Page 18 of Unbroken
“Is there even anything to sense?” He focused on his arm, but the scars didn’t so much as twinge. “Presumably the magic wasn’t worked on the grave dirt.”
“Well, I had hoped.” She sighed. “We’d best get to it, then.”
Up on the hill, the trees of the Draakenwood waved against the stars. Ves stared up at them for a long moment—he missed the forest he’d grown up in, that much Sebastian had gathered.
Maybe they’d go visit it, as soon as the Books were safely disposed of. He wasn’t really one for hiking, but if it made Ves happy, it would be more than worth a few insect bites and sore feet.
At Irene’s suggestion, they began a systemic search, crossing back and forth along the hillside, looking for any fresh graves. Thankfully, it took only about half an hour before Noct called from the row he was searching. “I think I’ve found it.”
The headstone was fresh, as yet untouched by seasons of rain and snow. Whatever had been painted on it had been scrubbed off, leaving behind no sign of the vandalism mentioned in the newspaper. The epitaph carved deep into the granite read:
David J. Siewert
Beloved husband
Born June 13, 1858
Died June 20, 1910
The ground in front of the headstone was disturbed, though it was impossible to tell if it was from the original burial, or if he’d crawled out of it. Considering Sebastian couldn’t be absolutely certain the man he’d seen in the portrait while visiting Mrs. Siewert was the leech who had attacked them in the basement, there was only one way of making sure.
Which was why they’d brought a shovel.
Ves lowered the shovel from his shoulder, took off his coat, and passed it to Sebastian.
“I can help dig,” Sebastian offered, even though he was far weaker and more prone to exhaustion than Ves.
“No. I have it.” The shovel bit deep into the earth.
There wasn’t much to do while he dug. Noct and Irene perched on an aboveground vault, holding hands. Sebastian watched fireflies dance through the night, blinking at one another. Once, a bat swooped through the beam of his flashlight, catching a moth drawn to its glow.
“I’ve reached the casket,” Ves called up.
Sebastian peered over the edge of the grave. Ves stood at the bottom of the hole, covered in dirt, his weight supported by the very end of an uncovered casket. The upper half was broken apart, the shattered wood pushed outward as though something had burst free.
“That settles it,” he said, stepping back so Ves could scramble out of the hole. “Now?—”
A growl sounded behind them.
Ves spun, shovel raised. The growl had come from the shadows, but his eyes picked out the creature even before Sebastian and Irene turned their flashlights on it.
It was humanoid in shape, but its head was more like a jackal’s, muzzle filled with teeth meant for rending flesh and shearing bone. A fresh scar cut across its face, continuing down to one shoulder.
Yellow eyes filled with hate fixed on them, and it growled again before stalking closer.
“A-Annalise?” Sebastian gasped.
Ves’s blood chilled. This was a ghul, then. An eater of the dead.
And a potential heir of the Lester family, the town’s undertakers. Rejected when her ghul blood proved too strong during whatever test they used to choose their heirs.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Sebastian held out both hands as if to either calm her or fend her off. “You frightened me. I’m very, very sorry.”
She snarled and lunged at them, teeth snapping in warning.
“Run!” Sebastian yelled.
They ran: Sebastian and Irene at full speed, Noct whipping across the tops of headstones beside them. Ves could have easily outpaced the two humans, but he remained in the rear, casting glances back over his shoulder and clutching the shovel in his hand in case he needed to use it as a weapon.
