Bones and Blades (Smoke and Shadows Book 3), page 28
I reached up and laid my hand on his shoulder. “It’s better than nothing, Ben.”
Ben patted my hand. “I know. I just wish I could do more.”
“Don’t we all,” muttered Sloane as we passed a small, above ground mausoleum and a wall of what looked like temporary housing for deceased fae. At least, I couldn’t see any names carved into the stone plaques. I assumed that any fae who passed away in this realm would find temporary respite in the aboveground tombs before being returned to their families and laid to rest in Fae.
I shivered as we hurried past the small cemetery and entered the hedge maze at the back of the Embassy property. It might have been my nerves at the impending zombie attack, but between the unexpected cemetery and the sinister hedge maze, the grounds of the Embassy were more spooky than reassuring. Calling the towering, living walls of the maze a hedge was like calling a whale a minnow. Although the thick, green walls provided additional security, they also blocked my line of sight of any incoming enemies.
Ben took the lead, followed by Sloane. I brought up the rear, prowling through the maze on the lookout for any rogue zombies, even as I carefully mapped the path in my head. A tiny part of me twisted inside as I watched the lanky necromancer hurry along the path. As much as I appreciated what Ben had done for the fae, I didn’t want the old man here, but where could he go safely with the lich attacking? At least Mama was out of harm’s way. For now.
Until zombies overran the city.
I shivered at the unbidden thought. I glanced up at Ben, something suddenly occurring to me. “Ben, you’re a necromancer, aren’t you? Can you do anything about these zombies? Like, I don’t know, wrestle control or something away from the lich?”
Ben shook his head even as he turned a corner, following the fae towards the center of the maze. “That Kroxius fella outclasses me by a few margins and then some. I might sway a sparrow to my side, but not much more,” he said, kicking at a loose stone angrily as we hurried down the dirt path.
I spoke consolingly even as I scanned the sky, now paranoid about zombie sparrows. “Well, it’s a good thing that you’re here, anyway. You gave these people some extra time, and that’s more than any of the rest of us could do.”
“I suppose,” the necromancer grumbled as we broke through the towering walls and into the center of the maze. A small fountain burbled at the entrance to the clearing in the center of the maze, bubbling unendingly into a small pool. Behind the fountain, a large, oblong tear in reality crackled with purple and green energy. Letitia stood at the edge of the portal, ushering her people through to Fae. Ben hurried over to the Ambassador, leaning his wild white head close to speak with her.
“Now, we’ve got to buy them just a little more time,” I said, putting my back to the portal and planting my feet carefully on the grass slick from the mist kicked up by the fountain. I raised my yatagan, ready for any incoming attack.
“Or kill the lich,” Sloane said, setting herself at my side, guns ready.
“Trust me, I wanna show that asshole my resting lich face,” I muttered to her.
I saw a wry smile twist the corner of her mouth as she recognized my gallows humor as the coping mechanism it was. It had been too easy getting the fae to the portal. We both knew it. The storm was coming. I could feel it in my bones.
Chapter 45
A hissing noise caught my ear. I whirled, sword at the ready, searching for the source of the sound.
“No need for that, my dear,” cooed a familiar voice. An image flickered faintly in the mist, rising from the burbling fountain before solidifying into the outline of a familiar red-haired demoness.
“Meridiana? What the hell?” I hissed.
“‘Where’, not ‘what’, my dear, but enough about me. We don’t have the time. You’ve been devilishly hard to track down.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Sloane looked at me funnily. “What does what mean? I didn’t say anything.”
Meridiana’s watery image shook her head. “The leprechaun can’t see or hear me.”
I held up a finger, silently imploring Sloane to wait while widening my eyes at the demoness, encouraging her to continue.
Meridiana’s image blew out a breath, the mist not fluttering an iota at the expelled sigh. “I mean, I’ve been trying to find you ever since I crossed over. I have news and not the good kind, I’m afraid.”
An icy fist clenched in my guts. “Tell me.”
