"Can I assume your little visit to the Silver Room went well?" Tommy asked as he entered the conservatory in Hades' kitchen the next morning.
I glanced up from the huge plate of fresh fruit and meat, and threw an apple in Tommy's direction. "All good, Tommy," I said with a smile.
"You were down there for eight hours. Hades said he dragged you unconscious from the room a few hours ago and put you on the sofa to sleep it off. No after effects?"
I knew Tommy was fishing. He was worried that maybe I'd let the nightmare corrupt me on a permanent basis. "I'm not turning into a nightmare," I told him.
"But you did see it, or hear it, or however that works."
I stuffed a strawberry in my mouth. "We had a conversation, yes. Apparently my increase in power means that I can use more magic before I need to worry about it resurfacing. A lot more."
"It told you that?"
"Yes. It wants me to use magic, to get stronger. The stronger I am, the stronger the nightmare will be. It has no reason to lie or to try and deceive to me. I'm not even sure if it can."
Tommy speared several pieces of bacon from my plate and stuffed them between two slices of bread. "It's living magic. I'm pretty sure it can do whatever the hell it wants."
"Maybe you're right, but it won't be taking hold anytime soon." Since it had taken control over a hundred years previously, when a lich had almost beat me to death, I'd begun to think of the nightmare as something more than an evil entity that wants to control me. I had no evidence to support my thoughts, and if I went to anyone about with them they'd have me sectioned, but everything I've always been told about nightmares felt off compared to reality.
"So, did you find out anything else on this trip?"
"Nope, that was pretty much it," I said, pushing the half-full plate away from me.
Tommy grabbed the plate before it was even out of my hands for even a second and commenced feeding a moment later. "Why did you take this trip, Nate?"
"I needed to talk to Hades about getting help. And I wanted to know what my true power level was. I can't go into a fight not knowing what I can do."
"There's more to it than that. What's going on, Nate?"
I told him about how Hades said I may be able to perform some kind of necromancy.
Tommy's reaction was mostly one of indifference, although he did stop eating, so that was something. "A necromancer? That's not something I expected."
"Me neither, and it's not confirmed. But I killed that ghoul with magic, and there’s no way I could do that without necromancy. But I still have no way of knowing what type of necromancy or how to use it effectively."
Tommy stared at me. "What aren't you telling me?"
I sighed softly. "The last time I fought a lich, it almost killed me. With ease, Tommy. And when that bastard appeared in front of me in front of the police station in Winchester, I would have gone for him if Reid hadn't charged in. But after, when I was thinking about what could have happened if he'd decided to end me there and then, I just felt afraid. For the first time in a long time, I was scared. Because I know I can't beat him. I know it with the same certainty that I can say the sun is hot and water is wet. And not knowing what I was capable of anymore only added to that fear. Which is why I had to come here and find out."
"You've been scared before," Tommy said.
"That's true. But mostly, I'm scared for others. Scared I won't get somewhere on time, or not be able to get everyone out of a situation in one piece. I'm frightened of failing other people. But with a lich, I'm scared for myself, too. I already know that if I go up against it, I'm going to fail."
"But you're still going to try and stop it, right?" I turned to find Kasey standing in the doorway. "I mean, you're going to fight," she said.
"Yeah," I said with a gentle nod. "I'm going to fight. I have to. I can't let fear stop me from doing what I know is right. And I won't let anything keep me from stopping more people getting hurt."
"But if you're afraid, why don't we all just run and hide."
"Because if we do that, we're leaving something evil to have its way with whatever it wants. And I won't let that happen. And I know your mum and dad won't either. I fight because if I don't, I'm not the man I thought I was. So, yeah, I'm afraid of this thing. But that just means I'm going to try harder to beat it. Because fear should never be a reason for not doing the right thing."
"You promise?"
"I promise I'll fight with everything I have, Kasey. And with Hades' help, we're going to make sure that once we find it, it won't hurt anyone else, ever again."
"Thank you," she said and turned back into the house.
"I guess I should thank you, too," Tommy said, when his daughter was out of earshot.
"What, for that?" I gestured to where Kasey had been standing.
"No, well… yes, but not just that. For what you did on the plane. For allowing Kasey and me some time alone. Thank you for that. She needed to talk to someone."
"You thought it would be me, didn't you? That's why you brought her?"
"I figured that you'd get the ball rolling, yes. You didn't see her face when she saw Olivia in hospital. She crumpled like paper. She stayed so strong for Olivia and me, but I could tell she was breaking apart. She needed to get that out. It would have eaten at her otherwise."
"You're a good dad," I said, and poured each of us a glass of orange juice from the large pitcher on the table.
"That I am, my old friend." Tommy laughed. "Although, any future boyfriends are going to learn to fear the werewolf who answers the door."
"You're allowing boyfriends? Wow, that's very progressive of you."
"I've gotta learn to give a little."
"No, don't do it," Hades said, as he sat beside us. "Just tell them she knows me, that we're very close. It's surprising how many boys didn't want to go out with the daughter of Hades."
"You never even had to dissuade them," Persephone said, kissing her husband on his forehead then sitting beside him.
"I had a whole spiel written. There were smoke and mirrors. I was going to raise spirits, actual spirits right in front of them. Maybe even a zombie. I didn't get to use any of it."
"To be fair, Hades," I said. "When most of your children were of a dating age, it was several hundred, if not a thousand years ago. I don't know about you, but I don't recall a whole bunch of school dances in the middle ages. Hell, there weren't even many schools."
"Good point," Hades said with a smile. "But, Tommy, if you want to use my plan, it's all yours."
"Why are you all laughing?" Kasey said as she entered the conservatory.
"Parenthood," Tommy said. "Something you don't have to worry about for a very, very long time."
Kasey gave her father a stare that suggested the conversation had better change and soon, before she was sick.
Tommy's mobile started ringing, and he excused himself from the room to go answer it, as Persephone and Kasey arranged their next visit's itinerary with great enthusiasm.
Hades motioned for me to join him outside, so we stepped out into the cold just like we had the night before.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
I explained what I'd already told Tommy about the nightmare and my time in the Silver Room, leaving out my thoughts about just how evil or not the nightmare might be.
"I assume you'll be going back soon," he said. "A necromancer will meet you at Avalon's Winchester office within the day. I don't know who it'll be yet, but they'll be there. With or without Avalon's clearance."
"Nate," Tommy called from the conservatory door. "We've got a problem."
I jogged back to Tommy, who stood back to let Hades and me into the room. "What's going on?"
"We need to get back to Winchester. That was Olivia. The prison there was attacked a few hours ago. It looks like the lich was involved. Olivia has only just received word from the human police. There are large numbers of prisoners missing or dead. Nate, this sounds like a bad one."
"How long before the jet can fly?" I asked Hades.
He picked up a cordless phone from the table next to him. "Twenty minutes. I'll get everything arranged."