Page 77 of Nearly Dead

“I know it,” Costin says, his voice tight with controlled rage.“It’s a deconsecrated site surrounded by a colonial graveyard on the far north edge of the property.You can’t go there.It’s not safe.It’ll be a necromancer’s playground.His magic will be stronger there.”He motions to the floor.“You saw what he was able to do.”

“He said to come alone,” Anthony puts forth.“You can’t be considering it.”

“I won’t abandon Paul,” I say.

Guilt crushes down on me.In my selfish need for closure with Paul, I dragged him once again into harm’s way.When will I learn just to leave him and his daughter be?I’m no good for them.All I do is cause them grief.

“Diana is safe?”I ask Anthony.

“She wears the amulet and is in a safe place,” he assures me.“If something happens to her father, she’ll be looked after.”

I meet Costin’s gaze, seeing my own determination reflected in his eyes.“Since when do we do what necromancers tell us to?”

A ghost of a smile touches his lips.“Never.”

“We need to move fast.”I head for the door.“Paul’s human.He won’t last long with Leviathan.”

Anthony hesitates.“I should tell Astrid?—”

“I think she’ll get the picture when she sees the bodies on the lawn,” I cut him off.“Call her from the car.Tell her to alert the council.”

Outside, the night is unnaturally still.I feel the full moon’s approach like a crisp sting in the air.I keep an eye on the corpse piles.They don’t move.Anthony’s sleek black car waits in the circular drive, engine purring and door hanging open.I see the driver dead on the ground with bite marks.

“Poor Gary,” Anthony whispers.

“Leviathan is going to pay,” I swear.“It’s time he was stopped.Permanently.”

Costin takes the driver’s seat.I slide into the passenger side while Anthony climbs in back, already dialing Astrid.

“Do you have a plan?”Costin asks as we tear down the driveway, gravel spitting beneath the tires.

“Save Paul.Don’t die.Make Leviathan regret being born.”I flex my hands, feeling the hybrid strength flowing through me.“I’m making this up as we go.”

“Good plan.”Costin nods and presses the accelerator to the floor.He drives down an overgrown dirt road that looks like it hasn’t felt tires in decades.

ChapterEighteen

The car eats up the miles.Costin drives with the reckless confidence of someone who can’t die in a crash.Anthony speaks in rapid, hushed tones to Astrid, explaining the situation.I tune him out, focusing instead on preparing myself.The wolf and vampire inside me seem unusually aligned, both ready for the upcoming battle.

“There,” Costin points as we crest a hill.I lean forward to see.I haven’t had reason to go to the north end of the property before.

Beneath the cold light of a waxing moon, stands the silhouette of a crumbling church.Its steeple is partially collapsed, and the graveyard surrounding it stretches into the darkness like a sea of crooked headstones.The wrought iron gates are chained shut, but they look ancient and brittle.

Costin brings the car to a sliding stop in front of the fence.The scent hits me first.It’s damp earth and the old decay of rotting wood from the church, which makes me wonder how the structure remains standing.One push and the termite temple is likely to crumble.

“Look at the ground,” I say quietly, stepping out of the car.My shoes sink in the loose soil, and I feel the sponginess of it underfoot.The land has recently been disturbed.Overturned grave dirt reveals the source of the zombies.

“The veil between worlds is thin here.”Costin comes beside me.His nearness steadies something wild inside me that’s been coiling tighter with every mile.I wouldn’t want to be here alone.Even so, the hairs on the back of my neck lift, and my wolf blood is already bubbling in warning.“It’s why necromancers are drawn to places like this.There is easier access to the dead.”

Undead,my mind corrects thinking of zombies.And then it hits me.I’m undead now.Does that make us like supernatural cousins or something?Gross.

I’m going to try to not think about it.

“If we don’t handle Leviathan, Astrid will.”Anthony joins us at the gate.“I wouldn’t want to be him or Mortimer tonight after the damage they caused at the estate.”

I wrap my hands around the rusted chain and pull.The metal groans, then snaps with surprising ease.The sound is sharp like a starter pistol going off.My stomach clenches.I wait for someone to answer it.Nothing does.Tension knots my shoulders.The gate creaks open, vibrating in my bones like a string pulled too tight.

I step onto the cemetery grounds, and a chill runs through me that has nothing to do with the night air.I sense movement all around us, subtle shifts in the shadows and the soft crunch of dead leaves where nothing visible walks.

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