Hedge Witch Diaries Complete Series Boxed Set, page 52
“No! Charlie!” I screamed.
I sprinted for the portal, desperate to follow her through. Gareth grabbed me around the waist, yanking me back at the last second.
“Let me go!” I shrieked, straining against him. “I have to save Charlie, and we need her! We can’t stop this without the Morrigan!”
“It’s too late!” He dragged me away, my feet scrabbling for purchase. Then, the inky portal shrank into nothing.
“Damn it!” I screamed.
“The portal’s closed.” Gareth’s voice was too damn calm, given the situation. “We need to get out of here!”
I collapsed against him, the fight draining from me. Sobs wracked my body. Without the Morrigan, we didn’t stand a chance.
We were screwed. Sideways, backward, every which way. Seven days a week, royally fucked.
Sydney grabbed my shoulder, giving me a shake. “Hey, I hate to interrupt.” She nodded toward the warehouse entrance. “We’ve got more company.”
I lifted my head to see dozens more of the resurrected dead staggering inside. Their enraged shouts echoed off the concrete walls as they dove toward us, not like zombies in the movies but like healthy men and women high on rage and energy drinks.
They surrounded us. I blasted a few of them to ash, but I didn’t know if I could target all of them at once. We didn’t have time for me to sit and think about it while I consulted past-life memories.
Gareth’s jaw clenched. “We have to leave.”
He clasped Sydney’s hand, then mine. I barely had time to take a breath before he teleported us out of the warehouse.
We reappeared atop a cliff overlooking the building. Below, the parking lot flooded with undead. They poured from every direction, converging on the warehouse like rivers merging into one.
Hundreds upon hundreds shuffled through the darkness. Maybe thousands. I’d never seen so many in one place.
It was like Woodstock for the dead. Minus all the peace and love.
My heart dropped into my stomach. There had to be something I could use, something to remember in my arsenal of past-life magic. I knew I could turn a few to ash at a time, but how could I stop an army of this size? And by size, I was talking every man, woman, and child who’d ever perished, all making their way here to the Ozarks.
This was what the Book of the Dead foretold. The dead would rule the world. Not with kings or queens but with chaos.
Gareth’s voice was grim. “With or without the Morrigan, we have to find a way.”
I swallowed hard. He was right. As the only remaining goddess, it was up to me now. What could I do, though? I needed another god or goddess to repair the veil. Even that was pointless if all the dead were already here. Somehow, I had to find a way to end all this at once. A way to suck the life—if you could call it that—out of each one on a global scale.
As I racked my mind, I couldn’t find an answer. Nothing in my own memory, for sure, but every corner of my mind belonging to ancient Isis turned up more dead ends.
I shook my head. “There’s nothing we can do. It’s done. All we can do now is hope we survive and help others do the same.”
“Aiden.” Sydney shook her head. “We need to get to him. To save him. We can take him with us to the Morai HQ. These dead bastards don’t have a god to lead them anymore.”
“Brilliant.” Gareth nodded. “The whole place is shrouded from view. The resurrected won’t find us there. At the least, it gives us a place to hide while we come up with a plan.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but first, we go get my brother. My guess, since Sydney is with us, he’s back at the trailer.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
We landed with a thud in the crabgrass. The familiar sight of my beat-up singlewide greeted me, along with the stench of death and decay. Sitting on the steps was Aiden, shotgun in hand, surrounded by a pile of zombie corpses with their heads blown clean off.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Sydney scrunched her nose at the carnage. “I thought pink flamingos and old appliances gave a place redneck curb appeal. Headless corpses take it to a whole new level.”
Aiden jumped up, beaming with pride. “Hey, y’all! Wait ‘til I tell ya how I figured out blasting their noggins off keeps ‘em down for good. Tried bullets first, but that only made ‘em mad as a stepped-on copperhead. So I got to thinking.” He tapped his temple, grinning. “Can’t bite if they ain’t got no teeth to chomp with! A little buckshot to the brainpan blows those suckers away for good.”