“The demon we dispatched, Razgothan? Well, it seems he could communicate past that mangled excuse for a tongue.”
A fist twisted my gut. “What does that mean?” I rasped.
“It means that news of a human with ties to a djinn king is spreading like a sulfur scented fart through the Abyss even as we speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if word of your existence spreads to the djinn tribes soon. Please tell me you’ve found a way to harness your power completely.”
“Not well enough,” I said shortly, aware that I had an audience.
“Well, why ever not?” Meridiana exclaimed, a small wrinkle of irritation forming between her misty brows.
“I’ve been busy. There’s a lich in town.”
“Oh. Well, that complicates matters,” Meridiana sounded annoyed.
“Yeah,” I said grimly. An idea suddenly sparked, lit by the crackling portal behind me. “Wait! What if we opened a passage to the Abyss and shoved the lich through? He had a hard time fighting his way across the first time. Maybe this time it would stick?”
I heard Sloane suck in a breath behind me, but ignored her, focusing my attention on the wavering image of Meridiana in the fountain. She cocked her floating head to the side. “Perhaps. Is there anyone powerful enough to open the veil and close it again? Without someone able to do both, I’d advise against tearing a hole again. Isn’t that what got you into this mess in the first place? No, it would be much better if you could find one of the official Ferrymen like Manannan, Thanatos, or Charon to help you.”
“Someone like Maman Brigitte?” I asked, my mind racing to connect the dots. Maybe I could reach out to her somehow. She was kinda my boss, after all.
Meridiana didn’t give me time to think. “Precisely. Failing that, you could always try to use one of the designated crossings. Be warned, the Necrocracy placed powerful wards on those to prevent escaping souls, so you need to ensure that you don’t accidentally get pulled through.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Like I said, they’re guarded to prevent souls from escaping the Abyss. Even those who crossed over accidentally. However, those crossing points are difficult to find and even harder to activate and for good reason.” Meridiana’s flickering image glanced over her invisible shoulder. She leaned forward and whispered urgently. “You need to do whatever you can to get a grip on your powers, Cam, as fast as you can.”
“Why? What’s coming?” I asked, my stomach churning at the urgency in her misty eyes.
“Everything.” Meridiana looked over her shoulder and then back at me, her eyes wide.
“Hurry, Cam, for both our sakes.”
Her misty form winked out of existence. It left me staring blankly at a mundane, burbling garden fountain.
Sloane touched my elbow. “What’s going on?” she asked softly.
I jerked my chin towards the fountain. “Meridiana just popping in for a visit,” I said by way of explanation.
Sloane was well aware of my entanglements with the demoness and perhaps knew the redhead even better than I did, having unintentionally inherited the demoness’ powers for a short time on a wild girl’s night out.
“Did she say anything helpful?”
“Nope. Only vague, dire warnings about the future.” Now wasn’t the time to get into a long, complicated story involving demons, goddesses, a cryptic caller, and unusually powerful Supes.
“Typical,” Sloane snorted. “Ignore her for the time being. We’ve got bigger things to handle right now.”
I bobbed my head, but the icy fist on my guts hadn’t loosened with the demoness’ disappearance. If anything, it gripped even tighter.
Chapter 46
Ben hurried over to where Sloane and I stood, his long legs gobbling up the distance as Letitia tried to keep up.
“What’s the plan?” I said, noting their arrival out of the corner of my eye, but keeping my attention focused on locating incoming zombies.
Letitia had her arm wrapped around her side and a faint sheen of sweat covered her brow. “We’ve got to get the last of the provisions from the Embassy back here. I’ve split our healthiest forces. Half are guarding the injured in Fae, the other half will help me finish transporting what we need.”
I glanced over at her, suddenly glad that the rest of her coterie were out of earshot. I lowered my voice. “Not to undermine you, Ambassador, but you don’t look like you could carry much of anything. Stay here and guard the portal. I’ll make sure that your people get what they need and get back here safely.”
