The secret tomb, p.1
The Secret Tomb, page 1
The Secret Tomb
SCOUT THORNE
BOOK ONE
N GRAY
Copyright © 2023 by N Gray
All rights reserved
No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
The Secret Tomb is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published in South Africa by Cutman Press
Cover by Deranged Doctor Design
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
31. Three weeks later…
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One
Victor stood beside his older brother and watched the madman show them how they could use the mask. But the real reason for the demonstration—they needed to determine whether it was the right mask. Harry ‘Houdini’ Morris pulled the cart closer so they could see clearly.
The darkness of the night never bothered Victor, he thrived in it. He did his best work at night, using the shadows to blend in, but tonight his eyes scratched, and the blackness troubled him for some unexplained reason.
Victor’s older brother, Seth, was as impatient as a young child waiting anxiously for Father Christmas to deliver his presents.
“Father is going to get a kick out of this,” Seth said, grinning from ear to ear. His emerald-colored eyes sparkled like jewels in the starless sky. “He’s been looking for this mask for centuries.”
Victor rolled his eyes. It was true, their father, the King of the Underworld, had been looking for the mask, but only because he wanted to destroy it. Their father was afraid of anything that posed a threat to his power, and their father didn’t want to lose his position within the supernatural world. Which was understandable. Neither did Victor nor his brother.
Harry made an exaggerated show of draping his coat over his shoulder and crouched behind the old cart. The action reminded Victor of the good times when there was no electricity, and gaining souls for his pleasure was easier. He, too, walked around in a long black coat and top hat, enticing men and women with delicious sins for their pathetic soul. These days, it was all about the latest electronics or immediate gratification that created the shortest attention spans.
Harry coughed, gaining Victor’s attention. Victor smiled knowingly; it seemed he too had a short attention span.
Harry slowly opened a large vintage wooden chest held in the cart. “My Dark Lord’s, thank you for meeting me here,” he said, gesturing at the ancient cemetery. “It’s rare my Lord’s venture out of the Underworld, but I assure you tonight will be worth your while.”
“Just get on with it, human,” Victor snapped, his eyes burning red. “Before I eat your soul.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Harry muttered and stood straighter. “We found the mask that was once lost,” Harry said, pulling a never-ending cloth out of his pocket. “It wasn’t easy to find, and we had casualties. When my men found this hidden in a secret tomb, I knew who the rightful owners were—”
“You weren’t interested in the riches that could come with finding such an artifact?” Victor asked suspiciously. His left eye itched as he watched Harry with the cloth and wondered why the distraction. “You could’ve auctioned this off to the highest bidder.”
“Oh, no my Lord,” Harry said, sweeping his arm low and bowing down. “It is not riches I’m after.” He stood up and continued pulling the never-ending cloth out of his pocket. Once done, he threw the cloth on the ground but kept the ring that was tied to it.
“Then what do you seek?” Victor asked. His tone was louder and harsher than normal, making Harry flinch.
“Only to serve,” Harry said, averting his eyes. “I wish to serve the Dark Prince’s in the Underworld and when it is time, you will ensure my family gets what they deserve.” Harry’s eyes flitted to Victor and then to Seth before staring at the ground once more.
“Why?” Victor’s suspicion grew. Nobody willingly gave something away for free, along with their soul. Was this charade only so that he could exact revenge on his family? It made little sense.
“I assure you,” Harry said, glancing at Victor. He stepped closer to the dark angel, whose black wings had opened and now spread wide, displaying his power over the human. “My time here has ended, and I wish to become a servant in your world. I honestly have had enough of this world,” he swept his hands wide, “I’m sixty-seven and my tricks are old in these times. Nobody wishes to see an old man perform magic tricks. I can do nothing about my parents for sending me to that institute when I was a boy. They thought I was special when I was not. I only loved doing magic; that was what made me special. But my wife and kids are alive and well. I wish the worst to happen to them,” Harry said maliciously as his eyes filled with hate and narrowed.
“Ah, there it is. You wish revenge on your family?” Seth asked, nodding. “They treated you unkindly?”
“Yes, my Lord. They were cruel all my life. They never supported my shows or appreciated the life I’d given them. No matter how many hours I worked, the street corners I performed tricks on, did my family say thank you. Ever. And I think it’s time they all got what they deserved.”
Seth clapped his hands slowly, creating a sonic boom sound. “Deal, now let’s get on with the show.”
Victor glared daggers at his brother, who shrugged in response. “You’re far too trusting, brother. If anything happens, it’s your fault.”
“Yes, yes, as it always is.” Seth waved Victor away like he did when they were children and nodded curtly for Harry to continue.
