Den of Iniquity Page 18

  I add, “She’s doing much better now. She has enough energy to walk around the house. We’re going to go see her again in a couple of weeks for more treatment.”

  Marissa says excitedly, “Maybe we can go see her after the trip to Chicago for Thanksgiving, too. We can cook for her.”

  Maria whines, “You won’t be here for Thanksgiving, Mija?”

  Josie smiles at Maria. “That’s where my project comes in. Like Will, I am a necromancer, but before I studied necromancy, my father taught me the craft of thaumaturgy. A thaumaturge uses the relationships between things to craft an outcome. Back in the 1800’s my father was working to clear mine collapses, which is how most thaumaturges made a living at the time. I learned from him.

  Maria gasps as Dan just sits with narrowed eyes and takes it all in. I can see the policeman in him. Maria asks, “The 1800’s? How old are you?”

  Josie explains, “Officially I’m 24, but I was born 152 years ago. I was murdered in 1891 by the necromancer that was my master - my teacher if you prefer.”

  Rebecca adds, “I was murdered by my own father in 1891. Will discovered he was a necromancer when he interacted with my ghost and fed energy into me to create a body that eventually became fully alive.”

  Josie nods. “He did the same for me.

  Dan looks skeptical. Maria’s eyes look like they are about to bug out of her head.

  “Thaumaturgy,” I prompt.

  “Right,” Josie acknowledges. “I asked Will for ideas for a master work in thaumaturgy. I want to create something that is a master work with no room for debate.”

  I expand a bit. “Clearing mine collapses is master level work; although, apparently no one ever credited it as such.”

  Josie nods. “Right. So I want to do a master work, or Meisterwerk, to prove my mastery of thaumaturgy. So I asked Will for ideas.”

  I tell them, “My two biggest concerns are how to protect my family and friends and how to quickly be able to get to them in case they need me.”

  Rebecca says, “The Catholic Church would try to take Josie and Will into slavery if they found out about them. They would kill me outright. They take that ‘suffer not a witch to live’ passage from Exodus very seriously. Some of our friends would receive the same treatment I would get.”

  Marissa says, “Mom. Dad. This means you cannot share this with your confessor. Sanctity of the confessional means nothing to the Church when it comes to necromancers and witches.”

  “Madre de Dios,” Maria gasps. Maria normally doesn’t have an accent, so I’m guessing her emotions have her pretty shaken up to start speaking Spanish. Even her English has a slight accent now.

  Josie continues, “Will and I were … brainstorming?...” I nod. “...talking about relationships. Will had the idea of splitting a construct made like a picture frame. Things pass through the cavity inside - in one side and out the other. So we could bisect the construct and use my craft to keep the relationship. The result would be a passage to pass items through regardless of where the halves sit.”

  She shrugs prettily, which causes her large breasts to slide provocatively under her loose shirt. “Now that I’ve proven it can work, I’ll try to make a bigger one that will allow us to crawl or walk through. Given Allie’s condition, it could be very helpful getting Will and Rebecca back to treat her when needed.” She smiles at Maria. “It could also allow us all to be together for Thanksgiving.”

  Maria smiles brilliantly at that. Josie wraps up her talk. “The frame I showed you is my first test.”

  I say, “Josie, we also need to think about controlling who passes through. I know we talked about it, but I need to have security in place before we start handing them out.” My inner policeman is coming out.

  Josie says, “The rolled napkins at dinner made me think maybe I could make the walk-through version in a roll-up material instead of wood or metal. Then we could only give out small frames and pass the rolled walk-through 'passage' through the frames when we want to let someone through.

  Marissa pitches in, “Or we could roll them up for storage, too. We wouldn’t need to leave as many permanent ‘passages’ open in the house.”

  Rebecca says, “We’ll need to have a room to handle that.”

  Marissa says, “Maybe we could build a transporter room in the hotel?”

  Dan interjects, “Like Star Trek.”

  We all laugh as I address the ladies. “That's a good idea. We’ll need to think about that as we pull together designs.”

  Maria asks, “Are all four of you sleeping together?

