it.

I can feel its life force like a shadow, a whisper in the back of my mind.

Oh gods.

I turn and throw up, understanding what I did and what I am.

I look to them to see their horror, and I can’t handle it.

I run, but this time nothing is chasing me except the truth—the truth I wish I never knew.

CHAPTER 28

Iwatch her go, my heart squeezing at the panic in her eyes. With a thought, I hold back the demon and the creature. “Let her go. If we try to trap her, she will panic more. Let her breathe.”

“She shouldn’t be alone,” the creature begins, understanding despite being recently created.

“She won’t. Demon, go after her in a moment.” He frowns at me. “I might be a god, but she is one of my people and she needs help. You two have a deeper bond—you understand her more. She needs you right now.”

“One of your people? Is that what you told yourself when you fucked her?” He smirks, but then his expression sobers as he looks at the entrance. “I’ll go, but what about the necromancer? He’s going to be a problem.”

“He needs time to find her, so we have a little bit of a head start. I will work on securing her home from him to give her a safe space. The creature can help me . . . . You need a name.” I frown at him.

He shrugs. “Whatever Freya wishes to call me. I am hers.”

Rubbing my head, I flick my fingers at the demon. “Go, you both give me a headache.” I smile at them. “Demon, make sureour girl is okay.” It’s the only way I will admit to feeling more for her than I should because he’s right.

This is about more than being a god. This is Freya and a bond we have created without meaning to.

The little witch has become important to me, very important.

I watch him go, and then I look back at the zombie. He’s watching me, looking bright and fresh once more. “She’s powerful.”

“I could taste that,” the creature murmurs.

“She might even be one of the most powerful necromancers I have encountered.” My eyes go back to the exit. “I just hope we can save her. Come, you can help me place some wards to keep her safe.”

“The necromancer?” it asks.

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