Death Be Rising (The Terra Vane Series Book 7)

by Katie Epstein

Mayra, who was laughing her butt off and no longer wide-eyed and scared, added, “Terra said Bernard pummeled her like a jackhammer a few times if you get my meaning.”

  I groaned, embarrassment taking over my anger.

  “Why thank you, Terra. I feel honored,” Bernard said with pride.

  “Honored my ass,” I muttered. “And thanks, Mayra. Remind me to let you know you’re no longer my friend.”

  “Sorry,” she grinned. “But one, I owe you for outing the names of my breasts when we fought the djinn. And second, I’ve now evened the playing field between you and Kaleb. I should get points for that.”

  “Whatever,” Kaleb muttered. I glared at him, and he glared at me. “I stopped before I got fully inside her panties.”

  “Good to know,” I growled.

  “Bernard got a hell of a lot more from you.”

  “We weren’t together then,” I hissed.

  “Neither were we when me and Libby…” He trailed off.

  “You and Libby what?” I snapped. “No point holding back now.”

  He glared at Libby. “Thanks for trying to stir crap.”

  “I’m not stirring anything,” she replied, thoroughly enjoying herself. “I’m simply telling the truth.”

  Kaleb turned on me, trying to deflect. “I had to witness you kissing Cole’s face off. You know? That night when I came upon you both, and he was about to shove his hand into your—”

  “How about we drop it?”

  Embarrassment filled me, and he smirked. “Doesn’t feel great, does it?”

  I caught his gaze, and the humor hit. He was right. And my lips twitched. “You’re such a goofball.”

  He nudged me, his eyes twinkling. “Takes one to know one.”

  “You mated with me.”

  “Damn straight.” The humor left him. “I’m sorry about all this. If I’d only told you how I felt before…”

  I squeezed his hand in comfort, feeling much more settled than before. For a few minutes, I’d had a reprieve from the zombie infested dark. “Don’t. Things happened as they’re meant. And at least you got to feel up a lust demon in this lifetime.”

  “Glad I could help,” drawled Libby. And I choked on a laugh. Turning to her, I reluctantly said, “Thanks for the distraction.”

  She winked. “Anytime.”

  Grady looked over his shoulder. “You guys about done now?”

  Releasing a breath, I said, “Act all high and mighty, Mr. Soldier. But just you wait until they have dirt on you.”

  “Ooh, yes!” Libby shrieked with excitement. “You worked with Grady, Terra. Maybe you have some dirt and don’t even know it yet?”

  “Focus,” he ordered from the front.

  “You’re putting a target on your back.” I felt it my responsibility to tell him so. “They’ll get you one way or the other. And no, Libby. I have nothing. He’s a closed book.” I glanced over my shoulder to see the soldiers led by Lopez a few feet away as per Grady’s instruction, thank goodness. It was a strategy he’d implemented before we’d left the previous store in case Bernard or Kaleb needed to counteract anything up ahead in their supernatural forms. Or at least use their strength and speed without question.

  “Everyone has embarrassing skeletons,” Zax said, joining in on the fun. “Even me. And they found it, Grady.”

  “Oh yes,” Mayra laughed. “We found out all about his collection of dragon porn.”

  “It’s not porn,” he replied, cringing that Mayra was the one to point it out. “They’re dragon shifters. Females.”

  “In both human and dragon form,” said Bernard. “In some very adventurous positions.”

  “You didn’t seem to mind when Libby hung copies of them all over the house.”

  “And why not? I took a few for personal use. But only after cutting off the sections where Libby glued your head on top of the male dragons. Sorry, Zax. But you just don’t do it for me.”

  Laughter followed among us, easing the tension. Grady shook his head in exasperation.

  “Told you,” I said to him, appreciating the smile that eased my thrumming heart.

  “We’ll find something,” Libby reassured him. “No one is safe in our house.”

  A high-pitched squeal sailed from the shadows, followed by a roar. The howl, guttural and mean, had everyone on instant guard. I whipped my weapon around, and our combined flashlights created a tunnel of light up ahead.

  Nothing.

  We walked closer, and the teams followed in unison.

