Page 31 of Deadly Avarice
Leander stared, eyes wide and contemplative. “I don’t know that I understand.”
It was my turn to shrug. “I’m not sure I do either, but I’m not a medium. I could hear whispers of the dead around Navarre, but without their bodies, I was helpless to do more.” Inhaling deeply, I forged ahead. “Tabitha took Navarre back to Minneapolis with her. Evidently, it’s one of the Magical Usage Council’s hubs. He’s staying with her so she can help him and hopefully figure out a way to not only clear his current issue, but stop Navarre from acquiring more.”
“Do you think that’s possible?” Leander asked.
“I don’t know. I hope so.” Hope was all I had when it came to Navarre. I just prayed it wasn’t the false kind.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Leander’s thick biceps pulled at his flannel. “Well, good for him, and you. I suppose. But I still don’t know what that has to do with me.”
Blowing out a deep breath, I shook my head. “Nothing directly. The thing is, it’s become abundantly clear to me over the past year that no one knows just how many of us there are.There’s no accounting of necromancers, and when one is born like Navarre, then there’s also no safety net. There’s no one there to help them, and most necromancers like Navarre have a tragic ending.” The necromancer recently killed in New York easily came to mind. Truth be told, he was never far from my thoughts.
“They wind up dead,” Leander said, not a hint of inflection in his tone. “Nearly everyone else would say good riddance. The only good necromancer is a dead one, after all. We’re the abominations of the world.”
I flinched. They were words I’d heard all too often.
“That’s bullshit.” Franklin was quick to defend my necromancer honor. “Necromancers are no different than any other species, and they deserve to be counted and cared for.”
Leander’s smirk was anything but happy. “Glad you think so. I’d say you’re in the minority, party of one.”
“That’s not true. While I agree with you in general, there are a lot of others who aren’t so bad. Franklin’s co-workers are very nice to me. They—”
“That’s because you’re useful to them.” Leander pointed an accusing finger my direction. “Trust me, if you were like this Navarre, then they’d either lock you up and throw away the key or conveniently ignore you. They’d only care when your body started stinking up some dank, dark alley where you were finally put out of your misery.”
My hands clenched. Leander wasn’t saying anything new. Hell, I’d had similar thoughts too many times to count.
“Boone.” Franklin’s soft, tender voice pulled me from my downward spiral.
Inhaling, I closed my eyes and pushed away the gnawing guilt and pain. I needed to refocus. I was here to find out about Leander Dun. Given our less than welcome greeting, this might be my only opportunity.
“And what about you?” I asked.
“What about me?” Leander sounded skeptical.
“You’re what? Twenty-eight?”
“About that,” Leander agreed. “What does my age have to do with anything?”
I cocked my head, watching Leander’s fingers knead the sparse fur around Princess’s neck and shoulders. “You’ve managed to stay sane. An asshole maybe, but sane nonetheless.”
Leander grunted. “I suppose that depends on your definition ofsaneandasshole.” When I started to say something, Leander waved a dismissive hand. “Save it. I get what you’re saying. I’m functional. Here on my land, I’m good. There are no dead bodies. My mom and stepdad made sure of that before they purchased the land. He made me walk every inch of the property.” Leander closed his eyes, leaning his head back and relaxing his shoulders. “Bliss. Total fucking bliss. Nothing but silence. The nearest cemetery is twenty miles away. Too far for me to pick up on any of the residents.”
Franklin and I shared a knowing look. “Do you ever leave?” Franklin asked.
“Not if I don’t have to.”
“How do you get food and supplies?” I asked. “Does your family bring them to you?”
“Man, you really do live in a happy fantasy land.” Leander shook his head. “Myfamilywould like me to disappear, and after buying this place for me, that’s exactly what I’ve done. That was the deal I made with my mom and stepdad. I get a place to live—in peace—and they get rid of me, their consciences clear. In this day and age, you don’t have to leave your property to get anything. I’ve got good Wi-Fi. If I need something, I order it. Mostly I live off the land. I hunt and grow food. It’s more than enough.” Leander ended on a shrug.
“And money?” I asked. It wasn’t my business, but I was curious.
“I don’t need much. I do some remote computer coding here and there. It’s enough to get me by. I’m not cash greedy. I’m good. Content. And I sure as fuck don’t want anything to upset that.”
That message was clearly received. My fingers tensed and relaxed, repeating the process and making my hands hurt. This meeting wasn’t going how I’d hoped, not that I’d had a lot of hope to begin with. Leander fit every stereotype I’d ever heard regarding necromancers. The sad thing was, I couldn’t even blame him. Leander had managed to carve out a tiny, peaceful section of the world. Some wouldn’t call it living. For Leander, it was Shangri-la.
Head hanging, I felt the weight of futility land on my shoulders. I had no right to disturb Leander’s peace. It wasn’t my place. Slowly standing, I did something I rarely did and offered Leander my hand. He stared at it, as if the flesh might burn him before finally standing also and reaching for me. Our skin touched and his larger fingers wrapped around mine, giving my hand a firm shake.
“I’m sorry we bothered you,” I said while attempting to keep the defeat out of my voice. “Franklin and I will be on our way. We won’t disturb you again.” Franklin’s hand found mine and tugged me toward the door. Bless his heart, Franklin remained quiet. He was a silent comfort and infinite source of support.
