Path of the Necromancer Ch. 02

He sighed and rubbed his face as he watched the cloaked figure take off into the night. It was roughly a thirty minute walk -if he didn't get lost- and he predicted whatever was going down would be over by the time he made it back.

* * * * *

Dani wasn't used to being hunted. After she'd fired her shot, she'd waited until she'd thought everyone was engaged and then slipped away. Only someone had noticed... She hadn't made it far down the bank before shots were fired in her direction and she observed a girl about her age running after her. Since then, it had been a cat and mouse chase once Dani had managed to reach the buildings.

She'd thought she'd be able to lose her pursuer in the concrete jungle, but this girl seemed to know the area like the back of her hand. Dani frowned as she heard the running footsteps behind her actually get louder. 'How the hell is she still gaining on me?' she wondered, incredulous. She was the fittest person she knew of, but the other girl seemed to be a natural runner. She also wasn't weighed down by fifty pounds of gear, she reminded herself.

Releasing a heavy sigh and resigning herself to a confrontation, she ducked into the shadows of an alley for the third time and rested her pack on the ground. Every other time she'd tried to give her pursuer the slip it had failed, but this time she wasn't trying to run. Just as she saw the barrel of a rifle peak around the corner, she lunged and grabbed at the weapon, sending an elbow streaking out and pivoting to rip it from the other's grasp.

Tossing it away, she turned, expecting the other girl to stop once she'd been disarmed. Dani got a knee in her midsection for her mistake and Val threw a fist at her mouth which she barely managed to dodge. She took up a stance and began trying to control the fight. She was better trained, but Val was scrappy and determined and there were a lot of makeshift weapons lying around the alleyway.

Despite Val fighting like a wildcat, Dani gave better than she got and after the fourth time she'd knocked her opponent down, the girl from the Night Watch was slow getting up. Panting, Dani shouted, "Stop! I tried to help you."

Val laughed and spit to the side. "Yeah, sure... 'cause inciting the Were was such a big fucking favor." She lunged and went in for a punch, but stopped short at the last second and kicked out into the Demon Slayer's stomach, slamming her back into the brick wall behind her.

As Val made to press her advantage, Dani spun and drew a slim knife. Wrapping an arm around Val's neck, her knife shot up and rested a fraction from her face. Expecting Val to freeze, she was shocked when she felt the girl continue struggling. "Stop," Dani repeated desperately, not wanting to kill an innocent. "Those were my orders. I waited until the group from Delridge made their charge to fire so you guys could escape."

Val's resistance waned as she took in her words. Then a hand latched onto Dani's arm which held the knife and she was tugged away with superhuman strength. Dani barely managed to roll to her feet, her eyes widening in shock as she turned to see a succubus in demon-form standing in front of her. Instincts took over and she threw her enchanted knife at the monster with glowing red eyes, simultaneously rolling backwards and drawing her Beretta 92A1 with enchanted bullets.

Ember snarled as she sensed the danger to her and shot backwards into the air as shots rang out. Dani desperately tried to get a bead on her target as she vanished into the night. She breathed hard as her arm whipped around, looking for the black-winged demoness.

Suddenly, out of the darkness shot a ball of Hellfire. Dani dodged but the ball exploded when it was flush with her and the force of it threw her into a wall. As her shoulder was slammed into brick, her gun fell out of her nerveless fingers. Groaning in pain, she tried to lunge for it with her working hand, only to have Val scoop it up before she could get there.

"N- no," Dani croaked, her vision blurring. "Why? How c- could you... side with a demon?"

Val looked down at her contemptuously as Ember landed nearby. "Why did you shoot the werewolf?" she shot back. "Why not simply fire into the woods if those were your orders? You think every single one of them deserves to die just because of what they are? People like you make me sick..." She turned and handed Ember the gun and walked off, reaching down to grab the strap of her assault rifle as she went.

Ember looked at the fallen slayer carefully. She ejected the clip and examined the enhanced bullets. Emptying them onto the ground, she ejected the round in the chamber and popped the empty clip back in, tossing the gun at her feet. "Tell me," the demoness murmured to Dani. "Do they still burn you to death if you fail the Rite of Divine Cleansing?"

