* * * * *

Beauty is not what you are, but who you are, for you are beautiful.

* * * * *

* Ian -

By the time they arrived at the building - a front the Leech’s had established to gather fresh prey - they stood amidst a small army of Kin members. A few appraised them, others copied their Champions with hostility. It was a quieter section of the city, modernity demanding ground while the entrenched residents did what they could to keep up. Ian could appreciate the location, with businesses supplying foot traffic in and around the vicinity. The front itself, like many of its neighbours, was a three story faded brownstone.

“Welcome to the Blandistan Embassy,” Grim muttered as they approached.

Rose's sister was waiting in a black Mercedes and Ian waved at her cheerfully as he walked by. She nearly spit the water she was drinking as he swaggered on by. She watched him stride casually up to the solid oak door of the place without a care in the world.

Scrambling out, “Wait!” She cried in a strained whisper. “What are you- Oh fuck!”

Ian, not stopping, put a hand on Scraps’s shoulder and said, "Play time…”

The Revenant blurred forward and hit the entranceway shoulder-first, blowing through the door with ease. Wood splinters fragmented in all directions, which Ian helpfully shielded those behind him from. He saw the receptionist kick her sizable desk in the air towards them, casually pulling out a sawn-off shotgun like she dealt with intruders every day.

Unfortunately for her, she wasn't nearly prepared enough for Scraps who hadn't stopped when he'd gone ‘through’ the door. The gun was still swivelling towards them when his form solidified before her, putting a fist through her neck. Quiet fell over them as the Vampire's body collapsed to the floor, her tainted blood dripping from the flesh golem's hand.

The sound of thousands of nails scraping over a chalkboard vibrated the air as the building around them came alive.

“Incoming!" Grim shouted.

From the far ends of the two adjoining hallways came a rush of Vampires crawling on the floor, walls, and ceiling. They moved with frightening speed, their limbs seeming to defy the limits of human biology.

Scraps and Ember took the lead while Ian plucked those from the ceiling and Willed them into the thresher the pair was creating. The Kin opened fire from behind the trio. Most of their shots were ignored however until Rose shouted, "Aim for their fucking heads."

One of the sisters had animated the receptionist's desk, turning it into a lanky wooden monster with stakes for arms. It threw itself into the frey, driving it’s arms through Vampires like some kind of demented shish kabob.

A scream from behind whipped heads around. A Kin member had been plucked from his feet and dragged towards a rear door. Vampires flooded the entryway. Dani calmly raised her Beretta and shot the head off the Vampire. The group shifted then, forming a circle as the bloodsuckers hit them from three sides.

Those in front slammed into the shield Ian had created and he winced at the effort of keeping them back.

'These fuckers are strong,' He grunted.

Ember stepped up and cleared away their pressure with a rolling wave of Hellfire. The wave raced down the concrete hallway, hacked hisses of blistered bloodsuckers retreating into the darkness. The Vampires momentum broke, spooking the rest into an abrupt retreat. Those Kin who'd made it inside were breathing hard. Lily went around checking wounds, occasionally slapping a hand on a cut received from shrapnel, muttering a chant to heal the wound or dull the pain.

She got to the man who'd been grabbed and applied herbs to the rents in his shoulder. She looked to Rose and said, "He's safe from infection, but he's done for the day."

The champion nodded her head, expecting the answer, and had him carried out to one of the cars. Ian caught the appreciative look Eve levelled on the Agents back.

That sparked curiosity in him. ‘Just how few healers are there?’

The rest of the building, which appeared to have offices in the upper levels and bedrooms in the lower ones, only turned up five more Vampires. They reached the basement level and were met with a large hole in the concrete that led..., somewhere.

"Wow," Grim commented. "That's pretty ominous. I'm glad I don't have to worry about dying or anything."

‘Not exactly helpful,’ Ian sighed. To the group, "Stay close." Turning to Ember, he warned, "No large combustions or waves of fire while we're underground.”

She shot him a playful pout that created all sorts of lewd images. He swallowed. She laughed musically.

Turning away and hoping the grin would be misread, he then made his shield visible for all to see, stretching it to cover those behind and in front of him. Its light cast their surroundings in an eerie green fog. It seeped about their feet and within the cracks of the carved tunnels. A particularly large clump of dust swirled in and out of being and those closest to Ian flinched in surprise. With Ember in front, Ian at the centre, and Scraps bringing up the rear, they moved quietly into the unknown. The blaze of Hellfire floating in Ember’s palms further illuminated the environment,

Skittering sounds drifted to them along with the hollow laughter of mockery. Stones tumbled and clacked with an echo that froze everyone's breathing. Time and time again they would see glimpses down various passageways and on the fringes of corners. Every whispered word kept the ringing of a shifting silence from settling on them too heavily. A few Kin members began trembling. The Vampires seemed to avoid the light, but they clearly weren't happy that the invaders were there.

The party continued until they reached a four-way crossroads and, with the tripping of a switch, as soon as they stepped into the centre of the colliding tunnels they came again. Vampires, eyes an infected red of rage, charged from all directions - including the one they'd just come from.

Staccato bursts of gunfire hammered the air, a scream of surprise, jostling bodies each vying for protection closer to Ian, yet all the while trying to aim at the enhanced predators. Ian had to not only concentrate on allowing those things inside the barrier to get out, but he had to strengthen all sides equally since he didn't know from where the pressure would come from.

Inevitably, clambering over one another, the writhing mass of bodies hit the shield. The sound of so many colliding at once reverberated like a gong. Entities on both sides winced at the discordant sound. Ian jolted, hands fisting at his temples, then dropped to one knee and placed his balled knuckles on the ground for stability. His body bent beneath the physical effort of supporting so many on his shield. Kin members scanned about nervously, fumbling in their efforts to reload with shaking fingers.

