Web Master (#8 Shifter Squad)

by J. C. Diem

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “I’ve already arranged for the jet to pick us up,” Mark said. “The pilot needs to have some maintenance performed and to refuel first. He will be landing in around six hours.”

  Zeus was restless and was feeling neglected when we stepped back through the gate to our base. “Do you want to play fetch?” I asked him. He was scrambling for a stick even before I finished asking the question.

  “I’d take that as a ‘yes’,” Flynn said dryly.

  Sensing my need to spend time with Zeus alone, everyone continued on towards the compound. Try to stay out of trouble, Reece said into my mind.

  What kind of mess could I possibly get myself into on our own base, I asked. He sent me a wry look before quickening his pace to catch up to Mark.

  “I’ll bet you a hundred bucks that the curse of Lexi strikes again,” Kala said to Flynn not quite quietly enough.

  “You’re on.” They shook hands and ignored the irritated look that Reece sent them.

  “You’ll protect me from the curse, won’t you, Zeus?” I said to my impatient friend. He was almost dancing on the spot in anticipation of chasing after the stick. With a quiet sigh, I sent it flying off into the trees and he tore off after it. With no civilians present, there was no need to pretend to be human. I was free to throw it as hard as I could.

  After half an hour of playing, I sensed someone watching me. Turning, I came face to face with Kurt Jorgen. I started back a step and he grinned, revealing sharply pointed teeth. Completely hairless, his skin was so pale that it was almost translucent. His eyes had almost no color. They met mine and they changed from the palest of blues to a deep indigo. I was caught beneath his spell before I even had a chance to react to his presence.

  “My dear Alexis, it has been far too long.” His accent was European, possibly German. Four inches shorter than me and thin of build, he wore a rumpled black suit and a plain white business shirt. He offered me a courtly bow that held a hint of sarcasm. I tried to speak, but his faery magic held me spellbound. “It is time for you to uphold your end of our bargain,” he told me when he straightened up.

  Sensing my alarm, Zeus dropped the stick. He charged towards us, growling deep in his throat. Kurt sent him a contemptuous look then everything shifted. Dizzy and confused, I blinked a few times and waited for my vision to clear. When it did, I discovered we were no longer in the compound. Wherever we were, it was late afternoon and rain was pouring from the sky. Lightning flashed, blinding me momentarily. I became drenched in a matter of seconds, but Kurt remained dry. He’d erected a shield to keep the elements at bay.

  Lightning flashed again and I scrunched my eyes shut against it. Thunder rumbled loudly enough to shake the ground. I opened my eyes and looked around in disorientation. Ancient tombstones surrounded us and so did the dead. I could feel their microscopic remains beneath the ground. The bones were so old that they’d turned to dust. Their clothing had rotted away long ago. There was nothing solid left of them at all, yet I could still feel them.

  It wasn’t pleasant standing among so many holy symbols and being on hallowed ground, but at least the pain wasn’t crippling anymore. I felt mild discomfort, as if my skin was trying to crawl off my body. My vampire sank deeper inside my mind and the sensation faded.

  “This way,” the Mind Sweeper said to me and I was forced to follow in his wake. He didn’t have control of my limbs, but our pact made it impossible for me to disobey him. Until I’d fulfilled my end of our bargain, he was in charge.

  We walked through the gigantic, decrepit cemetery until he finally came to a stop. With a gesture of his hand, the lichen on one of the headstones was scraped away. The writing was so worn that it was barely legible, but he grunted in satisfaction. The name ‘Regina Chesterfield’ meant nothing to me, but it clearly held some importance to him.

  “I did not realize that you were a necromancer when we first made our bargain,” he tittered. I hadn’t known either, so he couldn’t accuse me of withholding that information from him. “And a true born one, at that,” he continued. “I was informed that it would be nearly impossible to raise a corpse that is four hundred years old, but I believe that you can manage it.”

