Black Stars - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 1

Chapter 36 - The Beehive Casement

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

- Mae West

Leah hit the water hard and plunged deep. Salt stung her eyes as she looked up and watched the waves roll over her, the water undulating with the motion. She kicked to the surface and her head broke through, hair cementing to her scalp.

The boat was already disappearing from view as the currents dragged her away. She spun around and tried to gauge the direction of the whirlpool, but all she could see was water.

Another swell approached, shocking in height, and she dived before it could propel her backwards. She came to the surface with a gasp, wiping salt out of her eyes. The currents were moving faster now, the surface around her choppy with whitewater.

She glanced around again, and this time saw it; a crevasse in the middle of the ocean, an abyss that yawned open as the water whirled around it.

The whirlpool.

Leah tried not to panic as she began to revolve around that gaping hole, as the circles she was pulled in became tighter and faster. Her body tilted as the water angled downwards and darkness and depth met her eyes. Black tongues flickered upwards, reaching towards her like greedy flames.

And then the world let her go, and she started falling.

....

It was quiet on the bottom floor of the S.I.S's cemetery where Seth sat, with his legs crossed and his hand resting on Danny's headstone. The chill of early winter penetrated the walls and sent his breath out in hazy puffs, but he didn't feel inclined to move.

He'd been coming here every day since Danny died and Leah disappeared. There was still a catch in his voice every time he said their names, a grating against ribs when he passed one of their rooms. But he'd become accustomed to living this way, to spending most of his days with the dead. He'd started coming here so often the S.I.S had stopped rostering guards on.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the cemetery when a scream cracked through the air. Seth flinched and kicked his feet underneath him into a crouch. His hand flew to the gun at his waist, his eyes scanning the room.

"Who's there?" he asked, voice hoarse.

The scream came again, erupting from beneath him and echoing through the enclosed room. It was terrifying, heartbreaking, broken. Groans and whimpers crept like vines from beneath his feet and Seth stepped back, his blood going cold.

The noise was coming from Danny's coffin.

With blood roaring in his ears, he heaved the lid off and looked down. Danny's body, as decayed and rotten as it was, was moving, writhing in agony. Seth gasped, and the corpses eyes flashed open and fixed on him.

"Seth."

The noise was drawn out and broken, closer to a hiss of air than a word, and Seth bit back the urge to scream. Danny was completely unrecognisable, his skin peeling away in patches and his body bloated. A putrid smell emanated from him and seeped into the air, thick as tar.

Seth fumbled at his belt and pulled out his gun, aiming it at Danny's head.

"Don't worry, Dan," he said, his voice shaking. "I'll send you back."

"No!"

The force of the word made Seth jump.

"Leah —" Danny broke off, his throat closing against further speech.