Free No Mere Zombie: Deathless Book 2 by Chris Fox Page B

get away. Get there as quickly as you can.”
    “Blair that’s- ,” Liz began.  
    No time. He blurred, all the way up the corridor and down another. Blurred again to reach the central chamber, crossing the distance in a span of heartbeats. He leapt through the doorway, rolling down the ramp and behind one of the damaged obelisks. The room was empty, or at least it appeared so.
    “You’re not Isis,” a male voice called from the shadows. It was clearly amused, clipped with something akin to a British accent, though he knew that wasn’t quite right. “So she sent a single Ka-Dun? A poor decision on her part unless you are a good deal more powerful than you appear. Why don’t you tuck your tail between your legs scurry away? I’ll let you live.”
    “Why don’t you come out where I can see you? I’d be happy to show you just how powerful I am,” Blair roared. Why couldn’t he hear a heartbeat? Or smell the intruder? He was perfectly cloaked, like a female.  
    “Of course,” the intruder said, right behind him. Blair began to spin but even as he blurred, so did the intruder. Blair caught the impression of ebony skin and a shaved head, but what drew his attention were the smoldering green eyes and the razored teeth. The same teeth as the fast zombies.
    The stranger brought the palm of his hand up, mere inches from Blair’s chest. It glowed the same sickly green as the eyes and then discharged an arc of energy. The bolt took Blair in the chest, hurling him against an obelisk with a sickening crunch and a flash of agony. The blow shattered his back, erasing feeling below his waist.
    “I have appeared,” the man said. He loomed over Blair, grinning cruelly. His age was indeterminate, perhaps early thirties. He wore a shimmering white vest and flowing white pants similar to the Mother’s garb. Both wrists bore golden bracelets and he had an elaborate neck torque that could have been found in an Egyptian tomb. His skin suggested Nubian ancestry. “Where is this power you were going to show me? All I see is a pup with a broken back, yipping at something it cannot understand.”
    Be wary Ka-Dun, this is not a champion. You face one of the deathless. They command the shadows as females do.
    He blurred too . Blair thought.
    Deathless possess many powers. They also possess a breed of shaping, different from your own but very powerful. That is the source of the bolt of unmaking he unleashed.
      “Lovely,” Blair muttered. He flooded his body with energy, healing his broken back and leaping to his feet. The deathless stood calmly, an infuriating smile still pasted on that too-handsome face.
    Blair blurred forward, dropping low and swiping at his opponent’s calf. The deathless flowed backwards, narrowly avoiding his claws. He ripped a strange sword from a sheath at his side, the golden blade oddly curved in a way Blair had never seen. The blade hummed as it came for Blair’s head . He ducked under the blow and raked the deathless with his claws, catching his opponent in the chest. His hand came away bloody as the man melted into the shadows.
    “Impressive. You’re quick,” the voice said, clearly amused. “I am Irakesh, of the Cradle. How are you called, young Ka-Dun?”
    Blair considered ignoring him, but the longer he prolonged this fight the greater the chance that Liz would arrive. “My name is Blair.”
    “You are of this new world then? Interesting. Isis has been busy. I hadn’t realized she’d begin recruiting so quickly,” the voice said. It had moved to another section of darkness, somewhere near the central obelisk. “She left you behind while consolidating territory, and I can feel her access key within you. That should have been Ahiga’s responsibility, jumped-up urchin that he was. Does she trust you, or was she desperate?”
    Something flashed behind him again. Blair blurred forward but wasn’t fast enough. Claws scored his back, sending lines of pain through his entire body. Were they