Second Lineage (The First Blood Series Book 2) Page 17

  It wasn't long after that, and my own blood vial thrown back like a shot, that I dropped my duffle bag on the floor in my room, closed the door, kicked my boots off, leaned my sword against the wall, and collapsed into bed. I'd wash my bedding tomorrow night, so for now, I pulled the covers over my body. I didn't even bother to set an alarm. There was no energy left to do it.

  Chapter 19

  Either I was becoming too used to people shaking me awake, or I was still so tired that my sluggish brain didn't care that someone had a firm grip on my shoulder. It took a few more shakes for my eyes to open and Raven's face to appear. He was already dressed in full uniform, and his wavy hair was damp from a recent shower. When my memories came back, I pushed his hand away and rolled over, burying my face in the pillow again.

  Raven chuckled and strode away, his boots whispering over the carpet in my bedroom. The light switch flicked on in the bathroom before the shower started and the curtain moved. Was he really warming up the shower for me? What a sweet boyfriend. Boyfriend. That was still a weird concept, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to call him that out loud for a while.

  Cool air surrounded me the second Raven whipped the blanket off my body, and I yipped, curling into the fetal position to conserve what little heat was left. It didn't seem to matter once the chilly air gripped me, sliding over my skin and clothes. My only comfort was that Raven had the shower running for me.

  He moved so fast the world spun, lifting me into his arms, spinning around, and entering the bathroom. Right when he should've set me down on my feet, he tossed me into the tub, my body colliding with a sharp, painful thump. I had half a second to register the probable bruising to my backside before the ice water raining down on me took the full focus of every conscious and sub-conscious thought.

  I did more than yelp this time as a screech raced up my throat and I fumbled to my feet, aiming to hop from the shower, but Raven was still there. A sinister smirk lifted his lips and his eyes burned with humor. He was enjoying this...this torture. Trying to push past him again didn't work as he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me back under the spray before yanking the curtain closed.

  "Wash up. You have ten minutes to meet me upstairs or I'm coming searching for you. This will be nothing next to dragging you to Davis's office in your underwear, so you'd better be presentable."

  "I hate you," I stuttered, taking five precious seconds to adjust the water temperature so my fingers would be able to move and hold my shampoo bottle.

  "I did warn you."

  "Get out."

  Raven's chuckle followed him out of the bathroom, and he had the nerve not to close the door behind him to keep what little heat the shower provided in the bathroom. It looked like I was meant to freeze this morning. With no windows, it was useless trying to guess what time it was, although even with windows I wouldn't have had time to notice the brightness of the sun.

  Stripping out of my wet clothes, I raced through my shower and toweled dry, thankful Raven had closed my bedroom door so I wouldn't be left exposed to the world. However, Raven was territorial already, so he'd likely keep every eye off of me that he could.

  A thin coat of makeup accompanied my hair being thrown into a ponytail before I pulled my uniform on and secured some knives to my thighs and hips. I'd learned to be prepared, so the sword was hooked to my belt before I raced from the room to head upstairs before Raven had to come back for me. The other vamlure slept soundly through my pounding footsteps.

  My trainer was draining a bowl of milk into his mouth, the last remains of his cereal, when I reached the dining room. "Let me guess, I'm out of time to eat."

  "I made you a peanut butter sandwich that you can eat on the way over. Grab a water bottle, and let's go." Raven dropped his bowl in the sink and pointed to a sandwich tucked inside some cling wrap. He strode through the other kitchen door while I snatched up the food and stole a water bottle from the fridge. After my wake up call from the frigid waterfall most would call a shower, I was far more sensitive to cold, but I disliked lukewarm water enough that I'd deal with a cold chill.

  The truck was still exactly where we'd parked it, and the sun was high in the sky, blinding me until I was able to blink back the few tears which threatened to fall. Raven's scowl could only be from his own distaste of the sun's abuse of his eyes. Thankfully his truck windows were tinted a little, but not as much as I would've liked at this point. I could still see inside with ease. Right now, all I wanted was a pitch-black room.

  "Does it ever get easier?" I moaned, sliding into the passenger's seat instead of being cramped in the space beside Raven, although I wouldn't have minded being closer to him...then again, he had thrown me into a freezing shower. Maybe I could use the space after all. There was no reason to forgive him right away.

  "Not really. Your eyes will always adjust quickly to the dark, and if you spend too much time without light, the adjustment to the sun will still hurt. That's why you need to balance the light and dark you allow your eyes to consume. Too much of either isn't good to keep your eyes less sensitive to pain."

  "Meaning?" I asked him as he started the engine and pulled from the driveway.

  "Meaning, too much light, especially bright light, for an extended period of time will harm your cornea. Our eyes were meant for darker climates. Also, spending too much time in the dark will allow your eyes to revert back to the natural state of needing no light and it'll be just like it was when you drank your First Blood."

  "Yeah, I never want to go through that again."

  He smirked at me. "I don't blame you, although that was quite the fight getting you to open those eyes."

  "You really want to be hit this morning, don't you?" I growled at him, not even bothering to crack a smile when his smirk grew into a wide grin.

