by J. C. Diem
If I hadn’t had the ability to control them, a bloodbath would have broken out almost immediately. Werewolves ranked higher than the other canines and werelions were at the top of the feline hierarchy. There were several different types of both of our species. I felt almost sorry for the wererats. They were large in number, but were at the lowest level of the food chain. They weren’t fighters like us and were more adept at scuttling through the shadows and attacking from behind.
We filed out into the yard and the oracle joined us. She’d gained nearly twenty werebird followers and had taken them under her proverbial wing. None of them were comfortable at the thought of mingling with werecats.
My zombies left their sentry positions and followed us to Louisiana. I took us to the same field where the herd of reanimated animals had been turned into roasts. The ground was still charred and lumps of bone stuck out of the soil.
Orienting herself, Ava pointed to the west and we took off at a run. Half an hour later, we saw the bright lights of the EERI base. We had our attack plan well-rehearsed by now. We took down the outer guards and then the fresh wave that spilled outside. When they were all down, I transported us all inside the property.
With Reece on my right and my father on my left, I started across the yard. Expecting another golem to appear, I halted in mid-step when a zombie suddenly rose out of the ground. Even standing twenty feet away with her back turned to us, I knew who it was. Wearing a torn and stained white dress, her long black hair was matted and straggly. Her feet were bare and filthy.
“Katrina,” my father said in a desolate tone. I felt Kala’s surge of jealousy and grief that he’d never feel the same way about her as he still felt for my mother.
Hearing her name, she turned around jerkily. Viktor hadn’t put much effort into piecing her together, which had probably been a deliberate move on his part. The hole in her forehead where my dad had shot her so long ago was crusted with dried blood. Her eyes had turned milky and were devoid of life. She lifted her arms in a parody of affection and lurched into motion.
As she stumbled towards us like something from a horror movie, I sensed more undead surrounding us. I realized she was just a diversion as corpses rose out of the ground. I’d forgotten about Viktor’s ability to hide his death magic. It spilled out now and flowed over my small army of dead as he tried to take them over. My hold on them was too strong and they remained mine.
If I’d still been just a normal human, seeing my mother being brought back from the dead would have broken me. Instead, I just felt sorrow for her and rage that my biological father could use her this way. She’d already suffered enough beneath him when she’d been alive. Now he’d claimed her body in death as well.
Moving to surround us, the zombies didn’t attack as I’d expected them to. Katrina stopped several feet away with her hands still outstretched towards my father. Viktor rose out of the ground beside her, held in the arms of another zombie. “How touching,” he tittered as his minion released him and took a couple of deferential steps back. “It appears she still loves you even in death, Major Levine.” Turning to Katrina, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Put your arms down, dear. Try to have some dignity.”
“This is a new low, Viktor,” Mark said, gesturing at my mother as she obeyed him. “It shows how desperate your master must be to resort to tricks like this to try to demoralize us.”
“You believe we are desperate?” Viktor said and laughed in genuine amusement. “This is merely a demonstration of how you will serve Mr. Jorgen. Once you are dead, you will become part of his ever growing army.”
“There’s a slight problem with that plan,” I told him. “We’re immortal.”
His condescending smile froze then disappeared. “That’s impossible.”
“The Queen of the fae gave us her blessing. Nothing can kill us now.”
He went pale when he realized the implications of that. His servants couldn’t kill us, which meant he couldn’t raise our corpses and take control of us. “Stall them,” he commanded his undead army then turned to the one that had carried him here. “Get me away from here.”
As the zombie sank into the soil with his master clutched in his arms, I latched onto the death magic that belonged to Viktor. My necromancer swelled and the rival army of undead stilled as I took control of them. I’d already taken over his troops once before. He had to be deluded to think he could stop me from doing it a second time.
“Wait here,” I said to everyone. “We have some family business to take care of.”
Taking my father and mother by the hand, I followed the residual traces of death magic and went in pursuit of Viktor.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We surfaced on the outskirts of a city that was currently under siege by the dead. Sensing us, Viktor whirled around. “Don’t bother,” I said before he could call for his minions. “I’m stronger than you and I’ll just override your command.”
Smoothing his shoulder length black hair back nervously, he attempted to smile at me charmingly. “I had no idea you were so powerful, Alexis. I see now that I have chosen the wrong side.” His eyes darted as he rapidly went through his options. Spreading his hands wide, he bowed. “I surrender and give myself over to you.”
“I highly doubt that Kurt will let you go that easily,” I said. “You’ll remain his tool until he doesn’t need you anymore.”
“He lied to me,” he said and his eyes blazed with more than a hint of madness. “He told me that I would be the greatest necromancer to ever exist! He has not fulfilled our bargain, which means I should be released from our deal.”
Jorgen had worded their bargain very carefully and there was no way Viktor could worm his way out of it. He’d been promised that he would be the most powerful necromancer alive, not the most powerful one to ever exist. Twisting the words around wouldn’t change anything. He was trying to manipulate me, but I wasn’t naïve enough to fall for it.
“Why don’t I ask someone who knows you well whether you can be trusted?” I said and turned to my mother. “Will Viktor join us willingly and do everything he can to help us win this war against the half-faery?”
