Chapter 11

Droga’s office was exactly what you would expect a psychiatrist’s office to be. A couch, table, chair and desk were all present, along with the requisite paintings of gentle seascapes and rolling fields. A modern-style bookshelf took up all of one wall, and the wall behind the desk displayed all the degrees and awards Droga had accumulated. He settled himself in the desk chair and waved me and Chloe to the couch, which was even more comfortable than it looked.

I may have previously given the impression that I don’t care for Droga, but nothing could be further from the truth. In point of fact, I am afraid of the little man. Empaths and telepaths are one of the rarest breeds of supernaturals, and as such I understand their abilities the least. So far, Droga has been nothing but kind and helpful to both the normal and supernatural community. I just hate having to trust an individual’s morality, especially when I’m not sure I could stop him should he decide to go off the rails.

My door is always open if you’d like to discuss your trust issues, I heard in my head.

I glared at him, and received a friendly smile and shrug in return.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chloe,” he said to my ward.

“I’m not sure how much Martin has told you about me, but I’ll start with my standard opening,” he continued with a warm smile.

“My name is Droga Talish. I am an telepath and an empath, which means that I can read both your thoughts and your emotions. I also have a deep understanding of the mental mindset that supernatural beings such as yourself have, so I can use both my knowledge and powers to help you address whatever concerns you have. Before we begin, I will ask you whether you want Martin to be present during our conversation or not. I find that, with new patients, having someone present who they can relate to sometimes has a calming effect. Other times I feel that a third person can hold a patient back from disclosing information, so the choice is entirely yours.”

“Daddy Warlocks can stay. He knows everything that’s happened to me already, and I kinda like having him around.” She gave me a quick grin.

Droga must have noticed the nickname, and probably noted that I didn’t object. I wondered what other clues I was leaking as to our relationship.

You’re leaking pretty much everything. There’s a very interesting dynamic between you two.

I smiled back at Chloe and waited until her attention was focused on Droga before glaring at him again. I have literally made sitting U.S. senators quake with my glare, but Droga just gave one of his small smiles and continued.

“Let’s get started. I will be looking at your thoughts with my powers as well as listening. I will try to be quiet and hear what you are saying, although I might ask you questions,” Droga explained.

Chloe related pretty much the same story she’d told me when we met: her unknowing use of a death shield while getting raped, the subsequent uses when she’d felt threatened or had a nightmare. She went on to talk about her time with me and Xandra, and how she felt safe with us. She talked about her powers and how they both fascinated and frightened her. I hadn’t realized how scared she was when she’d showed up to my fight with Raphael. There wasn’t even a hint of a blush when she talked about Gwydion and how she thought she was in love with them. She mentioned my point about a soul binding and how she was afraid that their relationship was based on that and not love. In all, she spoke for about an hour before she started winding down.

All this time Droga had been quiet while studying her intently.

For about five minutes after she stopped talking, Chloe was still. Then she shook her head sharply, as if snapping out of a trance.

“What did you do?” she asked suspiciously.

“I am able to take others’ memories and examine them like a stone. I can usually take them and knock away the harsh edges that cause the pain in the psyche. It’s almost like how an oyster turns a grain of sand into a pearl. I could try to explain in more detail, but unless you’re an empath it probably wouldn’t make any sense,” Droga explained

“Couldn’t you just blank the memory out? Wouldn’t that be easier?” Chloe asked with watery eyes.

“I could do that, but there are a couple of reasons I don’t. First and foremost, we are products of our experiences and how we deal with them. As horrific as your rape was, it is indelibly implanted into your very being. For me to remove that would take away a vital part of what makes you, you. Secondly, if I were to remove that memory and the feelings tied to it, I would be crippling your powers,” Droga replied softly.

I could tell that Chloe would love nothing more than to forget that horrible night. Not only had she been horribly abused, but that was also when she’d killed another human for the first time. I remember my first kill, as clearly as if it were yesterday. No matter how “justified” it is, you always feel like a little bit of yourself died.

“How would it cripple my powers?” Chloe asked. I was interested in that statement also.

“I must admit that I am entering slightly into the realm of speculation, but I can provide the research that underlies my theory if you are really interested. Essentially, all the Necromancers I have studied have had terrible things happen to them at a developmental stage. I believe that these experiences are critical for the awakening and development of their powers. I believe that what determines the strength of a Necromancer is the number of terrible things that have happened to them and how deeply they affect them. I know how sad that sounds, but my research backs my supposition. It also explains why so many Necromancers are considered unstable—your very power rests on emotional and psychic distress. When you combine the emotional instability along with the supernatural community’s bias against Necromancers, it’s no wonder that Necromancers will “go crazy.” This only reaffirms the bias, and we get into a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Droga concluded.