  There is a pregnant pause in the conversation. I look to Marissa as she is the only one the truth could hurt. She nods at me minutely. We all four say “Yes” in unison.

  Dan mutters, “I knew it.” He points a finger at me and says, “You and I need to go have a talk in the dojo.”

  “Oh, jeez. Really Dan?” I ask him with a cocked eyebrow as I sip my brandy and stare him down.

  He points at me again. “That’s where she learned that cocked eyebrow thing! She used that on me when I asked her which one of you she was in a relationship with.”

  “And what did I tell you, Dad?” Marissa asks.

  “All of them,” he mutters like a chastised child.

  “Plus Audrey,” Marissa rubs salt into the wound.

  “Love, there’s no need to keep rubbing it in. I think his eyes are open,” I tell my hot warrior wife. Her eyes flare angrily at me, but soften rapidly when she looks in my eyes.

  Maria says, “I had hoped that you would settle down with a nice boy and make me some grandbabies, Mija. It sounds like I’m out of luck.”

  I shake my head as Marissa says, “I fully expect to give you several grandchildren, Mami. Plus your new daughters all plan to give you some, too. I know Audrey and Viktorija both plan to have at least one each.”

  Dan asks, “Who is Viktorija?”

  Now I’m cocking my eyebrow at Marissa. Rebecca jumps in to take the heat. She says, “She’s another lovely young woman that loves our William very much. She and Audrey have other obligations at the moment, but will both join us.” She looks at me. “Audrey told me they may come up together to give her some quiet to work on her senior project. Tori will be done by then and probably stay, but Audrey will have to go back to finish her last bit of school.”

  I nod as I marvel at Rebecca. ‘That was a masterful obfuscation!’

  Dan asks “What are they studying?”

  Josie answers, “Audrey is studying bio-medical engineering at GCU. Tori is studying fashion design at ASU, but she’s done with all her core work. She only has two electives to finish. She is already designing clothes for a wealthy client in Phoenix.”

  ‘Hmm! Viktorija never told me she is already selling her designs. I need to spend more time getting to know her.’ Rebecca and Marissa are both smirking at me. I roll my eyes at them, which causes them to giggle in response.

  Maria asks, “So how many grandbabies should I expect, William?”

  Rebecca says, “Hundreds.”

  Maria and Marissa both gasp, “No!” Josie gets out of her chair to sit in my lap.

  Rebecca is serious. “Maybe. My Aunt Judith is a master at William’s craft. She said that necromancer’s don’t have to look for partners. Partners will be drawn to them by their powers. My aunt indicated she has had several - including her own harem of men. She told us that as much power as William has, he should build a house the size of the Pioneer Home for all his ladies and children.”

  Maria says, “Wait a minute, didn’t you say that you died in 1891? How old is your aunt?”

  Rebecca shrugs. “I really don’t know, Mama. She told me earlier this week that she left home in Connecticut in 1814. My father was her baby brother, and he was born in 1838. He married my mother, and moved out here with his best friend to start a jewelry shop.” She gets a distant look. “When Papa tried to rape me, Mama claimed she actually had me off his best friend. I think she lied to shock Papa, s
o we could escape. It only enraged him. Aunt Judith said that he actually murdered Mama before I died. I was incoherent, locked in the cellar at the time, so I didn’t know. Aunt Judith destroyed him for what he did to us.” Tears streak down her face, which triggers Josie, Marissa, and myself to launch towards her to wrap her in love.

  All three of us hold Rebecca - stroking her hair, kissing her cheeks, holding her hands. Even Maria and Dan are standing close by; Maria is stroking her hair. Rebecca looks at her adopted parents. She says, “Do you understand, Maria? Dan? We are a family. We love each other without reservation. Josie isn’t really into girls, but she will strip and crawl into bed to hold me or Marissa if she thinks we need comfort - without a moment’s thought, without reservation. Will literally brought Josie and I back from the dead. As ghosts, we were both hurting. He brought us back to life and healed us with his love. Audrey comes from a good home, but has a brokenness that requires a special kind of love. William gives that to her, and then turns around and gives her the romantic love she doesn’t think she deserves. Tori has been through horrors that make my life look like Easy Street. William loves her without condition, with no sexual contact, just unambiguous, endless love. She wants to be his wife, and all four of Will’s ladies welcome her.”

