Page 86 of Death Raiser

“You can trust me on this.” He studied the soul again and closed his hand around it. “You are safe to return. You have my word.”

“Okay…” I stared at his now closed hand. Obviously, the soul had told him something significant, but what?

“Do you need to retrieve anything from your room?”

“No.” I came with the clothes on my back, and I’d take the family necklace I’d found with me.

Levi nodded and waved his hand in front of us. A portal rippled through the air and formed a few feet away from me.

The section of bushes I’d hid in with the remains crystallized into view with the morning light from the rising sun.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

“One more thing,” Levi said.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder.

“Say hi to Connor for me.”

I frowned and hesitated again. Why would Leviathan know Kang’s name? And more importantly, how did he know about my connection with the detective? Had Hudson told him, or was it the soul spies? Or had Levi figured out the information some other way? The possibilities sent bolts of unease along my skin. I had so many unanswered questions. Still.

“Time to go,” Levi said. “I can’t hold this open forever.”

“Thank you,” I said, and meant it. No matter how I felt about Levi and no matter what his ulterior motives were—and he definitely had some—he’d saved my life.

I stepped through the portal. As it closed behind me, Levi’s response came through. “You’re welcome.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The thick bushes surrounded me as I stood in my hiding place. My heart thundered so loudly, it took a while for me to hear the wind through the surrounding trees and the distant cry of seagulls. Dark death energy wound around me, tantalizing, and delicious.

Like a siren’s call, the magic tightened its hold on me, pulling me forward. I stumbled out of the dense bush and followed the delectable taste of death magic in the air. My sneakers sunk into blood-soaked moss, and I stopped in my tracks to mentally process the scene in front of me.

Severed body parts lay strewn across the forest floor. Tissues, organs, and a body’s worth of blood painted the trampled grass, moss, and tree trunks. Blood dripped down the rough bark.

In the centre of the carnage, Connor Kang stood completely naked except for the layer of blood coating his skin. The sunlight glinted off a gold chain wrapped around his wrist several times. My missing necklace.

Kang’s shoulders heaved as he panted. Muscles tense, teeth clenched and bared, rage flashed across his expression. His eyes had darkened, appearing as if they were entirely black. The veins near his eyes looked like they pumped black blood through his body, and any skin not covered in blood had a grayish tinge that appeared to lighten as I studied him. He looked positively feral.

And like an enraptured moth attracted to a burning flame, I stepped forward, drawn to him and the power radiating off his sculpted body in waves.

Death magic.

A thousand times more alluring than Levi’s, the power surrounded me, caressed my skin and sunk in to find a part of me I never showed anyone. His magic teased my mind and pleasure flooded my body.

Kang snapped his head up and his dark gaze met mine.

My breath caught in my lungs.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

Kang shook his head and closed his eyes. Some of the tension left his body. When he opened his eyes again, the black had cleared, leaving his normal brown colour. His skin also faded, slowly returning to its normal pale, but healthy pallor.

“Did you torture the assassin you have in custody?” I asked, still moving closer, still drawn to the seductive tug of his power. “Did you use my necklace in a tracking spell?”

He kept his attention trained on me while he slowed his breathing and regained his humanity.

“How did you find me?” I asked again.

---