The Necromancer - Part 3

         The Necromancer closed the door once the Succubus was through, shutting out the muted noise and dim light of the cathedral. It had taken him a moment to detach himself and her from the growing crowd of onlookers, their inane questions finally having grown too much for him. They were sheep, all of them. Blind sheep following those they thought would lead them to salvation for no other reason than it was easy. He could stomach few things less than blind faith.
         It was not that they did not have potential. The Necromancer could see vibrant life within many of them, but it was always restrained by the hermetic style they were restricted to live in. It was a familiar tale he had seen so many times in the past. A story he had played a part in before; so many countless years ago. One he seemed destined to play a part in again.
         With a deep sigh, the Necromancer sent a ball of negative life to take up sentry on the other side of the door. It did not cost him much strength, but it would deter anything living from coming near it. They would likely not even know what made them turn away; only that something about the door made them uneasy. It was a waste of some of his already depleted power, but he desired a bit of solitude before it all started to unravel. It would happen soon, he knew. Perhaps even in a matter of hours the delicate bubble the people here enjoyed would pop, sending their world into a spiraling chaos. Into that chaos he would have to step, but first he would enjoy the solace of quiet.
         "You... you don't have to worry. They won't come here. They're all too scared." The Necromancer looked up at the unexpected voice; the Succubus quickly taking up her protective position a bit in front of him. It was a testament to how deeply he had fallen into his own thoughts that he had not noticed the presence of the girl standing in front of him, nor taken notice of exactly where he stood. The room he had entered into was a giant glasshouse attached to the backside of the cathedral. Most of the glass panes that made up the walls and ceiling were still intact, while the garden itself had long since grown wild. Standing in the middle of the overgrown brush and vines was a pale girl of no more than sixteen years, her hands fiddling with the brown cloth of her dress. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."
         "No apology necessary, child. Apparently it is we who disturbed you." The Necromancer took a moment to sense the life around him, searching for any others who may have escaped his earlier notice. Only he, the Succubus, the girl, and the plants were alive around him. It made sense, considering the people inside the cathedral would shun this particular room. It would feel far too open and exposed to the outside world for them to ever feel comfortable here. Taking a moment to study the girl, the Necromancer let the silence stretch on for a moment before speaking. It impressed him a bit that never once did she try to fill the silence with useless words, or avert her eyes from him. This one had a bit of strength to her. "I can see why the others do not come here... but you seem perfectly at home."
         "Everyone else fears the demons. I... I know they don't come here." The girl smiled a bit as she spoke, her expression warm and innocent. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at the Necromancer with such an expression. Usually it was with fear, lust, or hope... but never warmth. "Besides, my mother used to bring me here, and she would've never done anything to hurt me. It was more beautiful then, but the priest's say it's forbidden to tend to it. If Heaven wants it to grow, then it will, they say."
         "You speak of your mother in the past tense. She no longer brings you here?"
         "She's dea... she has been granted absolution and ascended with our Lordships." The girl's words were perfunctory, like a well-rehearsed line. It did nothing to hide the hurt that was in her voice, though. Her bright smile faltered for a moment as she spoke of her mother's death, but never enough to diminish its glow. The Necromancer took a moment to look at the Succubus, noting the demoness's growing interest in the girl. It was easy to see why; the girl's life force was bright and her personality just the right mix of optimism and sorrow. It was also something he knew he would have to watch; the girl was definitely too young to allow the Succubus free reign with.
         "Excuse my bluntness, but how did she die?" The Necromancer put a restraining hand upon the Succubus as he spoke, pulling her back beside him further away from the girl. She obeyed without dissent as she always had; as she always would. He could see the open desire in her eyes as she rested her head upon his shoulder, though. Not all of it was of lust; a large portion of it was simply a desire to comfort the girl and ease her obvious pain.
         "She... she ascended in the divine act that all of us are pressed upon to serve." Once again, the words were wooden and cold. A rote the girl had likely been taught since she was born. One, the Necromancer could sense, she did not fully believe any more. He was not sure if it was this or the strange hue of her life force that interested him, but he indulged a whim to know a bit more about her.
         "You mean she died in child birth? That is the 'great purpose' the Angels spout, I suppose."
         "She nearly died when she had me, and father told her not to try for any more. But she had too. It was expected of her." The girl's smile faded bit by bit as she spoke, her warm amber eyes glossing up with unshed tears. "When she became pregnant, the Angels all said it was the will of Heaven. Once she started to get sick, they said that if she died that was also the will of Heaven. No one even tried to help her. They just... just let her die."
         "And more the fools for the waste. What is your name, child?"
         "Angeline. My mother named me it because she said I was her personal angel. What's yours?"
