How to Fail at Escaping an Alpha Orc (How to Fail #3)

22. Chapter Twenty-TwoMarcus

Chapter Twenty-Two

Marcus

T he light was slowly leaving the sky as we drove to the cemetery in silence. It was Daria and me, and I appreciated being away from everyone. I glanced over at her. She sat stiffly in her seat, chewing nervously at her bottom lip.

I reached over and squeezed her thigh, still not happy that she was here instead of in hiding. She was smart and capable, but she was mine to protect. “You can control the dead in hiding, right? I can post someone near you, and you can navigate them, from afar?”

She turned away from the window, shrugging. “I suppose?”

I sighed, glad she was being agreeable. I’d post one of Harris’ people with her or maybe ask Devin. He seemed dependable. “Good.”

“I’m scared,” she began. “I’m not afraid to admit that.”

I stopped the car beside the open field of graves. It was eerie being in the middle of nowhere in the late evening. The cemetery wasn’t that large, maybe thirty to forty graves at best, so we wouldn’t be gaining much of an army, but I wasn’t going to turn down the help.

I quickly got out of the car and circled around to Daria’s side, opening her door and helping her out. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. Again.”

She looked up at me with confused eyes. “For what?”

“Putting you in this situation. I shouldn’t have kidnapped you. We should have involved Devin earlier or the coven.”

She placed her hands on my chest, and I inhaled her sweet scent, pushing away any fear that it might be for the last time. “You didn’t know, and I would have much rather have you kidnap me than them.” She kissed me, too short for my liking, before she turned to look back at the graves. “I feared this was all inevitable, except now we’re more powerful because of the claiming.”

Still unsettled, I followed her out to the grave, where we paused in the center of the cemetery. I stood silently as I watched her repeat the same motions as she’d done with Rorrick. A chill raced down my spine, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was looking at me. I spun around and jumped back when I saw the ghost from earlier that morning, Ruby, only she wasn’t alone this time. Several other ghosts floated beside her in translucent forms. She was more solid earlier. What had changed?

“You look different,” I said.

She looked down at her fading hands. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Oh crap!” Daria cried, turning to the other ghosts. “I am so sorry. I forgot to tell you that I’m raising the grave now. I need your help fighting an evil demon. But afterwards, I will help all of you get to the other side. You have my word.”

The ghosts looked around at each other unsure. Ruby stepped forward. “Will it hurt?”

Daria quickly shook her head. “No, I promise. I am so sorry I didn’t say this before I started. A lot has been going on. A demon gang is trying to kill us.”

“Oh dear. That’s awful.” She looked around at the other ghosts who looked to her with nodded heads. It was clear she was the leader here. “Well, we think we should help you. You seem like a nice person.”

“Thank you. And if you prefer, I can leave you all out of it and raise the dead bodies who have already left this plane. Their souls won’t be pulled back. I don’t know if I can be that selective and leave you in your graves, but I can try to put you back in if you get out.”

Ruby shook her head. “No. It’s fine. It’s only fair we help you if you help us. And who knows, might buy a few of us some extra points to enter the good place.” She turned sideways to look at a very grouchy-looking senior citizen. “Especially for you, Carl.”

Carl nodded and lifted his shoulders in agreement.

Daria gave them a thumbs up and continued, raising her hands out and closing her eyes. The whole area felt static, my hair rose on my skin, body tingled. It was as if every nerve in my body was raw. My skin itched.

Minutes later, she lowered her arms and looked around. We stood quietly for a moment before Ruby floated next to us. She was really hovering; her feet were no longer visible, and her body took on a ghostly blueish tint. “Sooo, some of us were wondering if we are zombies yet.”

Daria smiled tightly. “Well, seeing as you’re still here, I’m guessing no.”

“Ooooh, and do you think we’re strong enough to open our caskets and dig our way up? I mean, how long would that take?”

Daria frowned. “Shit. I don’t know.”

She looked at me, and I shook my head, eyes wide. None of us had thought of that part. In the horror movies, the zombies just seemed to crawl out of their graves on their own. “Should we get some help to dig them out?” I asked. “The ghosts are fading, so something’s happening.”

Daria sat down on the grass, crossing her legs. “No. That’d be a waste of resources. We’ll have to wait.”

I moved to sit down next to her, looking at my watch. I didn’t like being out in the open like this. “We should wait in the,” I stopped, a slight noise catching my attention. It was like scratching. Lots of scratching. “Can you hear that?”

Daria frowned. “No, what is it?”

