Up From the Grave: A Night Huntress Novel

by Jeaniene Frost

  “I’m going to miss you,” I told Denise, releasing her from my hug.

  She smiled, blinking away the shine in her hazel eyes.

  “I’ll miss you, too, but we’ll see each other after you get settled in somewhere.”

  “Not too soon after,” Spade muttered under his breath.

  Denise gave him a mock punch. “I heard that.”

  The look he bestowed on her was so loving, I didn’t care that Spade kinda hated us right now. He was wonderful to my best friend, which was the important thing. Besides, I couldn’t blame him for being angry despite Denise acting of her own free will. When you loved someone, the thought of almost losing them made you crazy. Who was I to judge him for that?

  “Until again, mate,” Bones said, holding out his hand.

  Spade looked at it. Then he grasped it, using it to pull Bones in for a quick, firm hug.

  “Until again, Crispin,” he said in a steady voice.

  I hid my smile. I knew he’d forgive Bones eventually. Their history was too long and too multi-layered for him not to.

  Then Bones turned to the voluptuous strawberry blonde vampire who stood to the left of Spade. We were on a rocky beach with salt spray pelting us as if it was angry, and Annette had still dressed to the nines. She even wore heels. Her makeup looked a little worse for wear, but that was from tears spilling out of her champagne-colored eyes.

  “Oh, Crispin, I’ll miss you terribly,” she said when he enveloped her in a hug.

  Once, the sight of Bones clasping his former lover would have filled me with jealousy. Now, I only felt bad for Annette. She’d loved him since the two of them were human, and while Bones had great affection for her, he’d never felt the same way. I hoped one day, she’d find someone to love who’d love her back. Despite her flaws—and one very memorable incident the day we met—Annette had proved to be fiercely loyal. That’s why Bones trusted her with this, his greatest secret.

  “You’ll make a wonderful father,” I heard her whisper when she let him go.

  “He already has,” I said, smiling at Bones.

  Then I embraced Annette, meaning it when I said, “We had a rocky start, but you turned out to be good people.”

  Her snort was somehow ladylike. “What’s one attempt to kill each other between friends, right, darling?”

  I laughed as I let her go. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Can we move this along?” a bored voice stated. “I have places to be and people to shag.”

  “Ian, I’m not going to hug you,” I stated as I approached him. “I know you like this better.”

  With that, I slapped him hard enough to rock his head to the side. When he’d straightened, he flashed me a wicked grin.

  “Finally, you give me what I want. Knew you loved me, Reaper.”

  “Oh, from the first,” I assured him, rolling my eyes.

  Bones grabbed Ian, hugging him while the two exchanged man-slaps on the back.

  “See you soon, cousin,” Bones stated when they were done.

  “Indeed you will,” Ian replied, winking at me.

  I got bear hugs from Juan, Dave, and Cooper next. Changing over had eradicated most of the damage Madigan had done, but Cooper would always look on the wiry side of thin instead of his normal, bulky build.

  “I’ll miss you guys so much,” I told them. “Stay safe, will you?”

  Cooper let out an amused grunt. “Bones is having Mencheres watch our backs while you’re gone, so how could we not?” Then his expression became serious. “I’ve been locked away learning how to control my hunger, so tell me one thing, Cat: Is he dead?”

  “Yes,” I said steadily. “Madigan’s dead.”

  I hadn’t been there to see it. Neither had Bones. Mencheres had executed our former nemesis, taking his head off with a burst of that incredible power. Madigan never knew what hit him, Don had said. One moment, he’d been babbling about crayon colors he liked; the next, he was no more.

  The Madigan who’d destroyed so many lives didn’t deserve such an easy end, but all we’d had left was his shell. Making that shell pay for the other’s crimes didn’t seem fair. Granting the mercy of a quick, painless death did. Even the shell knew too much for Katie to be safe.

