Path of the Necromancer Ch. 01

Turning, she leaned down to check the blonde and Ian sat down on a piece of driftwood. He stared out at his first victim, knowing it wouldn't be his last. Gary's motionless body was still alive, but without a soul he'd wither and die within a few days.

As the cops pulled up, it looked like they'd thought ahead and called the fire station as well as a couple of ambulances. Rachel sat next to Ian and blew out her breath, "Poor Cindy is traumatized..."

Ian turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

Rachel gaped at him. "You didn't even know her name?!" she asked incredulously. "And you were going- going to..." She whipped her head around and huffed, "Unbelievable! You never stop to consider anything. This is like that time you were supposed to have been putting together a project all year and you just woke up early on the day it was due and cobbled something together."

Ian shrugged and let out a heavy sigh. "None of that stuff seems to matter anymore after Alice," he admitted despondently. "And will you ever let me forget that project? It worked, didn't it?"

Rachel's eyes softened at the mention of Alice and then shot him an impish grin. "Not as long as I live. I spent over fifty hours on mine and you still got a better grade than me. 'Professional website' my ass." She laughed at Ian's surprised look, knowing it was because she almost never swore. Apparently the night's events had loosened her up a bit.

Ian shook his head and muttered softly, "With my luck, she'll be bugging me about it even after she's dead."

Rachel shot him a curious look and said, "What was that?" Ian waved her off as a cute-looking deputy approached him. Tall, blonde, with an attractive face marred by a determined look, he couldn't tell her eye color with her back to the fire but he was sure it was something dazzling. Hell, she didn't even look that much older than him.

"Hello," she said brusquely, addressing Ian. "I'm Officer Flores. We have a few questions to ask you and I'm afraid you're going to have to come down to the station. Do you know where your parents are?"

Ian gave a neutral grunt and Rachel smirked at him. "See," she said in an amused voice, "they all pointed the finger at you. They'll probably hold you for as long as they can before finding a way to sweep this all under the rug."

"And just why would we do that, miss?" the officer asked, a bit haughtily. She wished civilians would keep their damn opinions to themselves.

Rachel gave a snort, clearly unimpressed, and explained, "Because I doubt you'll find any evidence that describes how we all saw a sixty foot pillar of flame. I also don't think you'll get a conclusive diagnosis of what's wrong with him." She indicated Gary's body, being strapped to a gurney, with her chin. "Finally, I see the daughter of a Fortune 500 CEO, the son of the mayor, and a niece of the Chair of the School Board all drunk off their feet. Tonight's event won't make the papers and you'll be under tremendous pressure to close this case. They won't wait while you fish for evidence that isn't there."

She stood up and brushed herself off. Giving a cheery wave to Ian, she walked away towards her car. Officer Flores watched her, impressed despite herself, and a little miffed that it would probably turn out just like the girl had predicted. Unless they called the state police, which was doubtful, there wouldn't even be a proper investigation.

She looked back at the boy everyone had said had been nearest to the person who 'might' have been the cause of the fire. Maybe just shy of six feet, he had a thick unruly shock of black hair that framed a handsome face and green eyes that glowed against the firelight. Coincidentally, he 'could' have been the one to initiate an attack. She sighed. This case was probably going to ruin her perfect record. "Parents?" she repeated.

The corner of Ian's mouth curved up at that. "Away on business," he replied, in a tone that said he got that question a lot. Standing up, he brushed himself off and followed her to the squad car. He frowned when she made him ride in the back, but he supposed he should be thankful they weren't cuffing him.

They pulled out onto a bumpy road that led into the city, though calling the hole-in-the-wall town a city was being generous. Ian leaned his head back and closed his eyes, muttering, "I was that close, too..." He sighed, resigning himself to keeping hold of his virginity a little while longer. Ian turned his attention to his beautiful escort. Leaning forward, he threaded his fingers through the bars and plucked a golden strand of hair. Officer Flores jerked her head and exclaimed, "Hey!"

"Sorry," Ian mumbled absently and bowed his head, twirling the strand of hair around a finger and calling on his magic. His eyebrows rose as he got a snapshot of her life: Sarah Flores. Twenty-one years old, taking criminal justice courses at a community college, she was on the fast track to joining the FBI.