I sighed, the grisly scene sinking my heart even lower. We’d failed, letting Set escape. Now the dead walked, Dorian was still absent, and Charlie was dead. Again. As Aiden prattled on about his zombie-slaying brilliance, I tuned him out, grief and fear rising in my throat like bile. We needed a miracle, or we were all damned.
I cut Aiden off mid-sentence. “Charlie’s dead. For real this time.”
Aiden’s face fell, his exuberance vanishing. “Aw, hell, not again. What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter now. We need to get to the coven house where it’s safe.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but inside I was screaming. Charlie, my dear friend, was gone. Possibly for good this time if I couldn’t figure out how to bring him back.
Aiden shuddered. “That weird old place gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I know, but we’ve got no other choice. Grab your things. We need to go.”
He nodded, ducking inside the trailer. I stood there, heart cracking in two. What hope did we have? I had no answers. Only the lingering taste of failure and the cold whisper of fear in my gut. Disaster wasn’t coming. It was already here. There was no way to stop that many enraged dead people who were, pardon the pun, dead set on sowing chaos everywhere they went.
We arrived at Morai HQ, the coven’s stately old Victorian mansion, in seconds. Gareth teleported us directly into the grand foyer with its polished oak floor and crystal chandelier. Normally, the place filled me with a sense of power and purpose. Now, it felt empty.
Aiden whistled, impressed as always by Gareth’s abilities. “Man, I wish I could do that! Beats the hell out of my rusty old truck.”
I managed a weak smile. “Why don’t you poke around the library and see if you can help the others research this mess?”
His eyes widened in mock astonishment. “Me? In a library? Do your books have pictures?”
Sydney scratched her head. “Actually, more than you’d think. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I sighed, wishing I shared Aiden’s ability to find pleasure even in the bleakest situation. The weight pressing down on me was too heavy for laughter.
My feet carried me down the shadowed hallway toward the ritual room, almost against my will. I pushed open the heavy oak door and slipped inside, closing it firmly behind me.
The room was cold and silent, the sacred tools and magical implements shrouded in darkness. I sank to my knees on the stone floor, tears finally spilling down my cheeks.
“Oh, Charlie,” I whispered. “I don’t know if I can save you this time. I’ve failed you…failed everyone.”
I bowed my head, hugging my arms around myself. I didn’t know if I could resurrect Charlie again. Not without a body to work with. Besides, he was twice-baked dead. Made for great potatoes. Not so much when it came to corpses. He was gone. At least he took a god and a goddess with him. Maybe the Morrigan’s presence would ensure he found peace in the afterlife.
Never had I felt so lost and afraid, not even as long as I could remember in my first life as Isis. What good were my powers now? I didn’t feel like a goddess. Not even like a powerful witch. Only a frightened young woman whose magic didn’t seem strong enough to do the job. Certainly not enough to unravel an apocalypse that was already in motion.
I didn’t know how long I knelt there in the dark before anger rose in me, hot and fierce. I stood abruptly, fists clenched.
“No. I won’t give up.” My voice echoed off the chamber walls. “Whatever it takes, I’ll find a way to fix this.”
I strode from the ritual room, determination burning away my doubts. Most people, when faced with adversity, refuse to get their hopes up for fear of disappointment. I didn’t know if that was wise, though. Why be bummed out, pessimistic, and unhappy all the time if what you fear is that you’re going to be unhappy when you’re disappointed? Might as well hope for the best, even in a shit storm, rather than wallow in worst-case or even likely apocalyptic scenarios.
Maybe all would go to crap, but I’d feel sorry for myself then. Until then, against all odds, I had to believe we’d find a way to beat this thing. I was Isis reborn. Failure was not an option.
I marched down the hallway, my sneakers squeaking on the hardwood. As I turned the corner, I nearly collided with Aiden.
“Whoa there, firecracker.” He grasped my arms to steady me. “Where you off to in such a hurry?”
