Page 19 of Crossing Between

A few weeks into the job, I was finally getting the hang of using my laptop and my duties other than being a Medium. The strange mark on my side was still there, but it hadn't caused any pain or grown, so I'd put it to the back of my mind while trying to do my job.

I'd gone out to multiple crime scenes with other detectives, helped close two cases, and only managed to forget to do paperwork once. Varon made sure I didn't forget again, although when he was glaring at me, I couldn't help but like it a little more than I should have.

Elias and Kenji hadn't made much headway in the serial killer case. The public was also starting to notice something happening. We were up to ten deaths now. I was concerned, as I hadn't been able to summon any of the souls since Lincoln.

They were not just gone from this plane, it was like they never even existed.

I couldn't tell that to my boss and partners, though.

All I could tell them was the soul was already gone.

If I could just call the souls to me, we'd have a better chance of catching the killer, but I couldn't and that made me so angry.

"Oh, lovely girl," Quilith draped themselves over my shoulders from behind. "You've been staring at this body for almost thirty minutes. They won't just spontaneously give you answers."

I sighed, leaning back into their arms. I wasn't used to being so handsy with most people, besides hugs from Ruth and Ryan, but Quilith wasn't just most people. They had quickly become my best friend. I loved them like they were my own family now.

"If I could use my powers, we could help stop these killings." My reply to them was whispered because I didn't want anyone to hear if they suddenly came into the room. "I haven't even gotten enough information for Kenji or Elias to narrow down what the killer is."

"That's not part of your job, sweetie pie.

" Quilith tugged on my ponytail as they straightened.

"You just do what you can legally, dear one.

" They pulled me away from the latest victim over to their office ,closed the door, and waved their hand along the door frame which activated a silence spell.

"Alright. If, and this is a big if, I give you access to the morgue tonight, what would you do? "

"Really?"

They flicked their fingers at me. "Tell me first."

I pulled my hair over my shoulder and ran my hands down the ponytail.

"If I could try to summon the soul back from wherever it's gone, I could see if I could get answers.

Not just the scared versions of their last moments.

In theory, the souls who've gone over to the afterlife, retain all their memories, and I might be able to get more information out of them. "

"Define 'whereever it's gone'?" Quilith's eyes narrowed at me. "You sound unsure about something."

I pulled on my hair as my nerves got worse. "There've been some weird instances with other souls that have appeared next to the bodies where the souls have moved on, or are just gone." The last part I winced as Quilith shrieked.

Yeah. I figured they wouldn't like that part.

"A few of them have given me some vague warning that I haven't been able to find anything on when I've tried to research it."

"What do you mean gone?" Their face started to change, revealing more of their reptilian roots. "What warning?" Quilith took a deep breath, grabbed their glass of water, took a drink, and their transformation receded.

"They keep saying the same thing. The 'Essencefeaster is back'." It had been driving me crazy not being able to find any information on it.

The sound of glass shattering made me jump in the chair as Quilith had dropped their water. They'd gone white, which was an impressive feat considering how pale they already were.

"Quilith?" I was halfway out of the chair but they held up their hand to me as they took in several deep breaths.

"Sorry lamb cakes. Just give me a moment." Their hand shook slightly before they sighed regretfully. "Call Varon. Tell him you're going to finish your shift here assisting me with something. We have a lot to discuss."

"I....alright." I pulled out my phone and did as they asked. "Varon?"

"What's up?" He sounded distracted. He was probably working on more paperwork. He seemed to be permanently glued to his computer when he was in the office.

"Is it alright if I finish my shift at the morgue with Quilith? They've asked me to help them with something."

"Sure. Do you need me to drop off your laptop for the weekend?" The sound of his chair rolling back made me think of him stretching out his arms and distracted me vaguely.

"Oh. Uh. Sure." I didn't know what he asked but I didn't want to be rude and say I wasn't paying attention.

"Alright. I'll see you later. I'll text you when I'm there." Varon hung up and I stared down at my cell phone.

What was that?

"Alright," Quilith speaking suddenly made me remember there was a serious situation occurring.

I needed to get over my crush. It wasn't good to be in a daze around him when I needed to be focused on work. It took me a long time to type up notes at the end of the day because of him.

"I've sealed off the morgue. No one is allowed in until we're done." Quilith opened the office door. "Come with me, dear."

"I'm a little concerned. I don't think I've seen you serious like this before." I follow behind the dragon, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Oh shush." Quilith stuck their tongue out at me over their shoulder before moving their arm and several morgue drawers opened.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to call these victims back.

We need to get information out of them about the killer.

This Essencefeaster they've told you about?

It's a demon, a very ancient type of demon.

The last time one was around was during the Black Plague. " They looked at me.

The implications of what they'd said weren't lost on me. I felt nauseous at the prospect. "You mean they caused the Black Plague?"

Quilith nodded and gestured for me. "Which means we need to confirm this. If it's true, we'll come up with some way to explain the answers we found to the detectives. What do you need to summon them? I'll get whatever you need."

I cleared my throat. "I don't need anything."

Quilith blinked twice at me. "You're kidding. Most necromancers need the preparation of some kind of holy ritual, at the very least..."

I shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I don't need to do anything to use my power. I only use the things to summon souls as a Medium to keep up appearances."

