Necromancer's Control (Trix SinClara) (2 page)

The real trouble didn’t start until we were well away from the Lowers. A small ping was all the warning we got before a chunk of the alley behind us chipped off. Men appeared at the edge of our little sphere of light. My witch-light had made us into a very visible target. I felt Ali’s hand tighten on my arm where she led me but kept my eyes forwards as if I really were totally blind.

“Well, well, well. The little nightwalker and her blood donor.” The man stepped directly in front of us with a gun highly visible in his hand. The next man actually had it pointed at me, the one after stepped in and held another one to Ali’s head.
“Stay very still.”

“Not a problem,
” Ali muttered. I almost smiled.

“Be quiet.”

“Yes sir,” Ali replied louder.

“I said shut up.” The first man bought his gun up to join the others but wavered over who to point it at. “Step away from each other
,” he said, swishing the gun from side to side. Ali looked at me then let go of my arm and took a step to the side; forcing the man with the gun to her head to move with her. I tried to keep everyone in my peripheral vision without moving my head; more and more playing the helpless blind woman.

“Get the crosses.” The main man pointed his gun more solidly at me
, leaving man number two to put his down and reach into his bag. He pulled out a flash of silver that sparkled in the witch-light. I was surprised that they hadn’t made us put it out but then they’d have had to hold their own lights.

I heard Ali snigger as man number
two handled the silver. Man number one took the butt of his gun to Ali’s face while she stood there. I heard the crack as it connected and took a deep breath to keep myself from doing anything. It wasn’t the first time I’d been at the point of someone’s weapon and I knew how it went. There was nothing I could do with the guns still out. But I was determined that this time would end differently to the last one.

“Shut it
, bitch. Put it on
her
,” the main man said. Man number two half draped and half threw a tangle of chains around me. They jangled horribly and I figured they’d put crosses on them. Probably made them out of silver too. Idiots. It was heavy over my shoulders but it wasn’t actually tying me up at all. Man number two seemed hesitant to get close enough to wrap the chains around me. “Fix them properly so she can’t step out of them.”

Number two
man took out what appeared to be a padlock from his bag and proceeded to tighten the chains around me while Ali gave me wide eyes. There was a splash of red across her temple where man number one had connected. I gave a tiny shake of my head. Ali had seen plenty of violence but I’d yet to see her bow down before anyone.

The chains were loose
but heavy around me and I could still move my arms if I chose to. I let them think I was cowed, that the cold metal was hurting me. To finish off their chaining of me, number two man wrapped one around my head with something dangling down my forehead. I presumed it was a cross but it could have been a fairy for all the difference it made.

“Come.” Man number two
put his gun back against my face as the main man turned and gestured us to follow. Not only did I have a gun to my head I was also being tugged along by the chains. Ali had fallen into step behind me so I couldn’t see what kind of state she was in. She kept up perfectly, her steps matching mine just as they did when she guided me.

We followed some of the main alleyways but didn’t see anyone. I took deep
, even breaths and thought of my mother. The last walk I’d taken at the end of a weapon had led to her death. But that had been different. The weapon had been held by witches, people who knew what we were. People who remembered to divest us of our own blades before taking us anywhere.

We were guided to a small square with only one entrance to the alleyways. There were
doors on three of the walls and a small wooden platform in the centre. Number two man took the end of the chain and attached it to the wall without a door in it. The other guy shoved Ali into the wall next to me and finally put his gun down. When Ali stood up and went for him he backhanded her against the wall again.

“It’s not worth it,
” I said through gritted teeth. In response, the man slapped me. I let my head snap back at the impact and couldn’t resist smiling at him as I looked up again. The blood blossoming on Ali’s face was calling something terrible out of me and it ignited a rage I’d not felt in a very long time.

“That’s right bitch. It’s not worth it.” The main man took my chin in his hands and I spat at him. He squeezed harder and I felt my jaw about to pop before he let go. “Not worth it.”

“Mal.” Ali said, pushing herself up the wall next to me. I shook my head ever so slightly. No, better to wait it out. If all they had planned was a beating we could take it and go home. Knowing how to fight and knowing when to fight were two completely different things and we didn’t want to be facing those guns if we didn’t have to. I settled my shoulders a little, feeling the familiar weight in my cloak. The idiots hadn’t even thought about searching us by the look of it and my short sword rested snuggly in its scabbard between the outer layer and lining of the cloak. If I could work my hands behind me I could pull it through the flap designed for just an occurrence.

Ali didn’t know about the sword.
She knew I sometimes carried one but not that I kept it concealed on me nearly all the time. She’d seen me with my power upon me so many times she didn’t even blink at it anymore but I’d never shown her the most violent aspects of my life. Nor had I told her the full story of what happened with my ex-fiancé before he became the Wraith I’d given to the Covenant in the summer. Some things will send you to the weapons masters a lot faster than others and being held hostage at the point of a knife by someone you thought you could trust was one of them. Losing a mother from the same event had sent me even faster.

