DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) by J Kiefer (best classic books to read TXT) 📗

dirt. Strangely, he barely disturbed the dirt as he seemed to phase through the earth to stand atop the grave. To Jeremy, the being seemed to have floated up through the ground, more like a spirit than a zombie.

“Really?” Jeremy said out loud, staring wide-eyed at the man standing before him. “So, we really are ghost hunting? Seriously, I should’ve brought a camera.”

The man Jeremy assumed was Jared Caddret seemed to be confused as he surveyed his surroundings. He held up his fist and a strange soft glow seeped through his fingers.

That’s one big lightning bugclutched in his closed fist, Jeremy thought.

The man, like a basilisk, turned his eyes on Jeremy and paralyzed him with shock. To Jeremy’s dismay, where the man’s eyes should have been, there was nothing but writhing darkness.

Jeremy’s eyes widened in recognition when he saw those nightmare black eyes. “Oh crap. This is not good.”

He got up and casually brushed himself off while Jared scanned his surroundings as if seeing the world for the first time. Sighing deeply, Jeremy plopped himself down on a nearby headstone.

So, the Shogun was dead, Jeremy realized. He had to be dead if this—whatever he was—was standing here in front of him.

The man stopped looking around and fixed his eyes on him. Jeremy knew what those eyes saw when they fixed on people. At least, he had a vague understanding of what it was they saw. The Shogun had once told him about the dark gaze. Jeremy shuddered as the man continued to stare at him.

“See anything interesting?” he asked.

The man did not speak as his eyes continued to bore into him.

The intensity of his gaze never wavered as he spoke. “Honestly, I have no idea what I am seeing. It is like the world is the same, yet different. If that makes any sense?”

“Yes, actually it does,” Jeremy replied, shifting uncomfortably. “So, I take it you haven’t been dead long.”

Jared’s face fell at that, and the hand holding the locket dropped.

Jeremy smiled apologetically. “Too soon?”

The locket suddenly glowed brightly and shifted in Jared’s hand, transforming. When the glowing finally died down and he opened his hand, the locket had transformed into a silver ring. Jared stared at the ring for a moment before compulsorily putting it on one of his fingers. He stared at the ring thoughtfully.

“I guess I haven’t had much time to think about it,” Jared replied, looking at the man again. “I am sorry.”

Jeremy lifted an eyebrow. “Sorry for what?”

“For your life,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Oh that. I guess you are seeing everything about me now. Hopefully, you won’t want to kill me for that bad habit I couldn’t shake during puberty.”

“Just puberty?” Jared said, flashing a sarcastic smile.

Jeremy choked back a laugh. “Well, this is different—you have a sense of humor! From my experiences with the one I knew, people like you don’t usually have one. Maybe the reanimation process is different for each individual. Reanimation is a good word for this, right?” He gestured to Jared with both his hands.

“My ring said reanimation is an accurate if simple explanation. At least, I guess it is my ring that is speaking,” he said, examining the ring on his finger again.

“I have never seen it take on the form of a ring before,” Jeremy said curiously. “Usually it is a sword. Of course, I have only known one of your kind and it was always in the shape of a Japanese katana when he had it. He liked to ask me questions about God and heaven. I guess he was curious.”

“Are you a minister or a priest?” Jared asked. “My parents are pastors.”

Jeremy slowly got to his feet and stretched. He shivered a bit from the cold and rubbed his arms with his hands. “No, at least not in the traditional sense, anyway. God talks to me, is all.”

Jared nodded his head slightly.

“I know. It sounds crazy, right? But God really does talk to me. In fact, I usually can’t get Him to shut up. I find it so ironic that the rest of the world complains about how silent He is. I just wish He would stop talking to me when I am in the shower.”

“Interesting. Tzedakah says that you speak the truth.”

“Well, he would know,” Jeremy replied. “Anyway, can we continue this conversation back at my hotel room? It’s freaking cold out here and I am tired.”

Jared suddenly lurched back as if avoiding some unseen assailant, and Jeremy bolted upright his eyes darting around searching for any signs of danger. The flap of bat wings reverberated through the air as a dark shadow darted past the two men. Jared’s ring glowed, and with the speed of thought, it transformed into a large blazing sword. He crouched down and raised the weapon, searching for any sign of whatever it was that had just flown by them.

Even though Tzedakah did not speak to him directly, he could sense what it felt. Darkness. Danger. The connection the sword had made with him was so instant and complete, it was as if they were no longer separate beings but one singular entity. It felt strange at first; his instinct was to fight against the sword’s intrusion into his consciousness. With this resistance, the connection wavered.

As if sensing the hesitation, the creature attacked again. This time the blow landed, sending Jared flying into his own headstone. It cracked under the force of the impact, the top part of it breaking off. Despite the power of the blow, he wasn’t stunned. In fact, he felt no pain at all.

The creature hovered in the air, beating its enormous bat-like wings. It was humanoid in appearance but had large horns protruding from its head and bulbous red eyes. It wore dirty iron armor and brandished six-inch claws on each of its six fingers.

The creature bared its fang-filled maw and hissed, “What great fortune my dark master has given me tonight by delivering you into my hands. I, the great and powerful Baal Shaffar, shall