Necromance

Necromance: Chapter Five

NECROMANCE

By: Rachel Kramer

Chapter Five:

I jumped and whirled around in the same instant. My heart beat frantically against my chest. For the second time tonight, I was cursing myself for leaving my gun out of reach. It was probably still tucked away neatly in my purse somewhere in April's room. Thankfully, I probably wouldn't need it, but I'd feel a whole lot better if it were in my hand.

A voice echoed from the shadows, "Someone's a little jumpy."

"Can you blame me? You're lucky I didn't have my gun - I would have really shot you that time."

Gavin walked around the kitchen island. He stopped by the sink, leaning against it and crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, like you said, a few bullets won't kill a monster like me," he said bitterly.

But that's exactly what Gavin was - a monster. So why did I feel so guilty just now? It had to be his act. Gavin pulled off playing human so well, that it had been easy to forget he was anything but an ordinary guy (albeit, one with extraordinary looks). Maybe it wasn't just Gavin's superb acting skills that made me forget. Maybe I wanted to forget what he was.

"Sulking on the inside?" Gavin asked.

"What?"

"Are you upset you haven't had a chance to kill me off?" He mocked.

I crossed my arms, mirroring him, and attempted to hide the fact that I had been momentarily feeling sympathetic. Talking to him now though, it was easy to be pissed off again.

"I'm not a murderer," I said flatly. "But if someone were to piss me off enough, I'm not above kicking their ass."

He narrowed his eyes at me and spoke in a sarcastic tone that only made me more furious. "Ha, right. You're not a murderer. Killing monsters doesn't count, am I right?"

I glared. "I'm not a murderer because I don't kill - humans or monsters. At least, I don't anymore."

"But you have killed before?" Gavin's voice was stern. He was trying to make some kind of point I guessed.

I nodded. "Twice," I said, feeling uncomfortable. I hated thinking too hard about the incidents. You can't just kill someone or something and not feel anything; that is, unless you're a sociopath.

Gavin gave a short laugh that was sharp and cold. "Did the monster give you a hard time?" he teased.

"He wasn't a monster," I blurted. "Well, he was, but not in the sense you mean. He was human - but still a monster. Like the man you saw tonight, he was hired to kill me. He was the cold-blooded murderer. I was just defending myself."

That shut Gavin up for a few moments. We stared at each other, not knowing what else to say; or, atleast, I didn't, because I didn't want to bring up the kill I'd made before that one. Just thinking about it made me clam up.

Gavin ran a hand through his long, dark hair. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a nervous gesture. "Are you sure you're human?" he asked.

I cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"Are you sure you're human?" he repeated. "Because it sounds to me like you're just as hard to kill as I am."

That made me smile a little, but I stopped as soon as I realized what I was doing. My stomach growled and I was reminded of why I was in the kitchen in the first place. I went to the fridge and opened its door, scanning the contents inside. It was fully stocked so my options were pretty open, but I settled for something simple, quick and easy. Unlike my life.