Ian didn't think she'd look as good in the baggy blue field jacket as in her cop uniform, but he wasn't sure she could look bad in anything... He shook his head wistfully. 'Definitely way out of my league,' he thought, chuckling to himself.

On arrival, he was escorted to an interrogation room, though they left the door open and were very informal about it. A suit sat across from him and began filling in a form, asking him various questions about his life and what happened that night. About halfway through, someone came in and whispered in the man's ear and they both got up and walked out, closing and locking the door behind them.

Ian sighed. 'Looks like they found out about my sister... Something tells me they're not fond of coincidences.' Knowing what would likely happen when they reported tonight's incident, he began weaving a spell to hide his parent's location; a compulsion that would make anyone looking for them think it was a dead end. It was an enormously costly spell with numerous unknowable variables that required Ian to channel energy for close to ten minutes straight.

Before he'd completed it, he decided to modify it so it hid Rachel as well, since they would no doubt start asking questions about him around town. When he'd finished, he was sweaty and breathing hard like he'd just run a race. He'd have to go back and anchor the compulsion to something later or it would eventually unravel, but it should hold for awhile. Officer Flores stepped into the room with a folder tucked under her arm.

She sat across from him, looking angry. "So, Mr. Cale," she said, trying to maintain her calm, "want to tell me what happened tonight?"

Ian shrugged. "Cute girls, loud music, ocean spray hitting me in the face... it was a fun night, before the fire exploded and everyone started running and screaming."

Sarah waited and after awhile, raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" she asked incredulously. "That's all you can remember?"

"Well, it was awfully hazy, ma'am," Ian said, leaning back in his chair and waving expansively. He leaned forward and whispered, "You know, I think someone must have spiked my punch, because I really don't remember much beyond the bright lights and the screaming."

"Don't give me that shit!" Sarah shouted as she slammed her hand on the folder in front of her. She took a breath and calmed herself. "It's funny, that's almost exactly what you said the night your sister died, according to our transcript. 'Hazy...' 'Can't remember much...' You must have a crappy memory."

She flipped open the folder to reveal one page of typed information. "Unfortunately, that's all the information we have of you. All the other records and evidence has been taken and whenever I search for your files in the database, it says they're restricted." She leaned forward and fixed Ian with a hard stare, "I already checked and you aren't with the marshals, so what exactly am I supposed to make of this?"

Ian chuckled, "Apparently, that it's above your pay grade to know."

Her expression turned stormy. "We're going to keep you here until we squeeze every last piece of information out of you. You might be laughing now, but we'll see how cheerful you are after a few nights in the hold."

Ian sighed. "Unfortunately Officer Flores, I'm afraid I won't be remaining in your custody much longer."

Sarah looked pissed. She thought Ian wasn't taking her seriously. "You'll stay until I'm damn well satisfied you had nothing to do with this incident. I don't know who you think you-" She was cut off by a sharp rap on the door and the sheriff stepped in. He was almost bulled out of the way by two suits wearing FBI badges.

Ian groaned. They were earlier than he'd expected. Seattle, where he assumed their office was located, was a good two hours by car. Most people took the ferry, which was closed at this time of night. That meant someone had sprung for a helicopter. The first agent stepped forward and assessed the situation. "You're done here, officer. Sir, you're free to go," he said gruffly.

Ian nodded and stood. Officer Flores sputtered angrily, "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

The sheriff tried to quiet her, hands out in a placating gesture. He said, "Calm down, they're taking over the investigation. This goes way above us..." Ian gave her a pitying look. She was one of those people that couldn't let things go once she'd sunk her teeth into them. She'd dig and dig until she buried herself.

Sarah didn't care what authority they had, they'd just got here and their first decision was to let a prime suspect go. She was about to make an issue of it when Ian paused next to her on his way to the door. Leaning down towards her, he murmured, "Let it go, Sarah. There's more to this than you know. Just keep your head down and don't jeopardize your chance at getting into the FBI."