As his zombie, she had a direct link to his mind and shook her head. “No,” her voice was hollow and as dead as her flesh. “He will turn on you the instant he thinks you’re vulnerable. His only concern is to save his own life.” Once a vampire, she was different from any other zombie that I’d ever seen before. I sensed a deep well of malevolence inside her that could flare up with little provocation.
“That’s what I thought.” I reached a decision that I’d known I’d come to sooner or later. It wasn’t at all difficult to contemplate ending Viktor’s life. We might share the same blood, but he meant less than nothing to me. “We can’t let him return to Kurt. He’s already caused far too much damage.” I turned to my father. “Do you want to do the honors?” I asked the man who had raised me and who loved me like his own flesh and blood.
I could see that he was tempted, but he shook his head. “I think Katrina should be the one who gets to end his miserable excuse of a life.”
We were more alike than I’d known, because I was hoping he’d say that. “I agree.” I sent my mother a mental command. Kill him, but make him pay for what he did to you first. A cold smile flickered over her face and she started towards him.
Backing away, Viktor tried to call on his army, but I smothered his abilities with my much stronger death magic. “Alexis,” he pleaded. “Don’t do this. I am your father!”
“No you’re not,” my real dad said and put his arm around my shoulder. “She’s my daughter. You’re nothing to her and you never will be.”
Together, we watched as Katrina stalked towards him. I fed her more energy and her flesh became whole until she was beautiful once more. Viktor had reversed her vampirism, which had turned her human again. I thought it was only fitting that she should revert back to being a monster while she hunted the man who had ma
de her life an utter misery. Through the link I had forged with her after stealing her from her master, I infused her with the virus that had made her try to kill me. She wasn’t just a normal zombie anymore, she was now an undead vampire.
Leaping through the air, she landed in front of Viktor. Her fangs descended and she swiped her hand at him. Recoiling with a shriek of pain, he spun around beneath the force of her blow. Half of his face had been torn away and he clapped a hand over the wound. It was a futile gesture. Blood spurted from between his fingers, sheeting down his throat to soak his jacket and shirt.
Eyes almost glowing with malevolent glee, Katrina pounced on him. Tearing his jacket and shirt away, she bit into his shoulder. Viktor bellowed in pain and pushed her away with his death magic. She stumbled backwards, taking a chunk of his flesh with her. Chewing, she swallowed then grinned around her bloody fangs. Apparently, she could eat flesh now as well as drink blood.
Weakening from blood loss, Viktor couldn’t sustain his shield for long. Katrina sensed him falter and her grin widened before it abruptly died. “You kept me prisoner for eight years,” she said hollowly. She wasn’t capable of feeling much emotion other than hate, but some part of her was enjoying seeing him squirm. “You treated me like an animal and used me for your pleasure.”
Panicked and knowing that his end was near, Viktor babbled an apology. “I’m sorry! I never meant to hurt you!”
“You didn’t mean to chain me to a bed like a slave?” she hissed. “You didn’t mean to beat me unconscious then rape me repeatedly?” He backed away as she stalked closer. “You are a monster! It is because of you that I became one as well.” She smiled at him and her fangs grew and multiplied until she had a veritable forest of teeth. “It’s time for me to repay your kindness to me, my love,” she said in a hungry, guttural voice.
His screams were shrill as she forced her way past his flimsy shield of death magic and bit into his wrist. Sensing their master in peril, the zombie army stopped attacking the city and lumbered towards us. I waited for them to draw in close before sending a blanket of my own death magic over them. They fell beneath my control and surrounded us to stand sentinel. We kept a silent vigil as Katrina dismembered the man who had tortured her.
Now armless and legless, Viktor clung to life despite the loss of almost all of his blood. His death magic would keep him alive as long as he was still able to breathe.
“Please,” he moaned pitifully. He rolled his eyes up to stare at me beseechingly. “I’ve suffered enough. I’m no longer a threat to you. Just let me go and I promise I’ll never harm another soul.”
“You don’t deserve my pity or my forgiveness,” I said. “Your promises mean nothing to me. All necromancers are evil. You’ll just keep ruining lives for as long as you exist.”
“You’re my blood and you are exactly like me,” he said viciously. “You will become just as evil as you believe me to be!”
“That will never happen,” my dad said and slid his arm around my shoulder. “Lexi will never succumb to the darkness inside her. I won’t let her.”
Growing tired of the conversation, Katrina took matters into her own hands. “Your fate has been decided,” she said. “It is time for you to die. Goodbye, Viktor.” Kneeling beside him, she took hold of his head and wrenched it from side to side. His shrieks rang out then cut off abruptly when his head became detached. She held it up like a trophy and a sigh went out from his former slaves. All eyes turned to me, waiting for new orders.
“Return to your resting places,” I told them. “Wait for my command.”
As one, they sank into the ground and returned to where they’d fallen or where they’d been buried. Only Katrina remained. Her fangs disappeared, but blood still coated her face and stained her dress. She’d done her best to turn me into an evil creature like her, but I felt no ill will towards her anymore. Her part in this battle was done. She’d been a victim for far too long and she deserved to find some peace.