I shook free of his hold. “The library. I was coming to join you. I need answers.”
Aiden fell into step beside me. “Well, you’re in luck ‘cause answers are my middle name.” At my skeptical look, he amended, “Okay, my middle name is actually Eugene, but that’s not important right now.”
Despite everything, I felt my lips quirk. There was something calming about Aiden’s ignorant optimism. Better to be him than an educated stick-in-the-mud.
“Any luck researching?” I asked as we entered the library’s grand foyer.
“Not yet.” Aiden scratched his head, eyeing the rows of ancient tomes. “But me and books, we don’t really get along, if you know what I mean.”
I scanned the shelves, fingers trailing over dusty spines until I found the text I sought. A heavy, leather-bound tome marked with hieroglyphs.
“This may help,” I murmured, cracking it open on a table. Aiden peered over my shoulder as I turned the fragile pages.
“Can you read that chicken scratch?”
I nodded, though I was surprised I could. Another benefit of my past life. My head throbbed as I dove in. It was a bunch of bullshit about grain stores, weather patterns, and other economics of ancient Cairo. Nothing remotely magical. I slammed the book shut in frustration.
“It’s no use. I can’t focus.” I dragged my hands down my face. “My mind is too chaotic, and there are too many books here.”
Aiden’s hand settled on my shoulder. “Hey, don’t sweat it. We’ve hit walls before and busted right through ‘em. This zombie apocalypse don’t stand a chance against us.”
Despite everything, his optimism sparked my own. This was much bigger than anything we’d ever faced, but if Aiden could stay positive, why couldn’t I? I offered a small smile.
“You’re right. I can’t give up yet. There must be something in these books to help reverse all this.”
I selected another text, this one on necromancy and reviving the dead. Exactly the opposite of what we wanted to do at the moment. At least I was in the right ballpark, and maybe there’d be something about how to undo a resurrection or seal a veil in a way I didn’t immediately know. Even if the book didn’t have the answers, perhaps it would spark an ancient memory that held the answer.
Hope kindled within me once more as Aiden and I got to work researching. With my friends by my side, I would find a way to set things right.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The glare of the big screen TV in the Morai sitting room, complete with wet bar, burned my eyes as I flipped through channels. News helicopter footage showed zombies shambling through city streets, tearing people limb from limb. On another channel, some preacher shouted, “Judgment Day is here! Will you be a sheep or a goat?”
“Well, shit on a shingle,” I muttered. “This is really baaaaaad.”
Aiden’s laughter made me jump. I hadn’t heard him come in.
“Sheep joke!” he crowed. “Good one, Briar.”
“Look, the preacher said if I’m a sheep, I’ll get saved. Not so with the goats.”
Aiden shook his head. “Don’t think it matters much. Sheep and goats are all gonna get fucked. Which I realize sounds really weird, but that’s not what I meant. I swear.”
I chuckled. “I believe you, Aiden.”
“Thing is, we don’t need sheep and goats. We need lions, tigers, and bears!”
“Oh my!” I chuckled.
“Damn straight,” Aiden agreed. “Thankfully, you can call a few of those up. Maybe start a war between dead animals and dead people.”
I shook my head. “Honestly, I don’t know if it will matter. The whole plan before was to deal with Set, then fix the veil so no one could tear it open again. And so the dead we killed wouldn’t find their way back as soon as we dropped them.
“It’s so horrible, I can’t help but laugh,” I added. “Gallows humor, defense mechanism, whatever you want to call it.”
Aiden shrugged and shuffled over. “Could be worse. Least we got cold beer and good company for the end times.”
“Amen to that.” I clinked my bottle against his.
We drank in silence for a minute, contemplating the madness unfolding on the TV screen. Riots, zombies, biblical prophecies of the dead rising. Then, for some reason, soap operas. I mean, the world was ending. Did it really matter who slept with who, or who was at fault, or whatever shit soap operas are about?
