Page 127 of Sin

We crammed back into the vehicle and took off down the driveway. With the night cloaking everything in black, the trees on the property gave off an ominous feel, almost like they were watching. Every so often, glittering eyes peered at us from branches or behind bushes.

When we pulled up to the front of the house, we noted that not a single light was on inside.

“Everyone remember the layout?” London asked, and I wondered if he was stalling considering each of us had studied the blueprints to Mr. Radley’s home almost the entire drive. We didn’t know where Keith would be hiding in the house, especially since London had used too much of his gifts in the past day to track down Mare and Lucas. Lucas tried and failed to feel for Keith, but whether Lucas’s power still wasn’t fully functioning or Keith was too far out of range, we weren’t sure yet. So with the home being as large as it was, we’d need to split up in order to find him.

Mare refused to leave Lucas’s side, so they were teamed with Jinx to scout the left wing of the home. Blade and Lewis were tasked with searching the right wing, which left London and me to check out the main section of the house.

“Yes, boss man,” Blade said, playfully knocking her shoulder against his. “We remember.”

“Good,” he said, cracking his neck. “That’s good.”

Lucas grinned as he stepped toward the porch, but Blade stopped him, eyeing his wrist.

“Eye, eye, captain,” he muttered, letting his suit mold over him.

The rest of us did the same, and with one final nod to each other, we headed up the porch steps.

The front door was unlocked. Which was… Weird.

Lucas stepped into the house first and stopped. Sitting in a couple of chairs in the center of the foyer were two men. One was younger, maybe early thirties, but the other was nearly three times his age.

Both men’s heads hung down, their hands resting almost delicately on their thighs.

As the rest of us came to stand beside Lucas, we winced at the smell. Lucas narrowed his eyes on the younger man. “That’s Adam.”

“Which means that’s…” Jinx drifted off, staring at the older man.

“Mr. Radley?” London finished for him. He took a cautious step forward. “I’d assume so.”

At London’s next step, both men’s heads snapped up. London froze as they turned to stare directly at him, and the hairs on my arms rose in alarm. When they didn’t move again, just simply stared, London swallowed hard and took a small step to the right. Their gazes tracked the move.

“Lucas,” London said on a shaky inhale, “how aware are they? Is Keith controlling them?”

“Being reanimated feels like that moment between awake and asleep. They’re there, but they’re not. Like I said, they’re like puppets. Keith would have given them instructions,” Lucas said, his brow furrowing as he closed his eyes. The two dead men continued to stare at London while Lucas searched their heads, grimacing in pain. Blinking, Lucas straightened, narrowing his eyes at the men.

“What?” I asked when he continued to study them.

“I’m not sure, but I think they’ll attack anyone who steps past this rug,” he said, pointing at the small area rug that London was standing just on the edge of. As if to test this theory, Blade shifted forward until her boots were right at the edge of the rug. The men’s head whipped to stare at her.

“So yeah, I didn’t have fighting two dead naked men on my bucket list. So can you maybe like, take control of them and make it so I don’t have to do that?” Lewis asked.

Lucas closed his eyes again, focusing on the men and gritting his teeth. His hands shook, and his breathing picked up, but nothing happened. The men continued to watch us.

When Lucas opened his eyes, they were wide with frustration and horror. “I can’t break into their minds.”

“Why not?” Mare asked, cocking her head. She grabbed a book from the entryway table, and tossed it behind the men. Faster than should have been possible, they spun and bolted after the item.

And that’s how we discovered why Lucas couldn’t control them. The back portion of their heads was missing, revealing an empty skull.

“He removed their brains?” Jinx asked in horror. “He can do that and still control them?”

Lucas nodded.

“Then how does one kill someone who’s been reanimated?” Lewis asked, his hand hovering over the grenade launcher button on his suit.

“You either tire or kill the host. But since you’re against killing him, you’ll have to wait until he runs out of power.” He eyed the men thoughtfully, then his arms. “I suppose if you incinerated them, it might work though.”

“And just how much power does he have?” Blade asked.

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