The Pulptress Versus The Bone Queen: Blood and Bone by Andrea Judy Page A

Aramis to his feet. His head slumped to the side, and his feet curled under him, but he tried to help get himself upright.
    I hurried over and tried to steady him, firing off a few more rounds, trying to find a way out. "If there's a way in there's got to be another way out. Where are they coming from?" I muttered out loud.
    A large boom shook the ground, and I watched as the largest man zombie I'd ever seen climbed from a pit in the ground. He looked at me and screeched.
    I fired immediately, but the bullet striking his chest barely slowed him as he rushed for me. I shoved Jackson and Aramis out of the way just as the huge creature plowed into me and tackled me to the ground.
    My gun flew out of my hand. I scrambled to grab my dagger and, drawing it, slashed across the inside of his thighs. He howled and slammed his fist at my head. I barely dodged out of the way as a rush of air flew past me.
    He reared his fist back again and one meaty hand clenched around my throat. I chocked and struggled, kicking and stabbing at his thick arm, but his grip only tightened. My vision started going black when I heard a sharp pop and red dust suddenly poured over me.
    Sitting up, coughing I spotted Jackson standing behind where the massive monster had been, gun still in the air where the man's head would have been. Her shoulders raised and fell in rapid succession as she tried to catch her breath.
    "Come on, this way!" Aramis called, motioning to a small side door.
    I grabbed Jackson and pulled her after me as I rushed for him. I paused only long enough to snatch my pistol from the floor before the three of us pushed through the door and Aramis barricaded it behind us. The creatures screamed and clawed at the thick wooden door but despite its groans of protest, the door held firm and steady against the onslaught.
    I took a quick look around the room, a bare bones crypt, obviously vandalized and stripped bare. "Great. Now what?" I glared at Aramis.
    "There's a hidden passage out of here," Aramis moved over to one of the coffins, and began to press against the loose stone, eventually one clicked and I heard something vibrate and scrape against the hard stone. A thin door opened on the opposite side of the room.
    "And how did you know about that?" Jackson asked.
    "This is the way they brought me in. She's this way,” he said slowly.
    I took a deep breath, and reloaded my pistol. "Well, let's go say hello and thank her for her hospitality."
    "Why don't you wait here?" Aramis offered Jackson.
    I nodded and added, "This doesn't have anything to do with you. You've got more than enough to prove your case to your boss."
    "I'm not just gonna sit here and wait for either those things to kill me or to waste away down here on my own. No, I've come this far," she swallowed hard, "I want to see this through. Besides, I still don't have any proof about her bringing dead things back to life. That's the lynchpin of this case."
    “You’re still worried about proving to your boss that you didn’t lose those bodies?” I asked.
    Jackson smiled weakly. “I figure this is my only chance to get out and have an adventure like this. When I was little I always wanted to be some kind of hero and, well, I’ve got the chance. I’m not just going to walk away from that.”
    I shook my head. “Well, just try to stay out of the way. We’ve just got to get her sword from her.”
    Aramis glanced at the necklace around my neck. “It really was here. I guess it made a new home once it left France." He shook his head. "I tried to follow it, but once it left France it was harder to know where to look. The family I gave it to mostly died during the revolution. A few escaped and I bet sold whatever jewelry they had to make a new life. She must have followed it too somehow."
    “Let’s not keep her waiting then. I think you both have been waiting a long time for this,” I said as I loaded my pistol. "Lead the way, Aramis."
    He nodded and headed into the hidden doorway.