“Damn, that’s fucked up,” Chloe muttered.

“Oh I agree,” Droga replied. “What I’m seeing in your case holds out a lot of hope for you personally, though. You’ve found someone to provide a certain stability and direction. If we were to use another analogy, you are cast adrift in a mental and emotional maelstrom; this maelstrom provides your power. Thankfully, you have solid anchor points, Martin here being the most prominent. I can see that you have a special relationship with Xandra also. Of course, your blossoming relationship with Gwydion will be important along, with a certain Sofia. I am extremely interested in her, as she seems to be a new player in this game, if you will.”

I noticed he shot a glance at me when he said this.

Another time, I thought as hard as I could.

Yes Sir, Daddy Warlocks, he replied with a mental grin.

I wondered how long it was going to take me to live that nickname down. I was going to have to talk to Chloe about her trying out nicknames. In front of Droga was okay, but I DID have a reputation to maintain.

“What about Pops?” Chloe asked out of the blue. “How does he get his power? I’m beginning to see that he’s a bigwig when it comes to this supernatural stuff, but I really don’t know anything about Warlocks or why they’re so feared. Also, how does he get away with the crazy shit he pulls?”

Damn, this kid went right for the jugular. She was asking my shrink what made me tick? Huh. I actually wanted to hear Droga’s response to this. I think. When he looked at me, I gave him a slight nod of my head. Chloe was my little sister and my daughter rolled into one. I had only felt this way one other time, and I had tried to keep secrets. It had ended up terribly. This time, I was going for full disclosure; hopefully it would turn out better.

What would you like me to tell her? Droga asked me.

Everything, except stuff pertaining to Stephen. She’ll need to hear that from me when I am ready to talk about it.

At least you’re acknowledging him now. She is really good for you, Martin, Droga replied sincerely.

I chose not to respond.

“Warlocks are interesting creatures,” Droga said aloud as he looked at me with a hooded glance. “They derive their powers from the outer planes. I am sure you have heard of the Seven Deadly Sins? Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Pride, Envy, Avarice, and Sloth. There are various planes that are attuned to those aspects. The further one commits himself to a particular aspect, the more powerful he becomes. This is why Warlocks are viewed with such contempt and fear. The truly powerful ones have given themselves over completely to the very actions and emotions that society tells us needs to be constrained. Martin is no exception. I am sure if he were to think about it he could find areas in his life where he has committed himself fully to a path of, say, Lust.”

I thought about some of the really kinky stuff Xandra and I used to do, and couldn’t help the smile that popped on my face. Yeah, I had probably nailed the Lust thing down.

I started thinking of other “sins.” I knew I was an arrogant asshole to the core, so Pride could be checked off, especially after taking down Ajak the other day. I was always trying to amass more wealth and power, so I suppose Avarice was another box checked. I didn’t really see where Gluttony, Envy, or Sloth would be beneficial, so I wasn’t too concerned about them. As for Wrath, I knew I had a wicked temper and I was always scared about what would happen when it was finally unleashed.

“So if the old man is such a bad person, why would a good guy like Gwydion be his best friend? Why would he help me? I know he says he needs my help, but he’s gone WAY past a simple payment for services rendered. I also see how he looks at Xandra and Sofia; I can see the Lust, but I also know he loves them. This doesn’t make any sense.” Chloe frowned as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that I was a “bad guy.”

Droga’s next statements took me by surprise:

“Your old man Martin is a rare individual. He is able to keep a sense of self and honor despite the actions that he engages in. Most Warlocks will fall down the rabbit hole of Lust, for instance, and do nothing but satisfy their base desires. They let their id run wild, as Freud would say. Martin is able to commit to a path, but always comes back to the core of his being. I know you know I asked him if he was a good person who did bad things or a bad person who did good things. For most people that is a philosophical question designed to get them thinking. With Martin it is fundamental to his psyche. People like Gwydion, Xandra, Sofia, and most importantly you are instrumental in keeping Martin centered, and will continue to be so throughout his life.”

“Why me?” Chloe asked.

“Because Martin bonds with his apprentices tightly, and it makes him work hard to live up to the expectations they have for him.” Droga smiled at me.

“I can only imagine what he would be like as a father.” He grinned at Chloe.

Chloe grinned back.

“He would be great,” she said happily.

Okay, it was probably time to get out of here before they had me in an apron baking muffins.

