REBORN AS A NECROMANCER : BUILDING THE ULTIMATE UNDEAD ARMY-Chapter 35: The truth

The severed limbs hit the hardwood floor with a wet thud that seemed to echo through the silent apartment.

Kaine’s enhanced senses kicked into overdrive, every instinct screaming that something was wrong.

Too quiet. Way too fucking quiet.

He dropped into a combat crouch, scanning the shadows for threats. The apartment felt like a tomb.

But this was definitely Gwen’s place. Her leather jacket hung over the back of a chair, and that ridiculous abstract painting she’d bought at some gallery opening still dominated the far wall.

So where the hell was she?

His vision swept through the darkness, picking out details with crystal clarity.

The couch showed signs of recent occupation—cushions still compressed, a faint heat signature lingering where someone had been sitting. Gwen’s scent hung in the air, mixed faintly with that of Marcus.

But where are they?

Kaine’s enhanced vision scanned through the apartment like a predator. The bedroom was empty.

The bathroom, same.

Then he caught it—a heat signature, faint but unmistakable. Human warmth, alive and breathing.

Kitchen.

He padded toward the source, his boots making no sound on the hardwood. The kitchen door hung open, spilling yellow light into the hallway. He could hear something now—the soft, rhythmic sound of a knife against a cutting board.

Gwen stood with her back to him, completely oblivious to his presence. She’d changed out of her tactical gear into something more comfortable—tight black shorts that showed off her legs and a strapless top that left her shoulders bare.

Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.

For a moment, Kaine just watched her.

The domestic scene was so normal, so human, that it felt like stepping into another world.

He took another step forward, and her entire body went rigid.

She spun around in one fluid motion, the paring knife coming up in a defensive grip. Her eyes were wide with adrenaline, but when she saw him, her face transformed with relief.

"Jesus Christ, Kaine!" She lowered the knife, pressing her free hand to her chest. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were—" She stopped, studying his face. "You look like shit. What happened out there?"

"Sorry." He leaned against the doorframe, suddenly aware of how exhausted he felt. "Had to get Marcus what he needed. Ran into some complications."

"Complications?" Her eyes narrowed. "What kind of complications?"

Kaine ran a hand through his hair, feeling dried blood flake off his scalp. "The kind that involve hunters with blessed ammunition and things that shouldn’t exist."

Gwen set down the knife and turned to face him fully. "Are you hurt? You’re bleeding."

"Not any more." He straightened, looking around the kitchen. "Where’s Marcus?"

The question made her face tighten. She crossed her arms over her chest, and he noticed the defensive posture, the way she positioned herself between him and the back door.

"That’s... a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Gwen sighed, running a hand through her ponytail. "After I brought him home, he started getting restless."

"He was hungry."

"Yeah, well, when he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he started looking at me differently." She shuddered. "The way he was staring at me, Kaine... it wasn’t human. It was like he was measuring me for dinner."

Kaine’s jaw clenched. "Did he hurt you?"

"Almost. He lunged at me, I barely got away." She gestured toward the back door. "I managed to lure him into the storage room out back and locked him in. He’s been quiet for the last twenty minutes, but I can hear him moving around in there."

"Storage room?"

"It used to be a workshop for the previous tenant. Concrete walls, heavy door, no windows. Seemed like the safest place to put him." She paused, studying Kaine’s face. "What is he, Kaine? And don’t give me some bullshit about experimental surgery or a rare medical condition. I’ve seen enough supernatural shit to know when I’m looking at it."

Kaine was quiet for a long moment, weighing his options. He could lie, make up some story about Marcus being infected with something unusual. But Gwen had earned the truth, and he was tired of carrying the weight of his secrets alone.

"I’ll explain everything," he said finally. "But first, we need to get Marcus fed before he goes completely feral."

"Fed?" Her voice pitched higher. "Fed on what?"

Instead of answering, Kaine walked back to the living room where he’d dropped his grisly cargo. Gwen followed, her bare feet silent on the hardwood. When she saw the severed limbs lying on her floor, she stopped dead.

"Oh my God." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Are those...?"

"Human parts. Fresh ones."

She stared at the dismembered arms and leg, her face cycling through shock, disgust, and something that might have been understanding. "You went to get body parts. For Marcus."

"Yeah."

"Because he eats people."

"That, and he needs organic matter to complete his healing process."

Gwen was quiet for a long moment, her eyes fixed on the severed limbs. When she finally spoke, her voice was carefully controlled. "I think I’m going to be sick."

"You’ve seen worse."

"Have I? Because I’m pretty sure I’d remember helping someone feed human remains to their pet zombie."

"He’s not a zombie."

"Then what is he?"

Kaine met her eyes. "That’s part of what I need to explain."

