Chapter 1 #5
“And you’ve recognized that. At the right time, too, before you begin this new life for yourself at Loxley Academy. You can go in fresh and prepared, do things differently, take a healthier approach. Be you. And grow into more of yourself on that correct track.”
I smiled out at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Just… thank you, Dad.”
“No need to thank me. Just doing my parental duty.”
“Nah, it’s more than that.”
He lifted a shoulder.
“Is that what this dinner was about?”
“Your unhealthy sexual affiliations?”
“Wow… sexual affiliations? You’re really laying it on thick with the toning-it-down angle.”
He grinned. “I do what I can for your comfort, my sweet and gentle boy. No crassness for you, hmm?” He gestured at my hoodie that I was still holding.
“Put that on and let’s actually get to dinner finally.
Your personal life wasn’t why I called you here.
” All amusement vanished then and I tensed at the serious look taking him over. “It concerns your Necromancy.”
Oh, no.
He held up his hand as I went to protest. “Just hear me out. And try to enjoy one last dinner with your lovely dad before you officially go away to Loxley.”
I shrugged my hoodie back on. “All right, guilt trip received and working. I’m all ears.”
“Great,” he said, as he led me out of the bathroom and back into the restaurant.
“Undead Domination… no. I can’t,” I uttered, after swallowing another bite of my seared ribs coated in some spicy fire-pepper rub.
I was alternating between eating those and the garlic potatoes that had come with it, and then sipping from my incredibly strong—and much-needed coffee.
I needed to keep my wits about me with this conversation.
“I’m aware that you don’t like it. Neither do I. But it’s part and parcel of our necromantic skillset.”
“Mom and Pops won’t like it either.”
His lips lifted as he munched on his roast beef, shifting between that and a root vegetable medley. “Hence you and me being here alone at this dinner. They know this discussion needed to happen but they’re also not exactly enthusiastic about it. And it’s only me who can impart this to you.”
“And Father.”
“To an extent. He has the theoretical knowledge base, but not the practical application. Nor does he understand the sensations and precise mechanics of performing such a feat.”
“He was on board with the reason behind this dinner, no doubt.”
“He knows you need to hear it. This is a part of you, just as much as your Wraith side. Lack of use won’t make it go away.”
I winced at his words. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Sorry?”
“That I’m like this with my necromantic side—the part that is all you. It’s not that I—”
“I know it has nothing to do with me.” His fingers tightened around his large cup of blackcurrant tea. “It’s all about him. Morien.”
“It’s something I need to be wary of.”
“It’s something I needed to be wary of. Not you. That kind of darkness and, honestly, downright evil, doesn’t exist in you.”
“It’s not born, it’s made, Dad.”
“Winter—”
“Something could trigger that in me. We don’t know.”
He paused on taking another sip of his tea and put the cup down.
“I watched Morien—my own fucking father—murder my mom and my little sister. Years later, he also nearly murdered your mom, your pops, your father, and your grandpa right in front of me. And yet, I didn’t snap, lose all semblance of control, and then become him. ”
I sucked in a breath.
I’d heard the stories over the years… but not conveyed that bluntly and brutally.
He sat forward. “You see, son, it’s not actually power that corrupts.
When we’re talking about extreme levels of power like that, it’s about why you wield it.
For him it was domination and his obsession with amassing endless power.
For me it was protection and what I perceived as justice as well.
It’s what I’ve tried to impress upon you through action and by the way of example, rather than words, because I believed witnessing it would hold more weight for you.
But given how you’ve come to be with your necromantic power usage—next to none—that clearly didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped.
” He eyed me worriedly, which was a rarity for him, and it had me tensing.
“There’s another concern at play when it comes to power sets that reach extreme levels. That’s lack of knowledge.”
I frowned. “You’ve taught me a lot.”
“The basics.”
“Basics? Really?”
“Fine. Basics by my standards. Regardless, it’s still not enough. Knowledge isn’t just memorizing and learning by way of intaking information. It’s also doing and furthering your experience. The latter you are sorely lacking in.”
