“Sissies,” Rodney said with a pained laugh.

  Bones didn’t reply. The faster this was completed, the faster Rodney could heal. Bones placed Rodney’s extracted heart on the nearby tray. Then, he cut Dave’s heart out of his exposed chest cavity, and handed the organ to Rodney.

  The ghoul shoved it into his chest, his arm disappearing up to the elbow. More retching noises sounded from Cat’s team.

  Bones ignored that as he placed Rodney’s heart inside Dave’s exposed chest. Rodney’s body would automatically pull his new heart into place, but Bones had to line up all of Dave’s veins and arteries himself. When that was done, Bones held the bloody knife against his own neck and bent over Dave’s new heart.

  Time to activate it.

  Bones sliced into his neck until the knife grazed his spine.

  His blood poured over Dave’s transplanted heart. When it ebbed, Bones willed more of that red flow as well as his power into Dave.

  Rise, Bones silently urged Dave.

  Nothing. No flare of answering energy, and no signs of healing. Bugger. Both should have been instantaneous.

  Bones cut his neck again, willing out more power and blood. Still nothing. He sliced his neck a third time, forcing out more blood while simultaneously filling Dave with enough power to reanimate a dozen ghouls.

  Rise. Rise now!

  Dave remained as dead as the day Lazarus had killed him, and Bones had used up all his blood. Worse, his power now felt drained, too, all without a flicker of response from Dave.

  Rodney gave him a grim if sympathetic look. He’d also known that raising Dave might not be possible. Eleven weeks was the longest anyone had lingered in the ground before being raised. Dave had surpassed that marker by three weeks.

  “You tried,” Rodney said very softly.

  Bones glanced at Cat. Her face was very pale, but her eyes were fixed on Dave’s chest as if she could make his heart come alive from willpower alone. Then, Cat looked at him, and her gaze was so full of hope that fresh determination filled him.

  Cat trusted him to do this. Moreover, she hadn’t given up with Grendel even when she could barely breathe from pulverized organs, a fractured collarbone, and a shattered ribcage.

  Bones wouldn’t give up, either. Dave would walk out of this cemetery.

  Bones held up seven fingers since his throat was still healing from his latest deep gouge.

  “Move it,” Cat snapped when the blood volunteers hesitated.

  They came and took turns kneeling in front of Bones. He drank deeply from each of them, not worrying about how some staggered as they walked away. Don had bagged blood on hand to replenish these donors. That’s what the medical unit was for, but Bones needed fresh blood for its greater potency.

  When Bones felt nauseas from overfeeding, he bent over Dave’s body again. This time, when he cut his neck, he left the knife jammed into his jugular. Blood gushed out, but it was nothing compared to the power Bones hurled into Dave. Bones tore it from himself as if he were expelling deadly poisons instead of the very strength that marked him as a Master vampire.

  Rise, damn you! Rise!

  A faint pulse of energy came from Dave, no more than a spark, but it was something. Bones aimed more power at it, trying to fan that flicker while pushing more blood into Dave until it spilled out the sides of his chest.

  That’s it! Come on, rise!

  That spark became a flame, boomeranging power back into Bones. He channeled it right back into Dave, using the last of his strength to turn it into a circle that flowed between them. Soon, Dave’s essence was feeding on Bones’s power the same way that a new vampire fed from their sire’s neck, and Dave’s fingers and toes twitched.

  “Holy Christ,” Tate whispered.

  “Bones needs more blood,” Rodney snapped as Bones began to sag. He’d expelled too much power, but he couldn’t stop now. The flame of Dave’s life force needed more or it would flicker out.

  “Get six new donors,” Rodney shouted. “Now!”

  Bones barely heard Cat echo Rodney’s order. His hearing was fading from feeding every ounce of his power back into Dave. His vision had started to darken, too, until all he saw was shadows that melded into an approaching void of unconsciousness.

  Then, blood lit that void as Rodney shoved the first donor’s neck hard enough against Bones’s fangs that they pierced it without him biting down. Bones swallowed, strength whispering through him at the fresh blood. More swallows increased that strength, and Bones fed from the next donor without Rodney assisting him. By the time the sixth donor lurched away, Bones could see and hear again. Then, he coiled that newly replenished power within him before shoving it back into Dave.

