Chapter Seven of Nora Blackwell: Rise of the Dead Walker

I followed them through the castle, freaking out. I asked them where we were going, but no one answered.

“It appears we are heading toward the master of the castle.” The ghost suggested in my mind, making me jump and stumble, almost falling.

“Thank you,” I responded in my mind.

As we walked to wherever we were going, it was eerie—the only sound was my shoes on the castle floor —but thankfully, there were windows. The blue sky and green fields made me less anxious. If it were dark, I think I would have been freaking out more than I am now.

“We're here,” the maid said, stopping abruptly, which made me almost run into them.

Looking around, we were in the middle of a long hall, standing outside a regular-looking door. I looked at them to see if they were making fun of me, but it didn't seem like it, so I knocked on the door and waited until a small voice said Come in.

I was expecting a magical-looking office with portraits of people dressed like witches, floating things in the air and in jars, and all the other stuff u see in the movies.

What I got was a man sitting behind a desk in a regular-looking office. There were motivational posters on the wall and books on a bookshelf, but nothing crazy or magical.

“Hello, Miss. Nora Blackwell.” The man behind the desk said, catching my attention. He was in his late 30s, early 40s, with brown hair and silver eyes. He didn't wear a cloak but a dress shirt.

“Um, hello,” I replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice, but failed.

“You can call me Shawn, please sit down,” he said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. I sat down, putting my hands in my lap and bouncing my leg.

"No need to be nervous,” he smiled, which of course didn’t calm me down at all.

“Why am I here?” I asked, looking into his silver eyes.

“You summoned a ghost,” he stated flatly, pointing toward the ghost in the corner. I didn't need to glance; I could feel the ghost’s presence, like a sonar finding its beacon.

“Necromancers are rare, but they can only bring back the recently dead and are in the presence of the dead. Giving your last name and what you did, I assume you’re a dead walker.” He said, letting that hang in the air like I was supposed to know what it meant.

“I have no idea what that even means,” I replied, staring at him blankly.

“Oh yeah, your family doesn't have anything to do with this world; they just send one every generation or so. Anyway, you can summon and control the dead of any kind. We know for sure you are a dead walker because you summoned and are still controlling a ghost.” He explained as if it were common knowledge. I just stared at him. He just dropped too much information on me about me and my horrible family. How many other family members have they sent here to die without knowing what they were getting into? I will change this shitty family, but first.

“What is this power?” I asked.

“I just told you. Are you a bit slow?” He asked, searching my face for the answer.

“I understand that, but I’m asking about everything that this power does? Can I still use other magic, too?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. You can use any magic, but your particular talent is dealing with the dead.”

“That's good to hear. So why can't others use this power?”

“Some of us are gifted from the start, and some of us have to work to achieve what comes easily to others. We all can do that, but we would really have to study and practice. People wasted their lives trying to become a dead walker, only to be able to hear a ghost or summon a ghost, only for them to disappear after five minutes. You need the talent for some things, and Dead Walker is one of them.” He explained.

“So why are you telling me all of this?” I asked because there was no reason for this meeting; someone could have just mentioned it to me or something.

“I'm warning you. People will want your power. You can contact the dead at any time, and dead men tell no tales unless you're there. Some people will want to keep their secrets.” He explained, and his words felt like a huge weight had just fallen on my shoulders.

He didn't say anything else and had the maid send me back to the hall. I walked back in a daze. Everyone else was already gone, so I just headed toward my room.

“I'm sorry, Nora Blackwell.” The maid said.

“I can take her,” Arthur suggested, which made me turn around.

“Are you sure?” The maid asked, to which Arthur grinned widely, showing his teeth.

“Yeah, I'm sure.”

“I barely know him, so I think I'll pass on this outing.” I smiled back, giving him the finger when the maid turned back to him.

“We can't force her to go, so thank you for your selfless act.” The maid said, bowing.

“She should go since she needs to get her supplies for her room and classes.” He replied, sticking his tongue out at me when she turned back to me.

“He is right, dear, the shops will be closed tomorrow.” The maid sighed as if trying to figure something out while Arthur stuck his tongue out at me.

“After everything that I was just told, I feel like I can't trust anyone,” I stated with tears falling. The maid and Arthur both froze, and I started crying even harder.

“Nora Blackwell, it will be fine. I will talk to Paula, let me go call her quick,” the maid said, hurrying off.

“I know you’re faking.” He stated when the maid was out of earshot.

“You rip out a woman’s throat in front of us,” I replied, staring right into his red eyes.

“But yet you’re not freaking out right now or trying to get away from me. That night, you even walked towards me.” He replied, getting close to me.

“I was stressed out and confused, that's all.”

“What about now?” He asked.

“Why do you care so much about a human. I thought vampires and other creatures looked down on us.” I replied, which made him grin.

“Only in the movies, dear.” He replied, leaning forward. I could feel his breath on my cheek. I didn't know what to say.

“You know my venom is an aphrodisiac. I'm also pretty good in bed.” He whispered into my ear, and I felt his teeth brush my ear.

“Back the fuck up!” I screamed, rage building in me, slapping him as hard as I could, which made him back away as I summoned a few more ghosts who surrounded us.

“I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not that type of woman,” I screamed, storming off toward my room.

“I didn't mean anything by it,” Arthur assured, grabbing my wrist, swinging me towards him. I raised my other hand to hit him, but he grabbed it to stop me. He didn’t seem to flinch as the ghost got closer to us.

“Let me go!” I demand trying to shake my hands free. He tightened his grip, but I decided to kick him and found gold. He let go of me as he fell to the ground, holding his family jewels. I headed to my room, slamming the door behind me and locking it. I could feel the ghost blocking my door while mocking him.

I wanted to go back out there and cuss him out or maybe kick him a few more times, but I watched through the ghost eyes as he stayed on the ground for a moment or two more than he walked off.

I just sat down at the desk, reading through all the paperwork, trying to take my mind off of what just happened.

After a few hours, a knock came at the door. I hesitate to open it, but I did. Paula was there holding a bunch of bags. I stepped to the side to let her in.

“I got you everything you should need. If I missed something, let me know. I'll get someone to run out and get it. Don’t worry about paying, it was the school's fault you missed today's outing.” Paula said putting everything on my bed.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice not sounding like itself.

“You ok, dear?” Paula asked, shutting the door, then turned to me.

“Do you know about me?”

“Yes, dear.”

“It's a lot to take in,” I stated, feeling overwhelmed. Too much had happened today, but I wasn't about to tell her about what happened with Arthur. I'll pay him back later. Paula smiled and gave me a hug, which I wish my mom had given me, and I lost it. I cried into her shoulder, letting everything go. Paula rubbed my back while telling me everything would be ok.

Once I ran out of tears, I apologized, but Paula just rubbed my head, telling me it was a lot and that everything would be ok. She said she would bring me some food and that I should rest, then left.

I took a deep breath and started going through the bags—pink fluffy towel, notebooks, and everything in between that I could need. I put everything away, then lay down.

A knock came, and I told them to come in. Elain walked in, holding a tray, looking sheepish.

“Hey.” I smiled, truly happy to see her.

“We need to talk,” she stated, looking at me seriously.

If you want to read me Chapter 8 in advance go to my https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-8-of-of-144180418?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link