Victor stared suspiciously at Seth.
Harry called someone over who had been lurking in the shadows of a tree. It surprised Victor because he hadn’t seen that person until they walked across the lawn. He was usually more aware of his surroundings and could tell the difference between hidden dangers and shadows. He tugged on his shirt, glancing over his shoulder and then back at the assistant as he approached the magician.
The assistant wore a matching red coat that billowed out behind him as he walked toward Harry. The assistant was younger than Harry, but that meant nothing; some supernaturals never aged at all, and from this distance, Victor couldn’t tell what he was. The assistant held open his hand, and an orb glowed blue in his palm; he was either a wizard or a warlock. When he closed his eyes and said an incantation, Victor heard and understood what was about to happen; he was going to raise the dead at their feet.
The ground vibrated, and the headstone near the necromancer toppled over. The sand dispersed, creating a hole big enough for the corpse to animate and sit up. But before the dead could rise, Harry removed the mask out of the wooden chest and slapped it on the necromancer’s face.
Two things happened at once; the corpse crumpled back inside its coffin like a dirty old rag. And the necromancer’s shoulders dropped when the orb disappeared, and he glared daggers at the magician.
“There we have it, my Lords; The Mask of Immortality or the opposite when used on any supernatural, rendering them powerless,” Harry said. His smile widening as he removed the mask from the assistant.
Harry’s eyes flitted from the brothers to the mask, and then something happened in slow motion. He raised the mask as if to praise it, then lowered it onto his face.
Harry grew twice his size, fell onto all four limbs as he shifted into something much bigger. He didn’t stop growing as he morphed into a gigantic wolf-orca hybrid; a killer whale on land. He swished his large, dark tail backward and forward. His head turning toward Victor and growled hungrily like a wolf.
Victor didn’t have time to transport himself back to the Underworld, and he didn’t have time to call for help as Harry ‘Houdini’ Morris lunged for him.
Two
Ralph ran to my right-hand side and away from the action. I stopped running and yelled, “Why are you going that way?” I shrugged when he turned to look at me. “The corpse went this way.” I pointed at the nearby shed, the door banging shut.
“You go that way, I’ll go this way,” Ralph said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. His wavy brown locks held tightly in a ponytail. Every couple of years, he’d either shave his hair close to his head or grew it long, reminding me of a
“Ha, funny.” I rolled my eyes. “But you’re going far off, buddy. The dead guy went inside the shed.”
“That’s what you think,” he sang and continued up the stairs and into the house. “I’ll flush him out,” he yelled. “Be ready with those deadly palms of yours.”
“Fine,” I yelled. “I’ll just catch him here,” I grumbled to myself, pulling my gloves out of my pants pocket and slipping them on. I crept toward the shed and slowly opened the door; the sun behind me casting the small room in enough light to see. “Where did you go, you zombie?” I mumbled to myself.
“Scout!” Ralph shouted.
I spun around in time to see the animated corpse reach for me, its beady black eyes dripping pus while the rest of his body losing chunks of rotten flesh in its wake. I couldn’t believe I missed him. For a dead guy, he was pretty smart and quick on his dead feet.
“Aaaaar,” mumbled the corpse. His head flopping from one side to the other while he growled with lips that were no longer there. He only had a few teeth left after the fight that had put him in the grave, and those few stood in different directions.
“Not today, buddy,” I said, shoving my palms into his chest.
The corpse grabbed my wrists, its slimy grip tightened.
“Ew, you’re so gross.” I gagged, then pulled a face when a chunk of green, rotten flesh fell on my new sneakers, which angered me. “No,” I screamed as I pushed my power into his chest, pushing the corpse backward.
Heavy footsteps stomped down the stairs and approached me. The corpse’s soul flew out of its body as Ralph stopped beside me, out of breath, and sprinkled salt around us. The salt wasn’t always necessary, but we needed it because the animated corpse was so volatile. And to my other side, Blaire, my mother, ran up to us, whispering an incantation, keeping the soul out of its body. The incantation was necessary but sometimes I’d forget to say it. When that happened, I had to work harder, pushing their souls out of their bodies.
I whistled a specific tune. The ghostly figure of the ferryman appeared in his phantom boat, scooped up the silently screaming soul, and continued on his merry way. His eyes glaring at me from the back of his head like it did every time. I no longer shuddered or glanced away, instead I waved and smiled.
I let go of the corpse and his body crumpled to the ground, and dusted my gloved hands. After flicking off chunky pieces of the corpse, I carefully removed the gloves. “All in a day’s work,” I said, beaming.
