Warlock's Sacrifice: Necromancer Chronicles (Erotic Fantasy) Book 4 Read online

  I considered that long and hard, it was true they would be useful allies, but I wondered if I was just searching for excuses to reach out and make a connection to someone I didn’t own. In short, was I just lonely?

  I shrugged. Did it matter? If they betrayed me I’d just have another couple of slaves. Either that or I’d be dead…

  “Celane, I need a portal to Milan, make it happen.”

  I also sent a few ghosts there, to find the warlock when they transported there. Even a ghost can’t keep up with a teleport. The fae were handy in more ways than one. Intra-realm portals were much easier than crossing worlds, I had a room dedicated to it along with four fae would could adjust the target spot at need.

  It wasn’t as convenient as teleportation though, I’d need to return home from the same spot I arrived at. I also couldn’t go directly between two other places, I’d have to come home, and then have them aim it at the new destination which took a few minutes… Still it opened up possibilities for me, not least of all an escape plan.

  Celane replied respectfully, “At once mistress, are you going in person?”

  I thought about it and shook my head, “No, I’ll take Katie.”

  I wouldn’t risk my true self on a first meeting, especially not on a whim because I was lonely. Katie was one of my liches. She was five foot eight with light blonde hair, green eyes and a shapely body. She also looked my age, twenty two, and was more appropriate for clubbing and had a nice girl vibe and a pleasing voice.

  My other lich, Allie, was just about eighteen when she had been turned vampire. She had a major Goth look, piercings, black clothing. She also had the perfect voice for confrontations. I usually wore her when I needed to go kick some ass.

  The really ironic part of all that is Allie’s personality is sweet and generous, although she hates me. I can’t really blame her, but still, her fault for attacking a child and helping to kill my parents. It had occurred to me that she was under orders from her master vampire, and maybe I would let her go someday, but although I wasn’t living on rage these days I was long way from forgiving. The catch though was once a lich, always a lich. I could never sever that bond, only the enslavement bond.

  And Katie, who I used to be friendly, or just go out on the town because she’s attractive and nice looking, is a complete and total bitch inside. Luckily though I don’t have to listen to her mind when I ride her, I just shut her ass down so all she can do is watch and stay silent. I’m not proud of it, but there were a few times I hooked up with a guy in her body simply because she thought herself to be too good for them.

  What can I say, I wasn’t very nice back then right after my parents died, that was nothing compared to the torture I’d put Neal, Neda, and Fran through though. There is a reason necromancers are feared after all, they took a risk to try and destroy my family and paid the price for partial success.

  I went into my room and looked in the mirror. I could go as myself, I looked pretty good and if people couldn’t detect my necromancer aura they would say I looked innocent and adorable. I frowned; I hated that, although not as much lately. I had long reddish blonde hair down to my ass, my eyes are a bright green, and I have a heart shaped face. Some may say I was beautiful, but most would think cute before that. I was five foot five and didn’t hate my body. I had curves in the right places.

  I also had trust issues. I may have been far from a virgin, but this body was still untouched in that way… well, except for myself and some toys of course.

  I lied down on the bed and closed my eyes while I connected with Katie. I moved through our bond and in layman’s terms, possessed her. I was literally her now, her personality was pushed down. As far as I was aware, this level of connection was only possible with a lich. It was possible to share, but I had no desire to do so, not with Katie.

  I jumped into the shower and got ready. I chose a little black dress that hugged all my, or rather Katie’s curves. I put on some light makeup and put on some diamond and ruby earrings. I grabbed my red pumps and a red clutch purse and I was ready to go.

  It took a short while before my ghosts reported back and I had a location. It was one of the more laid back clubs that had pool tables and other amenities like a full kitchen, but still had a nice sized dance floor in addition to live music. I made my way down to the transport room and stepped into the portal the fae had set up and out into an alley close to the club.

  I walked out into the street and the few blocks to the club. The bouncer at the door gave me a double take, no doubt not being able to figure out my aura. Liches aura’s were unique, neither vampire nor necromancer. That would change if I started to use magic, but I wouldn’t do that unless I had to. In a lot of ways I was much tougher in this form than I would be in my own.

  The strength and speed of my body was many times that of a vampire, I could also call upon my necromancer magic. Still, humans were not to be underestimated and I was in public. I had no doubt I’d be squashed if I started trouble. The reverse was true as well, humans no longer stood by when someone needed help. It was one of the hunters’ greatest weaknesses as they had to strike when others of their kind weren’t really around.

  I smiled sweetly at the bouncer drawing one in return and he waved me through. I got a mental report from the ghost watching them. I never actually had to speak to my minions out loud, but the quiet could get to me at times, that’s why I always used my voice when speaking to Celane when we were together. The warlock and demoness were on the dance floor, according to my ghost the humans were pretty much ignoring the demoness, which I thought was odd until I spied them from the bar as I ordered a drink.

  She seemed to be giving off a look away vibe, something I hadn’t known they could do. I found that interesting, this wasn’t a hunting trip for energy, was it a date? I watched them for a while as I sipped my drink and picked up a few things just off their body language. They both wanted each other badly, if they weren’t actually in love already, and I was positive they’d never been together.

