Chapter 16
Sixteen
Martin
“Come, have some coffee, dear. I’d offer you tea but I’m afraid I gave up long ago. Keir’s is so good I had no hope of matching it.” Tabitha set a steaming cup in front of Gray and me. Gray grabbed his, blew along the top, and then took large gulps. I stared, amazed at how he chugged the hot fluid.
When he set the cup down, Gray looked at me, eyebrows high, the obvious question “what” sitting on his lips. I just shook my head and took a careful sip of my own beverage. The warm mug felt better in my hands than the fluid going down my throat.
“You two have been through a lot recently,” Tabitha kindly said while settling into a high-backed chair opposite us. “Elvira’s been keeping me in the loop.”
“You’ve always been nosey,” Elvira said, her voice manifesting into the room before her ghostly body fully formed.
Tabitha grinned. “That’s putting things in a negative light.
I’m merely concerned is all.” Tabitha offered us a wink before taking another sip of her coffee.
Setting it on the coffee table between us, Tabitha ignored Elvira’s derisive snort.
“I take it Warlock Holland is still with Keir?” Tabitha asked Elvira.
“He is. As is Hikaru. The warlock is attempting to encase the buzzweed so it can safely be transported back to his home in California. He is concerned transporting something of this nature might be detrimental to his one and only.”
Tabitha waved that thought off. “Hikaru is made of tougher stuff than that.”
“I informed the warlock of this,” Elvira proudly stated.
“Good. Thank you.”
“It was no trouble.” Elvira sounded like it had been more pleasure than hardship.
A cat dashed through Elvira’s ghostly form, jumping up on the couch and pouncing on Tabitha’s head. “Little Fang!” sounded through the room right before Navarre appeared in a nearby doorway. The troubled necromancer stopped cold.
“Is that a—” Gray asked.
“It is,” I interrupted, knowing what he was going to say.
“Haven’t seen many,” Gray whispered.
“Few have,” I answered just as softly.
Navarre hesitantly stepped into the room. Jet-black hair covered his eyes as he kept his head bent. Despite not being able to see his eyes, I got the feeling Navarre was staring at us, or perhaps trying not to stare at Gray and myself and failing miserably.
“Sorry, Tabby,” Navarre said, voice barely audible.
“It’s no trouble.” Tabitha reached up and pulled the cat off her head, settling it in her lap.
Navarre took a couple more hesitant steps into the room. His voice was only slightly louder when he asked, “Are they alive?”
Gray jerked into my side, and I wrapped an arm around him. “Did he just ask if—”
“He did.”
Tabitha gave Gray a sympathetic look. “They are very alive. Navarre, I would like for you to meet Grayson Delarue. You’ve met Martin before.”
A hesitant nod and a nearly silent “okay” was Navarre’s only response before he ignored us completely, heading for Little Fang. “Come on, you. Tabby’s got visitors.”
The cat leaped from Tabitha onto Navarre’s shoulder.
The necromancer chuckled, the sound harsh as if his vocal cords weren’t used to it.
I watched his narrow back walk out of the room and back through the doorway he’d appeared from, the small click of a door shutting locking Navarre back into his own world.
“He looks better,” I said once Navarre was out of earshot.
My comment earned me a curious glance from Gray.
I shrugged. “You didn’t see him when he first arrived.
Navarre was little more than skin and bones.
I think this is the first time he actually asked if I was alive instead of assuming I was a new spirit haunting him. ”
Tabitha nodded gamely. “That’s true. Navarre is improving. I’ve managed to move sixteen of his tagalongs beyond the veil.”
“Sixteen?” Gray sounded as shocked as I felt. “Just how many are there?”
“Originally?” Tabitha asked. When Gray nodded, she hummed and answered, “Fifty-three.”
Gray’s mouth dropped open. His lips moved but little more than puffs of wheezed air escaped. Finally, he managed a stuttered, “F-fifty-th-three? Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were,” Tabitha sadly answered, her gaze drifting to the door Navarre was hiding behind. “It will be a lengthy process, like peeling an onion. Some layers hold on more tenaciously than others. I believe I’ve relieved Navarre of the most damaging, or perhaps, insistent ones.”