  “What the hell is that,” I whispered. Rye shushed me. I wanted to tap my weapon on his head but refrained from doing so. Something was coming, putting our instincts on overdrive.

  An echo of evil laughter settled around us once more.

  A breeze flowed through the mall. I have a big gun. A sharp blade. I’m good.

  A terrifying yelp bounced off the walls. It took a second for me to realize it came from a soldier and not the enemy. Others reacted before I did, shouting and following something into the dark. I ran with them, shouting, “What is it?”

  “Branch. Taken!” Someone yelled in panic. “Monster!”

  “Oh, shit.” Weapons hailed, we followed the screams. Grady tried to rein us in, pull us back. But I refused. So did everyone else, terror, rage, fear defying any logic.

  The screams stopped. The breathing of something else, something fevered with pleasure forced me to a standstill. I aimed my weapon. The others shone their lights. And I gasped. A chorus of, ‘What the fuck is that!’, ‘Oh my god, Branch!’, and ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of here,’ erupted from around us.

  Fear clawed at me. My heavy breathing reverberated in my ears. The trigger provided small comfort when I wrapped my finger around it. The IET stayed up front. Grady leading the charge.

  Something snarled from the darkness now before us. We focused our flashlights on the shadows, and a flicker of fur swooshed into the beam of light.

  Ah damn it to hell.

  “What is that?”

  “Be on your guard,” Kaleb ordered, sniffing the air. He took the lead, moving in closer. Everyone spilled their lights in the same direction, and the dreaded shapes formed.

  Red eyes stared back. Drool and blood splashed against the tile from long fangs.

  Wolves. Zombie wolves.

  One beast had its fangs embedded in Private Branch’s leg. The wolf tugged at its prey, the soldier wobbling from side to side. His head lolled because he’d lost consciousness or because he was dead. The wolf yanked Branch back, and blood poured from the wound on the soldier’s limb.

  I lost it, refusing to let the furry bastards eat him. I charged, and fired at the wolf’s head, roaring out my frustration at letting them get the hit on us.

  “Vane!” Grady yelled, but others scurried beside me, firing their weapons as I did. The Bodyguard Six and Kaleb joined us.

  I shouted, “Lights!”

  Focusing the flashlights toward the dark, we saw nothing but a blood trail to follow on the floor. The wolves had dragged Private Branch somewhere to dine further.

  I hurried toward Grady through the shocked soldiers eagerly waiting for orders. “We need to split up,” I breathed, my chest burning. “We go in. Just us.”

  “Not safe, Vane.” His eyes demanded—no pleaded—for me to follow orders. “We follow, we could walk into a trap for a man already…”

  “Already what? Dead? Eaten? I’m going—even if it’s just to put a bullet in his goddamn brain. But we go alone.” I emphasized the last word. We had to split up so Bernard and Kaleb could go feral on the wolves ass. They couldn’t do that with a human audience.

  He thought on it. “Go. Keep heading north, we’ll meet you at the next meet point. Fall back!” he shouted to the others.

  “But Branch,” someone pleaded.

  “Agent Vane and…”

  “Cipher and Vostreux,” I finished for him. “Zax stays with Libby and Mayra. You protect them with your goddamn lives, do you hear?”
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  He didn’t argue, ordering everyone back into the darkness. The Bodyguard Six didn’t move.

  “Lopez!” Grady yelled.

  “We’re staying with them,” Lopez fumed.

  “You can’t,” I told him. “We can’t do what they brought us in to do with you there.” I backed away, and with reluctance, so did they. Kaleb and Bernard joined me and we ran off into the shadows.

  “Follow the blood trail,” I ordered once we were alone, focusing on the light. Bernard and Kaleb had a decent night vision, but the light would help.

  “You know he’s probably already…”

  “Yes,” I snapped at Bernard. “But we make sure. If there’s one thing I will not tolerate among this mess is someone being eating alive. I don’t care how stupid that sounds. You get me?”

  They said nothing. They didn’t need to. We all quickened our pace.

  “Stop,” Bernard ordered suddenly. He put a hand out in front of me. “Listen.”

