Chapter 10
Tiara began to rein in her necromancy but stopped when she saw something that made her eyes widen. Fear momentarily shot through her when she saw a Native American watching her from a distance with piercing intelligent eyes. His long ebony hair framed his face with a single thin braid woven from underneath, draping over one shoulder with a feather hanging from the end of it.
His upper body was devoid of clothing except for two leather armbands on his biceps. A pair of soft tan moccasin pants was the only thing on his lower body. He was barefoot and had a single thin headband across his forehead. Reaching out toward him with her necromancy, she caught a glimpse of how many times he had been reawakened and it startled her.
Night Hawk stood and let her power touch him… he had nothing to hide. He compared her soothing touch to that of Black Crow’s painful grip. The innocent caress of her power intrigued him.
Tiara felt a surge of memories come through the link she had with the Indian. His name was Night Hawk and he’d been his clan’s most powerful warrior and a descendant of his tribe’s shaman blood line. During life, he’d been loved and cherished by his people.
He was ancient and powerful in his own right even though he’d started out as a zombie. He had consumed until the zombie was no more and only the man remained. Once again, he had evolved beyond the hunger and regained his warrior’s mind. Now he was searching for something he’d lost but no matter how deep she penetrated his mind, he wouldn’t share that secret with her.
Coming out of the past memories, she looked at Night Hawk as he was now. All around him were things writhing and grasping in the darkness but they weren’t there because of him. Those were the real threats. She extended her power once again but this time felt something else awaken within her. She felt the breeze caress her exposed skin sending shivers down her body. The hunger had been awakened.
Zachary knew Tiara was seeing things he couldn’t and when he noticed the glint of fear in her eyes he felt his anger start to escalate. What was scaring her? He needed to see what she was studying so hard because, if he couldn’t see her enemy, he couldn’t stop it from hurting her.
As if to reassure himself of her safety, Zachary moved closer to her not liking the feeling of being surrounded again.
Tiara’s face tightened in confusion as she felt the sensation of things still waking up all around her… things that should have stayed on the other side. That’s when she realized… whatever had awakened the dead in the first place still held power over them and was just playing with her. The demon was undermining everything she had done to lay them to rest.
Storm kept his weapon on hand just in case something else should try to attack. He was beginning to think this graveyard hadn’t been the best place to get Tiara’s feet wet. Looking over at her, he could see the exhaustion in her eyes along with the heat blooming within her cheeks. It was a sign that her necromancy was draining her life force and would soon bring on the hunger.
“Tiara, I can take us out of here,” Storm called softly, only to have her hold her hand up toward him in an indication to wait and an almost insulted look crossed her pretty face. She had barely spared him a glance. That was good. Her mindset was on the dead.
Night Hawk was intrigued with the silver-haired woman and latched on to her link, using it to scan her the same way she’d done him. Her power was similar to that of Craven’s, only weaker because she was new to her abilities. He narrowed his eyes on the wound on her side and inhaled the mixture of true necromancer and demon necromancer flowing there. If she was to survive, then she would have to be taught how to fight.
Shadow demons began to take shape from the darkness around him making Night Hawk frown. Why had Craven sent so many underlings to follow him to this graveyard? The hint of a smirk played at the corner of his lips. Was Craven more worried than he was letting on? As well he should be.
Night Hawk nodded his head and, as though waiting for the silent command, half a dozen shadow demons rose up from the ground. They moved swiftly across the earth, closing the distance between them and Tiara, zeroing in on her. As they passed over graves, their long, sharp talons would occasionally touch one… reawakening souls that had just been laid to rest.
Storm felt the earth next to his feet shift and looked down. He took a step back from the spot when it started to heave as though something were digging its way out. The way things were going tonight it wouldn’t surprise him. Instinct made him whip his head around to see Tiara take a startled step back.
“Something is trying to attack Tiara,” Storm announced while quickly striding toward her. “We can’t see it because we don’t have her sight.”
