Steve McHugh - Born of Hatred

Doc Grayson smiled. "Another time maybe. I just came down here to check on you."

"We still at the LOA building?"

"No. No one wanted to hang around there for very long after the wolves had finished tearing the barren into small stains on the grass outside. The LOA lost forty-two good men and women to those undead creatures. I had no desire to stay and observe the clean-up, so I came here with you. This is Tommy's building, and his facility is quite amazing."

"Yeah, Tommy doesn't believe in doing things half way. How is he?"

"Tommy is fine. It's been all I could do to stop him sitting next to you round-the-clock since you arrived. Kasey, too. Along with Olivia, they've been inseparable. They'll be keen to come say hello."

I pushed myself up to a sitting position, and felt every muscle in my body groan in response. "How long was I out?"

"First some context. You suffered a broken clavicle, eight broken ribs, a punctured lung and damage to the spleen and liver. Your right arm was broken in six places below the elbow and three above it. Your left wrist and three of your fingers were broken so badly that if you'd been human I would simply have amputated the hand. You also suffered a head injury, a broken jaw and nose and you somehow managed to break three of your toes on your left foot. My point is if you were human you'd be dead. The impact alone would have turned you to paste."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Doc. How long was I out?"

"Twelve hours."

My mouth fell open. "That's it?"

"Well, eleven hours, fifty-one minutes and several seconds to be exact, but I thought I'd round up to make things easier."

"How is that possible?"

Doc Grayson did something that no doctor should ever do if they want to inspire confidence. He shrugged. "No idea. Your powers of healing are incredible. Certainly up there with some of the best I've seen in a long time. Not quite werewolf or vampire territory, but still very impressive. Especially for a sorcerer."

Apparently the extra power gained with the loss of one of my blood magic marks was a lot more than I'd first assumed.

"How long do I have to stay here?" I asked.

"You can leave when you're ready. Your clean clothes are in the wardrobe over there." He pointed to a wooden piece of furniture that had been painted white.

"Where is he?" Sky demanded as she flung the door open and stepped inside.

"And that's my cue to leave," Doc Grayson said, nodding to Sky on his way out.

"If you kill me, the healing I've just done would be a dreadful waste of time," I said, as Sky fumed down on me from the end of the bed.

"You promised, you fucking asshole," she snapped. "You sat and promised me you wouldn't try and kill him yourself. Are you aware what a promise is?"

I opened my mouth to say something and then wisely closed it again.

"You could have died, do you know that? Died. You fell four-hundred feet while fighting a lich, something you said you weren't going to do."

I kept my mouth shut. It saved time on opening it first.

"You utter fucking asshole."

"He was going to kill Kasey," I said. "I had to stop him."

The fight visibly evaporated from Sky, and she slumped into a chair next to the TV on the far wall.

"Fuck!" she shouted and punched the wall. "I know," she admitted in a far more subdued tone. "I spoke to Kasey. I'm just so damn mad at you."

"If it helps, I don't plan on doing it again." Sometimes, I swear, I just can't help myself.

"Are you being flippant with me, Nathan Garrett?"

"Ma'am, no, Ma'am," I said quickly. "Please don't hurt me; I'm still in a hospital gown. I'd look very silly."

Sky smiled, and I knew I'd won her over. For now.

"If you smile, I will kick your ass anyway," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"No smiling, not a problem."

"You're as bad as my father. He's always being flippant to my mother when she catches him doing something he shouldn't."

"Persephone would terrify anyone," Hades said as he entered the room. "And I learnt long ago not to piss off beautiful women who sleep in the same bed as you." He hugged his daughter before turning his attention to me. "Has she threatened to hurt you yet? I believe she was looking forward to it."

I nodded. "It was very well done."

"Ah, good. I'd hate for it to have been a disappointment after she built up to it so well."

"I hate you both," Sky said.

"Do you need time alone to hug it out, or can I interrupt his recovery?"

Sky started to laugh, followed by me. Mine caused me pain. "Serves you right," Sky said with a wicked smile. "You did good, Nate. Stupidity aside. You saved Kasey and Tommy, and you did it using necromancy. You hurt a lich. That's damn impressive. Heal up and I'll let you buy me a beer."

"Deal," I said. Sky gave me a hug and kissed my cheek before leaving me alone with Hades.

"I never understood why you two didn't get together," he said as nonchalantly as a father can, when saying such a thing about his daughter, as he removed his jacket and laid it over the end of the bed.

"When we first met, I worked for Avalon and Sky worked for you. After I left… well, it became a timing issue. Both of us like our independence, and neither wants to risk our friendship on the chance that being a couple wouldn't end in utter disaster."

"That and she'd have killed you by now. Or I would have if you'd broken her heart," Hades said with far too much enthusiasm.

"And there's that, too."

"So, how are you feeling? Doc Grayson tells me you're a medical marvel."

"Apparently so."

"When you're better, and not before, you will come to me in Toronto, and I will teach you how to use your necromancy. You will not teach yourself, you will not get someone else to teach you. Are we clear on that?"

I nodded.

"As for the why-and yes, I know what you were about to ask-I need to know what you're capable of. You hurt a lich and killed a ghoul with magic. Neither of those things is insignificant. Left to your own devices, who knows what you'd end up doing."

"So what type of necromancy do you think I have?"

Hades shrugged. "Something pretty potent from the sounds of things. But I've no idea exactly what at the moment. That's another reason for me helping you, you're a rare species. You obtained a gift from each of your parents-one a sorcerer and the other a necromancer. Those two together doesn't happen very often. The training may help unlock the rest of those marks. They were put there for a reason."

"And you'd rather I was somewhere safe when they vanish."

"There is that," he admitted. "We don't know what they do. Better safe than sorry."

"Okay, that sounds fair. I'll come out to Toronto and let you teach me about necromancy."

"Good." Hades stood and picked up his jacket. "Get dressed. You have a lot of people who want to see you. Tommy is in his office. I told him I'd let you know."

"Thanks. How'd you get a pass to visit? Who convinced Avalon?"

"Ah, well, apparently I can be very persuasive when I want to be. That and the fact that Olivia threatened to tear some people in half if anyone mentioned that I was here. It appeared to do the trick. She's quite impressive, isn't she?"

"She's not a shrinking violet, that's for sure."

Hades paused at the door. "Hellequin's back then, is he?"

"I don't know."

"Too late now. You let the name drop. And that werewolf alpha told even more people. It won't take long for the wrong people to hear it. You've painted a bull’s-eye on your chest, Nate. Someone inside Avalon arranged for Peter to get the help he did. And those people are going to come after you sooner or later."

"If they come after me, maybe they'll stay away from the people I care about."

"And maybe they'll use them. And if they do, if anyone else comes after your friends, you know what you have to do. Crush them. Make them an example that no one will forget. Hellequin's turned into a nursery rhyme to be told to naughty children, you need to make sure it's the adults who start checking under the bed."