The Necromancer's Seduction Read Online Free PDF

“What makes you think I’m capable of creating him? Only the more
     powerful necromancers can create human revenants, much less a supernatural one. I’ve
     never heard of a necro that’s done it.”
    “Your mother raised a supernatural revenant,” Malthus said. “—a werewolf.” The room
     grew still. I regarded him, my eyes wide.
    “No one but the Seattle wolf pack has known until now,” he added, his voice perfectly
     mild, as if he hadn’t just revealed a long-kept secret.
    I plopped my glass on the side table hard enough to slosh some of the whiskey onto
     the stained wood. “Can you lay out all your cards? Any other secrets about my life
     you need to tell me?”
    He blinked a few times, then gazed past me at the fireplace. “No.”
    I felt like Malthus had squeezed my head between two small presses, and each word
     from him twisted the cranks a notch. I reached for my glass and gulped down some whiskey.
     I was not a fan of whiskey, dammit. My non-inner demons were driving me to drink.
    “How do you know my mom raised a supernatural revenant?” I finally asked.
    Malthus walked over to me, a small book in his hand. “Your grandmother’s journal.
     She recorded her actions as a necromancer, her knowledge, her ideas. I think she ultimately
     wanted you to have it, but was conflicted about giving you all this knowledge. A disservice
     to you, in my opinion.”
    My hand shook as I grasped the worn edge of the small book.
    “I believe you’ll find an account of when your mother raised the revenant. Your grandmother
     helped her.” Malthus paused. “I’m sorry, Ruby. I know this is a lot of information
     to absorb at once.”
    “Ya think?” I rubbed my forehead, trying to ease the pressure. “How do you have this?”
    He stared at the journal in my hand, his eyelids stiff. “She wanted me to safeguard
     it. I wouldn’t ask you to perform this task if I didn’t think raising Adam was important
     or if you weren’t capable.”
    I hated the wariness in his eyes, as if he were coaxing a skittish rabbit. But even
     more I hated that he was right to employ caution, to understand my own lack of faith
     in my supernatural ability.
    My head seemed to drift around me in a haze. I glanced at the whiskey in my hand.
     That wasn’t helping. “A supe’s body and residual soul are stronger than a normal person’s,
     more difficult to control. It takes a powerful, knowledgeable necromancer to raise
     and contain such a revenant without dying. They literally feed off the necro’s power,
     and if the necro doesn’t have enough to sustain it . . .” I broke off, not wanting
     to explore that thought further.
    “I understand the risk involved. This is not a frivolous request. If your grandmother
     were alive . . .”
    “Yes, I know.” I sighed. “Granny to the rescue.” I stared at the journal. “It’s not
     only about the risk. I have moral issues about raising zombies and revenants.”
    Malthus regarded me, his disinterest in my moral quandaries evident with each careful
     blink of his eyes. I wished Cora was alive so I could watch the sparks bounce between
     her and Malthus. They’re so different. She was warm and spunky. He’s overbearing.
    I finished off my drink. Most likely I wouldn’t be able to make a revenant, and none
     of this would matter.
    “I need a day or two to think it over,” I said.
    He swirled the whiskey in his glass. “Fair enough, but bear in mind, we risk more
     supernatural deaths if we wait too long.”
    He raised his hand in front of him, his brow furrowed. He turned to Ewan. “The portal.”
    Ewan met his gaze, and the two demons communicated without words. Ewan moved off the
     stool and strode towards the door, his shoulders stiff.
    Malthus controls the portal linking the human and demon realms. I never quite understood
     how it worked, only that demons could access it from different parts of our world.
     Cora had explained the portal to me when I was a kid,