The Necromancer

Chapter Ten

"Where's Alex?" Katie asks, looking over her shoulder at Angela and Nik. It's not that she just noticed he was missing, but the awkward silence had become overwhelmingly boisterous. She's sitting in the passenger seat, knee bouncing up and down nervously and clinking against the daggers hanging at her waist. Caleb has both hands on the wheel and is facing forward, eyes scanning the road and lips tightly sealed.

Angela's voice is harsh, and does nothing to cut the tension. "He's been getting headaches. I told him he'd better sit this one out." The whispers behind her words don't have to be audible for Katie to understand then; I need to keep Alex safe.

The sun had set almost half an hour before, and the streetlights are casting an eerie glow on the street. Obviously, Angela is mad at the rest of them for dragging her into the situation she very obviously opposed, but Katie guesses she can't bring herself to act against them directly. And she wants to make sure Nik doesn't get hurt, as much as she's probably telling herself she doesn't care. But what about the tension between Nik and Caleb; had something happened between them? She tells herself she's reading into things too much, but she can't take her eyes off the pain glistening around Nik's.

"Katie," Caleb mutters, dragging her from the thought. "Where do I turn?"

They're heading west on Mercer, driving straight into the heart of Capitol Hill. "Left on Broadway," she replies, not taking her eyes of Nik. Earlier in the year she'd gone to this Coven of Hedge Witches fishing for information on a particularly rare piece of magic she needed for one of Tess' stupid projects. It hadn't gone perfectly—far from it, actually—but she'd managed to snag some information on the spell and escape with her life. Still, this is their best chance at learning what the Necromancer's end goal was, and the only Coven they know the location of. "It's just a few blocks down the street; looks like a sex shop from the outside."

It comes into view only a few minutes later, and luckily, there's parking right outside. Caleb pulls next to the sidewalk and cuts the engine next to the purple and black building, with windows so tinted the inside isn't visible. Cursive, dark red letters swirl across door—Climax's

"Charming," Angela comments as they slide out of the Jeep, giving the building a once-over. Shouldering past, Katie pushes against the door and tumbles into the dark shop, the others at her heels.

She stops short, and Caleb runs into her back. The building isn't glamoured to look like a store on the inside, as it had been when Katie'd been here the first time. Gone are the racks of blowup dolls and dildos, replaced by dark floors and stone walls with burning sconces. In the middle of the room, a dozen cloaked figures are gathered in a circle holding hands are chanting in something Katie doesn't recognize.

But she does recognize the figures—they're the Hedge Witches, and she can feel their magic beating against her face. Hedge Witches are as close to Warlocks as it gets: the magic running through their veins allows them to control and use some basic types of spells. However, that ability only leads them to wanting more, until they attempt something totally beyond their abilities and wipe out their entire existence.

This magic—whatever is it—is not something the Hedge Witches should be capable of.

One of the Regents gasps, and all twelve heads snap toward them, their eyes soulless pits of black. Instinctively, Katie takes a step back into Caleb, but the closest Hedge Witch reaches toward them with a cloaked hand.

Something scratches at the back of Katie's consciousness before it's lost in a sea of black.

When Nik regains consciousness, his world has been turned upside down—literally. He's not in the same room he was before, either—this one is dark and cold, only lit by a single torch in the corner, leading toward what looks to be a set of stairs. His head is pounding, and there's a dull ringing coming from the base of his scull. Above, his boots rest firmly against the wall, secured by an unnaturally strong rope hanging from the ceiling and wrapped tightly around his ankles. Another tether is strung around his wrists, which are resting tightly against the small of his back.