  Josie takes over the narrative as we comfort Rebecca. “Will explained to me that necromancer translates directly to ‘death magician,’ but that’s not really accurate. It’s almost more like life magic. He can talk to ghosts because they are still living souls or remnants of living souls. He can animate dead bodies, not by filling them with death energy, but by filling them with life. He can animate the earth itself into something that looks exactly like a person, by filling it with life energy. He is healing Marissa, and his sister Allison, by manipulating the life and death energies to kill the tumors and energize their bodies. I saw him do something recently that makes me pretty certain he can do other magics too, but we have centuries to figure that out because essentially the power of a necromancer makes them nearly immortal. By extension, the partners in their lives - Marissa, Rebecca, Audrey, myself, and eventually Tori - we will have extended lives as well. That is how Rebecca’s Aunt Judith is still alive. She’s a necromancer. I am too, in addition to being a thaumaturge.”

  I look at Dan and Maria. Their expressions show how overwhelmed they are.

  I chuckle darkly. “Not your average light, after-dinner conversation, is it.”

  Dan wraps Maria in a hug. “No, it really isn’t.” He looks down at his wife, and she looks up at him with adoration. Dan asks, “Are you okay, my heart?”

  “Yes, Corazon,” she answers. You can hear the adoration in her voice as she looks up at her husband. Dan guides her back to his easy chair, sits, and pulls her into his lap. Maria cuddles into him as she looks at us.

  Josie brings a chair close and pulls Marissa into her lap. I lift Rebecca up into mine. Marissa gets up and retrieves our drinks before returning to Josie’s lap.

  Dan says, “So...uh...thaumaturgy, necromancy, witchery. What else? You mentioned Audrey has magic too.”

  I smirk. You really can’t get anything past him. I look to Rebecca. She resumes the lesson, “There are two other crafts. Theocromancy is the craft of blessing or cursing an individual by strengthening or weakening a soul - the spiritual element of life. That craft was rare outside of the Roman Catholic church when I was learning; although, other faiths had them. My rabbi was one. Rightfully, practitioners are called ‘theomancers,’ or more properly ‘theocromancers;’ however, theomancers are generally referred to as ‘priests.’ Not all priests are theomancers, but all theomancers are priests. Their power comes from their belief.”

  She smiles and says, “Excuse me.” Then she kisses me - hot, wet passion pouring from her to me via our mouths. She releases me. “Thanks, William I needed that.”

  Rebecca looks around the room. “Where was I...Oh! Yes! The remaining craft is sorcery, the craft of summoning demons and spirits to perform tasks.”

  “Demons?” Maria gasps.

  “Okay,” I interject. “I think of ‘demon’ as a contraction for ‘dimension travellers.’ I think there are very few here. I’m sure there are some that are right shits, as you might expect. I also know some that are sweet and more genuinely nice than most humans. I have a very good friend in Phoenix that is a demon.”

  Rebecca hugs me and continues. “Sorcery is a bit strange in that very little actual power is required for it. It’s a craft of willpower and knowledge. That’s why there are so many stories of people accidentally summoning a demon and being eaten or enthralled. It’s largely procedural. Sorcerers with power can control demons better once summoned, and they are much less likely to make a procedural error because - well, people with powers tend to have better memories on average than your normal person without powers.” She pauses. “Audrey is a sorcerer. She has significant power, too. Her father is also a powerful sorcerer. Powers tend to run in families.”

  Dan asks. “Will, who had powers in your family?”

  I frown. “I don’t really know. I’m pretty sure Grandma Connors did. The thing is, that I am a descendant of a very powerful necromancer, and he’s a descendant on both sides of my family. I think I’m a fluke - a relatively recessive gene is present in both sides of my genetic material. So now I’m a necromancer.”

  21

  Domestic bliss

  Dan says, “I suppose that makes as much sense as any other explanation.”

  After a pregnant pause, Maria speaks. “Will, can you check out Dan to make his health better? There won’t be enough time in this life to spend with him, but I’d like to maximize our opportunity.”

