Page 24 of Deadly Deception (Necromancer Tales #2)

Chapter

Twenty-Four

Franklin

I wasn’t sure if activating Holland’s charm was the right decision or not. Regardless, it was the option I went for. Boone was tapped out. I knew he was scrambling around, searching for something to use. I needed to buy us time, so that’s what I did. Some might say activating the shield charm was a no-brainer, but it wasn’t as simple as that. The charm would last about twenty minutes, give or take, and in that time, nothing could get in, but we couldn’t get out either. We couldn’t move toward an exit or make a break for an escape. We would be the same sitting ducks when the charm wore off.

Still, twenty minutes was twenty minutes and I’d take what we could get. Maybe between the three of us, we could come up with a solution out of this mess.

“Holy shit,” Henson said when the dust and cacophony of noise dissipated. I glanced over to see his eyes wide as he stared at the hail of bullets stuck in the shield. Henson ran his shaky hands up and down his chest as if searching for wounds. I started to tell him he was fine, but my words were interrupted by the sound of Boone’s nearly hysterical laughter. That laughter was abruptly cut short when Tabitha Clark entered the room.

“My, my. Looks like I’m a little late to the party.” Clark didn’t sound the least bit upset, worried, or concerned. Her gaze swept the room in a relaxed cant, her ever-present purse hanging off one arm.

Clark’s shoes lightly clacked as she made her way across the tiled floor and toward the coffee machine. “I hope it’s fresh,” Tabitha said as she pulled the coffee pot closer, swirling the contents and taking a deep inhale. Grabbing a nearby mug that appeared freshly washed, Clark poured a cup before she rummaged through cabinets. Her happy exclamation when she found sugar and creamer was at odds with the rest of the tone of the room.

“By all means, make yourself at home,” Sara said through gritted teeth.

“Thank you, dear. That’s a very kind offer.” Sara brought the mug to her nose and inhaled again before draining half its contents. “Oh, that does taste good. Mmm.”

Sara leaned against the counter, her back now to the three of us. Jay continued glaring, his hateful gaze moving between Henson, Boone, and me. I wanted to reach through the shield and punch that look off his face, especially when he aimed his seething vitriol Boone’s way.

Sara’s tone was calm, barely a hint of underlying tension when she said, “Interesting to see you out of your room, Ms. Clark. Seems my security is a little lax considering you are supposed to be safely locked away, and Boone was supposed to be stripped of his charms before being allowed further into the house.” While Sara might not have said it directly, the implication that heads would most certainly roll was definitely implied.

Neither Boone nor I bothered enlightening Sara that it was me who’d activated the charm, not Boone. While we remained silent, Clark waved a dismissive hand in the air and said, “You know, I heard the snick of the lock open and then all that terrible gunfire. Poor Navarre. He was so upset. I don’t think I could have left him alone, but wouldn’t you know it, a tiny kitten showed up on his lap. And just like that”—Clark snapped her fingers— “Navarre eased and seemed fine.”

My mind spun. Kitten ? Door unlocking? Could it be…?

“Aurelia’s here,” Boone whispered. “She’s standing off to the side, to the left and behind Tabitha.”

So, our wayward djinn was here but choosing to keep her presence under wraps from everyone but Boone. Wonderful .

“She was disappointed with the way things were going,” Boone added in the same hushed tones. “She was bored.”

“Christ.” I didn’t know what else to say. Sometimes, there simply was nothing more to say. Henson must have felt the same because he remained mute beside me.

Sara stiffened before waving a hand in Jay’s direction. “I think it’s time our guest was placed back in her quarters.”

Jay raised his weapon, the threat clear.

Clark didn’t appear or sound concerned when she said, “Oh, I believe we’ve had enough of that. Benny, would you be a dear and take care of the human weapons?”

I blinked. Who the hell is Benny?

Jay appeared just as confused and even more shocked when his precious weapon was stripped away and tossed across the room. The clanking of metal hitting metal sounded through the room as guns and knives piled up into a faraway corner. Whoever, or whatever, took them was a mystery.

“Aurelia?” I asked Boone and he shook his head.

“She’s still leaning against the doorjamb. For better or worse, she doesn’t look bored any longer.” I heard Boone’s harsh gulp and felt his anxious shiver.

Tabitha Clark simply stood there, her crinkled eyes shimmering over the edge of her coffee mug. “Thank you, Benny. You’re such a sweet boy.” Tabitha shot Sara a wink and added “He’s not really a boy. Poor Benny was an adult when he died, although I think we can all agree that dying at the mere age of twenty-eight is a damn shame. Waste of a good life. Don’t you agree, Sara?”

Sara stiffened and her hands clenched along the edge of the counter. “Depends on the life. By the way, that was a neat trick. It’s cute that you think I need human weapons to control you. You’re a frail, old woman. It would be nothing to take you down with muscle power alone.”

“Oh, goodness.” Clark placed a hand to her chest, raising her purse with the action. “I suppose that’s true. I don’t know that Benny will let you get close enough to harm me. After all, he is a little miffed at you, what with you being responsible for his untimely demise.”

“Boone, can you feel anything?” I asked and he shook his head.

“A little, but nothing definite. Benny’s body isn’t nearby. This is medium territory, not necromancer. I just never realized that…” Boone seemed at a loss for words.

Henson supplied them. “That mediums could control ghosts?”

“Ghosts, lost souls, spirits—call them what you will. But yeah, essentially.”

“I think that woman might scare me more than you, Boone,” Henson said, and Boone huffed an abbreviated laugh.

