REBORN AS A NECROMANCER : BUILDING THE ULTIMATE UNDEAD ARMY
Chapter 44: Blood magic

Chapter 44: Blood magic

The wight looked nothing like the man who’d died in the cemetery. His skin was pale as moonlight, almost translucent. His fingers had elongated into claws that gleamed in the streetlight. But it was those eyes that made Kaine’s blood freeze—they glowed with a dull red light, like coals in a dying fire.

Chad’s attention was fixed entirely on the robbers, his head tilted at an unnatural angle as he studied them. When he smiled, his teeth were sharp and far too numerous.

"Oh, fuck," Kaine whispered.

The robbers took one look at the creature and scattered like roaches when the lights came on. Their leader stumbled backward, his gun forgotten as he tripped over his own feet in his haste to get away. The others followed, their coordinated swagger replaced by pure animal terror.

Smart move.

Chad watched them flee with obvious disappointment, his head swiveling to track their movements. For a moment, he seemed to consider pursuit. Then his glowing eyes fixed on Kaine, and something like recognition flickered across his transformed features.

Neither of them moved. The alley had gone silent except for the distant sound of the robbers’ footsteps echoing off brick walls.

’Come on, Chad. Let’s talk about this like civilized monsters. There’s no need to run away from home,’

Instead, Chad bolted.

The wight moved like a shadow given form, sprinting toward the far end of the alley with inhuman speed. His claws scraped against the brick walls as he took the corner, the sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"Son of a bitch," Kaine muttered, breaking into a run. "Marcus, with me!"

The ghoul fell into step beside him, matching his pace perfectly. They cleared the alley and emerged onto a side street just in time to see Chad scaling the fire escape of a four-story apartment building. The wight moved up the metal structure like it was a ladder, his claws finding purchase on surfaces that should have been impossible to grip.

"There!" Kaine pointed. "Marcus, take the building on the left. We’ll flank him on the rooftop."

Marcus nodded once and peeled away, heading for the adjacent building. Kaine hit the fire escape at a dead run, his enhanced strength allowing him to leap directly to the second-floor landing. The metal groaned under the impact, but held.

Above him, Chad had already reached the roof.

Kaine took the remaining flights three steps at a time, his boots ringing against the metal grating. By the time he hauled himself over the edge, Chad was already at the far side of the building, preparing to jump the fifteen-foot gap to the next rooftop.

The wight didn’t hesitate. He launched himself across the void, his arms spread wide as he sailed through the empty air. He landed hard on the opposite building, rolled with the impact, and kept running.

’Show off.’

Kaine followed, activating Shadow Step as he reached the edge. The world blurred around him as he teleported across the gap, materializing on the neighboring rooftop just as Chad disappeared down another fire escape.

[SHADOW STEP SUCCESSFUL]

[COST: 15 ME]

[REMAINING ESSENCE: 885/900]

The chase continued across three more buildings, each jump more dangerous than the last. Chad seemed to have no regard for his own safety, leaping gaps that would have been suicidal for a human. Kaine found himself grudgingly impressed by the wight’s athletic ability.

’He’s faster than I expected. And a hell of a lot more coordinated.’

They reached the edge of the warehouse district, where the buildings were lower but spread farther apart. Chad didn’t slow down. He simply vaulted over the edge of a six-story building, grabbing a fire escape on the way down to break his fall.

"Jesus Christ," Kaine said, looking down at the drop.

He could see Marcus on the adjacent building, keeping pace with them. The ghoul caught his eye and pointed down at the alley, then held up two fingers. Kaine nodded, this had taken hours in during his free time to teach Marcus. It was sign language he was trying to teach the ghoul since speech was still an issue.

The plan was simple; Marcus would drop down and try to cut Chad off at street level.

Marcus stepped off the building without hesitation.

The ghoul hit the alley floor with a sickening crunch, his left leg bending at an impossible angle. He rolled with the impact, bones snapping audibly, but was back on his feet within seconds. The broken leg straightened itself with a series of wet pops, the supernatural healing already knitting the damage.

’That’s my boy. Loyal to the point of self-destruction.’

Kaine took a more conventional route, sliding down the fire escape with controlled abandon. By the time he reached the ground, Chad was already three blocks away, moving through the streets like a predator. The wight stayed to the shadows, avoiding the few streetlights that still worked in this part of town.

