Chapter 2

The orange glow of dawn peaked over the trees as I pulled my car up the long drive way. I'd driven through the night, only stopping briefly in the town closest to my family's house, to get gas and a bite to eat, but that was hours ago. I was so ready to crawl into bed.

I forced my eyes wide as I turned the last corner of the drive, and the house finally came into view. It was nestled among the trees, perched almost precariously on the side of the mountain that overlooked the valley and river below. No matter how often I thought that I didn't belong here, it still called to me. This was home.

There were two cars with out-of-state tags parked in front of the house. I didn't recognize them, but I had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. We never had visitors, especially ones from out of town.

I parked and gathered Poe into my arms before climbing out of the car. The kitchen door on the side of the house opened before I'd taken even two steps towards it.

Mom stood in the doorway as I walked up. "I thought I heard you."

"I got Dad's message," I said, as I released Poe, letting him fly up to the trees that he'd roosted in as long as I had been around. I turned to Mom, giving in to the hug I knew she'd want. Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me in tight.

"I'm glad you're home," she whispered, with a sadness to her voice that wasn't normal.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Who's here?"

She released me, and pulled me into the kitchen. My eyes fell on the girl who sat at the table. She was about my age, her dirty blonde hair twisted back away from her face in messy braids, and her hands wrapped tightly around a mug of coffee. She looked up at me as I stepped in and as soon as those tear-filled crystal blue eyes rest on me, I knew exactly who she was.

"Avery," I breathed. I hadn't seen her since we were what, seven years old? We'd stayed in touch, writing to each other, and on the rare occasion, talking to each other on the phone. But that intimacy of knowing her without actually seeing her had not prepared me for this. She stood, rushing over to fling herself at me as she sobbed into my shoulder. "Avery, what's wrong?"

She was petite, smaller than I'd thought she'd be as her head rested below my chin. I held her awkwardly in my arms, looking to my mother in hopes she'd tell me what the hell was going on.

Mom wrung her hands on her apron, tears threatening to spill over her own cheeks. "Mr. Manser has passed on."

I tightened my grip on Avery as she cried harder at my mother's words. Caleb Manser was her father, and the head of the Manser family. And now that he was gone...

Raised voices spilled out from Dad's study down the hall, but I couldn't quite make out what the argument was about. I had a good idea, though. The Manser family was like my own. We were both part of the Quadriad of Necromantic Families. With the Caleb Manser gone, it was time to choose the new head of the Manser family. And that brought on a whole new set of problems.

Avery stepped back, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ezra, I. It's been a week now, but I still feel so ...raw."

I pulled her back to me, hugging her tightly. "It's okay," I whispered, not even trying to imagine what she was going through.

The sound of gravel crunching out on the driveway drew my mother to peer out the window over the sink. "It's Nathan. Finally, we were expecting him hours ago."

My stomach rolled. Nathan Ackland despised me, and I thanked the gods every time the families met that my name wasn't listed in the Ackland's family tree.

Mom turned back to us, undoing the straps on her apron as she spoke. "Erza, why don't you show Avery where the bathroom is, so she can freshen up. We'll be getting started soon." Mom gave me a look that I knew all too well. It was time to make ourselves scarce, and I didn't mind. The less time I spent in his line of sight, the better.

"Sure," I said, and steered Avery down the hall past Dad's study. It was probably my most cherished place in the entire house. I had spent hours almost every day growing up in there reading all of the family's books and studying my family's history. There had been many nights that I'd spent listening to my father and brother discussing necromantic theories and practices. From the sound of the voices inside, Avery's mother, Evelyn, and Lyssa, the head of the Amerson family, were arguing about marriages. Avery hurried past, her hand tightly interlaced with mine as she pulled me along. We hurried up the stairs as the sound of the kitchen's screen door slammed shut.

We tip-toed down the hall and up another flight of stairs to the finished attic that was my room. I shut the door behind us and turned to see Avery taking a seat on my bed. It dawned on me that this was the first time I'd ever had a girl in my room.

I looked around, trying to find anything to keep my hands busy, and settled for tidying my desk, the only part of my room I hadn't picked up before going to the dorms for the semester.

