Pure Blooded (25 page)

Keep your eye on that one
, I told Rourke.
Tyler is going to try and find the necromancer
.

I’m watching him
, Rourke answered.
I thought they’d be quicker, but their reflexes are slower than a shifter’s. The ghouls also seem to be slowing down. The necromancer must be overloaded trying to control all these things at once
.

Ray made a move to fly off the mausoleum and I snapped my jaws on the end of his shirt to keep him rooted in place.

“Jesus, Hannon. I’m not going near them. I’m not that stupid. I was just going to take a look overhead,” he said. “This necromancer has to be close by, right? That’s a horde down there. That would make anyone tired.” Ray’s brain was in the right place, but I had no way to tell him that I’d just sent Tyler on that same mission.

But it wouldn’t hurt for him to do some surveillance. I let go of his shirt.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

Ray took off and I edged closer to Rourke, whose gaze was still locked on the wendigo.

How do you want to do this?
I asked.

We wait him out
, he answered.
I’ve been watching him closely for a while now and he seems unsure. I think Ray’s right. This necromancer is overwhelmed. Even though whoever is running things might not be keyed in fully to the wendigos, all the undead are slowing
.

Seeming to finally make up its mind, the wendigo began to run at us. Rourke and I stood, lowering our bodies, reading for an attack.

I said,
You go for the legs, I’ll take the neck
.

I’m not sure this wendigo is going to make the jump
.

As it ran forward, it stumbled, and just as it was about to spring, a high-pitched scream came from the woods.

The wendigo took a halfhearted leap, and Rourke reached out, his claws making a clean cut, severing the head. The wendigo went down, and then all around us the ghouls fell one by one.

Tyler’s voice hit my mind a second later and it was frantic.
I found her. She was nearby
. He gave a guttural internal cry and then yelled,
No!

I was instantly on my feet.
Tyler, what’s wrong? What’s going on?
I made a move to jump down, but Rourke held me back with his big tawny head, snarling furiously.

I howled my frustration into the air.
Tyler, answer me!

His voice wasn’t more than a whisper.
Please, she can’t be dead
.

Jessica, I have to eliminate the threat completely while they’re down
, Rourke said, brushing against my flank to get my attention.
The wendigos aren’t fully dead yet. Stay up here until I know for sure it’s safe. The ghouls don’t look like they’re going to rise, but stranger things have happened
.

Fine
, I agreed.
But do it quickly. Tyler found the necromancer and something’s wrong
. Ray hadn’t returned either. My guess was he had found Tyler. My brother’s voice had been full of anguish and I didn’t know what to make of it.

Ray landed beside me. “Brace yourself, Hannon,” he said. “I saw Tyler running into an old building on the grounds, busting right through the door. Marcy, James, and Nick were close behind, but by the time we all got there, he wouldn’t let anyone in. I have no idea what’s going on, but it smells like a pile of shit to me.”

I paced the length of the roof, not knowing what to do as I watched my mate finish killing the wendigos. Fully dismantling their brains with his claws wasn’t a pretty sight.

Before I could talk to Rourke and figure out what we should do, I spotted Tyler in the hazy dawn, just over the hill in front of us. He was half walking, half staggering, holding something tightly in his arms.

He was naked. He hadn’t had time to dress yet.

I sprung off the roof without a word and soared through the air toward him. I landed at a run and could feel both Ray and Rourke close behind me.

I slowed about twenty yards from Tyler, sensing his distress.

The form in his arms appeared tiny in his grasp. Her long dark hair hung almost to the ground. Her skin was pale yet bronze in color. Her delicate neck was tossed backward, and I could see she was breathing, but it was shallow at best.

She wore nothing more than a dirty nightgown with small flowers dotted on it, and her feet were bare. On further inspection, I noted that her wrists were damaged—ugly red welts ran in a circle around them both and a bit of loose rope hung between her and Tyler.

Tyler stopped in his tracks, his face a mask of pain.

I had to tread with caution. I’d never seen my brother in this state.
What happened?
I asked.
Who is she?

Tyler seemed stunned at my question. He glanced down at her and said out loud, “I… I don’t know. I just saw her… and my wolf went wild… and then she collapsed… I think she’s dead…”

You have to set her down so we can help her
, I told him calmly in my mind. Her shallow breaths were uneven and coming too far apart. I had no idea what the life span of a necromancer was or how easily they could die.

“We can’t help her.… She’s dangerous…,” Tyler stammered. “She’s… she’s going to have to… be stopped… We can’t risk it…” His voice trailed off as he glanced down at her again, his face unreadable.