Lily, watching him intently, Knelt at his shoulder. Despite the cries, the hisses, the laughter, her whisper carried to his ear. It was like an icicle of calm in a fiery storm. "I think it's time for you to stop pretending."

“Can’t,” He grunted.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, “You don’t need to worry about anyone in the city,” She offered. “You’re off the watch list,”

He hauled against the chain tethering his chin to his chest. Time slowed, he watched a bullet fire into the Vampires off to his left.

Rose threw them an incredulous glance, amazed that Ian wasn’t on the floor. She caught the moment the FBI Witch’s words relaxed him. Their eyes met, he blinked, and her entire world changed.

Rising slowly to his feet, Ian searched his surroundings for spirits. He found a host of waiting volunteers. The deceased had been dragged down to these caverns, killed in droves, tormented, tortured and left to rot. In some cases they'd been kidnapped from the streets. For others, they'd paid to come and be fed on, before their used husks were tossed in a twisted pile of corpses. All wanted vengeance.

They came when he called; eagerly, desperately, and ravenously. They drank from his source. Ian had to regulate the intoxicating energy he was harnessing. The mass of Vampires suddenly found themselves looking into the ghostly eyes of their victims. A bullet casing clinked to the ground.

Somewhere, deep down, their small, degraded animal brains recognised the new threat.

“Go!” Ian rumbled, casings vibrating with the single commanding word of power and intent.

The wave of ghosts thundered silently outwards to crash into the suddenly outnumbered Vampires. Their fury made the ghosts even more frenzied: some of the attackers were stopped in midair, limbs ripped from their sockets. Another had segments of flesh peeled from the bone, dripping hunks slaughing to the ground with a wet slap. A terrible, inhuman screech went up and the Vampires again began to retreat, but this time they were followed. Ghosts took the fight to the enemy, possessing the dead Vampires or, in some cases, their old bodies.

Grim chuckled into the silence that followed, penetrated by distant screams, "Vampire zombies… What a concept."The two sisters were gaping like fish out of water as they tried to make sense of what they'd seen. "Don't strain those limited brain cells of yours," The Archive commented, "We still haven't reached their lair."

The snide remark snapped them out of their trance. “What chayou looking at?” Rose snapped at her gunrunners before storming into a hushed conversation with the Inquisition Agent. Oddly this prickly barb settled the enforcers with its ‘normalcy.’ all around, breaths clouded in the death-chilled air. Some spirits haunted nearby, creating islands of clear as the living drew back. Adrenaline rattled fingers rattled in the process of reloading, while furtive looks bounced off Ian’s back.

Ian felt the looks but didn’t bother with them, too busy watching a familiar spirit waving towards him in the distance.

“This way,” He chinned, walking down the corridor towards her. Eve appeared conflicted, so he called back, "Fight or flight, Eve. Decision time. I'll have to escort you guys to the surface if you want to call it quits."

Slowly, she shook her head and started to follow him. Then it registered, He’d called her by a nickname. She glared at her sister who was trying to look innocent.

Steadily the others filed in after him. The Authoritarian decrees of the ruling elite didn’t matter much, not that any would follow the Necromancer kill order, given the current situation. It was still a shock for many. Meeting a Necromancer in person was rare, and the rumour mill had ingrained a fear into them. Considering how rare Necromancers were slated to be, Ian wasn’t surprised they were hesitant to follow. Most of them finally decided to simply appreciate the fact that he was on their side, and began looking outward for new threats.

With the ghostly guide expediting their travel, it took close to twenty minutes to reach the deepest depths of the labyrinth, during which there seemed to be an attack waiting for them around each and every corner.

“You’d think they’d learn after a while.” Ember grumped.

“They’re parasites,” Eve said dismissively.

“Even a parasite knows to avoid toxic skin.” Ember replied, flicking a disk of Hellfire to decapitate a Vampire hidden within a ceiling recess.

“Who cares?” Rose asked. “The more we kill now the less we kill later.”

“The longer we take getting to the heart of this nest, the longer they’ve got to prepare whatever they have in store for us.” Ian’s remark finished the bickering in chilling finality. It was clear nobody had thought of that.

Ember grinned and with a dark chuckle added, “It would be the height of poor manners to slight their hospitality, especially after going to all this effort to make us feel welcome.”

Grim gave a snort while Ian just smiled and shook his head. The Castile sisters spared each other a nervous look.

The reality of who, and what, they were dealing with was becoming harder to ignore.

Each time they killed, the bodies were resurrected and began staggering along behind them. A few corners later, Ian’s smile died, the answer to Ian’s confusion revealed.

“Why?” Lily whispered.

The ground was littered with corpses cut to pieces.

“To stop him from bringing them along,” Grim offered.

Eve was scanning the floor, mapping a path through the remains. “This is sick.”

None had been spared the ravages of hunger. Women in suits, men in construction gear, people from all walks of life and backgrounds; each of them had been dragged down to a death they didn’t understand. There was no blood; that had been drained entirely. Every major extremity had been ripped with force from the corpse. Someone threw up as a spirit shifted their remains - a head, connected only by a tendon, of a child’s body. Ice crystalised as the spirits wept their loss.

“How long did you say these things had been squatting?” Lily asked.

Ignoring her, “What are you doing?” Eve directed towards Ian.

Ian continued to move gently into the room. The faces of those that lay here crouched over their own bodies, spectral fingers curling. Most of the spirits that had used up their energy crossed over, sated with the vengeance they'd caused. Others gathered around Ian as he channelled more energy to them.

“Be ready,” He intoned. “We’re close."

None spoke as they progressed. The tunnels here were rougher, less refined. The floor slanted from one side to the other, pock marks in the wall the wounds of picks. Here and there cabling had been laid. All of it was a mess of stolen equipment and miss-matched pieces.

