"No. But we've always been a bit different in our magic."

Eli wished he could help Devin, but he knew less about seeing into the future than he did about necromancy. "Do you know how you died?" Eli tried to keep his composure as terror scratched grooves into his soul.

"That's the weird part. I can't see my killer."

Panic rushed through Eli as he listened to Devin's words. "Who would want to kill you?"

"I don't know." Devin ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I can't think of a single person I've irritated enough to deserve death."

"Shh." Eli wrapped his arms around Devin and pulled the taller man close. "We'll figure this out. Maybe your friend Jaynell can give us a protective spell or something."

"Yeah, maybe. Hey-I haven't told my brothers about my death dream. I don't want them to worry, so if you could keep that between us...?"

"Sure." Eli squeezed Devin tight. "We'll look out for each other. If you get any other strange dreams let me know."

Although they hadn't seen a great deal of each other over the past month, Eli had still fallen for Devin. He couldn't let him die.

Devin clutched Eli in a hard grip and inhaled his scent as if Eli were the only one who could keep him grounded.

"Make love to me," Eli whispered.

"What?" Devin pulled back, his eyes searching for something on Eli's face.

"I said I want you to make love to me. I know you wanted to take things slow, but this is a snail's pace. I'm ready. Really, really ready."

Devin smiled, his eyes glowing with warmth as stress faded from his eyes. "How about we go see Jay and get rid of Reaper for a bit? I can't have sex while your puppy watches."

"Fair enough." A part of Eli had worried that Devin might reject him. He'd carried a small concern that Devin hadn't been waiting for Eli's sake but because he simply didn't want Eli anymore.

Devin cupped Eli's cheek. "Never doubt I want you."

The hard shape of Devin's erection pressed against his had Eli nodding his agreement. "Okay. I was just worried."

"That's one thing you don't have to worry about."

Devin's soul searing kiss reassured him more than any words. When they broke apart, both of them were breathing rougher than before. "I'll call Jay and make sure it's all right if we come over."

Eli licked his lips. "Yeah, you do that."

Thirty minutes later, a limo from the werekin pulled them up to the pack mansion. Eli had stepped one foot out of the car when a loud roar pulled his attention to the roof. He stumbled the rest of the way to the sidewalk, his gaze never leaving the sight above him.

Devin got out of the vehicle. "That's Gideon, Jay's dragon. That's his avatar."

"Wow! I've never seen a three-headed dragon before."

"Gideon feeds off of Jay's power. I think Jay keeps him around to burn some of it away."

Eli didn't envy Jaynell his magical energy. At one time he might have, but now with his necromancer skills, he didn't know how he'd have handled it if he had stronger magic on top of it.

Reaper growled softly. Eli didn't know if the beast didn't like the thought of entering the pack home or not, but his avatar certainly didn't have happy sounds coming from his throat.

"Is he going to be okay?" Devin asked.

Eli tore his gaze away from the dragon to examine the hellhound. "I guess so. I mean, he's never made those noises before."

"If he attacks one of the shifters, you might have your hound sent back to the underworld without your help."

"I don't seem to have too much control over him." Eli hated to admit that the hellhound pretty much did whatever he wanted. Reaper followed Eli around and protected him, but if push came to shove, Eli doubted the beast would follow Eli's orders. He'd heard that most avatars followed their wizard's commands, but like with most things, Eli seemed to be the exception.

Devin snorted. "You'll be fine. You keep thinking of yourself as a weak wizard, but you have some major magic."

Eli shrugged. Maybe in necromancy, but his other skills certainly needed more work.

"You'll like Jay, he's good people."

"I've heard he's considered one of the best wizards of our generation." He'd done his research. He didn't trust just anyone to help his avatar disappear. Eli wanted to make sure he could get Reaper to come back.

Devin snorted. "He's not one of the best-he's the best."

"Hey, Devin." A dark-haired wizard greeted them by the door, power pouring off him like energy from the sun.

Damn. Now that was true magic.

"Hey, Jay. This is my friend Eli."

"Nice to meet you, Jay," Eli said politely.

Jay's wide, friendly smile eased some of Eli's tension. "That's quite the hellhound you have there. What do you feed him?"

"So far nothing. He doesn't seem to be the snacking sort," Eli said.

"Hmm. Interesting. Come this way. If we go to the library we should be able to talk without being interrupted."

"Wow, you have a library?" The house hadn't seemed super large on the outside and his father's prejudices had engrained into Eli that werekin were nothing but savages. Apparently 'savages' enjoyed reading. Eli had to admit to a twinge of nostalgia over missing his father's library. After all, no one had ever used it except for him.

"It used to be the pack library, but Kevin and I sort of took it over when we moved in here."

"Who's Kevin?"

"A healing wizard and the alpha's mate." Devin offered the information. "The pack now has two wizards as mates."

"Wow. That would be cool being mated to a shifter. I hear they can't cheat on their mates." That must be reassuring in a relationship.

Devin clenched his fists. "They aren't the only ones who can stay faithful," Devin growled.

Jay snorted his amusement up ahead.

Eli dared to rub Devin's back. "That's not what I meant." It sort of was, but he didn't want to set Devin off. The triplet was temperamental since he hadn't been sleeping well.

They went into the library and Eli froze inside the doorway. "Oh, I didn't know we were going to have anyone else here." He self-consciously smiled at the stranger.