Letitia opened her mouth to protest, letting go of her side to tell me off. She wavered and almost collapsed. Ben caught her as she clenched her arm back to her side. She spoke stiffly, falling back on comfortable formality in her current predicament. “I believe, given the circumstances, that is the best alternative. The fae thank you for your help.”
I snorted at her overly formal tone. “No need to stand on ceremony. I’m pretty sure that’s one of the top three rules of a zombie apocalypse. One: Don’t let anyone eat your brains. Two: There’s no such thing as too many bullets. Three: Don’t waste time on formal speaking.”
Letitia grinned through the pain at me. I nodded tightly in return. We said all that needed saying in a millisecond. Letitia turned and raised her voice. “Fae! Follow Cam. Get what you need and get out. No unnecessary risks.”
I took off at a trot, hurrying through the maze, the fae hot on my heels. We’d been lucky to avoid any sort of attack so far, but I knew that luck couldn’t hold. Finally, I saw a gap through the towering hedge maze into the garden. I held up a hand for silence and crept forward, scouting ahead. Sounds of battle in the distance greeted me as soon as I broke through the dense cover of the maze. A blur of motion caught my eye as I neared the entrance. I froze and then relaxed just as quickly as I recognized the silvery mountain of fur.
Magnus.
He trotted over, snuffling at me. I ran my fingers down his ruff and dug them in to the soft fur underneath, drawing strength from the werewolf. “I’m ok,” I whispered, squinting through the gloom at the gardens and the mansion beyond. “Is there anything out there?” Magnus shook his enormous head, snuffling softly.
A dark shape appeared on the veranda, stepping out from behind the pillars. I froze, my fingers tightening in Magnus’ fur. The werewolf leaned his shoulder against me, tail thumping against my leg.
“What is it? A friend?” I asked, loosening my hold. Magnus bobbed his head in assent.
The figure on the veranda loped towards us, solidifying into a lean werewolf with fur so dark it looked entirely black in the dim light. I let out my breath as I recognized Andrei in wolf form. I squatted next to Magnus as Andrei raced towards us. The teenage wolf ducked his head as he approached us, eyeing the larger wolf with trepidation. Magnus didn’t acknowledge the younger wolf, so I held out my hand in welcome.
Stupid werewolf domination games.
“Did you see anything in the house, Andrei?” I asked, running a hand along his shoulder. His coarse fur wasn’t as thick or soft as Magnus’. The young wolf shook his head. I patted his side in silent thanks and slid back to the fae waiting behind me. Sloane held them back, giving me space to scout ahead uninterrupted, for which I was grateful. A wild white head bobbed up at the back of the group.
Ben?
That surprised me. I hadn’t realized the necromancer had followed us back to the house. I would have preferred if he stayed with Letitia, but there was little I could do about it now.
As I outlined my plan to my followers, I kept my voice low. “The wolves say there’s nothing out there. At least not yet. Andrei is going to scout ahead. Magnus, you watch our backs. Sloane, you stay on the porch and start shooting if you see any zombies coming around to flank us. Ben and I will go with the fae inside. Once we get to the house, get in and grab what you need. Then get out quickly and quietly.” I made eye contact with each of the fae until they all nodded their understanding. “Good. Then we all make it back here as fast as we can. Got it?” Tight nods met my words again. Knowing we didn’t have time to waste, I spun and led the way through the towering entrance of the maze and into the open gardens.
My nerves were singing on high alert as our little party rushed across the once pristine flower beds, grinding brilliant petals into the dirt as we rushed by on silent feet. The sounds of battle out front crescendoed, but we slipped into the back of the Embassy without being seen. I was thankful that the fae Letitia sent knew what they were doing. We were in and out in under five minutes, the entire party hurrying back towards the maze, loaded with precious provisions for the injured.
“I think we’re gonna make it,” Sloane whispered as she jogged alongside me at the back of the group.
“Don’t jinx it,” I said on instinct. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shape flit across the entrance of the maze. What were the chances it was as mundane as a bat? Luck, the capricious bitch, hadn’t been turning my way lately. I doubted she would start smiling on me now, of all nights.
