When The Grave Calls (The Veil Diaries Book 9)

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Mmm.” Asher shook his head as he set his water glass down. “His job is to protect Ally, no one else. Ordin hurt Ally. And if he was planning to hurt her again …”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache come on. There was the clink of a glass. The rustle of someone shifting in their seat.

  “Where is he?” Zeke asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me where he goes. Only, now I’m wondering if he’s out killing someone else.”

  “I doubt he did it without a reason or proof,” Zeke said carefully. “If he said that Ordin was planning something again, then I’d bet money he was certain of it.”

  I searched Zeke’s gaze. “Have you two been talking a lot?”

  He tried for a nonchalant shrug, but I didn’t buy it. “Not a lot.”

  “What do you guys talk about?” Isaac asked, leaning forward to look down the table at Zeke.

  “Mostly he keeps me updated about how little Lexie is sleeping. Or if he ran into problems in town,” Zeke said.

  That piqued my interest. I turned to the others. “Does he talk to anyone else?”

  One by one the others shook their heads.

  “Once in a while I’ll make him something to eat for dinner when he gets back late at night,” Asher admitted, suddenly finding his plate very fascinating.

  “I’ve played some video games with him a couple of times,” Ethan said. “When I couldn’t sleep.”

  I looked at each of them. “So, Zeke’s the only one he talks to.”

  “And you,” Isaac reminded me.

  I shook my head. “We don’t exactly talk.”

  “You guys have been fighting a lot lately,” Ethan said.

  I stared straight at him. “I don’t think I can get past the deception that he wasn’t human the whole time.”

  “Honey, he’s not human.” Asher closed his laptop. “He’s a familiar.”

  “What is that?” I all but hissed. “Is it a title? Is it a species?”

  “You need to ask him,” Ethan said.

  “You guys really need to sit down and talk,” Isaac added. “Get the answers you’re looking for.”

  I sighed and looked down at the table. “Any time we get in the same room we just end up fighting.”

  “It works for you and Zeke,” Ethan chimed.

  I smiled as Zeke snorted.

  “We’re not that bad.” Zeke raised his head and pinned Ethan with a glare.

  “They have been doing pretty well lately,” Miles admitted.

  “Don’t jinx us,” Zeke and I said in unison. We shared a small smile.

  Ethan exhaled hard and leaned his elbows onto the table. “Well, I was going to call a meeting, but my shit seems trivial now.”

  “What shit?” Isaac asked as he closed his laptop.

  “I was jumped last night outside Vegabond,” Ethan announced.

  My heart dropped. “Are you okay?” I scanned his face and didn’t find a mark.

  “Who the hell jumped you?” Zeke sat up straighter, his jaw clenched.

  “Why the hell didn’t you say anything last night?” Isaac snapped.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I had a few bruises but by the time I got home they were gone,” Ethan said. “I didn’t say anything because I was fine.”

  “You still should have told me,” Isaac snapped. I reached over and took Isaac’s hand.

  “I didn’t get a good look at the guys.” Ethan held his hands out palms up. “We were putting the instruments into the back of Ollie’s van when they just showed up. Once some guy outside the bar jumped in to help me out they bolted.”

  “You think they were trying to rob you?” Miles asked.

  Ethan shook his head. “They kept trying to put me into holds but I was too fast for them.”

  “If they were trying to put you in a hold, they wanted to take you somewhere.” Isaac’s fingers tightened on mine.

  “Could Jadis have been behind this?” Miles pushed his glasses up his nose.

  Everyone exchanged looks as we all considered the possibility.

  “She did abduct him once before, why not a second time?” Asher shifted in his seat.

  “I’ll talk to the committee about it tonight. See what Uma thinks.” I slid my hand from Isaac’s. “Maybe it really was random.”

  Ethan shrugged.

  “I’m just glad you’re okay.” I gave him a smile.

  He grinned back. “I am. But they aren’t. I’m pretty sure I broke at least a few of their bones.”

  “Good,” Zeke muttered.

  Miles got to his feet. “If that’s everything, I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Miles, take the night off.” I knew it was pointless, but I gave it a shot anyway.

  “There’s too much to do,” he said before he disappeared out the doorway.

  “And there’s another thing,” I muttered. “Miles.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never seen him this bad before.” Asher said. “Something is eating at him.”

  “Something besides his dad dying?” Ethan asked.

  Zeke was still watching the door when he answered. “I think so.”

  “Did he tell anyone how he died?” I asked.

  Everyone answered with a no.

  I shook my head. “What did the paper say?”

  “Heart attack,” Ethan answered.

  “At least we know what didn’t kill him,” Zeke muttered before he opened his laptop.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked my text messages.

  Unknown: Lexie, answer the phone. It’s Mom.

  Oh, hell no. I deleted the message and tucked the phone back into my pocket. There was no way in hell that I was going to text her back. What the hell could she want anyway?

  What could she have to say that she hadn’t said before? Nothing, right? I slumped a little in my chair. The sad part was that a teeny, tiny piece of me wanted to know. To hear her voice. To hear her say that everything would be okay.

  No. That way led to pain.