“I can see some of them,” Zach exclaimed angrily as a grave slowly opened beside him and a zombie started to crawl out of the dirt. “They’re ugly and they smell really bad.”
Kneeling down, Zach closed his hand around its rotting forehead and furrowed his brow in an attempt to read what was left of its mind. Unfortunately, another zombie decided this was a good time to attack, cutting short his gathering of information. Setting the decayed skull on fire, he dropped it and turned to the next living dead that thought he would make a nice dinner.
As he dispatched the second zombie, Zach kept thinking about the brief picture he’d gotten from the quick memory upload. A man with windblown silver hair the same shade as Tiara’s was the one behind this resurrection.
Guy couldn’t see the shadow demons but could barely make out the distortions in the air as they got closer. Folding his hands together, he closed his eyes and quickly muttered a spell… one he had learned after being attacked at a young age by an invisible demon.
The air around the team shimmered for a moment before stilling again. Jason’s eyes widened and he took a quick step back as a face appeared in the wiggling air in front of him, looking like it was pushing against something stretchy. His disturbed mind quickly decided it reminded him of see-through bubble gum.
“Good call,” Zachary said as he punched one of the faces staring at him from less than a foot away.
Guy said nothing in return, struggling to keep the shield up. He had to hold the demons back a little longer until Tiara could put them to rest again. His eyes shot open when he realized he was wrong… she couldn’t. Tiara’s power only worked with the dead… these were shadow demons and very much alive.
“Shit!” Guy muttered through clenched teeth.
Jason had pushed Tiara back from the shield and quickly took her in his arms when more demons began pushing against the shield all around them.
“We need to drive them back somehow.” Zachary yelled over their eerie screeches, “Any ideas?”
“Yeah,” Guy growled through extreme effort. “I got one.”
“Out with it,” Jason exclaimed.
Guy smirked at them and stepped outside the barrier.
“No!” Tiara screamed and fought against Jason’s hold on her. “Help him!”
Guy glared at the shadow demons as they quickly surrounded him and grunted when one passed through him. Pain like nothing he’d ever felt coursed through his body but he held his ground. More and more shadow demons followed suit and soon Guy’s small sounds of pain became screams of agony.
Zachary ran up to the barrier and beat his fists against it. “Guy, get your ass back in here or let me out!”
Guy ignored Zachary’s order, keeping the shield in place while his mind worked. His body suddenly erupted in a bright flash of light, illuminating him and the immediate area around him. Without Carley’s powerhouse inside of him, he’d never been able to pull this massive of a spell off. The shadow demons that had been the furthest away were unharmed, but those within touching distance of the blinding light immediately disintegrated.
“Et voila,” Guy said weakly and fell back inside the barrier.
“Damned moron,” Zach growled while dragging Guy by the collar of his jacket back from the shield. “With you out of commission the barrier will fall.”
“I’m… not dead… ass,” Guy whispered hoarsely.
Zach smirked, “You will be when you get better.”
The remaining shadow demons once more descended on the shield and everyone saw that it was starting to weaken. While Guy’s heart and will were strong, his body had taken a beating.
Tiara looked beyond the barrier at the Indian who was still watching her with his dark penetrating eyes. He was waiting on her to make her move. She knew he was following orders from a more powerful necromancer because he himself could not be controlling shadow demons. Why would he even stick around when she could tell he had free will of his own? It was almost as if he were just a spectator.
She growled mentally. One thing was for sure… he wasn’t helping her. Her eyes roved over the surrounding area, seeing those that had not attacked. They too remained in the darkness, but unlike the Indian, they were under the complete power of the other necromancer.
The newly-awakened creatures that the shadow demons had touched in their race to reach her now rose, surrounded by an aura of evil. Tiara gritted her teeth at the darkness closing in and grew angry. Ignoring the shadow demons, she refocused her necromancy on the reawakened souls.
This time there was no dark aura around the wave of necromancy that she sent out toward them… only one silent request, ‘help me.’