Dani's eyes widened as the succubus cited the secret rite of passage all Slayers go through before they're deemed ready to serve. An image of a burning body hung by spikes flashed before her eyes and her stomach roiled. Ember smiled viciously at her distressed expression and whispered, "You know the warlocks they have you murder to 'test your resolve' are those taken from their homes in the dead of night, right?"

Dani shook her head in denial, even though the sound of the inquisitors' laughter as Ben dangled and screamed seared her mind. "They never hurt a soul, never even tried to summon a demon," Ember continued in a scornful voice. "Your order kills those who show restraint, encouraging other warlock's to make pacts with us. Only, their desperation attracts the strongest and most sadistic of our kind."

"You want to know why there are so many rogue demons in the world?" the succubus pressed mercilessly. "It's because your order creates an environment where anything is better than the alternative." She gave a snort at the fallen girl's stricken face. "Demon Slayers aren't there to fight demons, youngling. They're there in case the oppressed and abused decide to rise up and do something about your corrupt institution -which only survives within the Church because all the other branches are afraid of them."

Ember crouched down and tilted her head like she was telling Dani a secret. "And when they can't find warlocks for their silly little ceremony... They'll take anyone --even children- to fill their quotas." Dani's breathing picked up as she remembered the last conversation she and Ben had shared.

From the other end of the alley, Val screamed, "Ember! We have to go. There's a fire at the shelter." She sounded hysterical. "The families... the kids... Oh, God. Hurry!" Ember took off running towards Val as she turned and ran in the direction of the flames. The demonesses spread her wings and launched herself into the air, swooping down to grab Val under her arms and lift them both aloft.

Dani watched them go feeling numb. She willed herself to keep strong, but she felt her insides crumbling. She wanted to reject what she'd been told, but the words rang too true in her heart for her to deny. As her head dropped to the concrete, her last thought before she blacked out was that a demon had just spared her life...

* * * * *

Ian had misjudged the distance and at forty-five minutes since he'd started, he was still a ways from the blaze that looked to have diminished not at all. He'd actually decided to head for his car since it was almost on the way and he'd traverse the last few blocks quicker. As he walked along the sidewalk, he wondered at where all the shifters had come from.

As far as he knew, they couldn't live on Harbor Island. Grim had told him that many of the werewolves in the combined pack lived on cargo ships and islands in the south pacific, with a large majority also residing in the Russian tundra. That didn't account for how they could organize these kinds of numbers so quickly.

He pulled out his phone and began doing some searching. After awhile, he found a likely location for their base. There was an abandoned depot close-by that the 833rd Transportation Battalion used to operate out of. He typed himself a note to check that out sometime before pocketing his phone again.

As he looked up to check the street signs, he felt a prick in his neck. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, his surroundings darkening. He heard screeching tires and the last image he recalled was the blurred outline of dark, indistinct figures, one wearing a long overcoat and the other two FBI jackets.

* * * * *

Agent Ashley Morgan studied Ian's slumped-over form as he rested between two agents in the back of the black Chevy Tahoe. They had been on their way to investigate the fire, as there had been numerous reports of supernatural activity in the area, when who should show up but Mr. number-one-on-the-FBI's-unpublished-most-wanted-list, head in the clouds, unprotected by a shield, and -most importantly- without the golem that had reportedly bested all five of her naïve, but still competent newbies.

She had been furious when the cops had called her a few days ago, saying they'd found her missing rookies in a rundown motel, one of them requiring a change of clothes and all of them needing to be checked out by a medical team. Ashley knew that although she'd drilled into them the dangers of necromancers and gone over Mr. Cale's particular case thoroughly, they hadn't bought it.

She just hadn't thought they'd of been stupid enough to try that shit without at least notifying someone. If they weren't so short-handed, she would have kicked them out. Ashley calmed her breathing as her temper got the best of her. Looking again at Ian, she swallowed nervously. Her orders were to kill him, but...