  "Bluffing won't help you, and attempting to smack me could bring about a fun sparring session, so I'd wait until we're out of the truck so it'll be safer for both of us. I'd hate to wreck my truck teaching you a lesson."

  This time I snarled, lifting my upper lip away from my tiny fangs, but Raven was as unimpressed by the display as he was with my earlier threat. Deflated, I moped against my car door and stared out the window. So lost in thoughts of my bruised ego, I jumped when Raven's phone rang through the truck's Bluetooth. Now that we were back, phones could be carried, and I'd forgotten mine in my rush to leave the house. It figured. I was making forgetting something a habit: using the bathroom, weapons, and now, my phone. I'd keep that little tidbit to myself for as long as possible.

  "Yes, Chief," Raven answered, his tone cold. It took the other man speaking for me to put the pieces together that this was the police chief who we'd worked with to find the raccoon kits.

  "Captain Cartana, we have a situation that I'm not sure we're capable of handling, but I'm sure you can do it without a problem." The chief's voice shook, but that was likely from him having to speak with Raven since my trainer made the man almost pee his pants in person.

  Raven's lips quirked into a lopsided grin. "And what can we help you with today?"

  "We have a necromancer wreaking havoc in the middle of a funeral at the funeral home in the southeast sector of the city."

  "How long?" Raven's lips were now pressed into a thin, white line. Necromancers were usually more careful, and less callous than this. Most respected the dead, and to find one who mocked people's mourning by using their power over the dead to create what they'd consider fun and games was sick. Even their own kind thought so. Battles and crimes were one reason to use the dead. For their own enjoyment was a mockery.

  "We just received the call."

  "Good, you're learning," Raven drawled. "It's probably a kid out to have some fun, but we'll be prepared for anything. Thank you, Chief. I'll keep you updated."

  "Thank you, and good luck." The police chief ended the call and Raven growled.

  "Most necromancers have respect for the dead, but it's the ones who don't that you need to worry about. They're usually a bit unpr
edictable." He pressed a few buttons on the dashboard screen until the phone was ringing again and Avery's voice echoed in the cab.

  "Yeah, boss?"

  "We just got called in to take care of a necromancer in a funeral home causing some issues. I'm taking Koda with me and we'll handle the problem, but if you don't hear from me in an hour, bring back up."

  "Which funeral home?"

  "Southeast."

  A whistle of air crossed the line, making me wince. "Got it. We'll go shopping near that area, just in case. If I can get everyone moving."

  Giving me a sidelong glance, a grin grew across Raven's face again. "I suggest cold showers. It sure woke up Koda."

  "I bet it did." I didn't have to see Avery to know he was smiling as wide as Raven, and trying not to laugh. "Good luck. Call in early if you need us. We'll be there."

  "Don't forget, one hour."

  "Calm down. I won't forget." Avery ended the call, and Raven released a breath.

  "Am I supposed to be nervous?" I asked Raven, studying him carefully.

  "No. I'm just being overprotective and worrying. You've proven you can handle yourself in a fight. Maybe not as well as more seasoned soldiers, but you're capable of defending yourself. Just remember, like the skeletons in St. Louis, our venom is useless against the undead, even if they are flesh covered and not just skeletons."

  "Because they have no blood," I speculated.

  "Exactly."

  Twenty minutes later, we were parked across the street from the older funeral home. Even with our doors and windows closed, I could hear people screaming, but no one was in sight racing from the building. That didn't bode well.

  "Observations?" Raven asked as he checked his weapons.

  "Either they can't get to the main doors, or they're somehow locked."

  "What about side doors?"

  I shrugged, running my fingers over the hilts of my blades which were still sheathed. "Locked or blocked too?"

  "Probably. Or the citizens are so scared they don't want to attempt to pass beyond the undead. If it's just for a scare, the necromancer won't hurt anyone, but when the dead start moving, it doesn't matter who you are, it's creepy. Most people lose all logical thought."

  "And I don't blame them," I muttered, reaching for my door handle. "Which way in, boss?"

  Raven reached across the space between us to take my free hand. He squeezed it and met my gaze. "Be careful, Koda. As your trainer, I know you've got this, but as the man who cares deeply for you, I can't not worry about you."

  "Then start thinking like my trainer and let's go save those people."

  With a nod, Raven opened his door, and I followed his example, striding around to his side of the truck. Together we crossed the street, intent on the main doors while watching for any other attacks. It wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to attack us on our way up the sidewalk.

  "What'll we do with the necromancer?" I asked as we neared the door. Pulling my sword from its sheath, I readied it as Raven reached for the door's handle.

  "If he attacks us, don't hesitate to kill. It's self-defense. If he gives himself up, arrest him. Harming civilians is against the laws no matter if it's you doing the harm or one of the creatures you animated."

  "So, these aren't beings actually brought back to life? Like the real them? Their souls and all that?"

  For once, Raven stared back at me like he wasn't sure what to think of me. "Did you hit your head or something? I thought you knew this."

  I shrugged. "I know that a necromancer can do both: either animate the dead or bring back a person's soul, well half of their soul. The true person never really returns. Only ever part."