Zachary looked outside the barrier in confusion when the new zombies and wraiths turned on the shadow demons. They were grabbing at the demons with bony fingers and hideously angry expressions. His eyes widened a fraction when he noticed several of the darkest shadows were being drug back by things he couldn’t see.
“Holy hell, Batman,” Jason breathed, still touching Tiara and able to see what the others couldn’t, “The ghosts are fighting for us.”
“They’re what?” Zachary demanded.
Jason couldn’t take his eyes off of them. It was like a scene out of a really scary movie. “They’re grabbing the demons and dragging them off… can’t you see it?”
Zachary saw the shadow demons being pulled into the darkness. The only reason he knew for certain was the demons were clawing at the ground while moving backwards. Zachary couldn’t see the ghosts but he could see their handiwork.
Storm looked away from the demons and stared at Tiara with a deep frown. This was something new to him… Myra had never used her necromancy in such a manner before. It made him wonder what else Tiara could do that Myra had never practiced or shown to anyone. He would have to ask her later and see if she would give him any answers.
Feeding off Tiara’s necromancy, the residents of the graveyard had the power to keep hold of the demons even as the demons began ripping them apart. To the dead, this was their home… their resting place and it had been invaded by those that would harm the necromancer that offered them peace.
Finally, Tiara could take no more and stared at the Indian imploringly. She’d been wrong about him… Night Hawk could stop this if he wanted. “Can’t you feel their pain? Please… call them off,” she whispered with angry tears streaming from her eyes.
Night Hawk saw the tears and heard her plea. The very human part of him was touched by her show of emotion for the dead. She had been protecting the graveyard but he’d forced her to use the dead in a way to protect her and her warriors… almost the same way Craven was using the dead as protection. Her lesson had been learned.
Finally, Night Hawk raised his hand and the demons backed off, returning to the darkness. The remaining creatures slowly drifted away, once more returning to where they came from. The girl had proven that she was trying to rid the world of evil… evil similar to what had pulled him once more from his journey with the Great Spirit.
Craven had decided to let these people have the graveyard. If they could take it from his watchdogs, he would follow that ruling. Turning away from the group of people, Night Hawk stepped into the darkness and vanished from sight.
Now that everything seemed safe, Guy sighed in relief and dropped the magical barrier around them. He smiled thinking about the spell he’d used… honestly, he hadn't been sure it was going to work.
“Who was that?” Jason asked, still looking in the direction Night Hawk had been standing.
“Who was who?” Zachary asked noticing the way Tiara's cheeks had bloomed in color… and the way she was leaning heavily on Jason.
Tiara felt the rush of hunger claim her as she watched Zachary watch her. The fact that he was just standing there with an almost brooding expression made her remember he was only here because he’d been ordered to be. The thought was like a cold splash on her hunger and she wondered if maybe she could hold the hunger off for a while.
Jason pointed, “The Indian that was there a moment ago. Who was it?”
Storm frowned, “I saw no one.”
Tiara looked down at Jason’s arms still around her, “You saw him because you are touching me.”
“He was a ghost?” Jason asked skeptically.
Tiara shook her head as she turned within the circle of Jason’s arms to look up at him, “No, he wasn’t a ghost. However, I believe he has the power to be seen only when he wants to.”
“Or maybe no one else was paying attention,” Jason shocked himself by saying while glaring accusingly at the others in the group. He tightened his arms around Tiara, giving her the strength she needed in her weakened state. He was distracted from his rant when he felt her hands sliding up his arms in a caressing motion as she molded herself to his body.
Tiara could feel the ghosts calling to her from far away… it mimicked the way she had called them back to the grave. They wanted her to come with them, to join them in the afterlife. Their want was so strong that it was sucking the rest of her energy from her. She hadn’t thought the pull would be this strong and felt panic start to set in. She didn’t want to go… not yet.
