Boneyard (The Thaumaturge Series Book 2) by Cal Matthews Read Free Book Online Page A

her stuttered breathing. She turned terrified eyes on us, tears steadily leaking down her cheeks. She gestured helplessly. “What do I do now?”
    We all looked at the writhing corpse. It struggled to lift its head off the recliner, rotating its head in jerky twitches of its neck. Its mouth smacked open and closed.
    “Dana,” I said, staring at the thing in disgust. “I’m so sorry.”
    Her tear-filled eyes turned on me. “What—what happened?!” the last part came out a wail. “Did it work?”
    “I could fix his body,” I explained. “But his soul... I couldn’t find his soul.”
    “What does that even mean?” she cried. “Is he alive?”
    “Well, technically,” Leo said. “The lights are on, but no one’s home, if you know what I mean.”
    “Christ, Leo,” I muttered under my breath.
    Dana’s brows knitted together and she looked back and forth between us. Her mouth trembled. “I don’t understand,” she whispered.
    “I’m sorry,” I said again. “I’m pretty sure that he’ll stop. I mean, he’ll go... back. I think. I’m pretty sure.” I swallowed a few times, trying to work spit down my sore throat and trying to think of something—anything—of comfort to tell her. When I could think of nothing and the silence stretched on too long, she looked away with a little sob.
    “Go back?” she asked, tears flowing freely down her face again. “You mean die again? He won’t stay like this?”
    “I’m pretty sure,” I said. I turned to Leo for support, but he just tugged on my shoulder a little, trying to get me to move towards the door.
    “What do I do?” she cried.
    “Call the police,” Leo replied. He tugged at me harder, locking one hand around my wrist.
    “The police?” she cried. “And tell them what?”
    “Tell them that you just found him like this,” Leo said patiently. “He’s alive, technically. They’ll take him to the hospital.”
    Her eyes cut to me. “How long will he stay like this?”
    “I don’t know,” I said miserably. I looked at the corpse again, watching him writhe in the confines of the chair.
    “You couldn’t reach him,” Leo prompted. “You came to check on him and found him like this.”
    “But—but—”
    “He has a heartbeat,” I said, leaning heavily against Leo’s side. “He’s technically alive, but I don’t think it will last. Not without the soul. I don’t know what else to tell you, Dana.”
    “I just don’t know,” she whispered.
    “Dana, I am so, so sorry.”
    “Ebron,” Leo whispered. “I can take care of it, if you want.”
    “Shut up,” I whispered back but Dana’s head shot up. She fixed onto Leo with hard eyes.
    “No,” she said. “You won’t... do that. I don’t want you to.”
    Leo shrugged. “Then call the police. I think Ebron has Officer Metz's number, if you want that.”
    “Fucking asshole,” I muttered to him, but he didn't even look at me.
    “Are you leaving?” she asked, suddenly noticing that Leo was manhandling me through the maze of garbage. “You're leaving me here? It's after midnight and you're leaving me with... him?”
    “We can give you a ride to town,” Leo offered, but I could tell his patience was wearing thin.
    She began to cry again, helpless, angry tears spilling over her cheeks. She covered her mouth with one hand and just cried. We waited for a beat, but when neither Leo nor I spoke again, she turned her red, desperate eyes back on us.
    “Just go,” she cried. “Just go.”
    “I'm sorry,” I said again, but she turned away. I could still hear her cries, even as Leo bundled me into the truck. Or I thought I could.
     
    “So that didn't go well,” Leo said a few miles down the road. I rolled the window down and shoved my head out, hoping the wind would blow the smell out of my nose and my memory.
    “I told you I couldn't,” I said, a little peevishly.
    “I know, I just—what happened?” Leo tugged at my sleeve impatiently, pulling me from the window.
    I sat back