  "And it takes a strong necromancer to do it. They'd never be able to bring back this many with partial souls, and they wouldn't waste them on such frivolity. These are likely only reanimated. Any other questions?"

  "Nope. Let's do this."

  Swords in hand, we braced ourselves as Raven yanked on the door. It resisted at first, likely locked, but it didn't take much more to give way under the pressure of Raven's muscled arm. An undead fell through the doorway and almost landed on Raven, but he dodged out of the way in time to avoid giving the half decayed man a soft landing. There had to be a cemetery around here. That would account for the numbers of undead, and the state of decay. This guy either hadn't been embalmed correctly, or the necromancer's spell had given him some semblance of a body.

  It didn't matter, however, as his second life ended with Raven's sword taking his head off.

  When Raven arched an eyebrow at me, like he was asking what I was waiting for, I nodded and went to work. Another undead, this one a skeleton, followed after the first, and he met an untimely end when my sword took his head off too. Or her. I still couldn't tell the difference between male and female skeletons.

  We made our way inside, and one by one the undead fell at our feet. This battle was much easier than in St. Louis, if only for the reason that these undead weren't intent on killing us. Causing havoc, yes. Killing, no.

  The civilians inside were surrounding a woman who'd fallen to the ground, like they were mixed between protecting her by screaming and throwing anything within reach at the undead, and checking on her. The woman was middle age, with a hand placed to her heart as she fought to breathe. Well, the necromancer in charge of this escapade was going to be facing worse charges if this woman died.

  It didn't take but a few more minutes to drop the remaining undead, and when my final skeleton collapsed to the floor, I turned to find Raven already on his phone. "We need medical attention at the funeral home. Possible heart attack. No, we haven't found the necromancer yet, but he's here. We'll find him."

  Now that one task was complete, we had to search for the person behind the attack. It wasn't a large funeral home, and necromancers had to stay within a close range of their creatures or the spell would end, causing the undead to drop and become lifeless once again. The strength of the necromancer determined the distance he could be from his creatures, and I doubted this one was far away.

  "Do you know where the master is?" Raven asked the human male closest to him, who nodded and pointed toward a set of stairs leading down. "Thanks. Now, get your family out of here, and if she can be moved safely, do it."

  Thankfully, it was a small family funeral so there weren't too many people to escort out of the building. When they were all outside, the woman still clutching her chest being carried by one of the young, larger males, Raven typed a message into his phone. Likely he was calling off Avery and the rest of the cavalry.

  "Stay close." Raven stuck his phone back in its holster on his hip and drew his blade again. "My gut is warning me about this."

  Well, that didn't sound good.

  Chapter 20

  Swords drawn, we moved toward the staircase. Raven led the way, with me trailing behind, keeping watch for danger that may linger behind us as well as at the bottom of the stairs. The hair on the back of my neck was trying to stand straight, making my skin prickle. In a situation like this, that wasn't the most comforting sensation.

  The lower we descended, the mustier the air became, and a dank dampness clung to my skin and clothes. And the smell. I wasn't sure if it was better to breathe through my nose or mouth. Never in my life had I been this far into a funeral home, but I could guarantee none of them were supposed to smell like this. We'd found where our necromancer performed his spells, that much was certain, or where he'd hidden his horde of creepy undead to scare the humans upstairs.

  Raven reached the bottom step, and the board creaked. Well, if no one knew we were here or where we were, they did now. A dark, brick walled room greeted us. There was little light, besides a few metal light fixtures hanging sporadically from the ceiling with single bulbs blinking in them. The lack of light didn't bother me. It was the eerie mood the flickering lights created, and a sink was dripping in another room, adding to the creepy aesthetics going on around us that had me wishing there was more than two of us
. Just who was this necromancer? My subconscious was beginning to wonder if this guy was more powerful than I'd first thought.

  Several doors led into other rooms, but most were closed, giving us no idea of what, or who lay behind. A door slammed behind us. Before I could scream, I slapped a hand over my mouth as Raven and I both turned toward the sound. Only one door stood against the back wall, and without a doubt, that was the door that had slammed.

  I stared at the door, the timing of its closure an obvious sign for us to follow. "Please tell me you called in the cavalry," I murmured in a voice that wouldn't carry through the stone room.

  "Be ready for anything," Raven responded, ignoring my question.

  He stepped toward it, but kept his attention on the rest of the space and doors. Following his example, I split my attention throughout the creepy space. The further we stepped into the basement, the stronger the stench. If my eyes were closed, I would've expected that I was surrounded by rotting corpses. When I couldn't take the smell any longer, I covered my nose with my hand, taking it from the sword's hilt. It wasn't the smartest move, but any relief for a few breaths was necessary. My stomach wasn't going to take much more of this without revolting.

  Raven's hand closed around the door's handle, and the room itself seemed to hold its breath with me. With a quick twist and jerk, the door flew open to reveal a black pit beyond. Again, I was thankful for my new, see-in-the-dark eyesight. Neither of us moved to enter, but we listened. A soft scraping at the rear of the room announced the location of our necromancer. Was I the only one of the two of us who thought following him in there was a terrible idea?