The snarling, roaring clamor of battle spilled around the corner of the mansion. A little part of me hoped that Letitia’s wards were as good as she claimed. If they weren’t, the Norms of New Orleans were in for one hell of an eye-opening ride tonight.
I raised an arm and yelled at my party, “Go, go, go! Get to the maze!”
The fae needed no additional encouragement. They raced for the entrance guarded by the towering hedges, disappearing into the dark greenery in a matter of moments with practiced ease. I skidded to a halt next to Sloane and Ben just inside the entrance a moment later, peering around the corner of the living green wall at the mayhem boiling towards us.
Janko strode through the battle, roaring orders at his undead horde. Ghosts swirled around his head, diving at the zombie horde. Skeletons clattered over the paving stones in a macabre game of follow the leader.
The werewolves harried slow moving zombies at every step, darting in and out with practiced ease, ripping and tearing away whatever they could before dancing out of arm’s reach. It looked like the zombies were a mix of human and animal this time. They moved slower than the zombie animals in the bayou had done. As I watched, I saw one zombie take a swipe at an attacking werewolf. Instead of thoughtlessly pursuing the wolf and breaking ranks, the zombie looked over its shoulder, choosing to stay with the slow-moving pack as they pressed forward towards the gardens and the maze.
Shit. They were sentient.
I whistled, high and shrill, the sound cutting the encroaching battle noise to my allies’ ears. “Listen up, everyone! Sloane, you get back to the portal as fast as you can and warn Letitia and her folks about what’s coming. She needs to get that portal closed. Shoot at anything that moves, especially the birds. I don’t want any scouts making it easier for that mess of zombies to get through the maze.”
“Stumble,” Ben said absently at my side.
“What?”
“A group of zombies is a stumble, not a mess.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Sloane, get back there and warn the fae. And in those moments where you’re not sure if the undead are really dead dead, don’t get stingy with your bullets.”
Sloane nodded at me, a grim, half-crazy smile lighting her face. “You’ve got it.” She offered me a fist bump before sprinting off into the maze after the fae.
“Andrei, you and Ben hold the entrance. Don’t let anything through if you can help it, but fall back before you get killed. We don’t know if the lich can reanimate the dead in the middle of all this crazy, but I don’t want to be forced to watch you die and then kill you a second time. You feel me?”
Andrei let out a low yip I took for agreement. Ben patted the young werewolf on the head. “You got it, Cam,” the old necromancer met my eyes seriously. “Make sure you take your own advice now, you hear me?”
I smiled up at him. “I hear you.” I wheeled on my heel, calling to Magnus. My voice was low and urgent. The silver wolf appeared out of the darkness, matching me stride for stride as we raced to intercept the stumble of zombies.
What a shit name for something so terrifying.
If we all lived through this, I was going to have to tell Ben that his nomenclature sucked. And then I had no more time for thinking, only slashing, stabbing, and striking at anything undead that came remotely close to me and my yatagan.
Chapter 47
What felt like hours but was likely mere minutes later, I fell back to the fringes of the fray, panting heavily and sweating profusely. These zombies weren’t as fast as the ones from the bayou, but they were more coldly vicious because they applied rational logic to their attacks. We were also at a distinct disadvantage because we were mortal. Fatal wounds didn’t slow the plodding progression of the zombies, but they drained our meager resources.
As I stepped back to catch my breath, Magnus filled the gap. He was deadly, efficient, and frighteningly beautiful as he drove the entire group of zombies stumbling backwards a few paces. I leaned over, hands on my knees. I used the precious few seconds he had bought me trying to catch my breath.
A garbled voice sounded next to me. “This isn’t working.”
I turned my head to see Janko panting next to me, drool dripping down from his jaws as his oversized teeth protruded grotesquely from his gaping mouth.
“No,” I panted. “It’s not. We can’t win like this. We need to change the game.”
“How?” the ghoul ground out past his massive chompers.
I looked around, my eyes lighting on the massive hedge maze behind us where Andrei and Ben were easily picking off the few, small zombie creatures that made it to them. Janko followed the direction I looked and then our gazes locked.