A flash of pale colour preceded
the main man turning to Ali. A cut appeared on her cheek as he struck at her. Then he started to trace the blade down her neck. I made to take a step forwards at that but Ali shook her head at me and smiled ever so slightly. Condescending child. She was playing the same game I was. She’d taken beatings before and if she thought she could take this one I wasn’t going to stop her. Not until we had a better chance of escaping anyway.

People had started to trickle into the square. Not many
, but every one of them had an air of menace and violence around them. Petty criminals most likely. The higher-ups wouldn’t interact with the riff-raff and the riff-raff never liked to miss the bloodshed. The way they milled around the perimeter set my teeth on edge. Like they were waiting for a show.

“Fredrick
, take the blood whore. We’ll show everyone what happens when you give yourself to the demon slut.” Main man flicked his blade at Ali before stepping back. Part of me hoped he was good with the knife. It would make a change from practicing my thrusts and parries in the warehouse. And my blade had such a longer reach. It had been a while since I’d gone up against anyone using a smaller blade than me. A longer sword just wouldn’t have been comfortable hidden in the cloak.

I te
nsed as number two man, presumably Fredrick, took Ali’s hat off then grabbed her by the hair. He dragged her over to the platform and threw her onto it. The sudden escalation in violence had me looking around. Something had changed in the air. The only entrance to the alleyways was blocked off by a very large man and very angry dog. That was less than ideal. Scanning the crowd, I also saw something else I hadn’t been expecting. A face I’d hoped never to see again.

He smiled at me when I looked at him so I sneered back at him. The last time I’d seen Timothy he’d had a knife to my throat. My former would
-be father-in-law had a violent streak that belied his tame appearance. At least I knew who to blame for inciting the mob against me. I stared until I had to look at Ali. I had to know that she was going to survive or all bets were off. I’d given my word to protect the girl in my world and I was nothing if not a woman of my word.

Ali had been roughed up a bit but nothing too serious. A couple of men were landing blows but Ali knew how to protect the important bits. So far
, it looked like most of the damage was superficial and she was still fully alert and conscious. I doubted they’d want to knock us out. It’s no fun torturing people when they don’t know what’s going on. Not that I’d let it get that far.

My hand closed around the edge of the scabbard as Fredrick tore Ali’s coat off. She huddled in on herself at the contact with the cold air and I saw that he’d ripped her jumper along with the coat. It was far too cold to cope for long outside without some protection but she’d still be alright for a while. I gave the scabbard a twist and a light tug to detach it from the straps that held it in the cloak. I’d practiced for a long time when I first got it to make sure that I could get at it from almost any position I could be tied up in.

When Fredrick moved on to start cutting the rest of Ali’s clothes off I took a step away from the wall. The chains stretched to their fullest extent and tightened around me as I pulled on them. Ali looked at me with fierce determination in her eyes and shook her head again. It galled me to do it but I took a deep breath and stepped back, vowing that anyone who touched her would die and die painfully. Preferably over a long period of time. Perhaps the Covenant would let me use their dungeon since I was the one keeping track of the supernaturals in the area.

The only man in the audience not looking at Ali and her impending rape was Timothy. His eyes were rooted firmly on me and his smile appeared to be plastered to his face. Although he was also very carefully staying on the other side of the small square. The man wasn’t stupid, just terribly naïve. After all he’d seen my mother do he still underestimated us. Witches and their superior bullshit.

“Now, now little one. Stay still.” Fredrick took the knife and held it against Ali’s neck. She stilled very suddenly and lay on the raised platform in the tatters of her jeans and underwear. If she hadn’t been wearing bright green underthings I would have been worried they’d already stripped her completely naked. “If you stay very still we won’t have to hurt you. You might even enjoy yourself,” Fredrick laughed. “And when I’m done Luke is going to have a go, then Charley, then anyone else who wants it. Little blood whore.”

Ali moved then. It looked like she sp
at at him but I was too far away to see properly. My grip on the scabbard intensified and I felt it creak. It wasn’t designed to be handled quite so harshly. Fredrick growled at her and punched her with a closed fist. Her hand snapped back and she flopped down. I let the scabbard slide through my hand so that the pommel of the sword was resting in my palm.

“You’ll pay for that
, little whore.” Fredrick ripped at Ali’s remaining clothes and I lost control of my power. Ali was mine.
Mine
. The magic that coursed through my veins was ancient. Necromancers have long been feared, even by witches, and it was the power flowing through me that was the main reason for that. We attached ourselves to things with our word and our word was infused with magic. My whole being was wrapped in spell after spell passed down through the generations. Spells so ancient that nobody else remembered them anymore.

“Stop.” I spoke forcefully but o
nly just loud enough to be heard over the general chatter in the square. “Step away from her.” I knew the blood red colour had swept through my hair and my eyes would be bled fully to white. I couldn’t see the platform anymore but I could see Ali. I could see every cut and every bruise on her. Every pump of her heart. We were connected through the magic I used to raise and I could almost
feel
her heart beside me.

