by J. C. Diem
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Flynn asked me in disapproval.
“Don’t look at me,” I defended myself. “Most of that anger wasn’t even mine.” We all turned to look at Reece.
He shrugged and I had to look away as another surge of what I could only describe as lust swept through me at his half naked state. “It’s not my fault that you can sometimes feel my emotions,” he reasoned.
“It kind of is,” Kala argued. “You bonded with her and now you’ll have to learn to control your inner rage so it doesn’t spill over onto Lexi.”
It didn’t surprise me that the pair knew of his private turmoil. They’d known him for almost their entire lives. They knew things about him that I’d probably never learn myself. I might be a member of the squad, but I’d always be a latecomer to their tightly knit family.
“Didn’t Mark say you’d be the best person to teach Lexi control?” Flynn said.
“Yeah,” Reece replied with a heavy sigh.
“Then maybe you could spare some time to do so, so we don’t get our heads torn off by a rampaging werewolf.”
“I wasn’t on a rampage,” I said sulkily.
“You were on the verge of it,” Kala said and held her hand out to me.
Standing, I drew her to her feet. Her lip had stopped bleeding and she was thankfully showing no signs of a concussion. We healed too fast to be down for long.
“You could have wiped the floor with me if you really wanted to,” I said with a frown. Why were they making such a big deal out of this? I’d briefly lost my temper and had bopped her in the mouth. It wasn’t like I tore one of her arms off.
“You don’t know much about shifters yet,” Reece said, picking up on that thought. He took the gloves that Kala handed him. “You have no idea what we’re really capable of.”
Flynn lifted the rope high enough for Kala to step out of the ring then he climbed out after her. “Each shifter has different attributes,” he explained. “For instance, my reptilian nature means I have more patience than most of our kind.”
It was Kala’s turn to speak up next. “I tend to play with my prey and draw out the kill, unless Mark is there to keep me focused.” That wasn’t much of a shock. I’d seen cats stalking their food and they could be unbelievably cruel.
“What about werewolves?” I asked. “What are we like?”
Balancing on the balls of his bare feet, Reece fielded that one. “We tend to lose control faster and more often than other shifters. If we allow ourselves to become angry, we can be downright vicious. It’s almost impossible to stop us from tearing our enemies apart once we reach a certain point.”
The blood drained out of my face, leaving me white and trembling. Not only did my wolf nature make me susceptible to anger, I also had his emotions inside my head. How was I supposed to remain in control when the odds were so heavily stacked against me?
Reading that thought, he had an answer. “I’m going to help you learn to balance your emotions.”
For the next couple of hours, he goaded me into anger then helped me to swallow it back down and regain focus again. I was drenched with sweat and was exhausted from concentrating on keeping my emotions in check when he finally called a halt to our session. “That’s enough for today. Let’s take a break for lunch.”
My stomach rumbled at the reminder and Reece cracked a rare smile. His skin glistened with sweat and I clamped down on the urge to lean forward and lick his chest. I turned away as my face flamed, positive that he’d caught either the image or the thought.
Standing next to the coffee machine in the kitchen, Kala saw my red face and her shoulders moved in silent mirth. She didn’t need to read my mind to know what I was thinking. Thankfully, she kept her snide remarks to herself for once.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fourteen
After lunch, I received weapons training from Kala and Flynn. I spent a couple of hours slashing at a plastic dummy that they’d dragged out of storage and had propped up in the corner. It was the same kind of dummy that was used in crash testing. It was durable enough to survive being stabbed repeatedly by someone with even my strength.
While I wasn’t particularly skilled with knives, I was starting to pick up the basics. Becoming a supernatural creature hadn’t given me magical fighting prowess. It would take months before I’d become competent and years before I’d be able to hold my own against the others.
“Now it’s your turn to teach us,” Kala said after I finished cutting up the plastic man to her satisfaction. “I’ll see if Mark wants to join the session.” She darted away before I could protest at being thrust into the role of a teacher.
Reece had disappeared upstairs sometime during my knife training so I was left with just Flynn for company. He’d offered me some pointers during the session, but I sensed he was still annoyed with me for losing control of my temper. “I’m really sorry for going after Kala like that,” I said in a small voice.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he put his arm around my shoulders and drew me in for a quick hug. “I know. I’m not really mad at you, Lexi. I just wish you hadn’t been caught up in this life in the first place. If Garrett had been able to control himself…” He trailed off without finishing his sentence.
“You don’t know how horrible it was to fall under Lust’s spell,” I said, haunted by my utter lack of memory at the contact I’d had with her. “She takes away your ability to think and you have no choice but to do whatever she says.” Not that I could recall what she’d said to me. I just had Reece’s word to go on and he hadn’t been very forthcoming with the details.
“I get that,” he said and lowered his voice as he checked that the others were still upstairs. “But she didn’t command him to bite you, did she?”
“Well, no,” I replied. “She didn’t know he was a shifter.”
“So why did he bite you?” Flynn’s stare drilled into me, seeking answers.
