Necromancer Legacy - 13. Friends in high places

In a dream Nick found himself on top of a mountain. The view was breath taking; all snowy mountain peaks, dark blue skies and clouds that seemed to spread forever, shrouding the world in white. Everything seemed so vast and infinitely beautiful from up here. He wasn’t afraid. It felt peaceful. He thought he was alone.

But then he heard steps creeping up behind him and he turned around.

At first he thought—

“Sasha?”

This person looked so much like him. But upon taking a better look Nick realized he was mistaken. This guy had tawny hair and his eyes were amber instead of green. But the resemblance was eerie. Everything else was the same. Even the little details, like how Sasha’s canine teeth were just a bit longer than normal, and the slightly upturned nose, and the pale gold shade of his skin.

“I’m not Sasha, but I know who he is and I know we look alike.”

“Is this real? Or am I just dreaming something really weird again?”

“It’s real.”

“Where are we?”

“One of my favorites.” Not-Sasha made a little smile. “The top of the Kilimanjaro. I thought you might like it.”

“If this is real, why can’t I feel the wind?”

At this height, Nick thought, he should be cold, or at least have trouble breathing.

“You’re only here in spirit. Your body’s back in your bedroom, safe.”

Right.

“And why am I here?” he asked, intrigued. “Who are you? What are you?”

“You’re here because I want to speak with you. My name is Shay. I’m a fox spirit.”

At least this guy was efficient in answering Nick’s questions. It was kind of refreshing.

“Are you Sasha’s long lost twin, or something?”

Shay tilted his head. “No. I’m his ancestor.”

His ancestor? Shay looked really young. Oh, Nick suddenly understood, he was probably dead. Just like Cyan, Jun, Liv; they all looked young but who knew how long they had been dead?

Nick couldn’t help but notice how good-looking Shay was. Well, of course he was good-looking; he looked like Sasha. But it wasn’t only that. There was a glow about him, something warm and bright and… fiery. He clashed with their surroundings, where everything was white, blue and gray.

“Are you a reaper, or a dark angel?”

“No. I’m none of those things. I’ve never even been in Hell.”

“Oh.”

Shay wore tight-fitting clothes in shades of dark golden brown and beige and white. With a massive intricate black belt hugging his thin hips. The whole outfit looked like it was from another era. The shirt was open at the neck, showing his collarbone. Shay was skinnier, Nick noted, and somewhat more delicate than Sasha—maybe he just wasn’t as much of an athlete. Not too strong on working out in the afterlife, were they?

“I wanted to speak to you about Sasha. I’m worried about him.”

Nick looked up and their eyes met. “I’m listening.”

Shay had a funny expression on his face. “I knew you would.”

Suddenly Nick felt suspicious. “Why? What do you know about me? How do you even know about me? Where are you from, anyway? If you’re not from Hell.”

Shay lowered himself and folded his legs. All his movements were very graceful.

Nick sat down as well, so that they were face to face. If he was going to be stuck here on top of the Kilimanjaro with some Sasha look-alike—he could do worst, really, this wasn’t so bad—might as well sit back and enjoy the view.

“I am Sasha’s spirit guide. I’ve been looking after him his entire life. So of course I know about you. I know about everything.”

Nick felt a bit shy and exposed all of a sudden.

“Sasha is strong,” Shay went on in a calm voice, “he lost both his parents and still he pushes through. He keeps himself busy—too busy—with school and work, and even a music band, so he won’t have time to think about it too much. At first I didn’t think he would make it. I thought he would have an emotional meltdown. But he surprised me. He’s dealing with things in his own way. I underestimated him.”

A sliver of sunlight sifted through the clouds, and Shay’s long hair shone like polished copper. He sat with his back very straight but without looking tense, and glanced at Nick with his fox-like eyes.

“But there is one obstacle Sasha can’t overcome by himself. He will need you, more than you know.”

“What obstacle?”

Shay ignored that. “To answer your other question, I assure you I am not from Hell. I told you, I’ve never been there. I’m not lying.”

Nick recalled something he had heard someone say at Raven’s night club.

“Purgatory, then?”

A shadow crossed Shay’s eyes, but he seemed to shake it off right away.

“I’ve been there. A very long time ago. But not anymore.”

“Then—” Nick’s eyes widened. “Wait. No way.”

There was only one other logical possibility, right?

“You’re from Heaven.”

