The Ravaging in Between (The Reanimation Files Book 3) by A. J. Locke

to Micah. “What’s going on?”
    Micah gave a small smile. “You’ll see. I wanted you to be surprised so I didn’t mention it before.”
    I frowned, but soon had to turn that frown into a more neutral expression because moments later, I was invited to come onto the stage. I took a deep breath, gathered my strength, and headed up. I could do this. I could totally do this .
    “Selene.” The speaker, a balding older man named Jerry, put his arm around my shoulder. I didn’t realize we were that close.
    “This is Margaret,” Jerry said. Margaret smiled at me.
    “Margaret was on the Brooklyn Bridge during the rampage caused by the ghost monster Renton Morse was in control of and she was severely injured,” Jerry said, addressing the crowd. “She was pregnant—almost full-term—and it is only because Selene was able to bring the massacre to an end, thus allowing paramedics to get to her in time, that both she and her baby were saved. Margaret would like to thank Selene personally.”
    My eyes widened as Jerry stepped back and Margaret came closer and offered me her hand. After giving me a handshake, she threw her arms around me and gave me a hug. I was caught off guard but I returned the hug, even though it was a bit awkward.
    “I remember thinking that even if I died I wanted my baby to live,” she said after she pulled back. “But I knew that if I didn’t get help soon, we would both be lost.” She pointed to where an older woman she bore a resemblance to stood in front of the stage with a stroller next to her. No doubt that was Margaret’s mother and her infant.
    “Because of you, my daughter has a chance to grow up, and I am around to watch her do so. Necromancy runs in our family, and when my daughter was tested at birth, it was revealed that she carries necromancer power.”
    That elicited cheers from the crowd. Necromancy could be detected in a newborn using runes if the parent chose to have the baby tested. Reanimation power usually wasn’t detectable until adulthood, which was when a lot of reanimators either got caught or went into hiding. Mine had awakened when I was a teenager, but that was a rare case and my grandmother had kept me protected.
    “I hope that one day Leah can grow up to be a strong, working necromancer like you, who helps others. Whether it is by helping ghosts with unfinished business, or as a member of the Paranormal Task Force.”
    “I hope so too,” I said. “Although I certainly hope she doesn’t end up in the kind of trouble I did.” That got a murmur of laughter from the crowd.
    “Thank you for the sacrifice you made,” Margaret said. “By whatever means you’re still here is a blessing, and I think it means you are meant to do great things in the world.”
    “Thank you, Margaret, I can only hope—”
    I was cut off by a scream somewhere in the crowd that wasn’t a cheer. When I turned, it was in time to see someone go flying through the air before slamming into several people. They all crumbled to the ground. People started shouting and trying to get away from the threat that had suddenly descended.
    I soon saw what that threat was. A ghost.
    The ghost looked as though in life he had ate, slept, and lived at the gym, and could have been a body double for The Hulk without any computer graphic enhancements. He was a nasty-looking motherfucker, and he barreled through the crowd like he was a wrecking ball and they were tiny bowling pins.
    My heart felt like a fist had tightened around it when I saw the ghost reach Taj and Leora. Leora was agitated and trying to help Taj get through the melee, but the ghost knocked Taj down, grabbed Leora, and lifted her into the air. I watched in rising horror as a shimmering yellow glow engulfed them and Leora started screaming. The feel of ghost energy skyrocketed. It was as though tiny currents of electricity were dancing across my skin. At first I couldn’t understand what I was looking at; then, in horror, I realized what