Legacy of the Necromancer [Legacy, BK1 - Completed]

Chapter 6:5

I awoke slowly, fighting to regain consciousness. Pain was the first thing I noticed. My arms felt like they were on fire, the chains tighter than before. The sun was brighter against the windows, the warehouse so silent I could hear the roar of the ocean faintly in the background. Was I still alone? How long had I been out?

The arm I was laying on started stinging with pins and needles as I shifted. I must have been out awhile then.

"You shouldn't have reached for your power. It's the worst thing you could do in a Binding."

The voice came from behind me, but that wasn't what surprised me. What caught me off guard was that I recognized it. I struggled to sit up, turning to face John. My roommate from college, John.

Now I remembered what was bothering me before - it was his face in the darkness of the hood as he knocked me out with the vial.

"How? Why are you here with the Witches?" I asked, still bewildered by my old roommate's presence. He sat cross-legged with the hood of his green trimmed white robe pushed back to show his face.

"What I want to know is how the hell you're a necromancer. When I last saw you three months ago, you didn't have any power. Necromancers are all the same: the rotting smell of death saturates their skin and only grows stronger. Tell me, Asher, how did you hide your power?"

The hurt in his words caught me by surprise.

"John, I..." I fought to find the words. "I really didn't hide anything."

He rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "I thought we were friends. I thought you'd at least tell me the truth."

"It is!" He started to walk away, and I was desperate. I climbed unsteadily to my feet, following after him as far as the chain would allow. "John, I was Talentless. Do you know what that means in a family of Necromancers?"

He paused, but didn't turn around.

"Sure, my parents loved me, but I was the black sheep, the outsider. For years I tried to find my power and it never came. I went to college because I'd given up. I was facing my truth when you and I became friends."

He turned to face me. "What happened? How come you're drenched in power now?" He sneered at me. "Who'd you kill to gain that power?'

His words twisted in my heart, hitting a little too close to home. I hung my head.

"It was my fault," I whispered, as raw pain filled me again.

I'd almost managed to forget her, after all that had been going on; between visiting the Reinhardt estate, the ceremonies, and Avery. The fact I'd stopped thinking about the girl who I'd failed to protect only made the guilt heavier.

"What?''

"I was supposed to protect her!" I screamed at him.

I felt the tears hot on my face, my power fighting to rise with my emotions. It'd been too long since the last time I'd used it. Too much Talent had built up in me. I'd thought the burning from the Binding was bad, but as the heat grew in my body now, it was like stepping into a fire. I had no choice but to embraced it. "I was supposed to protect her and I didn't."

John took a step back, confusion and fear playing on his face.

"Ezra, what-"

I couldn't stop the Talent rising in me, like before. It felt like my arms were melting. Liquid fire spread upwards into my shoulders and down my back. The chains snapped, and I stood, facing John squarely. His eyes were wide, his skin pale.