The Judah Black Novels Box Set

by E. A. Copen

  There were some dark spots on my ankle, each about the size of a dime. They were a deep shade of red surrounded by purple. The marks extended up my leg in an irregular pattern all the way to the knee. Between the marks, some black veins had surfaced. I panicked when I saw it, remembering the zombie Doctor Kalma had put down in the morgue. These were the same markings.

  Chanter got out of his recliner casually, as if he’d seen the marks a hundred other times. He knelt in front of me and took my leg in his leathery hands, moving it back and forth. “This is the only place it touched you?”

  “Shit, Chanter, what is this?”

  “Calm yourself, girl. It’s nothing that can’t be remedied, but we’ll have to tend to it soon before it spreads.”

  “This can spread?” I shook my head. “Holy Hell. Chanter, the girl in the morgue—she had marks like this. She came back to life as a freaking rage zombie and tried to eat me.”

  Chanter nodded.

  “Have you seen this before?” I asked.

  “No, but when you get to be my age, very little surprises you.”

  “What’s causing this? I’ve never heard of a fae who can turn people into zombies.”

  “Fae, you say? I thought you were hunting a spirit.”

  I took a deep breath to calm myself. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “Technically, if they’re dead and don’t want your brains, they are revenants,” Chanter said. “There is a long, well-documented connection between many different spirits and the undead.” He brushed a hand over one of the black marks. “Some say evil possesses them and makes them walk again. The old Norse had a type of revenant they just called the again-walkers. Very creative, the old Norse folk. It’s nothing new, Judah. It’s only new to you.”

  “Like the draugr in Ed’s video games,” Daphne pointed out.

  Chanter nodded. “Precisely that. This thing may be connected to that myth.”

  What Chanter was saying made a lot of sense. “What do you know about them?” I asked Chanter.

  “Some,” he admitted. “But not much. Like television zombies, they are supposed to be undead things, and like your zombies, they can infect the living, spreading their curse. I believe they’re associated with drowned sailors or some such nonsense.”

  “That last part doesn’t fit this thing,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Not every aspect of every myth is true, girl.” He grunted as he wrapped his fingers around my leg. “How is the other one? The one you brought with you?”

  “Worse,” I admitted. “He got impaled with some iron. I owe Creven my life, Chanter. And Kim will go ballistic if he dies.”

  “Creven. This is the one in the shed?” I nodded. Chanter gave another grunt and continued looking at my leg. “You’re the supposed expert. You tell me what you make of the creature you’re hunting.”

  I thought hard about what I knew, which was surprisingly little. Just a short while ago, I had been so sure it was a spirit. But, if it was some kind of zombie making giant, it would account for many of the other signs as well. The shaking and knocking Sven described could have just been footsteps. I still had no idea how it had gotten into Aisling, how it had gotten to Kim’s. If there was some kind of ice giant walking around the Concho County desert, you’d think someone would have noticed.

  One thing was for sure. The giant didn’t like whatever magick Creven had been throwing at it.

  Chanter coughed, drawing me back from my thoughts.

  I pulled my leg away from Chanter. “You shouldn’t heal me, Chanter. I can wait for Sal.”

  “Bullshit,” Chanter growled, grabbing my leg again and this time holding it in an iron grip. “He’s got his hands full with the other. As it is, he’ll have to do it in a series of treatments or else risk weakening himself. Now, shut up, hold still, and let me help you.”

  Chanter wrapped his hands around either side of my ankle and closed his eyes, taking up the same position I’d seen Sal use in the shed. After a moment, I felt a vague tingle on my skin and looked down to see some of the black lines fading.

  The healing lasted only a minute or so before I heard Chanter stifle another cough, then a wheeze. Daphne got up off the sofa arm and gently put her arms around Chanter, holding him while he tried and lost the fight against a coughing fit. In the end, she wound up helping him back to his recliner and fitting his face with the oxygen mask. Deep red splotches of effort dotted his graying face.