Rourke snarled next to me, catching my eye, and then bobbed his head.
I know
, I said.
I’m trying
. Ray mumbled something and Marcy and James came into view behind Tyler.

Marcy had a questioning look on her face. I addressed my brother again.
You need to set her down
. Tyler didn’t move.
We’re not going to hurt her. She did this against her will. Look at her wrists
. As he did, his eyebrows drew together, but he held her close to his chest, unmoving.
We can’t help her if you don’t let her go. Lay her down on the grass. Time is running out and we need to hurry
.

Marcy held our clothes in her arms, so we were ready when we shifted back to human. Nick came up from the side, circling around so he stood behind Rourke and me, likely trying to put himself between us and the pile of ghouls and dead wendigos up the hill. So very Nick.

Come on, Tyler, lay her down
, I coaxed.

Tyler hesitated before he set her gently down in front of him, making sure she was covered by her scrap of a soiled nightgown.

I moved toward them slowly and huffed at Rourke to stay behind me.
Let me handle this. Tyler is an extremely protective wolf, and for some reason he feels he needs to protect this necromancer. He’s going to react strongly to anything until we can get him to calm down
.

I’ll be right by your side
, Rourke replied.
I can understand his concern. That necromancer looks very young. She almost worked herself to death. Enid must have held something significant over her to get her to do it, and by the looks of it, she was snatched right out of her own bed
.

She had to have been taken from her home. No one would come to work in a nightgown. Once I arrived at Tyler’s side, I gently placed my muzzle near the girl’s body and scented. Her signature was powerful and strange. I’d never met a necromancer before, other than the dead one in Hell, but this one kept her power coiled tightly inside her.

Marcy walked up, James right behind her. “I have your clothes here. How about you guys shift back so we can all help this girl? She’s obviously in some distress. Sound okay?” Her movements were measured and easy. James had her back, and all eyes were on Tyler.

Tyler
, I said carefully.
Take the clothes from Marcy and put them on. Rourke and I will go change and we’ll come back. I can’t help her in my wolf form
.

Tyler nodded, absentmindedly grabbing the clothing Marcy held out. He started to dress, his gaze never leaving the necromancer’s body. Marcy beckoned me and I moved toward her. She held out both mine and Rourke’s clothes, and when I took mine in between my jaws, she whispered, “Make it snappy. The sun is up and this place will be hopping soon. James has the van ready to go so we can move quickly.”

I nodded and padded into the woods, Rourke right behind me.

We shifted back and dressed in under two minutes, and as we walked back side by side, Rourke said, “You help the girl while Nick and I gather the bodies. I’ll send Ray off to search for something to set them on fire. We’re going to need a big blaze. Ray can light it after we take off.”

“We’ll have to take the necromancer with us,” I said definitively. “Alive or dead.”

“Agreed. From what I can sense, she’s alive, but barely,” he answered. “If anyone can help her, you can. She probably needs a power jump so she can refuel her own magic herself, but be careful. Once she has that, she might wake up, and who knows what she’ll do when she finds herself caught.”

“I’ll be careful. If she snaps out of it, she’s going to be in for one hell of a surprise. She doesn’t look more than twenty-two at most.”

Marcy was on the ground next to the girl when we arrived, and
James stood between Tyler and his mate, arms crossed. The van was idling at the edge of the cemetery. James had parked it on the grass just in front of the trees.

Rourke’s voice was full of authority. “Irish,” he said, addressing James, “come with me.” He nodded toward Nick. “You too. We need to pile the dead up and burn them. Ray, you go find something flammable. We need a strong, hot fire. Humans are going to be talking about this for centuries, but it can’t be helped.” Rourke turned and began to walk back toward the mausoleums. Nick followed immediately, and after a moment, so did James.

I nodded to James, letting him know I had this as I knelt next to Marcy. “Did you find anything?” I asked her. “What do you think happened to her?”

“Necromancy is powerful magic. It takes a lot of juice.” Marcy shot me a wry glance. “She’s just a little slip of a thing, isn’t she? I’m not sure how she did it—controlling that many.” Marcy ran her hands lightly over the girl’s body. “I can’t find any serious injuries. I think she just burned herself out, which can be dangerous. A supe can short-circuit themselves with magic if they push too hard.”

Marcy moved back so I could scoot in. I laid my hands on the girl’s stomach and addressed my wolf.
Can you spot anything?
We began to ease our power in, trying to jump-start her magic.
Wow, do you see that?
Her signature was a vibrant orange and alive, buzzing and bouncing throughout her system. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I turned to Marcy. “I’m going to transfer some of my power to her. Be ready to restrain her. She’s not going to be happy to see us when she comes to.”

