“There are places,” Ziggy said. “We call them crematoriums. An indoor pyre, if you will.”
Cobb looked over at Pery from the passenger seat. “Drop us at the hotel and head to the warehouse. I’ll tell Abraham that’s where you’re going.”
Pery dropped us off around the side. Not-Hunter walked slowly beside me, trudging every step. Being inhabited by an ancient being was taking its toll.
“Are you okay?” I asked as we fell behind the others.
Anu stopped, taking a long breath. “Your friend’s body is healthy and young, but I am dying. If we don’t complete the ritual soon, it may be too late.”
“And then what?”
He shrugged. “Your technology can keep a body functioning for some time without its consciousness. This would not be ideal.”
“Bloody right, it’s not.”
“This is why we are forbidden to resurrect or transfer ourselves to another. Our essence is simply too strong to cohabitate with a simple human.”
I digested Anu’s words. A sadness etched its way through me. My gaze flickered over the hotel lobby. The building seemed to groan with the wind outside. Cobb and Ziggy stood halfway between the lobby and the staircase. I guided Anu to the lumpy couch, passing by the empty reception desk. A few minutes later, Abraham banged on the glass front doors.
I raced to let him in. He carried Julian in front of him, the mobster’s white shirt soaked through with blood, his skin pale.
“Is he dead?”
At Abraham’s head shake, I pointed to the elevator, but he took the stairs. Rapidly, considering he was carrying a large man. Ziggy hustled beside him as Abraham huffed out his story.
“The bullet was meant for me. He saved my life. I thought I should return the favor.”
The empty room was a hub of activity. Ziggy had cleared off a counter for her patient. Her normally soft demeanor changed to authoritative as she worked.
“I need the IV equipment set up and lots of gauze. I’ve got to get this bleeding stopped.” She looked at Not-Hunter who had settled into the only chair in the room. “Hunter, ah… damn it. I could use his help. Regge, throw some gloves on and jump in here.” I pulled the latex over my hands and pressed where she told me to. A wad of gauze soaked up blood. “Pressure there, don’t let up.”
Across the room, the necromancer sighed, winded from his trek down the hall. “His essence is strong. Too bad the vessel seems too damaged.”
Ziggy and I glanced at each other across Julian’s body. “Let me in there,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I turned to Anu as she worked. “Master Anu, can you do the ritual? Can you use Julian as your vessel? Would that help to save him?”
He shook his head vehemently. “Absolutely not. It is forbidden to force ourselves into another soul. This—” He indicated the body he occupied. “Was an accident.”
“Even if it saves his life?” My voice pitched up in desperation. “And what about Hunter?”
“Death is merely the end of life, as you know it.”
“Life is precious,” Ziggy argued. “And we will save him if we can.”
“Please,” I begged. “I need Hunter back.”
Anu heaved himself off the chair. “Lyncus.” He addressed Abraham. “Fetch me the copper bowl from my room.”
Abraham stopped at the door. “Oh, yeah. Julian gave me this.” He handed over the medallion.
Anu spoke with a touch of Hunter’s normal tone, his humanity. “Perhaps there is something… You.” He turned to Cobb. “Light the candles in a circle. His blood will do. We do not need much.” Anu took some of the blood-soaked gauze, wringing it over the bowl as he chanted.
Next to me, Ziggy had her hands in Julian’s chest.
“Damn it. It isn’t working. I’ve slowed the bleeding, but the bullet nicked an artery.”
The necromancer glanced at Ziggy. “Perhaps he can heal from the inside, but the ritual takes energy and mine is waning.” He sighed. “Everything takes energy.”