Following their guide, they entered a clearing the size of a city block. Scanning up, they saw a honeycomb of tunnel openings. Ian had to crane his head to see all of the tiers upon tiers of rock formations, on which countless ranks of Vampire stood waiting. At the centre of the pack in front of them, a woman with flawless skin, and that looked to be about Ian's age, stood out. She stood out for two major reasons. First, the space to either side remained empty. This was either out of deference to her importance. Or, and Ian found this to be the more likely reason, her ferocity. The second reason was less in doubt. She was beautiful, and exuded a feral confidence that all could feel, even across the distance.

Though it was her face that those beneath gazed up into - probably orchestrated the moment the queen of the hive heard of her ‘guests.’ A beautiful elfin face marred by the cold, furious expression of contempt. Her hair, a cloud of loose white strands of the finest spider-silk, spun its way through a lengthy braid to curl at her hip. Form fitting dark blue jeans clad her legs while black high heels adorned her arched feet. Heels perfectly suited to stamping the balls of the unlucky sap who was her current plaything. Porcelain wished it was as white and blemish free as the skin on display around her exposed forearms and midriff. Slight curves added to the elegant imagery she demanded.

When Ian and company reached the centre of the large underground room, Grim broke the silence, “That is one scary ass bitch.” Her lips pulled back, revealing a set of fangs that gleamed in the light of Ian's shield.

They retracted and she walked to the edge of her tier, stating in a malevolent voice that rang in their ears as it harmonised around the chamber, "What, is a son of Erebus, doing in ‘my’ domain?" Ember flinched as she said the name and the Kin held their weapons tighter under the force of her words. Her chilling gaze lhalted on Ian's. "Ah, a mere stripling," She concluded in a haunting tone. "No matter. I sense in you power enough to meet my requirements. Yes…” Her voice susurated in luxury, as if tasting him. “You will become my magnum opus.”

She rolled a wand in her hand, a slender gleaming rod of metal that made Ian’s skin crawl. “An Undead Mage, rooted in the Spirit World. You shall be mine and serve me throughout eternity." Untold potentials flashed across her features, swathed beneath the green glow. “Marvelous,” She laughed. It was hollow, unexpectedly deep from such a slight creature. "As a Lich, you'll command an unstoppable army! Come, my sweet. Submit to your fate!"

A fireball streaked out of Ember's hand as she shouted, "Like hell, you fucking sycophant!"

The onlookers watched in amazement as the ball of Hellfire exploded in front of the white-haired Vampire Queen, the flames dying away against a pure ethereal blue shield.

"Ah shit," Grim remarked. "Vampire Mage…"

“Cute,” The woman yawned before addressing her side with a snap of her fingers. “Kill them all, bring me the boy.”

The Kin enforcers were fast, the Vampires had an unfair advantage. In the time it took the first to flip his ‘baby’ to full-auto the brood had crouched and leapt into the air. Muzzle flashes exposed the glee, caring little for self-preservation. Their bodies slammed into Ian’s shield and caused the construct to flare verdantly. Hundreds of flying superhuman bodies took bullets but the extreme speed meant headshots were few and far between. Scraps in the meantime had blurred in his own show of speed to go, somewhere.

Realising this was not the time for restraint or finesse, Ember’s inferno cooked those pouring from the honeycombs just as a stone fist collapsed the lowest tier. That golem was soon matched by a second as the Animist’s flexed their own power. With a flurry of hand movements and some words of power they sent their toys to do some more damage. Ian took all this in as his shield opened and wavered dangerously.

The army of ghosts and possessed cadavers under his control began moving forward in a massive assault of their own. The two lines sped toward one another. The Vampires surprised them by retaliating with weapons of their own, the first they’d seen to this point. Pistols fired, shotguns blasted, and, over it all, the high whine of something capable of putting a lot of lead downrange came to life. Despite this, the wave of ghosts pushed the lines back just enough for the cadavers to break beyond his shield. Then the minigun began firing from the third tier and mowed them down; viscera flew as the corpses gave way in a burst of bone shards and organ tissue.

Dani, who'd managed to assemble her sniper rifle without anyone taking notice, sent a round through the head of the Vampire controlling it before looking around for new targets. She found one when an honest-to-God rocket materialised out of the mass of feral attackers to hit one of the stone sentinels, blowing roughly a third of it to dust and knocking the surrounding figures to the ground.

Eve gritted her teeth and concentrated on reforming her minion. Then it happened. Cassandra, who'd blasted Scraps through four layers of rock, hammered Ian's flagging shield with her own force of Will. The thunderstruck boom of the shield cracking deafened all those inside the construct. Ian’s situational awareness fucked off to underland. Someone nearby screamed, a hand latched to his forearm and the head of a lunging creature was blown apart by a high calibre round. Dani, yelling something, continued to drag him towards the cover of the felled rock golem.

Lily, who'd been waiting for such an occasion, finished her spell and shot an orb of light into the air, shining brighter than the Sun. The denizens of the dark screamed in surprise and anger, momentarily blinded. Immediately the pressure of their assault relented as they were sharply on the defensive. All of them except their leader.

Ian felt a foreign pressure assault his senses as Cassandra shoved with her Will at those around him. All, aside from Ember, stumbled as if caught in a gale. The slighter, those duelling in hand to hand, and the Castile sisters fell to the ground. With the Animists distracted Cassandra shot both hands forward, french tip fingernails clawing at the air, as an invisible hand imprinted itself upon the remaining goliath. Her snarl was vindictive as she, with a minor tremble in her arms, succeeded in tossing it backwards, crashing through the stone plinths where it scattered into chalky particles. Ian capitalised on her distraction and shot a jet of Spiritfire at her. It stopped against her shield, only the membrane flared, dissolving slowly as he kept up the pressure. Cassandra dropped the shield with a grimace, then flashed forward, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

A broadsword the length of her leg, and twice the width, materialised in her hand. With a deft sweep she cleaved an enforcer in half, then thrust it at Ian. He barely had time to register its presence before he knew it was too late. He winced back. The blade stopped centimetres from his chest. There - in front of him - stood Ember in full Demon form, grasping the blade with her bare hands. For a space between heartbeats, they remained locked, vibrating against one another, as otherworldly forces played out.

