Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [85]
“Besides a bigger, badder necromancer?”
“Yeah. I’m a little short on those, and the one I do know…” The one I knew would probably love to eat my liver with a nice Chianti. “I don’t think I should ask him.”
Ashley squinted in thought. “I’m not really sure. I’ve never run into this.” She tapped her BlackBerry with her thumb. “It wouldn’t hurt to look.” She closed her eyes. “Now, open up and say ‘ah.’”
I did it, even though I thought she was joking, which made her smile. The smile quickly dissolved into a frown.
“Sam, did you say your mom tried to bind you first?”
“Yeah, but it didn’t work.”
“Why?” Brid asked.
“It’s hard to tell, and I’ve never really seen it before, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that both bindings worked.” She opened her eyes.
Brid and I sat in stunned silence, hers more stunned than mine, I think. Maya had said there was something hinky about the binding. Even with that knowledge, I felt the impact of Ashley’s confirmation. “Come again?” Brid asked.
Ashley gave me a sympathetic look. “Both worked, Sam. Your uncle’s heavier binding almost blocks it, but I can see the trace of your mom’s there.” She shook her head in amazement. “Unbelievable. I’ve never seen someone whose power was bound, let alone more than once. It’s like they cut a piece of you off.”
No wonder I’d always felt lost. I actually was. The knowledge felt terrible, but in a strange way, it also felt good. Now I knew why I’d never connected to anything. Why I felt like I was outside the world around me, moving at a different speed from everyone else. That amputated piece of me explained everything, even why I’d failed at college. But that kind of blanket excuse can be dangerous. Crutches usually are.
“Once is practically unheard of, and you’ve had it done twice,” Brid murmured. “Unreal.”
Even among the anomalies, I was an anomaly. I took some pride in that. Or I would have, if my source of pride hadn’t also been my death sentence.
Ashley stood up and dusted herself off. “You’re going?” A surge of panic shot through me. Even if Ashley hadn’t been able to get me out of the cage, she had at least been able to answer some of my questions. How could I possibly figure out how to beat Douglas if I didn’t learn?
“I’ll come back,” she said. “I’m sorry, but it took some time to find you, and I do have a day job. I’m ten minutes late for Mrs. Jenkins as it is.”
“Wait,” I said. “I know you can’t get me out, but can you do something for me?”
Ashley raised an eyebrow, her small face lighting up. Looked like little Ashley loved a negotiation.
“Can you let someone know where we are?”
“Depends,” she said.
“On what?”
“On who the person is.”
I tried to think. Even if we could find him, Nick might not be willing to help because he was afraid of Douglas. My mom? The last thing I wanted was to have to buy a bowling bag for my mom’s head. Or Haley’s. Ramon? He knew what was going on, but I didn’t know who he could tell. He couldn’t just attack Douglas’s house with a skateboard. I yanked my thumb at Brid. “What about her pack?”
“Not unless they have a necromancer on staff.”
Brid shook her head.
“Why does that matter?” And why was everything so complicated lately?
Ashley pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let me see if I can explain this simply. I’m dead—do we all get that?”
We nodded.
“And we all understand that not everyone can see dead people?”
I said yes while Brid said, “But I can see you.”
Ashley sighed. “That’s because you’re with Sam.” She looked at us, but we returned blank stares,