Chapter 116

A wave of hot air washed over my body, the crackle of the flames set my blood pounding. I looked up at the frowning face of Miri, the explosion of fire washing through her form as she stared down at me. She was attractive for a woman in her late thirties, the beauty of her youth still very much apparent. That didn't much matter to me though, because she was a ghost, and I was here on a job. A personal job, but a job nonetheless.
"What are you doing hiding down there, I know the fire can't hurt you," her voice was clear in my mind.
"Shit," I muttered as I stamped out the fire on my sleeve, "But I like this shirt!"
The crackle of the fire was getting louder around me as the couch I was hiding behind was doing a fair job of melting, pretty soon I wouldn't have any cover at all. The smell of the burning glue, wood, and leather was getting overwhelming, not to mention the smoke, and I started to cough. Damn it, I really liked this shirt.
I stood and turned, my clothes caught fire, but my skin was merely tickled. I drew my power, over forty ghosts channeling the energy of death, the energy of the afterlife. Although I couldn't see it through the fire and smoke, I knew I was surrounded by a green glow. With a thought I changed to my sight from normal to other. I couldn't see the bastard at all, but his soul was quite clear to me. Some white, a lot of black. I could hear his laughter as his fire engulfed me.
Everyone knows necromancers burn just as much as the next guy, luckily I knew something he didn't. I released my power, it slithered across the room, engulfing the bastard completely. I could not see what was happening, but I saw his soul disconnect from his body, which was most likely rotted, decomposed, and laying on the floor.
"Enjoy hell asshole!" I screamed.
I watched with other sight as an opening to hell appeared; fell creatures poured out and dragged the sorcerer through the gate before it closed. Not something I can take credit for, hell was always eager to collect their own. I shrugged. If anyone deserved it, he certainly did. The asshole was preparing to sacrifice his daughter in a ritual, after murdering his wife when she found out. That's when Miri sought me out for help, and I was glad to help, for a price.
I dashed through the house, Miri floating along behind me. The house was really burning up now. I ran to the bedroom where Miri's daughter waited. There was no time to unlock it or find a key. I kicked it in. The ten year old girl took one look at me and the fire behind me, and screamed. I imagine I was an alarming sight, my clothes all but burned away. I picked her up and ran for the front door, the girl wasn't making it easy, squirming and trying to escape, but it wasn't as if I had the time to explain things.
I was the good guy, well, for her and in this particular case I was anyway.
I channeled some more power, my green aura surrounding the child. This time not to rot, but to preserve, to protect, and to shield. We ran right through the fire, I winced at the piercing scream right in my left ear, that's gratitude for you.
I made it out the front door and ran down to the car. I opened the back door and the girl calmed when she saw her aunt Rita was in the driver's seat. She was the spitting image of Miri, and alive, but I squashed any thoughts of hitting on her, she looked freaked out, and you know, time and a place and all that.
I smiled a little and said, "Could have gone better, but here she is safe and sound. You should go."
She looked at me a little fearfully and said, "Are you sure you don't want anything, I feel like I owe you something."
I shook my head, "No, get going, my price has already been covered."
I turned and looked at Miri as the car drove away. She nodded, ghostly tears on her cheeks as she reached out and touched my amulet. The spell was activated as she was bound to me. A necromancer gets his power through ghosts for the most part. The deal was simple, I save her daughter from her monster of a father, and she serves me for ten years before moving on to the next life.
It is possible to bind ghosts against their will, but necromancers who do that are at a disadvantage in my opinion. Even after being bound, a spirit can still fight. It's much harder my way, working for it and making deals in the short term, but the advantages are obvious. I don't have to waste effort or magic to control my ghosts, they work for me willingly for the duration after which I release them.
They are also more willing to take an active role in helping and protecting me, even in my sleep. Plus, binding a ghost against their will seems evil, so all around, my way is better. I had over a hundred ghosts now, I usually tried to make a new deal once a month. Even so, I am coming up to my twenty fifth birthday soon, and my first deal was right after my fifteenth. I shook my head to snap out of my wool gathering while staring at a house burn. I could hear the sound of the approaching fire trucks.
I cloaked myself with darkness, not true invisibility, it just makes me hard to notice, even with tattered clothes, I went over to my car and headed home. I needed a shower, and a change of clothes. I was thinking of hitting the bar after, I needed to relax after that. Sometimes humans really freak me out, who sacrifices their own daughter? That was evil beyond my understanding, and that is saying a lot in my case.
I didn't really have much going on at the moment, my day job was related to my skills as well, though in that case I got paid in cash. Humans for the most part were oblivious of the supernatural. They might see a child, when it's really a dwarf walking down the street. Or in the case of a sorcerer going on a tear it's a hurricane, or a gas explosion, or an earthquake.
The thanks for that of course fall on the Fae, they are masters at illusion and deception, their greatest work was to settle a spell over the entire world that blunts the impact of the supernatural on normal humans. Of course this makes my job harder. When I get hired to speak to loved ones that crossed over, ask a question, or find a killer, or any number of things, people are always skeptical, even the ones that proclaim belief.