The two blinked away, the room exploding in a series of aftershocks whenever the two connected. Then they were near, silhouetted in the fog of chalk. Amid the gunfire, Ian caught a glimpse. Cassandra sported an ugly bruise to her cheek while strands of her braid smouldered. Four lines wept at her hip. Ember likewise bled from nicks across her arms, her talons chipped and raw.

Finally an eruption of white light, mingled with the angry glow of Hellfire, flashed high overhead. All stared as Ember fell with the white-haired Vampire standing atop her, sword poised for the killing blow.

Ian’s heart seized in his chest.

Too many images, emotions, and desires enveloped him - his muscles locked, his sight darkening until they were all he saw. Memories of the two of them together came unbidden; their first meeting, their time spent together, keeping one another alive, and all the time spent wrapped in one another's arms. He remembered them all, as vividly as he remembered his sister's mutilation, or watching his parents drive away.

The rage inside snapped. After all the injustice of losing his family, the frustration of his isolation, those feelings had begun to fade. All thanks to her and Grim. And this bitch was trying to take one of them away ?! ‘No!’

A strange feeling of expanding awareness, like his perspective was taking in his surroundings from above, took him over. He moved, yet his body remained motionless. His hand grasped against something welcoming and they, whatever ‘it’ was, grasped back.

Ian slammed back into himself. His eyes blinked open, gazing at his falling lover through fingers of his upraised palm. An apparition of darkness syphoned away from their combined shadows. Scraps appeared in an explosion of his own, a rag clad fist knocking the sword free from Cassandra’s grasp. Ian clocked surprise on Cassandra’s features the moment before impact. The force of the impact left a crater as a wave of dark corrosive energy stole the light. Dust cleared and revealed the Queen in a chokehold, feet kicking wildly as her fanged maw snapped without air.

Even as Scraps held her down, the flesh around his arms disintegrated as Cassandra's power burned him faster than he could regenerate. Ian, rolling after the shockwave sent him sprawling, Willed the tumbling sword into his raised hand. Every ounce of intent went into a lunge. The bounding leap pushed, feet skating across the distance, and, with a triumphant roar, impaled the Vampire queen through her chest.

Her body jerked, a silent scream paired their eyes as his power sought out her corrupted and warped soul. “Kill them all,” He mocked as Cassandra’s eyes went dark. “Bring me their dead.”

The ranks of Vampires around them collapsed, melting through the various passageways. Those that sustained wounds attempted to scrabble away on torn hands or broken limbs. Though, they were of little difficulty for the spirits to claim. Vampires writhed as the spectral hands found key points within their bodies, ruptured from the inside.

Around them the gunfire trailed off as the active enemy escaped their line-of-sight. Even still, the dedicated - or highly disgruntled - few put a bullet into the ones that weren’t dead yet. Beyond those veterans, the majority of the enforcer group went into something akin to shock, stumbling about looking for some sort of direction. As for the Castille sisters, they collapsed to their knees in utter exhaustion, their creations crumbling to dust. Scraps dusted himself off as he finished regenerating a new limb, while Dani calmly broke down her rifle. To the backing chorus of pained moans and quiet sobs, Lily did her thing. Glowing patches were dolled out, potions and basic first aid to those that needed it.

Many wouldn’t get up again.

Ember swam back to consciousness to feel her head resting at an incline. Stones and pebbles ground their peaks into her back and hip, while the chill turned her damp skin clammy. A hand gently ran it’s fingers through her hair, the warmth doing wonders to quell her throbbing skull. The lack of horns told her she was back in her human guise. Eyes swimming into focus, she placed her hand ontop the one threading through her hair. While she blinked to get the world back in order, her hand was raised, turned, and a tender kiss brushed against her knuckles. Recognition dawned just as Ian bowed low to place his lips against hers.

Ember froze, hesitating between warring impulses that wrestled in the core of her chest. Ian’s hand touched hers, still at the crux of his jaw, and with that touch she punched him in the gut.

Amidst his gasping, she rolled her eyes and told him, "Quit looking at me like I'm some defenceless kitten. It'll take more than some parriah with a god complex to take me out."

“Shut up,” He wheezed. Leaning down, he kissed her softly.

She accepted it for a few moments before shoving him back, having had enough of his ‘mushy’ ministrations.

Smiling, he stood and took account of the situation. The smile faded as the rest of the room came back into focus.

Lily’s spell continued to glow, a miniature nova of white that contrasted chalky dust with blood and bone. Grey slate shards scoured the floor. Of the lowest four tiers that ringed the shaft, only the uppermost sections remained untouched by the battle. He traced the line of bullet fire as it climbed and spun around, each point of impact growing further apart as the shooter was brought down. He wondered if they were still alive. One entire quadrant, that section by which they’d entered, had collapsed, a pile of boulders that was once a golem blocking the way. The other side of the cavern hadn’t fared much better. Where neat tiers rose previously, now great sections had been blown off, a patchwork of balconies that overlooked the devastation. The room was still, but the noises of the dead and dying encompassed them. Three distinct groups had emerged from the battle chaos: the wounded were one, obvious, group. The second needed his attention before he could deal with the third.

“Rose, Eve,” He called out to the sisters, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Rose called from the far end, rounding the crumbled remains of Eve’s totem.