  A dark form appeared in the dusky sky above us, chasing away that line of thought. Then that form dropped down with near-sound-breaking speed, landing with his back to us about a dozen feet away.

  I only needed to see the long black hair whipping in the wind to know it was Mencheres. Give it to the former pharaoh for knowing how to make an entrance.

  When he turned around, I expected the woman clasped to his chest to be Kira. When I saw short, thick black hair and a decidedly darker skin tone, I was stunned.

  “Why is she here?” I gasped.

  Marie disengaged herself from Mencheres with regal grace, but she looked as surprised to see me as I’d been to see her.

  “You said you had critical business with me, Mencheres,” she said, voice cooler than the brisk evening temperature. “Have you brought me here for vengeance instead?”

  “No,” Bones stated, grasping my hand and pulling me forward. “You’re here to be reminded about your word, Majestic.”

  He was going to tell her Katie was still alive? Good God, why? We were almost done with our goodbyes and on our way to a clean getaway!

  Then I paused. Bones would never endanger Katie, so what was I missing? A shadow appeared in my peripheral vision, and after a glance, I brushed it aside.

  Just a ghost. I’d been drawing them like stink drew flies, which was why we were spending a few months on a boat before settling either in New Zealand or Australia. Ghosts didn’t frequent the open water, and by the time we made up our mind where to go—and got Katie to the point where she could interact with people without throwing up big red flags—Marie’s power would be out of my system. Until then, I’d have to send this one away with instructions not to repeat anything he’d seen or heard. Same thing I’d done with all the others lately, and—

  “Of course!” I said out loud.

  Marie’s brows went up as if to say, are you sharing with the rest of the class or not?

  “Bones is right, you’re not here because we want revenge,” I said crisply. “We don’t need it. Katie is alive.”

  Marie’s mouth actually dropped, then she looked at me in an odd way, as if wondering if my mind had snapped from grief.

  “I fail to see how that’s possible,” she said in a neutral tone.

  “Demon shapeshifter who did us a favor,” I supplied. “You can only kill demons one way, and beheading isn’t it.”

  Suspicion and disbelief competed on her features before they became perfectly smooth.

  “If the person executed wasn’t the child, why would you tell me?”

  “You’re the only person who can find us without looking,” Bones stated. “With those filmy minions of yours, no one can hide from you.”

  “So if any ghosts tell tales of a strange vampire family they encountered, you can order them to shut up,” I added. “My power to command ghosts will fade, but yours never will. That’s why we’re telling you about Katie. You’re going to help us keep her a secret.”

  Bones’s mouth curled. “And you’ll want to do that, for if word of her survival spreads, you’ll be considered an accomplice in duping the vampire council.”

  “How?” Marie asked bluntly.

  “With this,” Ian said in a cheerful tone.

  We all turned. He held up a camera, smirking.

  “Got some lovely shots of you speaking with Crispin, Cat, and Mencheres, but it’s the boat in the background that really makes it incriminating.”

  “Besides.” Mencheres’s smile was wide enough to show his fangs. “You’ll do it because if you don’t, I can tear your head off from two cities away.”

  Marie let out a sharp laugh at that.

  “I can send Remnants after you from the same distance, so let us dispense with the threats.”


  “Yes, let’s,” I said at once. “Instead, why don’t we try something neither of our species has been able to do before? Let’s trust each other.”

  I held out my hand, staring into Marie’s hazelnut eyes.

  “Back in New Orleans, you swore by your blood that if there was a public execution, you’d leave Katie and the rest of us alone. You got your execution. Now give us our peace, and we’ll promise to do the same with you and your people.”

  Marie looked at my hand, then at the boat beyond.

  “Are you prepared to hide her until she dies a natural death? With her bloodline, that could be a very long time.”

  “Then that’s how long we’ll be away,” I replied evenly. “Mencheres has promised to handle issues with their people, and I was never a social butterfly anyway.”

  Her gaze flicked to Bones next.