  He studied me and nodded to himself. “To my knowledge, nothing like you has ever existed before. You have werewolf, vampire and necromancer inside you. It is a powerful trinity. You are probably the only corpse raiser in existence who could do what I require. It almost seems as though Fate has brought us together, my dear.”

  He gestured towards the grave and I had no choice but to step forward. If I’d been a bokor, I would have needed to perform a ritual to raise the dead. My biological father was a true born necromancer as well and he was extremely powerful. Even he’d needed to perform a ritual when he’d tried to reverse my vampirism. I didn’t know any rituals and would have to rely on my innate power.

  Standing over the remnants of the long dead woman, I reached into the soil with my death magic. The darkest part of me longed to call every corpse in the area back to life, but I concentrated on just this one.

  Beneath the sheer force of my will, the ancient remains stirred then went still again. My power alone wasn’t enough and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Being beneath Jorgen’s control made thinking for myself difficult.

  “Use your blood,” the bald half-faery urged.

  Kneeling, I bit into my left wrist and sprinkled my blood on the grave. “Rise, Regina Chesterfield,” I said, calling to her with my voice, blood and power. Green fog sprang to life. It spread outwards and we were soon surrounded in the unnatural cloud. It was so dense that even the rain couldn’t disperse it.

  “It’s working,” Kurt said in glee and clapped his hands like an excited child.

  He was right, I could feel her bones knitting back together, but it was a slow and torturous process. My wound had already healed, so I bit into my flesh again. I splattered more blood on the grave and my power swelled. I’d never tried to raise anything this old before and it was far harder than I’d imagined.

  Pushing my death magic into the ground, I used more force in my command. “Rise!” At my shout, the corpse became whole and rose out of the ground. Standing in front of me, she stared down at my face. Short, pudgy and ordinary in appearance, her hair was light brown and her eyes were a watery blue. I’d put nearly all of my energy into raising her and she was perfectly formed. Only the fact that she wasn’t breathing indicated that she was a zombie. Plus, she was stark naked.

  “Oh, very well done!” Jorgen said and grinned happily. “Viktor told me it couldn’t be done, but you have proven him wrong!” Exhausted and drained, I barely understood what he was saying. “Command her to do as I say,” he ordered then giggled at my unhappy expression. For all I knew, he might send her out to slaughter innocent people. “Do not fear, Agent Levine. I am merely going to ask her a few questions.”

  One of the nearby corpses almost stirred slightly when he used my surname. My death magic had blanketed the entire area rather than just Regina’s grave. It almost felt like all of the dead were listening to us.

  “Sometime today, if you don’t mind,” he prompted me impatiently.

  Left with no choice, I had to obey him. “Answer Kurt Jorgen’s questions,” I said to my minion.

  Nodding jerkily, she turned to him. He sent me a sly grin. “A little privacy, if you don’t mind, Alexis?”

  His magic compelled me to leave them alone to talk. Drawn through the fog to the tomb where I’d felt one of the dead stir, I stared at the grave marker curiously. Unaware of how acute my hearing was now, Jorgen hadn’t sent me far enough away. I caught snippets of what they were saying. Unfortunately, they were speaking in ye olde English, which might as well have been an entirely different language.

  My attention was captured by the grave before me. It towered over the others. Even with my enhanced vision, I couldn’t make out the name on the tombstone. It was too densely cov
ered in lichen. Only some of the epitaph at the bottom was visible. I could just make out the words ‘Warrior of God’.

  Most of the gravestones were plain and simple. This grave was guarded by an angel that was holding a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. He seemed to be staring down at the tomb expectantly, as if waiting for the corpse to rise up. Delving into the ground, I was on the verge of using my power to raise the long dead occupant. I had a strange compulsion to see who was buried here. Then Kurt called out to me, drawing me back beneath his spell again.

  “I have the information that I require,” he said in a tone that buzzed with excitement. “You may return the zombie to her rest now.”

  Reluctantly leaving the grave, I felt as if I had unfinished business with it. Kurt’s power washed over me, compelling me to return to him. Regina Chesterfield watched me without expression. “Rest now,” I told her. She immediately sank into the soil without leaving a trace that she’d briefly been resurrected. Her body broke back down to minute particles once more.