“I’ll live,” Eve muttered from behind him, bandaging a long gash in her forearm.

Ian nodded at her, “Good. Put your group to task and get these wounded on stretchers.”

Eve’s eyes flared. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You don’t tell us what to do!” She snapped.

“Besides, ‘Necromancer,’” Rose said with a sneer. “You’ve got some fucking explaining to do.”

It didn’t take a PhD to figure out what they wanted ‘explaining.’ Ian sighed but said nothing. Emotional tensions were running high - which he’d expected. This level of hostility was new. They had also been smart enough to ‘not’ go into his magical status with the threat of blood suckers around every corner. It was that thought and that thought alone that counteracted their current looks.

After a steadying breath; “What of it?

“We didn’t sign on to work with a Necromancer.” She stated her initial offence.

“Are you seriously complaining about ‘how’ your lives were saved?” Grim blinked.

“That isn’t the point!” The vocals were reaching the point where their echoes argued in the catacombs.

“Enlighten us then.” Ember remained outwardly calm. The fire intensifying in her eyes told Ian otherwise.

“You’ve fucked us over!” Eve spat like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because of you the Inquisition are going to raid us for sure.”

“And you come to that conclusion because…?” Ian let his countenance harden.

“Are you always this stupid?” Rose mocked, her head moving with her exaggeratedly slowed words. “If even a single leech gets out; then what? You honestly believe they’ll keep their mouths shut about what happened down here?”

‘You gotta be shitting me.’ Ian thought, caught between incredulity and amazement. “You’re worried the Bureau will listen to the words of a few maniacal brood members; the very same authorities that sanctioned their execution?”

“No,” Rose said in the same manner as explaining one plus one equals two to a small child, “We ‘know’ the Feds will come busting down our door for consorting with a death walker!”

Grim snorted at the latest ‘insult.’ Ian just rolled his eyes.

“Don’t roll your ey-”

“Shut the fuck up!” Ian barked over the haughty bitch. A headache was already building because of this simpering stupidity. “You are so full of shit it’s no god-damn wonder you believe it when it pours from your mouth.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Care what those ‘on-high’ say? They have a freaking representative in the room!” He flung a finger towards Lily, who froze halfway to her feet. “They’ve known about me for weeks! Certainly long enough to remove me if it was such a ‘big deal.’ No, you two are scared shitless that you aren’t the toughest Mages in town anymore.”

“The only thing you’re concerned with,” He continued to lambaste them, “Is figuring out a way to ensure you’ve got me and mine under your thumb. And before you go and insult my intelligence, again, by denying it, consider this; I have eyes and ears everywhere that you knew nothing about until I revealed them. What exactly do you think I overheard from your ‘private’ conversations?”

“That’s some really big claims for someone that doesn’t know us.” Rose continued to look smug.

“And yet you don’t deny it.” Ian continued to stare at her intently.

“We are denying it, you condescending prick!” Rose brought herself up to her full height. “Besides, anything you think you heard is taken out of context, you still know nothing!”

“And there you go again, insulting his intelligence,” Ember sneered.

The lines shifted minutely - various Kin enforcers wising up real fast that they were woefully prepared for a Mage-on-Mage duel.

“Yeah, because insulting intelligence is ‘sooo’ much worse than what you’re doing,” Eve sniped sarcastically. “We’ve dealt with pieces of shit like you before; arrogant with no regard for anyone but yourself. You’re a dime a dozen in this world, constantly thinking you’re better than us - that because we’re female you can get away with bossing us around.”

Rose’s coppery eyes pinned him with malcontent. “Are you threatened by strong women? Is that what it is? Finally found someone that’ll stand up to you and your bullshit?!” All around them, the sound of guns cocking echoed. “Well we got news for you - we ain't afraid of you.”

Ian blinked. ‘Wait wha…?’ His frown deepened, confusion leaping into the driving seat as he tried to follow the sudden shift. ‘Where did that come from?’ Dimly he registered the threat. They weren’t getting out of here until they were satisfied, that was one thing - but this…?

The memory of the Sponsor meeting stuck its hand into the air. The leering appraisal of the Honourable Master Long, his smarmy gloat, naming Rose and Eve as “Worthless whores.” The Tiandihui’s Faction Head had attempted to claim the sisters as collateral against a failed contract, one he himself had sabotaged by way of the Vampires. That was, after all, why Ian was here. He’d pissed all over the big man’s desk, intervening in the slavery bid where all others had accepted it. The memory tasted of soured milk. All those industrialists, power players, and Mages, sitting back in their cushy chairs, lidded eyes observing a father’s ill fated plight in keeping his family together. Not one had been perturbed by the act playing out in front of them.

Armed with this fresh insight, Ian examined their words with a new lens. Unfortunately, in the time it took him to mentally switch gears to follow this new avenue, the duo had taken his silence for an answer.

Eve cracked her knuckles. “Unlike your shitty little group that falls apart every other week,” Referring to The Night Watch, and adding to her growing list of insults and slights, “We’ve dealt with everything by ourselves. We don’t ‘need’ you, we can deal with our own shit just fine without you getting involved in our business.”

Lips working over a clenched jaw, Ian forced the words out with extreme patience. “I’m not trying to get into your business.” Now was ‘not’ the time to be getting into this.

She disregarded the words with a puff of air and a lofty hand gesture. “Whatever. Just be a good boy and we won’t make things difficult for you.”

It was at this point Ian ran out of fucks to give. The fallacy of their claims were beyond obvious. None of them could have survived down here without the other, and he accepted they’d played an equal part in their survival. It was one thing to piss around with word games, he even expected some shady dealings to take place as each guarded their hand. But overt threats… No. He lived his life on his own code and compass. Not, by the decrees of those who thought themselves better, especially for asinine reasons.