“I hear them digging out of their graves.

We turned to look back at the ghosts, but they were gone.

“Is it working?” Daria asked, straining her eyes to see.

I got to my feet. “I’d think so.” I offered my hand. “Let’s wait in the car. This might be a while.”

A while was right. Damn the movies. Actually, waiting for zombies to get out of graves was not as quick as we’d hoped. I had knowledge that I didn’t want to get into detail with Daria about how long it would take someone to escape from a grave and suggested we go back to the cabin. We went back to the house, ate dinner, and came back a few hours later. It was night now, after eight pm, and chillier out. But the cold in the air wasn’t what got my attention.

When we got out of the car, we were welcomed to a cemetery filled with the undead, standing like statutes.

“Why are they waiting like that?”

Daria wrapped her arms around herself, looking out at the gravesite with wide eyes. “They’re waiting for my instructions. It’s not like in the movies. They don’t come back to life and look for human brains. They’ll wander aimlessly, but for the most part, they are harmless unless you agitate them. However, if I give them a basic order, they’ll follow it until it’s accomplished. And they won’t stop.”

“Well, that’s impressive,” came a male voice from behind us.

I spun, shoving Daria behind me. I could have cursed myself for letting this asshole get the drop on us.

Rorrick stood there, arms folded, still in his demon form but wearing what appeared to be impractical black leather pants. Blending in wasn’t his priority. “You were worth all the trouble I had to go through to find you. You’d be surprised how little money you have to pay people to get what you want. Many times, no money at all.”

He laughed as if he told a joke. We didn’t join him. I looked around, he was flanked by two other demons from the gang, but that was it. I'd expect him to have more if the focus was on Daria and me. Perhaps he had underestimated me, us.

Rorrick looked around. “I bet you’re wondering where everyone else is. We went to that cabin. That’s where Death Mask is. I also had some associates back in my day. You had a lot of people there, but not as many as I brought. They’re probably all dying as we speak, which is your own fault. You should have just stayed.”

I could feel Daria’s energy go erratic. She was in full-blown panic and fear now, and I needed her calm and focused.

Little flower, don’t believe what he’s saying. He’s trying to get in your head. I said telepathically.

Well, it’s working. She thought back.

Focus on here. He’s outnumbered. I can feel the power level of these demons. They aren’t weak, but your zombies can handle them. While that fighting is happening, you need to run.

And leave you?

Yes. You can’t stay here. I don’t need the distraction.

You could say that nicer.

Fine. I have to kill this fucker, and I don’t want to worry about you getting hurt in the process.

Fair enough.

Take most of the zombies with you.

Without further warning, the undead began to run at full speed toward the demons. They were not the walking dead. And I wasn’t sure I’d have outrun them myself.

Daria took off in the herd of zombies in the other direction of the car but away from Rorrick. They surrounded her like a moving wall. I was not too fond of her being without me, but I had no choice. As Daria’s remaining zombies tore into the other demons, I ran toward Rorrick, who was busy slashing through the zombies, jumping on him. They were little more than gnats to him. Even the other demons could take out a chunk of them before eventually being overpowered. And Rorrick didn’t bother to help them.

Instead, he looked at me with blazing eyes. “You’re only wasting time,” he spat.

And I was ready to waste more time. I ran at him much faster than I thought I could. It had to be the omega claiming to enhance my strength. I had one aim, shove this fucking stone into that beast and kill him. When I was within close distance, I reared my fist back and punched, only to be blocked by Rorrick’s arm. Rorrick using his arm to stop me instead of magic meant he didn’t have his powers back, although he was still strong.

Frustrated, I gripped his arm and yanked, trying to move it out of the way. However, instead of moving, it tore out of the socket. Blood splattered across my face as Rorrick released an infuriated shout of pain. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I batted him across the face, breaking his nose, but the demon didn’t go down. Instead, he kicked me in the shin, and the contact felt like I’d been sideswiped by a truck. Sharp, agonizing pain momentarily paralyzed me as I felt my shin crack, the bone ripping through my flesh.

Rorrick roared as he tackled me to the dirt, gaining momentum from my painful distraction. I fell backward on my ass, and Rorrick sliced me across the chest with his remaining hand. I could already see the space healing where I’d ripped off his other arm. Would he be able to regrow an arm? I had healing ability but not to regrow a limb.

I wasn’t going to wait around long enough to see. I balled my hand, holding the magic stone tighter, and punched forward, but Rorrick caught my hand in his.