Gray shook his head. “No wonder most necromancers are batshit crazy.”
“It speaks to their species’ resilience that any make it at all.” Tabitha sounded exceedingly sad. “Some are more fortunate than others. Thankfully, with Nikodemus Holland now sitting at the head of the Warlock Council, hopefully more can be done for their wayward necromancer children.”
Gray visibly flinched. “I don’t think I ever gave it any thought. I mean…”
“It’s okay.” Was it? I wasn’t sure. What I did know was that Gray hadn’t ignored necromancer plight out of any meanness on his part.
It simply wasn’t a matter he’d considered.
Necromancers weren’t well liked or even tolerated by most. The fact Gray had so much compassion regarding Navarre spoke to his considerate nature.
Finishing her coffee, Tabitha scooted forward, hands crossed and lying flat on her lap. “Now then, as to the rest of these nasty buzzweeds, what do you think, Grayson? Can you truly find them all?”
Gray rubbed the back of his neck, shoulders drooping.
“I can find them, but it will take time.” I hated the heavy weight his piece of magic became.
“Their song isn’t…pleasant.” Gray cringed.
“Chances are I found that one due to proximity. With the louder, more persistent songs dealt with, I could finally parse out and focus on this one. The others should be similar. I can’t guarantee we’ll find all of them next.
Like I said, part of it is a proximity thing.
If I happen to be closer to something that’s singing at the same volume…
” Gray shrugged. “It’s kind of a crapshoot at this point. ”
Tabitha’s lips pinched. Without looking up, she asked, “Elvira, what are your thoughts? Could you help in the search?”
“Doubtful. I was unaware of such things until this very day. If I have not found them before, then I cannot have any confidence I will be able to do so now.”
“Unfortunate but understandable,” Tabitha answered. With a heavy sigh, Tabitha stared at her hands and said, “Then I suppose the weight of this falls on your shoulders once more, Grayson. I am truly sorry. I would like to help, but—”
“Henry,” Grayson said with a snap of his fingers. “We should ask Henry.”
“Why?” I asked. “Has he said something?”
Gray held up his hand and tilted it back and forth. “Not in so many words, but he’s definitely hinted that he knows where some things are.”
“You’re kidding?” I was filled with a mix of surprise and irritation bordering on anger. “Why didn’t he say anything to us?” And why had he kept this to himself all this time?
Gray shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe he’s not entirely certain what he’s seen.”
“Did he know about Hikaru’s tail? Or the wyvern eggs?” Elvira’s form intensified, solidifying and lending a heavier presence to the room. Elvira might be dead, but all her emotions remained fully intact. And right now, she was pissed.
“No.” Gray was quick to reassure her. “I asked him about it, and Henry was genuinely horrified by both things, especially Hikaru’s tail.”
Elvira settled, though she continued sending less than pleasant vibes into the room.
“Elvira, dear, do you think you can find Henry and ask him to join us?”
“It will be my pleasure,” Elvira answered before she winked out of existence.
“I hope that wasn’t a mistake.” Tabitha let loose a weighted breath. “Elvira can be a bit…reactive at times.”
“She won’t hurt Henry, will she?” Gray worriedly asked. “I didn’t mean to get him into trouble, I just thought he might be able to help if he understood the breadth of the situation.”
“No,” Tabitha answered with a fond grin. “Elvira won’t physically hurt Henry. She’ll pester and admonish him to death, but she won’t harm a hair on his dusty head.”
“What are you goin’ on about my hair for?” Henry scolded as he slipped through a heating grate. Waving his tiny hands over his head, he smacked the seemingly empty air. “Get away from me, you damn ghost. Stop fussin’. I can’t hear myself think with all that squawkin’ you’re doin’.”
“I wouldn’t have to fuss and squawk if you were more upfront from the beginning.”
“What on earth are you talkin’ about?” Henry sauntered into the room, taking his sweet time as he made his way to the loveseat Gray and I were sitting on.
Climbing Gray’s pant leg, Henry plopped down on Gray’s knee.