Then again, every other station was broadcasting the news. Some people needed a little escape. Given my choices, though, I’d probably rather face a billion zombies than sit through a single episode of General Hospital. Just saying.
Clearly, this wasn’t an Ozark problem. It was worldwide now.
“Reckon we oughta ride it out here ’til this all blows over?” Aiden asked.
I nodded. “Good a plan as any. At the least, we’ll go out in a blaze of glory.”
We chuckled grimly and turned our attention back to the TV, waiting to see what fresh hell would rise next.
I shook my head, trying to clear the dark thoughts. Aiden’s optimism was infectious.
“It’s better to laugh than worry, right?” he suggested.
I nodded. “True. Not like fretting will help the situation.”
“Exactly!” Aiden leaned on the bar top, beer in hand. “When I’m upset, it’s hard to think past it. When I’m laughing or excited, it’s easy to think about other things.”
“The power of positive thinking,” I stated wryly.
Aiden nodded. “A lot of people say I only think about one thing, but that’s not true! I don’t only think about titties when I’m excited or happy, but it’s always T and A! And if I’m in a really good mood, I’ll think about the P, too. So that’s three things I can think about at once, minimum.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re a real sage, Aiden. A genuine mathematician. An intellectual giant.”
“I know, right?” He preened comically.
We shared a smile before I sighed and cracked open the book I’d brought in here, the one on necromancy. As I expected, it contained a lot about raising the dead but not much about putting them back in the ground again. Other than by killing them one at a time, which wasn’t viable when you were dealing with hordes of millions. Nuke them, maybe, but that would leave the whole world a radioactive wasteland and kill more people who could rise again. I wouldn’t put it past the world’s governments to try it, though. What they didn’t realize was with the veil compromised, anything could rise again at any time.
Maybe even Charlie and the Morrigan. Probably Set, too. But there was no guaranteeing any of that.
I stared blankly at Aiden, processing my thoughts.
“If I knew how to time travel, maybe I could go back and do things differently,” I stated finally.
Aiden shook his head. “That won’t work. They haven’t made the DeLorean since the early eighties. They’re hard to find.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. Of all the asinine, absurd things to say. I wanted to break the news that Back to the Future was only a movie, but I bit my tongue, refusing to comment. Aiden probably thought the Nazis stole the Ark of the Covenant, too. And that tornadoes could take you to the Land of Oz.
Instead, I turned my focus back to the book. I flipped through the pages, scanning for anything that might explain the madness happening in the world. The answers still eluded me.
Aiden rambled on, oblivious as always. I tuned him out, losing myself in magical theory and arcane history. Every now and then, I picked up enough of what he was talking about to laugh. It was good for me. It kept me grounded. Otherwise, with all this reading, I’d probably start glossing over things out of impatience.
No, the key was here somewhere, buried in these ancient pages. I had to keep digging.
Eventually, I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my eyes. “This is hopeless. There’s nothing here that can help us.”
Aiden looked over, concern etched on his face. “You’ve been at it for hours. Maybe it’s time to take a break. Get some fresh air.”
I sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Maybe a walk will clear my head.”
We headed outside, the air thick with the stench of decay and death. It was like walking through a graveyard. Except this was the whole world now.
I shuddered, the enormity of the situation settling heavily on my shoulders. I scanned the horizon and reached out to my spirit friends to ensure we weren’t in the path of any approaching dead. We were good for the time being. Still, that smell remained on the wind. Clearly, when we’d brought back the recently deceased before, it wasn’t as gruesome as raising all the dead.
“One spell did this.” I sighed. “Before Set released that magic, the resurrections were more intermittent.”
Aiden tilted his head. “Well, if one spell started it, could one spell end it?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. It’s sort of like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.”
Aiden nodded. “Yeah, what’s the point? You squeeze out the tube, and you have two options. Scoop all the toothpaste up, put it in a cup or a little bag, and make the best of it. Or, you say fuck it and buy another tube.”