Jerking her gaze back up to lock with Jason’s, she clutched at the front of his shirt. “I need you to help me stay.”
Jason let his gaze travel down her body and slowly back up. He could make out ghostly white hands reaching out of thin air, trying to latch on to her but so far the hands were going straight through her with no effect. Jason fisted his hand and the ring on his finger began to glow again. Somehow, he understood exactly what she needed and he felt himself harden.
His hand splayed over the bare skin of her back and he pressed her closer. “I’ll give you more than you need,” Jason promised.
Zach growled, “I’ll give you something,” and started toward Jason as fire leapt from his fingertips.
Storm was suddenly there gripping Zachary’s upper arm, “Don’t, it’s the ring making Jason want to help her. You might want to catch her.”
“What?” Zachary barely uttered before he caught on to Storm’s warning.
Storm reached out toward Jason just as the other man was lowering his lips dangerously close to Tiara’s. Storm then extended his other hand down to Guy, appearing to offer him help up off the ground.
Zachary’s eyes widened and he rushed forward as all three men abruptly vanished, leaving Tiara to fall on her own. He quickly took Tiara in the same hold Jason had less than a second before. The first thing he noticed was that her eyes were closed and her lips were parted… waiting.
Tiara felt the hunger as it laid claim to her body and couldn’t resist rubbing herself against Jason. She needed to be touched… wanted to feel every cell in her body come alive with the feeling. The hardness of him against her had her tilting her chin up and offering her lips to him. She closed her eyes and, for a moment, felt almost weightless before the arms once again tightened around her.
Her tiny hands gripped the biceps holding her so securely and she pushed herself closer to the face she could feel hovering over hers. That persistence was rewarded when hot lips descended on hers in a fiery kiss. Everything about him was so warm that her body ached to get closer… to become engulfed in it until she went up in flames.
Sliding her palms up his muscled arms to his shoulders, she twined her fingers around his neck before realizing that Jason’s long hair was missing somewhere in that equation.
Zachary groaned silently when her lips responded to his dominance and couldn’t help but slide one of his hands under her long hair to cradle the back of her head while she pulled at him, shifting to bring him closer. Though she may not have realized it, Tiara was making the most erotic mews in the back of her throat and the sound was hypnotic… making him want to hear more.
When her hands caressed the back of his neck, he felt her body stiffen slightly and knew she understood that it wasn’t Jason holding her. Releasing her from the kiss, Zachary pulled back just enough to watch Tiara open her passion-hazed eyes.
He wasn’t sure if he should feel an ego boost from the fact she had reacted that way to his kiss or angry that she thought it was Jason causing the reaction.
Tiara blinked in confusion and she felt her heart pounding hard inside her chest as fear attempted to seep in. She’d been kissing Jason… hadn't she? She made a soft sound knowing she hadn't really meant to pick Jason… the hunger had chosen for her.
Swinging her gaze around, she realized the rest of the team members were nowhere in sight and she was alone with Zachary. What she could see within the cemetery frightened her.
Some of the more powerful spirits had come back from the next world to show her the way home… the same way humans say a loved one appears before them when they are dying. Souls often become infatuated with a necromancer… they can’t help it. That’s why they try to take them.
She didn’t want to go with them and Jason had understood that… offered to help her… that’s why the hunger had chosen him. Seeing the souls come closer, she turned her gaze and refocused on Zachary. He might have thought he understood, but in reality he didn’t… he would never understand the fear she held at this moment.
“Where’s Jason?” she asked huskily and felt the cold air whisper across her lips, already missing the heat he’d offered. She watched, fascinated, when the flames began to gather in his eyes at her question and wanted the heat she could see inside him. If he wanted to… he could save her.
“Jason’s busy right now,” Zachary answered with a growl and tightened his arms around her once more. He felt jealousy rise in his chest before descending back down in a demanding kiss that took the breath from both of them.