Despite the horror of the situation, despite the fact that there were human body parts on her living room floor, Gwen nodded. "Okay. But we’re doing this outside. I’m not watching him eat... that... in my apartment."

She led him through the kitchen to the back door, which opened onto a small patio. The storage room was a squat concrete structure tucked against the building’s rear wall, originally built to house electrical equipment. A heavy metal door secured with a padlock was the only way in or out.

As they approached, Kaine could hear movement inside. Scratching, scraping, the sound of something pacing restlessly in a confined space. When Marcus heard their footsteps, the noises intensified.

"He’s been doing that for some minutes," Gwen said, fishing keys from her pocket. "Sometimes he makes these sounds, like he’s trying to say something but can’t form the words."

Kaine retrieved the body parts, carrying them in a garbage bag Gwen had provided. The weight felt heavier than it should have, laden with implications he wasn’t ready to face.

"Are you sure about this?" Gwen asked, her hand on the padlock. "What if he attacks you?"

"He won’t."

"How can you be so sure?"

Kaine considered the question. How could he explain the connection he felt to Marcus, the certainty that his creation would recognize him? The supernatural bond that linked them was beyond normal understanding.

"Because he’s mine," he said finally.

Gwen stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "I don’t know what that means, but I hope you’re right."

She unlocked the padlock and stepped back. "Go ahead. But if he tries to eat you..." She started but stopped, she couldn’t bare uttering the words.

Kaine smiled, nodded and approached the door. When he pulled it open, the smell hit him immediately—not decay, but something else. Something wild and desperate and hungry.

Marcus sat in the far corner of the small room, his back pressed against the concrete wall.

He was paler than before, almost translucent, and his eyes had taken on a reddish tint that made them glow in the darkness. His head was still attached at an awkward angle, but the wound seemed to be healing slowly.

When he saw Kaine, the restless movements stopped. His head tilted, and he made a soft sound that might have been recognition. The wild look in his eyes diminished, replaced by something almost like relief.

"Hey, Marcus," Kaine said softly, stepping into the room. "I brought you something."

He set the garbage bag down and opened it. The smell of fresh meat filled the confined space, and Marcus’s entire body went rigid with anticipation.

Kaine carefully removed the severed limbs, laying them on the concrete floor. Marcus watched every movement with the intensity of a starving animal, but he didn’t move from his corner.

"Go ahead," Kaine said.

Marcus needed no further encouragement. He fell on the human remains with savage hunger, tearing into the flesh with his bare hands.

The sounds he made were horrific—wet, organic, primordial. But as he fed, the gray pallor of his skin began to improve, and the awkward angle of his head slowly corrected itself.

From outside, Gwen called, "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yeah," Kaine replied, watching Marcus systematically consume the organic matter. "He needs to eat and rest. Everything will be normal after that."

Marcus finished feeding and settled back against the wall, his movements more coordinated than they’d been since the vampire attack.

The desperate hunger was gone from his eyes, replaced by something that looked almost like contentment.

Kaine left him there to rest and stepped back outside. Gwen was waiting on the patio, her arms crossed over her chest and her face carefully neutral.

"Well?" she asked.

"He’s better. He just needs some rest."

"Good." She locked the door again and turned to face him. "Now, about those explanations you promised..."

Kaine started to respond, but she held up a hand.

"First, you need to wash up. You smell like a cemetery and there’s blood in your hair." She wrinkled her nose. "Take a shower, then we’ll talk. I was cutting apples when you showed up—we can share them while you tell me everything. It’s going to be a long night anyway."

She was right about the smell. Between the fight with the vampire, the chase through the cemetery, and hauling around human remains, he probably reeked of death and violence.

"You sure you want to hear all of this?" he asked.

"No," she said honestly. "But I think I need to."

Kaine nodded. It wasn’t like he slept much anyway—his supernatural nature had changed his relationship with rest, making him more nocturnal than human. And she deserved to know what she’d gotten herself into.

"Alright," he said. "But fair warning—once I start talking, there’s no going back. This is going to change everything."

Gwen looked back at the locked storage room, then at the blood under his fingernails, then at his face. "I think everything already changed the moment you were pronounced dead, but you weren’t."

She was probably right about that too.

"Bathroom’s down the hall," she said. "There are clean towels in the linen closet. Take your time—I’ll get the apples ready."

As she walked back toward the kitchen, Kaine realized he was about to cross a line he’d never crossed before.

He’d never told anyone the complete truth about what he’d become, what he could do, or what it meant for the future of the war against the vampires.

But looking at Gwen’s retreating figure, he knew he didn’t have a choice anymore. She was part of this now, whether she liked it or not.

And if they were going to continue on living, she needed to understand exactly what she was dealing with.

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