  That flickering flame blazed into a fire.

  Cat dropped to her knees as Dave opened his eyes and turned toward her.

  Bones sagged back on his haunches, exhaustion claiming him.

  Rodney replaced the cut-away section of Dave’s ribcage back over his heart. Once he did, Bones forced himself to move again. Rodney couldn’t do this next part. Only he could.

  Bones rubbed more of his blood over Dave’s patchwork chest, willing it to heal. After a moment, it did. Then, Dave’s body began generating its own power as death lost its final grip on him. Soon, cracked skin became unblemished flesh and Dave’s body filled out as new muscle replaced its former decomposition.

  “Dave?” Cat’s voice broke as her friend slowly blinked at her and tried to speak. “Can you hear me?”

  A faint nod, and then a single word. “Cat…”

  She burst into tears. Juan did, too, as did Tate when he grabbed Dave’s hand and the formerly dead man squeezed back.

  “I don’t fucking believe it,” Tate whispered.

  Cat swiped at her tears, but she couldn’t stop smiling as she caressed Dave’s cheek. “Yeah, buddy, it’s me. I’m here.”

  “Did…the vampire…get away?” Dave rasped.

  Tate and Juan exchanged a shocked look, but understanding dawned on Cat’s face.

  “He thinks he’s back at the cave.”

  Of course he did. That was the last place Dave remembered. Bones would have warned her about that, if he wasn’t so exhausted that even sitting felt like too much activity.

  “What happened?” Dave’s voice was no longer a rasp. His color was better, too. He was nearly finished healing. “Am I in the hospital?” he asked with a glance at the bright lights and white tented walls around him.

  Then, he reared back when he saw Bones. “There’s another vampire here!”

  Tate’s laugh was harsh from tears. “We know. It’s okay.”

  “Okay?” Dave tried to get up.

  Cat held him down. “Don’t! Your chest is barely finished knitting back together!”

  “What…” Dave’s voice trailed off as he finally looked down and saw blood coating him as if he’d bathed in it. Then, Dave’s eyes really widened when he saw the coffin beside him, and just past that, the rectangular hole in the ground and the marker above it that bore his name and the date of his death.

  “What?” he said again, with anguish this time.

  Cat moved so close that he could see nothing except her.

  “Dave, listen to me. Don’t worry about the vampire. He won’t hurt you. Neither will the ghoul next to him. You…you weren’t hurt in that cave.” She paused, her voice breaking. “You were killed. Yes, that’s your grave, and that’s your coffin. It’s been three months since you died, but we…brought you back.”

  Dave stared at her for a long moment. Then, he smiled. “You’re trying to scare me because I broke formation. I knew you’d be mad, but I didn’t think you’d go this far-”

  “She’s not trying to scare you,” Tate interrupted. Fresh tears slid down his cheeks. “You died, Dave. We all saw it.”

  Dave’s gaze flew to Juan.

  Juan swallowed hard before pushing by Cat to hug Dave from behind. “Mi amigo, lo siento. It’s true. You were dead.”

  Dave looked around again, seeking anyone who would deny it. When no one did, he sagged against Juan.

  “But what…how…?”

  Cat got up and came over to Bones, touching him while she also laid a hand on Rodney’s shoulder.

  “We had a choice, Dave.” Her voice was thick from suppressed tears. “Now, you have to make one, too. These two brought you back, but your humanity is gone, and nothing can change that. You’re only with us now because…you’re a ghoul.”

  Horror and denial filled Dave’s features.

  “I’m so sorry!” Cat burst out. “So sorry for not warning you in time when that vampire ran out of the cave. He killed you, Dave, but you can continue on this way…undead.”

  Dave looked around more wildly this time. “This can’t be true!”

  Denial was a powerful emotion, but seeing was believing.

  “Look, mate, feel your neck,” Bones said. “You don’t have a pulse anymore. Or, take that knife and slice it across your hand. See what happens.”

  Dave felt his neck, waiting. When he felt nothing, he gasped, and then grabbed the knife and cut his arm. The red seam healed moments later, and Dave wailed a single word. “No!”

