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  Grave Chance

  How to Be a Necromancer: Book Five

  D.D. Miers

  Graceley Knox

  Chaotic Press, LLC

  Grave Chance Copyright © 2019 by Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Cover Design by: Rebecca Frank

  Praise for Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  “The dawn of a new age of vampire.” - Crafting Geeky Bibliophile

  "Thirst is the first in a new series from the writing team of Graceley Knox and D. D. Miers. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right because Thirst had me riveted." - Tome Tender Book Blog

  "The premise for Thirst is so unique... And these aren't just vampires, they are Kresova." - IB Book Blogging

  "A CRAZY, WILD, INSANE RIDE THAT KEPT ME ON THE LEDGE" - Marie's Tempting Reads

  “If you haven’t read any books by Graceley Knox or D. D. Miers well get busy because you are missing out on two very gifted story weavers!" - Goodreads Reviewer

  Dear Reader,

  First off, thank you for choosing to read Grave Chance! We can’t express how much each one of our fans (new and old) mean to us. Without you, there would be no stories to be told or shared. You keep this journey going for us.

  We’d like to let you know that unlike some of our other stories, this is a Slow Burn Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy. (Boy that’s a mouthful!) What does that mean? Well, this is the fourth book in a five-book series with a kickass heroine, a powerful enemy, and series of lovers dedicated to our leading lady.

  If you’ve never tried a reverse harem, this is the perfect series to start with! There’s a great story, exciting, mysterious, and sexy heroes, and an enticing adventure awaiting you!

  Happy Reading!

  D.D. & Graceley

  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

  The Legend

  Chapter 1

  Thank You!

  Also By Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  About the Authors

  Chapter 1

  “Vexa….Vexa,” I blinked and found myself staring into Ethan’s concerned eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Gwydion was talking to Cole, their heads close together, not for privacy, but earnestness. “How did this happen? Right under our fucking noses.”

  Persephona was gone, I remembered that much. I’d been in a coma, Aethon had thanked me for letting him in…not into the bar, but into my head, into her head. Shit. I shuddered at the thought. Poor auntie. How much control had she had? Did she even fight him? Was she out there hiding from him even now?

  "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I drifted off for a second, I guess." I shook myself. "What about aunt Percy?" Ethan frowned, and I hugged him quickly. "I'm fine, Ethan. I just…zoned out…I guess.”

  Had I just zoned out? There was something just beyond my reach, a fragment of a memory that skittered away from my grasp as he watched me. It disturbed me, how little I remembered of what happened in the moments after hearing Persephona was gone. Then again, after how long I’d been trapped between the walls of my own mind and Aethon’s, a few blank spots here and there had to be expected.

  What a fucking week it’s been, I thought…or maybe Cole did. He was watching me as I glanced over to him, and he shrugged. He didn’t know which one of us it was either, or maybe it just didn’t matter. What was important, was that my magic had gotten me stuck in Aethon’s memories, and somehow, he’d seen enough of mine in return, that he found Persephona, and now she and the candle were gone.

  “Gwydion, we’ve got to go. How the hell did this happen? How did no one see her leave?” I blurted.

  His brother, Gilfaethwy, our only prisoner so far in this venture to save the world, quirked an eyebrow at me, in far too good a humor for the fate of the world to be a happy one.

  “Drink your ale, you bastard, you should’ve told us she’d gone.”

  He shrugged, and my hands balled into fists. My brain was still fuzzy from all the time I'd spent outside reality, but I was certain punching him in the face would feel fantastic.

  Cole touched my arm, his fingers sliding down my wrist to loosen my fingers and entwine his with them. “I know your memory is lacking right now, but perhaps you can recall the coma you were in. You required magical caretaking as well as physical, and we all had our hands full trying to keep you sane and bring you back.”

  He was right. Gil was nowhere near the top of my list of problems at the moment.

  I managed to give him a wan smile of thanks for intervening and setting me back on track. “Right. And the connection you and Julius made between me and the bar let Aethon right in. This is all my fault…again.” And, of course, we were in big trouble because of it…again. “So, how do we find her? Her home’s destroyed, I don’t think she would go there.”

  "But she might. Obviously, Aethon will meet her somewhere they're both familiar with, I think that's where we should go first if only to cross it off the list."

  “There’s a whole-ass city out there she calls home. I feel sick.”

  Cole's phone bleated at him, and he stepped to one side to take it after a glance at the screen. I felt his worry and irritation as he lifted the phone to his ear and stepped away from us. The kind of worry and irritation reserved for family that doesn't quite understand you and always calls at the worst possible time.

