Free The Necromancer (Amber Lee Mysteries Book 3) by Katerina Martinez

facing.
    “Collette?” I said, once I was at the door. “Are you in there?”
    “Yes,” she said from the other side of the door, “Come in, please.”
    I turned to Frank and Damien, nodded, and stepped through the croaky old door. The first thing that struck me was just how clean the interior was. The broken old tables and chairs had been moved aside to make room for a large ritual circle made with… salt? Five black candles had been placed at each point of the five point star, around the circle—outside of it—and each was already lit. The second thing that struck me was the cold. I could see my breath in front of my face, leaving my mouth in steamy clouds.
    And then there was the fireplace.
    I caught Collette, wrapped in a black knitted cardigan, kneeling before the hearth and throwing a log into the fire. But the fire wasn’t warm and yellow; it was cold and blue. Pale. Instead of giving off heat, it stole heat. A leech. There was the source of the cold.
    Frank and Damien felt the cold too, but they didn’t mention it.
    “Collette?” I said, “Are you okay?”
    “Yes, thank you. Excuse the fire, I know it is cold, but it is necessary. And please don’t break the ring of salt.”
    I checked my footing and stepped away from the salt, just in case. “Here,” I said, dropping the duffel bag on the side of the room “I brought you some stuff I thought you might need. This is Damien and Frank—my brothers in magick.”
    Collette stood, glided over with her long black dress, and shook each of their hands. “Enchante,” she said.
    “Likewise,” said Frank. Damien remained silent.
    “I trust Amber has spoken highly of me?”
    “She did, and I have questions.”
    “Of course?”
    “So, you’re a necromancer.”
    “Oui.”
    “How is it you got your powers?”
    Collette smiled. “I see you have heard ze stories?”
    “I may have.”
    “I can assure you that no one had to die for me to gain the power of the Underworld. I am a witch, just like you, only I was forced to spend several days in the Underworld alone. I needed to use the magick within the dead realm in order to get out.” Collette looked at me. “I believe zis is the reason why my shadow escaped. I was never meant to be a necromancer.”
    “Well… that sucks,” said Frank.
    “Here,” I said. I brought a bottle of water and a bag of grapes to Collette. Red grapes. “I thought you’d be hungry. And there’s more where that came from, too.”
    “Merci,” she said, “You did not have to do that for me, but it iz nice to be able to eat real food again. As soon as ze ritual is complete, I will eat.”
    I nodded. “Please, you would have done the same. Now… this ritual.”
    “Yes,” she said, standing again, “I have prepared a ritual that will tease my shadow out of the Underworld long enough for me to capture it, but I am too weak to summon the shadow alone. Its power is too great. This is why I need you and your coven to ‘elp me.”
    “Alright,” I said, sitting down with my legs crossed at the edge of the ring of salt. “Let’s pull that sucker out and catch it. I feel like a ghost buster.”
    “This should be interesting,” said Frank, who also sat down.
    Damien sat too, but he still hadn’t said a word. I caught him staring at Collette at times, eyes tracing the shape of her neck and jaw. I frowned. Why wasn’t he speaking? Was he taken by her? I guess I couldn’t blame him. Collette was an absolute beauty. And I shouldn’t be jealous, but what about Natalie? Weren’t they still together?
    “I will begin the incantation,” said Collette. “Amber, you will follow me, then Damien, then Frank. We will repeat the phrase three times, then three times again, and a Cenote will open.”
    “A Cenote will open… here?” I asked, pointing at the ring of salt. The circle was easily as big as a hot tub, but there wasn’t any water beneath it—only cracked stone and dirt.
    Still, Collette nodded, sure of herself, and