Reluctant Necromancer Page 3

  “Can it wait?” I asked as I carried the case to my car.

  He tensed but nodded. “This afternoon.”

  “Done.”

  I stored the case in the trunk while Taryn gave Jolly another dose of sedatives. Then we were ready for transport. Taryn and Syd strapped themselves into a seat roughly lashed to the flatbed, right in front of Jolly. I followed behind in my car. My instructions had consisted of, “You’ll know when you need to get involved.”

  Thankfully, the trip to the hospital passed uneventfully, because I had a hard time keeping my mind on the dragon in front of me. My mind kept going to back my warm necromancy.

  Moria hadn’t been undead when she came back, that much I was sure. That left me with lots of questions. Tonight, I could hunt through the family book, but I’d memorized the table of contents, and there wasn’t a section on bringing people back from the dead. Not alive, anyway. Like really, truly alive.

  When we reached the hospital, I had to put Moria’s resurrection out of my mind. Taryn directed the truck to a gated entrance. They waived me through after the truck, and I followed them to a giant building. I’d never seen an airplane hangar, but it looked like this thing could house more than one jumbo jet. It dwarfed the sizable though mostly empty parking lot to the side.

  I settled Fabian in a visitor spot and followed the truck on foot. Taryn didn’t call me over, so I stayed close enough to help but out of the way.

  The truck stopped next to an oversized forklift looking thing. It clearly wasn’t a forklift. Rather than the traditional forks, it had an oversized C shaped attachment. The bottom of the C was slender and flat, and the top had hydraulics so it could extend and retract. Even without dampening the shield that prevented me from seeing magic all the time, I could see the ripples of power spanning the inside of the C.

  The forklift raised the attachment until the bottom of the C was resting against Jolly’s side. Then the top potion curved around to Jolly’s other side. The magic flared and it lifted Jolly off the table. The spells on it were tight and well thought out, because not even the tip of Jolly’s tail twitched, and the forklift thingy carted the dragon into the building.

  Taryn came over to me. “I think Jolly will make it. But they won’t be in any shape to answer questions today, maybe not tomorrow. It depends on how things go.”

  I handed her my card. “Could you call me when Jolly is awake? The sooner I can get a report of Jolly’s injuries, the better.”

  “I’ll call when Jolly is awake and coherent enough for conversation.” She took the card. “But I’m not handing over medical records without cause. Right now, that’s a juvenile dragon who had an accident.”

  The case in my car had me convinced this wasn’t a simple accident, but I couldn’t blame her for protecting a patient. “Court order or active investigation?”

  “Court order.”

  “I can do that. I need to talk to Jolly even if I don’t get access to their records.” Even if it was a simple accident, Jolly would have to give a statement. Dragons didn’t crash into highways every day, and people took notice when they did.

  “Understood.”

  The sun dimmed, sending us into deep shadow.

  Taryn’s eyes widened.

  Above us, a moss-green dragon flared its wings to slow its descent. It backwinged as it neared the ground, buffeting us with gusts of wind.

  I crouched down and moved closer to the truck. Taryn followed me.

  The dragon landed in the open space between the parking lot and the building. A person in a TBI jacket was perched on its back. The figure looked small, but that was only because the dragon was easily three hundred feet long.

  “Ready to meet a relative?” I asked.

  Taryn tugged her coat straight. “Won’t be much to say yet, but yes.”

  The figure on the dragon hopped off, landing lightly. A human couldn’t have made that jump, but Special Agent Wayne Harris wasn’t human.

  As sylph and follower of Kaikias, he’d spent his life honing his wind abilities for use in battle. He still had the stamp of military, with his sandy hair buzzed and more muscle than the average man.

  Harris waved as he walked toward the dragon’s head. “Agent Pine, this is Ylva, Jolly’s mother.”

  “I’m sorry to be meeting under these circumstances.” They weren’t the right words, but they were the best ones I had. “Jolly is with the medical team. Dr. Taryn can update you on Jolly’s condition.”