  “Persephona couldn’t have just taken it to betray us,” I huffed, impatient with myself for staying unconscious so long, and with the others for not noticing. “Could she? I mean, she knows Aethon’s insane.”

  “But you said he’d found a way in,” Gwydion reminded me. “Maybe he got inside her head and made her think she needed to take the candle.”

  I almost agreed with him. “I’d had the thought that she’d been tricked into taking it somewhere safe, but he didn’t hide who he was from me.” I shook my head. “He’s so sure he’s right, that he knows better than anyone else. I don’t know that he’s capable of pretending to be anything but what he is.”

  “How convincing was he?”

  His memories filled my head, so much pain, so much loss, and the moments of joyful love that made that pain so much more terrible to endure.

  “If I hadn’t known where I was… If Cole hadn’t come to me and kept me tethered to all of you and myself, if the Demon door hadn’t been showing me the necessity of death for days before he realized I was there, I might not have found my way back.”

  Cole had moved farther away, his head tucked almost int
o his chest as he hissed into his phone.

  “Uh, guys?” Ethan was gazing in Cole’s direction along with me. “We need to get going and find Persephona before Aethon does.” We were waiting on Cole, but no one wanted to be the one to interrupt what was obviously not a happy conversation.

  Another surge of worry tugged at my chest, and I glanced toward Cole, who had turned into a corner with his phone to his ear. I could feel him still, our connection tying me to the rush of warring emotions that clenched his stomach and mine, even though I couldn't hear what he was saying, or who was speaking on the other end of the line.

  “Ethan.” I leaned into his side and hugged him, grateful to have a physical body to feel him with. “Whatever that is, I don’t think any of us are going to like it.”

  He took a step toward Cole but stopped himself and came back to me, wrapping his arms around me instead. His hesitation reminded me of the moment between them that I'd spied on when Cole had asked Ethan to accept him and accept himself.

  I didn’t know if I should be heartened that he’d automatically started to go to Cole, or heartbroken that he still stopped himself from doing what his heart knew was right. I clutched at his forearms where they crossed my chest and watched with the others in silence as Cole hung up the phone and turned to face us, his eyes red-rimmed, lips pressed together in a thin line.

  "My parents are here," he explained, dragging his hand through his hair like he wanted to pull it out. "They're here, and now Persephona's gone. I can't go after her until we get them. They didn't want to come to me. I'll help you find your aunt, but we've got to get them before Aethon kills them too." He was talking even faster than usual, and his mind was as

  I exhaled slowly, relieved that, for once, the bad news was the ordinary, regular kind. Not the ‘hey, the world is ending in five minutes, and we're ten minutes too far to save it' kind.

  “Okay,” Gwydion nodded. “We bring your parents here and find Persephona before she hands the candle over to Aethon. Where are they?”

  “At the Royale Hotel.” Cole glanced at his phone and tucked it back into his pocket. “My dad was upset but wouldn’t say why over the phone.”

  “So, we go, we bring them here, and when the world is safe, he can talk, right?” My voice was louder than I intended from the cheer I forced into it. “Right now, I just want everyone to survive long enough that an uncomfortable conversation is the worst thing we’re gonna face.”

  There were murmurs of agreement from all the guys, but Gwydion looked the soberest as he thought aloud, his brows furrowed in concern. “Aethon threatened our loved ones, and now your parents are here. Persephona skipped out with the candle, and we don’t know where she is.” His eyes met mine. “I’ll get my staff.”

  Julius cleared his throat from the doorway and tossed it to him. “Ethan, you must stay here at the bar. You know what it means for you to leave. I can’t keep the curse from progressing outside this realm, and you’re already too close to the threshold to let it continue.”

  “Thanks for the reminder, but I’m not asking for permission. I’m going with them.”

  Julius looked like he wanted to say more but simply stepped aside. "I wish you wouldn't."

  Ethan nodded and took off for the door ahead of everyone with Cole hot on his heels. My stomach clenched painfully. I glanced around for Mort, but my undead canine was off sleeping under a table or something like a mutt should…probably.

  “Thanks, Julius. We’ll be back as soon as we can, hopefully with aunt Percy and Cole’s parents. Send us luck.”

  “Only the best, of course. I’m only sorry I can’t join you. Call me if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “That’s a given. I really don’t know how we’d manage without you.” I followed the guys toward the front door, past the patrons

  Gwydion was waiting for me in the alcove. He dragged me to him and kissed me hard, holding the back of my head like he was going to devour me. His mouth tasted of the ale he’d been drinking, his tongue exploring my mouth with urgency that made my stomach clench pleasant. However, it only took a moment to sense that he was siphoning off my magic into himself.