“It was the night of the full moon and his instincts kicked in.” It was a feeble answer, but it was the only one I had.
“You might be more right than you realize,” he said and dropped his voice even more until it was a bare whisper. “I think he bit you because his wolf didn’t want to be alone anymore.”
All the breath left my body, leaving me feeling light headed. “Are you saying that he marked me on purpose?”
His nod was slow and thoughtful. “That’s my theory.”
“But why choose me?” Denver had been full of attractive girls. Surely he’d have chosen one of them over me. “He doesn’t even like me.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked with one eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Maybe he just told you that to keep you at a distance.”
Footsteps clattered on the spiral staircase, interrupting our conversation. Could he be right? Had Reece bonded with me deliberately? It seemed highly unlikely given what I sensed from him through our link. I didn’t feel anything but guilt, unhappiness and the occasional flare of lust. Besides, he’d made a point of telling me he didn’t want me and that I wasn’t his type.
Mark was right behind Kala, but descended the stairs at a more sedate pace. I was surprised when Reece trailed after them. He’d donned shoes and a tight black t-shirt that fitted him like a second skin. Calming my mind like he’d taught me, I pushed away my attraction to him as Mark beckoned for us to follow him. If it could work to subdue anger, I hoped it could also control desire.
“Kala informs me you’re about to hold a training session,” he said as he opened the door to the long hallway that led to the garage and the other rooms.
“That’s the plan,” I said, hiding my nervousness at the prospect of training my trainers. I’d never had students before, apart from giving out a few pointers here and there.
Flynn smiled, putting aside his earlier anger. “This should be fun. I’ve always wanted to be taught how to shoot by a teenager.”
I rolled my eyes, but refrained from making a snide comment. While I wasn�
��t comfortable with the role of an instructor, I’d attempt to be as professional as possible. We filed into the indoor gun range and the team selected handguns from the collection hanging on pegs on the wall. Hundreds of boxes of ammunition were stored in the cupboards beneath the weapons and they loaded up their guns of choice.
“How do you want to do this?” Mark asked.
“Why don’t each of you take turns shooting off a few rounds so I can see your skill levels?” I already had a firm idea of their abilities, but we had to start somewhere.
“I’ll go first,” Kala offered. I’d spent a few sessions at both the indoor and outdoor ranges with her and her skill had already improved with my assistance. She had no problems accepting my help. She blasted off a few rounds, hitting the paper target of a man through the heart with four of her five shots. “Am I awesome or what?” she crowed. Modesty would never be her forte.
“That’s pretty good,” I conceded. Previously, she’d have been lucky to hit the heart with two of the five shots at the one hundred yard mark. The more distant the target was, the harder it was to hit accurately.
Flynn went next. He took his time and grouped his shots nicely. I nodded in approval, taking note that we’d have to work on his speed rather than his precision. Mark gripped his gun tightly and flicked the barrel up slightly after each shot, causing his aim to deviate a little. He was an okay shot at close range, but from further than fifty feet away, he had trouble. Reece went last and aimed almost lazily. He hit the heart all five times then cocked his eyebrows in silent query. I couldn’t fault his aim and nodded in mute praise.
During the next hour, I spent time with each of my team mates, helping them to improve their skills. Kala just needed more practice and to learn to have a little more patience. Flynn managed to speed up with my urging, but his aim became less precise. With time, he’d learn to balance the two.
Mark eventually stopped jerking his arms, but it was going to take a lot of practice to drum that into him. Reece didn’t really need my help. I touched his shoulder to correct his stance once and heat instantly flared between us. Flynn bit his bottom lip to hide his grin and Kala glanced over at us with a smirk. Our boss was oblivious to the byplay since he didn’t have a shifter’s instincts.
I should have been exhausted after eight hours of training, but I was feeling energized as the sun began to sink and we settled in for an early dinner. I’d recovered from my one on one session with Reece fairly quickly after it had no longer been necessary to concentrate as fiercely.
It was Kala’s turn to cook, which meant we were eating frozen pizza again. I decided to offer her cooking lessons once our mission was over and we had time to relax.
“I spent the day searching CCTV footage for the truck that the bokor stole,” Mark said between bites of his subpar pizza.
“Did you have any luck?” Reece asked.
Mark waggled his hand from side to side. “A little. The vehicle entered from the west, but left via the north.”
“The Zombie King is smarter than we thought,” Kala said with her mouth full. It was fascinating and horrifying to watch her eat and talk at the same time. My father had taught me better manners than that. Mark gave her a long-suffering look, but didn’t bother to berate her.
Kala was on my left and Mark was at the head of the table. Reece sat across from me with Flynn to his right. It was our usual seating arrangement and it was strangely homey to be sharing a meal and discussing work at the same time. I’d never imagined that I’d become a federal agent for an organization that no one had ever heard of, yet here I was. I had to admit that I enjoyed the work far more than I’d have thought possible. So far anyway.
“I’d prefer it if he was stupid,” Flynn grumbled. “It’d make it a lot easier to catch him.”
Reece nodded in agreement. “He could be hiding out anywhere outside the city. We’ll never be able to track him down.”