He sneered down at me. “You are a nuisance. So disappointing.”

He tightened his grip on my hand despite my repeated punches to his rib cage with my other. My fingers squeezed together around the rock until I felt them crack, blinding me with a new onset of pain. He released my mangled hand, and I dropped the rock, no longer able to hold it. He looked down at the stone and grimaced. “Your little trinkets can’t kill me. I’m already dead, you fool. And when I drink up your blood, I will use your little omega until she is nothing but a rag doll, and then I will kill her, too. Maybe I’ll have her resurrect you as a zombie, and you’ll be my enforcer anyway. You’ll watch as I devour your whole family and wash the city in blood until everyone cowers at the thought of my name.”

Blinding rage pierced through, slightly dulling the pain that threatened to overtake me. “You won’t fucking touch her. I won’t let you.”

Rorrick chuckled. “You’ll be dead.” He then grabbed the stone and shoved it in my stomach, his movement faster than I could have stopped. More pain gripped me, only this time I froze with fear. Rorrick chuckled and stood up, turning his back to me as he headed to his car.

To kill those I loved.

I couldn’t die. I couldn’t leave Daria or my family. I’d never failed before. If Rorrick won, I didn’t know anyone back at the cabin could stop him. More importantly, would they be able to protect Daria before he got to her? Rorrick was smart. He had to in order to have survived so long that he almost brought the city to ruin the first time. He’d grab Daria if he found himself outpowered instead of fighting the others in the cabin. While I had faith that Harris, Devin, and the others would do everything possible to stop him, I didn’t know their limits. For Harris, this was essentially a business deal. For Devin, he would look out for Daria, but he had a fiancée to worry about. Sam was not dependable, and the coven would put destroying Rorrick over ensuring Daria didn’t get hurt. Nausea gripped me, and I realized it was not only from my extensive injuries but at the thought of letting everyone down.

I’d come so far in my life to give up now. And then there was Daria. Yes, she needed me, but I also needed her. She’d changed me. Showed me that I wasn’t a tool to be used or required to be the only one with the plan. We could be a team. A great one. I had to fight through the pain. I had to survive.

And get this stone out of me.

Marcus! Daria’s voice shouted in my head. I had no doubt she was feeling my pain.

I’m fine. I responded, not wanting her to come back. You need to run. Get out of there!

I was met with silence, and I feared I was already too late.

No. She finally replied. And seconds later, I felt energizing warmth through my body. She was powering me up and accelerating my healing through our connection. I didn’t want her to get weaker, but there was no time to argue. The stone had not detonated, and I didn’t have time to wonder why. I wouldn’t fail her.

I gritted my teeth as I shoved my fingers in the wound in my stomach and searched for the object. I fought through the sickness of pain until I found the stone. My insides felt like stinging lava as I pulled the object out. Wooziness dimmed the edges of my vision, but I ignored it. Instead, I struggled to my feet, my injured leg already healing, albeit slowly. I limped after Rorrick, clutching the side he’d ripped into. He was too close to the cars now, but I wouldn’t let him make it out. I moved faster, ignoring the persistent pain all over my body from the multiple injuries.

Although I wasn’t moving as fast as I’d have liked, Rorrick wasn’t moving much faster. Thankfully, I’d managed to hurt him. I would do more. When I was close enough, I jumped in the air and propelled my body, tackling Rorrick to the ground just as he turned back toward me. My body was almost numb with so many injuries, and between that and whatever healing boost Daria had sent my way, I barely felt a thing when we hit the ground. Besides, I didn’t have time to waste.

I gripped one of his horns and pulled with every ounce of strength I had, breaking it. For demons, horns were a sign of strength. I’d taken some of his power by doing so, weakening him. And he felt it because the cry he emitted nearly blew me off him. However, I grabbed his shoulder and quickly stabbed the horn in his throat, dragging it deeply across his neck.

His pungent blood splashed across my face, but I didn’t care. I needed him gone, dead for good. Still riding high on my adrenaline, I punched my fist through Rorrick’s mouth, shoving the stone down his throat so he couldn’t dig it out like I did. In the process, I knocked several of his razored teeth out, scraping my knuckles and hand.

I then rolled off him and army-crawled away. I wasn’t sure how big a blast it would be, but I didn’t want to be caught in the explosion. A hand wrapped around my ankle, and I turned to see Rorrick’s angry, bloodied face pull at me. I kicked him, but he held on too tight, no matter how hard I tried to shake him off.

And then he exploded.