“My fingers are at the ready,” Marcy answered, wiggling them. “I’ve never met a necromancer before, which is kind of weird since I’m a witch and they’re kind of witchy. I have no idea what to expect. When she wakes up, there’s a possibility she’ll order forty
ghouls to jump out of the woods and attack us. She might have a backup plan in place for this very thing.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but just in case, I’ll knock her out the good old-fashioned way if it looks like trouble.” Tyler began to pace in front of us. “Tyler.” I glanced up. “I need you to stay calm, whatever happens. If you interfere, there’s going to be trouble. And this goes without saying, once she wakes up, she’s going to need her space. Freaked-out is what I’m expecting.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just do it already, she’s barely breathing.”

He still looked a little unstable. I needed to know he wasn’t going to act. I nodded my head toward an area a bit away from us. “Go sit down.” My voice held an order. We were wasting time. “Now.”

For a moment it appeared like he would argue, but then he closed his mouth and sat with a thump, closer than I would’ve liked. “Fine. I’m sitting. Fix her.”

I took a slow breath to center myself as I pushed more power into her tiny body. This time I wasn’t seeking anything but trying to force it into her cells—like giving her magical mouth-to-mouth.

At the end of a draw, she gasped and her chest jumped. But she remained out cold. I threw another dose into her, making sure I kept it in check. I didn’t want to give her too much. Her body reacted like it’d been charged, her chest heaving up twice before she finally blinked awake, terror on her face as she glanced up at me. “Don’t move just yet,” I said quietly. “Let me give you a little more so you can heal yourself.”

She didn’t listen. Instead, she clawed her fingers into the ground and twisted, stifling a scream as she tried to scramble away from me. “No, no, NO! It can’t happen like this,” she cried. Her voice was soft and breathy. “I have to complete my task! You have to die!”

Her eyes were incredibly striking. The irises were a full kaleidoscope of browns and yellows, colors that seemed to churn on their own. They dazzled, almost hypnotically. “That’s not going to happen,” I told her as I held her in place. “No one is dying here.”

Marcy leaned over her, commanding, “Stay still, or I’ll have to spell you. You only get one chance to cooperate with us. I suggest you take it.”

“The hell I’m going to cooperate!” she shouted, surprising us all. Her foot shot out and connected with my jaw, effectively breaking it.

My head snapped back and there was an ugly sound. I rocked backward and held my aching face as she sprang up, lithe and agile, the well-defined muscles in her small arms tensing as she got down in a defensive position. She was obviously well versed in combat, and strong as hell. We’d underestimated her, thinking she’d act like she looked—fragile.

“
Ow
, that hurt.” My jaw popped into place as it mended. She was so focused on me, she didn’t hear Tyler come up behind her. He quietly took hold of her around the waist. She immediately kicked and squirmed, but he held her still, not saying anything. Marcy was ready next to me, chanting a spell under her breath. I stood before I addressed the necromancer once again, totally healed. “Nobody is dying,” I reiterated. She met my gaze reluctantly as she continued to struggle in Tyler’s grasp. “We’re taking you with us, and if you don’t cooperate, my friend here will spell you. It’s that simple.”

“Please,” she moaned, changing her tune quickly when she realized she was out of options. “You have to let me go. I won’t call on any more dead. I promise! But I have to leave right now.”

“Why?” I asked, coming closer. Her voice had broken at the end, anguish seeping through. She had my attention.

She snapped her mouth shut and wriggled again, trying to get free.

I stopped in front of her. “We can’t let you go. It’s not an option.” My tone indicated that we weren’t giving in on that point. “You’re a liability and you’re coming with us. But you can tell us what’s wrong, and if it’s possible, we will try and help you.”

She pointedly looked away from me, refusing to answer. I nodded to Tyler, who began to half drag her toward the van. Marcy followed close on his heels, her fingers still up and ready.

A few feet from the van, the necromancer finally found some purchase and dug her dirty bare feet into the ground, twisting in Tyler’s grasp, angling her head back toward me. “No, please, you have to listen to me! If I leave with you, she will kill him. I can’t let that happen. You don’t understand! Please!”

At the mention of “him,” Tyler stopped moving, tensing, his breath labored.

I moved around to face her. “You need to be more specific. Who’s going to kill whom?”

Behind us, Rourke, James, and Nick came jogging down the hill, their jobs with the ghouls done.