Dark Flames (Blood Bound Book 6)

Chapter 19

A few blocks away a pair of eyes that had been closed peacefully as he used his own necromancy opened wide. The lavender depths of his irises were surrounded by a ring of deepest black and shone maliciously as they glared into the night. Silver hair surrounded an equally pitiless, yet beautiful face that seemed to harden without losing its perfection.

Craven narrowed his eyes, feeling someone else’s necromancy on the breeze and the fragile spark of power emanating from it. His territory had been breached by another necromancer. He had claimed the small graveyard as his own and left watchdogs behind to make sure it remained secure while he moved on to another.

Walking through the water of the fountain he’d been standing in, Craven stepped out onto the grass. The fountain was in the center of the second cemetery he’d chosen this night and it had been the perfect location to begin calling the dead. His power had taken the life from the trees and animals unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake, leaving the graveyard looking as dead as what lay under the ground inside the coffins.

Turning in the direction of the calling, he inhaled deeply, savoring the melancholy flavor of her gentle touch. His power flared, pushing the invading power away from him as if he were merely swatting a fly. His necromancy clashed with the woman’s for a moment before riding the link and slamming into her.

Tiara felt a sharp pain race through her entire body and cried out, stumbling as it hit her hard. The rest of the team had been watching her closely and took a step toward her in confusion. Holding onto a statue beside her to help regain her balance, Tiara held her hand up signaling for them to stop as she tried to relink with the souls she’d already touched.

Zachary frowned when Tiara lifted her head and glared around her. He’d seen her face and whatever it was that hurt her was the equivalent of a smack down. She was stubborn… he’d give her that, but it angered him that he couldn’t see what had attacked her. For all they knew… a monster could be standing right in front of her and they’d never know until it attacked.

Craven looked around the larger graveyard and smiled. The necromancer was weak compared to him. He had spent centuries in the pit, calling others to him to do his bidding before disposing of them. If this little necromancer wanted the tiny graveyard that badly… he would let her think she could have it for now.

Watching the dirt covering the graves around him start to push up as though they were breathing, his eyes darkened wickedly. This graveyard would serve him so much better… as would the next one he had in mind.

Craven waved a hand at the Native American standing near him. This underling had, until recently, been unable to think past its next meal. However, he was smart and had been overlooked by the demon hunters that roamed the streets.

“Night Hawk,” Craven said gaining the creature’s full attention. His voice was smooth, almost erotic in its deepness and accent, “Return to the previous cemetery and find out who is stealing my army.”

Night Hawk barely acknowledged Craven with a nod before leaving the cemetery. He could feel Craven’s attempts to override his will. Night Hawk remembered others that had attempted to control him before, but none were as powerful as this one. There was a sense of safety that came with aligning oneself with such power.

He had been returned to this life by the dark spirit Black Crow… that demon had awakened him more than once over the years and every time his own power had grown. He was no longer just a zombie… Black Crow had given him the power of a night walker but had yet to return his soul to him. Black Crow had been smart in that because Night Hawk would have finally been able to kill him.

Now with every awakening it was always the same. He was left to his own devices, feeding on humans and animals unfortunate enough to find him. There were corpses all over the forest and with each one he consumed… his true form regained some of his previous ability and memory.

This time he’d been faster, stronger, and more determined to fully heal. This time he had his own quest… to find his soul so the necromancers could no longer control him.

Leaping easily over the iron fence surrounding the smaller graveyard, Night Hawk approached the area the necromancy was coming from. He spotted the small woman with silver hair like that of his master surrounded by her warriors. His dark eyes took in their mannerisms and tasted their power on the wind.

His night walker abilities allowed him to see their separate power levels. It was a hidden ability that not even Craven knew he possessed.

One was a child of fire, hot tempered like the phoenix he was born from. Night Hawk could even see the illusion of dark flames that surrounded his aura. The other was a magic user, powerful and well-seasoned in his craft. A man with long blonde hair stood a little behind the others, young and unsure of himself… but the aura around him told a different story.

The final man had an aura that did not belong to this world and Night Hawk had to refrain from taking a step back. His people had once told legends of time walkers… those that could travel from one time period to the other. This one was of that breed and therefore made him extremely dangerous.

His gaze went back to the girl wondering how someone so small and weak in appearance could have the protection of the gods.

Creatures of darkness began moving around him but Night Hawk ignored them. Craven never said anything about stopping her… only to gather information. He needed to return to Craven and tell him of his findings. However, he felt something in his blood speed up to a rapid pace when the riff raff Craven had left to guard his graveyard began closing in on the woman and her warriors.

