REBORN AS A NECROMANCER : BUILDING THE ULTIMATE UNDEAD ARMY

"Fucking draugr," Kaine muttered, leaping from one rooftop to the next with practiced ease. His ribs still ached where the creature's claws had found their mark, and his coat was torn in three places. "Should've just torched the restaurant and called it a day."

Marcus landed silently beside him, pale eyes reflecting the city lights below. The ghoul's wounds had already healed completely, leaving only torn fabric as evidence of their earlier fight.

The system notification had come through right after Marcus had separated the draugr's head from its shoulders—500 ME for the kill, plus another 300 for what turned out to be the creature's last victim. Some poor bastard who'd been dragged into that storage room for dinner. Fresh blood, warm flesh. The draugr had been in the middle of feeding when they'd interrupted.

'At least someone's mortal essence got put to good use,' Kaine thought grimly.

They moved across the industrial district with the fluid grace of predators, heading toward the address their client had provided. Mrs. Kendricks had called three hours ago, convinced her twenty-two-year-old son was dating a bloodsucker. Standard paranoid parent bullshit, except she was paying triple rates for discretion.

"Kid's probably just dating someone with a goth phase," Kaine said to Marcus as they dropped down into an alley. "But who am I to turn down a handful of cash"

The target location was a converted loft building in the arts district—the kind of place where trust fund kids played at being bohemian while daddy paid the rent. According to Mrs. Kendricks, her son Tommy had been spending every night here with his new girlfriend, coming home pale and exhausted.

'Either she's a vampire or she's just really good in bed.'

They scaled the fire escape of the adjacent building, giving them a clear view into the loft's oversized windows. The space was typical young adult chic—exposed brick, industrial lighting, furniture that cost more than most people's cars but was designed to look like it came from a thrift store.

And there they were.

Tommy Kendricks was sprawled on a leather couch, looking exactly as tired as his mother had described. Dark circles under his eyes, skin with that translucent quality that came from too little sleep and too much stress. Beside him sat a petite redhead in ripped jeans and a vintage band t-shirt.

Kaine activated his Death Sight, scanning both figures through the window.

Tommy showed up as a normal human—warm, pulsing life signature with no supernatural taint. The girl was the same. Just two regular kids being regular kids.

"Well, that was easy," he said to Marcus. "Kid's dating a human. Case closed."

But they watched for another hour anyway, because thoroughness was what separated professional hunters from dead ones. The couple talked, laughed, ordered takeout. Normal relationship stuff. No feeding, no supernatural behavior, no signs of vampiric influence.

Kaine was pulling out his phone to call Mrs. Kendricks when it buzzed with an incoming call. Rebecca's name lit up the screen.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Mmm, hey there, hunter." Her voice was breathless, slightly strained. "How's the monster slaying going?"

"Just finished actually. Standard false alarm." He glanced at Marcus, who was staring at him with those unsettling pale eyes. "What's up? You sound out of breath. You running?"

"No," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "I'm doing yoga. Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd stretch myself out. For you."

The last two words carried enough heat to make his jaw clench. "Rebecca..."

"I'm in that position where my ass is in the air and my back is arched," she continued, voice dropping to a purr. "The one where you can see everything. Remember that position?"

Kaine looked at Marcus again. The ghoul was still staring at him, head tilted with what might have been curiosity. Or judgment. Hard to tell with the undead.

"I remember," he said.

"Good. Because I'm thinking about some few hours ago. About how you felt inside me. How you made me scream." She let out a soft moan that went straight to his cock. "God, I'm so wet just thinking about it."

"Jesus, Rebecca." Help us out by reading on M|V|LEM5PYR.

"I wish you were here right now. I wish you were behind me, hands on my hips, that thick cock sliding into me while I'm bent over like this."

Marcus tilted his head the other way, like he was listening to both sides of the conversation. Which was impossible, but still unnerving as hell.

"I'm working," Kaine said, though his voice had gone rough.

"I know. But when you get home..." She made another one of those soft sounds that made his blood heat. "I'm going to be waiting. In that position. Ready for you."

"Fuck."

"Exactly." She laughed, breathless and wicked. "Don't keep me waiting too long, vampire hunter. I'm already so close just from thinking about you."

The line went dead, leaving Kaine staring at his phone and trying to ignore the way his body had responded to her voice. Marcus was still watching him with those pale, knowing eyes.

"Don't," Kaine said flatly.

The ghoul said nothing, but somehow managed to look amused anyway.

Before Kaine could lecture his undead companion about boundaries, his phone buzzed again. This time it was Gwen.

"Any luck with the draugr?" she asked without preamble. Kaine had texted her to let her in on the situation before hand.

"Dead. Messily. In front of witnesses." He rubbed his temples. "Shadow Guard's going to be cleaning up that mess for hours."

"Good. I've been making progress on the X&O case. Found some interesting books, traced a few connections. When you're done with your client work, swing by my place. I think I know who we're looking for."

"You found the killer?"

"Not yet. But I found out what he's trying to do. And Kaine? It's worse than we thought."

The line went dead. Two calls, two women, two very different kinds of danger. Story of his undead life.

"Come on," he said to Marcus. "Let's wrap this up and get out of here."

They made their way down to street level and around the block, heading where they could get a quick transportation. The neighborhood was quiet at this hour—most of the artists and hipsters had either gone home or moved on to late-night parties elsewhere.

That's when Kaine smelled it.

Blood. Fresh blood, with that particular metallic sweetness that meant violent death.

He stopped walking, nostrils flaring. Marcus had caught the scent too, his pale eyes scanning the darkness ahead of them.

"This way," Kaine said quietly.

The smell led them down a narrow alley between two converted warehouses. At the far end, barely visible in the shadows, two figures lay sprawled on the concrete.

Kaine approached carefully, Death Sight active, scanning for any signs of lingering supernatural presence. But whatever had done this was long gone.

The bodies were positioned with deliberate care. A young man lay on his back, arms spread wide, a perfect X carved deep into his chest. Beside him, a young woman was curled on her side, an O carved into her forehead.

Both had been drained of blood. Both were pale as marble in the dim light.

Both looked exactly like Tommy Kendricks and his girlfriend.

"Fuck me sideways," Kaine whispered.

He pulled out his phone, activating the flashlight function. The harsh LED glare confirmed what he'd already known. Same faces he'd been watching through the loft window less than an hour ago. Same clothes. Same everything.

Except these two were very, very dead.

The timeline hit him like a punch to the gut. He'd been watching them alive and normal in the loft. Then Rebecca called. Then Gwen called. Ten minutes of distracted conversation while he stood on a rooftop with his thumb up his ass.

At the most, ten minutes was all the killer had needed.

"The X&O killer was here," Kaine said grimly. "Recently. Maybe while we were watching the fucking imposters upstairs."

He pulled out his phone and dialed Gwen's number.

"Changed my mind," he said when she answered. "I'm coming over now. And prep whatever drimk you've got. All of them."

"What happened?"

"I just found our killer's latest work. Two fresh bodies, X and O carved right into them. And Gwen? I think the son of a bitch was watching me while I was watching him."

He hung up and looked down at the bodies again. Tommy Kendricks and his girlfriend, whoever she really was. Young, attractive, in love. Dead because some ancient monster needed them for his sick ritual game.

'I was maybe fifty yards away from the bastard. Could have ended this whole thing tonight if I'd paid attention to the right details.'

But he hadn't. He'd been focused on his client's paranoia, on Rebecca's voice in his ear, on everything except the real threat that had been lurking in the shadows.

The X&O killer was still out there. Still hunting. Still carving his way through the city's young couples.

And Kaine had no idea who he was looking for.