Knox laughed when Nick disappeared. The ghost was clearly up to something. He'd forgotten how annoyingly stubborn and noble his ex-partner could be. Back when they'd investigated the murders in Chicago, he'd done his best to dissuade Nick from pursuing the Blood Mage angle, but once the boy got the idea in his head, there was no stopping him. Then Lily Harper had stuck her dead nose into things. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have let his partner wander off on his own with a spirit.
"You can't ignore me forever," Sylvanie said. "I can tell you what the Necromancer is doing."
He sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. What is he doing?"
"He's calling the others"
"The other what?"
"All of your victims. He doesn't need to have the power when all you victims are still connected to you. When you drain us a little piece stays with you forever. Let me share my vision with you."
She placed her transparent hands over his eyes. He felt the cold of death and then he saw it, a mist in the corner of the room. The mist became a fog and then a wall of spirits surging towards him. He saw that Nick stood alone watching them. The wall hit him and he was filled with pain beyond anything he'd known before. He felt as if he were being pulled into pieces. He watched as bits of light pulled out of his body and flew into Nick. It was the energy of all the lives he'd stolen. As they left, the weight of the years he'd lived pushed down on him. He felt his skin withering. He hadn't realized the connection he had to his victims until it was gone. When it was over, he felt one last connection.
"Oh, I told you you're stuck with me," Sylvanie said. "I'm not going to let you get off easily. I bet you wish you were dead already. You should see yourself. You look more than halfway there, but you're not going to die yet. I'm sure you have a few more decades left. You're going to spend them in prison with my company."
"I'll kill myself before that happens," Knox growled.
He pulled his knife and began to cut at his left wrist. He couldn't keep moving his hand. The ghost was controlling him. He'd lost the energy to fight her off.
"That's not going to work," Sylvanie said. "I'm the one with the power here. You won't escape. I'm going to keep you frozen here until Nick's friend's arrive. The FBI is going to lock you away for the rest of your life."
"You should let the Witch kill me," Knox said. "I will find a way to escape and track you down."
"Nice try, but I can hear Sylvanie too. You aren't going to be going anywhere. I almost feel sorry for you, but you deserve it. She's right that death would be too easy. When I said I wanted justice, I meant it," Nick said.
"What's going on?" Marva asked. "You care to fill me in?"