Marcus was waiting at the mouth of the alley, his pale eyes tracking Chad’s movement. The ghoul’s leg showed no sign of the recent trauma, though his pants were torn and bloody.

"Can you keep up?" Kaine asked.

Marcus nodded and took off running.

The pursuit moved through the industrial district, a maze of abandoned warehouses and empty lots. Chad seemed to know the area well, taking shortcuts through broken fences and ducking under low-hanging power lines. Every time Kaine thought he had the wight cornered, Chad would find another escape route.

They chased him through a construction site, over piles of rusted rebar and around heavy machinery. Chad leaped from the cab of a bulldozer to the roof of a work trailer, barely touching the surface before bounding to the next obstacle.

Kaine tried to anticipate the wight’s movements, positioning himself to cut off potential escape routes. But Chad was always one step ahead, reading the terrain like he’d been studying it for weeks.

’This isn’t random. He’s actually thinking everything through.’

The chase led them to an old factory complex, the kind of place that had been abandoned since the recession. Chad scaled the exterior wall of the main building, his claws finding purchase on the weathered brick. He moved up the five-story structure like a spider, never slowing.

"Screw this!" Kaine breathed.

He then proceeded to shape his right hand into a pistol and took aim.

[PHANTOM ARROW ACTIVATION DETECTED]

*Boom!!!*

The spectral bullet erupted from his fingertip, the recoil shifting one foot back as it flew through the air aimed at Chad’s shoulder.

However, something incredible happened at that moment.

The wight twisted in midair, somehow sensing the attack. The phantom arrow struck the brick wall where he’d been a split second before, leaving a scorch mark on the weathered surface.

Chad reached the roof and kept running.

"Marcus!" Kaine shouted. "Inside the building! Take the stairs!"

The ghoul crashed through a boarded-up window, the wood splintering around him. Glass shards embedded in his face and arms, but he didn’t slow down. Kaine could hear him moving through the building, his footsteps echoing in the empty spaces.

Kaine chose a different approach, using Shadow Step to teleport directly to the third floor. He materialized inside what had once been an office, the windows long since shattered. Through the holes in the floor, he could see Marcus below, climbing the interior structure with single-minded determination.

Chad was on the roof, moving toward the far edge. The next building was at least twenty feet away—an impossible jump for anyone who wasn’t completely insane.

’No sane person alive would make that jump,’ kaine wagered. But that was the mistake.

Chad was neither sane nor alive to begin with.

The wight reached the edge and launched himself into space. For a moment, he was silhouetted against the night sky, arms spread wide. Then he slammed into the side of the neighboring building, his claws scraping against the brick as he fought for purchase.

He found a handhold and swung himself up onto a window ledge, then continued climbing.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Kaine muttered.

He activated Shadow Step again, teleporting to the roof just as Chad disappeared over the edge of the next building. The wight was moving faster now, as if the extended chase had somehow energized him.

[SHADOW STEP SUCCESSFUL]

[COST: 15 ME]

[REMAINING ESSENCE: 870/900]

The pursuit continued across the industrial district, building to building, rooftop to rooftop. Chad seemed tireless, his movements becoming more erratic but no less effective. He would suddenly change direction, vaulting over obstacles or sliding under barriers with inhuman flexibility.

Marcus emerged from a skylight on the building to their left, his pale face streaked with blood and debris. The ghoul had somehow managed to get ahead of them, positioning himself for an intercept.

Chad saw him coming and adapted instantly. Instead of continuing straight, he dropped over the side of the building and began moving down the exterior wall. His claws left deep gouges in the brick as he descended, moving in a zigzag pattern that made him impossible to predict.

’He’s not just fast. He’s smart. Smarter than I gave him credit for.’

Kaine took aim again, this time targeting the wall beside Chad. The phantom arrow struck the brick, sending fragments flying. Chad flinched away from the debris, losing his grip for a moment.

He fell.

The wight dropped fifteen feet before catching himself on a window ledge, his claws scraping against the metal frame. For a split second, he hung there, vulnerable.

Marcus didn’t hesitate. The ghoul threw himself from the adjacent building, crossing the twenty-foot gap in a desperate leap. He was going to miss by at least five feet.

Instead of landing on the building, Marcus crashed into the fire escape of the structure below. The metal platform crumpled under the impact, and the ghoul plummeted another story to the alley floor. This time, the sound of breaking bones was like gunshots in the confined space.

