“I’ve never really met him,” I said. “Only in passing. Have you?”
Ellia’s voice was soft when she answered. “Yes, I have, actually. I knew him fairly well when I was younger. There was a point in time where we…hung out together.” By the way she said it, I could infer only one meaning.
“Were you two an item?” I glanced at her as I swung onto Cairn Street. Cairn Street led to the freeway, but a right turn on Third would take us to Puck’s house.
“I suppose you could say that, although we kept our trysts quiet. I preferred it that way. I didn’t want anyone getting too comfortable with the idea of being able to touch me. Puck is the only one who’s ever been able to touch my hands and come away unscathed. Luckily, I’ve never needed to go to the doctor.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. “Is it just your hands? I know that’s a private question and I normally wouldn’t ask it, but since we’re already on the subject…”
She paused for a moment. Then she said, “Yes, my hands. Honestly, I’m not sure about the rest of my body. That’s why I never been to a doctor. I suppose the fact that they wear gloves during examinations would decrease the risk, but I’ve never felt comfortable enough to try it. When my mother cursed me, all I knew was that my touch brought madness to people. My skin drove them into madness.”
“How did you meet Puck?”
“I was out wandering around Piper’s Copse one day. Puck appeared out of nowhere, and he tried to seduce me. I was upset that day, and when he teased me, I broke down and told him about the curse. Before I could stop him, he grabbed one of my hands and pulled off my glove. He clasped my fingers in his.”
I could understand just how terrified that would make Ellia.
“I screamed, trying to pull away, but then I noticed that nothing was happening to him. And I realized that he could touch me without being hurt. The idea that I could actually feel someone’s flesh against mine was incredible. It was intoxicating. You don’t know what it’s like never to know the feeling of someone’s skin against your own. Even for a handshake.”
“I can imagine that must have changed your world.”
“In a way, it did. He swept me into his arms, and we made love in a clearing. I returned the next day, and the next. I would sneak over to his house several times a week and we kept it up for almost two years. And then one day, I noticed that he seemed a little distant. When I asked him what was wrong, he broke down and told me what he is. And I realized I couldn’t keep him for myself. It wouldn’t be right to try to limit him. But I knew myself and my feelings. I could never be part of a stable, so to speak.”
I clutched the steering wheel, navigating the icy road. I had never heard Ellia sound so vulnerable, and I valued the trust she was placing me. “And so you broke up?”
“Yes. We met one last time, at least as lovers. He didn’t want me to go. He didn’t want me to be lonely. He wept when I dressed that one last time, and told him I’d never sleep with him again. But I told him that it was all right, that I would carry the memories of our time together with me. We’ve met to talk now and then, and each time he still offers me a space in his life. I suppose we fell in love, but love isn’t enough to overcome some barriers. And now, I’m seventy-five and he still looks thirty. But the passion is still there, my dear. Bottled up inside.”
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Thank you for telling me. Thank you for trusting me enough to confide in me. I know it sounds odd, but it makes me feel better to know that you had that. To know that you haven’t always been alone.” I wanted to ask her what Puck was, but decided to wait for later.
Third Street bent to the right, and at the bend I pulled off into the single driveway along the stretch of road. Puck was the only one who lived in the thicket, though there were plenty of houses on the right-hand side of the road. As I parked next to his old 1950s pickup, I glanced at his house. I had never really looked at it as I passed by, but now I saw that it was a cozy cabin, sheltered by the tall firs that surrounded his place. He had a bit of a front yard, but his cabin was tucked directly into the trees.
“Did he say where he’s at?”
Ellia nodded. “Around back, so let’s hustle. You should get your dagger out.” She paused, then added, “By the way, what happened at Veronica’s?”
“I was going to tell you tonight at the meeting, but since we’re here, now…Veronica assigned one of her generals to work with me. He went out looking for the serial killer last night, and he found a few bits of info that I sent to Sophia. I think he found one of the lairs that our killer was using.”
“Veronica’s general? She has generals?”