Devin glanced around the room. Eli saw him exchange a look with Jay, who shook his head.

"Eli, hon, Jay and I only see two other people in the room. Who do you see?"

Eli concentrated on the newcomer. A sense of disquiet wafted through him. This wasn't a lonely ghost or an indifferent spirit. The smug smile on this spirit sent a chill through him. He struggled to provide the best description possible. "A guy who looks about thirty with iridescent eyes. He's a bit taller than me. Why can't you see him? You could see the other one when you were near me?"

The ghost smiled, chilling Jay to the bone. This wasn't a bored teenager. This ghost oozed malice.

"Dragonspawn." Jay rubbed his face with his hands. "Now I know why I've been so tired lately. I thought it was the long hours working for the Wizard Council. I bet the bastard has been draining me. Where is he?"

"Over there." Eli pointed to the corner where the ghost stood, an amused expression on his face as if he enjoyed the other wizard's confusion.

"Are you Dragonspawn?" Eli asked. The ghost nodded.

"Eli, I need you to send him to the other side," Jay said. "He's dangerous."

"He's just saying that because he killed me. What can I really do?" Dragonspawn shrugged.

Eli didn't trust the sly look in the ghost's eyes. His instincts screamed that this guy was trouble. "He says you killed him."

"I did." Jay didn't offer any apology or appear particularly remorseful. "He's evil. He deserved everything he got. Can you banish him?"

Reaper growled beside Eli, a low, angry snarl. His hellhound agreed with Jay that Dragonspawn needed to go. The beast's hair stood on end as he vibrated with rage.

"There's no way a baby necromancer is going to be able to stop me. You are a mere child to my mighty skill." Dragonspawn's confidence poured across the space between them.

Eli rolled his eyes. "If you're trying to smack-talk me, I've heard better."

"What is he saying?" Jay asked.

"He's trying to intimidate me."

"Don't listen to him. You can do this." Jay rushed over to Eli and set his hands on Eli's shoulders.

A jolt of magic rushed through him. Jay's power poured through Eli until he could hardly concentrate from the white glow surrounding him. Why did Alstair have to leave? He could've used his mentor's advice.

"You can do this," Jay said, his voice low and comforting.

"Yes, you can." Devin took Eli's right hand in his. "We believe in you."

"Isn't that touching?" Dragonspawn mocked. "Maybe we can have a group cuddle next."

Eli ignored the ghost like he tried to do with most of the naysayers in his life. Taking a deep breath, he focused on Dragonspawn's life force. Instead of the usual glow, a dark oily mass sluggishly swirled in the center of the ghost's core.

"What is that?" Jay asked.

"Can you see him now?" Eli figured it was his close proximity that allowed Jay to see the darkness pouring around the room.

"Banish him," Jay whispered. "Can you do it?"

"I'll try."

Alstair hadn't mentioned a ghost like Dragonspawn. The evil intent of his spirit oozed through the air as if trying to suck up all the light around it.

Taking a deep breath, Eli attempted to cage all the oily air into a collectible ball. Bits of the ghost kept sliding through his grip. Eli bit his lip in frustration. He poured more of his will into the task. His head ached from the effort, but he persevered. If Dragonspawn remained on this plane, Eli knew the ghost would cause problems. Unlike Eli's easy-going roommate, Dragonspawn had an agenda.

"Concentrate," Jay demanded.

Eli nodded, not daring to speak. His eyes watered and his legs trembled like jelly. Eventually he gathered as many of the oily bits as he could and forced them to dissipate. Light poured through the room and the air lost its oppressive feel. Reaper howled as if bidding the ghost goodbye.

"Evil."

"Yes, I agree." Eli patted the hellhound's head. "He was evil."

Jay lifted his hands from Eli's shoulders. "Thanks, Eli. I can't tell you how much I needed him gone. He might have stayed here indefinitely if you hadn't come over."

"You're welcome." He turned to face the powerful wizard. His skin still tingled from where Jay had touched him. "I don't suppose you know how to banish my hellhound?"

The dog sniffed at Devin and let out a small growl.

"Stop it, Reaper."

Jay pressed his right palm across Eli's forehead. A warm flow of magic sank into Eli like summer sunshine. "Just repeat after me. I release you, Reaper, to return to where you've come from."

Concentrating on the words, Eli repeated the phrase.

A loud series of barking assaulted Eli's ears before the hellhound vanished.

"Where did he go?"

Jay removed his hand. "I'm not sure where they go when we aren't calling them, but when he's needed, he'll return. Avatars partly come when we call, but more often when we need them."

Tension eased from Eli. He'd worried that his hellhound had vanished for good. At least now he knew he wasn't going to lose his companion. It would probably be best if Reaper weren't with him constantly. It put a strain on his relationship with Devin.

"We'll leave you now. I want to get Eli back to school." Devin wrapped an arm around Eli and began to pull him along.

Eli would've preferred to stay and chat with Jay a bit longer, maybe pick the powerful wizard's brain over what he knew of necromancers.

He wasn't given that chance as Devin dragged him from the library.

Eli waved to Jay as he was rushed away. "What are you doing?"

"My brothers are out until late and I'm going to take advantage of their absence. We are finally going to have sex."

"Good." Eli sped up his steps. Talking could wait until later. He'd appreciated Devin's caution over becoming physical right away, but enough was enough.