Marcus hit the pavement hard, his spine twisting at an unnatural angle. For a moment, he lay perfectly still.

Then he began to heal.

The ghoul’s body straightened itself with a series of wet pops and cracks. His ribs shifted back into place, and his punctured lung sealed itself. Within thirty seconds, he was back on his feet, though his clothes hung in tatters.

’That’s what I call dedication.’

Chad had used the distraction to continue his descent. He reached the alley floor and took off running again, heading deeper into the industrial district. But something was different now. The wight’s movements had become more purposeful, as if he was leading them toward a specific destination.

They chased him through a maze of storage containers and abandoned vehicles. Chad moved between the obstacles like he owned the place, never hesitating at intersections or dead ends. He always seemed to know exactly where he was going.

The chase led them to an old railroad yard, where rusted train cars sat on forgotten tracks. Chad scrambled up the side of a boxcar and began running across the rooftops of the linked cars. The metal groaned under his weight, but held.

Kaine followed, using Shadow Step to cover the distance more quickly. He materialized on the roof of the car Chad had just vacated, the metal surface slick with evening dew.

[SHADOW STEP SUCCESSFUL]

[COST: 15 ME]

[REMAINING ESSENCE: 855/900]

Chad was two cars ahead, moving toward the end of the train. Beyond that was a forty-foot drop to the rail yard below. Surely even the wight wouldn’t be reckless enough to—

Chad jumped.

He sailed through the air, arms windmilling as he tried to control his descent. He landed hard on the roof of a maintenance building, the impact sending up a cloud of dust and debris. He rolled with the landing, came up running, and kept going.

’This is getting ridiculous.’

Kaine was about to follow when he noticed Marcus emerging from between two train cars below. The ghoul was moving parallel to them, trying to get ahead of Chad’s path. Blood still streaked his face from the earlier fall, but his movements were steady and determined.

Chad reached the edge of the rail yard and began climbing a chain-link fence topped with razor wire. The barbed metal sliced through his clothes and flesh, but he didn’t seem to notice. Dark liquid dripped from his wounds as he pulled himself over the top.

’Wait a minute. That’s not just blood.’

The liquid was too dark, too thick. And it was moving with a purpose that had nothing to do with gravity.

Chad landed on the other side of the fence and spun to face his pursuers. For the first time since the chase began, he stopped running. His glowing eyes fixed on Kaine with intensity.

The wight raised his hands, and the blood on his body began to respond.

’Oh, you have got to be shitting me.’

The dark liquid lifted away from Chad’s wounds, forming tendrils that writhed in the air around him. More blood seemed to appear from nowhere, pooling on the ground and rising to join the growing mass.

’Blood magic. Only third-generation vampires and above can do that shit. How the hell does a newly made wight have access to abilities I don’t?’

Chad gestured, and the blood formed itself into a complex web that stretched across the alley behind him. The red strands pulsed with their own light, creating a barrier that blocked any pursuit.

Kaine tried to push through, but the blood web was solid as steel. It held him back while Chad continued to weave more complex patterns with his hands.

’The system never said he could do blood magic!!’

The blood magic intensified, the web growing thicker and more elaborate. Chad’s eyes blazed brighter as he poured more power into the construct. The air around him began to shimmer with heat.

Marcus tried to go around the web, but it extended to cover the entire width of the alley. The ghoul clawed at the red barrier, his fingers coming away burned.

Chad completed his barrier with a final gesture.

The blood web shattered like glass, each fragment dissolving into thick red mist. Within seconds, the entire alley was filled with the red fog, so dense that Kaine couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face.

When the mist cleared thirty seconds later, Chad was gone.

’Son of a bitch.’

Kaine pulled out his phone and dialed Gwen’s number. After three rings, she answered.

"Where the hell are you? I’ve been waiting for—"

"Change of plans," Kaine interrupted. "I need your help with something. Something big.

"What kind of something?"

"The kind that involves hunting a supernatural creature through the city. The kind that might require your particular expertise."

There was a pause. "I’m listening."

"Meet at my place . And Gwen? Bring your gear. All of it."

"Now you’ve got my attention. Give me twenty minutes."

Kaine ended the call and looked at Marcus, who was still examining the remnants of the blood web. The ghoul’s pale eyes met his, and Kaine saw something there that might have been concern.

’Time to call in the professionals. Because if anyone can help me catch a manic supernatural creature with vampire-level blood magic, it’s Gwen.’