“And if we refuse to play along to your bidding?” His words exuded in a mist that hung in the air between them.

“Or we’ll alert every other Faction to exactly what the fuck you are.” Rose played her trump card.

“See how willing the Inquisition are to turn a blind eye when everyone’s putting pressure on them.” Eve piled it on. Ian said nothing, his lack of reaction unnerving them. A pregnant pause ensued as they awaited his response. Eve broke first; “Well?”

“Well what? Was that meant to be a threat?”He continued flatly.

“It's a promise.” They vowed. If they were trying to seem stern or powerful, Ian reckoned they’d failed at doing both.

“Man, you two need to work on your threats,” Grim chortled.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Rose rounded on the onlookers.

“It means your stupidity is offensive to my gender,” Ember drolled airily. “What does it matter if he’s a Necromancer or a Warlock? You two should be thankful we hauled your sorry asses out of the fire.”

“If we knew what you were, we wouldn’t have accepted your assistance.” Rose’s pursed lips relaxed in the worst case of resting-bitch-face Ian could remember.

Ember pretended to be thoughtful. “Forgoing the fact that you admit you needed assistance, who exactly was rushing to your aid?”

It was clear the brunette wanted to create a rebuttal, then situational awareness kicked in. Their assembled underlings didn’t need to know the particulars of how they’d ended up in the spot they were in. Especially not a version of the truth that would put their leadership - her family - in a bad light. Everyone knew it wasn’t a matter of ‘when’ the story was, but ‘how’ it came to light. Ian watched her shrewd eyes retreat from the moment.

Eve refused to back down. "You still should have told us what you were."

"Why should I? You wouldn't." Ian responded.

"You are not us in so many relevant ways," She stated with a roll of her exposed shoulders. Ember gave an infinitesimal groan.

"Don't worry about it," Ian chuckled. "Despite your continued failures, I'll accept you as an equal."

Those of the Night Watch laughed. Worse, a few Kin did too.

Rocks and pebbles vibrated with her anger. "How dare you talk to us that way," Rose seethed.

"Oh, look," Ian snarled, a wave of his Will pinning the room into silence, "You're pissed. Boo-hoo. How dare someone think themselves better than you, yet here you are thinking you can likewise tell me what to do. Believing you’re better because you’ve got a pussy makes as much sense as thinking I’m evil because I’m a Necromancer. Its prejudicial and stupid. Worse, it is a tactical flaw." Chinning towards Ember, “As for being intimidated by strong women, what the fuck is she?”

“The problem with hypocrisy,” Ian lectured them brazenly, unafraid of the guns steadily rising on him, “Is it cuts both ways. Tell the other Factions, go right ahead. Reveal yourselves as turncoats that burned the olive branch, truly screw yourselves over. Others may not want to work with me because of what I am, but none will work with you if they know - and they will know - you’ll just stab them in the back when it’s all over.”

“We didn’t say that,” Eve got defensive.

“Yes you did.” Ian stepped forward into the void. “You already consider yourself better than me.”

“We are better than you,” The other sister tried to rally.

“Really?” Ian cocked his head in her direction. “How? As you just pointed out,” He mocked in a deliberately poor impersonation, “‘You don’t know me.’” Nodding to the space between them like it was a stage, “Go on. I’m dying to hear what qualities you believe you possess that makes you superior.”

“We know what loyalty is,” Eve grew haughty, believing herself smart.

Ian simply laughed in her face. “Dani,” He called out to the nervously watching gunner. “Can you come here please?”

Appearing like the guilty child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the dirty blonde teenager shuffled through bodies and debris, gun held, but pointed down. Their eyes met. It was a moment where a choice had to be made; they both knew it. Trepidation, uncertainty, fear… A small smile cracked through his anger in what Ian hoped said ‘trust me.’

“Now, you two bitches remember the High Inquisitor that was demanding to know what happened to his ‘property?’ The one Ember and I dealt with?” Dawning realisation jolted their audience. “That’s right. The Slayer sent to stir up trouble for the Night Watch, who triggered a horde of Werewolves into an assault, and who attempted to assassinate Ember, is standing right here on my side. Not only did we know all that when we took her in. We also accepted the target on our backs, putting ‘my’ people in potential danger, when we made the claim of taking her out.”

Did he know what the other factions would do, or how powerful the 9th were? Not a clue, nor did he care. What he did know, was he’d stuck his neck out for someone who had nowhere else to turn. Fuck them and their prejudice.

“I gave her a chance to make something of herself when I had her dead to rights.” Ian winked to Dani who continued to stand wide eyed. “While you, on the other hand, are threatening to throw me under your heel simply because you’ve found out what type of Mage I am. Interesting how loyalty shifts under bigotry, doesn’t it?”

Ian watched Rose carefully in case she tried anything. Her bright eyes darted about the younger Slayers physique to a few key points - namely, her weapons.

“We didn’t know that.” Eve continued to backpedal.

“Exactly!” Ian yelled. “You don’t know what motivates me to make the choices I make. I, as a death walker, can sense the essence of ‘your’ men bleeding away while the other half wandered around shell shocked. They need better treatment than they can get down here!” They flinched, so he let some of the ire drop from his tone. “Look,” He sagged, “I apologise for the way I came across, it wasn’t my intent.” That brought them up short. “I wanted to put your people to task, give them something to do; otherwise what they’ve just gone through will overwhelm them. I thought you’d already figured that out.”

There was a long moment broken only by the moans of the wounded. Eve and Rose looked to one another, suitably chagrined. Eve even looked down a little shamefaced.

“But by all means,” He recaptured their attention. “Keep arguing; just know the pissier you get the more of ‘your’ people die.” He promised.