“I’m not scary at all,” Boone protested.

“Tell that to someone who didn’t see you bring Vanja’s soul back and animate his ashes.”

Boone remained quiet as we all stared at the dusting of ashes haphazardly scattered across the floor. With the urn trashed and shattered on the ground, Boone hadn’t had a receptacle to place them in. As exhausted as he was, I wasn’t even sure he would have been able to do so if the urn was intact.

“Benjamin Rawlings?” Sara shifted to the side, placing a little more distance between herself and Clark. I had a feeling that distance wouldn’t save her. “His father failed me. Everyone knows the consequences of failure. My people are rewarded well for success, but the cost of failure is high.”

“Hmm, very high it seems.” Clark sighed and placed her coffee mug on a nearby counter. “Benny was an innocent.”

“No one is innocent,” Sara sharply answered.

“I suppose that depends on what they are accused of and what standards one holds. I must say, it sounds like your standards are impossible to obtain or maintain, Sara Tompkins.”

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I’d activated the shield charm. I didn’t think it was close to twenty, but I figured at least ten minutes had passed. Safely tucked away behind the charm’s influence, I couldn’t feel the cold gusts of air swimming around us but could see the gooseflesh erupt along Sara’s arms. Rita had her arms wrapped around her middle. At some point, Charlie had moved around the couch and had his arms wrapped around Rita. They appeared to be huddling together for warmth and comfort.

Sara simply shrugged off Clark’s comment as if it wasn’t important.

With another heavy sigh, Tabitha Clark shook her head. “Poor Navarre. He’s been walking through life, collecting the lost. Those damaged so badly by their deaths that they were unable to move on. His necromancer energy called to them, but the poor soul couldn’t do anything to truly help them. Now me, I’m a different matter.” Clark raised her arms and closed her eyes. The room vibrated and anything that wasn’t nailed down fluttered or fell.

Jay jerked back as a plate sailed across the room like a frisbee, narrowly missing hitting him in the head.

I heard Henson suck in a harsh breath. Boone was no longer shivering, but he was clinging to me just as tightly as I held onto him. Not for the first time, I heard his phone ring in the distance. No doubt it was his father, calling to check on him after one of his shield charms had been activated. Too bad Warlock Holland was so damn far away.

Sara Tompkins had a way of bucking against every expectation I had, and now was no different. In the face of the swirling wind and spiritual threat, she threw her head back and laughed. Hands thrown out wide at her sides, I began truly wondering about her sanity. Maybe her injuries in the line of duty weren’t restricted to her extremities. Maybe something had happened to her brain too.

And then, just like that, the world outside calmed and Holland’s charm fizzled with an audible pop . Bullets fell to the ground, tinkling and displacing Vanja’s fallen ashes. When I looked at Tabitha Clark, her eyes were narrowed and her lips were pulled into a thin line. Tiny crow’s feet spread out from her eyes and deep grooves puckered around her pinched lips.

“Did you really believe, knowing all the lengths I’ve gone to, that I wouldn’t have multiple layers of security?” Sara asked while tilting her head and holding up a double set of charms.

Boone inhaled sharply. “Destructive magical charms. Those are illegal.”

“Your pops makes illegal charms all the time.”

“Not those.” Boone pulled away, and I reluctantly allowed him to. “Those are horribly dangerous. They strip the surrounding area of magic.” Boone held out his arms, palms up. “I…I can’t feel it.” His head tilted toward me, his eyes huge. “I can’t connect with my necromancer abilities.” Tears filled those big green orbs. “Gaia, this feels horrible.” Boone wrapped his arms around his body. “You don’t understand, Franklin. A charm like that could kill a brownie. Maybe even a fairy. I can manipulate magic, same with mediums and nearly every magical prone species, but brownies and fairies are magic. Blocking them from magic would be…” Boone sucked in a pained breath, and I wrapped him in my arms again.

“Is it permanent?” I asked, scared to hear the answer.

“No.” Boone shook his head. “It’s already dissipated. It’s like a flash bang. If you’re not close by when it’s activated, it won’t affect you. But if you are nearby, then the effects linger for a time.”

Henson and I shared a look. The humans in the room were just fine. Unfortunately, that included Sara and her posse. Henson glanced toward the corner with the impromptu weapons collection. Jay’s gaze tracked that way too, and without a word, the race was on.

Neither of them made it there clean. Jay’s arm reached for the nearest weapon. Henson kicked his arm, and the tussle began in earnest.

I was torn between helping Henson and protecting Boone.

“Go,” Boone ordered me. I hesitated, and unfortunately, that was all the time Jay needed. He came up first, gun pointed at Henson. I started to lunge at Jay, but Tabitha Clark’s stern voice stopped all of us cold. “Stop, or I’ll shoot her.”

Everyone halted, standing there and staring agape as the diminutive, elderly, Tabitha Clark held a small handgun on Sara Tompkins.

“You carry a gun?” Boone questioned. I knew why he sounded so amazed. Human weaponry wasn’t something most other species toted around.

Clark’s grin held a hint of pain, and I figured that, having lost her connection to her medium side, she was suffering the same as Boone. “What? Do you think I just carry this purse around as a fashion accessory?”

Boone let loose a whoop and clap before he grabbed the back of the couch and clenched it to keep from falling on his ass. I started back for him when Jay’s chuckle froze my heart.

“Go ahead. Shoot the bitch. I don’t give a shit what happens to her.” And then Jay fired.