“Where do you want to rest, Katrina?” I asked her.
“I have nowhere to call my home,” she said almost forlornly. “My parents sold me to this monster and I have no wish to rest near them. New Orleans is full of bad memories for me and I have no desire to spend eternity there.”
“My parents would have loved you like a daughter if they’d lived to meet you,” my dad said. “They have a small, private cemetery on their property. If I’m truly going to live forever, I won’t need my grave anymore. It is yours, if you want it.”
She seemed to be grateful. “Yes,” she said. “I would like that.” Discarding Viktor’s head like it was garbage, she stood.
My father had taken me to his family home in Iowa once a few years ago. His parents had died in a house fire and he hadn’t been able to bring himself to rebuild it. The small farm had been left to him and the ruins of the house still remained. I took us there and we rose beside a small graveyard where several generations of Levines had been interred. Katrina strode over to the empty plot beside my grandmother and turned to me expectantly.
“Be at peace,” I told her and she sank into the ground.
My father had tears in his eyes as he pulled me into a hug. If our lives had gone according to plan, we would have both ended up here alongside my mother and grandparents. But that wasn’t meant to be. Fate had other plans for us.
“We should go,” he said gruffly. “We have a mission to complete.”
“There’s something I have to take care of first,” I said. I took him back to the others then returned to Viktor’s body alone. There were questions that needed to be answered and I needed to be alone when I asked them. Reece was with me inside my head, but I didn’t want anyone else to see me if I fell apart.
Standing in front of Viktor’s dismembered corpse, I didn’t bother to splatter him with my blood. My power was strong enough that I didn’t need to expend much energy to raise just one body. Sending my death magic into him, I issued a soft command. “Rise, Viktor.”
In moments, he pieced himself back together and rose to stand before me. He was so fresh that he almost seemed to be alive. “I need to know something,” I said to him.
“Yes?” His tone was lifeless and without inflection. Raising a necromancer was dangerous, but there was no chance that I would lose control of him. I was simply too powerful for it to be a possibility.
“Did you ever love Katrina?”
He responded without hesitation. “No. She was merely a possession.”
“Did you love me?”
“No. I was not capable of love. You were my offspring and I wished to control you, as I did your mother. I intended to kill you if there was a chance that you could become more powerful than me.”
I wasn’t surprised, yet I couldn’t help the stab of hurt that hit me directly in my heart. Power was the only thing he cared about. He’d destroyed his own father just so he could be the strongest necromancer in the world. His father had been just as evil as he was, so I couldn’t mourn my grandfather’s loss.
There was nothing else that I needed from him and he was too dangerous to leave lying around, so to speak. Kurt could have other necromancers to call on. Undead necromancers were far more powerful than living ones. I shuddered at how dangerous Viktor could become if he fell into the wrong hands. I had to take him somewhere that he’d never be found.
I transported us to Florida to a spot that was short distance away from a beach and gave him an order. “Swim out to the deepest part of the ocean and dig down as far as you can beneath the water. Then go to rest.” It was doubtful that even a faery would be able to retrieve him from his watery grave.
With an obedient nod, he stepped into the water. I waited until he became submerged and grew distant then realized tears of grief were running down my face. Both of my biological parents were now dead. Viktor had never loved me, but my mother had, for a short time anyway. Then she’d become a monster and had tried to drain my blood. With my gene pool, I’d never had a chance of a norma
l life.
I allowed myself to grieve for what might have been for only a few minutes before I put it aside. Wiping my eyes on my sleeve, I returned to my real family.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As soon as I stepped into Cole’s living room, Kala and Flynn surged to their feet and wrapped their arms around me. Reece had relayed my conversation with Viktor to them. His golden eyes were darker than usual from the sorrow that he shared with me. He and Mark joined us and our boss pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.
Hugging me hard enough to make my ribs creak, Kala then stepped back so she could see my face. “You know we love you, Lexi. You’re like a sister to us.”
“You deserve better than to have Viktor D’Ath as your father,” Flynn agreed.
Their compassion almost brought me to tears again. “I know,” I said as my dad stepped up to take their place. His hug was far stronger now that he was a shifter. “I have a Dad who loves me. I guess I just needed to hear Viktor say that I didn’t mean anything to him.”
“Even if he hadn’t been an evil necromancer, he couldn’t have loved you more than I do,” my dad said. I sensed Kala go all gooey inside at his display of affection. My father looked at her in surprise as he realized she might not be quite as tough as she seemed. Even though they were bonded, they still had a lot to learn about each other.
“I hate to be pragmatic,” Mark said, “but at least we have one less threat to deal with now that Viktor is swimming with the fishes.”
“Was that a joke?” Flynn asked incredulously. “Did Agent Mark Steel just make an actual joke?”
“I have a sense of humor,” Mark said defensively. “I just don’t let it show very often.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to crack the façade of being a mysterious and aloof agent,” Kala said wisely.
“Mark’s right,” my father said. “We have two more bases to raid and both could be a trap. We should get moving.”
