Page 64 of Charmed By Destiny

Intrigued, Luke sat on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. “You didn’t leave the house?”

“Not without guards,” Richard said, relaxing on the couch at Luke’s side. “We were homeschooled and sheltered. But I never complained. How could I? It was to protect Eric.”

“This entire thing with destiny-touched necromancers is awful. How different are the destiny-touched from regular necromancers? It’s a mark and stronger magic, right?”

“Your necromancer didn’t explain it?” Richard asked, his blue gaze widening. “Maybe it’s not common knowledge. Or perhaps the gifts vary like they do with inspirits. I don’t know. None of us do. It’s impossible to learn anything. Thanks to our need to hide from humans, nothing is written down. As for Eric, he can talk to spirits. Communicate with them even if they can’t speak. He can also open portals to allow them to cross to the other side.”

Luke was flabbergasted and impressed. “So, he isn’t making up the medium thing, he is one. Wow.”

“He is, but not in the traditional way I think most humans believe it works. He doesn’t get to choose which spirits contact him. They make the first move. Eric befriends them but doesn’t pry about their pasts, nor does he locate their living relatives. What he does is aid them in joining the rest of the dead.”

“Very noble of him. But knowing that confuses me more. Why would you want to stop someone from helping the dead? The entire point of a necromancer is to give life to the dead. Then families like yours give them resources. You’re helping them like Eric is, so why would anyone want to kill the destiny-touched? They are literally doing the jobs no one else can.”

Richard shrugged. “Makes no sense to me either. But necros hunt them. Gabriel’s did. It’s why the man is dead. Samael Wolfebrier was trying to murder another destiny-touched—a child. Gabriel tried to save the kid, but he was too late. The child was already dead. But he would’ve taken the shot to kill Samael anyway because he’d learned what a monster he was. Gabriel’s gift is perfect aim, so he didn’t miss. Samael murdered countless destiny-touched. I don’t know if that’s something Gabriel will ever forgive himself for. He loved Samael. Gabriel didn’t understand what was happening. Unconditionally, Gabriel supported Samael and helped bury the dead. Gabriel and Samael were family, but the man was a butcher.”

Luke’s heart broke for what Gabriel had suffered. “Shit, that’s horrible. To have to kill Foxe? I can’t imagine it. But I also couldn’t stomach the thought of protecting a murderer either. It’s not like you can turn them in to the human police.”

“No, they’d figure out we exist, and that’s the last thing we want.”

“Especially for the destiny-touched,” Luke said, shaking his head at the thought of two different populations going after the most gifted among them. “Can you imagine if humans decided people like Eric have too many skills too? We couldn’t save any of them. It’d be impossible.”

Richard took one of Luke’s hands and sandwiched it between his own. “I need you to know that if there is ever a choice of saving myself or stepping in front of danger approaching Eric, I won’t hesitate. Neither will anyone else in this family. Mari stepped in between Eric and her father and happily took a bullet meant for my brother.”

The thought of Richard facing a gun or anything else deadly horrified him, but he also understood the necromancer’s desire to protect his sibling. Knowing what Maribeth had endured already added to the terror. Richard wasn’t exaggerating. “I don’t like it because I prefer to think of you as being safe, but I also understand. Add me to the list of people willing to protect Eric, okay?”

“David and I take weekly kung fu classes, want to come?” Richard asked, grinning.

“Are you any good?”

“No. I don’t practice because I’m only there for David. He expressed interest in learning self-defense, and we don’t let David do anything alone.”

“I’m assuming he has a story?” Luke asked. “Was he hurt protecting Eric, like Maribeth?”

“No. I don’t know what happened to David. Clearly something did, but my parents made it clear from the time we were small children that questions aren’t welcome. His story is his own. I’d guess my parents know because he’s been with them his whole life, but they protect him. I can’t argue with that. David was resurrected by my mother, but I can’t even tell you when. That’s how much I know about David’s past. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know who he was to love him now.”

“I understand.”

“I’d like to know pieces of your past though. At least the ones you want to talk about. Not now, because we don’t know each other that well…but someday.”

Luke brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed Richard’s soft skin. “What skeletons do you think I’m hiding?”

“You’ve been alive for ten years. Things happened.”

“It’s a blur of a poorly decorated condo, frozen dinners, shitty motels, smelly casinos, odd jobs I did to get some money in my pocket, and crappy meals that didn’t stretch to include both cereal and milk because we couldn’t afford shit. Oh, and I had lovers. Want to hear about them?”

Richard’s nose crinkled in disgust. “No, absolutely not.”

“You’ve lived for thirty years. That means you have three times as many stories to tell.”

“Want me to talk about my lovers?”

“No. Tell me why you oppose marriage,” Luke said, vividly recalling Richard’s plans to avoid nuptials.

“We should probably talk about it before you hear it from someone else, since I was vocal with Mari and Eric about not wanting a soulmate. I’d sworn off sex and relationships. As for my parents, I wasn’t brave enough to announce my intention not to have a soulmate, but they knew I wasn’t interested in relationships. But bear with me because this is embarrassing.”

Luke shifted on the sofa so he was facing Richard. “We don’t have to talk about this now if you’re not ready.”

Richard kept ahold of Luke’s hand as he tucked a knee on the couch so it rested against Luke’s thigh and they were eye to eye. “Time isn’t going to make it easier. The truth is, I have a terrible track record of picking the wrong men. Shallow, I guess you’d call me. I like handsome men. I met a few. Not many. I’m not that experienced. I had three lovers…each worse than the last. Sex was paltry at best. The last guy, I dared attempt intercourse with. He finished. I didn’t. The man either didn’t care or failed to notice. He sailed out of the room, whistling. He was gorgeous on the outside but lacked redeeming qualities on the inside.”

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