Chapter 9
Tiara moved away from the protective circle and stepped past Storm, wanting to head towards the middle of the graveyard. She let her fingers graze over headstones and statues as she passed them, ignoring the things she felt watching her… things hiding but curious at the same time. She wasn’t here to hurt them… they were the victims here.
As she approached one of the cherub statues, she stared impassively as its baby sweet face began to twist and its mouth stretched showing a row of sharp ghostly teeth. As soon as she touched it, the statue returned to normal. They did not want the living here… this was their home now.
Jason walked a bit behind Zachary and Guy, dragging his feet and kicking up leaves occasionally. He really didn’t want to be here. He’d never been fond of graveyards during the daylight… much less the darkness. Why in the hell he had to go out and get himself marked by some crazy demon, which in turn got him mixed up with the Ghostbusters on steroids, he had no idea.
Seeing a shadow on his right move, Jason didn’t have time to track it with his vision when he suddenly felt something slam into him from behind. He went down face first in the grass with a startled grunt. He twisted his arm back to elbow the thing off of him, but his arm hit open air because the weight on top of him had already vanished.
He blinked at the gravestone beside him. Who the hell had a last name like Eerie at a time like this? “That’s not funny,” he told the stone with a straight face.
“What the hell?” Guy demanded having seen the lone vampire on top of Jason just before it disappeared. “Where’d the vamp come from?”
“It doesn’t want us here,” Tiara whispered keeping her eyes on the ghosts, feeling the same sensations they felt… things that didn’t belong here. It wasn’t the vampire they were afraid of, which meant the vampire was a victim too. She let her necromancy flow outwards, letting the ghosts know she was there to help them.
“Houston, we have a rogue,” Zachary said making Guy frown.
“Vamps usually group together,” Guy pointed out. “Why would we have a rogue on our hands in this dump of a graveyard?”
The vampire suddenly reappeared in front of Guy, who ducked the wild punch to his face and slammed his hand into its midsection.
The vampire vanished again and Jason quickly rose to his feet, glad to see that it wasn’t only picking on him. Removing the silver dagger from the sheath on his belt, Jason held it up in front of him… ready to ward off what was coming. At least if the thing came at him from the front, it would get a nice sharp surprise.
“Anyone else having flashbacks of Buffy?” Jason asked no one in particular. The left side of his face suddenly exploded in pain and he went flying into a tree. His back slammed hard enough against the trunk to make his teeth rattle and he slid to the ground with a muffled thump.
“Jason,” Tiara started toward their fallen team member but Zachary held his arm out in front of her. She started to dodge his arm but when he turned his head to look at her, she went shock still seeing his pupils alight with fire.
“Stay with me,” Zach ordered not wanting to see the vampire attack her. “It’s already tried to attack two of us… no sense in making you an easy target.” He jerked his gaze back to the tree hearing Jason groan. “He’s wearing the ring… remember?”
Tiara nodded but she wasn’t going to just stand there. She immediately released more of her necromancy out in an expanding circle around her. ‘I want to help you,’ she mentally whispered knowing the souls could hear her. She’d been telepathically talking to ghost ever since she realized her imaginary childhood friends weren’t so imaginary.
“Son of a,” Jason complained once he had air back in his lungs. He calmed realizing the pain from the impact was already gone but decided to stay where he was. At least if he was already down, then maybe the vampire would leave him the hell alone for a damn minute. He looked out beyond the group wanting to at least see it coming this time.
Storm watched Jason’s hand when he raised it to flick some of his long hair out of his eyes. Both times that Jason had been attacked … the ring had glowed with power.
Zachary lifted his hand and his palm ignited with a bright yellow and orange flame. The light seemed to highlight Zachary’s face in a way that made everyone there see the actual man behind the mask he usually wore… and it was nothing to play with.
Hearing a quick intake of breath, Zachary swung around to find the vampire now standing right in front of Tiara. He narrowed his eyes at the dangerous situation… it was within inches of her but not attacking like it had with Jason and Guy.
Storm tensed, teleporting closer with each breath but stopping far enough away not to startle the creature. Myra had been able to handle vampires and he hoped she’d trained Tiara to do so.
“No one move,” Tiara calmly told the group having already reached for the vampire with her necromancy. He had been going to attack her… she’d felt his rage coming toward her at an alarming rate of speed. But he had stopped… his fangs had vanished and his face had softened in confusion. The vampire was feeling the same for her as she was for him. To all dead, soulless or not, a necromancer felt like home.
