Abraham picked up the necromancer effortlessly, cradling him like a baby. Pery opened the door. They’d stashed Shorty in the closet, bound and gagged. But he was alive, and that gave Julian some hope. His mind raced, coming up with a solution.
“Look, I don’t know what happened to your friend. Hunter, was it? But we’re all kind of on the same side here.”
The elevator doors opened, and Abraham transferred his burden to the wolf guy and looked down at Julian. He wasn’t that much taller, but he had a hell of a presence.
“We generally try to stay away from police. But we have connections, and I can get you arrested for attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault. And that’s just tonight’s clusterfuck.”
Julian frowned. “The big guy at the hotel? Thought he moved like a cop.”
“How exactly did your boss die? You got an elevator ride down to explain.” Abraham punched the button for the garage. The doors closed.
“Ramon had weird interests, okay? He believed in things like vampires and…” He shifted his eyes to Pery, the wolf.“Things like you. Ramon became obsessed with this woman he met at the hotel. After one night, he lost touch with her, not a big deal, but when he found her last week, things got out of hand.” He let out a sigh. “That’s an understatement. By the time I found Ramon, he was involved in some demonic ritual shit. A monster, big… hairy-assed, glowy-eyed monster… just poof, it’s there. Ramon is dead. The woman’s dead, and I’m next in line. This guy”—he gestured to the man in Pery’s arms—“shows up shouting and swinging a damn sword. You people really like swords apparently.” His gaze dropped to the kid’s hand around the grip.
“I grab Ramon’s body and high-tail it out of there. I’m alive but not for long once Castenada finds out.”
“Do you know anything about resurrecting the dead?” Abraham asked him.
“Like that’s right in my wheelhouse.” Julian sighed, watching the floors tick down. “I only figured out who the guy was from Ramon’s notes. This shit shouldn’t be real. Not at all. But you’re real, whatever you are.” He ticked his chin at Abraham. “And Cujo over there, he’s freaky, but real.”
He was suddenly tired. Done. The anxiety over the past week had been horrendous. “At the hotel that night, I wasn’t high or drunk or crazy. The monster was real, and he killed Ramon. Which means necromancy is real. And possible.”
“It doesn’t work like that. Your friend might come back, but he won’t be the same.” Abraham sounded sorry. Julian felt some relief at being believed, but it wasn’t enough to help him.
The elevator doors opened. Julian was pushed into the hallway and herded toward the back exit. He stopped, turning to Abraham.
“Um, guys?” Pery said as he trailed behind them.
“Let’s keep moving,” Regge urged.
“Abraham?” Something in Pery’s tone made everyone turn. “I think this guy is dead. I can’t hear his heartbeat.”
Regge reached over and put fingers on the old guy’s neck, checking for himself.
“You can hear his heartbeat?” Julian asked Pery.
“No. I can hearyourheartbeat, and his, and his. But I can’t hear this guy’s because he’s—
“Dead.” The young Brit looked at Abraham, terror flickering across his face.
Julian slumped. He was dead too then. May as well just shoot him now. But he couldn’t figure out why the blond was so grief-stricken. Yeah, so Julian hadn’t wanted the man to croak either, but he was old. Apparently had lived a very full and interesting life raising spirits and whatnot. Everyone had to go sometime, right?
“What am I going to do now?” Regge sagged against the wall.
“Am I missing something here?” Julian asked.
“Shut up,” Abraham said and turned to the kid, his hand gripping his shoulder. “Come on, we’ll figure something out.”
Behind them, in the lobby, the elevator dinged. Julian opened his mouth to call out, sure it was his security. He was stopped by Abraham’s hand clamping over his mouth. The big guy hissed to the others. “Everybody, get to the car now.” Everyone took off. Pery had slung the necromancer over his shoulder. Julian was dragged backward into a supply closet, forced to the floor, and patted on the head with the words “Sit tight.”
“Wait, Abraham. You can’t leave me here,” Julian pleaded. “I’m a dead man if you leave me here. It doesn’t matter that Ramon died of his own stupidity. His men are scouring the building right now, and Ramon’s body is basically thawing outin my storage unit in the basement, which they will report to Cesar.”
“And that is my problem why?” Abraham’s hand was on the doorknob.
“Because if he catches me, I will tell him everything. I won’t want to. But Cesar has specific methods for those who displease him. So I can promise you, I will sing like a bird. He may not believe me. It is a fantastic story after all, but it may make him curious, just a little, to see exactly what happened to his son.”
The big man turned. “I can save him the trouble. Kill you now.” His eyes changed from the deep brown to the yellow of a big cat stalking prey. He transformed quicker than Julian could blink.
“No, no. Wait. The disk. The bronze thing the necromancer had. I can tell you where to find it.”
