Page 49 of Panther in the Shadows
"She won't." The promise comes out harder than intended. "I'll make sure of it."
"Good. Because I liked and respected Siobhan. I owe her granddaughter better than letting her die hunting a necromancer."
He hangs up. Leaves me staring at manifests that don't matter and thinking about promises I'm not sure I can keep.
The research arrives at eleven, after the container inspection. A thick envelope from my Amsterdam contact, delivered by a courier who doesn't ask questions and doesn't stay. Inside: photocopied pages from grimoires I've never seen. Accounts of necromantic rituals going back centuries. And one section, marked with a red tab, that makes my blood run cold.
The Summoning of the Drowned: A ritual requiring multiple deaths by water, each victim bound at the moment of drowning. The anchor must possess both death magic and sea magic—an impossible combination requiring a bargain with entities that should not be named. Once complete, the ritual raises all drowned dead within the territory, binding them to the summoner's will.
Multiple deaths. We're already several victims in, counting Marco. More will die before the ritual completes.
And when it does, every person who ever drowned near Stormhaven rises. Hundreds of corpses. Maybe thousands. All under one person's control.
This isn't about framing me or hurting Moira. This is about building an army. Taking control of the island through sheer force of animated dead.
I need to show this to Moira. Need her to see what we're really facing.
But first, the brotherhood arrives.
The alpha wolf leads, his presence commanding immediate attention. Jax follows, scarred face impassive. Then the others file in—Grayson's massive bear form barely contained in human skin, Kian's tiger energy crackling, and Finn, the dragon whose ancient eyes have seen too much.
They gather around the table where I've spread Marco's documented symbols, the ritual markers from previous sites, and the research from Amsterdam.
"Thank you for coming." I meet each gaze in turn. "What I'm about to tell you stays in this room. But you need to know what we're facing."
I gesture to the symbols carved into Marco's shirt, now photographed and documented. "This morning, one of my dock workers died on my loading dock. He'd been forced to watch multiple murders, then used as a messenger. The necromancer wanted us to know the ritual is almost complete."
Declan's jaw tightens. "How many more deaths does she need?"
"Unknown, but we know there will be more to complete the summoning." I slide the Amsterdam research across the table. "And when it's done, every person who ever drowned near Stormhaven rises. Under the summoner's control."
The room goes silent. Then Grayson rumbles, "An army of the drowned. That's what this is about."
"Yes. Not just framing me or targeting Moira. Building enough power to take control of this entire island." I let that sink in. "The anchor has both necromantic and sea witch magic. An impossible combination that required a bargain we don't fully understand."
"Where's Moira?" Jax asks, his face unreadable. "She should be here for this."
"She's preparing defensive wards in my quarters." The challenge in his stare doesn't move me. "The necromancer threatened her specifically, and she stays protected until we end this."
Declan nods slowly. "What did Marco tell you before he died?"
I recite it word for word. The woman in black. The ritual sites. The sister having company soon. And finally: "Love makes beautiful targets. The last death will hurt the most."
The implications hang heavy in the air.
"So the necromancer is targeting people close to you and the sea witch." Kian's voice carries the controlled violence of his tiger. "Making the final deaths personal."
"That's the threat. But it also means she's escalating. Getting desperate. We believe the ritual has a timeline, and she's running out of time to complete it." I tap the research. "We also believe each death has to happen at specific convergence points. Tidal patterns. Moon phases. If we can identify the remaining locations and stake them out?—"
"We might catch her in the act." Declan finishes. "Or we might walk into a trap designed to kill whoever shows up."
"Possible. But we don't have better options." I pull out the map Moira marked earlier. "The sea witch identified these locations as potential sites for the remaining deaths. We need eyes on all of them. Anyone who shows up gets stopped before they can complete the ritual."
The brotherhood studies the map. Grayson traces the pattern with one thick finger. "This symbol. I've seen something like it before. In my grandfather's journals about the old magic."
"What did they say?"
"That it's a binding circle. Meant to trap something that exists between life and death." His expression darkens. "And that breaking it once it's complete requires a sacrifice equal to what was used to create it."
