The necromancer still had wary shadows about his eyes, but the tight lines in his face had eased somewhat. His brown skin had taken on ruddy undertones, as if he were spending regular amounts of time outside in the sunshine. His salt and pepper hair was still cropped close, but a short, tight-edged beard of gray made him look more the distinguished scholar than a summoner of the dead. I probably would have been better off going to one of the mediums downtown, but I knew Russell, knew he was the real deal. Who knows how many women with a palm on their door I’d need to go through to find someone who honestly had a connection with the spirit world. “How have you been?” I took the sweet tea he handed me with a smile, declining the plate of lemon wedges. “Good. It’s taken me a while to find my feet, but good. I see Shay, I mean Bella, once a week.” A fond smile creased his face. “I always bring a toy for her. You know, a doll or a Lego set or something. This week I found some sculpting supplies and we spent the evening making little clay animals.”
