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Up From the Grave

Night Huntress - 7

by

Jeaniene Frost

To the fans of the Night Huntress series, thank you for letting Cat and Bones into your lives.

This one’s for you!

Acknowledgments

If I mentioned everyone who played a critical role in the success of the Night Huntress series, it would take several pages. Many of you I will never know about, but I owe you my thanks nonetheless. Therefore, I’m only going to highlight two people here, hoping that the rest of you know how deeply appreciated you are. With that being said .  .  . thank you, God, for the career You have gifted me with. It wasn’t done with the strength of my hands, but the blessings from Yours. On the publishing side, I wouldn’t have been able to share Cat and Bones with anyone if not for my editor, Erika Tsang. Back in 2006, she took a chance on a new author with a story that didn’t fit neatly into the urban fantasy or the paranormal romance genre. Needless to say, I will always be grateful.

Prologue

Crunch.

The sound was a relief. So was the sudden limpness in the form underneath her. It was over.

She jumped off the body before it started leaking as they all did. Then she stood at attention, careful not to look directly at the old man who watched her from behind a thick layer of glass. He didn’t like it when she stared into his eyes.

The man pursed his lips as he considered the results of her latest test. Not a muscle moved, but inwardly, she smiled at the melody that kept repeating in his mind. Her other instructors rarely sang in their thoughts, yet he did. Every time. If it wouldn’t have made him mad, she would’ve told him she enjoyed it, but her instructor didn’t like people prying into his mind.

She’d overheard that shortly after getting the ability, so she never told him about it.

“Seven seconds,” he said at last, glancing down at the body. “These subjects no longer represent a challenge to you. ”

He sounded pleased, but still she didn’t smile. Displays of emotion led to too many questions, and she wanted to get back to her manuals.

“It’s time to move on to the next phase,” he continued.

The words seemed to be directed at her, yet he was really speaking to the man behind the mirrored glass twenty meters above him. Since she wasn’t supposed to know he was there, however, she nodded.

“I’m ready. ”

“Are you?”

The way he drew out the words warned her that this next test wouldn’t be easy, which was why she couldn’t stop her surprised blink when the chute above her opened and a new subject tumbled into the arena. It looked similar to the others she’d neutralized, but when it leapt up and faced her, she understood. Her new opponent had no heartbeat.

“What is it?” she asked, her own heart starting to beat faster.

Her opponent had a question, too.

“What the fuck is this?”

“Neutralize it,” her gray-haired instructor commanded.

She hid her disappointment. Perhaps if she finished quickly, she’d be rewarded with an answer. At the very least, neutralizing this .  .  . thing would give her more information.