Read Online Queen of the Dead by Ty Drago - Free Book Online Page A

injected into the chest or abdomen of a Corpse, the result is a sudden and violent disruption of the host body’s tissue structure.”
    â€œEnglish?” Burt suggested.
    Steve sighed. “It makes the Corpse blow up.”
    Another round of applause, this one mixed in with assorted whoops and shouts of “yeah!” and “awright!”
    Then one of the girls, an Angel named Katie Bell, called out in her especially high-pitched voice, “How does it work?”
    â€œWe don’t really know,” Steve replied. “There’s no real physiological reason for saltwater to have such an effect on a cadaver, so it must be linked to the nature of the invaders themselves. But there’s no denying that it does work. Sharyn tested a Ritter on a Corpse just a few hours ago, and the results were…compelling.”
    â€œCompelling!” the Boss Angel exclaimed. “That ain’t the word for it! That Deader popped like a balloon! Pieces of him are probably still rainin’ down all over that alley!”
    This brought another round of cheers.
    â€œWe can kill ’em!” Chuck shouted. “We can finally kill ’em!”
    â€œBut…” Steve said. “There’s a catch.”
    The cheers died down.
    â€œAlways is,” Chuck muttered.
    â€œDepending on the size of the host body, full effectiveness can take up to ten seconds, during which time the Corpse remains dangerous.”
    Burt raised his hand, an old classroom gesture that he seemed to be the only one to bother with. I suspected he kept doing it because he knew his big brother liked it. “So…we gotta get in close enough to stick a Deader and then back away fast enough so he doesn’t kill us before the stuff can work?”
    â€œWell…” Steve stammered. “I wouldn’t put it quite that way.”
    â€œAin’t as bad as all that,” Sharyn assured us. “You hit the dead dude with a few shots of juice from your Super Soaker or pistol. Then, when he’s down, you let him it have it with the…Ritter.”
    As she said this last part, Sharyn winked at me.
    Inwardly, I groaned.
    â€œJust don’t hit bone,” Steve warned. “You can snap the needle. The best spot is right here.” He pointed to his stomach, roughly where his navel would be. “The soft abdominal tissue. It’ll take some force…I’m using large gauge needles…but once you penetrate the skin, the plunger only needs a second to empty the barrel.”
    â€œEach of you gets one of these,” Tom announced, “along with your usual equipment. But use it only as a last resort. I’d be happier if none of you has to get that close to a Corpse. Now Sharyn’s gonna walk y’all through the plan we’ve worked out, so listen up. We don’t know what the Corpses got in mind for Agent Ramirez, but we can make some pretty good guesses. Be ready to split in an hour. Good luck, Undertakers.”
    Then, with a nod to his sister, the Chief left the rec room.
    Sharyn grinned broadly. “Dudes, this mission’s gonna rock ! This here’s the first time y’all might get the chance to actually waste a Corpse! Well…except for Red, of course.”
    More applause.
    â€œCome on,” I muttered. “Enough.”
    â€œâ€™Fore we split,” the Boss Angel continued, holding up an empty Ritter, “I’m gonna walk y’all through how to use one of these and how not to get bit, beaten to death, or strangled in the process. Hot Dog…that’s your cue!”
    Dave’s here?
    This was supposed to be an Angels-only meeting, with the exception of the Hacker running the laptop. The fact that the Burgermeister had been invited was an interesting surprise, especially because I knew how badly he wanted to join Sharyn’s crew.
    Under the circumstances, I’d have thought he’d be grinning, glad to be a part of an