  “You would give up so much for another man’s child?”

  “Katie is my child,” Bones responded instantly. “She may not be my biological daughter, but that merely means she’ll have two fathers.”

  Marie glanced at the boat again. I did, too. Tate was on deck, Katie standing next to him. She had Helsing in her arms, as per usual. Much to my delight, Katie loved having a pet, and my kitty took the additional affection as his due. It was almost dark, but I could still see the new blonde highlights in Katie’s auburn hair. She loved the sunshine although we had to slather her with SPF50. Maybe she spent so much time in it now because she’d seen it only rarely before.

  Then Marie looked back at me. With a hint of a sardonic smile, she grasped my hand.

  “We will trust each other, then. After thousands of years, it’s past time our two species tried that instead of threats and death.”

  “Better late than never,” I said, squeezing her hand.

  When we let go, I took Bones’s, savoring the feel of his flesh and the power that curled around me with its own caress.

  We could accomplish anything together. I hadn’t believed that before, but I did now.

  “Mencheres,” Marie said, turning to the other vampire. “Since we are all in agreement, you need to return me to my city. I have to make sure no more of my people disobey me like the ones in Detroit did.”

  “A queen’s work is never done,” I said lightly.

  Now her laughter was knowing. “Neither is a mother’s, Reaper, as you’ll soon discover.”

  I looked at the boat again, waving this time. Tate waved back. Katie looked at him, at me, and held up her hand, giving it a tentative wiggle.

  I couldn’t be prouder if she’d composed a sonnet and pinned it to a bull’s-eye by throwing a knife from fifty paces.

  When I looked back at Marie, I was smiling.

  “I can’t wait to find out, which is why I’m starting now. Bones?”

  He snorted. “I’ve been ready, luv. It’s you that takes the longest, as always.”

  I couldn’t stop my grin. “So let’s not wait anymore. Everyone . . . we’ll see you again, some soon, some later, but as vampires say, until again.”

  Then, instead of climbing back into the dinghy and rowing, I grabbed it and flew.

  Want to see how it all started?

  Keep reading for a peek into the

  Night Huntress world . . .

  from the very beginning!

  HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE

  Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance . . . until she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? And Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

  “Halfway to the Grave has breathless action, a roller-coaster plot . . . and a love story that will leave you screaming for more. I devoured it in a single sitting.”

  ILONA ANDREWS

  Beautiful ladies should never drink alone,” a voice said next to me.

  Turning to give a rebuff, I stopped short when I saw my admirer was as dead as Elvis. Blond hair about four shades darker than the other one’s, with turquoise-colored eyes. Hell’s bells, it was my lucky night.

  “I hate to drink alone, in fact.”

  He smiled, showing lovely squared teeth. All the better to bite you with, my dear.

  “Are you here by yourself?”

  “Do you want me to be?” Coyly, I fluttered my lashes at him. This one wasn’t going to get away, by God.

  “I very much want you to be.” His voice was lower now, his smile deeper. God, but they had great intonation. Most of them could double as phone-sex operators.

  “Well, then I was. Except now I’m with you.”

  I let my head tilt to the side in a flirtatious manner that also bared my neck. His eyes followed the movement, and he licked his lips. Oh good, a hungry one.

  “What’s your name, lovely lady?”

  “Cat Raven.” An abbreviation of Catherine, and the hair color of the first man who tried to kill me. See? Sentimental.

  His smile broadened. “Such an unusual name.”

  His name was Kevin. He was twenty-eight and an architect, or so he claimed. Kevin was recently engaged, but his fiancée had dumped him and now he just wanted to find a nice girl and settle down. Listening to this, I managed not to choke on my drink in amusement. What a load of crap. Next he’d be pulling out pictures of a house with a white picket fence. Of course, he couldn’t let me call a cab, and how inconsiderate that my fictitious friends left without me. How kind of him to drive me home, and oh, by the way, he had something to show me. Well, that made two of us.