  I couldn’t imagine why that would be. If it had been me, I’d have grabbed on and never let go.

  “Can I get you another?” a voice asked.

  I turned and looked. He was in his late twenties and looked good, and very confident. I was actually tempted for a minute but slowly shook my head.

  “No thanks, I’m not looking for company tonight,” I hoped that would make him move on, no such luck.

  He said, “I’m Mike, you sure you don’t want a drink? You’re too gorgeous to be over here by yourself.”

  I rolled my eyes, “No means no Mike. Take a hike.”

  I giggled slightly when that rhymed and saw his eyes tighten in anger. I really hadn’t intended that to happen. Sometimes I could be a little clueless and tended to strike out when I didn’t get my way, had I mentioned I didn’t get out much, even as someone else?

  Mike’s eyes narrowed in annoyance, but he got up and walked off.

  I took another look up and saw they were sitting at a table now. I ordered a second drink for myself then walked over, promising to be on my best behavior. It really was a problem I knew I needed to work on. I’d been on my own since I was a bratty teenager and was surrounded by souls who could do nothing but what I commanded. It tended to skew the mind a little, it was an understatement to say I usually got my way.

  I pulled out a chair wearing a tentative smile, “Hi, can I join you for a moment?”

  The demoness was really sexy up close. She had on a wraparound dress that accented all her good features, which was pretty much all of them. I still felt like I should look away, but I ignored the feeling. She was staring at me like she’d rip my head off if I made the wrong move toward the warlock. Interesting.

  The warlock himself was close to thirty. He had short black hair and kind gray eyes. He had a square jaw and a body that looked very much in shape and defined, like an athlete’s. I stood there and waited for one of them to answer as they gave me wary looks.

 
The warlock nodded at the chair I’d pulled out and checked me out. It was obvious he liked what he saw, and for some reason that really annoyed me. Huh, was I jealous of the body I was riding? That never happened before, maybe because I was actually trying to make friends instead of just blowing steam with a night out? God, I had no clue what the hell I was doing.

  I said softly, “I’m Katrina, I thought we should talk. I know this is coming out of nowhere and you probably shouldn’t trust me, but I think we can help each other. I know we can actually, it’s kind of complicated though and…” I trailed off.

  Holy diarrhea mouth, they must think I’m a mental case.

  The warlock said, “I’m Jeremy, this is Bell. What’re you talking about?”

  I sighed, “Okay, my fault, straight to the point then. Those hunters, they were in town looking for me, I thought maybe we could help each other out, maybe even fight back a little.”

  Bell asked, “Why would they be after you.”

  I sighed, “Let me reintroduce myself, I’m Katrina, necromancer. This body that serves as my ride tonight is actually Katie my lich. Don’t you know those freaks are after both warlocks and necromancers? I think we could help each other in a number of ways. I don’t have anyone that has powers like you do, and I have some that would definitely benefit you.”

  I saw Jeremy’s face go white, and for a moment I couldn’t figure out why, until I went over the words in my head and gasped.

  “No no, I’m looking for allies, maybe friends, definitely not looking to… you know.”

  Oh crap, I’m such an idiot. Why didn’t I just throw in I was desperately lonely and wanted a friend too. Maybe point out I had a pool and a Jenga game. Of course they’d be afraid of a necromancer.

  Bell asked me with an attitude, “What benefits?”

  Just freaking great. Already with an attitude.

  I frowned and said sarcastically, “I have a number fae. They can block both mind and far seeing. How about not needing to run anymore sweetie? And oh yeah, I could give you a fertile feeding ground so you don’t have to risk hunting for food. As for what’s in it for me that’s obvious, a demoness is powerful, and warlocks are clever and strong as well. I could hunt down the hunters with my ghosts, but taking them out on my own while possible is problematic.”

  Jeremy asked, “Why problematic?”

  I shrugged, “My strongest revenants are the fae, but I imagine most humans would freak out if they saw a fae killing a human, no matter what the reason was. I could overwhelm them with the vampires, witches and my sorcerer, but that would get messy. Honestly I need people to plan with more than anything else, and life gets a little boring when you’re surrounded by those that never disagree.”

  I frowned and reddened, I hadn’t meant to say quite so much.

  Bell said scathingly, “I won’t feed off the unwilling.”

  Her comment made my embarrassment mix with anger. Of course they would think the worst of me, why not. I was a necromancer; all the ones I’d enslaved must be innocent right?

  I returned her attitude and raised the stakes as I lashed out, “Don’t be stupid, have you looked in the mirror? I have over a hundred male ghosts that I guarantee will all beg me to put them in a body so they could fuck you. If you’re a little nicer I’ll even change their form to something you would desire… perhaps Jeremy’s? I thought I might find open minds and common ground here tonight, but you two are just like everyone fucking else.”

  I was angry as hell and might have gotten a little loud there at the end. I cringed inside but didn’t let it show. Yup, I was a total bitch. Based on their reaction I’d guessed my earlier observations about Bell wanting Jeremy were right on target.

  I cursed, “Fuck,” and said slowly, “If you change your mind call this number.”