  Ylva stretched her neck out, bringing her head level with me. “Agent Harrissss tellsss me you aided my Jolly.”

  “Yes. I helped move Jolly from the road to the transport truck.” It was hard to focus on one spot with her this close, but I kept my gaze on the small scales between her eyes.

  “Kelsssey Pine of the Baussssen clan, named friend of the Tennesssssee Dragon Flight. We are in debt to you.” Ylva carefully touched her nose to my chest.

  I couldn’t figure out what to say, so I bowed my head.

  Ylva swung her head toward Taryn. “How is my child?”

  “Stable. If you come with me, we have a waiting area set up with a video feed if you’d like to see Jolly.” Taryn stared jogging, trying to match the walking pace of the dragon.

  My clan had used Tennessee Dragon Flight for years, but none of us had ever been named friend of the dragons. In witch culture, it would be similar to having an entire clan of witches willing to do any one favor you asked.

  “She likes you,” Harris said as Ylva and Taryn went around the building.

  “Ylva likes that I helped her child. I wouldn’t be surprised if she grants the same boon to all of Jolly’s doctors.” I turned to look at Harris. “What was her story?”

  His brows pulled together. “Why we couldn’t reach them? They’d given the humanoid employees the day off. The dragons had gathered for a celebration; I didn’t get the details. Yesterday there was a last-minute booking for a courier job. For such a simple job, they weren’t worried, and they didn’t expect Jolly back for another hour.”

  “I’ve got a container, probably what Jolly was transporting, in my car. It’s spelled. Couldn’t spend much time on it at the scene, but I don’t like the look of the spells.”

  “Could that wait a couple of hours? CJ has been refusing to give a full account to anyone but you.” Harris rubbed a hand over his hair. “If we could do that, then I could finish up the reports on that case while you investigate Jolly’s cargo.”

  I couldn’t blame CJ. The werewolf had been the victim of a bad set of spells and even worse luck. If Harris and I hadn’t been able to capture and purify him, he’d be dead. “Deal, if we can drop off the evidence and switch cars first.” Fabian was far more fun to drive than the department cars, but he was not insured by the bureau.

  “Works for me.” Harris slid into the passenger seat. “One of these days I’m going to talk you into letting me drive.”

  I patted the dashboard. “Keep dreaming. Fabian is all mine.”

  Wayne snorted.

  We spent the drive filling each other in on our mornings. I left out possibly bringing Moria back to life. Until I had time with the family book of necromancy, I wasn’t going to mention that to anyone. Especially since necromancy was very specifically reanimating the dead. Not shoving souls back in the living. Plus, Moria could die again. Whatever happened might not be permanent.

  At headquarters, a big concrete building with all the charm I’ve come to expect from government buildings, I stored Jolly’s cargo in a locked cabinet spelled to contain magic. Back in the parking lot, I tossed the keys to my department car to Harris. “Enjoy.”

  “It’s not the same.” He settled into the driver’s seat and cranked the car. “See? None of the charm.”

  “Get your own.”

  “Volvo P1800Es don’t grow on trees, especially not in Fabian’s condition.”

  Before I could come up with a snappy retort, both of our phones rang. I answered, keeping an ear on Wayne’s conversation. “Agent Pine.”

  “Nashville Dispatch. There’s a magical fire, and the police are requesting your assistance.”

  “Send me the address, and I’m on my way. Any pertinent information from on-scene response?”

  “Address sent. I’ve told you all I know.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up and started navigation.

  Harris nodded, then then finished his call. “Called to a magical fire?”

  “Yup. CJ will have to wait.” The screen in the dash displayed the route. “Programed and ready to go.”

  “Buckle up.” Harris sighed. “It’s going to be one of those days.”

  I had no idea how right he was.

  Chapter Three

  “Where did you say we are headed?” Harris asked.