“We’ll just have to stick to the plan and try to catch him in the act,” our boss said.
Kala shook her head and swallowed before speaking this time. “I still can’t believe this guy raised a bunch of zombies to rob a bank.”
“I guess it’s better than using them to take control of New Orleans and force everyone to become his slaves,” I offered.
“That’ll come when he gains enough experience to raise an entire cemetery,” Mark said.
I waited for someone to laugh at the joke, but no one did. “Are you serious?” My tone went higher than usual and was almost a squeak.
“Practitioners of the black arts crave attention, recognition and power,” Reece said. “Now that the bokor has had a taste of what he can do, it won’t be long before he’ll move on to bigger and better sport. Why rob banks when you can hold an entire city hostage?”
His reasoning was sound and I pictured the, as yet unseen, bokor sitting on a throne made of stacks of money. In my imagination, scantily clad, terrified women cowered at his feet. Reece’s lips moved upwards fractionally at the image that I inadvertently projected at him.
“He’s going to have to raise a heck of a lot more corpses in order to pull that off,” Kala surmised. “Can you hack into the cameras around the cemeteries again?” she asked Mark.
“I’m way ahead of you,” he replied and tapped the tablet that was nestled inside his jacket. “As soon as we’ve finished eating, we should head to the city so we can be there before the sun goes down.”
₪₪₪
Chapter Fifteen
As usual, Flynn stepped aside so I could climb into the SUV first. He waited until the car was in motion before he spoke. “If I were the bokor, I’d set up a circle in several different cemeteries while it was still daylight. Once night fell, I’d move from one cemetery to the next, raising the zombies as quickly as I could.”
Everyone turned to look at him with varying degrees of surprise. Reece contented himself with a glance into the rearview mirror. “Let’s hope he doesn’t figure that out,” Mark said bleakly. He gestured at the cloudy sky as we neared the gate. “Thankfully, it’s been raining all afternoon so any symbols that he’s drawn would have been washed away by now.”
“Not if he covered them over with something,” Flynn countered. His expression became more animated as he thought the problem through. “Sheets of wood, tin or even plastic would do the trick. He’d just have to pile rocks on the corners to hold them in place so the circle wouldn’t become smeared.”
Kala was staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Am I the only one who is disturbed by how much thought you’ve put into this?”
He sent her a mock hurt look. “Hey, I’m just trying to anticipate the worst possible scenario.”
Mark’s frown deepened. “Believe me, you do not want to face the worst case scenario.”
I had the feeling he’d been there and done that. “What would that be?” I asked.
“He could raise the wrong zombie and then we’d be in much more danger than just facing a young and inexperienced bokor.”
“What kind of corpse is the wrong kind?” I persisted. The voodoo priestess had already given me a hint about this and I was interested in learning more.
“One that had been a necromancer before they died,” Reece answered flatly.
“Isn’t necromancer just another name for a bokor?”
“No,” Mark responded. “A bokor deals with spells, curses and dabbles in zombie raising. A necromancer’s main talent is controlling the dead. The practice largely died out a hundred years or so ago, thanks to the assistance of our organization.”
I wished I’d had more time to read through the old PIA files. Knowledge of what we were facing would come in very handy. “I guess there are some necromancers buried in New Orleans?” I posed it as a question and both Mark and Reece nodded.
“Yes,” Mark said. “A few notable souls have been interred in several of the cemeteries. I sincerely hope they remain in their crypts.” A slight shudder went through him, which chil
led me to the bone. He wasn’t afraid of much, but he was clearly disturbed by this prospect.
“If the Zombie King did raise a necromancer, what would happen?”
“They’d be just a normal zombie to start with and the bokor wouldn’t even know of the danger he was in,” he said. “The problem begins once the necromancer feeds. Human blood revives all types of undead creatures.” The only types of undead I knew about were zombies and vampires. I didn’t even want to know what else was out there.
“With each meal that they consume, they become smarter and faster,” he continued. “Necromancers have a natural affinity for the dead and when they’re reanimated, they remember their past lives. They not only retain their ability to raise corpses, they actually become far better at it.”
A heavy silence fell, but it didn’t last long before Reece broke it. “I read a file about a necromancer that caused the deaths of hundreds of people in Germany a couple of hundred years ago.” His tone was far too conversational for the topic that he was discussing. “A young witch stumbled across a spell that accidentally raised him from the dead. She wasn’t able to control him and he killed her. He raised all of the dead in the cemetery and they ate their way through an entire village.”
“I take it our predecessors stopped the necromancer and his undead friends,” Kala said. Her normal exuberance was more subdued than usual.
“It was lucky that a member of our organization was visiting a relative in the next village,” Mark said. “A survivor managed to flee and stumbled into the town seeking help. The villagers thought he was crazy at first, but some believed him. They formed a posse and waited for dawn when the zombies would be asleep. They found what was left of the bodies of their neighboring townsfolk dead inside their homes.” I could easily picture a rustic little town with the gnawed bodies of people cast aside after the zombies were done with them.