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise. She could usually tell when someone was being honest or not and this guy actually seemed to be genuinely sorry. As he approached the door, the two agents watched him carefully. The one who'd stepped in first told Ian in a neutral voice, "Please stay in town in case we have any questions."

Ian had to struggle to keep the smile that spread across his face appear sincere rather than condescending. "Of course," he replied thinly, and stepped past. Leaving the station, he made his way quickly through the cold night towards his house. He knew the government didn't believe in coincidences either...

He'd initially been surprised that they had let him go, but he figured they must've known they wouldn't be able to contain him without magical support. It made much more sense to lull him into a false sense of security and then take him when they were prepared.

Arriving at his house, he caught sight of Rachel sitting huddled on his front steps, her arms hugging her legs to herself. She looked up as he approached and a relieved look crossed her face. "So, they let you go after all," she said, smiling.

"Something like that," Ian agreed. He opened the door and invited her in. While he made them something to drink, already inventorying what he'd need to take with him when he left, she paced his living room nervously. She stopped suddenly as he set the drinks on the coffee table. "Some night, huh?" he ventured.

Rachel nodded distractedly. After a pause, she finally blurted out, "I have to know what happened." She blushed and then went on, "I mean... Well, you know how I am. If I don't know how something works, it's just going to drive me crazy. And with me leaving for college soon..." She sighed. "Look. This is going to going to be all I think about unless I get some sort of explanation. I just don't think I can move on with my life until this is resolved."

She paused as a look of pain crossed Ian's face for an instant before he recovered. Ian was thinking about how his parents had said nearly the same thing. It would kill him to know that he was the reason his closest friend couldn't move on with her life.

Rachel reached out and cupped Ian's face, kicking herself for causing him pain when she knew he'd suffered so much already. She was a person that tried to see both sides of every situation, but she hated Ian's parents vehemently for abandoning him. Ian looked into her soft brown eyes and breathed deeply.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her delicate touch. No, he told himself. She wasn't like his parents. They had gotten one look at the gritty darkness that was reality and had gone running for the hills to bury their heads again. Rachel actually wanted to know more about his world. He didn't want to alter her path in life, but he supposed she deserved to be told something before he left.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and try to explain himself, he felt an unfamiliar softness brush across his lips. His eyes shot open in surprise and he saw Rachel turning her blushing face away from him. 'Why did I do that?!' she berated herself. 'I just wanted to comfort him. How did that turn into a kiss? I don't feel like that about him... do I? Oh god...'

Ian watched as she buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. Finally able to recover, he reached out and tilted her chin towards him. "Let's try that again," he whispered in a husky voice. He drew her in for another kiss. It started out chaste, neither of them very experienced. Slowly, it morphed as they're lips accepted each other, tongues darting out to steal a taste.

Ian was lost in a heated caress that put all his past experiences to shame. He worked a hand in her long hair and cupped the back of her neck. Her scent was driving him wild as they both learned what worked and what didn't. Ian was so lost in the simple joy of their embrace, that he was surprised when he felt a sense of vertigo as Rachel pushed him back onto the couch.

She straddled him and wove her fingers into his hair, pulling him back, her scorching lips latching onto his once more. Ian's hands roamed up and down her sides, reveling in the feel of her tight curves that were always hidden behind the frumpy sweatshirts she normally wore. Sliding his fingers underneath her shirt, his hands roamed upwards until they managed to unclip her bra.

She shot him a sly grin before reaching down and pulling her shirt up over her head. As she slid the bra down her arms, Ian was delighted to see the action pushed her beautiful tits together. He leaned forward and took a lovely pink nipple into his mouth, licking circles around the nub. Rachel moaned and thrust her neglected boob at him.

Grinning wickedly, Ian was happy to oblige. The attention she was getting was making her squirm in need, involuntarily rubbing herself against his crotch. Rachel was jarred out of her bliss as she felt Ian's cock twitch in response. She pulled back and looked down at his lap. Slowly, a smile spread across her face and she shot him a mischievous look. "That looks uncomfortable," she murmured.

Ian could only laugh at that. "It's your fault," he responded, smiling.