  “I didn’t.” I’d spent a lot of time on that road last week, but that didn’t mean much. I pulled up the location on my phone. “Oh, Narzel.”

  “What?”

  “Dispatch neglected to mention that the fire is in the same shopping center where we found CJ.”

  Find was a generous term. We spotted and tried to apprehend him. He literally tore through two SWAT officers to escape. “A magical fire in the same shopping center where the blood magic addled werewolf was hiding. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Harris sped up, darting through traffic.

  Fire could destroy magic, but it didn’t do so elegantly. That much energy had to go somewhere, and inevitably some of it went into the spells. When I’d been there before, I hadn’t seen any signs of a shop selling magic. Either this was a regular fire, or an unlicensed shop had gone up in flames. If it was the latter, they’d heavily shielded their merchandise to prevent people like me from discovering it.

/>   “Two miles to destination,” the navigation said.

  I searched the sky, finding a thick black smoke. For a moment, it formed into the shape of a giant cat before returning to a column.

  Yup, that was a magical fire.

  But the fire department had dealt with magical fires before. In college, the coffee shop went up in flames, including all the enchanted syrups they used to give drinks an extra special boost. Half the fire burned hot and fast, likely from the magical, energy-boosting syrup. The other half went on for two days. Theory was the calm syrup had ended up on that side of the fire. The fire department managed it without calling in a witch.

  We made it around a park, and from half a mile away, I could see flames shooting into the air. Traffic slowed as we got closer. We finally made it to the turn lane, and while Harris talked to the officer manning the perimeter, I studied the fire.

  Both ends were relatively unscathed. The massive fire was concentrated in the middle of the building. Pro Swing’s sign was down to ‘WING,’ and the W was listing. The flames reached more than forty feet into the air.

  The flames turned bright blue for a count of five before fading to purple and then back to a mix of normal fire colors.

  The officer waved Harris forward.

  The firefighters were staying back from the fire, spraying down the adjoining section of the building. They’d positioned their trucks at the edge of the parking lot. Other emergency vehicles crowded near them. Harris parked on the grass between Crazy Coins and the woods.

  I cracked open my shields to get a feel for the fire. Inside the flames was a knot of spells, more spells than I could count. Fire could destroy spells and what they were attached to, but it wasn’t a peaceful end. Magic attached itself to other magic, twisting with the energy of the fire. In turn, the failing spells fed the fire, increasing the heat and making it act in unpredictable ways.

  The flames seemed to pull back for a moment, and then they spat a ball of fire into the air. It landed between the firefighters controlling a hose and the building, tossing up a wall of flames before it burned out against the asphalt.

  I grabbed chalk, a bottle of water, and a can of spray paint from the trunk.

  “Is chalk the best choice?” Harris asked.

  “If I can find dry pavement to work from, yes. This is going to take a major spell to defuse, and I want to be able to fix a rune if I mess up.” I wasn’t going to risk a bad spell in proximity to this fire. My job was to fix this, not make it worse.

  “Got it.”

  I checked to make sure my badge was visible and walked over to a firefighter who was issuing orders. “Excuse me, I heard you needed a witch.”

  The firefighter wheeled around. Under the hard hat was a distinctly feminine face. “You’re the witch?”

  “Yes.”

  “Call me Kala.” She turned around to look at the fire again. “This place wasn’t registered as a shop containing a high number of magical items, but the fire is behaving like it’s feeding off spells. We started with water before the first manifestation. We tried a neutralization charm, but it didn’t do anything. Right now, we’re trying to keep it from spreading with limited success.”

  “It’s full of spells.”

  “Can you neutralize the magic?”

  “That’s the plan. I’ll be setting up over there.” I pointed to a section of the parking lot that was as far away from the fire as I could get, hadn’t gotten wet yet, and was directly in front of the center of the flames. “Don’t spray it down, or you’ll ruin my work.”