  “What the hell, Gwyd?” I shoved him off me. “You have no right.”

  “Calm yourself. I can see how overloaded you still are from being in your coma. You’re fairly bristling with it. I needed the boost for the coming fight, and you needed someone to bleed some of it off you. Come along. There are more important things to worry about at the moment, don’t you think?”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, glaring at him, even though I knew he didn’t give a single shit if I was pissed off. “Goddamned fae think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. I will only say this once, so I hope you’re listening. I’m not your magical battery pack. If you do that to me again, I will cut your lips off and sew them to your own ass.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched upward in a smile, but when he opened his mouth to speak, I pushed past him to catch up with Ethan and Cole. I was not in the mood for what seemed to pass for flirtation among the Fae.

  It pissed me off that he still saw me as just another human to be manipulated. Every time I felt more for him, he reminded me how little he thought of me. But the kiss itself, if I could forget his purpose, left me breathless and weaker in the knees than I could afford to admit.

  Typical Fae, only thinking of what he wants.

  The guys were ahead of us, and not about to slow down. I picked up my pace to a jog to catch up before they decided to just go without us. Cole needed me, but I silently prayed past the lump in my throat, that it wasn’t because my mistakes had led his parents into a trap I’d helped Aethon lay.

  Chapter 2

  Walking into the hotel was a nightmare come true. The air inside was oppressive with the remnants of fear and death. We picked our way through five bodies lay strewn over the floor between the double doors and the concierge desk, including the unfortunate doorman and an older couple lying next to their luggage.

  More bodies lay beyond, crumpled over suitcases, one woman curled up against the wall like she was sleeping. It was clear that some of them hadn’t seen death coming and had dropped where they stood, but some had tried to run when they were felled.

  “They’re not here.” Cole went from body to body until he’d seen every death mask in the lobby and stairs. “They’re supposed to be here.”

  A wave of relief washed over me, followed by instant guilt. “But they’re not among the dead. That’s good, remember? Just hang on to that until we find them. Aethon’s got to be here somewhere. Persephona and your parents will be with him.”

  “Yeah,” Ethan muttered near my ear. “That’s not a terrifying thought at all.”

  I poked him in the ribs and tried to feel the candle. The map in the lobby showed a convention hall on the third floor, along with a few smaller conference rooms. “This way. Let’s take the stairs. I don’t trust the elevator.”

  We raced up to the third floor, and I peered out of the stairwell. Lying in the red-carpeted hall was another man in a hotel uniform his head twisted horrifically backward on his inert body, the back of his head facing us. We were on the right track, we just had to follow the breadcrumb trail of dead bodies, and they'd lead us right to Aethon and Persephona.

  And Cole’s parents, I can’t forget that we’ve got to do whatever we can to keep them from joining the rest of the hotel residents.

  “Fuck I hate this.” I automatically turned him over and checked the body, even though I knew it wasn’t anyone who belonged to us, and for him, at least, there was no eternal life waiting. “For a guy who wants to end all death on earth, he sure doesn’t have a problem with collateral damage.” I instantly regretted my words and glanced up at Cole, who stared back in misery.

  Ethan huffed his agreement and touched Cole’s arm. “Pick a direction, let’s keep looking.”

  I started left, but Gwydion grabbed my wrist and pointed down the corridor t
o our right. “There, at the end of the hall.”

  “Why?” I looked down the hall in the direction he showed.

  “Because I just saw Persephona walk into that room. She did not seem herself, Vex. She did not even look in our direction.”

  Shit, fuck, hell. “Okay, that’s a good reason.”

  I broke into a jog, too anxious to slow down, afraid that if I stopped moving now, I’d never be able to cross the distance and look at what my ancestor and my aunt had done in there.

  The door to the room Gwyd pointed out to us was closed, the handle painted with fresh blood. “Was aunt Percy bleeding when you saw her?”

  He shook his head. “No, I did not see any blood. She was focused, determined in whatever she was doing, but seemed physically unharmed.”

  “Then whose blood is this?” I reached out for it but jerked my hand back. “I can’t right now. Let’s just do this and get the fucking candle back before shit gets even worse.”

  Without waiting for a plan or agreement from the guys, I shoved one side open, while Cole threw the other one so hard it slammed against the wall.

  “If we had the element of surprise, it has departed,” Gwydion’s dry voice muttered behind me.

  "We were called here, Gwyd. We never had the drop on anyone. Aunt Percy didn't even have to look in your direction to know we were almost to the ‘X' on the map, did you, Auntie."