  We did so, my anger clashing with dread of what we’d find. But I needed the anger. I craved it to keep moving.

  Growls—jaws chomping together—I heard that first. We rushed to a standstill, and the men beside me used their super senses to check the area. But too late did I scent blood and hear the slurping as the wolves dined. I gagged, forcing it back, refusing to take the breath I so desperately needed. Desire to get back to the others drove me hard. What if there were more wolves? Worse monsters? We crept closer, and Kaleb said, “Terra, don’t.”

  “What you can see?” I whispered, needing the preparation.

  “You don’t need to—”

  “Please don’t shield me from this. Tell me before I see it. Please.”

  “They’re eating his—”

  I gagged again. “I’ve changed my mind. Don’t tell me.” I dared to take a breath. “So, let’s just kill the son of bitches.” I turned to Bernard. “Is he alive?”

  “Barely.”

  “Will he survive?”

  He shook his head.

  “Can you do it quick?”

  He nodded. And I hated that I’d chickened out and given him the job of snapping Branch’s neck. But he’d be swift enough to make it painless.

  “Then let’s go.”

  Bernard swooped in. Kaleb leaped into the air with a growl, and turned into his wolf mid flight, landing on all fours.

  Without hesitation, he sunk his fangs into the neck of the animal chowing down on Branch. Within seconds, its head fell from its furry body.

  Aiming my flashlight at the surrounding monsters, close up I could see they weren’t fresh wolves. The one had decayed enough to have only half a face, so goodness knows how long ago Dreven had risen them from the dead.

  I swung the gun around and grabbed my second blade, yanking the Pulsar out of its holster. Pressing the button, it sang to life, so I aimed it at the half-crumbled face wolf ready to pounce at me.

  It leaped. I fired. The blue laser steam did nothing but burn a hole through its crumpling snout.

  So much for that plan. I ducked and rolled and it landed a few feet away from me. Swinging the blade, I sliced through its legs and the wolf fell forth onto its stumps, allowing me to roll to my feet. I slammed the blade into its neck before it could take a bite out of me.

  The Pulsars were no good in such a fight—I needed to remember that—so I holstered it in haste.

  The wolf turned into dust, the magic no longer able to sustain it. I wondered if Dreven knew when each death occurred. If he watched someone from the distance, ready to roll out the next part of his plan. Or if he was even here. Maybe it was to distract us from something bigger? And maybe my head needed to shut up and stop over analyzing things I had no control over.

  Bernard took on the third wolf. He used his strength to tear the wolf’s head from its shoulders. They looked a sight, him and Kaleb. The shifter and the vampire.

  I glanced over at Branch’s dead body. Tears bloomed for a man I didn’t know. But one I respected. He’d gone into a battle he’d never trained for. All with such little information and minimal people at his back. He’d done all that based on the word of his superiors. People who’d listened to Dan and me.

  Numb, I rose to shaky legs. With each step, I pushed the harsh thoughts aside. We didn’t ask for this. We were here, risking our lives to do a job, too. But I vowed never to forget those who fought at our side. I wouldn’t do them the disservice of becoming a coward either.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Kaleb said in my head, no doubt trying to protect my precious pride.

  ‘Dog tags,’ I returned.

  Back in human form, he raced over to Branch’s body before I could reach it. He took the extra tags carefully from Branch’s broken neck and tucked them into his pocket. His eyes met mine. I wanted to rage at him, I didn’t need coddling. That I wasn’t weak. But my insecurity now felt like a pathetic excuse. Kaleb knew me better than I knew myself. Knew my pride—the guilt. The suffering I’d bear from the image of Branch’s face. He stepped in when I needed it, aware I’d do the same for him. So instead, I whispered, “We need to go find the others.”

  He stroked my chin with his thumb when he drew close. “We keep going. We end this threat. And we end Dreven.”

  I nodded, needing to hear such a thing. “We end him.”

  24

  When we returned to the others, some of them looked worse for wear.

  Private Clarke approached us, the hulking brute scowling when he caught sight of the bloody dog tags Kaleb handed Grady.

  “Where’s Branch?” A female officer asked, her face pale, her scared eyes flickering behind me.

