Page 57 of Resurrection
“I slept a little,” Gabe said quietly. “With you.”
“And it was bad?”
“Disjointed and filled with nightmares. Not really restful. And I don’t think it was because you were there. I think it’s because the revenant isn’t settled,” Gabe said fast, like he was trying hard not to add insult to injury.
“Would having my blood settle the revenant?”
Gabe thought on that for a minute. “I don’t think so.” He looked away and sucked in a breath deep enough that Seiran could almost feel the need to follow suit. “Something is tugging at it. As though whatever yanked me from the ground…”
Seiran couldn’t help his flinch at the idea that Gabe hadn’t been ready to come back. How long would he have been gone? A century? More? Would Seiran had kept his sanity? Would putting him back help either of them?
“Like the power is still out there. I can touch it, almost.” Gabe’s gaze found Seiran’s again. “I’m sorry it’s a bit vague. I’m trying to put words to feelings that don’t really have defined classifications.” He turned toward the door. “If you’ll give me a minute to clean up.”
“Will you be safe around people? In a room full of dead vampires? I need to look over all of them. My people probably have already, but…”
“You’re a superwitch,” Gabe teased, “you might catch something the average witch doesn’t.”
“Maybe,” Seiran agreed.
“Happens a lot?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“Perhaps you need to find better witches?”
“I think they need more training. Most come to me with very little knowledge of the darker bits of magic. Many don’t believe those things really happen, or that power even exists. Not until they confront it face to face. A lot of them don’t last longer than a year. The dark side of magic becomes too much for them.”
Gabe gave him an assessing look. “You deal with magic crime. I would think that meant mostly darker magic.”
“Yes. However, the Dominion exists in direct opposition to the Christian Church. It comes at a cost ofbadwitches die, and anything the Church condemns is bad. They only teach kids how to be good little witches. On paper at least.”
Gabe thought about that, startled by a memory that he seemed certain of, but couldn’t recall having ever voiced. “Christ was a witch.”
“Probably,” agreed Seiran. “Likely necromancer of some kind, raising the dead and all that. Don’t tell the church that, they will insist you get burned at the stake for it.”
“And if someone is born with power like necromancy?” At least Gabe seemed to catch on fast enough, even if his memory was Swiss cheese.
“Locked away, shunned, taught to hide it. If they survive the awakening of their power at all. That’s where most of the issues I deal with come from. Witches trying to find control in a world that fights to keep them invisible until they are slaughtered for PR purposes.” It was one of the biggest reasons he feared for Kaine. The twins earth magic was strong, and would put them at pillar level should he die in their lifetime, but Kaine’s power, a mix of fae and witch, would scare the world at large. Seiran created the house as a sanctuary for them to learn and grow in safety. Wards covering every inch of the property created by himself, and layers added by his friends. Everything from fire to water and wind. But he still feared for Kaine every day. Had he gone to school, or decided to cross the veil again?
“Go get dressed. I have to check in with my people.” And his kids.
Seiran waited for Gabe to leave the room before checking his phone. Kaine had gone with Kelly and Jamie to pick up Link. It sounded like they had a day planned out to welcome him home. Since Link and Kaine were close in age, they had gotten along well. At least before Link had gone off to camp. Would that have changed?
Something else to worry about.
Seiran had messages from Sam and Mike, asking how Gabe was doing. A short message from the office with a link to files as they were processing bodies. Page had sent him a short text:
P: Not feeling well today. Might be in late.
Seiran had never been an asshole about people having to be in the office as long as they were doing their job. And Page could do his job from home just fine. He sent a message back as he made his way downstairs to find something to eat before heading in.
S: Take the day off. I’ll be cataloging bodies all day anyway.
I’m sorry,was the reply he got back.
S: No need to be. Feel better soon.
Seiran had a message from Max that alarmed him. Not a text. He wasn’t sure that Max cared a lot for the nuances of modern technology like text messaging. Usually he sent Sam, but today he’d left a voicemail.