  Without any warning, the earth moved around us and we were back in the PIA compound. Dizziness seized me again. Zeus gave a relieved bark then growled at Kurt when we appeared. I caught hold of his collar before he could try to attack the half-faery.

  “Thank you for your assistance, my dear,” Kurt said gravely, but his eyes danced with glee. “You have been far more helpful than you could possibly know. Our bargain has been met and you are free from your obligation to me. Now, you will forget that we ever had this meeting, but I’m sure we will meet again soon.” His grin this time was decidedly nasty. With that, he teleported away and I was released from his spell.

  Reece’s concern immediately flooded into my mind. What’s going on? You disappeared all of a sudden and I could barely feel you.

  Something very weird just happened, I responded and sent him a quick flash of what had just transpired. For the second time, he’d been barred from the events that had apparently only been meant for me to know. At least this time I was able to show him what had happened.

  Mark needs to know about this, he thought in concern. I’ll let you tell him.

  Gee, thanks, I thought dryly. How could I explain this strange occurrence to the others when I could barely understand it myself?

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sparring with Flynn in the ring, Kala stared at me in consternation when I stepped through the door into the kitchen. “What happened to you?” She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to be concerned at my bedraggled appearance. My hair hung around me in stringy clumps. My skin and clothes were sodden and my boots squelched with each step. I left a trail of water behind me as I headed for the stairs.

  “Let me get changed first, then I’ll tell you,” I replied. I’ll be back in a minute, I said to Zeus. Mark and Reece were on their way down the stairs. There wasn’t enough room for us to pass each other, so I waited for them to reach the bottom.

  Mark assessed me and I was pretty sure I saw a flash of dread in his eyes before he hid his unease. “I’ll make coffee,” he offered. He knew something bad had happened even without me spelling it out for him.

  “Thanks,” I said gratefully. I didn’t really get cold anymore, but I was chilled deep inside anyway. It was doubtful coffee could help, but it sure couldn’t hurt.

  Kala and Flynn had joined the others in the living room by the time I returned. “I have a feeling this story is going to be good,” Flynn said.

  “Spill it,” Kala demanded. She’d decided to be concerned rather than amused. It was a good call.

  I sat next to Reece and picked up the mug of coffee that Mark had made for me. Zeus settled against my legs, adding his warmth and giving me comfort. “Kurt Jorgen showed up,” I said and Mark’s unease deepened. Now that they were no longer affected by his glamor, they knew exactly who I was talking about. “He finally collected on the debt that I owed him.”

  Mark understood the dangers of dealing with faeries better than the rest of us. He’d probably memorized most of the missions that were stored in the archives. There was very little about the fae on record. He’d contacted some witches who had told him more about them. Their knowledge had boiled down to what we already knew. It was better to avoid them if at all possible. “What did he want from you?” Mark asked. He sat on the edge of the couch and his shoulders were tense with worry.

  “He teleported us both somewhere overseas and made me raise a zombie.”

  Only Reece wasn’t surprised by my answer. He’d seen the whole thing in my memories.

  “How do you know you were overseas?” Kala asked.

  “It was late afternoon.”

  “I assume it was raining?” Mark said and I nodded. “Can you describe the place he took you to?”

  “It was a gigantic, ancient cemetery. The grave markers were so old that I could barely read them. He took me to one of the graves and ordered me to raise a woman by the name of Regina Chesterfield.”

  Mark’s brow furrowed. “That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?” He was talking to himself rather than me, so I didn’t answer him.

  “Why did he want you to raise her?” Flynn asked.

  “He wanted to ask her some questions. He sent me away and they were speaking in antiquated English, so I’m not sure what he was asking her. When he was done, he made me put her back in the ground then he brought me back here. He said our bargain had been fulfilled and then he disappeared.”

  “I thought only the most powerful faeries could teleport,” Reece said.

