DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORD CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO KELLEY ARMSTRONG! THE ONLY CHARACTER I CREATED IS RYLIE AND HER MOTHER.

Chapter 10 (Rylie's POV)

The red haired necromancer kneeled on the floor setting up her tools. I'd seen a few séances before, including one of her shows while I was traveling in Las Vegas. She was good.

She looked up at me, "Rylie, you wouldn't happen to have anything of your mother's with you, would you?" She looked doubtful.

My hand automatically went to the necklace around my neck. I had taken it when I ran away from home. It was a small, gold star with a small stone set in it. It had always fascinated me. As far back as I could remember it had been red. But as I got older I remember it changing colours as my mother delved deeper into her witchcraft and killed more people. When I took it, it had been that same shade of scarlet. Now, as it hung around my neck it was a dark blue, border line purple.

I unhooked it and handed it to Jaime, "I have this. It was hers."

As I pressed it into her palm I felt it tingle. I brushed it off and watched her close it in a tight fist.

She began saying foreign words and drawing symbols. A cool gust came over the room and Jaime's eyes flickered behind her eyes. She sighed and looked at something I couldn't see, "What is it?"

Savannah, who had been sitting on the couch, lifted her head and looked over at the spot Jaime watched, "Hi Dad."

Jaime interrupted before I could ask, "He says hello Savannah. And Kristof, just ask the Fates to just let me see her for a second. We just want to know if Rylie's mother is there."

She paused and nodded, "I know that, but-" Jaime waited, "I get that. If I could just speak to Eve-"

I flinched at the mention of my mom's friend's name. Of course Jaime could talk to her, she was dead after all.

"I know it's her time off Kristof. I'm not stupid. Stop keeping her all to yourself. I just need her for a moment. Is that so damn hard to understand? I spoke to her just the other day. I know for a fact she's there."

I shivered gently as a cool breeze came by me. I could swear I felt a cold hand brush my hair softly.

Elena, who had been silent, looked over at me, "Is the sweater too thin? I can get you a blanket if you want."

"No it's not that it just-"

Jaime's voice shifted, "Yeah, that's Kendra's daughter, Elena's cousin. What do you mean? That can't be. She's a witch for crying out loud. She can't be-" she looked over at me and her eyes widened a bit, "Who are you? What do you want? Leave her alone."

Now I was getting confused. Who was this chick talking to? This was why I didn't hang around with necros.

"Who is it Jaime?" Elena asked.

"He's gone. It was a man. Blonde, medium build, blue eyes. He said he was proud of her… then just disappeared."

Elena almost choked, "Was his hair… silvery? Icy blue eyes?"

"Yes. He was about your height Elena. His hair was kind of like yours… Oh god."

I think my world halted then and my hand went to my hair. I let out a whimper and slid to the floor against the wall. Dad… "Dad? My… my… it was my dad wasn't it Jaime…?"

"I can't be sure but- Eve, thank god you're here. I need your help, if the Fates will let- Yes that's Rylie."

Savannah waved in her mom's direction and walked over, sitting beside me. Elena was already next to me.

"This?" She held up my mother's necklace, "Yes, it was Kendra's. Why do you-" her eyes widened in comprehension, "Oh no… that's… oh dear…" she examined the necklace closer, "I've heard of them. I thought only necromancers had them, not witches- Okay. I will. And Eve? Do you know where Kendra is? Is she… on your side?" Jaime looked over at me, "I'll tell her. Bye Eve."

I swallowed the amazement that my dad had been here, and that he was proud of me, and went over to sit beside Jaime. She handed me my necklace and I put it back on. Some nervous element I hadn't really noticed evaporated and she stared at the necklace.

"Did your mother ever tell you what that was?" she asked me.

"Not really. She said it was a family heirloom. I found it pretty. It always changed colours," I smiled at the childhood memory.

She nodded, "Of course it did. It's a supernatural relic. I thought they only worked with necromancers, but apparently they work with any supernatural with a necro bloodline somewhere."

"What do you mean? I'm a witch, not a necro."

Jaime laughed a bit, "That's what we all thought. But Eve told me that your mother had the necromancer gene. Her grandfather was one. And so was her father. It skipped her generation. Her father gave her that," she pointed at my necklace, "so if someone was born with an active gene, they'd have the protection they needed."

"Okay, so I have the dormant necro gene. But what's the deal with the necklace?"

"It's a very rare talisman. It's said to absorb power from a necromancer to dull their glow. But apparently it'll absorb any supernatural power to keep it under control, but only if you're from a necromancer bloodline."

"So what? I glow? How wonderful."

She rolled her eyes, "No. You're gene is dormant," she stood up, "Which means that you don't glow you kind of shimmer slightly to ghosts. That's how they can tell that you have the gene. You might also be able to feel it when there's a presence nearby. You might feel cold or tingly, you may see slight shimmers around a ghost like heat rising, dull signs. Maybe the odd whisper but that's very rare."

As Jaime began packing up her tools I stood in front of her, "So wait. You mean to say that my necklace is dulling my witch powers too?"

She nodded, "And quite a bit. You see," she stood and pointed at my necklace, "It's almost violet. They always start out red and shift up the spectrum as they absorb more power. They stop when they turn black, because they can't hold any more power. When the wearer leaves the necklace off for a long time, it shifts down the spectrum back to red as it releases all the power into the atmosphere. And it's wasted."

I'll admit I kinda stared at her for a few minutes, processing this new information. Seriously? Necro genes? No freaking way. No supernatural can come from that many bloodlines. It just wasn't possible. But I wasn't about to say that to Jaime.

"Alrighty then," was my simple reply.

Avoiding further conversation, I told Elena, Savannah and Jaime I was going for a run. I trotted out to the backyard and looked around for a decent bush to change in.

I'm baaack. Hello again. I finally had a bit of inspiration after reading the newest and last *insert tear falling here* Otherworld novel… for now. So here it is, I hope you enjoyed it!

PS- For those of you who know, this story takes place after 13, however there are inaccuracies in… hierarchy… in this story. I apologize but, hey, I didn't know until last weekend!

Read &Review PLEASE! xoxox