I do okay though, my investments are fairly impressive. One of the ghosts I helped turned out to be a genius at reading the stock market, which only improved after he became a ghost. I wound up making him a zombie; he runs all my financials and controls my house and budget. Zombies can be brainless weapons, but putting a ghost in the driver's seat really changes things.
I pulled into my drive way and up to the house. It was a two story home with a couple of thousand square feet, four bedrooms, full basement. I walked in and was greeted at the door.
"Hello master," Hardin smiled, "Everything go okay?"
"Yes, although I sacrificed my clothes."
"Awww, poor baby lost his shirt?" a teasing and sexy feminine voice rang out.
"That's right Amy, maybe I should bring you to the next fire?"
She hissed while I laughed and winked her way. I couldn't help but stare at her ass as she stomped off to her room. She was gorgeous, but off limits. I wasn't shy about talking a woman into my bed, especially one as fiery and beautiful as Amy, but she was bound to me. Virtually a slave despite all the freedoms I granted her. It would be nothing but rape to pursue her in that way. As far as her pursuing me, well, Hell hasn't seen that cold day yet.
Amy was the exception to my rule. She is the only forced bond in my house, although in my defense it was either that or kill her. When I was first making a name for myself as a necromancer, one of the older ones bound a vampire and sent her to kill me. Necromancers generally don't like competition, we are rare and jealous of our power. It also isn't a power that should be in the hands of an idiot, controlling a vampire proved I would probably make it to others of my kind.
Necromancers also aren't very welcome in the general supernatural community. We aren't hunted as a rule, but we mostly go our own way.
So I didn't really have a choice in binding her, and although we are like oil and water, the idea of killing her for something she had no control over doesn't sit well with me.
Weakness? Perhaps. But she does guard the house quite zealously, and a vampire is nothing to be trifled with by anyone other than a necromancer. We are their greatest weakness. I could order her to be nice, to do whatever I wanted, but what fun would that be? The bond makes sure she can't harm or betray me, that is enough.
I went upstairs and jumped in the shower, the hot water sluiced the stench of smoke, burned flesh and clothing off my body. I dried off and walked into the bedroom, one of my zombies were laying out some clothes. I had a number of them, all controlled through Hardin. They didn't have a personality though, they were just workers, soulless. Generally they did well with repetitive tasks, but anything complex was just beyond them without a controlling spirit or micromanagement on my part.
I considered just staying home, it had been a hell of a night, but I needed to go out. I got ready and drove over to a club close to my neighborhood which was just west of Chicago. Getting in wasn't an issue, I didn't wait in line, I simply walked in. Humans could always sense something about me and mostly stayed out of my way, they couldn't see or believe what I was, but there was a part of them, a small part, that knew. Instinctively they knew not to challenge me.
Either that, or it was my looks.
I opened my senses. Not my necromancer senses, the other part of me, the same part that made me immune to fire. My mind was bombarded with desires. I could not read thoughts, or even emotions, but I had the ability to detect the greater desires of a human in that moment. It really wasn't fair, no strike outs or hit and miss, simple tracking. A hunt of a sort.
There were over a hundred people, surrounding the bars or out on the dance floor. I could smell the sweat, feel the desire for sex, the fear of rejection, it surrounded me. Then I felt her, exactly what I was looking for. I looked across the floor and saw a woman in her early twenties, maybe a year or two younger than I was. Long dark hair, exotic features, tight body. What I felt from her was the desire for a one night stand, that's all I wanted, which was a good thing, it was all I could really have.
I didn't feel guilty about what I read, or what I was. I would be giving her exactly what she wanted too. I smiled faintly as I closed in and moved my arm toward her a little, to get her attention.
"Want to dance?" My question was loaded, my body language and tone of voice clear that I wasn't really asking her to dance.
I saw a hint of nervousness then she smiled and nodded as she checked me out.
"April."
Taking her offered hand I replied, "Vince," as I pulled her onto the dance floor. It was a done deal already, but the small things are important, there was no reason to rush. Besides, dancing was great foreplay, and she could move her body very well.
After a couple of dances of rubbing, bumping and caressing I took her hand and held eye contact while motioning to the door. She smiled shyly and nodded while squeezing my hand, it was such a drastic counterpoint to the bold way she danced but just as much a turn on.
Clubs are way too loud to really talk to a person. So far, outside of our names, all the talking had been body language and dance. So I knew as soon as I got her in the car the awkward moment would come unless I did something to break the ice. When we got to the car I pulled her against me and looked down into her eyes for a moment, then lowered my head slowly, giving her time to back out. Not because she would do so, but so that she felt in control.
There was an undeniable attraction between us. Some would argue I lacked morality searching out a woman wanting no strings attached sex. The truth is it makes me very moral. I could have attracted almost any woman in there due to what I am, but the ones not looking for a onetime thing would just get hurt. This was safer, and better.
Even for me, a first kiss is a powerful thing. Her full lips were slightly parted, soft and silky against mine. My heart was racing as this sexy woman opened herself to me, allowed herself to become vulnerable. She moved in closer, rubbing her body against mine as I deepened the kiss, my tongue seeking entry between her lips which opened with a light gasp. I felt her body melt against me so I slowly backed off and ended the kiss, helping her into the car before closing the door.
When I got in I asked, "Your place or mine?"