  Experience had taught me it was much easier to dispose of a car that hadn’t been the scene of a killing. Therefore, I managed to open the passenger door of his Volkswagen and run screaming out of it with feigned horror when he made his move. He’d picked a deserted area, most of them did, so I didn’t worry about a Good Samaritan hearing my cries.

  He followed me with measured steps, delighted with my sloppy staggering. Pretending to trip, I whimpered for effect as he loomed over me. His face had transformed to reflect his true nature. A sinister smile revealed upper fangs where none had been before, and his previously blue eyes now glowed with a terrible green light.

  I scrabbled around, concealing my hand slipping into my pocket. “Don’t hurt me!”

  He knelt, grasping the back of my neck.

  “It will only hurt for a moment.”

  Just then, I struck. My hand whipped out in a practiced movement and the weapon it held pierced his heart. I twisted repeatedly until his mouth went slack and the light faded from his eyes. With a last wrenching shove, I pushed him off and wiped my bloody hands on my pants.

  “You were right.” I was out of breath from my exertions. “It only hurt for a moment.”

  ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE

  Cat Crawfield is now a special agent, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. But when she’s targeted for assassination she turns to her ex, the sexy and dangerous vampire Bones to help her.

  “Witty dialogue, a strong heroine, a delicious hero, and enough action to make a reader forget to sleep.”

  MELISSA MARR

  Hallo, Kitten.”

  I was so preoccupied with my breakdown that I didn’t hear Bones come in. His voice was as smooth as I’d remembered, that English accent just as enticing. I snapped my head up, and in the midst of my carefully constructed life crashing around me, found the most absurd thing to worry about.

  “God, Bones, this is the ladies’ room! What if someone sees?”

  He laughed, a low, seductive ripple of the air. Noah had kissed me with less effect.

  “Still a prude? Don’t fret—I locked the door behind me.”

  If that was supposed to ease my tension, it had the opposite result. I sprang to my feet, but there was nowhere to run. He blocked the only exit.

  “Look at you, luv. Can’t say I prefer the brown hair, but as for the rest of
you . . . you’re luscious.”

  Bones traced the inside of his lower lip with his tongue as his eyes slid all over me. Their heat seemed to rub my skin. When he took a step closer, I flattened back against the wall.

  “Stay where you are.”

  He leaned nonchalantly against the countertop. “What are you all lathered about? Think I’m here to kill you?”

  “No. If you were going to kill me, you wouldn’t have bothered with the altar ambush. You obviously know what name I’m going under, so you would have just gone for me one night when I came home.”

  He whistled appreciatively. “That’s right, pet. You haven’t forgotten how I work. Do you know I was offered a contract on the mysterious Red Reaper at least three times before? One bloke had half-a-million bounty for your dead body.”

  Well, not a surprise. After all, Lazarus had tried to cash a check on my ass for the same reason. “What did you say, since you’ve just confirmed you’re not here for that?”

  Bones straightened, and the bantering went out of him. “Oh, I said yes, of course. Then I hunted the sods down and played ball with their heads. The calls quit coming after that.”

  I swallowed at the image he described. Knowing him, it was exactly what he’d done.

  “So, then, why are you here?”

  He smiled and came nearer, ignoring my previous order.

  AT GRAVE’S END

  Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vampire, Cat is about to learn the true meaning of bad blood—just as she and Bones need to stop a lethal magic from being unleashed. Will Cat be able to fully embrace her vampire instincts to save them all from a fate worse than the grave?

  “A can’t-put-down masterpiece that’s sexy-hot and a thrill-ride on every page. I’m officially addicted to the series. Marry me, Bones!”

  GENA SHOWALTER

  I was sitting at my desk, staring off into space, when my cell phone rang. A glance at it showed my mother’s number, and I hesitated. I so wasn’t in the mood to deal with her. But it was unusual for her to be up this late, so I answered.