“It sounds more impressive than it is,” Shay said simply.

“What’s it like there?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“If I help Sasha will you tell me?”

Shay had an amused glint in his eyes. “Really, Nick? You think I don’t know you’ll help him anyway?”

“That’s hardly fair. You should tell me. I promise to keep it secret. Besides, it’s not like I’ll ever go there anyway. I mean, I’m half-demon, so.”

“You never know. You might still go someday.”

“Really? You think so?”

Shay just smiled. “I don’t know.”

Jerk.

“Okay, I get it. You won’t tell me anything. Tell me about that ‘obstacle’ you were talking about. But, if you’re Sasha’s spirit guide, why don’t you make a cameo in his dreams and tell him about it?”

“He won’t let me,” he said, and Nick thought he detected a trace of annoyance in his voice.

That was one more difference; his voice. Sasha had that rockstar-raspy voice. Shay’s voice was all smooth and quiet, like he could make anything sound mysterious; he’d go, ‘What’s up?’ and you’d search for hidden meanings.

“What do you mean he won’t let you?”

“You’d have to ask him,” Shay replied.

“So he does know about you?”

Shay’s gaze wandered past Nick and toward the snowy mountain tops.

“I suppose he does.”

“Could you be more unclear?” Nick rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I probably could.”

“Very funny. Anyway, never mind. Just tell me what I need to know.”

“There’s a man—a thief—who’s hurt Sasha before. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Shay traced some kind of pattern with his finger on the dusty rock as he spoke. Nick couldn’t make out what it was.

“A thief?”

Shay looked up. “They’re pretty rare. They can steal supernatural strength and powers. As you must be aware by now, those powers are transferable, to a compatible person at least.”

Nick thought about Gabriel.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Shay said softly, “but your brother isn’t a thief. He’s just very strong-willed, from what I’ve observed. He was able to keep the powers without using them. He was compatible with you—because of his love for you, because of the blood you share.” He tilted his head, looking thoughtful. “Sometimes it’s not easy to explain. Sasha’s father is another example of compatibility; he shared Lilya’s powers. But in their case, it was more of a spiritual connection. I think she kept a detailed journal which explains the phenomenon quite well, among other things.”

That bloody journal again.

Shay’s eyes darkened as he went on. “Thieves are different. They take supernatural powers from their owners forcefully. They don’t possess any themselves, except for the odd ability to detect them in other people. And as a result they crave it.”

“You’re saying someone like that stole Sasha’s powers? Who?”

“A young man,” Shay said, “who died recently. So I thought I wouldn’t have to intervene after all, and that what he stole would return to Sasha on its own—as it should. But that’s not what happened. A reaper and his necromancer—I think you’re familiar with them—planned the whole thing. They killed this man so they could absorb the powers he had stolen over the years.”

“Lucas and Liv?” Those two again. “They can do that?”

“This particular necromancer seems quite… resourceful.”

“So she has Sasha’s powers now,” Nick said resentfully.

“Some of them, yes.” Shay looked to the side. “If only that was our only problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“They didn’t just kill the thief to steal his—already stolen, might I add—powers. They also brought him back.”

“Of course they would.”

“He still has his abilities. But they’ve left him with nothing. So he craves it now more than ever. And I’m afraid Sasha is first on his list. He’s been stalking Sasha recently. So I want you to protect him, do you understand?”

The world around them seemed to fade. Even Shay… The colors, the sky, everything was fading in a white blur.

“Hey, wait, no!”

No way. Nick had so many questions. How was he supposed to help Sasha if he didn’t know anything about this thief guy?

But of course Nick woke up in his bedroom, alone. The pale morning light slipped through the curtains. His house plants seemed to stare at him mockingly.

Okay, he was definitely still tired.

But how could he possibly fall back to sleep after that? Stupid fox spirit.

***

One hour later, Nick was in Central Park. He just needed the fresh air. It was still so early and there weren’t too many people out—just a few joggers, and people walking their dogs, and a small group of tourists being fascinated by some trees. And mostly lots of squirrels all over the place. It wasn’t so bad today; for once it wasn’t too cold. He just wore a thin sweater under his jacket and he was comfortable. The sunlight was heart-warming.

He ended up sitting in the grass, under a tree, looking down at the pond. The water was all still and quiet.

“Cyan?”

