Page 31 of Death Raiser

All the tension clinging to my shoulders left and I relaxed into his body. This hug felt like heaven. I wrapped my arms around him and let myself enjoy the feel of being held. The last thing I wanted was Kang going after the Lord of the Veil. But his words piqued my interest as much as they soothed me.

Curiosity really was my vice.

What the heck was Kang that he felt so confident he could go after Leviathan and succeed?

“Are you two going to make out or are we going to solve a murder?” Jacobs called out from the end of the path.

Kang reluctantly dropped his arms and I stepped away. Not knowing what to do or say, I smiled at Kang before turning to walk toward the crime scene.

A yellow strip of tape wrapped around a tree trunk marked the trail running off the main path. The small break in foliage was little more than a deer trail, and after pushing the ferns to the side, I picked my way carefully toward the sounds of talking.

People in white crime scene suits milled around a small clearing. The coroner would’ve had to clear the scene for me to enter, but the analysts often continued to work in the surrounding area for hours. I needed to ensure I stayed in the spots already processed.

Jacobs smirked at me as I passed and waggled his brows.

“Shut up,” I muttered.

“Didn’t say a thing.” He linked his hands behind his back and whistled.

“You really are an asshole,” Kang said.

“Takes one to know one,” Jacobs called out.

Kang glared at his partner.

“What am I looking at?” I asked. We needed to change the topic before Kang killed Jacobs. I happened to like Jacobs, despite his teasing.

“Nothing good,” Kang muttered.

“Is it ever?” I asked.

Kang grunted and looked away.

“This one is similar to the last one. Only fresher,” Jacobs said. “Brace yourself.”

Why he still bothered to issue warnings baffled me. No amount of bracing would help. These two didn’t call me for tidy little scenes. They reserved me for the worst—the ones so disgusting and degraded that the help of a necromancer was their only shot at identifying the victim, murderer, or both. If I got called in by Jacobs or Kang, I knew it would be gruesome. I arrived as braced as I could ever be.

Maybe I could get another sympathy hug from Kang.

Officer Shaw stood at the end of the path, monitoring the active crime scene. I didn’t know the officer well, but he didn’t really provide much motivation to change that.

“Hello,” I said as I walked past.

He frowned at me before turning away.

Okay, then…

Maybe under different circumstances I’d wonder what was up Shaw’s ass, but death energy curled around me, dark and seducing. This might be a “fresher” scene compared to the last one, but the magic was weaker. Stale. The victim must’ve died months ago, and the body waited for me under the tarp, calling out to my magic.

I stopped at the edge of the small clearing and studied the white tarp that undoubtedly covered the found remains.

“Exactly how similar?” I asked.

“Very,” Kang replied. He glanced at Officer Shaw briefly, his mouth turned down, before placing his hand on the small of my back to direct me toward the deceased. “Female victim. Single gunshot wound, body appears dumped.”

“Who found her?” I approached the tarp.

Kang followed me while Jacobs hung back to speak with Shaw. “Jogger.”

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