She couldn't quite explain why she'd hesitated. All she knew was that after they'd shot the knockout dart to verify if he really 'was' the boy they were looking for, instead of ordering the restful-looking necromancer shot, she'd ordered the others to put him in the back of the vehicle. Ashley sighed, knowing the decision might cost her her job... or more. She constantly got memos to ignore individuals who'd 'disappeared.' All she knew was that after he'd spared her life, she wasn't able to take his so carelessly. If the higher-ups wanted him dead, they could get their asses over to Seattle and kill him themselves.

* * * * *

Lin Mei stood beside her mother and shook her head to get her pink bangs out of her eyes. She flinched as another scream filled the room, the action moving her hair back, obscuring her vision. As she made to fix it again, her mother stepped on her foot, silently urging her not to fidget lest she gain the attention of the Honorable Master while he was in such a terrible mood.

Master Long seemed to have tired of torturing the leader of the men sent to ambush the Night Watch in any case. He made a gesture and two men holding long spears of bamboo began arranging the final stage of the unfortunate underling's prolonged death. He turned his stormy gaze on the young banshee and stated, "If you had led tonight's raid, that would have been you."

Moving to stand in front of her, he said, "As it stands, and in light of your mother's entreaties, I will overlook your failure tonight and give you another chance." Mei recognized that at this point she was supposed to thank him profusely for sparing her, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it for this vile man.

He frowned at her silence. "Your recent successes have made you overconfident, careless even," Master Long declared. He reached out and cupped her mother's ass. "Perhaps... you simply need the proper motivation." His eyes blazed with lust as hers flashed in hatred. "The esteemed Mistress Lin has begged me often to prolong your visit to my bed, saying things like 'the fruit is so much sweeter when it's ripest' and 'it will taste bitter if you bite into it too soon."

He chuckled, "Maybe you're ready now, hmm? Maybe you've become restless in waiting as I have and are starting to make mistakes." Her mother reached out a hand to caress the leader of the Tiandihui, occupying his attention to spare her daughter.

"We banshees mature differently," her mother whispered in his ear as she pressed her tits against him. "It will just be a little longer, Honorable Master." Slowly, her talented seduction captivated him and he waved absently, dismissing the gathering as he retired to his rooms.

As Mei retreated, tears pooling in her eyes, Master Long's voice reached her ears, giving her a last warning. "The Heaven and Earth Society has withstood nearly three hundred years of change. It will not fall while I reign. If you bring disgrace upon us again, I will take your flower... and then I will gag that pretty mouth of yours and give you to the men until you are no longer in control of your senses."

* * * * *

Dani knelt in the clearing where it had all began to change for her, rubbing the soil that had been scorched by Hellfire between her fingertips. 'So the Night Watch has a mage after all,' she mused. 'The warlock must be extremely powerful to have summoned so potent a demon.' She sighed as the demon's words came back to her.

Events she'd forgotten about started to make more sense. Ben coming into her room the night before he'd been execu- tortured to death... telling her some wild story about his challenge for the Rite of Divine Cleansing. He'd been spouting some nonsense about his chosen mark being a little girl. Even going so far as to say she didn't have an ounce of magic to her name.

Then he'd admitted his 'crime.' He'd let her live, he'd told her. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Tears trailed down her face as she knelt on the scorched earth. She'd been so incredulous at the time... so wrapped up in her faith. She couldn't even comprehend what he'd been telling her.

There was no failing the Rite. You simply did it and moved on. 'Not' killing the 'plague of humanity' had never even occurred to her as an option. When she'd killed the scruffy-looking man in her assigned chamber, it'd been easy to see him as an evil ritualistic mass murderer. Of course, she couldn't really see much of his face through all the bruises... but that just made him look more menacing.

She hiccupped and cried for her friend, for her lost innocence, for the scores of people she'd killed. Dani realized her life -everything she could fucking remember from the time the rogue demon had taken her parents- had been given to the 9th Order. She remembered the look on the kindly sister's face at the orphanage that took her in when Dani had told her that she'd accepted the traveling Inquisitor's offer to join the 9th.

The mixture of pity and disgust that she'd seen in response now roiled in the pit of her stomach. The entire Order was a blight on the Church's good name. Her eyes flashed as she made a decision, knowing she would probably share Ben's fate for her actions --or worse. There was a seventy-two hour grace period after each job she performed. At that time, if she hadn't checked in yet, she'd better have been dead or nearly so. The 9th didn't take desertion lightly.

