Free Necromancer's Revenge by Emma Faragher Page A

decided then that it would be easier to simply
tell him and make sure he couldn’t say anything, than to get him
out of the way. A risky move perhaps, but I had a feeling it might
pay off in the long run. That was another thing my mother had been
big on, having a long term plan and trusting your instincts. Not
that hers had done her much good in the end. Jessica wouldn’t be in
the police force forever, and it wouldn’t do me any harm to start
making some new friends.
    “Swear to me
that what you witness here will not in any way be communicated to
another person, living or dead, by voluntary or coercive means.”
For that, I put in a different kind of magic. My mother had weaved
many spells about me, one of them made sure that I could never lie.
Of course, if I activated it, nobody could lie to me either. It was
a fair trade off. “Swear it.” I held his gaze as I spoke and saw
him nod before he realised he would have to verbalise his
assent.
    “I swear,” he
said and I dropped his gaze. I felt the magic wind its way around
him and hoped he knew what he had done. It was all too easy for
children of our technological age to ignore magic. It was a myth to
them, but that didn’t stop it from affecting them. And this
particular spell was a nasty one to betray, but it was also my only
insurance policy. What was inflicting a little tortuous pain
compared to keeping my head on my shoulders?
    Moving back to
the dead man I beckoned to Ali. She was only nineteen, but had
managed to work up a debt already. This would cancel it out.
Captain Jessica was lucky that I owed her so much. Normally I
wouldn’t call in one favour to pay another like this. One day I
might need all the favours I could get.
    “Ali, lie down
next to him and take his hand.” She did so without even twitching.
I wasn’t the only one jaded to the dead. Although I was betting she
wasn’t so attracted to him as I was. The aura around him
practically beckoned me closer. A violent death tended to attract
necros more than any other kind.
    Placing a hand
over each of their heads, I let magic spill about me. It wasn’t a
spell as such, more natural talent. I felt the spike in energy as
Ali and the dead man connected and heard the change in her
breathing patterns before she stilled.
    “Three
minutes.” I said to Jessica. I didn’t open my eyes. I barely even
breathed. The dead man’s chest rose once, then again as he opened
his eyes. Ali’s life force running through him.
    “Tell us of
your death,” Jessica told him. He paused, his eyes staring blindly
at the ceiling. Where they would remain. To give him back his sight
would reduce the time I could keep him awake without endangering
Ali. A debt she may owe, but it wasn’t enough to constitute her
life.
    “A man came to
me. He offered me money. Blood money.” He seemed like he wanted to
move but I held him still. Not allowing him to steal too much from
Ali. “He had a knife, silver knife. Funny words. Blood money.
Bleeding, always bled too much.”
    “Two
minutes.”
    “Tell us about
the man.”
    “Tall, silver
hair. Blood money. Silver knife. Bleeding. Hurt.” He was
regressing. Traumatic death was always so much more difficult to
overcome. He was flagging badly. I had to reverse the process
before he took Ali with him. Her breath was already gone, her heart
was slowing. He was pulling more energy than he should.
    “Time’s up,” I
said as I surged power back into Ali. The dead man gasped, chest
rising up as his heart tried to beat in time with Ali’s. Mine
caught up with both as I cut the tie. Feeling like it was trying to
beat out of my chest.
    Ali blinked her
eyes open and looked to me. I waved her to stay lying down and
stood up. Jessica was staring daggers at me.
    “We had another
minute.”
    “We had as long
as Ali did. I will not endanger her.” I kept my voice calm and
controlled. Jessica was bound by her own oath but it didn’t mean
she wouldn’t try something. A fiery temper