  I didn’t know what to say. The others had got it. But her mind needed the words. Others began muttering the question.

  “We have to keep moving,” I said, clutching onto my weapon.

  “You left him behind?” another soldier demanded, his fear spiraling into the anger we all craved to get through.

  He came at me and it rankled. I didn’t see his ass firing beside me into the darkness to go after his friend. But before I could say another word, Lopez snapped, “Pull it together, Highland. The agents went after him to show him mercy. I would have done the same if they’d let us follow.” He glared in my direction, but I saw respect in there, somewhere.

  Grady stepped forward. “We need to assess and clear out the rest of this floor until we reach our final point of the food court and multiplex. Keep your heads in the game. Let’s move!”

  Following him, I berated my body for responding with my racing heart, a pit of dread in my stomach, and the need to shriek at every sound.

  I’d trained with shifters. Had horrors thrown at me where I’d almost died. But the zombies took me to a limit I hadn’t experience before, my brain and imagination doing a number on me.

  Glass smashed in the distance. With each step, something moved around us, a shriek or scream kept us focused. We tried talking some more. It relaxed us. But balancing that and staying alert wasn’t the easiest thing to do. In the silence, we were more aware. We sensed the troop’s grief over Branch. The severity of the zombies and the beasts preying on us from the dark. But with every empty store we checked—with every inch walked—we moved closer to the next location. And that’s what kept us going.

  “We’re almost there,” Grady said, taking the lead. “When we get—”

  Something big launched itself into us. We tumbled down. Kaleb helped me to my feet, and I aimed my weapon at the new threat. A zombie, huge, and clumsy with his movements, grabbed me around the throat.

  He had a young face and wore a football jersey. The corrosion of his skin had begun, and some of it fell away when he laughed. An evil laughter. One that didn’t sound right coming from his mouth. Decaying teeth made for my face, forcing me into a position where I couldn’t reach for my blade. Blood from another dripped from his mouth onto my cheek. And he squeezed tighter.

  I grabbed onto his fingers, my windpipe closing.

  The oth
ers hacked away at him, trying to cut through his limbs without hurting me. Kaleb jumped on the zombies back, his arm wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him off. The zombie stumbled. Roaring, he threw out his arm and knocked Bernard to the floor.

  Shit, these guys are strong!

  I gasped for air, dots forming in front of my eyes. Someone called my name, but it sounded hollow. Kaleb swung his blade on sliced the zombie above the wrist. But the hand around my neck didn’t turn to dust. It grabbed tighter.

  The others took on the handless zombie, still on the attack. I caught sight of Private Rye, bellowing and throwing his huge frame at the drooling monster.

  I tried to scream, but nothing escaped my mouth. Kaleb fell beside me, trying to unwrap the dead fingers from my throat. It wouldn’t budge.

  “Watch my back!” Mayra shouted, not sure what she meant by that. I noticed two of her appear before me as I fought for consciousness.

  “No!” I croaked, knowing what she was about to do. The soldiers would see her magic. Dreven would sense it and know the strength of her power. He’d target her.

  Bernard ordered her, “Stay back!”

  “But I can help!”

  She didn’t look happy. Kaleb’s eyes flared amber, trying to keep control. But he worked at the hand to no avail.

  ‘Stay with me, baby,’ he pleaded in my head. ‘We’ll get it off!’

  Grady came into view. My vision swam. “Stand back,” he ordered, yanking something from his holster. He rammed it into the hand wrapped around my neck. Something sizzled and crackled. The pain of electricity soared through me. But the hand fell away, and I sucked hard at the air. He’d used a Taser on the arm.

  The IET and soldiers created a protective circle around us. Kaleb pulled me close. “Terra,” he whispered, his eyes filled with worry. He assessed my neck. “Are you okay?”

  “Told. You,” I wheezed, trying to regulate my breathing. “Hate. Zombies.”

  He choked on a laugh, brushing the hair back from my face. “Can you get to your feet?”

  I nodded, knowing we were too vulnerable right now. When I rose to full height, I looked at Grady. “A Taser?” I croaked, rubbing my throat.