Ben patted my hand. “I know. I just wish I could do more.”
“Don’t we all,” muttered Sloane as we passed a small, above ground mausoleum and a wall of what looked like temporary housing for deceased fae. At least, I couldn’t see any names carved into the stone plaques. I assumed that any fae who passed away in this realm would find temporary respite in the aboveground tombs before being returned to their families and laid to rest in Fae.
I shivered as we hurried past the small cemetery and entered the hedge maze at the back of the Embassy property. It might have been my nerves at the impending zombie attack, but between the unexpected cemetery and the sinister hedge maze, the grounds of the Embassy were more spooky than reassuring. Calling the towering, living walls of the maze a hedge was like calling a whale a minnow. Although the thick, green walls provided additional security, they also blocked my line of sight of any incoming enemies.
Ben took the lead, followed by Sloane. I brought up the rear, prowling through the maze on the lookout for any rogue zombies, even as I carefully mapped the path in my head. A tiny part of me twisted inside as I watched the lanky necromancer hurry along the path. As much as I appreciated what Ben had done for the fae, I didn’t want the old man here, but where could he go safely with the lich attacking? At least Mama was out of harm’s way. For now.
Until zombies overran the city.
I shivered at the unbidden thought. I glanced up at Ben, something suddenly occurring to me. “Ben, you’re a necromancer, aren’t you? Can you do anything about these zombies? Like, I don’t know, wrestle control or something away from the lich?”
Ben shook his head even as he turned a corner, following the fae towards the center of the maze. “That Kroxius fella outclasses me by a few margins and then some. I might sway a sparrow to my side, but not much more,” he said, kicking at a loose stone angrily as we hurried down the dirt path.
I spoke consolingly even as I scanned the sky, now paranoid about zombie sparrows. “Well, it’s a good thing that you’re here, anyway. You gave these people some extra time, and that’s more than any of the rest of us could do.”
“I suppose,” the necromancer grumbled as we broke through the towering walls and into the center of the maze. A small fountain burbled at the entrance to the clearing in the center of the maze, bubbling unendingly into a small pool. Behind the fountain, a large, oblong tear in reality crackled with purple and green energy. Letitia stood at the edge of the portal, ushering her people through to Fae. Ben hurried over to the Ambassador, leaning his wild white head close to speak with her.
“Now, we’ve got to buy them just a little more time,” I said, putting my back to the portal and planting my feet carefully on the grass slick from the mist kicked up by the fountain. I raised my yatagan, ready for any incoming attack.
“Or kill the lich,” Sloane said, setting herself at my side, guns ready.
“Trust me, I wanna show that asshole my resting lich face,” I muttered to her.
I saw a wry smile twist the corner of her mouth as she recognized my gallows humor as the coping mechanism it was. It had been too easy getting the fae to the portal. We both knew it. The storm was coming. I could feel it in my bones.
Chapter 45
A hissing noise caught my ear. I whirled, sword at the ready, searching for the source of the sound.
“No need for that, my dear,” cooed a familiar voice. An image flickered faintly in the mist, rising from the burbling fountain before solidifying into the outline of a familiar red-haired demoness.
“Meridiana? What the hell?” I hissed.
“‘Where’, not ‘what’, my dear, but enough about me. We don’t have the time. You’ve been devilishly hard to track down.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Sloane looked at me funnily. “What does what mean? I didn’t say anything.”
Meridiana’s watery image shook her head. “The leprechaun can’t see or hear me.”
I held up a finger, silently imploring Sloane to wait while widening my eyes at the demoness, encouraging her to continue.
Meridiana’s image blew out a breath, the mist not fluttering an iota at the expelled sigh. “I mean, I’ve been trying to find you ever since I crossed over. I have news and not the good kind, I’m afraid.”
An icy fist clenched in my guts. “Tell me.”
“The demon we dispatched, Razgothan? Well, it seems he could communicate past that mangled excuse for a tongue.”
