46: The Dead & The Undead

I wake up to an empty bed and a rattling doorknob. I sit there semi clothed and stare at Gabriel who enters the room with a plate balancing on top of a mug. “Brought you something to eat.”

“Thanks.” I have a hard time meeting his eyes. My behavior last night is embarrassing. How I threw myself on him. What was I thinking? But that’s the problem, I wasn’t or was I? I’m not sure anymore.

He sets the plate down on the nightstand and lingers beside the bed. “About last night, I know you were...I know it was the blood and that you still hate me for what I did, but-”

“It’s fine. I’m the one who instigated it, so if anyone should...” I let the words trail off as I’m unsure of what to say. I grab the mug from the table to keep my fidgeting occupied. The scolding mug burns away the turmoil I have as it sears my fingers. How can I tell him I’m still furious with him, but not as furious as before.

It sounds ridiculous in my head and I’m sure that it would sound even more ridiculous out loud. I sip the coffee to suppress the words.

“I’ll let you eat and get dressed. Meet me downstairs when you’re ready.”

I give him a sharp nod. He leaves, but not without looking back at me waiting for me to say something or stop him. I don’t. I let the gnawing ache that comes with his distance over take me forcing myself to get used to it again.

My clothes are piled neatly on the chair in the corner. Did he sleep last night? What time was he up that he had enough time to gather my clothes, neatly fold them and make breakfast...lunch. I eat as much as my stomach can handle, but it isn’t much. With the mug and plate in hand, I make my way downstairs in search of Gabriel.

It takes longer than I liked to find him. He sits in the same room that I’ve seen Phillip in, but Phillip’s chair is empty and Gabriel stands in front of it. Monty’s king card flashes before my eyes. “I’m done.” I say into the room.

“You can set it down on table over here and someone will get it. We have other things to do.” In the blink of an eye he’s across the room and standing before me. I don’t flinch, but my heart does give a jolt. “We have a book to get.”

I set the plate and mug down on the closest table and follow him out. Gabriel leads the way back down into the dungeons. My stomach tosses at the thought of having to face Brooklynn and the coven again, but this time Gabriel holds my hand as we descend the stairs. It doesn’t stop the thoughts from running through my head. Have they come to their senses? Or are they still wanting to blame me for their stupidity?

Even though these halls should look familiar, they really don’t. And even though Gabriel claims these aren’t called the dungeons, they sure resemble it.

Stone walls, old time sconces. This looks like a part of the manor that was built when Phillip was first turned back in whatever century that was. We come to a stop at a door and Gabriel’s knuckles quickly rapt against the wood. I’m pretty sure I knocked on this same door when I was sent to speak with Brooklyn a few days ago. There’s chatter inside that quickly quiets.

She answers it fairly quickly, a smile on her face when she sees Gabriel outside her door, but it quickly drops when she spots me lingering behind him, our hands still intertwined. “Come on in since I have a feeling about why you’re here.” She bickers as she steps back into the room.

Unlike before, the rest of the coven isn’t here, except for one, Evangeline. She sits in the far back corner of the room, her eyes follow my every move.

“If you already know why we’re here, don’t keep us waiting.” Gabriel complains.

“I honestly don’t think she can help us.” Evangeline bickers. “Just give us a few days and we can figure it out on our own. We have...connections.”

“I’m sure you do, but I don’t care. Just show us the book.” Gabriel’s voice doesn’t pause, doesn’t quiver as he makes the demand.

“Fine, but only if you tell me if you had fun last night.” Brooklynn teases.

“Are you jealous?” Gabriel replies.

She sniggers at the comment, not admitting it or denying it. There’s no gently handing over the book with her growing frustration. She tosses it onto the table that separates us. “Have at it.” She gives a smirk as if she knows something we don’t.

It comes to a skidding stop and I become stuck in place, horrified. As Gabriel goes to grab it, my voice quivers, “where did you get that?”

“What does it matter? It could be a family heirloom of mine and your tone is insulting.”

That would explain a lot, but I don't buy it. If it really is an heirloom, she would’ve admitted it right away and not snapped about it not mattering. “Show me the spell.” I say into the quiet room. My eyes are glued on one of the symbols that is stamped into the leather cover before Brooklynn takes the book back and starts paging through it.

She slaps it down on the table, open to worn yellow pages. There’s no transcribing it, because it’s not in any language I can read and I’m sure Brooklyn can’t either. There are a few words I recognize only because my intrigue and Gretchen instigated it.