  Old memories knifed Bones. He’d screamed that, too, waking up over two centuries ago as an unwilling new vampire. No words could describe the shock, especially since Bones had awoken with a murdered man in his arms. He hadn’t even remembered killing him. The bloodlust had been so strong it erased everything else.

  Perhaps he’d made the wrong decision. Perhaps Cat and her mates hadn’t known what Dave truly wanted. He looked at the sword just past the open grave. It might be needed.

  Cat saw where he looked and ran over to grab Dave’s hands.

  “Let me tell you from experience that you can overcome an unexpected heritage, Dave. We are who we make ourselves to be, and you’re still you! Nothing can change that. You’ll still laugh, cry, do your job, lose at poker…” Tears choked her before she forced them back and went on in a stronger voice. “We all love you, Dave, and there is so much more to you than your former heartbeat. So much more.”

  Dave wept, too, looking shocked when the tears came out pink instead of clear. Juan hugged him tighter, and Cat and Tate embraced him, too, until he was surrounded on all sides.

  This couldn’t be more different from how he’d spent his first undead moments. Once more, Ian’s annoyed expression flashed across Bones’s mind. “Quit weeping, Crispin! You’re a vampire now, and all new vampires kill. You’ll control yourself enough to stop in a few days. Besides, this bloke was an arsehole, so you did the world a favor…”

  Rodney nudged Bones’s shoulder, the simple gesture chasing away those dark memories.

  “Give him a minute,” Rodney said softly. “He’ll be okay.”

  “I don’t feel dead,” Dave was whispering. “I remember hearing you scream, Cat, and seeing your face…but I don’t remember dying! How can I not remember that? And how am I supposed to go on if I’m dead?”

  “You’re not dead,” Tate said with a vehemence Bones hadn’t expected of him. “Dead is stuffed inside that box. That’s not you anymore, but you are my friend. Always will be, no matter what the fuck you eat.”

  “Well, well,” Rodney said softly.

  Bones was surprised, too. He hadn’t expected Tate to accept Dave this unconditionally. Perhaps he’d judged him too harshly.

  “I didn’t believe that pale prick when he said he could wake you up,” Tate went on.

  Bones’s lips curled. There was the bloke he detested.

  “But you’re here,” Tate continued. “So, don’t you dare even think of covering yourself back up with that dirt. I need you, buddy. It’s been hell without you.”

  “It’s true,” Juan said, sniffing. “You can’t leave me. Tate’s too boring, and Cooper only wants to train.”

  Dave let out a dry laugh that caught when he realized that he’d done it. Then, he touched his mouth with surprise.

  Yes, you can laugh, Bones thought. You can do everything you could do before, save for breathing and dying so easily.

  Dave’s hand slowly lowered. “What’s been going on that you have a vampire and a ghoul raising the dead for you?”

  Cat took his hand. “Come with us, and we’ll tell you all of it. You’ll be all right, Dave. I promise you. You used to trust me before, will you please, please trust me now?”

  Her gaze begged him more than her words. Bones couldn’t have refused her anything if she looked at him that way. From his expression, Dave was swayed by it, too.

  “Come on, amigo,” Juan urged him.

  “We’re all here for you, man,” Tate said.

  Dave looked at all of them before he stared at his headstone. Then, a brittle smile edged his mouth.

  “The weirdest thing of all is that my mind’s cotton candy from everything you’ve said, but for a dead man, I feel pretty great. We’re in a cemetery, aren’t we?”

  At Cat’s nod, Dave stood up, moving slowly as if not trusting his body. Then, he gave an experimental shake of his limbs. When he realized that everything worked, he smiled more naturally.

  “I hate cemeteries. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

  Cat, Juan, and Tate mobbed Dave again. When they finally let him go, all four had tears, but they were also all smiling.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Cat promised, and watched as Tate, Juan, and Dave walked toward the exit. Don met them at the flap that served as the tent’s door, and he put an arm around Dave and led him out himself.

  Well. The cold bastard might have a heart after all.