Eve blanched and visibly shrunk away from his challenge. He’d cut her off at the knees and she, along with everyone else in the chamber, knew it. He didn’t wait to see her reaction however, striding with purpose towards the third group - the dead.

Those Kin members that had stuck close melted back as the crisis abated itself. Relief was the emotion of the moment. He noticed a few continued to hold their weapons tight. ‘Hand’s are probably shaking,’ He mused. The images of Lance - recently deceased Faction head of the defunct Georgetown Syndicate - fragmenting into pink mist at the Sponsors meeting, slunk forward. It hadn’t been long, and he was pretty sure that fight was still fresh in the minds of those around him. He didn’t care. ‘Apparently, it’s not my place to care. Instead…’

First amongst the patiently waiting dead, which bore expectant looks, was a spirit he wasn’t surprised to find leading them. It was the same spirit that led them there, kneeling with her head bowed. Communicating with the vague flurry of images and thoughts that spirits tended to use when interacting with the living; she informed him she’d sent the dead to harry their prey. She outlined that she’d cut off most of their escape routes and the main body was held up in an abandoned ten-story hotel.

He shook his head in amazement. She was not only strong enough to command the dead, and get them to listen to her, but able to maintain enough of herself to resist fading into the chaos that was the Spirit World. This was ‘despite’ her expending the energy to achieve such a task… He now knew, without a doubt, that she was more than just a lost echo; energy left behind from her soul's departure. He sent her feelings of gratefulness, admiration, and approval, feeling pride shine from the entity.

He noticed the others were crowding around the body of Cassandra Devereux, sword still embedded in her chest. She looked… peaceful, in death. Her magic still pulsed through her, for now. Her white, albino eyes were closed, while the rest of her body rested in a pose of relaxation. He knelt beside her and touched her form, trailing his fingers from her shoulder down to her wrist that the spirits were focused upon. Ian picked up the talisman and almost dropped it. It reeked of Spirit Magic.

“What was that?” Ember asked at the same time Grim called his name.

“I don’t know,” He admitted. “But it's powerful.”

Blinking his eyes to avoid the nausea of switching his vision, Ian examined it from the Spirit Realm. What he saw forced him to squint. Eldritch flames poured from the device, drawing the ghosts like moths to the flame. Minutes passed as Grim worked over the runes and took it apart inside his mind to try and figure out how it worked.

“Holy shit,” Grim whistled. “Take a look at this.”

Ian and Ember ran through the runes displayed on the Archive’s yellowed pages. Their eyes widened when they found its purpose. Ian slowly lifted the item, regarding it anew. If Cassandra had used this on his dying body, it would have captured his soul, and kept it bound to his flesh for as long as the talisman survived. The catch, that any revived in this way were bound forever more to the rod, and, by extension, whoever owned it. Never able to pass on, even as the flesh that entombed them rotted away.

The thing was abhorrent, Ian actually felt bile rise just touching the cursed thing. It was obviously an ancient artefact, but anything that bound souls against their will for an eternity was simply something he couldn't accept. To him, it was no different than the device the Warlock had used in his first encounter with The Night Watch.

He paused as he saw the tension in the incorporeal bodies of the spirits. Their eyes were locked on the rod in unbridled hunger. He realised that with this device, he could give them life, albeit one of eternal servitude. He looked at the more-than-spirit that had always been at his side, and felt an incredible sadness emerging from her.

Slowly, she shook her head. Through a series of impressions she told him that it wasn't worth it. The talisman was a sham that only gave the illusion of freedom. It was Spirit Magic, warped at its most basic level for nefarious purposes, tainting the user until they were as bound to the rod as the spirits.

She directed a crystal clear thought at him, 'Do it.'

Spiritfire consumed the talisman, burning through the runes and enchantments. Using his Will, he snapped the now-useless rod in two, dropping the pieces to lie forgotten with the dead. The wail of anguish shrieked in outrage as the surrounding Specters surged forward. They impacted Ian’s precautionary shield. Startled, those of the living, amid a few screams, glanced around warily at the intangible attackers. Ian responded by raising a hand, and banished them.

Looking back towards the Phantom, who, he realised, had never taken the power to manifest herself. She looked up from the broken pieces, their gazes met, and she smiled. He’d heard the saying before - that the eyes were the gateway to the soul. But now, staring into the dark gates of this lost soul…, he understood. She was well defined, unlike the murky reflections that true spirits were. He could see the detail surrounding her form, the neck and shoulders shift as her face tilted. Yet her eyes, they were the endless expanse of a moonless sky, an entire universe of potential unfulfilled. Ian felt her sorrow, but also a sad acceptance.

He felt her sense of loss; never experiencing the warm glow of the Sun again, the spring breeze in her hair, or the scent of a flower tickling her nose. They shared something in that space between Realms, where the living met the dead. He felt her chill settle in his core in a way his gathered power never did. He felt her ever-present fear of being eaten by one of the many predators that resided in the Spirit Realm, her loneliness of always being adrift with no place to call her own, and her longing to do all the things she'd observed by following him… She accepted that. She accepted it all and that some things just weren’t meant to be.

He didn't.

Ian approached the body of Cassandra and gripped the hilt of the sword. Pressing a foot against her chest, he wrenched the blade free and slammed it into the ground. "Start healing the wound," He directed Lily, setting about replicating the process he'd learnt from observing the talisman.

Lily frowned at him. "But she's already de-"

His look cut her off. "Please.” He beseeched. “Just do it."

Grim approached hesitantly. "This hasn't been done by a Necromancer since the Egyptian pharaohs. Even those Necromancers belonging to families that can still trace their roots back to that age, wouldn't try this. If I had to guess, that talisman was probably first created as a tool for them to use without risking their lives."

Ian didn’t stop in his craftsmanship. He’d become accustomed to his mentor's eerie intuition. “I’ll be fine.”