A fist twisted my gut. “What does that mean?” I rasped.
“It means that news of a human with ties to a djinn king is spreading like a sulfur scented fart through the Abyss even as we speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if word of your existence spreads to the djinn tribes soon. Please tell me you’ve found a way to harness your power completely.”
“Not well enough,” I said shortly, aware that I had an audience.
“Well, why ever not?” Meridiana exclaimed, a small wrinkle of irritation forming between her misty brows.
“I’ve been busy. There’s a lich in town.”
“Oh. Well, that complicates matters,” Meridiana sounded annoyed.
“Yeah,” I said grimly. An idea suddenly sparked, lit by the crackling portal behind me. “Wait! What if we opened a passage to the Abyss and shoved the lich through? He had a hard time fighting his way across the first time. Maybe this time it would stick?”
I heard Sloane suck in a breath behind me, but ignored her, focusing my attention on the wavering image of Meridiana in the fountain. She cocked her floating head to the side. “Perhaps. Is there anyone powerful enough to open the veil and close it again? Without someone able to do both, I’d advise against tearing a hole again. Isn’t that what got you into this mess in the first place? No, it would be much better if you could find one of the official Ferrymen like Manannan, Thanatos, or Charon to help you.”
“Someone like Maman Brigitte?” I asked, my mind racing to connect the dots. Maybe I could reach out to her somehow. She was kinda my boss, after all.
Meridiana didn’t give me time to think. “Precisely. Failing that, you could always try to use one of the designated crossings. Be warned, the Necrocracy placed powerful wards on those to prevent escaping souls, so you need to ensure that you don’t accidentally get pulled through.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Like I said, they’re guarded to prevent souls from escaping the Abyss. Even those who crossed over accidentally. However, those crossing points are difficult to find and even harder to activate and for good reason.” Meridiana’s flickering image glanced over her invisible shoulder. She leaned forward and whispered urgently. “You need to do whatever you can to get a grip on your powers, Cam, as fast as you can.”
“Why? What’s coming?” I asked, my stomach churning at the urgency in her misty eyes.
“Everything.” Meridiana looked over her shoulder and then back at me, her eyes wide.
“Hurry, Cam, for both our sakes.”
Her misty form winked out of existence. It left me staring blankly at a mundane, burbling garden fountain.
Sloane touched my elbow. “What’s going on?” she asked softly.
I jerked my chin towards the fountain. “Meridiana just popping in for a visit,” I said by way of explanation.
Sloane was well aware of my entanglements with the demoness and perhaps knew the redhead even better than I did, having unintentionally inherited the demoness’ powers for a short time on a wild girl’s night out.
“Did she say anything helpful?”
“Nope. Only vague, dire warnings about the future.” Now wasn’t the time to get into a long, complicated story involving demons, goddesses, a cryptic caller, and unusually powerful Supes.
“Typical,” Sloane snorted. “Ignore her for the time being. We’ve got bigger things to handle right now.”
I bobbed my head, but the icy fist on my guts hadn’t loosened with the demoness’ disappearance. If anything, it gripped even tighter.
Chapter 46
Ben hurried over to where Sloane and I stood, his long legs gobbling up the distance as Letitia tried to keep up.
“What’s the plan?” I said, noting their arrival out of the corner of my eye, but keeping my attention focused on locating incoming zombies.
Letitia had her arm wrapped around her side and a faint sheen of sweat covered her brow. “We’ve got to get the last of the provisions from the Embassy back here. I’ve split our healthiest forces. Half are guarding the injured in Fae, the other half will help me finish transporting what we need.”
I glanced over at her, suddenly glad that the rest of her coterie were out of earshot. I lowered my voice. “Not to undermine you, Ambassador, but you don’t look like you could carry much of anything. Stay here and guard the portal. I’ll make sure that your people get what they need and get back here safely.”
Letitia opened her mouth to protest, letting go of her side to tell me off. She wavered and almost collapsed. Ben caught her as she clenched her arm back to her side. She spoke stiffly, falling back on comfortable formality in her current predicament. “I believe, given the circumstances, that is the best alternative. The fae thank you for your help.”
