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L uca Sasan strolled through the plaza, his expression pensive.

He was a necromancer, the most powerful in the land.

Why was he wasting his time pretending to be a bartender?

Sure, he had a nice house, a female he kept to satisfy his lust and clean up the place from time to time.

But there was no excitement in his life.

He was getting soft, lazy, spending his time watching insipid movies when he should be practicing his magic, concocting new spells, hunting the two vampires who had put him through hell.

Not to mention seeking revenge on the one who had killed his beloved Katya.

Katya. Chanting softly, he summoned her image and she stood before him, a ghostly figure with golden hair. She held out her arms, her brown eyes filled with pain and a plea for help as a vampire drained the life from her body.

Blinking the tears from his eyes, Luca returned home and went down to the basement where he worked his magic.

He chanted the words to summon Kincaid’s whereabouts, cursed long and loud as he realized the vampire must still be wearing the witch’s talisman that blocked his magic, preventing him from finding Katya’s murderer.

But there were other ways, other spells, and he wouldn’t give up until he found the right one. It was time to start acting like the powerful wizard he was. Time to quit that stupid bartending job and do what he’d been born to do.

“Be patient, Katya, my angel,” he murmured. “He will yet pay for his treachery.”