Small particles of dust filled the air as he slapped his hands against his pants.
“Hey, Grayson. How’s it goin’?” Henry salaciously waggled his eyebrows.
“Looks like things are progressin’ between you and Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass.
” Henry thumbed my direction before rolling onto his back and cackling like a madman.
Gray sent me an apologetic glance. Ignoring the stick-up-his-ass comment, Gray asked, “If I show you a picture of something we found, will you tell me if you’ve seen more?”
Henry immediately sobered. “Is that what Elvira’s scoldin’ me about?”
Hands on hips, Elvira leaned in close enough that I could feel the cold of her spiritual form. “Scolding is meant for children. You’re a grown-ass adult. I wasn’t scolding you; I was berating you. Learn the difference.”
Gray thankfully cut off the derogatory remark we could all see forming on Henry’s lips. “Henry, this is important.” Gray waved at me, and I retrieved my phone, pulling up the picture of the buzzweed we found. “Have you seen this before?”
The smartphone was larger than Henry. The light from the screen highlighted Henry’s dirty face and clothes. His reaction made his knowledge obvious. With a cautious nod, Henry said, “I’ve seen a few of ’em scattered about. Why?”
Gray and I shared a hopeful look before I asked, “Do you remember where?”
For reasons unknown, Henry hedged and offered a weak “maybe.”
“Henry, this is very important,” Tabitha said. “These objects are very dangerous. We need to find all of them and get them out of the compound. Otherwise, it won’t be safe to stay here.”
That garnered Henry’s attention. “What do you mean? What’s it do?”
Elvira bluntly answered, “If activated, they will turn the Magical Usage Compound into a morgue.” I wasn’t certain where Elvira got that idea from, but I wasn’t certain she was wrong and so I held my silence.
“And what would you care about that?” Henry asked. “You’re already dead.”
Elvira’s body jerked back, her back half disappearing into the wall. Elvira looked wrecked before her expression hardened and she disappeared.
Tabitha wasn’t pleased. “That was incredibly rude and insensitive, Henry.”
For his part, Henry did appear contrite. “I didn’t say anything untrue. The truth hurts is a sayin’ for a reason.”
“Then you should choose your words more carefully.” Tabitha made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Regardless, what’s done is done. I will speak with Elvira later. Now, do you think you can help Grayson find these other buzzweeds?”
With a very put-upon sigh, Henry nodded.
“I can, but I don’t think you wanna touch ’em.
I tried once. Thought it might make a good table or somethin’ if I could get it a little flatter on a couple of sides.
Singed my whiskers real good when I got close.
Those things give off a bad vibe. I steer clear of ’em when I can. ”
“Can’t blame you there,” Gray answered. “You should have seen Martin’s branch burn. Looked like a piece of incense.”
A huge smile split Henry’s face. “No shit?”
“No shit,” Gray responded. While my burning bark didn’t seem all that humorous to me, it evidently tickled Henry’s funny bone. I didn’t want to contemplate too long why that was.
Smile fading, Henry tapped a finger along his chin as if deep in thought.
“What do I do when I find one?” Gray and I shared a confused look, which made Henry roll his eyes.
“We already established that these things ain’t friendly.
I’m not touchin’ one. So how am I supposed to get it to you?
Most of these things are tucked away in the walls.
” Henry waved a hand toward the nearest wall for emphasis.
“You goin’ to go bustin’ through all the walls and into all the buildin’s innards for these things? ”
“Good point,” Gray mused. “What do you think, Martin?”
“I think we need to discuss this with Warlock Holland before he leaves. If he can figure out a way to safely transport the buzzweed we found, maybe that can be used for the others.”
Tabitha agreed. “That sounds very reasonable.”
Despite Henry’s protests, Gray scooped him up, setting him on his shoulder. “Let’s go talk to the nice warlock.”
“No such thing,” Henry protested.
“Hikaru’s with him,” I said, hoping to sweeten the pot.
“Eh? Why didn’t ya say so before? Lead the way.” Henry sank his claws into Gray’s shirt, holding tight, a delighted “whee!” giggling down the hall.