  Bones forgot about that as Cat tackled him with her hug. It knocked both of them back into the blood that had pooled on the ground, but she didn’t seem to care as she kissed him fervently enough to make him wish they were alone.

  “You’re welcome,” Bones said with a laugh.

  “Hey, I helped, too,” Rodney teased.

  Cat got up and gave Rodney a hearty buss on the lips. Bones laughed as he rose and pulled her back against him.

  “That’s thanks enough for him, Kitten. You won’t get rid of him if you keep that up.”

  Her blazing smile faded as she ran her hands over him. “You look awful, Bones. God, is raising a ghoul always so brutal?”

  Bones exchanged a look with Rodney. Cat meant all the blood, but the real battle had been what she couldn’t see.

  “Not normally,” Rodney said. “Just a pint usually does the trick, but your boy was cold for a long time, Cat. Frankly, I didn’t think this would work. You’re lucky Bones is so strong.”

  “I am lucky,” Cat said at once, smiling at Bones again.

  “Hey, Crypt Keeper,” an annoying voice called out.

  Bones turned. Tate had come back into the tent, an unwavering if defiant look on his face.

  “I keep my word, so I’m here to say that I’m sorry for saying you were full of shit about raising Dave. In this case, I’m thrilled to be wrong. Since vampires are more about actions than words, however, you can have a swig at my expense.”

  At that, Tate tugged down his collar and bared his neck.

  Bones’s brows went up. Had a speck of honor, did he?

  “You look like shit,” Tate went on, killing that flash of admiration. “Anybody ever tell you that you’re too pale?”

  Bones chuckled as he approached Tate. “Once or twice, and since I’m knackered, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  Tate tilted his head. “Just don’t kiss me first.”

  A speck of honor and a sense of humor. There might be hope for Tate yet…if Bones didn’t kill him first.

  Bones bit Tate, fast and businesslike. It didn’t take much for him to feel better, now that he wasn’t channeling all his energy into Dave.

  “Apology accepted,” he said when he was finished. Then, he turned to Cat. “We don’t want to keep your friend waiting, Kitten. He has a lot to learn. Rodney,” he clapped his mate on the back. “Your help was greatly appreciated, but I know you want to go. Thanks again, and I’ll ring you in a few days.”

  Cat hugged Rodney one more time before he left.

  Once Rodney was gone, Cat gave Bones a wry smile. “We still have to deal with my mother. She’s been secluded at the compound this whole time, so she doesn’t know anything that’s happened since you were taken away in the capsule over a week ago.”

  Bones smiled at the thought of Justina finding out that not only was he alive, he was also her new son-in-law. Would she faint or scream herself voiceless? Either would be amusing.

  “Indeed, yes,” he said. “Can’t have your mum trying to kill me all the time, can we? But don’t fret,” he added as Cat’s smile fell. “She won’t be any harder than raising the dead.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that,” Cat muttered, but her smile was back, and that was all Bones cared about.

  The future would never be free from hardship, but with Cat at his side, he’d meet whatever challenges came-and beat them, too. Now that he had the woman he loved, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

  Just ask the empty grave behind him.

  THE END

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It should surprise none of you that I tend to be a little wordy, but this time, I’m going to keep it short. As always, my first thanks go to God because this has been my dream job since I was a little girl, and I can’t believe I still get to do it. After that, a hearty thanks to Nancy Yost, Natanya Wheeler, Cheryl Pientka, and everyone else at NYLA; to my dear friends Melissa Marr and Ilona Andrews; my sisters Jeanne and Jinger; my husband Matthew; my other beloved family members, and of course, readers, reviewers, bloggers, librarians, and everyone else who has allowed Cat, Bones, and the rest of the Night Huntress gang into your lives. It’s been an honor taking this trip with you!

  Finally, thanks to Kat Diaz for guessing BOTH FEET IN THE GRAVE as the book title that I’d picked in my “Name That Book” contest. Great minds think alike, Kat! *wink*

  ALSO BY JEANIENE FROST

  Author’s Note: The Night Rebel, Night Huntress, Night Prince and Night Huntress World series all contain stories set in the same paranormal universe. The Broken Destiny series is set in a different paranormal universe that’s unrelated to those series. Thanks and happy reading!