I’ll get back to my ghost story soon, but I was asked recently about the bounty on my head. I’ve been wanted dead or alive since the day I was born. I can’t remember if I ever explained that little tidbit here and I’m too bone-tired tonight to look back and check.

Basically, my family is powerful. Extremely powerful on both sides, as it has been for generations going back as far as who the hell knows. Mom is descended from a long, long line of witches. Her family survived everything from the publishing of Malleus maleficarum to the Salem Witch trials. There’s an ancient, beautifully bound set of books that mom keeps tucked away that she tells me is the entire history of our family. Apparently, I’m not allowed to read it until I get married which I think is odd but I do not question.

Anyway, my father’s family history is as long and powerful as mom’s. The son of a son of a son etc.  In all the time, all that history, however, no necromancer ever married a witch. There used to be law against it. I don’t mean a legal law, but a law in the Shadow world (magical world) was just as binding. For ages it was written that to intermingle among different strains of otherwordly powers was forbidden. I guess they felt that n family should have access to so much power - power does traditionally corrupt and all that.

But my parents defied that law when they fell in love. Both families did everything they could to keep Charlotte Masters and Desmond McGee apart. It was very Romeo and Juliet, so I’m told But true love prevailed and all that mushy stuff and they married in secret - and the world didn’t end. So they were left in peace. Until they had me, that is.

When I was born I became a hot ticket on the black market. My blood was wanted for powerful rituals or the hair from my head was required to complete some spell of power and riches. It depended on the witch or wizard’s needs. They could kill me as a sacrifice or keep me in chains somewhere and use parts of me for their black magics.

As I’ve grown up, it’s been quite the battle to keep me safe and alive. And to this day I’ve still got that bounty on me. It’s why I never go anywhere without Liam. I used to resent that, but there have been too many close calls. I got over it and have come to depend on him. I practice with mom and dad to hone my own skills and maybe someday I won’t have to live with this Damoclesian crap.