Read Dealing With the Dead for Free Online Page A

pens, paper, and last but not least, a small container with what he assumed to be food and a drink thermos.
    "Jesus, man, how the hell did you squeeze all that in there?" Jacob, one of Jayden's brothers asked. Jayden was wondering exactly the same thing. It was like a production watching the man set everything up.
    Noah laughed. "Very carefully. We used to go camping when we were younger. My dad taught me how to pack properly."
    Jayden enjoyed the small insight into Noah's past, but now he was booting up his computer. He looked ready to start their evening. Jayden took a deep breath before he went over to where he had dumped his bag and removed the items he needed. His bag was nowhere near as large as Noah's had been. He had forgotten that this wasn't going to be a quick consult and hadn't bothered to bring himself a chair or food, for that matter. He was glad he had a spare blanket in the bottom of his bag. He would use that.
    Jayden removed the blanket and spread it on the ground in front of Grayson's grave, ignoring his family

milling around on the edges. Next he removed a container of salt and a small dagger.
    Not everyone had to use salt, but for Jayden it was essential. Most fiction books will say that a necromancer needs a circle of salt to contain the newly risen so it doesn't wander off, but that was a load of rubbish. They didn't physically raise the dead and create zombies. Jayden couldn't even contemplate just how difficult it would be to break out of a coffin and dig through at least six feet of dirt to get to the surface. No, what they did was to call forth an incorporeal form of the deceased, almost like a ghost. This form took on the image of the deceased, prior to death, and had all memories of that person, making it possible to converse with them.
    This meant they couldn't wander anywhere, they just sort of floated. They couldn't even float away as they were bound within a certain radius to their graves.
    For Jayden, a complete circle of salt was essential to restrict the number of beings he would raise. The salt acted as a barrier and kept his power and magic within its confines. Even a small break in the circle would cause his magic to leak out and touch other graves.
    Despite the bright light on the table, Jayden grabbed his own torch and set off to complete his circle around

Grayson's grave. He doubted any other member of his family was as meticulous as he was in regards to the salt circle, but after one night when he had made a small error that resulted in a dozen people popping up out of their graves, Jayden took the extra time to get it right.
    Twenty minutes later when he was entirely happy with his work, he put away the salt and torch and picked up the dagger. He looked at Noah. "You ready?"
    "As I'll ever be."
    "I know seeing your brother again after everything might be difficult. If you're having trouble and you need a break just let me know."
    "Thank you." Turning away, and ignoring the rustles and murmurs from his family, Jayden carefully stepped over the salt line and knelt on the ground. Grayson Michaels had been dead for nearly five weeks so the grass was just starting to grow again.
    Jayden picked up the dagger and placed the sharp point to the tip of his left index finger. He pressed down just enough to draw blood. He had stopped hissing at the pain a long time ago. Another difference between him and other necromancers was that he only needed a small drop of his blood, whereas they needed more. He could have gotten the desired result using a diabetic pen but he thought his

dagger looked better and added more flare.
    He squeezed out a drop of his blood and watched it hit the ground. With just that one small drop the magic that he kept tightly leashed rushed from his body. Jayden could feel it burrowing into the ground conversing with Grayson.
    "With these words I summon thee, with my blood I summon thee, and with my magic I summon thee. Come to me, Grayson Michaels," Jayden said. He