Aftermath of the Reckoning

Chapter 30

Nex felt them on his territory now, he didn’t need Joseph’s constant reminders that visitors had arrived. The boy jumped excitedly, and ran circles around the three embers that sat quietly. Normally engulfed in flame, the wolf shaped beasts remained motionless like statues as dusk approached, they barely even glowed.

“Uncle Nex! They’re here! I saw them again today but they didn’t see me. I stayed hidden, just like you said.” 

Still reclining against his own tombstone, Nex responded with weariness in his voice, “That is good, Joseph. Now, remember what we talked about?”

Suddenly the boy stopped running and the joy drained from his face. “But...but I don’t want to take a nap…”

Nex raised an eyebrow and studied the boy briefly. Could Freya’s enticement be wearing off? “Are you sure? Aren’t you feeling a little...sleepy?”

The boy frowned slightly and then opened his mouth wide in a yawn. “Uncle Nex, I’m feeling tired. Can I go lie down?”

Nex cursed mentally. Freya made everything so easy. For all he knew, she could have him under mind control too. Still, the boy did seem to put up more resistance nowadays, so perhaps there were some limits to her power. “Yes Joshua, go back to your room and sleep. I’ll awaken you when it is time for dinner.”

Stifling another yawn, the boy responded, “Thanks Uncle Nex.” He walked toward the mausoleum. Lilith flashed momentarily, like lighter fluid tossed onto burning coals, and proceeded to follow behind Joseph protectively. After they both disappeared and closed the mausoleum door, Nex watched the setting sun and thought about events to come.

Though Freya gave him little detail, he did know that the arrivals would request something that only he could provide. He suspected the thief to be the same girl that stole the Bloodflower. Had it already been two weeks since that event? It mattered not, the Bloodflower never belonged to him anyway. They would never be able to make use of it. Perhaps they’d already discovered as much and wanted his help. Or perhaps they wanted one of his more valuable possessions.

And this one-armed man, who could that be? So rarely did he receive visitors, the embers made sure of that. He almost wanted to get up and walk out to meet them. Almost. After waiting for so many years, very few things could garner enough of his attention to induce action. Likely this event would be as boring as the rest of the last ten years. Likely.

***

As Zoey stepped off the dirt road and onto the sparse brown grass of the graveyard, she braced herself for the familiar scent of decay that permeated the air. A normal graveyard should not smell like this, it should not reek of decomposing bodies left out too long in the sun. She suppressed an urge to vomit and noticed Lucas doing the same.

“Oh, no...no I can’t do this.” Lucas shook his head in disgust. Still burdened with Patch’s right arm around his shoulders, he abruptly stopped and moved back to the road. “How is it that it smells fine here?”

Zoey returned to the road. The sickening scent immediately disappeared and she breathed easily once more. “I don’t know. It was like this last time too. You stay here on the road with Patch. I’ll go and talk with Nex alone.”

“Gladly.”

“If for any reason you allow him to get hurt…”

Lucas smirked, “Don’t worry, I ain’t going to let your little puppy get hurt. Looks like he’s practically asleep on my shoulder anyway. Poor thing.”

Zoey resisted the desire to smash Lucas in the face. She would have to wait on that. At the moment, she needed to get the information as quickly as possible and leave. She turned and walked back into the graveyard, doing her best to ignore the smell.