The Necromancer Council

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The room looked so much better now that someone had been in to clean it. She wasn't exactly sure who had done it, just that she'd put the request in with the building supervisor and the job had been done. She could get used to this kind of efficiency.

She walked around the room, much like she'd done the first day that she'd arrived in the Council chambers. Five chairs dominated above the floor, with intricately carved skulls and bones etched into the wood.

How very cliché. The worst part about it was that she found she liked the aesthetic. It felt right for the people they were representing.

When she looked closer at the carvings, she realised that each of the chairs was subtly different, no doubt representing the original necromancers who had sat in them.

She made her way over to one that had roses and thorns carved between the bones and took a seat. She had no idea why this one was the one she wanted, but it felt right to sit back in it and survey the room.

Cissy reached into her bag and pulled out the pen and notepad she'd brought with her for while they had their meeting. She didn't know if there would be anything she needed to record, but it seemed sensible to at least have the option available to her.

Her breathing was surprisingly shallow as she waited for the arrival of the other people coming. She wasn't sure if she wanted the woman she'd never met to appear before Darius, or after him. She hadn't seen him since she'd left his kitchen and talked to Tabby, and didn't know how she was going to react when she did.

What if she made a fool out of herself?

The door swung open, leaving her with no choice but to face whatever it was she was feeling inside.

Her heart skipped a beat as Darius stepped into the room, his piercing gaze landing on her within seconds. A smile that echoed her own spread over his face as he made his way across the floor and to the chair next to hers. He hadn't even looked at it in as much detail as she had, but somehow, she knew he was as certain as she was about which of them belonged to him.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Good. You?" Her leg bounced up and down from the nerves, but she didn't try to stop it. There was very little point when he was going to continue having the same effect on her whether she tried to control it or not.

"I'm good too. I'm looking forward to getting the Council up and running," he admitted.

"Even though there's only three of us?"

Darius shrugged. "Up until a week ago, there were none of us. I think three is a good start."

"I'm glad Aurora Evans accepted our invitation."

"I am too," a woman said.

Cissy looked up sharply to find a tall dark-haired woman standing in front of them.

"That's me," she said. "Though most people call me Rory."

"It's nice to meet you," Darius said, rising to his feet and making his way over to her to shake her hand. "I'm Darius, this is Narcissa..."

"Cissy," she corrected instantly. "Especially if we're going to call you Rory."

The other woman chuckled. "Maybe we can start an archaic name club?" she suggested.

"We'd end up overrun with new members by the end of the week," Cissy responded, feeling surprisingly at ease around the stranger.

"That's true. Perhaps not the best use of our first decree," Rory said.

Darius chuckled and gestured to the three empty chairs. "Your pick of which you want."

Rory nodded and made her way over to them. Just as Cissy had, she studied each of the options before selecting the one closest to them. Maybe she'd change her mind once they had all five members of the Council in position, but for now, it would be easier if they were sat closer together.

"Thank you for inviting me. I must admit that I was surprised when I received it," Rory said to them both.

"Because of your mate?" Cissy asked.

"No. I assumed the High Council would have given that the okay if I was getting the invitation. But I was never very involved with other necromancers," she said.

"I thought you worked for the previous Council?" Darius asked.

Rory grimaced. "As a liaison, I did, yes. But that was partly because they thought I was someone to control. I never liked some of the more macabre aspects of our craft and a lot of people saw that as weak."

"I think many of us feel that way," Cissy responded, gaining confidence that this woman was the right choice for their new Council. "But the majority of our people have stayed quiet about it because they didn't want to get on the bad side of the few who were in charge."

"Cissy is right," Darius agreed. "Almost every necromancer I know wants to do their part to protect the dead rather than use them to rise up and take over the world. I suspect the fall of the former Council has just made everyone a little bit more vocal about it."

"And it doesn't matter if that's not the case. We're the ones the High Council has put in charge of reforming necromancer politics, that means we're the ones who get to shape it the way we believe," Cissy added.

Rory gave a relieved sigh and leaned back in her chair. "I'm glad to hear you say that. I was worried briefly when I heard that the Council was being reinstated. We haven't exactly got the best reputation."

Cissy shook her head, knowing what the other woman meant. "Which is why we're going to start the way we mean to go on. The only Council chambers we'll be using are the ones in this building. Maybe over time we'll want a place of our own, but for now, it's more important to foster the link between our people and the rest of the paranormal community."

"That suits me. It would be helpful if we organised our meetings for the same time as the Shifter Council. I can carpool with Alden that way," Rory said.

"I'm sure we can arrange a time that suits us best," Darius responded.

Cissy nodded. It wasn't like she'd been able to go back to work yet anyway. She was lucky that she'd had enough savings to be able to survive in the past couple of years. But once the Council was back up and running, she'd probably have to finally face the idea of getting another job. Her savings wouldn't last forever, and the Council member stipend was too low to live off.

She pushed those thoughts aside. They were important, but they weren't what she should be focusing on right at that moment.

"The first thing we need to do is figure out who the other two members of the Council are going to be," Cissy said. "I've been thinking about it, and unless either of you have a suggestion, I think we should let the other necromancers nominate people they think would be a good fit for the position. We can interview them and whittle them down to the other two Council members." She spoke quickly, desperate to get her idea out before she lost confidence in it. That wasn't the way the Councils were normally run, but she liked the idea of proving to the necromancer population that they were going to take them seriously straight away. It would increase the trust and respect that they had for the Council and should mean that they were able to deal with the problems they needed to properly.

"I think that's a good idea," Rory said slowly. "Though I can't see the High Council agreeing to it."

"They will," Cissy promised. And if they didn't straight away, then she'd get Richard to put pressure on them until they did. That might technically be breaking the rules, but she needed to do this the right way for necromancers. "They'll still get to approve the final members, and that should keep them happy." At least, she hoped it would. The last thing she wanted to do was make enemies of the Council that ruled over them.

"Then I think we should do it. I think it's a little controversial, but that's a good thing. We can prove that we're not the same as the Councils who have come before us," Rory said.

Relief crashed through Cissy as she realised the other woman was agreeing with her.

"I'll make the arrangements," Darius announced.

Before she could say anything else, Cissy's phone started to ring. She frowned. Only a handful of people had her number, and none of them would call unannounced without a good reason.

"I'm so sorry, I need to get this." She rose from her seat and pulled out her phone.

Dread welled up inside her at the sight of her cousin's name. Why would Tabby be ringing her right now?

She hit the answer button and stuck the phone next to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Cissy, are you free?" Tabby asked down the line, not even bothering with a greeting.

"I'm in a Council meeting." She glanced over her shoulder to where Rory and Darius were talking to one another quietly. Much to her surprise, she didn't feel particularly jealous over the two of them sitting so close.

"That's even better, you can bring the others."

"Bring them where?" she asked, confused about what the call was about.

"I need you to come to the Paranormal Criminal Investigations building. It's urgent Council business."

"Oh."

"I'll text you the details." Tabby hung up before she could ask for more about what was going on.

Cissy sighed. It must be important if Tabby wanted them all to come, though that didn't stop it from being mildly annoying not to have any information.

She turned back to the other two new Council members and put on the best smile she could muster.

"We need to go to the PCI headquarters," she said. "If you're both free."

Rory grimaced. "I can't, I have another meeting to go to. But let me know if you need any help with whatever this is about."

"I'm free," Darius said. "And I can drive, if you'd like?"

Cissy nodded. "Thanks."

"What's it about?" he asked.

"No idea, but I guess we'll find out soon enough." She hated being so cryptic, but when she didn't know anything herself, she didn't have another choice.