Nick ought to get the reaper a cell phone or something. He felt incredibly silly just calling out his name like that.

“I need to talk to you.”

Nick watched as a tall skinny girl with a bouncing ponytail ran past him in the grass. She had her earphones in so he doubted she could hear him.

“Cyan? Hello? I don’t remember if this telepathy thing is supposed to work or not.”

“Oi, fruitcake, up here.”

He looked up. Cyan swung himself off a high tree branch. He leaped down to a lower branch, and then to the ground in a graceful crouch. And then he sat casually next to Nick.

“Somebody likes to make an entrance.”

“What’s up?” Cyan said.

Something was off. He was averting his gaze. As Nick glanced at his profile, he saw that Cyan had a scrape on his cheek, and a bruise on his neck like someone had attempted to strangle him. He wore the usual black boots and clothes, but those looked worn-down and crumpled. His blonde hair was all tangled, too. And the front of his shirt was torn.

Nick grabbed Cyan’s shoulder and forced him to turn around and face him. Then he opened up the shirt where it was ripped. Cyan winced.

“Shit. What happened to you?”

There was a big, nasty red gash across Cyan’s chest, from his left shoulder to his right side. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was still pretty raw, and the skin around it was swelling up.

“You should see the other guy.”

“And who was the other guy?”

Cyan stared. “Who do you think?” His pale blue eyes lacked their usual brightness.

“Lucas.”

“He tried to sneak up on Raven while he was asleep.” Cyan sounded upset. “Raven had told me to stay away, you know? Bastard. But I didn’t listen. Bloody good thing I didn’t, too. I caught Lucas just in time. He nicked Raven’s favorite blade. He wanted to use it to kill Raven. Probably wouldn’t have worked anyway, but I wasn’t going to wait and see.”

“That white dagger with the green stone?”

Cyan frowned. “How did you know that?”

“I saw it at the party. Lucky guess.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a Higher Demon weapon. Much better than this useless thing.” Cyan grabbed his sheathed sword and ripped it off his back along with the leather strap, tossing the whole thing aside.

“Did Lucas slash you with that white dagger?” Nick tried to reach out to look inside Cyan’s shirt again, but Cyan turned to the side, blocking his view.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t look it’s embarrassing.”

Cyan was shivering; apparently demons could get cold. Nick shrugged off his leather jacket, and gave it to him.

“Are you sure?” Cyan asked.

“I’m not cold. Take it.”

Cyan put on the jacket.

“So what happened?” Nick asked. “You’re still alive—well, you know what I mean—so does that mean you won?”

“I wish. I suppose I won the fight, but it’s far from over.”

“What happened?” Nick insisted.

“We fought for a while before he broke through my defense and slashed me. But I kept fighting back, and I think he was surprised I could still move. He underestimated me. I used that surprise against him, and I stabbed him in the chest—I missed the heart, but still. And then I cut up his wing.”

Cyan grinned like a kid who’d done some evil prank and gotten away with it.

“I didn’t even know he had wings.”

“Yeah he got his stupid promotion,” Cyan said.

Still shivering, Cyan zipped up the jacket. The wind blew in his long hair softly. It was so tangled that Nick got this weird urge to brush it.

“Lucas said something about someone coming back.”

“You caught that, didn’t you? Good. Keep paying attention like that. I’m no good at explaining things.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Louis came back.” Cyan’s eyes darkened. “He was Hell’s leader a while ago. A lot of people liked him—not everyone, but a lot of people. Your father wasn’t a fan, though.”

Nick’s ears pricked at this.

“Your father is the one who killed Louis, back then,” Cyan continued. “Sent him to Purgatory. Did us all a favor, if you ask me. But now the bastard is back.”

“What do you know about my father?”

“Not much.” Cyan shrugged. “I’ve never met him. I heard he was impulsive and unpredictable, and had a talent for making enemies. Got himself stuck deep down in Purgatory now, most likely.”

“What’s his name?”

“Malachy,” Cyan said tiredly. “His name is Malachy.”

A lovely old couple strolling by sent Nick weird looks. Nick leaned closer to Cyan.

“Can other people see you right now? Or is it just me?”

“Just you. I don’t have the energy.”

Nick took out his phone so he could pretend to be talking into it.

“That’s okay, but warn me next time.”

The old couple moved on with their lives.

“So, you cut Lucas’s wing, and then what?”