  I sat up straighter in my chair. I was just going to ignore her until she stopped texting. I sat with a heavy heart as the conversation turned lighter around me.

  An hour later.

  “Where is she?” Uma sighed. The stunning head of our witches leaned back in her chair gracefully.

  “She’s usually on time.” Brody, the head of the local shapeshifters, paced in the study at Miles’ house. The walls were lined with built-in bookcases, a small fireplace with a marble mantle the only break in the rows of shelves. It was kinda peaceful. Well, when I wasn’t in a committee meeting.

  With so many shifters and witches around, problems between the two were bound to crop up. And they had been, in abundance, so a committee had been created to handle interspecies issues and act as leadership for all of the people on our side, which included me in an honorary seat. The eighteen-year-old. Yeah, I thought it was crazy too, but it kept the committee up to date on the Veil and me up to date on what they were planning.

  “Maybe she got a lead,” I offered.

  My statement was met only with doubtful looks around the table. To be honest, we could really use a lead right now. We had no idea where Jadis was and we needed to find a way to end this stalemate.

  The fourth member of the committee was late, and it was odd enough that we hadn’t even started the meeting. In fact … “What is this meeting about anyway?”

  “Miles has finished his project.” Uma turned to me. “He is going to demonstrate it for us.”

  Finally. Maybe now Miles could get some sleep and get back to normal again. “Anything new about Jadis?”

  “They’ve infiltrated several spots in the local government.” Uma relaxed in her seat, the picture of cool elegance. “Probably through compulsion.”

  “It’s the same throughout the town. They haven’t gotten any vital positions in the town yet, but it’s become clear that it’s what they’re working on.” Brody turned and crossed
the room again.

  I shook my head. “So, why?”

  “They did the same in Florida, according to Luca,” Uma said. “Then they used the town to add pressure.”

  “We need some of our people in place,” I muttered. “With some sort of protection against compulsion.”

  Brody and Uma nodded their heads in agreement.

  “And what about Ethan’s attack last night?” I asked again.

  Uma sighed patiently. “There’s no proof that Jadis was involved in that. It could have been teenagers or a botched mugging, Lexie.”

  “But we don’t know that it wasn’t Jadis trying to get her hands on him again,” I countered.

  “Lexie, all we can do is have him be more aware of his surroundings for the time being,” Brody said in his lecturing tone.

  I was about to debate that when the door swung open. A pale, dark-haired woman slipped through the study door and softly shut it behind her. Her slim, short figure gave the impression she was young, but in truth she had been converted over fifty years ago. The vampire walked into the room with an air of dignity. “I’m terribly sorry, I had a message from my Master.”

  “Can you share it?” I asked, leaning forward.

  Those silver eyes met mine. Briony nodded. “Your worst fear is realized. Riley has been converted and entrenched in the nest for the time being. My Master is going to remain and work to preserve any free will she has left.” She paused. “We won’t be able to contact him again until he gets her out of the Domus Mortis, which could take some time depending on her level of control.”

  My heart sunk. Riley had been turned. Oh God. Her human life was over. Guilt hit me hard, eating away at my control. And not just for Riley. Briony had explained the history of Samuel and the Domus Mortis. How he abandoned their nest and struck out on his own. His former Master was still furious over it. The things she told me about that house were enough to give me nightmares. Well, more nightmares.

  I was going to owe Samuel big time for this. He had been right; I hadn’t known what I was asking when I asked him to go. I got to my feet and began to pace. What was happening to Riley? Was she okay? What about Samuel?

  Brody stopped pacing. “I assume you’ll remain his proxy?”

  Briony turned her attention to the shifter. “I am. I’ve been his second for almost a century now. I’ll handle his affairs until his death or return.”

  Uma nodded.

  I forced my emotions back and focused on what I could do now. “Thank you.”

  “Which, unfortunately, leads me to my first decision.” Briony met my gaze. “My Master needs us to remove ourselves from Spring Mountain.”

  Everyone turned back to her.

  “Why is that?” Uma asked.

  “It needs to look like our Master deserted us,” Briony said. “We need to look scattered, unorganized, and in such a state we wouldn’t be in this fight.”

  The vamps were leaving. Shit.

  “Are you sure that’s necessary?” Uma asked.

  Briony nodded. “Unfortunately. The head of the Domus Mortis has punished Samuel for leaving him, but he is still suspicious of his motives. We need to do everything we can to back up our Master. Even if it means leaving.”

  “It’s understandable,” Brody said. “Since Jadis is in a holding pattern, it might not be as detrimental if you go now rather than later.”

  Briony bowed her head to him.

  “Though, perhaps we should make the first move,” Brody thought out loud.

  Everyone turned to him.

  “She’s trying to build her power base,” Brody said. “Maybe we shouldn’t let her.”

  “That means attacking. Without the vampires, we have maybe fifty able bodies on our side, and last we knew Jadis had about the same.” Uma lifted a piece of paper to check her information. “We have more shifters, she has more witches, but we might be able to even the playing field a bit.”

  “How?” Brody asked.

  Witches had a natural advantage over shifters; they had long range capabilities while shifters were built for close range, hand to hand combat. Anything to overcome that advantage could be a game changer.