  I watched and suddenly felt guilty. I shouldn’t have let him try to use his magick, I realized. Not as weak as he is. He’s too far gone. I rolled my pants leg back down and mumbled a word of thanks before getting up to go back outside for some air.

  “Judah,” Daphne called after me.

  “Yeah?”

  “Ed’s going to be here in a little bit after he picks up his girlfriend. If you want, I can send him to go get Hunter?”

  “I must be tired,” I said, swiping a hand over my face. “I thought you said Ed had a girlfriend.”

  Daphne grinned, her eyes lighting up. “And I hear she’s real this time. We’re all looking forward to meeting her. Don’t go too far.”

  “Right on,” I said. When I get tired, my inner hippie comes out.

  I wandered back through the kitchen, stopping at the fridge to get another cold beer, and then out to the front stoop. Sal was sitting there, his knees drawn up, elbows resting on them, a smoldering cigarette in his fingers, and a far-off look in his eyes. As soon as the door shut behind me, he looked up, put the cigarette back in his mouth and moved over. I sat down next to him, offering him the beer. He took it and we sat in silence for a minute that wasn’t awkward, tense, or even enjoyable. It was just a silence that was.

  “That bad?” I asked at length.

  He nodded and took a long drag before speaking. “You ever been outside the country, Judah?”

  “We vacationed on the Canadian side of the falls once when I was a kid,” I said.

  “When I was deployed, I went to this discothèque in Qatar on R and R. Blows my mind sometimes I’ve been places some people have never even heard of. You know, people over there, they’re not so different. They wanted the same thing we wanted. Drink, dance, have a good time…”

  “Hard to imagine you dancing,” I pointed out.

  Sal laughed and bumped me with his shoulder. “I can tear it up. Come out with me some time and see. Promise you a good time.”

  “Nina would have an aneurism.”

  “Fuck that. I would too at my age. I’m not twenty-two anymore.” He dropped the cigarette onto the first step and crushed it with a bare foot. “But I wonder how little countries deal with us. I mean, I know in Canada there’s no registration and Mexico is a war zone, but neither place really seems to have it figured out. I have to wonder if the little countries aren’t doing it better.”

  I didn’t tell Sal there had been widespread acts of genocide all over the Middle East, most of the victims supernaturals like us. Many governments hadn’t bothered to try to get along. They embraced the radical position of human exclusivity. Supernaturals in many parts of the world were being hunted almost to extermination. I just leaned against his shoulder and listened to him talk.

  “I fought for this,” he continued. “But I didn’t do it for this, you know?”

  “I’m sorry to have brought this to you,” I offered. “I just didn’t know where else to go.”

  “Ain’t your fault,” Sal said, lighting another cigarette. “And I’m just being nostalgic. Something bad happened to your friend, Judah, damage I’m not sure I can fix. From before whatever this fight was. His aura’s all torn up, and it looks like it’s been that way for a long time. I’ve never seen anything make holes like that. I tried to knit pieces back together but I had to stop. Whatever it was, it’s getting to me, making me remember things I haven’t thought about in a long time.”

  “What kind of things?”

  He closed his eyes. “Dead things.”

  “You c
ould talk to Daphne.”

  Sal laughed and shook his head. “I don’t do shrinks. Daphne’s nice and all, but I don’t need that kind of therapy.”

  I sat up and folded my hands on my lap. “Okay, then. What can I do to help?”

  He sighed and blew smoke out through his nose. “Honestly? Not a damn thing unless you want to take up my offer to go dancing, get shitfaced and go have crazy sex with the hottest guy in Paint Rock.”

  “Why? You going to introduce me to him?” I gave him a playful shove. “Seriously. You don’t want to see me dance.”

  He shrugged.

  More silence.

  I cleared my throat. “So, what now?”

  “Now, we wait and hope. I take care of the thing on your leg that’s making you limp around like an old lady.” He patted his lap. “Give it.”

