The Edge of Temptation: Gods of the Undead 2 A Post-Apocalyptic Epic Read Online Free PDF Page A

she’d never had a man change on such a fundamental level for her as Jack had.
    They never talked about it much, mainly because it was an embarrassment for him, but Jack hadn’t started out as a sorcerer. No, he had been a necromancer like their cousin Robert…and like Cyn. She was one as well. She felt the pull. She felt the need to spill blood. She felt the hunger for power that only the King of Death could wield. But she hadn’t given in and she never would. Jack had taught her that lesson.
    He had been addicted to death. The power of necromancy had whisked him up and had taken him whole. It had owned what was left of his black soul, and it seemed that nothing on earth could have stopped him from calling forth an army of demons and usurping their cousin, Robert as the necromancer. And yet, Jack had given up a power so great he could have ruled the world. He had given it up for her. He had simply set it aside.
    Yes, he could be moody after draining his soul to fight evil, but that didn’t make him a jerk. Far from it in her eyes.
    “Does Akron even have a sushi place?” she asked, changing the subject. Judging by the dark streets and the many boarded over businesses, she guessed not. “You need sushi, Jack.” He needed to eat. His strength always came back faster after he ate. Sleeping was good for him, but food was better. He also liked sushi, something he’d always been too poor to try back when he had been a student.
    He ignored the talk of food and brooded, finally saying: “We’re getting close.”
    She could feel it as well. A hint of death hung in the air, setting her nerves on edge. Seconds later, Jack turned onto a side street and another turn later, they parked in front of a house. It was dark as could be and when she stepped out into the humid night, she knew right away that the damp in the air would make everything they found inside that much worse. One sniff confirmed her suspicions. A sick, wet smell of decay struck her.
    Jack paused as he stepped out of the car, his hand on his sword. Light splashed over him as Metzger pulled in behind them in the Camaro. When the captain cut the engine, the night was dead silent. Bob’s house sat on the edge of the suburbs, surrounded by a whole lot of nothing.
    It was too perfect as a murder house, almost as if it could be nothing else. Cyn couldn’t picture a family living there, at least not a happy one.
    “Can he speak yet?” Jack asked. He meant Bob who stood dully, blinking slowly, a line of drool hanging from his mouth. Sometimes the possessed remained vegetables for life, sometimes they snapped out of it quickly. “Hey, Bob!” Jack snapped his fingers under Bob’s nose. “What are we going to find in there?”
    The drool swung gently as Bob turned at the sound of Jack’s voice. His eyes; however, remained blank orbs. Cyn guessed he would recover in time, but for now he was hollow inside. Hollow and horrid; his mind that of an imbecile’s.
    “Forget it,” Jack said. “Anyone have an extra light?” Everyone including the two priests had their phones out, using the sharp light to illuminate the brown grass at their feet; the yard was unkempt and dying, littered with trash and feces, none of which was canine in origin. Cyn stepped with extreme care.
    Captain Metzger handed over a palm-sized flashlight as if he had been expecting Jack’s question. Jack hadn’t had a cell phone in all the time Cyn had known him—she was his only family and in truth, his only friend. He had no one to call and even if he did, Cyn wondered if he would bother.
    Jack didn’t thank Captain Metzger for the light—he also tended to forget his manners when his soul was drained. When he was like this, everything, simply was. If he asked for a light, you either had one or not, and he would have made do either way.
    “Here, eat these,” Cyn said, handing him a box of Junior Mints . He liked candy, especially Reeses Peanut Butter Cups , but, with all their wrappings,