“And you can read this?” I ask.

“You can’t?” She snaps back.

“No, I don’t think you can, otherwise you would know what you’re doing. These lines,” I point to two lines in particular, the only two lines I can read “they’re in relation to necromancy. You’re not giving the undead benefits of the living, you’re making the dead undead...kind of.”

“Wait,” Gabriel mutters clearly confused, “the dead and the undead?”

“There is a difference. Phillip is undead, Jezmin is dead.” Everyone looks at me with blank stares not seeing the difference between the two. “Ugh. The dead have rotting corpses in the ground.Vampires, great examples of undead are those that aren’t quite living but not quite dead. This spell calls on the wrong kind of dead you want.”
“Okay, so fix it.” Evangeline bickers.

It’s not that easy. Who gave you the book? and be honest.” I hiss at her annoyed by their need to make things difficult.

“I don’t understand what the big deal is.” Brooklynn huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest. Evangeline quickly copies.

“The big deal? You’re reciting a spell that’s in a demonic language with dark magic ties and you’re asking me what the big deal is. You have no idea what you’re messing with.”

“It sure sounds like you do.” Evangeline says offering nothing useful to the conversation yet again. “How do we know that you’re not lying? Maybe you’re trying to sabotage us.”

Brooklyn immediately jumps on the bandwagon to accuse me of causing the problem. Their voices mingle into one loud hum or hysteria. I struggle to hear my own thoughts as I try to put all the pieces together.

“It sounds like you’re doing a great job on screwing yourself Evangeline, so shut it.” Gabriel shouts into the room and all goes quiet.

“Hazel, can you read it, so it be fixed?” Gabriel blurts out before Brooklynn or Evangeline have a chance to start up again.

“I can only read a little of it, but I know someone who can.”

“So it’s okay that she knows demons or dark witches, but not us.” Evangeline whines.

“He’s not a demon...he’s a corpse. A trader of goods.” The two of them stare at me like I have two heads. “Georgio.” Still nothing. “You call yourselves witches and you have no idea who Georgio is.”

If it wasn’t for Gretchen and her weird ingredients, I wouldn’t know who Georgio was either. But because of Gretchen and those weird oddities she is always looking for, I met my first and only necromanced corpse. I read every book Gretchen had on the dark magic because I was terrified and intrigued at what he was.

“I should go give him a visit.” I slide the book off the table, “with this.”

“You can’t take that.” Brooklyn shouts as the exact moment Gabriel says, “I’m coming to the cemetery with you.”

My head snaps in his direction as I listen to his words. The cemetery with you. I had assumed that he didn’t know where or who Georgio is, but apparently he remembers where I was and what I was doing there the night he dragged me into this mess by sending that vampire after me.

I ignore him...for now and I put my attention on Brooklynn instead. “Yes, I can.” I bite the bait and start to argue with her.

“No, you can’t,” Brooklynn steps forward, hand outstretched ready to grab the book back but I shrink back keeping out of reach, “I go where the book goes, so I’m going with you.”

“Brooklynn sit down and do whatever it is that you do.” Gabriel barks before he turns his eyes on me. “We’ll go see Georgio.” He gently grabs me by the arm and leads me out.

I can feel the anger rolling off Brooklynn and Evangeline as their eyes stare daggers into my back. That mixed with the overheating of my own body as I think about going to see Georgio again, about visiting the cemetery where I almost died, but survived for something complicated.

It’s only once we exit the manor that I take in what time it is. What time did I wake up? The argument with Brooklyn didn’t last that long, but the sun is past high noon and is starting its descent.

Halfway there, I ask, “Can I stop at home first...to change.” Gabriel quickly agrees and takes a turn that leads to the city instead of the outskirts. “We should really go to Georgio’s after sunset anyways, but not as late as when I was attacked.”

Silence. It’s almost deafening, so I quickly talk, filling the quietness with my own voice. “There are other ways to go about getting the attention of a witch other than trying to kill her.”

“I had no control over that night. Phillip found out and took matters into his own hands. It was my punishment as well as an easy way to get what he needed back, but when you survived, I jumped on the opportunity. I caught sight of a witch with human friends and werewolf boyfriend, a loyal overworked employee and I would kill to claim her as my own.”

There’s no stopping the blush that attacks my cheeks. He admitted to killing...things, people to have...me and I’m flattered at that. What the hell is wrong with me?