She needed more information though, before she resigned herself to her fate completely, which meant she needed to find that succubus --Ember, the girl had called her... Her mind set, her path decided, she lowered her hood over her face and hoisted her rifle, setting off to enter into the lair of the enemy, murmuring, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

* * * * *

Ian woke to the sharp ammonia smell of the salts waved under his nose. His eyes blinked open and he squinted against the bright light. He slowly recognized the sorceress that had chased him back in his old town and the scrawny redheaded kid with glasses that had burst into his motel room. He instinctively tried to shield and got a nasty shock for his trouble. He winced as the pain cleared his head and he saw more of his surroundings, recognizing it as a kind of office. He was bound to a chair in the center of the room. The three of them were alone, but he thought he heard faint sounds coming from outside the door.

"Don't try to use magic," Ashley warned him, not unkindly. "The collar prevents it and the voltage goes up with subsequent usage." She sat across from him as Ian grimaced at the new situation he found himself in.

He then grinned and chuckled to himself, "Still beats the motel... at least the heat works in this place."

Ashley raised an eyebrow when she saw his perilous circumstances hadn't had the effect she'd anticipated. Frustrated, she leaned forward and told him, "We're waiting for my boss's boss to show up and take custody of you. While we're just killing time however, I think I'll have a look at what you've been up to in the weeks we've been apart."

Ian gave her a level stare and she frowned when she met his mental barrier and wasn't able to penetrate. She shocked him and said in an irritated voice, "Let me in. I can do this all day."

Ian knew from his lessons that when a sorcerer tried to read you, they were leaving their consciousness wide-open in terms of what you projected. This allowed them to sift through more information faster, but they weren't in control of what was shown. Most of the time, they were interested in what you were thinking about so this wasn't a problem.

Ian shook his head as another shock ran through him. 'Fine,' he thought. 'I'll give you something.' He projected what he wanted at her and she took it all, reliving it through her own eyes, unprepared for the sudden flood of information. Her throat caught as images of his sister's mutilated body filled her vision, the werewolf stalking towards her. Tears fell from her eyes as she realized how young he'd been at the time.

She was powerless to do anything but watch as Ian showed her the event that changed his life. When it was through, she was shivering. Slowly, she tried to get to more relevant information, only to be bombarded by images of Ian's more gruesome dissections. He uncovered the true grittiness of what he saw as a necromancer. He showed her the dead, bodies and spirits. He took her on a ride through some of his more fascinating and terrifying memories of when he'd used his spirit vision.

Ashley bolted from her seat and crossed behind her desk, puking in a waste basket, the image of flesh knitting together replaying over and over in her mind. She stayed there, bent over her desk and shuddering for a full minute, Ian's experiences shining in her head clear as day. She could only hope that over time they would fade. Whatever happened when the Director got here, she wasn't going back into his head.

Roderick, the other resident mind reader, looked at her curiously and offered to go in if she 'couldn't take it.' Ian gave him a chilling smile and she told the young sorcerer, "Don't even think about it." The rookie was insistent though, eager to prove himself and with the serum of youth backing his judgment.

Ashley cursed, knowing it was just this sort of gung-ho attitude that had almost gotten him killed a few days ago. It was to be expected, she supposed. The agency sought out those applicants perceived as 'hungry' and encouraged the attitude. Just as she was about to put her foot down and make it an order, a deep, thundering *boom* filled the air as something hit the building's wards.

"Uh, oh," Ian intoned wearing a sardonic grin as excited voices started up from behind the door. More loud 'booms' filled the air, the relentless assault seeming to defy the very idea of resistance. Roderick looked shocked at the notion that someone would actually attack one of the Inquisition's main offices. 'They' raided others, not the other way around!

Ian chuckled at his expression. "I know, right? Not how I'd planned on spending my night either..."

"What... is it?" Ashley asked, stunned that it sounded like one single being was doing all the damage. It had taken six months and eight continuous shifts of rune wardens to enchant this building's defenses. There was no way in hell they could actually be weakening.