  I swung my leg up and he peeled back my jeans. We were just about to get started when an engine backfired. He jerked, eyes flashing with memory. I turned to the puttering sound of an old moped sputtering into the driveway, Ed at the wheel. On the back, in minimal, tight-fitting clothing, was his girlfriend, her face obscured by a helmet. The moped stopped, and she reached up to remove her helmet.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me,” I said, pulling my leg away from Sal in surprise. “Ed’s dating Mara?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ed kicked down the kickstand to his moped while Mara hopped off. Clutching the helmet under one arm, she ran her fingers through her wild colored hair and shook it out. “Hey, teach.”

  “I see you two have met,” Sal said, taking a swig of his beer.

  I was still in too much shock to react. Ed didn’t seem like Mara’s type. Then again, I’d never really pried into Mara’s love life too deep. I did know she had a long history of broken and bad relationships behind her, mostly because of her past. You don’t get to be a channel for spirits and then stay completely functional. Mara wasn’t crazy, but she had her inner demons, just like anyone else. She was a bitch to deal with sometimes and few people could stand her for more than one or two days at a time. Ed was such a nice kid. I just couldn’t see it going any which way but south between them.

  Mara came up to me, put down her helmet, and offered me a smile and an exaggerated wink before leaning against the porch railing, kicking one foot over the other. “’Sup, wolfman? Bum a smoke?”

  “Sorry, kid,” Sal answered, lighting one up himself. “That stuff’ll kill you.”

  “And you’re supposed to be quitting,” I added. “What happened to that pack of gum you had earlier?”

  She crossed her arms and raised her shoulders limply. “Gone.” Mara cocked her head to the side. “Hey, how come you didn’t pick up your phone earlier? I tried to call.”

  “I was kind of in the middle of something,” I answered, rubbing my aching forehead. “What did you need, Mara?”

  “Nothing important,” she answered, her face growing distant. After a minute, she turned back to Sal. “Since I can’t smoke, how about a beer, then?” That was it. I grabbed Mara by the arm and gave her a hard tug, pulling her around to the side of the house about halfway between the porch and the shed. “Ouch! What gives?”

  “How long’s this thing with you and Ed been going on?” I hissed at her.

  She jerked her arm out of my grip. “What do you care? We’re both adults. We can make our own decisions.”

  “Mara…”

  Three human acts can cause an uncontrolled release of energy in a contained area: birth, death, and sexual climax. A lot of old school witches like to incorporate sex into their magick. The other two… Unless you happen to hang out in morgues and hospitals, they were more difficult to work with. It wasn’t as if things were going to explode because Ed and Mara were messing around, especially given Mara’s particular set of abilities. But she didn’t have complete control over her powers. Until she did, she wasn’t supposed to be taking those kinds of risks at all, let alone with one of my friends.

  Mara was a ticking time bomb. Eventually, someone was going to get hurt. But how was I going to get through to her? If I told her not to do something, she’d make it a point to go out and do it. That was just the kind of person Mara was. Sometimes, it worked to my advantage. Reverse psychology worked well if it was subtle. But she wasn’t going to back off of this, not once she knew I objected to it.

  I sighed, trying to let go of some of the frustration. “Ed is a good friend of mine, Mara. I’m not just going to stand by while you jerk him around. If you hurt him…”

  She laughed at me. “Do you think you’re the first one to give me that speech? Ed is a fucking werewolf, teach. If I screw him over, the whole pack will have my ass. Don’t act like I don’t know that.”

  “She’s got you there,” said Sal from the steps.

  “Not helping!” I growled at Sal before turning back to Mara. “They’ll be the least of your worries if you do to Ed what you’ve done to every other boy. Are we clear?”

  Mara narrowed her eyes at me. “Crystal.”

  After that, what choice did I have but to stand by and let things happen on their own? There was no good way for it to end, and I knew it. Deep down, I thought Mara knew it, too, but my word wasn’t going to stop her.

  She went back to Ed and laced her fingers through his, shooting me a dirty look before pulling him into the house.

  “Well, that went well,” Sal said in a jovial tone.

  “Did you know about this?”