Chloe and Droga talked for another hour or so about her issues, both normal and supernatural. As they talked, I could see tension drain out of her body. When they started wrapping up, Chloe had a whole different vibe about her. Normally she looked like she was tightly wound, but now she looked relaxed. She also seemed to stand a bit taller, which might have brought her up to 5’4”. She looked full of youth and energy. Vibrant. I made a mental note to thank Droga.

She’s a good kid, Martin. It was my pleasure. Droga remarked. Bastard.

Exiting the building, I noticed that my car was not pulled around just as I caught a whiff of what smelled like decaying flesh. Chloe looked like she was going to puke as she held her hand to her nose and looked at me.

“What is that godawful smell?” she asked.

Just then a humanoid shape dropped in front of us and hissed. I sent a gust of air strong enough to push it back, then launched a fireball. I whipped up a shield around me and Chloe as I saw the shape start burning like it was doused in gasoline. Looking up, I saw probably 20 to 30 other forms climbing over cars and climbing down the building.

“Blood caste Vampyres,” I said to Chloe “They’re little smarter than rats, but if they get enough together they can swarm and do some damage. Something has them riled up to get us.”

Chloe looked at the closest one like it was bug about to be dissected. I saw an emerald green globe start to form in her hand.

“When I say the word, drop the shield,” she said with authority.

“Not sure that’s a wise idea, Kiddo,” I responded. “They can overwhelm us with numbers. I can summon a couple rage demons outside my shield and let them go to town.”

“Please, Martin. My way is faster.” She looked at me with conviction.

What the Hell. I dropped the shield.

The globe of energy shot out at the closest vampyre. The instant it made contact with the undead, the globe vaporized it and split into two globes. Those two globes went in opposite directions, seeking the two nearest undead, and did the same thing—vaporize and split. Within seconds there seemed to be hundreds of balls of bright green energy whizzing around us, vaporizing the entire swarm in about a minute. Then all of the balls came together and formed a globe in Chloe’s hand. She looked at me and smiled.

“Told ya so. Faster.” She grinned.

“There’s a nest of maybe forty or fifty of these things about two miles to the west. Should I take those out too?” she asked.

What. The. Hell.

I knew that Necros could handle undead with ease; it’s the main reason that the Nosferatu Vampyres continually push to get Necromancers officially kill on sight. The display I had just witnessed, however, was insane.

On the practical level, there were probably humans enslaved to these critters at their lair. Also, I wanted to know if these guys were deliberately sent after us or not.

I looked at her and grinned.

“Let’s go.”

Walking around the building a little bit, we saw our limo. It looked like it had been run over by a herd of water buffalo. My driver popped his head out when he saw me and just gave a shrug; he had seen a lot worse in his time with me, although he had a certain greenish tint to his face right now. It might be time to give the poor guy a vacation.

I pulled out my phone and ordered another car for Chloe and me to take to the Vampyre lair.

“Why does it not surprise me that Vampyres are real?” Chloe asked as she sat on the beat-up hood of our Lexus.

“Pretty much everything you have heard fairy tales of is real in one form or another,” I replied.

“Werewolves?” she asked

“Yup, although you would be hard pressed to see one within a hundred miles of a city. If you do run across one, be polite. They generally won’t be hostile as long as you show respect. And when they switch into their hybrid form, even the weakest one is worthy of respect. If you meet a strong one that goes into wolf shape, you’d better be ready to do whatever they ask. The matriarchs and patriarchs are resistant even to our soul magic. If a strong pack decided to, they could wipe out an entire city of supernaturals and probably not lose a member.” I replied.

“Bigfoot?” she asked.

“Sasquatch, but yeah. They are almost extinct now, maybe a couple hundred left. They are some of the most gentle beings you will find. They would rather leave an ancestral home than fight any encroachment. Supposedly, when they do decide to fight they are fearsome opponents. I’ve never seen one in that state, though.”

“Loch Ness Monster?” she asked, trying to trip me up.

“Failed attempt at summoning by a powerful wizard. Instead of trying to pull a creature across the planes, the moron tried to pull a dinosaur across time. He only succeeded in bringing a corpse across but at the expense of losing his soul and mind into the body of the beast. The English Council was able to fix it but I am not sure how.” I said.

“Unicorns?” she queried with some exasperation.

“Huh, still a legend. Some call her the embodiment of order. Not sure why, but no one has even seen her as far as I know.”

“Droga said you get tight with your apprentices. How many have you had, and why haven’t I seen one?” she asked.

Damn Droga.