I snorted at her overly formal tone. “No need to stand on ceremony. I’m pretty sure that’s one of the top three rules of a zombie apocalypse. One: Don’t let anyone eat your brains. Two: There’s no such thing as too many bullets. Three: Don’t waste time on formal speaking.”
Letitia grinned through the pain at me. I nodded tightly in return. We said all that needed saying in a millisecond. Letitia turned and raised her voice. “Fae! Follow Cam. Get what you need and get out. No unnecessary risks.”
I took off at a trot, hurrying through the maze, the fae hot on my heels. We’d been lucky to avoid any sort of attack so far, but I knew that luck couldn’t hold. Finally, I saw a gap through the towering hedge maze into the garden. I held up a hand for silence and crept forward, scouting ahead. Sounds of battle in the distance greeted me as soon as I broke through the dense cover of the maze. A blur of motion caught my eye as I neared the entrance. I froze and then relaxed just as quickly as I recognized the silvery mountain of fur.
Magnus.
He trotted over, snuffling at me. I ran my fingers down his ruff and dug them in to the soft fur underneath, drawing strength from the werewolf. “I’m ok,” I whispered, squinting through the gloom at the gardens and the mansion beyond. “Is there anything out there?” Magnus shook his enormous head, snuffling softly.
A dark shape appeared on the veranda, stepping out from behind the pillars. I froze, my fingers tightening in Magnus’ fur. The werewolf leaned his shoulder against me, tail thumping against my leg.
“What is it? A friend?” I asked, loosening my hold. Magnus bobbed his head in assent.
The figure on the veranda loped towards us, solidifying into a lean werewolf with fur so dark it looked entirely black in the dim light. I let out my breath as I recognized Andrei in wolf form. I squatted next to Magnus as Andrei raced towards us. The teenage wolf ducked his head as he approached us, eyeing the larger wolf with trepidation. Magnus didn’t acknowledge the younger wolf, so I held out my hand in welcome.
Stupid werewolf domination games.
“Did you see anything in the house, Andrei?” I asked, running a hand along his shoulder. His coarse fur wasn’t as thick or soft as Magnus’. The young wolf shook his head. I patted his side in silent thanks and slid back to the fae waiting behind me. Sloane held them back, giving me space to scout ahead uninterrupted, for which I was grateful. A wild white head bobbed up at the back of the group.
Ben?
That surprised me. I hadn’t realized the necromancer had followed us back to the house. I would have preferred if he stayed with Letitia, but there was little I could do about it now.
As I outlined my plan to my followers, I kept my voice low. “The wolves say there’s nothing out there. At least not yet. Andrei is going to scout ahead. Magnus, you watch our backs. Sloane, you stay on the porch and start shooting if you see any zombies coming around to flank us. Ben and I will go with the fae inside. Once we get to the house, get in and grab what you need. Then get out quickly and quietly.” I made eye contact with each of the fae until they all nodded their understanding. “Good. Then we all make it back here as fast as we can. Got it?” Tight nods met my words again. Knowing we didn’t have time to waste, I spun and led the way through the towering entrance of the maze and into the open gardens.
My nerves were singing on high alert as our little party rushed across the once pristine flower beds, grinding brilliant petals into the dirt as we rushed by on silent feet. The sounds of battle out front crescendoed, but we slipped into the back of the Embassy without being seen. I was thankful that the fae Letitia sent knew what they were doing. We were in and out in under five minutes, the entire party hurrying back towards the maze, loaded with precious provisions for the injured.
“I think we’re gonna make it,” Sloane whispered as she jogged alongside me at the back of the group.
“Don’t jinx it,” I said on instinct. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shape flit across the entrance of the maze. What were the chances it was as mundane as a bat? Luck, the capricious bitch, hadn’t been turning my way lately. I doubted she would start smiling on me now, of all nights.