“Good job, my child,” Mom said, kissing my cheek. “But don’t relax too much. We have another case,” she thumbed behind her at Ralph’s vehicle. “I suggest we grab something to eat before heading that way.”
“Good,” Ralph said, grinning. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving,” I chortled, smacking his abdomen. “What’s the other case?” I asked, slipping my gloves into a plastic bag. They’ll need to be dry-cleaned before I could use them again, but I had another pair in the car.
Ever since I started working with Mom and Ralph at Ulysses Assassins, the need not to touch those we were after became greater. There was something about me shoving their souls out of their bodies that made me feel queasy, but wearing gloves seemed to remove the nausea.
“It’s at the aquarium. There’s an issue with their new orca,” Mom said, scratching the left side of her chest until it became inflamed. “And a village in Peru just vanished,” she said absentmindedly as she scrolled upward on her touchscreen phone. “Weird things are happening around the world,” she rambled, still scratching her chest with her free hand.
I reached for her and stopped her from scratching. “You’re about to make yourself bleed,” I said, pointing at the raw skin.
“Blaire seems to be allergic to the new detergent as well,” Ralph chimed in. “Come, I need food.”
Lately, my mom had been struggling with allergies; first it was tomatoes, then her shampoo, and now it’s her detergent.
“I’ll be fine. I’m seeing Mel later,” Mom said with an urgent need to scratch.
“Stop it.” I chastised her like she used to do to me. “You can’t see Mel now?” I asked. Mel was a werewolf and the doctor for every shifter in Sterling Meadow. She was great at what she did, and the wolves didn’t seem to mind sharing her with every supernatural. Years ago, when they formed the Were-Animal Alliance—the WAA—, Sterling Meadow became one of the safest towns for shifters and supernaturals to live in. Even the vampires didn’t seem to mind working with everyone.
“She’s busy with the leopards,” Mom said, rubbing the inflamed area with her index finger.
“You probably can’t put anything on that right now? It might sting the crap out of you.” I winced looking at the reddened area.
“I’ll be ok,” Mom said, slipping her arm through mine, and resting her head on my shoulder. We walked in silence toward Ralph’s vehicle, but before I opened my door, a warm wind caressed my cheek and all the hairs on my body stood on end.
Mom let go of me and spun around with her weapons drawn, ready to use it. I unsheathed my knife, glancing around for the attacker. Unfortunately, Ralph was very human and human slow. He noticed nothing until he turned around and saw us standing like we were ready to strike an invisible force.
Tiny blue sparks flickered at my fingertips, ready to blast this creature approaching.
In the distance, a tall, dark figure approached with a dog running beside him. I eyed him narrowly and mumbled his name.
“Who?” Mom asked, ready to pull the trigger.
The blue sparks at my fingertips died down like an ice-cold bucket of water washing over me and my heart stuttered in my chest. My breath caught in my throat, and I swallowed hard.
It was River…
Three
“What are you doing here?” I said through gritted teeth. “I told you never to seek me out ever again.” My anger coursed through my body like a shot of adrenaline. “You promised never to see me.” The last word came out softer than I hoped, and I swallowed hard, not trusting my voice to speak again.
Luna jumped up and down, her tail wagging, and her tongue hanging out of her mouth when she saw me. I couldn’t ignore this sweet girl. This fight was between me and her owner. I crouched down and scratched behind the Mexican Mutt’s ears.
River sighed heavily. “Your father needs you,” he whispered.
I glared up at him, but he averted his eyes. It didn’t help to show him how angry I was after our breakup if he wasn’t paying me any attention. I continued scratching behind Luna’s ears while she licked me, then I stood up.
Mom and Ralph climbed into the car, giving us privacy; Ralph switched on his radio, blaring country music. While Mom tried hard to be busy, but I knew she was watching us out of the corner of her eye and most likely going into protective-Mommy-mode.
River’s eyes flitted to mine; those amber-brown colored eyes held nothing but pain and sadness. The weight of his emotions was clear on his face. There was much we needed to discuss, but I couldn’t do that now. I may never be ready to talk about what would never be.
My anger seeped out of my pores as we stared at each other knowingly. His sad expression matching my own. He was just as heartbroken as I was. We had separated over a year ago, but the heartache was still raw, like it had happened yesterday. And it wasn’t just me. He felt the same way.
I’d been working with my father, Victor, in the Underworld until I couldn’t anymore. He kept on giving bad guys free passes. These men hurt innocent humans and supernaturals alike without a care in the world because my father would always be there for them. I took it upon myself to go after these bad guys, but no matter how many I killed, more replaced them. My father won in the end when he got contracts for their souls long before he was supposed to, and he kept on getting new souls. It was never ending, and I couldn’t continue any longer.