“Chloe, I will answer any question you ask, and I will never lie to you. However, you are never to ask me about my other apprentice ever again. If I find the need to discuss him with you I will, but that is one topic that is off-limits. Do we understand each other?” I knew my voice was cold and harsh. I really couldn’t help it, even if I’d wanted to.

“Whoa, Dad, I didn’t mean to push any buttons. You don’t want to talk about it, we won’t talk about it,” Chloe said hurriedly

“Thank you. It looks like our car is here. Let’s go kill some blood suckers.” I hopped off the derelict car and started walking towards the new one. Damn if I couldn’t put the past behind me.

The car ride over to the abandoned building where the Vampyre nest was located was quiet. I knew that Chloe didn’t understand my reluctance to talk about my former apprentice. I could also tell that she was bursting at the seams to ask me questions. There was no way I was going to go into it with her. She needed confidence going into the painful session of her training. I knew she was going to try to pry it out of Xandra when she saw her next. Not even Xandra knew anything more than his name, though. I could keep some secrets hidden deep.

As if my thinking about her summoned her, my phone rang with a bunch of text messages.

They were all pictures of my two girlfriends naked and engaged in lewd and obscene acts with each other. I forgot all about the issues I had with my apprentices and just stared openly at the high quality porn Xandra and Sofia sent me. My favorite was probably the close up of both of their pussies that had the caption “Wish you were here.” It looked like they were scissoring. I must not have kept my phone private enough, because I noticed Chloe looking across with a half-amused and half-contemplative look on her face. I backed out of the pictures quickly and she gave a snort.

“Don’t stop on my account, Pops. I know you gotta be going a little crazy with no place to hide the pickle,” she laughed.

“Hide the pickle? Are you thirteen all of a sudden?” I asked with a little bit of asperity.

“Naw, just a little horny myself,” she replied. “Plus those are some fine looking women you got there.”

I couldn’t believe that I was having this conversation.

“Would Gwydion like it if I sent him some racy photos?” she asked.

“UGH, Chloe, please don’t make me talk about this,” I begged her.

“You said you would answer any question honestly, and you also said I couldn’t ask questions about your apprentice, so this is the topic I am choosing to talk about. Now, would Gwydion like photos like that, or would he get freaked out?” she asked

“If you sent some hard PG-13 or light R rated stuff, Gwydion would bust a nut. He would be too embarrassed to say or do anything if you sent stuff like what Xandra just sent me,” I said with my eyes closed.

She looked thoughtful.

“So some racy lingerie shots with some bare tits and maybe a full frontal shot or two.” she said almost to herself.

“When we’re done killing these Vampyres, I’m going to need to stop by Victoria’s Secret on the way home. Can I have some cash or a card? Or do you want to come in?” she said with an evil smirk.

I reached into my suit jacket and brought out my wallet. I carry two thousand dollars cash in hundreds with me at all times. Any more than that and the wallet gets too thick and can spoil the lines of my suit. I counted out five hundred and handed it to her.

“I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to know about it, and we can be done talking about this at any time,” I said.

“I take it that means you don’t want to take the pictures?” she asked with a downright wicked smile.

The car pulled to a stop outside an abandoned building. Chloe got that look on her face like something smelled bad.

“This must be it. Time to kill some Vampyres,” I said as I bolted outside the car and away from this awkward conversation.

Chloe snickered as she got out of the car on her side.

“Saved by the bell, eh Pops?” she laughed.

“Time to get serious, Chloe,” I replied. “These are the nest guardians; they’re going to be a lot tougher than the swarm we just faced.”

“I figured as much, but I’ve been working on something while we were driving over here. Unlike SOME people, I wasn’t distracted by nudie pics.” She smiled.

The building’s windows were all boarded up. She walked over to one and I saw her focus her magic. She punched a fist sized hole through the wood. Then she did another seeming impossible task. I saw a green smoke coming from her hand, pouring into the hole she had just punched. Five minutes later I saw traces of the smoke escaping through little cracks in between the wood slats that covered the windows. Every few minutes the smoke would rise to another floor. By the time it got to the top floor there was some pounding on the boarded up windows up there. The pounding stopped. I saw smoke coming from the door on the roof and I knew that the entire building was full. I looked over at Chloe and she pulled her hand away from the hole.

Chloe looked at me and gave a huge grin.

“The weakest ones are vaporized. The moderate and strong ones are dead-dead now. There were two that were head and shoulders taller and smarter than the rest. I moderated the gas at the last second to put them asleep so you could get some questions answered. Now, I am going to sit in the car because I don’t want to get filthy before I go try on lingerie. Is there a spell that allows us to clean ourselves up without having to take a shower?