  He shrugged. “Sorta. Ed brought Mara around the other day for me and Chanter to meet. I thought she was an okay kid. Chanter says she’s gifted. I just thought she was stubborn. Kind of reminded me of you a little if you’d ever had a heavy metal goth phase. I like to think you did.”

  I came to stand beside Sal, arms crossed, staring angrily at the front door. I imagined Mara inside, laughing at how powerless I was to stop her from ruining her own life. “I’m not anything like her, and if you ever say that again, I swear, I’ll throttle you.”

  “Promise?” He smiled at me and polished off his beer before patting the stair next to him. “You’ve got to learn to pick your battles, Judah. In the meantime, let me finish up your leg.”

  I sat down on the step and repeated the action of rolling up my pant leg for Sal. Chanter had done a fair amount of work. The black, spidery veins were now just a light shade of gray. The spots had gotten smaller, but they were still there.

  As Sal touched his fingertips to my leg, my thoughts drifted to the elf in the shed. I knew all fae had some level of innate talent, but I’d never seen someone wield it quite the way he did. Creven was a powerful practitioner. Someone as powerful as him could have gotten into all kinds of trouble. Kim had said he was wanted for something. It wasn’t hard to imagine him committing a violent crime.

  I shuddered to think what would have happened if Creven hadn’t dragged me back behind the barrier in the conference room. He’d saved my life. More than that, he’d stood with me, and here I was considering arresting him. But he was definitely guilty of something. I needed to get to the office and pull his sheet so I knew who I was dealing with. Good intentions in the present didn’t absolve him of a past crime. You know what they say the road to Hell is paved with.

  If nothing else, then he knew something useful about the giant or other parts of the investigation, I was sure of it. Creven was tight with Kim. Perhaps he knew something useful about her. She’d paused when I inquired about the missing fae. I suspected already she knew more than she let on. He could be holding the key piece of information I was missing.

  “It wasn’t a spirit,” I found myself telling Sal as he worked. “It was some sort of giant. I think whatever it kills comes back to life. The girl in the morgue? She came back to life and attacked me. She had those marks, too. I’d be just like her if Creven hadn’t saved me.”

  “Creven’s the elf?”

  “Yeah. That’s his name.”

  Sal nodded but kept his eyes closed, moving his finger
s gently to the next hole in my skin. “When I was trying to heal him, I felt him resisting me, the magick. He’s a tough son of a bitch, that elf. Not much to look at, but if he wanted, he could really do a lot of damage in the magick department. Do you know what kind?”

  I thought about the barrier. It had been a decent one, strong enough that I’d never seen one like it. But it didn’t mean anything. I couldn’t base my assumptions off of a single spell.

  “No,” I admitted. “And I need to talk to him as soon as he’s able. I have questions.”

  “Well, that could be a while. He’s got some innate healing ability and I was able to jumpstart it, but there’s no telling how long it will take.”

  He moved his hands up my leg. Sal’s hands were the perfect mix between rough and soft. There was a part of me that found I liked having them on me. There’s a primal instinct triggered when we touch one another. It requires trust, especially when both parties are powerful practitioners. When we were together, auras pulsating one against the other, it was hard not to think about how far things had come and how far they could still go if I wasn’t careful. I knew Sal had a thing for me. It didn’t matter whether I felt the same. Even if all our lucky stars lined up, I had my career and my son to think about. Getting involved with Sal would complicate both for me. Besides, I’d just scolded Mara for taking on an unsustainable relationship. Anything Sal and I would ever have would be fireworks—short, explosive, and with the potential to burn everything down. Guys like Sal, they don’t do slow burn.

  Sal cleared his throat. “Did you talk to Chanter about what happened?”

  I nodded. “He mentioned something called a draugr or a revenant…And, in a way, it kind of makes sense. The girl, whose name was Annie, I guess, she was so cold. A supernatural kind of cold. Is there some connection between a revenant and a giant?”

  Sal shrugged. “Sounds like you’re talking fae stuff. Either that or Vikings. I can’t say I know much about either.”