April 2006, the Paroles of the Beyond the Grave
The phone started ringing. Jeremy groaned. He had just gotten back from his honeymoon, and now the customers were hording him again?
He picked it up and put on his mysterious medium's voice. "Hello?"
The man heard his sister's fifteen year-old voice in the receiver. "Jeremy, you really don't need to sound like that, it's creepy. Where were you? Lina and the rest of us at E.M.S have been trying to reach you for about a month!"
"Oh," he said stupidly, "I was on my honeymoon with Tara, Rav."
"Oh, I've forgotten," cried Raven. "Anyways, we need you. You need to teach me how to summon the dead."
There was a silence. "Does this have to do with her?"
"Everything to do with her," replied Raven. "Meet me and Hallie in that Thai food restaurant near your office."
April 2006, Thai Express
Raven grinned at her brother. While she had chosen to become a Hunter of Artemis, he had grown up. He was a tall man with short chocolate brown hair and eyes the same shade. He wore a short-sleeved t-shirt with the inscription Paris and jeans. Raven could see his skull tattoo on his right arm.
"Hey, Jer," said Hallie. They waited for him to finish ordering and for the waitress to leave, and then she said, "I hope you got me some steak, at least."
Jeremy rolled his eyes at her. "Of course I did, did you think I'd forgotten after what you did to me last time? I woke up that night with a horde of deer in my bedroom!"
Hallie shrugged. "Oops. Never underestimate the power of Artemis, my friend."
"So." Jeremy put a hand on the table. He turned to his sister. "You said you wanted me to teach you Summoning."
Raven nodded.
"And that has to do with...?"
"There is an uprising in the," Raven lowered her voice, "magical world of the old what they call 'Death Eaters' who broke out of the prison. Except the prison cannot really be escaped. We think this may be linked with her."
"Her," said Jeremy slowly. "Yes, that must be the cause. She is, after all, demonic of some sort –"
"Of every sort," muttered Hallie. "Trust me, I've had to fight her. Not fun."
"What you must understand, sis, is that there is a difference between being a Summoner and a necromancer," continued the demigod. "A Summoner merely summons the dead. A necromancer raises them. When a Summoner summons skeletons, for example, they become animated, but they do not keep their mortal personalities. When a necromancer raises them, they become animated and are basically a mortal replica of them as bones."
"And she is a necromancer?" asked Raven, grimacing. She already knew the answer.
"One of the most powerful in existence," replied Jeremy grimly.