The Immortal Compromise (The Mortal One Series Book 3) by Shannon Bell

sensitive. Olivier may have the magic in him, too, but he didn’t know a whole lot more than I did. He was experimenting with the magic, and according to Gregorio, that was dangerous territory. Gregorio was willing to teach me and help me harness the necromancy that was inside of me.
    “I don’t understand,” Gregorio said. “This is a hereditary ability. It may skip one generation, but no more than that.”
    I shrugged. “My parents are dead, so I can’t really ask them if they saw their parents do any of this kind of stuff.”
    “But you can.”
    I stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Then I caught his meaning and goosebumps spread across my body. “No.” It was the only word that would come out of my mouth. “No,” I repeated again.
    “Dylan.”
    “No.” No way in hell was I going to raise my parents from the dead as some kind of apparition. It scared the shit out of me and it wasn’t going to happen. I made peace with the fact that my parents were dead and had no desire to bring them back in any way, shape, or form.
    He reached over and took a sip of his beer, staring me down in the process. I couldn’t make eye contact with him right now. I stood up and went into the kitchen where there was an open bottle of Riesling on the counter. It was a lighter, sweeter wine than I was used to, but it was flavorful and went down easily.
    “Fine, we won’t try to contact them,” Gregorio said. “I thought maybe you would want to.”
    “Absolutely not,” I said, taking another healthy sip of wine.
    “Would you like to contact someone else that is deceased?” He asked.
    I shook my head. “No. What are my other options to test if the necromancy is strong enough to do anything?”
    He sat on the floor, silent for a few moments. “You don’t want to raise the dead and you don’t want to communicate with the dead.”
    “Correct.”
    “Those are your only options. We are talking about necromancy.”
    “Shit.”
     
    ***
     
    We had just finished eating dinner at a small restaurant near Alexanderplatz. He made me order something I had never eaten before – schweinebraten . It sounded funny, but it was actually pork loin and had some of the best spaetzle I had ever had served next to it. For the past two nights, it’s all he would let me have, something new. My palate was being exposed to all sorts of new foods and so far, I hadn’t come across anything that I didn’t like.
    “You still have no idea,” Gregorio said to me.
    I looked up at him. “What?”
    He smiled. “We have more work to do once we get to the apartment. We’re going to test you once and for all, whether you like it or not.”
    I scrunched my nose up at him as we walked down the stairs that led to the underground trains. I knew that some kind of ceremony had to be done to test my necromancy, but none of the choices were acceptable. It was one of those things that I would have to suck up and be okay with.
    “This way,” he said, pulling me to the side of the U-Bahn that headed back in the direction of his home.
    I shook my head. “These signs never seem to make any sense to me.”
    He smiled. “Good thing you have me to tell you where to go, then.”
    “This is true.”
    “Your friend Jen comes in tomorrow, correct?”
    I nodded. “In the afternoon.”
    “Well then you better know where you’re going by then.”
    “You are coming with us, though, right?”
    He seemed surprised. “You’re inviting me out with your friend?”
    I shrugged. “Why not?”
    “If I am invited, then I would love to escort the two of you through my city.”
    “Good,” I smiled.
    The station was busy and there were a lot of people crowding around the edges of the platform, waiting to push their way onto the next train. I looked up and it was set to arrive in twenty seconds. I always loved how it told me exactly when it would arrive.
    “Dylan?” There was a strange voice from behind me.
    I turned to see who was calling me