Several people stepped back and I sneered at them but Fredrick took the knife and placed
it against Ali’s throat again. She was just starting to stir and was in danger of pushing into the blade if she woke up confused. I strained against the chains and felt them give a little. They were too loose to hold anyone properly. I wriggled as unobtrusively as possible and tilted my head, considering the scene silently. More because I knew it looked creepy than to actually get a new angle on things.

“Let. Her. Go.” I spoke slowly. The square was qui
et enough now that I barely had to raise my voice. Clearly nobody had expected my little show. Their human minds thought I was a vampire like they saw in the movies. They had no real sense of what power was. No real idea of what I was. They were expecting me to be cowed by silver and crosses. To bare fangs at them and hiss. I stood still and wove my way out of the chains until they clunked to the ground.

Number one
man went for the gun in his jacket and I pulled my sword out to point it at his throat. The tip grazed his windpipe. I slid the length ever so slowly around his neck until the percussion point rested against his carotid. He seemed to realise that moving would be bad and held out his hands to show they were empty, the gun clattering to the floor. Smart man.

“Shall we start again
, my dears?” I asked the square. “I am Mallory, a daughter of the Morrigan. You will release my companion.” I let the sword slide just a little bit so that blood beaded along number one man’s neck.

“She ca
n’t take all of us. Filthy vampyre,” Timothy shouted from across the square. But nobody ran up to join my victim.

“And no witch will ever get the best of me again
, Timothy. I hear your son didn’t even make it to the dungeons. The Wraith died permanently before they could even put a blade to him. How disappointing. Was it worth it? My mother’s death? Your son becoming the undead? Hmm ... I wonder. Or how about the spells you laid on him nearly draining you dry? I suppose it was a relief when he finally passed the veil. Less drain on you. More time to focus on riling up the locals with lies about non-existent vampires.” I was breathing heavily by the end of my rant but my sword was still steady on number one man’s neck and there was a choked silence in the group. “Or did you forget to mention your own ancestry along with the fact that I. Am. Not. Vampyre? I am a necromancer, slave to no-one.”

Number one
man flinched and I let the blade graze his throat again. Another slither of blood beaded along the edge. The message I was trying to impart was clear. He moved and I removed his head. Or at least severed some major arteries. It takes a little more force than I could comfortably wield from that angle to sever a head. Much easier when someone is nicely lined up on the chopping block. Even easier when you’re practicing on watermelons.

“Mal...
” Ali breathed, “...please.” The plea wasn’t to help her. She wanted me to relent, to let her handle it, but I’d given my word and if she hadn’t realised what that meant to me yet then she was about to learn.

“No
, Ali. They don’t get to do this. They don’t get to hurt you.” I returned my attention to the crowd. “The next person to harm her will face me. And I assure you that I am proficient at long, slow and painful deaths.”

“Mal. It’s not necessary. I’m fine.” Fredrick had stepped further back and Ali was able to gather up the remainder of her clothes and walk over to me. I hadn’t really moved since drawing my sword. “I’m fine. We’re fine. The Covenant will deal with Timothy. There is nothing left for us here. Remember, we need to get the Lowers in line. This lot aren’t worth the time.”

At her words I thought about the Lowers. About how we’d been attacked so soon after leaving. How we’d been attacked in the very darkest part of the main route between the Lowers and the square we passed through on the way home. I thought about how someone had sold us out and very nearly skewered number one man in anger. So much for a harmless business. Seems like father and son had been in the same line of work. No wonder Edward hadn’t told me who he worked for.

“No
, Ali.” I grasped her hand in mine and studied her face as best I could with my power still in full flow. “It’s not alright. It will never be alright.
I
am not helpless and
you
are under my protection. The Alleys are
mine
.” I looked up. “The Lowers are
mine
.” Timothy’s eyes narrowed; confirming my suspicions. At the very least he had his hand in whatever was going on in the Lowers. “And
nobody
gets to hurt anyone unless
I
say so.” It was an arrogant boast but one my magic seemed to confirm. A wash of power ran down me and it felt like my skin was starting to glow. It hadn’t done that in a long time. Not since the last time I did a raising with my mother.

I was very nearly fully grown, c
oming into the final little bit of my magic and I’d decided to use it to stake out my territory. The old myths of vampires were probably a mix of stories. The fangs obviously derived from shifters in half forms but I thought that most of the territorial drive and blood hunger came from stories of necromancers. My mother had been the same way.

With a flick of my wrist I
slit a line down across number one man’s collarbone. Exactly over his artery but not deep enough to pierce it. Enough that if I parted the skin I would see it. And I moved so that my other hand could reach the wound. I didn’t open it up; I just touched it a little. Let the blood coat my fingers. Then, very slowly, I traced a glyph on his forehead. A mark that would never truly go away. It showed him as a criminal. A man with no honour. A mark like that made in his own blood would be a sign to almost everyone. I’d be surprised if a permanent tattoo of it didn’t appear when he washed it off.