         "My name? It has been quite awhile since I have had a need for one. If you must call me something then call me Necron." The word had never truly been his name, and his actual name he had forgotten centuries ago. It all mattered little to him anyway. The man who had once had a name had died so very far ago; only the Necromancer remained. "It is as fitting as any other."
         "And hers?"
         "Hers?" The Necromancer took a moment to look at the Succubus, whom was still resting her head upon his shoulder. She had made no further move towards the girl, but the desire in her eyes had died not even a little. The demoness had been with him since almost the beginning of it all; a quiet support so unlike the rest of her kind. "When she was born she was given no name. Amongst her own, no name is given to ones such as her. They are considered undeserving."
         "She is very beautiful, anyway. I have never seen anyone with red skin before... but I like it." The Necromancer had been about to walk away, having decided that whatever strange hue surrounded the girl's life force it was nothing of note; that she was obviously intelligent and pretty in an undeveloped way but nothing more special than that. Her words halted him, though. His deep blue eyes searched her with even more interest, as did the Succubus's. "I... I like the wings, too. They make her look majestic."
         "You see her? Truly see her? How?"
         "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean too. It's just... when you first showed up I noticed there was a crack in her image." The girl took a step back as she spoke, and the Necromancer quickly schooled his face to seem less intent. The Succubus, on the other hand, made no effort to disguise her growing interest. He did not think it was that, though, making the girl nervous. "Not a real crack, like the ones I used to find in rocks on the ground or in our cathedral walls. One I could only see with my mind. So... I pushed on it the way I used to when I was younger. The way all the priests told me was a curse from the devil. I didn't mean to do it again, you have to believe me! I just wanted to know what was behind it. And the more I pushed, the more I saw of her, and the more I wanted to push."
         "Calm, child. You did nothing wrong, and believe me; I am definitely no priest. You need not fear any condemnation from me." The girl's words hinted at something the Necromancer had long since thought had died out of the world. A Gift only seen way back at the beginning of the Apocalypse, when humans fought the tide that was inevitably washing them away. "You say you have done this before?"
         "Uhm... sometimes, when I was younger. Before the priests told me it was a sin to use it. I would... I would find cracks, sort of, in things. Not real cracks, but the weakest part in something. Like when we would play rope knots, I would always know exactly how to unravel them with a single push. Or when the Lordships would bring us clams on Lent, I could see just where to hit them to get them to open. I don't do it anymore, though. It's against Heaven."
         "You're a Breaker. Amazing. A Gift I have not seen in centuries ends up here, in a cathedral full of angels, possessed by a little girl. Even I can still be amazed." The Necromancer walked up to stand right before the girl, the Succubus quickly following behind him. Even at her young age, the girl still managed to be just a bit short of the man's six foot height. Up close, he once again noticed that she was indeed pretty, with golden blond hair and warm amber eyes. All that kept her from being beautiful was age and the smothered life she had lead. A flower that would bloom, if just given time and sun. "Listen to me, Angeline. This is no curse. It is also no more an affront to Heaven than your ability to dream or breath. There will come a time when your life may depend on you using that gift; that time may be sooner than you like. So promise me you will not hesitate to do so."
         The girl seemed to think for a moment, as she fought within herself. It was obvious that she wanted to believe the Necromancer's words, but years of oppressive teaching by her elders made it difficult. Not for the first time, the Necromancer wondered why he cared so much, anyway. There was the fact that he planned on securing as many of the lives of these people as he could when it all started to crumble, and the fact that her Gift could prove useful at a later time. Somehow, though, it felt as if there was more to it. He would save the others only because it served his purposes; not because he truly cared about them. This girl, on the other hand... something about her struck a long-buried chord.
         "Only if you do something for me." It was a braver statement than the Necromancer had thought the girl capable of. Few people had ever attempted to bargain with him, except when whimpering for their lives. Even then, they had never dared demand anything of him. It managed to bring a mirthful smile to his face.
         "Ask away, child."
         "What... How did you get her?" The girl looked at the Succubus with an almost unreadable mix of emotions. For her part, the Succubus simply looked back with open interest and pleasure. The Necromancer did not think the girl's interest was sexual, or at least not all of it; few could look on the Succubus and not desire her; but there was almost a tinge of maternal projection from both of them.
         "You mean, how did I manage to tame a demoness? She is a succubus, and succubi are easy to enthrall... if you know the way."
         "Tell me how. If we knew how to tame the demons, there would be nothing to fear."
         "You are far too young to know such things, child. Stick to your gardens and knot games. Besides, not all demons can be tamed."
         "I am not a child!" The girl had finally moved her eyes from the Succubus to stare at the Necromancer once more, revealing the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "I am fifteen and going to be married to Father Matthew this very night. I would have been married this morning, except for your arrival. If I am old enough to accept my Divine responsibilities, then I am old enough to know this!"