  I look at her to assess her words as Dan pins her with his eyes. “If I get that treatment, then you need it too. I do not want to be here mourning you!”

  “Mom. Dad.” They turn to me - surprised at how I addressed them. “I will certainly do that for you. I want you to be around to spoil all the grandchildren into adulthood.” I indicate all three of my ladies present. They grin at my comments as do our hosts.

  I reach down and squeeze Rebecca’s ass. I love that it’s filling in nicely. “Up, baby.”

  She pops up and looks at me. “Now?”

  “No time like the present,” I tell her. I grab two of the chairs from the table and set them about six feet apart.

  “Each of you take a chair please,” I tell them. Maria gets off Dan’s lap and takes a chair. Dan follows her example as I start to look at Maria with my second sight. I see the entropy working on her joints, and there is a little shadow in her brain and heart.

  I start drawing the shadow of entropy out of her brain and into my well as I pull growth energy out of my well and push it in to replace the shadow. When I no longer sense any shadow of entropy, I move my focus to her heart and repeat.

  At that point I tell her, “I suspect you were having some memory problems, Maria. I found a general cloud of death energy in your brain. I drew it out and pushed in life energy to replace it. That should keep it at bay for a while and maybe reverse it until aging exerts itself again. I’m now looking at your heart. The whole organ has a dark cloud around it. I suspect heart disease. I’m focusing on the heart for now. I don’t see anything in your neck, but I’m going to wash your carotid arteries in life energy regardless. I’m going to stop there for you now and look at Dan. We’ll deal with your arthritis next time. You should have more endurance after this.”

  Rebecca speaks as I finish working on Maria’s heart and neck. “I’ll also make you a tonic that will help your overall health, circulation, and immune system. It’s similar to what I’m making for Marissa, but will include some ingredients to help with arthritis.”

  I stop and drop my second sight. “Well Maria, how does that feel?”

  She considers for a moment. “It’s hard to describe. I felt things changing, especially in my thought processes. I feel more mentally agile. Less tired, too.” She clasps my face in her hands.
“I can’t believe you did that for me,” she murmurs.

  “You’re family, Maria. Of course I would take care of you,” I tell her. “What I do is more like emergency surgery or emergency symptom relief. I’m reinvigorating your cells and removing the impacts of aging. What Rebecca does will keep you strong over time.”

  She nods and releases me to look at her husband. Opening my second-sight again, I’m suddenly aghast. There is a very dark spot in his neck, and another in the left lobe of his brain. I mutter, “Holy shit.” I also see a dark spot in his abdomen - I think it’s his liver. His knees are completely black.

  “Dan, do you get headaches on the left side of your head? Maybe get faint?” I ask.

  He says, “Yesterday. It’s mostly gone now.”

  “It’s not gone, Dad. It’s trying to kill you.” I need to figure out what’s going on. If he has narrowing of his carotid to the point it’s affecting brain function, the blockage has to go. “I need to talk this through. Rebecca and Marissa please consult.”

  Marissa says, “Will, I’m not a doctor. I just sell them stuff.”

  I sigh. “And you have to know the right thing to sell them. Just let me know if anything I say triggers a thought, honey. Okay?”

  “Yes, beloved.”

  I start sharing what I observe. “It looks like we have a damaged portion of the carotid artery, probably a severe narrowing or blockage, and another downstream from it in the left half of the brain. I’m going to start by flooding the artery with growth energy to reduce the inflation and follow that with targeted entropy to dissolve the plaque. I read somewhere that inflammation in the vessels is what causes the plaque to collect there. So I want to heal the vessel first.”

  Dan starts to take a sip of his drink. I tell him, “No alcohol until I get you fixed up, Dan. It looks like your liver is having an issue, too.”

  I finish pouring growth into the black spot on his neck, and the darkness fades ever so slowly. I manipulate the entropy to focus on the plaque rather than the artery. The darkness starts to fade just a little faster, but still slowly. I report, “Okay. I think we have the artery moving in the right direction. It’s not an immediate effect, but things appear to be improving.”