"Oh it is, is it?" Rachel replied with a lusty moan. "Well, then maybe I should see about taking care of that." With some trepidation, she lowered herself to the ground and began fumbling with his belt. A boyfriend had broken up with her Junior-year because she wouldn't do this for him. It hadn't been that she was against the act, she just hadn't wanted to be with a guy that would draw the line there.

She finally managed to get his pants open. As she pulled back his waistband, she let out a squeak of surprise when his stiff cock bobbed upwards suddenly. Seeing a boy's prick up close for the first time caused her to pause, taking in the scent, registering every detail. Slowly, she leaned in and gave it a tentative lick. Ian moaned as her silky tongue caressed the tip of his hardened member.

Seeing his reaction urged her on and she began licking up and down the sides of his length. Rachel reached out a hand and played with his balls hearing Ian's breath pick up in response. She reveled in the power she had, controlling his entire world through her actions. It was addicting. She began twirling her tongue around the tip of his cock and slowly moving deeper along its length.

She learned that he particularly enjoyed it when she engulfed his prick with her hot breath. She would blow out as she lowered her head down, then suck hard as she came up. Ian was going mad, his senses seemingly firing error messages and telling him to call back later. His eyes narrowed into slits as he looked out into the room above her head.

He was distracted by a spirit that was trying to manifest itself into a ghost, but didn't have the energy to do so. He raised a hand to banish it, still focused on Rachel's heavenly treatment when it began flying around feverishly. Finally, curiosity got the better of him and he fed it a small amount of energy. Slowly, a wraithlike image of undeterminable gender began to take form.

Not bothering to fully manifest itself, the ghost began frantically pointing back towards the front door. Ian felt a brief prickle of worry before it was blown into full-on panic as something slammed against his wards. The house shook and Rachel's head popped up, glancing around wildly. Ian jumped to his feet and grabbed hold of her hand. He threw her shirt at her and hauled the both of them up the stairs, tucking himself back into his pants as he went.

"Ian!" a voice in his room shouted. "Time to go..."

Rachel glanced around as they entered the room, trying to locate where the voice had come from. Her jaw dropped as her eyes fell on the book that was vibrating on the desk, cussing Ian out for taking so long. "No way..." she stated weakly.

"Hey, sugar tits. So he finally brought you to his love shack," the Archive called out. "Did you fuck her yet?" he asked Ian loudly. Having become used to the Archive's vulgar mannerisms over the years, he ignored him.

"N-nice to me-meet you," Rachel stuttered out. "Ian what...?"

Ian came back from his closet with a ready bag he'd kept in case everything went to hell. As another blast rocked against his wards, shaking the windows, he figured this qualified. He tossed the Archive into the bag and zipped it up, throwing the pack over his shoulder. He reached out and grasped Rachel's hand and made his way down the hall to the room that used to be his sister's.

"Come on, Rae," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "You just saw someone create a sixty foot inferno. A talking book shouldn't really be that unbelievable..." Waving a hand, the door clicked open and he burst into the room and began setting things up. Rachel was astonished as she saw his 'lab' for the first time.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Dead things were split open on tables, green viscous liquid bubbled in a beaker next to a Bunsen burner. As she looked at the symbols scrawled out on the walls, she felt a sense of wrongness, as if they hadn't been meant for the eyes of others. Her skin crawled as an honest-to-God human skeleton in the back of the room turned its laughing visage towards her.

She croaked out a weak laugh. "Well, I can see why you might have trouble telling me about this stuff." As she finished her statement, her voice rose to an uncomfortable pitch and she desperately tried to calm herself. 'Damnit, girl,' she chided. 'You were the one who wanted to know...' She silently agreed with herself, but it looked like she'd just stepped into Dahmer's basement. Rachel didn't know if she could be 'this' understanding.

Ian froze in his preparations as he heard the desperate note in his best friend's voice. He shook himself. 'Too late now,' he sighed. Ian threw the sheet off the circle in the middle of the room, revealing a silver frame that had been imbued with ancient bastardized Celtic runes. Normally, a druid's teleportation ring would be powered by the Earth. He, obviously, had needed to go in a different direction when he'd constructed his.