Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“Is it a demon?” I ask, holding out one hand to summon a ball of hellfire. Instead of the blue hellfire from the Underworld, a red flame from Lucifer’s Hell burns bright in my hand. Oh, shit. Does this mean another seal has been broken?
“No,” Lucas says and sniffs the air. “It’s something else.”
Eamon is back on his feet, but instead of attacking us, he looks out at the woods. “What the bloody hell is that?” He makes a face like he smelled something bad. The breeze picks up again, blowing the scent of rotten garbage our way.
Scarlet runs onto the porch, stopping at my side. Like vampires, she’s able to see in the dark much better than I can, and a low growl rumbles out of her.
“I think that’s a good idea too,” I tell her and undo the clasp on her collar. She shifts into her true form and Eamon steps back, eyes wide. I don’t know how he expected tonight to go, but I’m positive it wasn’t like this. “Fetch.”
With a harrowing snarl, Scarlet leaps off the porch, covering several yards in a single bound.
“You have a hellhound,” Eamon says slowly. “Maybe I misjudged your reason not to join the cause.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I retort and Lucas gently pushes me back.
“Get inside,” he tells me, eyes widening like he recognizes whatever is lumbering to us. The smell of roadkill wafts in on the air again, making my eyes water. “And possibly bring me the good machete.”
“Opposed to the bad one?” Eamon grumbles, curiously eyeing us.
“Or maybe the sword,” Lucas considers.
“The one we used to cut through the monsters Bael sent after us?” I ask.
“That one is decent, but the one I had brought over from my collection in Spain is better balanced.” Lucas turns his head, meeting my eyes. “And I believe you sharpened the blade during the nesting phase of your pregnancy.”
“Ah, I did. It was very comforting to organize and sharpen my weapons. I’ve never been very domestic, you know.”
“Okay,” Eamon says to himself. “I knew there was something…off about you two, but the fuck kind of kink are you into?”
Something else comes blundering through the trees on the side of the house, moving ungracefully. It passes right through my warding without setting it off, and is close enough I can hear its rattled breathing and smell the decay of its flesh.
“I’m going to need any old blade now,” Lucas says, going to the top of the steps. Scarlet is on her way back, proudly dragging something along with her. It’s putting up a fight, but whatever she has is more or less swinging its arm at her as if it has little control over its body.
“Oh god.” I bring my hand to my nose and immediately understand why Lucas wanted the sword. Because Scarlet just brought me a zombie, and it’s not just any old person.
It’s the very first body I ever resurrected.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
The body of the man whose name I never did find out is in an advanced state of decay. He’s hardly anything more than bones at this point, and if it wasn’t for the clothes, I wouldn’t have recognized him. Eyes wide, I look at him, pathetically clawing at Scarlet in a feeble attempt to break free of her hold.
“Rip his head off,” I tell her. Decapitation worked last time when we dealt with zombies. Scarlet chomps down, needing only two bites to devour the zombie’s head. Grimacing, I look away and then turn my eyes to Lucas, wondering if he remembers this man as well. He’ll forever be seared into my memory because it was the first time I tried something as drastic as a resurrection. It was also the first time I wasn’t able to save someone I set out to save.
Lucas’s brows push together ever so slightly, and he gives me a small nod, letting me know that he does remember.
“The sword,” he says when another zombie falls over an uneven patch of dirt in the front yard. It’s an older woman, and I recognize her as well. She’s the woman who I hid in the bathroom during Paimon’s attack. She was injured but it didn’t seem grave at the time. She’s wearing a pink dress suit and has a crooked hat pinned to her head. I don’t understand at first, and then it hits me: she must have succumbed to her injuries and died later.
Lucas and Evander did their best to recover bodies to their families if they could. Most would have raised too many questions and had to be buried. Dozens of demons burned through bodies that night. I didn’t ask for the final count because I didn’t want to know, but my body goes cold as I realize that the zombies coming for me are all people I couldn’t save.