"Ezra?" Avery's voice was soft.

I glanced back to see her motioning for me to join her. I set the papers down, and shuffled over to the bed, awkwardly wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me.

"It's still there," she whispered to me.

My body froze of its own accord as she looked up at me, her face kissably close.

"You are a necromancer," she said, "even if your power refuses to manifest."

I stared at her, at the clarity in her eyes. The Manser family was known for their prophecies, and the truths that they could see that others couldn't. And she was the only one in all the families to believe that I had any sort of power.

"And here I thought you were just being nice to the poor, Talentless kid." I grinned at her, trying not to show her the pain that talking about my powers, or lack there of, caused. She had enough to worry about at the moment.

Avery pulled back with a quiet, knowing expression on her face. She took my hand into her own and studied it, tracing the lines along my palm. I waited, content to just be beside her now that the shock of her sudden appearance had worn off. I'd missed her, and I hadn't even realized how much until now.

"I missed you," I whispered the words to her, afraid of what she might say in return.

She looked up at me, the smallest of smiles touching her lips. "I missed you, too."

A comfortable silence settled over us, one that I thought wouldn't have been possible, as she continued to trace the patterns of my palm.

"Do you remember the last time you were here? For the Family summit?" I asked her, pulling my hand from her gentle fingers and standing. I opened my closet, and reached for the box on the top shelf.

"Yeah, how could I forget it?" she said with a small laugh. "All the kids were forced to put on that horrible play about the Families coming together and the war with the witches."

I set the box in the bottom of the closet to open it, keeping my back to her so she couldn't see that the old shoe box was filled with her letters.

"And Collen Ackland threw up in the middle of it." I finally pulled the photo free from under the letters, and replaced the lid on the box. I turned and reclaimed my seat next to her on the bed.

"Oh jeez, Ezra! I can't believe you still have that!" She blushed and nudged me with her shoulder.

"It's the only photo of you I have."

She took the picture from me, looking it over. It showed a seven-year-old Avery, dressed up as Mary Annabelle Manser, one of the founders of the original Quintet of Necromanic Families. She was standing impishly in front of the barn door, next to the other kids. I was hidden in the back of the group, behind my older brother. As the youngest son, and the fact that I still hadn't shown a hint of power, I was given the only role in the play that didn't require the use of Talent.

"I still can't believe they dressed you up as a tree," she said.

We laughed together and it felt wonderful to have her at my side again. We'd been inseparable when she visited. It felt as though she was supposed to be there, standing with me against anything the world could throw at us.

"Who do you think they'll choose?" I asked her quietly, a little fearful and uncertain.

She shrugged, and drew her knees up to hug them. She started to say something, but then stopped herself, looking away from me.

I adjusted my position on the bed, turning more to look at her. "You've seen something, haven't you?"

"No, I didn't." She lowered her gaze, suddenly more interested in the geometric patterns on my bedspread. "Someone else did."

"What was it?"

She hesitated, and in that breath of a moment, there was a knock at the door.

"Avery?" a little voice called.

"You can come in, Thea," Avery said, and we watched the door open to show a copy of the girl in the photo, even down to the exact color of her eyes. Eyes that widened a fraction when they landed on me.

She stood in the doorway, as if she was afraid of coming closer. "Avery, mommy asked me to come get you and Ezra. They want to start the meeting."

Avery stood. "Okay, thank you, Thea."

I watched Thea race off down the hall to the stairs, unnerved by the presence of the little girl. There was something about her that stuck me as odd. "I remember you talking about your sister in your letters, but she-"

"She's the most powerful of all the Mansers," Avery said, turning back to me. "It's scary seeing her with all that power. She will be Head of the Family some day, but Mom doesn't want to force it on her too soon. I think she's hoping to handle things until Thea is old enough to take on that responsibility." She left it unsaid, but the worry was plain on her face. If they didn't let Evelynn ascend to leadership, it would fall to Avery.

"I thought I'd have more time. I'm not ready," she whispered, "I'm not ready to marry someone I don't know."

I couldn't think of any thing that to say that could possibly make her feel any better.

"Come on, we don't want to keep them waiting." I pulled her toward the door, and we followed Thea downstairs.