  “I guess he’s stronger than we realized.” Still recovering from raising a four hundred year old corpse, I leaned against him. I knew there was something else that Jorgen had said, but I couldn’t remember the entire conversation. The whole encounter was becoming fuzzier by the second. His fae magic was messing with my mind.

  Kala turned to Flynn and held her hand out. “Pay up, bro.”

  He scowled, but handed over the money that he owed her. “Stupid curse of Lexi,” he muttered.

  Kala stuffed the money into her pocket. “You should know better by now. Every time she’s out of our sight, something bad happens.”

  “I know,” he sighed. “I’ll remember that next time.”

  “You should try to get some rest,” Mark urged me. I nodded and didn’t protest when Reece picked me up. I fell asleep as he was carrying me upstairs.

  I woke sometime later to the sensation of his lips on mine. Opening my eyes, I smiled up at him. “That beats waking up to an alarm any day.”

  Feeling my desire rise, his eyes darkened. “I wish we had the time to continue this, but the others are waiting for us.” I heard and felt his regret that we couldn’t take a few minutes for ourselves. Our mission was too urgent for us to take the time to be selfish.

  He’d packed my bags for me while I’d been dead to the world. Even my sodden clothes had been washed and dried. I glanced into the bathroom to see that nothing had been left behind. “Wow, I feel like I should give you a tip for such excellent service,” I joked as we left my bedroom.

  Leaning in, he whispered how I could repay him and my face flamed red. “Is that even anatomically possible?” I asked and he sent me a knowing look. His sexual knowledge far outweighed mine.

  Kala took one look at my flushed face when we entered the garage and smirked. “I guess I know what you two were doing in your room,” she said. “And it didn’t involve sleeping.”

  “Actually, I was sleeping,” I told her archly. “Reece packed my bags for me while I was asleep.”

  “Packed your bags?” was her sly response. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days?”

  Flynn elbowed her in the side hard enough to make her grunt then opened the door for me. “Ignore her, Lexi. She’s just jealous that you two can have sex as often as you want now.”

  Kala let Zeus into the back of the SUV and I climbed into the middle seat. “I’m not jealous,” she said as she slid i
n next to me. She slammed the door shut with a little too much force. “I get plenty of sex, thank you very much.”

  “Sure you do,” he said and rolled his eyes. He climbed in beside me and winked. He loved riling Kala into a sulk.

  Reece barely waited for the garage door to roll upwards before he shot down the driveway. Zeus braced himself, enjoying the short but wild ride to the gate. He might be afraid of flying, but he loved it when Reece put on the speed.

  We arrived at the airfield a few minutes ahead of the jet. We boarded as soon as it coasted to a stop. In short order, we were on our way to Idaho. I fell into a doze once the jet levelled out. I hadn’t quite recovered from using my necromancy yet. The smell of chocolate roused me sometime later.

  “I thought that might bring you back to the land of the living,” Kala said. I went to ask her when the jet would be landing and she shoved a chocolate bar into my mouth. “You’re welcome!” she beamed and bit off half of her own bar.

  Zeus put his head on my knee and stared at me longingly. “No chocolate for you,” I mumbled around the half-masticated mess.

  “Jeez, Lexi,” Kala scolded me. “Didn’t your dad ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?”

  Sitting across the aisle from me, Flynn snorted out a laugh then rattled a bag. Zeus swiveled his head to stare at him. “I have a bag of peanuts, fleabag. Do you want them?”

  Zeus’ response was to lunge forward and engulf his entire hand in his mouth. When Flynn pulled away, the bag of peanuts was gone and his hand was coated in saliva. “Thanks,” he said sourly. “That’s just what I needed.” He heaved himself to his feet and lumbered to the restroom at the back of the jet. Pleased with himself, Zeus spat out the peanut bag and settled onto the floor next to me again.

  Kala laughed so hard that chocolate lodged in her throat. I pounded her on the back while tears streamed down her face. Finally, someone other than her had been targeted by my guardian. “I love that dog,” she gasped when she had her breath back. “I don’t know how we ever got along without him.”