         The Necromancer watched the tears roll down the young girl's face for a moment, letting the silence stretch on for awhile. Her pain and fear was obvious, even though she continued to try to hide it. Finally, he gave a nod to the Succubus. The demoness quickly moved to stand beside the girl, wrapping her up in her arms and wings. Red hued hands pressed the girls head against winged shoulders, all the while the girl simply continued to cry. For a moment the tears were too plentiful to talk through, but after awhile the gentle rocking of the demoness began to ease some of the crying. Finally, the girl pulled herself away to face the Necromancer again.
         "I'm scared."
         "I know."
         "I don't want to be like my mother. I don't want to marry Father Matthew." The girl continued to cry, despite her obvious effort to keep it all in. Every tear that fell, the Succubus quickly moved to kiss away. Each kiss caused the girl to shiver, as the Succubus's touch was always accompanied by a passionate warmth. "That's why I came here. I needed to get away for awhile. Away from my 'Divine responsibility', from Father Matthew and the other priests, and away from everyone's expectations. I don't want any of it. I feel... I feel like this garden. Dieing a bit every day, and no one trying stop it!"
         "Life is hardly ever kind or fair. Humans are even more seldom that way. At your age you should have no more worries than what boy to have a crush on this week." The Necromancer reached out to place a hand underneath the girl's chin, raising her head up so she would stare directly into his eyes. "But that is no longer the way of the world. What should be is not always what is. You can still choose the way your life turns out, Angeline, but it will have to be you who makes the choice. No one else is going to make this better for you, especially not she or I."
         "You could tell me how. How to get one like her." The girl did not flinch away from the Necromancer's touch, even when the electric tingle began to prick her skin. Her amber eyes were red-streaked from crying, but still strong and warm. The Necromancer finally let go of her chin, and backed away. Strength was definitely a character that the girl had plenty of.
         "It would make no difference."
         "Tell me anyway. Please."
         "Alright. It is simple. You bed one." Crossing his arms before him, the Necromancer watched as the Succubus continued to comfort the girl; biting lightly at her ear in affection. So long had the demoness been with him, that it almost felt like she had always been there. It was strange to recall their first meeting, so many centuries after it had happened. "Then you must please her. If you can bring her to climax, then she is yours. The greater the pleasure, the more she is bound to you."
         "And what if you can't?"
         "Then she rips out your heart and devours it before your eyes." The Necromancer laughed a bit as the girl's eyes widened at his words. They only grew wider still as he continued to speak, but never once did she pull away from the Succubus. "After which she moves on to devour the hearts of all of your family. Do not be so surprised, Angeline. She is still a demon after all, and succubi truly hate to be sexually frustrated. More so than most."
         "Is that how you got her?"
         The Necromancer grew quiet suddenly, his form stiffening up. Seconds passed before he finally answered, turning to walk back towards the door as he did. With one last nibble upon the girl's neck, the Succubus untwined herself and quickly followed her master. The girl felt cold and alone as the two walked away, the tears forming in the corners of her eyes again.
         "How I got her is different. Different, and best left forgotten." With that, the Necromancer opened the door. He paused long enough to look at the girl again. "Your path is your own to choose, Angeline. Either way you go, you are going to need all of your gifts not to trip as you walk it. Remember that."
         The door shut with a soft clap as the Necromancer and the Succubus left. Alone again, Angeline kneeled down on the ground. The tears that had been building up inside of her for months, since the arrangement to marry Father Mathew had been announced, came flooding out in long sobs again. She had been able to hold them back when she had felt she had no choice; when she had felt trapped. Now that she thought that she might have a choice, all she could do was cry. Because even if she did have a choice, she knew she could really only choose one way.
         The tears did not stop coming until Angeline happened to look up at where the Necromancer had been standing. A rose bush, which had been a withered and chaotic tangle before, was now healthy and vibrant. In full bloom, each blossom was the darkest black in the middle quickly fading out to pure white at the tips. It was beautiful and alive, even when surrounded by all the decay of the other plants. It was even more beautiful and alive because of it. Crawling over to the bush, she picked one of the blossoms and placed it in her hair. Its scent was sweet and strong, with the slightest hint of cinnamon.
         No longer heavy with sorrow, the girl stood up and walked to the door. Her amber eyes shone with warmth again, and a small smile lit up her pale face. Not all of her fear and worry had left her, but enough had that she could go on. Taking one last look at the rose bush, Angeline opened the door and stepped inside the cathedral. She knew she no longer went alone. Whoever the man had been, something had been offered and she had eagerly accepted. She had chosen her path, and she was willing to see where it led.