The Black Necromancer-Book 4

Chapter 43

                Kayla shook her head. "It's nothing personal, Troy. After all, you, Dahlia and Hunter wouldn't help me die."

                "Die?" Troy, Dahlia and Hunter echoed.

                Kayla nodded. Tamarak sighed, closed his eyes and vanished from sight. It was credit to the complete surprise of Kayla's news that none of them reacted to Tamarak's magic.

                "I'll run interference," he offered. "I've heard it once before."

                He squeezed Kayla's shoulder comfortingly and headed to the door, gripping his staff tightly. Troy immediately rounded on his sister, an accusing look in his eyes.

                "What do you mean 'die'?" he demanded.

                "Troy, I am a necromancer," Kayla said, taking his hands in hers. "Luna had a vision yesterday of the final battle against Varmer and I wasn't there. But someone else was, someone who is dead. She's a Magician of Fire. I think you know who she is."

                "Helen?" Troy demanded incredulously.

                "But that's impossible," Dahlia exclaimed. "Luna had a vision of us at Varmer's castle and Helen wasn't there. That's why Helen sacrificed herself to save my life!"

                Kayla shook her head. "Luna's premonition at that time was when the three of us, Cedric and her were at Varmer's castle... I mean escaping from his castle. It happened six months ago. This vision is recent. There was someone else there, besides Helen, but not me."

                "Who?" Hunter asked shakily, gripping his knees to steady himself at the same time as Troy snapped, "So Helen died for nothing?"

                "No," Kayla insisted. "Helen's death instead of Dahlia's set in motion this chain of events that would never have happened otherwise. Her death was necessary as terrible as that sounds."

                Troy looked staggered, but Dahlia was already speaking. "You're talking about Jenna," she said. "She's the magician that Luna saw. Is that why you're so concerned about her?"

                Tightness crawled into Kayla's throat, making her feel like throwing up. After all this time, all the lengths that she had gone to in order to protect Jenna, she was going to confess to everything. She rubbed the thick silver bracelet on her right wrist, the one that was magnetized to her spear.

                "Kayla?" Troy asked gently.

                "Jenna's my daughter," Kayla said in a rush before she could stop herself.

                "Your daughter?" Troy and Dahlia echoed, but even as Dahlia said the words, she realized that she wasn't surprised.

                Kayla forced herself to nod; every inch of her body aching to deny it, not because she was ashamed of Jenna, but because she had spent so many years not talking about her and hiding secrets about her.

                Troy's mouth was hanging open. Finally, he stammered, "I have a niece?"

                Trust Troy to worry about that.

                "I should have guessed," Dahlia groaned. "Since when did I become such a bad detective?"

                "You don't sound surprised," Kayla noted; it was making her surprised.