Using her necromancy for the first time in such a way, Tiara tried to gain all the information she could about the creature… testing this new ability that had come with her mother’s passing. Surging her necromancy inside the vampire, she found the dull residue of life that was hidden there and caressed it. It was an odd feeling to touch something without a soul when up till now she’d only been able to interact with souls.
This man was newly dead, only a couple weeks old and still struggling with his memories of life… and the violent death that had ripped his soul from him. She caught a flash of the strange gothic looking man that had stolen his life and felt the instant fear… then the sadness that had followed at such a loss.
Most people thought vampires were only mindless monsters, but they could still remember being alive… they could still think about what they were doing if they lived long enough to learn how to control themselves. This vampire was still a child to the darkness he’d to which he’d been banished.
The vampire leaned in closer, inhaling deeply at her familiarity. She smelled like the master he was serving now… the one who had told him to get rid of anyone that showed up in the graveyard. He rose back up to his full height and locked dark eyes on the girl’s golden-green ones. But unlike the master, she smelled good, like the path that would lead his mind back to his soul.
Zach didn’t care if the vampire seemed transfixed with Tiara and wasn’t attacking her. If it changed its mind, she’d be dead before he could reach her… he wasn’t about to give it a chance.
“Hey, fang face,” Zach growled to get its attention.
The vampire turned, instinctively feeling the malevolence coming from the man standing there. This trespasser was a danger to his master and the girl… all trespassers needed to join him in death. He started toward the blond-haired man at top speed, becoming nothing more than a blur.
Zach stooped into a half crouch, barely missing the sharp fingernails coming at his neck with intent of ripping out his jugular. He struck, planting the small fireball firmly against the vampire’s stomach.
Everything seemed to slow down and the vampire’s eyes widened for a moment and then looked down. The flame had sunk into its body and he could feel the heat consuming him from the inside out. He stumbled back holding his stomach and looking toward Tiara as if she would help him before finally falling to his knees.
Tiara cried out softly and took a step forward but Storm was suddenly standing between her and the vampire.
“It’s too late,” Storm whispered in her ear blocking her vision of the vampire’s pain. “Zachary has done the same thing you were going to do… he has sent it home.” He sighed when she gripped the material of his shirt and leaned sideways to look around him. Necromancers never liked to see the undead hurt in such a way but he couldn’t fault Zach for making the move to protect her.
Smoke started drifting out of the vampire’s ears, nose, and mouth as holes appeared in his clothing. His mouth opened but no sound came out. Slowly the vampire became a smoldering statue of ash that began to blow away with the breeze.
Now that the danger was over, Storm teleported around the outskirts of the group to scout for any more surprises.
“I want that power,” Jason pouted looking between Zachary and the vampire that had slammed him into the tree.
Guy smirked and kicked the body shaped pile of ash, “Stop whining, Superman… I bet it hurt the tree more than it hurt you when you put a dent in it.”
Jason glowered at him and discretely looked at the tree trunk to make sure Guy wasn’t exaggerating... he wasn’t.
Zachary’s gaze went to Tiara. She wasn’t looking at him, she was looking at what was left of the vampire who had stared at her so strangely. He could swear he saw sympathy in her eyes for the way he had killed it.
Tiara stared at what was left of the vampire. He had been human once… a victim of a more vicious vampire than he would have ever been. The vampire had only been protecting her when it had turned on Zachary. She frowned wondering if it wouldn't be more useful to come into the graveyards alone, instead of with warriors. They were supposed to be protecting her from demons… not the dead. Demons were living creatures.
“The vampire would not have hurt me,” Tiara whispered then turned back in the direction she’d been heading not able to look at Zachary. Her insides twisted as she tried to look at it from the PIT team’s point of view. The vampire was a killer… but so was Zachary.
Jason cocked an eyebrow and threw his thumb over his shoulder toward the tree, “Did she miss the fact the tree was hurt?”
Zach didn’t bother answering Jason. Instead, he narrowed his eyes on Tiara’s back as she walked away. So she was mad at him for protecting her was she? That was something the little princess was going to have to get over because he didn’t give a damn whether she liked it or not. His lips hinted at a twisted smile as he took off after her.
Tiara jerked her gaze away from the mausoleum not wanting to attract attention to the zombie she could feel inside the structure eating the remains of a body it had drug from one of the coffins. She refused to say anything to the others… they’d kill it before she had a chance to gently send it back to where it could find peace.
Zach saw the way Tiara turned her head slightly to look at the mausoleum and narrowed his eyes. He should have known this would happen… Tiara was being sympathetic to the monsters scurrying around. If she expected them to protect her, then she would have to let them do their job instead of ignoring the reason they were there.
“Guy,” Zach nodded toward the mausoleum. “Go check out the crypts and make sure they’re clear of anything unsavory.”