Backing Tiara up against the tree behind her, Zachary once more cupped the back of her head in the palm of his hand to soften the contact with the smooth bark. Wanting… needing to feel her heat against him, he lifted her higher and pressed his knee between her thighs. Tiara’s responding whimper caused heat to pool in his groin and Zachary pulled her up to straddle his upper thigh.
She’d been looking at something still in the graveyard that he couldn’t see and it had frightened her. Zachary instinctively pulled her closer to his warmth wanting her to feel safe, even though at the moment… safe wasn’t what he was feeling toward her. If given a chance, he would devour every inch of her and leave nothing for the monsters to take.
Zachary raised his body temperature, sending out a spike of heat in an attempt to rid Tiara of all other thoughts except their entwined bodies. He deepened the kiss and promised himself that if anything came after her right now, whatever it was would burn in a fire hotter than the hell it crawled out of.
This time when he broke the kiss and pulled back to look at her, he was satisfied to see that she didn’t care where Jason was anymore. If he had his way, and in most cases he did, he’d be damned if Jason ever got that close to Tiara again… ring or no ring.
Feeling the heat of his thigh pressing against her so intimately made Tiara gasp for air as though someone had been holding her down under water. However, she could still feel the call of the underworld.
“They’re coming for me,” she whispered not sure if she was warning him or herself to hurry. She caught herself practically trying to climb up his body and stilled herself… then rocked hard against him wanting the friction.
“Who’s coming?” Zachary asked hoarsely, trying to cover as much of her body as he could with his own. Tiara’s body was moving sensuously against his, making his hips jerk in reflex. He inhaled sharply, welcoming the fire she was creating within his blood when one of her thighs brushed against his erection.
“The dead,” Tiara moaned the answer when she felt his hardness press against the thigh that was trapped between his legs.
Her fingers continued to comb through his hair and when they touched the bare skin at the nape of his neck, she felt a deep longing well up inside of her. Where there was heat… there was life. Her hands fought to get under the collar of his shirt to the heat she knew was there… his bare skin.
Focusing on that heat, Tiara quickly removed her hands from his shirt collar before grabbing the front of his shirt. Her fingers found their way between the buttons and she quickly jerked them apart, exposing the hard abs and muscled chest that belonged to the Greek God he must have stolen them from.
Her gaze quickly took in the perfection of Zachary’s body and welcomed the hunger driving her onward.
Zachary stilled when he heard her say that it was the dead coming for her. Before he could pull back and look around, he lost his train of thought and inhaled sharply when her small fingers ripped his shirt open. He groaned in defeat when she reached behind her and dropped the scarf shaped material from around her breasts. He watched it flutter to the ground by their feet before lifting his eyes once more.
He barely had time to see her well-endowed perfection but it was more than enough to make him want to see more. Instead of granting his silent wish, Tiara quickly slid her arms under his shirt then around his back as she leaned into him.
Tiara inhaled when she felt her breast swell and her nipples graze his skin. “That feels good,” she moaned and moved her breasts against him again to feel the new sensation. “Touch me… touch me hard.”
Zachary responded immediately, gripping her by the hips and jerking her even closer. She pulled back slightly only for him to press her back into place with the hard touch she had requested, thus began an erotic dance that left both of them reeling.
His lips trailed a path of fire from her ear to the arch of her neck as she strained toward him. He slid his hands up the soft skin of her back before coming back down to grip her again. Zachary thanked whatever god was listening for the erotic virgin now driving him crazy. Sanity be damned, he was already so hard for her it hurt.
The fingers of his right hand brushed against the simple latch on the side of the long skirt. The material had ridden up to a point above her hips and was now very much in his way. With nimble fingers, he quickly unraveled the skirt and let it slide off her body to the ground next to her V-shaped top.
Tiara shivered as the cold aura of one of the spirits swept across her warm flesh and she buried her face against his neck, kissing the skin that was warming the front of her. She pressed down harder on his thigh at the same time, rotating her hips just a tiny little bit and whimpered when it only made the hunger worse.