  Kala shook her head. “That’s too close. We’ve seen fireballs shoot out of the building, and they’ve impacted over there. And you need gear.”

  “I don’t see any other open and dry pavement.”

  She shook her head. “It isn’t safe.”

  “It’ll slow me down to work in gear I’m not used to, and I need dry pavement in line with the fire.” I let her think it over. It wasn’t like we had many options.

  Shouts had all of us looking at the flames, now bright pink. That was new and different.

  “Go,” Kala said. “But it isn’t my fault if a fireball gets you.”

  “I’ll try to be nimble.” Keeping an eye on the building, I broke into a jog.

  Harris followed me.

  “What are you doing? You aren’t a witch.”

  “You really don’t see a use for a sylph?”

  He had me there. “Let me know if a fireball or some other nasty comes this way.”

  I dropped to my knees and drew a small circle, surrounding it with runes. For the main spell to work, I needed a direct line to the earth, which the pavement blocked.

  As soon as the last rune was complete, I moved back and drew my wand. A glance at the fire confirmed it was still pink and didn’t appear to be preparing any fireballs.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled the magic from deep within me and sent it into the runes around the chalk circle. It flowed through the markings, filling them and activating the spell. To my magic sight, they glowed.

  Then the pavement inside the circle lifted up. With it came several older layers of pavement and other sections of the roadbed. Flicking my wand, I directed the chunks to float to the edge of the parking lot and settle onto the ground. Part one complete.

  I went back to the runes and turned the chalk sideways, covering them with more chalk until nothing but a thick white line remained. Then I started another set of runes around the circle. When I finished those, I drew another circle around the runes and lined it with more runes before repeating the process once more.

  “Fireball!”

  I jerked my head up. It was headed this way.

  Narzel take it. If the fireball hit these runes, I’d have to start over.

  There wasn’t enough time for a spell. I pointed my wand at the empty air between the fireball and me. With the image of a shield that could withstand the fire perfectly clear in my find, I pushed the magic through my wand.

  The shield wall flared to life only a moment before the fireball impacted. It flattened out, the flames spreading across the shield, curling around the edge.

  Wind ruffled my hair and pushed against the flames coming around the shield, forcing them away from the chalk spell, Harris, and me. The fire burned for a few more seconds and then went out. The shield spell faded.

  I grinned at Harris. “You were right. Always bring a sylph.”

  He snorted. “Get on with it.”

  “Easy for you to say.” I braced my feet. “If anything else comes at me, just move me.”

  “Move you?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Algiz.” Thick cords of magic flowed out of my wand. Three of them stretched out, activating the runes. The spells wobbled as they came to life, but with a nudge here and a bit more magic there, they stabilized.

  While the spell was active, I had to work quick. The open funnel was hungry for magic, and since it was connected to me, it wanted mine.

  I turned it to the fire. The magic, and some of the flames, should’ve gone into the funnel, but instead, they shifted away. I gave the edge of the funnel a sticky texture, one that should attract magic, and tried again.

  The magic flowed away, and the fire seemed to contract.

  Nothing went into the funnel.

  The fire expanded, shooting out two fireballs. They headed toward the side of the parking lot where everyone was parked. Thankfully, they fell short and didn’t do any damage.

  I grimaced. If I couldn’t get the magic to flow into the funnel, I’d have to direct it. This was going to be extremely unpleasant.

  Reaching out, I pulled the magic out of the fire, through me, and into the funnel. The funnel swallowed the power and shoved it into the earth.

  With the magic flowing more freely, I tried to take myself out of the power flow, but the spell faltered again. I had to direct it, or this wouldn’t work.

  Trusting Wayne to keep me safe, I went into a trance. This way, I could distance myself and my power from the angry swirling mass of magic that came out of the magic shop. It fought me all the way to the funnel, trying to escape my grip.

  In fits and starts, the power went into the funnel and dispersed into the earth. It wouldn’t do any harm there, and when all the magic was gone, the fire department would be able to do their job.