Tiara turned her focus on the cemetery and the variety of creatures slowly surrounding them. She was not afraid of them… couldn’t afford to be afraid. They would have smelled her fear and that would have been the end of it. She unfocused her eyes slightly and saw ghosts and spirits hovering around her.

The team moved in closer to Tiara, with Zach being in the closest position. Some things they could see without the help of her sight. Wraiths were flitting around Tiara, actually wrapping their shadowed forms around her like a ribbon before pulling away, unfurling and continuing to circle.

More zombies approached the necromancer along with a number of vampires that suddenly stepped from the darkness. Their movements were jerky as though trying to fight the power calling to them.

Tiara felt tears spring to her eyes when the ghosts began to take on more human-like forms. An old lady was holding the hand of a little girl, a man and woman had their arms wrapped around one another… there was even a soldier among the ghosts staring at her. This was why she was here… she wanted to send them back to whatever form of heaven they’d been jerked from.

Growling began to resonate around the team. Tiara’s eyes widened a bit when she realized it was the zombies and vampires moving in. These creatures were the equivalent of slaves, controlled by a higher power and protecting their master’s property… the same higher power that had attacked her moments before. She focused her necromancy on them knowing they were more of a danger… making them a priority over the lost souls.

The creatures were indeed growling, sizing up their enemy. They needed to remove the trespassers for their master… or risk their t*****e at his hands. This was Craven’s territory and these newcomers were not allowed.

Zachary swung around when he heard the growling and frowned at the monsters slowly surrounding them.

“We got company,” he warned the rest of the group in case they hadn't figured it out yet.

Storm and Jason looked over their shoulders at the creatures closing in and Jason took a surprised step back.

“What the hell,” he demanded not liking the odds.

“This is what you signed up for,” Zach stated without sympathy, “Either start doing your job or run like hell and hope the demons catch you before I do.”

Jason sent a glare in Zachary’s direction and pulled out the dagger he’d tried to use on the vampire from earlier. He was tempted to poke Zachary in the a*s with it but understood the blonde man was just doing his job. If Jason understood anything it was work ethic, nothing personal.

Storm turned a dark look on the creatures coming closer to him. He took a deep, calming breath when one of the monsters leapt toward him with rotted teeth bared to take a chunk out of his flesh. His hand came up in a flash of movement, grabbing the zombie by one of its wrists. His body flickered and the creature vanished from sight. It happened so fast that if anyone had blinked, they would have missed it. Storm smiled knowing that volcano would get its fill of sacrifices tonight.

Zach balled up his fists and allowed the flames to engulf them. Usually he would just toss a fire ball in their direction but he had a feeling Tiara would give him hell if he just started destroying creatures indiscriminately. He took a step back, dropping into a martial arts stance when one of the vampires came at him.

Much to his shock, one of the zombies approaching attacked the vampire and forced it to the ground. There was a brief struggle before the zombie sank its teeth into the vampire’s neck and ripped out a chunk of flesh.

“That’s new and rather backwards… don’t you think?” Zachary muttered.

The wraiths circling Tiara shot off in different directions, attacking the creatures approaching with the intent to kill. Zombie turned on vampire, vampire turned on ghoul, and ghost turned on anything posing a danger to Tiara.

“It’s a free-for-all,” Jason said with fear in his voice.

“The ones under Tiara’s power are trying to protect her,” Storm informed them as he grabbed the closest ugly thing to him and flickered out then back in… minus the ugly. “We’re only fodder in the way.”

A bright flash of light came from the back of the mob followed by inhuman howling. Guy plowed through the mass of death and darkness muttering ritualistic chants as he went.

“What’d I miss besides the orgy of the damned?” Guy asked as he rejoined the group.

“Not much.” Storm answered before grabbing another one and flickering again.

Jason’s eyes widened when he saw something leap up behind Tiara. Long wicked claws were extended, ready to impale her and Jason reacted without thought. He broke away from his position and ran toward the woman, his dagger ready.

Zachary saw it at the same time and placed himself between Tiara and her attacker. He clenched his teeth when the claws swiped across his back, shredding through his jacket reaching the flesh beneath.

Jason was on it, slamming the dagger through the creature’s chest and into its heart. Blood sprayed all over his face as he withdrew the weapon but he didn’t pay attention to it. The creature slowly knelt down in front of him before falling backward to the dirt below.

Something struck the side of Jason’s face and his head whipped to the side from the blow. The ring on his hand began to glow a bright electric blue as soon as the hit connected. Jason felt like he was on some kind of super d**g as he took the zombie by the head and literally ripped it from the body.