  Uma turned to me. “The witches and I have been working on a spell that would cause an area to become an energy null for a period of time.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “A what?”

  She smiled. “A space where magic would be useless.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  She nodded. “It’d basically work as a ground wire. Any energy cast would go directly into the ground, making it useless to them.”

  “What about alchemy?” I asked, thinking of the guys’ shields. They worked on clockwork and herbs.

  Uma grinned. “They would work. The trick would be setting up the spell without getting caught and bringing them into it.”

  “Like a trap,” Brody surmised.

  Uma nodded. “And from what I understand from Mr. Huntington, he has developed the weapons for our side.”

  Brody shifted on his feet. “The demonstration is ready in the basement when we are done here.”

  “This is where I will leave you,” Briony announced.

  “Thank you for your help,” I said.

  Briony nodded, her stony expression easing slightly. “You’re very welcome, I only wish we could stay until the end.”

  With that Briony moved swiftly and silently out of the library.

  Brody cleared his throat. “Let’s get on with the demonstration, then.”

  The two of us followed Brody through the house and down to the basement where my guys and a group of shifters were all waiting in their gym clothes.

  Surprised, I moved to Isaac’s side. “What have you guys been doing?”

  Isaac smirked and tilted his head towards Miles. “Miles is finally ready to show us what he’s been working on.”

  “Hmm.”

  Miles fiddled with a long bronze rod with several vials embedded along the middle of the shaft. One end was tapered into a blade.

  “Miles. Show us what the staff can do,” Brody said.

  Miles stopped fiddling and moved away from the others towards a dummy. “First, the blade is made of bronze.” He simply swung the end, slicing into the plastic of the dummy. “They are sharp enough to do some damage on their own, but it’s when you press a vial button in the middle that you get to the interesting part.” Miles swung again. This time, the dummy burst into flames.

  Surprised, I stood there while the dummy began to melt. One of the shifters used an extinguisher to put out the flames. The stench of burnt rubber and smoke filled the room.

  “What does it use?” Uma moved to Miles and took the staff from him, examining it closely.

  “One of Lucy’s spark potions, water, and magnesium,” Miles answered.

  “So, it’ll burn hotter when you try to put it out,” Zeke muttered, his face dark.

  “That seems a bit overkill,” I said as I joined Uma and Miles.

  Miles met my gaze. “They’re shifters and witches. It’ll take a lot of power to make a dent.”

  A part of me still didn’t like it, but he wasn’t wrong.

  “That’s exactly what it’ll take.” Brody joined us. “That’ll work for the humans, but what about long range?”

  Miles turned to Brody. “Hold the button and you’ll shoot a stream of flame a good thirty feet. It’s the vial you choose that will make the difference.” He pointed to the next vials. “Blue for ice. Purple is a one-shot electrical hit.”

  “Only one?” Brody asked as he examined the staff.

  Miles nodded. “It takes a lot to manage even one. Any more weight and the staff will become unbalanced.”

  “Good.” Brody turned to Miles. “Any other type of weapons?”

  Miles nodded. “We could use the same design for blades, swords … arrows would be difficult.”

  “What about bullets?” Brody asked.

  Miles shook his head. “The vials would either smash
on firing or not smash at all.”

  “We have the runed bullets anyway,” I reminded him.

  Uma nodded. “Yeah, but traditionally, witches don’t fight with them. That would bring in the gargoyles.”

  “And Jadis doesn’t want that,” I muttered. Heaven forbid Jadis does anything to help our side.

  Brody nodded and turned to Miles. “Let’s start training right away.”

  Brody and Miles started towards the guys with the staff, with me moving to follow them only for Uma to stop me. “We have our own training to do.”

  My heart sank. Great. I started back out of the room and up the stairs, barely resisting the urge to stomp my feet like a toddler. Fucking training.

  Chapter 3

  Spring Mountain Cemetery was the same as any other cemetery I’d ever seen. The only real differences between here and a city park were the rows of tombstones and stillness of the area.

  Uma led me to the far back corner of the cemetery where the stones and mausoleums were overgrown from neglect. Weeds had overrun the graves years ago, while blackberry bushes crowded between the tombstones.

  “Here,” Uma said as she set the electric lamp down on a tombstone.

  “Why are we in the oldest part of the cemetery?” I asked as I knelt in the dead grass and dried leaves at the foot of the grave.

  “No visitors. Their family is all dead by now,” she said as she moved down by me. “These are the kinds of things you need to be thinking about as a necromancer.”

  I sighed. She was right, which reminded me. “I read something new in that book last night.”

  “Oh?” She continued to clear the grave of leaves and dead twigs. It was something I’d noticed since we began doing this. She always cleaned the graves of those we raised. Was it like when I sketched the souls that came to me over the years? All those names and faces eventually became a blur. Was this her way of thanking the person for the use of their body?

  “I found instructions on how to look through a zombie’s eyes. How to speak through one.”

  She turned to me, curiosity sparkling in her chocolate eyes. “Really? Perhaps it’s time I take a look at these books.”

  I nodded. “It seemed pretty easy, just … putting more of me in there. My consciousness, really.”