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Fascinating!”
    Necromancers were wizards. Practitioners of arcane magic. They were said to control the dead, but Lark didn’t believe they had that much power. Frankly, if they could, they’d be charging for it and since they weren’t, she doubted they could raise zombie armies. Still they had enough power and those in her territory were working her nerves. And worse, when more than just a few of them congregated, they messed with harmony and balance.
    She breathed in the smoke of the tea. “Wizards are an interesting bunch. But they mess with the magickal balance in our ground and that has to stop. I guess we have a lot of problems and I need a lot of solutions.” She sent a weak smile to Sheila, who tutted and waved it away.
    “That was a problem back in my day too. Edwina’s mother drove them off. Let me look into our archives for particulars.”
    They had tea and lemon bars as Sheila schooled Lark on their history and the use of some potions in addition to spellwork. She loved this part of clan life. Loved the way the Elders passed on their knowledge and skill to the next generation. She hoped she was half as skilled and wise as the woman she sat across from.
    By the time she left, Lark had a headache, but it was worth it to have received all the information she had.
    Her phone pinged and she pulled it from her bag to catch sight of her mother’s number so she headed back to her temporary digs to answer it.
    “You’re going to make me old if you don’t keep me updated on your whereabouts, darlin’.”
    She smiled, instantly feeling better. “You’re already pretty old, I guess I should be careful. I briefed Helena earlier. I figured she’d talk to you.”
    “She did. But it’s not the same as a daughter calling her mother to let her know she’s safe and not talking to strangers. Your father is going to be jealous I got to talk to you and he didn’t. I may have to lord it over him awhile.”
    “Ha! I got the side eye just now for being a Californian. Lucky for you, I have manners and so I’m supposed to let you guys know you did a good job with me.”
    Her mother’s laugh made things better. “Clearly you didn’t speak to this person long enough to spew any of your colorful insults.”
    She found herself grinning, knowing it was part of why her mother had called and Lark loved her for it. “I miss you guys.”
    “I miss you too.” Rain paused. “You don’t have to be gone, you know. They could have sent someone else.”
    “You and I both know that I had to go for a while.” Lark shrugged though her mother couldn’t see it.
    “She doesn’t blame you.”
    “That’s not quite true. Helena knows I’m not to blame. Which is different from not blaming me. We need some distance between us. I can’t see another way around it if we don’t.”
    Her mother was quiet for a long time and finally sighed.“I love you. Don’t be gone too long. Your father and I didn’t have two daughters to only see one on a regular basis.”
    “I just left two days ago. I don’t think we’re DEFCON one just yet.”
    “You’ve been leaving for months now. Be good and stay safe. Call me tomorrow.”
    “Love you too.”
    She hung up and looked out the window for a while. The sky in the distance was purple like a bruise. She felt a little like that inside.

Chapter 4
    LARK knew she should have been at Heart of Darkness by then, but she wasn’t ready to deal with anyone just yet. She had a lot of excess energy and a good walk would help with that.
    Where Helena would have written out a long pro-and-con list for whatever was bothering her, Lark preferred the mindless activity of a long walk or drive. She didn’t know Seattle as well as the Southland, but she knew enough that if she walked up a bit she’d arrive at Seattle Center, and then she could tour around and walk back. It wouldn’t take a lot of time, but she’d work off her energy.
    She was unsettled.
    There was something wrong. It could have easily