“We were both pretty beat up. He let me have that fight. He wasn’t too jolly about his brand new wings being damaged.” Cyan smiled. But it was gone pretty quickly. “Well, he probably just ran to mommy and got it all fixed up already.”

“When you say ran to mommy…?”

“Louis. Keep up, Nicky.”

“Don’t call me that. Listen,” Nick shifted uneasily, starting to find the uneven ground uncomfortable, “you’re not the only one who got himself in trouble.”

Nick told him about Liv’s performance at his climbing gym, and what she’d done to Zelda, and everything.

Cyan paled. “Fifty people?”

“Fifty people,” Nick said.

“Bloody hell.”

“What are they after? Liv and Lucas, I mean.”

“Bastards want to take my city from me.”

“Why?” Nick asked. “What do they want?”

“Who knows? Power, money? I’m not in their heads.” Cyan sounded defensive, like he was hiding something from Nick. But he went on, “They can play the human game, all right. Especially if Olivia keeps up her charade of bringing people back to life and forcing them to worship her. They’ll do whatever she wants, or give her whatever she fancies. She can have money, social status. How do you think she got that beautiful apartment in the Upper East Side?”

“I want to help you,” Nick said. “I want to take them down.”

“Course you’ll help me. That advice I gave you for Sasha worked pretty well, didn’t it? We had a deal.” Cyan winked.

“It’s not just that,” Nick protested, feeling a bit flustered. He cleared his throat. “If we kill Liv—or send her to Purgatory, I guess?—what happens to the people she brainwashed? Do they get their freedom back?”

“Absolutely,” Cyan said.

“Then that’s what we need to do.”

“Brilliant. I like your attitude.”

“But first I have something else to tell you.”

Nick told him about Shay.

“Well, well. I’m impressed,” said Cyan. “Talk about friends in high places. An angel visiting your dreams.”

“He said he was a spirit guide.”

Cyan said, “Same thing. Now, about Sasha, I thought that was a possibility. That someone took some of his powers, I mean. He got weak really fast when he healed Riley. There was something wrong. He’s supposed to be more powerful than that. I can tell.”

“It’s just so frustrating. Shay didn’t tell me much. I don’t know how to protect Sasha; I don’t even know who that supernatural-thief-dude is. I mean, Shay didn’t even give me his name.”

“I think we should focus on the Liv issue, for now. That thief is with her now anyway, whoever he is. Hopefully we can find a way to defeat them.”

“How do we do that?”

Cyan sat back in the grass, leaning against the tree. “You won’t like it, but… I want you to bring someone else back. It’ll make you stronger, and—”

“No. I’m not doing that. We have to find another way. It’s enough of a mess with Shane. Listen, about Shane, are you absolutely sure the side effects will fade? Because he was about ready to tell me that he was in love with me. So I had to stop him, and—”

Nick interrupted himself as Cyan started to laugh.

“I’m glad at least one of us is having fun,” Nick said.

Cyan clutched his chest with his hand, and he looked like his injury was causing him pain, but still he kept on laughing.

“I had to tell Shane the truth,” Nick went on anyway. “And he believed me, actually. But still, it’s getting really weird. He acts like I might accidentally die from making tea. He texts me all the time for no reason.”

“All right. Calm down. Breathe.”

Now finished with his laughing outburst, Cyan instead breathed in and out slowly, and motioned for Nick to do it with him. But Nick didn’t feel like breathing slowly right now.

“Shane will be just fine.” Cyan told him. “Trust me. Just give it some time. All right, please hear me out now. I have the perfect person in mind. He’s a decent fighter. He’s already agreed to it and everything. He wants to help us. It’ll make you stronger. Please, we have to do this. We’ve got no choice.”

Cyan’s voice sounded a bit strung out. He looked really pale and ill. And cold; he was still shaking, despite the jacket.

“Hey, you okay?” Nick asked.

“I’m doing splendid, thank you.”

“You don’t look good. I’m texting Sasha. He healed Riley; he can heal you too, no?” Nick was already typing on his phone.

But Cyan stopped him. “Don’t bother. Sasha can’t heal this. Don’t worry about me, love.”

Nick stopped texting, but he narrowed his eyes. “But you’ll heal, right?”

“Aw, look at you caring for me. Adorable. Now, speaking of Riley.” Cyan attempted a small smile. “He’s the one I’m talking about. I want you to bring him back. What do you say?”