Chapter 9

9

B y the time Vanth made it into the freezer room, Andres had pulled out both bodies. Elektra's face had become a cool mask, the mischievous light in her eyes already gone.

Vanth stood back to watch. It would be better to keep out of her way. His magic hummed under his skin, restless and hungry. Elektra unzipped the first body bag. The sigils that Vanth had seen were still showing on her skin.

"The magic from this spell has already been released," Elektra commented. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves before examining the marks.

"Thoughts?" Vanth asked, taking a step closer.

"Definitely Lazarus's work or maybe a follower. These marks are his."

Vanth nodded like he knew what she was talking about. He had never seen sacrificial magic like it before. He understood about sigil work. Every magic user utilized them at some point or another. They became highly personalized to focus the power and intent behind them. They were almost like signatures that could be used to identify the practitioner.

"Her soul is gone," Elektra said sadly, bringing Vanth out of his thoughts. "I'll look at the other body now. Thank you, Andres."

The small fae hurried to unzip it, and the heavy thrum of power radiated out of it.

"Do you feel that?" Vanth whispered, the magic almost choking him.

Elektra turned to him. "Assist me, Vanth," she said.

"Don't tell me what to do, princess," he replied but still put on a pair of gloves and joined her.

The second female's skin was pale and blank.

"Where are the marks? I can feel them just hovering under the surface," Elektra said and looked at him. "How did you get them to show last time?"

Vanth hesitated. "I can show you, but you might not like it."

"We don't have time to get squeamish about each other's methods," Elektra said and made a hurry-up gesture at him.

Vanth licked his gloved thumb and sketched his own revealing sigil on the dead female's chest. Power slithered over her dead flesh like smoke, and the dark marks became clear. Vanth's skin itched. The body was full of unspent power, just like the other one had been.

Elektra placed her hand over the female's eyes. "I can still feel her soul trapped in there," she whispered, horror lacing her words. "It's fueling the spell."

"If that's the case, why burn them? Why not use them as batteries?" Vanth asked, brows drawing together. "Sacrificial magic is fucked up and takes a lot of effort. Why go through it all and then toss the bodies away?"

"Perhaps fire added a layer to the spell," Elektra mused. She went into her bag and pulled out a small clay lamp about the size of her palm. It had scythes and other symbols carved into the sides that Vanth didn't recognize.

Vanth had seen lamps like it before, but only artifacts at the catacombs in Rome. The little lamps had been found in the thousands; their lights used to help people find the resting places of their loved ones.

Instead of oil, Elektra's lamp was filled with something else. There was sandalwood and myrrh, but everything else Vanth couldn't identify. Smoke rose in silvery lines from the lamp and covered the body.

When nothing happened, Elektra swore. Taking a sharp dagger from her bag, she cut the pad of her thumb. Elektra opened the dead woman's mouth and dripped blood over her teeth.

Vanth sucked in a breath as power filled the room. It was as dark as night and searing as the cold fire of the stars. It raced across his senses and tasted like black wine on his tongue. He had never experienced a magical signature like it before. He wanted to lick it straight off her lips. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to focus.

Elektra leaned down and whispered something into the dead female's ear. "The magic is holding her soul in place. I am trying to release it so that she can give us information. Can you see where the block is?"

Vanth shook himself and went to join her by the body. The sigils burned into her skin and seemed to shiver as he approached.

He ran his hand over the body, careful not to touch her. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that Elektra was there watching him. Most of the time his magic operated on instinct and not on any learning that he had gotten from books. His fingers paused over her stomach, where a twisting line seemed to burn hotter than any of the others.

"This here. This is what's acting as a soul trap. It feels different to the others," Vanth said and then moved out of her way.

Elektra didn't argue with him, which surprised him. She only nodded and used her still-bleeding thumb to strike a line through the sigil. Instantly, the air pressure went pop, and a ghost rose from the female's body. Like all ghosts, she looked around, disorientated, as if she didn't know how she got there.

"Look at me, Heidi," Elektra commanded, and the ghost's face swiveled towards her.

"He came for us in the night," Heidi said, her voice barely above a whisper. "There was so much screaming. So much blood. We tried to fight him, but nothing seemed to work."

Elektra's teeth ground together. "Was it Lazarus?"

Heidi covered her face with her hands. "We tried to fight him," she repeated.

The ghost was on a loop—the usual side effect if the person's death had been traumatic. Vanth stepped forward because Elektra looked like she was about to throw up.

"Where did he take you, Heidi?" he asked. "Do you remember where you were when you died?"

Heidi removed her hands from her face. "It was dark. It was cold. There was a strange smell in the air, like sewage and bleach. Someone had tried to cover up the smell, but there was no getting rid of it. He's so powerful. No one is going to be strong enough to stop him."

"Stop him from doing what?" Vanth asked.

Large ghostly eyes hovered in front of him. Heidi's outline became brighter, and Vanth saw that Elektra had put her hand on the ghost, and it was feeding off her energy.

"They're trying to raise your father. Lock him down tight and get him to do their will. They're going to control the Veil." Heidi turned to Elektra. "That's all I know. Now let me go. I am so tired."

Elektra took out one of her sickles and flipped the blade free. "May you find peace in your afterlife, sister." With that goodbye, she swung her sickle, severing the ghost and soul from the body, and Heidi disappeared with a smile.

Vanth was shaking. He had no idea who his father was, but he had to be dead if they were trying to raise him. Elektra re-sheathed her sickles.

"That settles it. We need to go and talk to your mother," she said.

Before he could reply, she swayed. He raced forward and caught her before she hit the cold tiles. She was completely out cold in his arms, and he tightened his grip on her.

"Looks like visiting is going to have to wait until tomorrow, princess."

Andres was nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot. "What should I do with the bodies?"

"Burn them," Vanth said without hesitation. "Let them be at rest. There is nothing we can do for them now. I'm going to take this troublesome necromancer home."

Andres's whole demeanor shifted, his eyes turning ancient and deadly. "You will see no harm comes to her."

"For fuck's sake, Andres. I'm going to look after her. She's been on the run for days and used the last of her energy on that shade."

Vanth looked down at Elektra's sleeping face. What in all the hells had she brought to his door?