Their mouth dropped open slightly as they stared at me. "You truly don't need to prep? That's impressive. Most necromancers require some kind of focus when they use their powers. I would like to learn more about your family line when this is all over."

"Sure. I don't see why not. You could come over and we'll make it a date.

" I walked over to a young girl whose left foot had been removed along with her liver and two ribs.

She'd been beautiful in life. I'd have done anything when I was younger to have her red hair and straight nose. "Should we get started?"

Quilith stepped back. "Do your thing. Just," they paused briefly. "Are you able to send them back right after?"

I smiled reassuringly at them. "Yes. I can. Don't worry."

I turned my attention back to the body and let my power out.

It felt joyous as it wrapped around the body and started seeking out the soul.

Not finding it here or on the other plane didn't deter my magic, it seemed to get more joyous at the prospect of being able to reach out.

I'd never stretched out my power as much as I was right now.

It was like stretching after a good night's rest.

There. I'd found the blackness where the soul was drowning into nothingness. The girl's light was dimming. That was new. My magic sped into the darkness.

My power flared in response as the other's magic pushed against mine, but it was no match. The other's magic felt like it wasn't even trying. It just pushed against me, not really fighting.

It felt good. I wanted to pull more magic to take this soul from who held it. Make it mine. I could raise an army. Take over the city and stop all the killings by just pressing a bit further with my magic. I could make the men I fancied come to me on their knees.

Wait. That was wrong.

I abruptly tightened my hold on my power and pulled it back in. Needles of pain shocked me all over. It fought me every second until I had it under control. By the time I had the power locked down, my body was shaking and I opened my eyes, not realizing I'd closed them in the first place.

My knees buckled and I fell to them, clutching the table in front of me with a gasp.

"Zoey?" Quilith was at my side, kneeling next to me, their hands turning my face to look at them. "What happened? Are you alright?"

My head pounded. The lights stabbed into my pupils and I had to slam my eyes shut. My body felt like I'd been beaten to a pulp with how hard I'd had to fight my magic.

"Something went wrong. I found the soul, it was being drained of its life force, I think." My hands shook as I touched Quilith's arms and I searched for something resembling comfort. "When my magic touched it, it was like it changed its nature."

"Hold that thought, sweetling." Quilith picked me up, went into their office and set me gently in one of the chairs. "Alright, I'm going to get you some water first. Okay?"

I didn't reply. Even trying to nod sent pain rocketing through my body.

It was only a few moments later when Quilith was back.

They put a glass in my hand, making sure I had it before releasing it.

They surprised me when they had a wet washcloth and patted my forehead gently as I took a sip of water.

That took a lot more out of me than it should have.

"Okay." Quilith took the glass from me, placed it on their desk, and took my hands in theirs. "Now, tell me what happened."

"I was letting my magic free. It was happy.

I'd never let it out so far before. It felt joyous like usual when I used it until it found the soul.

It wasn't on this plane or the other plane like before.

It was in a subspace, this darkness. It was like a giant black blob and inside was the soul.

Her soul was fading, being drained of her very essence.

" I paused before a laugh escaped me. "Now I understand why it's called an Essencefeaster.

Dear gods above. Quilith, this thing is a monster!

" My voice went high as panic started to settle in.

"It made my power want to take over every soul it could.

It changed my magic just by coming in touch with it and I hurt.

My whole body is in pain just from coming into contact with it. "

"Shh. Calm down, little one." Quilith's hand stroked my hair as they whispered reassurances to me while I continued to have a panic attack. "We'll figure it out."

"How?" Tears fell before I could stop them. Even their soft touch hurt.

"How much do you trust me?" Qulith stared into my eyes.

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at my friend suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"I think you need to tell Varon and our two detectives. They can help you train your powers along with allowing you to use them when it's needed. Your powers can be used to hunt the Essencefeaster, who is a demon soul devourer because it uses death magic like you do."

My mouth became dry as I began to tremble, not in pain this time, but in fear.

"You want me to tell LAW ENFORCEMENT that I'm an illegal necromancer. They're obligated to kill me or put me in prison with my magic drained! Which will end up killing me anyway."

Quilith shook their head as they gripped my hands a bit tighter.

"My love bug, I need to explain what I know about this demon.

It would be easier if I could tell Varon how I found this out.

If they, if you , don't catch this thing, we're going to be looking at another Black Plague within months as it gains power through the souls it decimates.

No modern medicine will be able to touch it, nor will any healing ability.

" They let go of my hands, stood, and looked down at me.

"Are you willing to risk millions of lives to hide your secret when you could do something? "

The jab stabbed through my heart. I couldn't let people die if I could do something.

I'd be a disappointment to my parents if I did.

The more I thought of what Quilith just said, the more I began to suspect that they knew more about why my power was so different from other necromancers and why they were so certain I could do anything to help stop this demon.

I thought I could help track it, but how could I possibly stop it?

"Fine but I want you to tell me what you know about my magic. You're hiding something and friends don't do that to each other." I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at them. If I was going to be killed, at least I'd have eye candy doing it.

"Deal." Quilith nodded and pulled out their cell phone. "Varon? I need you to come to the morgue with Kenji and Elias later tonight."