Ian’s confident level tone ended Grim’s swelling argument. Oddly, he believed him.

Ember came forward and squeezed his shoulder, not knowing why he felt he had to do this, but throwing her support behind his decision. When he'd formed the structure in his mind, minus the compulsions that forced the bound soul to serve, he began drawing energy. The general vicinity was awash with life force, both spent and sustaining, but it wasn’t filling up fast enough for Ian’s liking. The Spirit World worked differently than theirs. He extended his senses outwards, downwards, into the soil of the planet and the spaces between spaces. He focused on channelling the energy that was suddenly available to him.

Looking at the world from the plane of the dead, Seattle shone like a beacon. Massive amounts of energy being shared over a large area, great lines of power stretching beyond the horizon, curling in ways that the ‘natural’ geography couldn’t bend. Pulling upon those power cables was euphoric, dizzying. Ian had never channelled that much power before, and it felt good!

‘Someone could get addicted to this.’

Unbeknownst to him, every being connected to the Spirit Realm felt his spell being cast.

Grim's voice cut through his drunken haze, "Now, you have to bind her with your blood. Mark the body with an ankh."

Ian held out a hand, palm upwards, and Ember pricked his finger with one of her talons. He was now bathed in a green light, many were shielding their eyes. Lily's spell fluttered as Ian drained the room. He crouched down beside the undamaged corpse, an invisible wind flaring open the top of her unbuttoned shirt. In his blood he drew the key of eternal life and rebirth, carefully drawing the sigil on her breast above her heart. Slamming his hand down atop the symbol, the outline flared green, and the body jerked from the force of the magic, scaring the shit out of those observing the process.

The Phantom watched in awe. When Ian finally turned to regard her, she exuded disbelief, then apprehension, and finally, giddy acceptance and eternal gratitude. She drifted towards the body, dissolving into smoke as she succumbed to the spell. When finally she'd transferred herself, a brilliant green flash lit the chamber. The body gasped, fangs shooting out, her eyes opened wide to reveal pure pools of obsidian.

Then she collapsed backwards - caught by Ian before she hit the floor - and lapsed into unconsciousness. It would be some time before her soul acclimated to her new body. The light faded like a snuffed candle as Ian ‘let go’ of his power. He felt drunk, swaying on his knees. In the darkness, none dared to be the first to move, afraid to break the moment. Lily hurled another orb into the air. Under The spell's light they examined the newly-birthed Lich, stunned by what they'd seen take place.

Ian got to his feet, wobbled, went back to one knee, took a steadying breath, and got his equilibrium. Ember helped her tired and jittery lover to his feet, shooting him a quizzical tilt of the head. He nodded, having drawn strength from her touch, centering himself back in the physical world.

“What was that?” Eve whispered.

“That, was stupid, reckless and needlessly dangerous!” Grim chided with pride. “Believe me yet?”

Ian saved his breath by using the time honoured gesture that relied heavily on his middle finger. He knew the cantankerous bastard was referring to his belief that ian was something special.

“Another stretcher!” Rose barked at an underling who didn’t react fast enough.

“But-” He got out before Eve snuck a slap to the back of his head.

“Did we ask for your input?” The twin demanded.

“… No?” He guessed correctly.

“Then get to it,” Eve snapped. Ian almost, ‘almost’ hid his amusement in time. “Something funny?” She bore down on him.

“I’m just wondering how the Sponsors would look on all this,” He mused. “You think they’ll gift you a bigger slice of their pie for killing off the Brood in one go?”

“We aren’t doing this for the Sponsors,” Was Eve’s quick retort. “We’re doing this for us and us alone.”

Even Dani snorted her derision of Eve’s presumptive naiveté.

"You can’t seriously believe that?" Grim mocked Eve.

"My family is the Kin and they’re the only ones I’m doing this for. That means we look out for our own and take care of each other’s problems, no matter how difficult. We work with the Sponsors, not ‘for’ them. We decide what we do and when we do it," Eve fought back.

With the earlier argument still fresh in his memory, Ian really didn’t want to get into another one. However, he could understand Eve’s bold statement. They’d been caught out in the open and their well planned argument had derailed spectacularly. This was, undoubtedly, their way of attempting damage control - get their side heard.

"That's bullshit and you know it. You are an agent of the Sponsors. You attack, sabotage, undermine and kill, for their bottom line while they pay you for the privilege," Ember countered. "After All, isn’t that why she’s here?” Pointing at Lily, “To prove that you’ve been telling the truth and deserve your thirty pieces of silver."

Ah… He hadn’t thought of that.

"I'm Kin, not the Tiandihui or Inquisition. Know the difference," Eve glared.

"The paymaster is the same… You quarrel over the scraps just like everybody else in this game; get off your high horse,” Ember dismissed.

Once more Ian was left to play catch up. He didn’t want to think. He wanted to find a nice quiet hole and let the world go on without him for a few hours. Sadly, he had a job to do and this newest headache could be dealt with later. ‘Hopefully during a long shower.’

Ember casually spanked his ass as she walked on by, proved he was thinking too loud. Not that she disapproved of his idea of ‘unwinding.’

The sleeping girl was added to the numbers they were already carrying on collapsible litters, while Ian gathered up cadavers into a marching order. Behind the dead-line the rest fell into a loose formation.

“Which way?” Ember asked the group. Eve looked to Rose, who glanced at Ian with folded arms and impatience written all over her visage.

“That way,” Ian chinned, and the zombies began shambling. “The Phan- Lich,” He corrected himself. “Blocked them off and their only escape led them to some abandoned hotel.”

He didn’t miss the silent exchange between the Castile sisters. Whatever ‘it’ was, he didn’t have the headspace for it. It was time to ready-up for another fight.