The snarling, roaring clamor of battle spilled around the corner of the mansion. A little part of me hoped that Letitia’s wards were as good as she claimed. If they weren’t, the Norms of New Orleans were in for one hell of an eye-opening ride tonight.
I raised an arm and yelled at my party, “Go, go, go! Get to the maze!”
The fae needed no additional encouragement. They raced for the entrance guarded by the towering hedges, disappearing into the dark greenery in a matter of moments with practiced ease. I skidded to a halt next to Sloane and Ben just inside the entrance a moment later, peering around the corner of the living green wall at the mayhem boiling towards us.
Janko strode through the battle, roaring orders at his undead horde. Ghosts swirled around his head, diving at the zombie horde. Skeletons clattered over the paving stones in a macabre game of follow the leader.
The werewolves harried slow moving zombies at every step, darting in and out with practiced ease, ripping and tearing away whatever they could before dancing out of arm’s reach. It looked like the zombies were a mix of human and animal this time. They moved slower than the zombie animals in the bayou had done. As I watched, I saw one zombie take a swipe at an attacking werewolf. Instead of thoughtlessly pursuing the wolf and breaking ranks, the zombie looked over its shoulder, choosing to stay with the slow-moving pack as they pressed forward towards the gardens and the maze.
Shit. They were sentient.
I whistled, high and shrill, the sound cutting the encroaching battle noise to my allies’ ears. “Listen up, everyone! Sloane, you get back to the portal as fast as you can and warn Letitia and her folks about what’s coming. She needs to get that portal closed. Shoot at anything that moves, especially the birds. I don’t want any scouts making it easier for that mess of zombies to get through the maze.”
“Stumble,” Ben said absently at my side.
“What?”
“A group of zombies is a stumble, not a mess.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Sloane, get back there and warn the fae. And in those moments where you’re not sure if the undead are really dead dead, don’t get stingy with your bullets.”
Sloane nodded at me, a grim, half-crazy smile lighting her face. “You’ve got it.” She offered me a fist bump before sprinting off into the maze after the fae.
“Andrei, you and Ben hold the entrance. Don’t let anything through if you can help it, but fall back before you get killed. We don’t know if the lich can reanimate the dead in the middle of all this crazy, but I don’t want to be forced to watch you die and then kill you a second time. You feel me?”
Andrei let out a low yip I took for agreement. Ben patted the young werewolf on the head. “You got it, Cam,” the old necromancer met my eyes seriously. “Make sure you take your own advice now, you hear me?”
I smiled up at him. “I hear you.” I wheeled on my heel, calling to Magnus. My voice was low and urgent. The silver wolf appeared out of the darkness, matching me stride for stride as we raced to intercept the stumble of zombies.
What a shit name for something so terrifying.
If we all lived through this, I was going to have to tell Ben that his nomenclature sucked. And then I had no more time for thinking, only slashing, stabbing, and striking at anything undead that came remotely close to me and my yatagan.
Chapter 47
What felt like hours but was likely mere minutes later, I fell back to the fringes of the fray, panting heavily and sweating profusely. These zombies weren’t as fast as the ones from the bayou, but they were more coldly vicious because they applied rational logic to their attacks. We were also at a distinct disadvantage because we were mortal. Fatal wounds didn’t slow the plodding progression of the zombies, but they drained our meager resources.
As I stepped back to catch my breath, Magnus filled the gap. He was deadly, efficient, and frighteningly beautiful as he drove the entire group of zombies stumbling backwards a few paces. I leaned over, hands on my knees. I used the precious few seconds he had bought me trying to catch my breath.
A garbled voice sounded next to me. “This isn’t working.”
I turned my head to see Janko panting next to me, drool dripping down from his jaws as his oversized teeth protruded grotesquely from his gaping mouth.
“No,” I panted. “It’s not. We can’t win like this. We need to change the game.”
“How?” the ghoul ground out past his massive chompers.
I looked around, my eyes lighting on the massive hedge maze behind us where Andrei and Ben were easily picking off the few, small zombie creatures that made it to them. Janko followed the direction I looked and then our gazes locked.
