Page 23 of Grave Beginnings

“Pack it in,” Angel called. “Necromancer Ken” and I have a DB callout.”

Kerry didn’t move, her expression focused.

Black spots pulsed at the edges of my vision.

“Kerry,” Wade said.

I tried to free an arm, a leg, anything, but my lungs burned for air.

“Kerry,” Angel’s voice was sharper. “Let him go.”

She whispered something in clicks and hisses. I blinked through a rainbow of warning color pops in my vision then gave all my strength to a shove. Her grip loosened and I flipped one knee up, around her shoulders, and swung her away from me in a half turn, scrambling away gasping.

“What the hell was that?” Angel demanded. He was facing Kerry, not me, as Wade helped me up.

“His eyes went black. Did you see?” Kerry asked, sounding proud of herself. “He’s got black in his band. Demon magic. I want to know what he can do.”

“DV never registers as more than a flicker. You could have killed him,” Wade said.

I flinched. “Can you allnotkill me on my first day?” I met Angel’s gaze. His eyes were narrowed with anger, though I didn’t think it was at me. “Can we use my fucking name please? Is that too much to ask?”

Angel raised a brow and said, “Jude.”

The way my body reacted to him saying my name was embarrassing. “DV? Demon variance? I thought I was SV.”

“You’re both,” Wade said, pointing at my arm. “Red and black. Double variance is rare, and demon variance is unheard of.”

“Great. I’m just a freak all around, I guess.” I kept Wadebetween Kerry and me. Succubus or not, I got the feeling that she didn’t like me much.

Angel stepped in front of me. “You able to get cleaned up for a body review?” I opened my mouth to snark, but he held up a hand. “The dead kind, not ours.”

“Not fair that you’re on to me already,” I grumbled. “Yeah. Let me shower and change. Can we get food on the way?”

“You can eat before a DB?” Angel asked.

I shrugged. “I’ve seen some really terrible stuff over the years, and had weeks of nothing but ick. If I didn’t learn to power through it, I’d have died from starvation ages ago.” I headed for the elevators and locker room, oddly happy to have some semblance of normality, even if it was a corpse.

8

After showering and changing,Angel gave me an SED vest and dropped me off in the cafeteria. “You can find your way out front, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Your stomach is growling loud enough for everyone to hear, and I need to grab a car. Hopefully one that doesn’t stink like rotting bodies or vomit. Grab something to eat, and I’ll meet you out front.”

“You want something?” I called as he walked away.

“Sure. Grab whatever. I’m easy.”

I raised a brow in his direction.

He laughed as though he knew what I was fighting not to say. It was nice that he seemed okay joking with me. The banter would make the job transition smoother. “Coffee and a sandwich.”

“No allergies?”

“Nope. You?” he asked as he walked backward for a few feet.

“Only to a bag of dicks.”