  I dropped a card on the table that was a number to one of my human zombies before human magic was released that didn’t live at my location. It was a safe way to make contact. I took one last look at them, Bell looked livid and embarrassed at the same time. Jeremy looked pissed, but I could tell it was on Bell’s behalf. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, I hadn’t insulted him, but they he hadn’t insulted me either. The demon bitch started it.

  Oh crap, I need to get out of here before I regress a few more years and stick my tongue out.

  What a waste of time this was, I should have known better. Bell could probably have traced my incredibly fast movement, but I was sure that to Jeremy and the humans I’d been there one second and gone the next. I had the fae open the portal back up in the alley and stepped through. When I released Katie’s body I felt amusement coming from the bitch. I thought about punishing her for it. I could always order her to go back to the bar, find Mike and seduce him. I didn’t even have to go along, but I wasn’t quite that petty. Well, not anymore at least.

  I was back in my body but didn’t move, after all it was late, and I was already in bed. How had things gone so wrong so fast? Right, I’d embarrassed myself and the demoness got all judgmental. Judged by a soul devouring demoness, I laughed at the irony of that while trying not to cry. I closed my eyes and tried to get to sleep but it was a long time arriving…

  Chapter 3 – Jeremy

  What the fuck just happened?

  I was having a great time with Bell and then everything went to shit. Even worse it was Bell’s fault. I get necromancers are dangerous, but Bell had goaded the woman, who apparently was a beer short of a six pack to begin with.

  It was really awkward now too, Katrina had taken the mutual attraction we’d both been ignoring and not talking about and threw it in our face. I wasn’t sure what to say, but asking her what the hell she’d been thinking would just make things worse at this point. I picked up the business card and slipped it in my pants pocket.

  I heard in my mind, “I’m sorry, I know I overreacted, but we can’t trust her, she’s a necromancer.”

  I frowned, “Like I’m a warlock and chased out of every town?”

  She shifted uncomfortably, “That’s different, she said herself she had a number of supernatural slaves.”

  I smiled at her, “Like I have a demon? Look, I’m not saying we should trust her, not without finding out more. But I just wasn’t getting that vibe. If she wanted to take me as a slave and you by extension, would she have announced herself like that?”

  Bell shrugged, “It was all too good to be true, solve our running problem and give me an endless supply of willing food? She was after something else, I just don’t know what.”

  “Maybe she is just lonely. The clues were there, and she seemed very young. If you really believe that though, we shouldn’t go back to Germany, I bet she has ghosts watching us.”

  Bell nodded curtly, “That’s why I’ve been speaking mind to mind.”

  I considered that a second, “How about Puerto Rico? That might give us a few days of peace.”

  Bell gave me a look that was hard to decipher, “You just want to see me in a bikini.”

  “Duh”

  She laughed lightly and took my hand. We didn’t even bother leaving the bar as her shadows rose up around our feet, moving like smoke to cover us and we disappeared from view. We stopped at the witch’s house long enough to grab our few belongings and our clothes and immediately left for Puerto Rico. It was the truth too; I loved it when she wore a bikini.

  When we arrived it was close to sunset and we found a nice hotel and got a room. Generally that’s what we did when no one attacked us; it’s why we needed the money. I was pretty tired, so I took a shower, threw on a pair of shorts, and lay down on the bed.

  She had changed out of her dress while I was in the shower. She was wearing a pair of short jean shorts and a tight t-shirt. She looked as beautiful as ever and was watching me. She didn’t sleep of course, ever. I couldn’t imagine watching me sleep was all that exciting, but she never complained, instead she pulled out her kindle and pulled her legs up underneath her on the sofa.

  I closed my eyes
and remembered Katrina’s harsh comments. Was I a fool for not pursuing more with Bell? It seemed that way right now, all my reasoning sounded like lame excuses, nothing but personal fears and doubts. It was hard to imagine such a beautiful and immortal creature could fall for me, but then that was just a small difference.

  Deep down inside where it counted we were the same; neither of us could choose whom we loved. She was so beautiful outside that it was easy to be blinded to what was inside. She was a treasure and I really don’t know what I’d do without her. She was fierce, loyal, protective, and patient. At least when it came to me she was.

  I was clearly the one keeping us apart. Could I handle the jealousy? Or would crossing that line doom our friendship? That really, more than anything else, was what held me back. I considered the fact I still wanted her despite what she needed to do, so would that carry over if we were together? Maybe I could convince her to only hunt woman? I smiled at the thought, I wouldn’t be jealous of that; I might even want to watch.

  She fidgeted with the kindle for a moment, and then looked up at me and quirked a smile.

  “You know, it helps to close your eyes when you’re going to sleep,” she said teasingly.

  I blurted out the question, “If I asked you to, would you only hunt women?”

  She looked confused by the question, of course I hadn’t exactly shared the thought process that lead to it.

  “Why?” she asked.

  A moment later she shook her head and added, “Yes, I’d do almost anything you asked, but why?”

  I got out of bed and walked over and sat next to her. Her eyes followed me every step of the way and locked on mine as I sat down. I reached out and took her hand, she had the strangest look on her face, as if she was afraid and hopeful of what I might say.