Wrath of the Gods [Legacy, BK 3 - Hiatus]

2.1 - Ezra

We came through the portal into one of the bunker's secure rooms. It was four walls, a floor, and a ceiling of grey concrete. There were no windows and only one solid steel door that had a painted number one on it. A bare light bulb and a security camera mounted above the door were the only other items in the room.

Jett stood next to me, looking around as I closed the portal and then pulled out my phone to send a quick text.

"Where is this?"

"Home sweet home, for now."

His expression was uncertain as the sound of the door's lock disengaging echoed and Tessa opened the door. Her braids were pulled back in a ponytail today and she wore a thick fleece and tight jeans against the bunker's everlasting chill.

"That was quick," she said, leaning back on the open door.

Vasco let out a caw and flew from my shoulder to the hand she held out to him. "Yes, welcome back to you too, Vasco." Tessa grinned at the demon.

I couldn't help but smile as well. Vasco was technically one of my demons, but he'd quickly become a favorite and spoiled pet among our group.

"Jett, this is Tessa," I said, introducing them to each other.

"Hey," Jett said uncertainly.

"Nice to finally meet you. We've been worried about you for a while now. Glad you're safe." Tessa nodded at him as she held Vasco out to me.

"Everything good here?" I asked her, trying to play it normal and cool in front of Jett. His weary expression and slightly defensive stance told me we hadn't made much progress on the trust front yet. But he had followed me through the portal willingly. Point for him.

"John and Hunter are still out. Your dad asked that you see him as soon as you got back. And if you still want to have the weekly meeting on time, I've got to go pick up Cameron."

"Ah, I see. Thanks for the update. I'll see you at the meeting then." I ushered Jett through the open door and opened up the room for her.

Once we were clear, she built her portal, slower than I did, but she had only just mastered the technique a week ago. With a final wave, she stepped through and was gone.

I shut the door, locking it again. It was a defensive strategy so that if one of us were captured and forced to portal here, those here would be well warned before we had intruders in the halls.

"Can all of you do that? That portal thing?" Jett asked, looking at me with a weird expression. It was almost one of envy. I wasn't expecting that.

"No, not all necromancers. Just our family, and even then, only the strongest of us." Anissa still had yet to master it, even though she should have had enough power to do so. "Are you hungry? We can grab a snack in the kitchen before I go check in with my dad."

"Uh, sure, I guess."

Jett fell into stride with me as I led the way down the corridor.

"So, necromancers? Like raising the dead. Is that what you can do?"

"The ability to raise the dead belongs to the Stanwood family of the Necromantic Circle. My dad, the man who adopted me, is the last of the Stanwood line that can raise the dead. You and I, however, are Reinhardts. Summoners. We have the ability to summon demons, and some of us can summon portals as well."

Jett glanced around as we walked, looking amazingly uninterested for someone who was just told they were a necromancer. I didn't want to force too much on him too soon, so I opted for silence over more explanation. Jett had other ideas though.

"You said you were adopted," he asked suddenly.

I slowed, coming to a stop in the empty hall. "I did."

"What happened to your parents then?"

Vasco cawed softly and I couldn't tell if he picked up on the emotions I was feeling or was just being more of a demon bird.

"My parents were killed." I took a deep breath. "We necromancers have an enemy, one that's sought to kill us all off. We've been in a war with them for almost three generations now."

Jett's eyes widened. "The guy in the alley. The one that was holding the fire."

"Yes, he was a witch from the Coven. The Coven is our enemy but the war itself has gotten convoluted. Witches have joined with us against the Coven because they no longer agree with the Coven's stance, and there are necromancers who've sided with the Coven."

Silence stretched between us as Jett took in what I'd said. I hated that all I had to give him was bad news and more bad news, and in the stark blandness of the concrete walls and fluorescent lighting, I feel like it made it even worse somehow.

"It's not so black and white then," he finally said.

"Exactly. I'm not going to lie to you, Jett. Our situation is not the best. There's only a few of us left and even less of us that are willing and able to fight."

"Is that what you want me to do?" He sounded angry and the glare in his eyes was hard to miss. "You want me to fight in your war?"

I paused a moment, choosing my words carefully. "If you're willing, yes. But honestly, I brought you here because you were in danger. If the Coven were to get a hold of you, at best they would kill you. I didn't want to take a chance with your life."

Jett stared at me a long moment. "Why? What am I to you?"

I didn't hesitate. "You're family. How close and what exactly, I won't know until we dig into the family tree. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're safe, and to be safe, you need to know there's danger."