Page 58 of Deadly Avarice
I considered my words carefully. “Solstice should be spent with friends and family. It is a time to thank Gaia for what she’s brought into our lives, and I, for one, am very thankful she guided us to you. Necromancers are a woefully small group and those of us who can hold a conversation are even smaller in number. I guess the short of it is, I’m grateful for you.”
Another, even longer silence followed. This time, I waited it out. When Leander finally spoke again, his voice sounded thick with emotion. “That’s… It’s a nice offer, but I like spending Solstice with my dogs. They’re what I’m most thankful for. It seems wrong to spend the day away from them.”
Leander sounded sincere, and I could easily understand his reasoning. “Okay. I understand. Just know that you are welcome anytime.” As soon as I said them, I realized I meant those words.
“Th-thanks. I think. I’m not really sure.” Another pause. “You confuse me.”
I choked on a burst of laughter. “That’s okay. I confuse a lot of people.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Leander’s tone was lighter.
“Do you mind if Franklin and I drop something off in celebration of Solstice Day? I promise we’ll call first.”
Leander grunted. “If that’s what you wanna do. Just don’t expect anything in return.”
I grinned. “Of course not.”
I thought I caught a wheeze of laughter but couldn’t be certain. Our conversation didn’t last long after that and I soon found myself staring at my darkened phone screen. Deciding I could hang out in bed just a little bit longer, I checked my upcoming schedule and then texted Janet Meeker with a couple of options. I’d need to check with Franklin also, but I figured I could at least get the ball rolling.
That done, I stretched one more time before forcing myself out of bed. The wooden floor was chilly as I made my way to the attached bathroom. If I ever remodeled, I’d make heated floors in the bathroom a priority. As it was, the tile was even chillier and I quickly hopped onto a nearby rug.
After relieving myself, I decided a shower was necessary. Catching my reflection in the mirror solidified that thought. Gaia, I looked thoroughly debauched. My fingers danced along one of three bruises littering my neck and collarbone. I almost wished I didn’t need to take the second healing potion today. Franklin’s love bites would be long gone by the time evening came around. I didn’t mind wearing them. If anything, they were a point of pride. Or maybe affection. They were proof, a reminder of just how much Franklin enjoyed touching me.
My cheeks warmed as blood flushed them bright red. Memories of the previous night assaulted my mind and made my well-used dick perk. Staring down at the interested appendage, I pointed and uselessly said, “Down boy.” Thoughts of Franklin turned my libido back about ten years. I was little more than a horny teenage boy whose dick stood up and took notice of the slightest breeze.
With a heavy sigh, I dragged my worn-out body and all too eager dick into the shower. Had I been stronger willed, I would have turned the water colder. As it was, I didn’t even try and kept the shower steamy in more ways than one.
The list in front of me was…daunting. Far more so than I’d imagined. It was little more than a printout of human women’s names and nothing more. There were no dates attached. No addresses or even a mention of the state they were from. No warlock names were connected to the women, and of course, there were no necromancer children written down. The women would have at least carried the child to term. It was unknown if a child would be born warlock or necromancer until that child breathed their first breath. There was a way to tell prior to birth. However, human women had demanded this test not be done and for good reason. Too many warlock fathers had abandoned their responsibilities even sooner, leaving human women, heavily pregnant, to fend for themselves before the child was even born.
My lips twisted into something sour as I considered this. Maybe Franklin had a point. Warlocks had more to answer for than I’d previously thought. The truly damning thing was that the only reason warlocks had agreed to this condition was because it had been written into Fairy Law.
Elbows planted on my knees, I rested my forehead in my hands. The list seemed impossibly long and it wassupposedlyan abbreviated one, only going back the last thirty years. Call me crazy, but I didn’t trust the Warlock Council to abide by those terms. For all I knew, the list contained names from more than a hundred years ago. And the cherry on this overwhelming sundaewas that this was only a list of names for necromancer mothers in the United States and Canada.
Flopping back into the comfort of my couch, I stared at the ceiling, blinking my tired eyes. I’d already swallowed the contents of the second healing potion. Compared to yesterday, I physically felt 100 percent better. Too bad Loretta’s potion couldn’t fix my mental angst too.
I’d started another fire and found myself switching my gaze to the dancing flames. I’d turned on the lights adorning my fir tree and marveled at the way they brightened the corner of my living room. Shadows played along the wall, dancing in time with the flame. Those shadows were just as magical as the light that produced them. They swirled and flickered and… My eyes narrowed, fixing on something that simply didn’t look right. My fingers fisted as I continued staring. Between the fireplace and the lit tree, there was…something. It was a shadow, slightly darker than the surrounding ones. What was strange was its movement, or maybe lack of movement. It was almost like the shadows cast by the fire flickered over it.
I started to sit up, determined to figure out what was going on. It surely had to be a trick of the light, or maybe my tired brain. I began rising from the couch but before I could fully stand, the odd shadow was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Remaining in my odd, half-crouched position, my gaze stayed steady, my eyes barely blinking, but whatever it was, was gone. I sat back down and scrubbed my hands over my eyes. “Great, now I’m seeing stupid shit,” I grumbled while shaking the oddity from my brain and focusing back on the daunting list. A shiver raced up my back and I found my eyes repeatedly tracking back to the corner and where the darker shadow had been. No matter how hard I focused, I couldn’t see it now.
“Get a grip, Erasmus.” I used to talk to myself more when I was kid. I hadn’t necessarily stopped, but most of the time, my mental musings stayed inside my head. Sometimes, the words simply slipped out.
The list of names swam in front of my unblinking eyes. Going through the names one by one would take a long, long time. Too long. There was also only so much information I could find searching on my own. The bottom line was I needed help.
With a heavy groan, I picked up my phone and shot Franklin a text asking if he had time to talk. My phone rang less than a minute later.
“That was fast,” I said by way of greeting while easing back into the comfort of my couch. Feet propped on my coffee table, I snuggled in.
“Just doing some paperwork,” Franklin answered. His tone noticeably softened when he addressed me.
“I’m sorry. I know that’s not your favorite part of the job.” Franklin’s version of paperwork was actually computer work. He’d told me the forms were the same, just on the computer now instead of on printed paper. Franklin didn’t know which was worse and thought they both took about the same amount of time.
“An evil necessity,” Franklin agreed. “How are you feeling this morning?”
I grinned and wiggled my ass. In a way, Loretta’s healing potion worked a little too well. “Not as sore as I’d like to feel. I like carrying the reminder of where you’ve been.”
Franklin’s deep chuckle filtered across cyberspace and into my ear making me shiver for all the right reasons. “And I enjoy leaving those reminders.”