Tiara stopped and turned her head to stop Guy from following that order. They didn’t need to bother the creature because it wasn’t hurting anyone. Feeling something grab hold of her upper arm, she turned her angry gaze up at Zach.
“Call him back,” she insisted.
Zach shook his head, “We’re doing our job… the one you knew we signed on for. It’s time for you to do yours before someone gets hurt.”
Giving him a stubborn look, Tiara jerked her arm out of his grasp and stepped back. Wanting to save as many as she could from the pain a violent death would cause, Tiara continued to back away from Zachary.
She mentally whispered to the dead in soothing words to gain their trust. She felt her necromancy spread out from her in waves, splashing up against souls before going around them to reach for more. That’s when she realized her power differed from her mother’s more than Myra had feared it would.
Necromancy wasn’t magic… it wasn’t a spell at all. It was a deep-seated link she’d been born with… no doubt another gift from her father that was only enhanced by her recent inheritance of Myra’s gift. She felt the ends of her long hair tickle her bare skin as it lifted in the updraft of the link’s feedback when it connected to more souls.
Zachary frowned knowing she was using her power but she’d done nothing or said nothing to indicate it. He paused remembering Myra speaking some kind of spell in hushed tones when he’d been part of her team. Myra had once told him only the dead could understand the words. He watched Tiara’s lips looking for movement but they were as still as his.
“Back up, let’s give her room,” Storm said as he followed his own advice.
“I’d back all the way up to the vehicle if you guys would let me.” Jason commented but his eyes were focused on Tiara and he felt a surge of protectiveness rush through him. There was no way he was leaving her alone out here.
Hearing Jason’s comment, Storm looked over at him and saw the faint glow of the ring light up as if its true power had just been activated. He wondered briefly just how far the ring’s protection would go and if Jason would be able to handle it. His hair flew back from his face and Storm turned his attention back to Tiara.
As Tiara continued to reach for the dead, the wind picked up around her, carrying her necromancy across the small area. The darkness started moving around them and things began to emerge from it… half formed bodies crawling back to their graves along with unseen spirits flittering among the tombstones.
However, what the team wasn’t completely aware of were the other creatures that did not belong there. Those creatures paused as they felt the pull on their bodies and minds, telling them to return to the afterlife. They did not answer the call… their astral forms already linked to a much stronger master.
It was their job to keep trespassers out of the cemetery and they had failed to notice the visitors. Moving in on the tempting feeling, they surrounded the trespassers… ready to kill them for the sake of their master.
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 torture 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 ass 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 drug as he took the zombie by the head and literally ripped it from the body.
“It’s about time He-Man showed up,” Zach growled still in pain. He could feel the fire within him sealing the wound back up and burning the damaged cells to ash as his body quickly replaced it with newborn flesh. To someone else watching, it would have looked like a zipper of fire closing his skin back together.
Guy smirked as he saw Jason lose most of his fear of the monsters. Even though the fear had only lasted a few minutes… what replaced it was worth the wait. Turning his attention back to the fight in front of him, Guy tried to discern the ‘good’ monsters from the bad.
Finally he just mentally shrugged and started chanting repeatedly. Ice crystals materialized inside the creatures, skewering them like a kabob on the grill. Wraiths flew around them, pulling on the bits of energy left before leaving empty husk.
Storm had pulled a rapier out of the folds of his long coat and was busy beheading anything that came too close. Whenever one or more touched him, he would flicker them into the limbo he entered between locations and leave them. There would be time later to drop them head first into his favorite volcano.
Tiara felt remorse for the injuries Zachary had taken for her. Watching him get up from the ground, she understood a little better why she would never be able to come into the graveyards alone. When he turned an inquiring glance on her, she quickly put her arm down to cover the claw marks just above the cloth on her hip.
Zachary lifted his eyes and for a second their gazes locked with one another. He could feel her sympathy for him and see the remorse in her thoughts and froze in place feeling a moment of closeness pass between them.
“Keep up the good work,” Zachary said and took up his previous position between Guy and Storm, leaving Jason to protect her.
The attacking monsters slowly began to thin out and it didn’t take long to understand why. The zombies that had not been destroyed were returning to their eternal rest and the ghosts were sinking back into various graves.
Tiara smiled when the soldier drifted over to an old tombstone and turned toward her, lifting his hand in salute before fading from view. The old woman and little girl lay down on two graves side by side then sank back into the earth.
One by one, the souls went back to where they came from and the zombies crawled back into their graves, pulling the dirt back on top of them as they did so. Finally only the wraiths remained, and even then they were slowly disappearing.
