Liam cringed. For her, that was down right polite. But for everyone else on the planet, not so much.

No answer. Wait, not quite true. The answer came in the form of the zombies shambling and running toward them.

“Ah, fuck.” Rylee bolted forward and he knew what she planned. He ran beside her. If they could break through a thin part of the ranks, they might be able to make it to the house. But like always, Rylee wasn’t thinking too far ahead. She only saw surviving this instant, not what would happen when the necromancer saw her charging up the hill with her swords and two wolves at her side.

There was nothing for it.

They hit the line of zombies hard. Rylee’s blades flashed and he barreled into those coming from her right flank. Teeth and claw slashed into the dead flesh, skin and bones busting with ease. But there were so many of them. A set of teeth sunk into his hip and he spun, shaking the zombie off, but not before it took a piece of him with it.

Growling and snarling, he fought, his wolf loving the rawness of the battle, the sheer love of being by his mate’s side and keeping her safe. Of fighting for her and protecting her.

The zombies didn’t break, they kept coming, but from one breath to the next, they were through the line.

“Erik, run!” Rylee shouted, blood dripping from a deep scratch down her neck, and what looked like teeth marks scraping her arm. The older man didn’t question her, just bolted for the house. His eyes, so reminiscent of Rylee’s, were wide with a fear hard wired into every human. Finding out the dead could truly walk and were a hazard to your health when controlled by a less-than-friendly necromancer were something of a blow to the human psyche. Even one who rode a dragon.

Liam loped behind them, keeping himself between Rylee and the zombies, who were only now figuring out they’d lost their prey. Alex, seeing where he was, dropped back beside him.

That was when the ground rumbled and a hand shot out of it. A hand big enough to grab them both and squeeze the life out of them without even trying.

There was no warning, just an explosion of dirt behind us. I spun mid stride to see Liam and Alex caught up in a dead, rotting hand that could only be a giant’s.

A zombie giant. My brain stuttered over the image and I didn’t know if it was even possible. Yet, here it was, happening.

“Holy hell,” Erik breathed out, stumbling backward, fear clinging to his words.

Yeah, those were my thoughts exactly. I ran down the hill, slipping and sliding as the earth continued to shift and the giant fought to emerge from the dirt that had held it for who the fuck only knew how many years.

Alex screamed a high pitched shriek that hurt my soul, but Liam was quiet. All I saw was black fur, legs and one tail sticking out between fingers. They weren’t far above ground and I jumped, driving my sword up through the wrist of the dead giant. Pain wasn’t going to work here. I had to cut the hand off.

“Erik, help me!” I screamed and moments later he was at my side. Below us, the smaller and suddenly harmless seeming zombies continued up the slope. A minute, maybe two, was all we had before we were surrounded and the giant was fully out of the ground.

Erik stood on the uphill side of the wrist and slashed downward as I stood on the downhill side and slashed up. The wrist began to tip as we hacked, and my breath came in sharp bursts as fear and panic drove me.

Screaming, I gave a final furious slash and the wrist dropped off, the fingers relaxing enough for Liam and Alex to wriggle out. A hand grabbed me from behind and I spun, driving my elbow into rotting teeth.

“Get off me, you dead motherfuckers!”

I bolted forward, taking in the way Alex limped, the crooked angle of his front leg. “To the house! Now!”

The giant was pulling itself out of the ground with a draining, slimy stump and a hand; its head finally broke the surface.

Fuckity fuck fuck. This was not going to end well. The four of us ran, each dragging in air as if that breath would be our last. At the top of the hill the house lights flicked off, all at once.

I didn’t give a shit; we were going in.

One way or another.

The front door opened with one kick, and I stepped inside, the three boys following me closely.

“Shut the door, bar it with a chair. That’ll keep them out for a minute or two.”

Liam shifted and let out a groan. I handed him clothes that were tucked inside my jacket. He dressed quickly. “I understand how bad the rib crushing you took was now.”

I put a hand to him, worry streaking through me. “How bad?”

“They’re healing already.”

That was enough for me. I checked Alex’s leg. The break was clean and though he whimpered when I touched him, like Liam he was healing. Perks for being a werewolf.

“Erik, you okay?”

“For standing in the pitch black house of necromancer, a horde of zombies outside and a dead giant wanting to grind my bones, I’m doing bloody peachy.”

“Good. Because we aren’t done yet.” I took in a slow breath. “You two smell anything?”

Alex grunted and snapped his teeth together before answering. “Stupid necromancer.”

“Nothing but the one person.” Liam said, his voice low.

But I wasn’t about to be quiet. “Necromancer, we need your help.”

The floorboards upstairs creaked and then a man shouted down to us, but his voice echoed and bounced around, like a ventriloquist throwing it.

“So explain to me why you are such a rude little bitch? Hmmm? You ask for help and then a foulness of cursing flows out of your lips. That does not seem to be a smart move when begging for help.”

“I’m a Tracker. Foul language isn’t personal. I didn’t tell you to fuck off or kiss my ass. That would be personal.” I stepped closer to the stairs. I could see better in the dim light. I took a chance, hoping that blunt honesty and begging would get our point across. “Please. Our friends are trapped within the deep veil and Orion is going to kill them. Or worse, he will take possession of the baby my one friend is carrying. Damn it all to hell and back, we are desperate. You think we would face down a zombie horde for nothing?”

The wood above us creaked again and there was a scuffle of a footstep, and then front door knob rattled. I spun as did Liam, Alex and Erik. In the windows along the house stood zombies. Waiting for the signal to come in and finish us off.

The necromancer’s voice boomed, though his tone was slightly less threatening. “I should have known you were a Tracker. Do you know Jack? We worked together once, many years ago.”