“Because I pulled back from your teachings.”
“Yes. And Necromancy isn’t taught at any Academy or even a specialist Coven these days.
A few Covens used to instruct, but with you and I being the last necromancers left on this plane, the others having disappeared two decades ago and remained that way, that’s no longer the case.
” He picked up his tea again and took a sip, then told me, “So, I’m going to take you on as my charge. ”
“You… what?”
“Does the word apprentice suit you better?”
“You’re seriously trying to pull a sorcerer’s apprentice deal on me?”
“Oh, most definitely, my sweet and gentle son.”
“Dad—”
“The danger that you’re concerned about isn’t the actual root danger.
It’s you possessing great and complex power, yet barely having the means—and especially not the experience—to wield it to match that power set.
You’re about to go to school around young supernatural beings who don’t have a full handle on their abilities.
You could quite likely find yourself in situations where you’ll need to guard against that.
If you’re not equipped to do so, you could react disproportionately—and dangerously.
There are also threats out there that the family has been shielding you against. Your time at Loxley Academy marks your transition from that heavy protection and stepping into the world to a greater degree.
Then beyond those four years, you won’t even have the lesser shielding of that school environment either.
This is the optimal time to attend to this issue of yours—for the benefit of those around you and yourself. ”
“Oh, fuck,” I breathed. “There’s zero room to counter any of that and you know it.”
His eyes twinkled as he sipped from his tea.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “So, how will this work? I perform Undead Domination a couple of times and… document it for you?”
“No physical evidence, Winter. You know how… squirrelly some beings still are about Necromancy after everything came out about Morien, following the war against Puritas.”
“The Hybrid Liberation War is what they’re calling it these days.”
“A shiny term for that hell on earth. At least it highlights what mattered most—the shift in the way hybrid beings were viewed.”
Something all my parents were working really hard to ensure stayed that way, and that the rampant prejudice and anti-hybrid rhetoric that had been around back then didn’t revive and get its claws back into supernatural society again.
“You’ll perform it a couple of times, then call me. I also want you to employ Soul Track before you enter any new spaces.”
“All right. And then?”
“I’ll give you some time to settle in and then I’ll work around your class schedule to carve out a mentoring session—once a week at first.”
“And what about… you know… my issues with—”
“The fear?”
“Yes.”
“A very effective way of easing fear—and the stigma you hold toward Necromancy—is normalization. Through exposure to it and practice.”
“Okay. I… all right.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I blew out a breath. “With me about to attend Loxley Academy, it’s the time for exploration, for change.
This should be part of that. And you’re right…
I shouldn’t be this unnerved about an entire half of my makeup.
Besides, I should really start focusing on the fact that I’ve got a positive example in you when it comes to that. ”
He smiled out at me. “Very good.” He gestured at my half-finished dinner. “Eat up.”
We settled into the actual dinner of it all, now the heaviness had been dealt with.
“I’m proud of you,” he told me, beaming out at me.
“For enrolling in an academy?”
“It’s more than that for you with how sheltered we kept you. This was all your call and, considering the situation, it’s courageous and very mature of you. With that in mind, make sure you have fun as well while you’re there, independent of the academics.”
“And your apprenticeship?”
“My apprenticeship is going to be chock-full of fun.”
I chuckled. “You know what? I don’t actually doubt it, Dad.” Especially with his unconventional approach to… everything.
“And if Pops’ texts become incessant, let me know and I’ll see to it.
” He shifted his weight and reached for the single piece of cinnamon toast he’d also ordered to go with his tea—kind of like a pre-dessert for him.
“He’s going to really miss you, so it’s to be expected.
It’s hard for him to let go. You know… not having you right there in the house anymore when he wakes up in the morning, when he comes home from working at Vyrn Hollow Shifter Habitat with the hybrid shifters alongside his mom… all of that.”
I smiled. The thinly veiled subtext wasn’t lost on me for a moment.
“I’m gonna miss you too, Dad.”
He raised his gaze, barely suppressed emotion glinting in his eyes. “I love you, son.”
“Forevermore.”
“Forevermore.”