“Apparently she has an army. And get this: he’s not only one of her generals, he’s her lover. I can’t exactly tell you how they became lovers or when, but his name is Trecht, and he’s unnerving as hell. However, he’s working with me because the serial killer happens to be a necromancer, and he’s stealing the souls of the Unliving to strengthen his powers so he can better hunt down his living victims.”
“Aren’t we the lucky ones?” Ellia said, looking flabbergasted. But we put talk of the serial killer aside as we swung around the side of Puck’s house. He was standing there, guarding a woman who was bleeding and sitting on the snow. Puck was in a standoff, keeping a dour-looking creature at bay.
I shook my head. Something wasn’t right. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel like a spirit. “There’s something wrong, Ellia. That’s no Haunt, either. I don’t know what it is.” I fished around in my bag and pulled out my dagger, sliding out of the car as I did so. Ellia joined me, carrying her violin.
“What are you doing out here?” I addressed the spirit.
The creature turned to me, his eyes glowing a sickly green. He was dead, all right, but what the hell was he if he wasn’t a Haunt or one of the Unliving?
I didn’t recognize him from town. He was a tall man, looking bloated, which indicated he had been dead from three to five days. For some reason, his body reflected a particular stage of death. Sometimes the spirits appeared as they had looked during life. Other times they appeared as they had the moment they died. But this one looked like he would have after he’d been dead three or four days.
The spirit said nothing, staring at me balefully. He slowly lurched forward, and I suddenly realized that he was fully corporeal. There was something dreadfully wrong, and I wasn’t sure what it was. I wasn’t even certain my dagger would work on him.
“When did he show up?” I asked, stepping back.
“This afternoon. Shortly before I called Ellia,” Puck said. “Be careful, shaman. Since I first called, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s no spirit. At first I thought it was, but now I’m not sure what the hell he is.”
Ellia let out a gasp. “You’re right. He’s no spirit. I’ve never seen one, but I know what that is. It’s a zombie.”
“What the hell?” I turned to Ellia in disbelief. “You mean zombies actually exist?”
“Of course,” Puck answered. He laughed at me. “Kerris, you live in Whisper Hollow and yet question the existence of zombies? Of course they exist. And so do most things out of myth and legend. There’s almost always a reason behind the legends, you know.”
My mind scrambled, jumping from zombies to vampires. And what were wolf shifters but another form of werewolf? But what Puck said made sense. If we had spirits and ghosts and Sasquatch and aliens here in Whisper Hollow, why not vampires and zombies?
I was brought back to the present as the zombie grew closer. It didn’t seem to be able to run, so I quickly jumped to the side, out of its reach.
“I don’t know what to do with this. There wasn’t anything in Grandma Lila’s Shadow Journal about zombies. They’re not exactly spirits and I don’t know if I can affect them.” I stared at my dagger, wanting to try it out because it would dispel the Unliving and the Ankou. But a zombie wasn’t a spirit. As far as I knew, it was a brainless, mindless corpse running amok.
“Get out of its way,” Ellia said. “Spirit shamans can’t turn zombies.”
“Then what or who can?” I asked.
“I don’t know if a gun can stop them, but maybe we should call Sophia.”
I put in a call to Sophia as I once more moved away from the zombie. “We have a problem here,” I said, keeping a close eye on the animated corpse, which was still stumbling my way. “I don’t know what you can do, but apparently we have a zombie out in the Piper’s Copse. I’m staring at it right now and there’s nothing I can do because it’s not a spirit. I’d say whoever it was died within the past week, by the shape the corpse is in. We also need an ambulance. A woman has been hurt. You should notify Corbin, in case there’s anything he needs to do since she was wounded by a supernatural creature.”
“Holy crap. All right, I’m on my way. I’ll bring Gareth. Don’t engage it. I’ll call Corbin on the way and give him a heads-up. I don’t know much about zombies, but I do know that they pack a pretty mean infection if they injure you.”
“I’m not exactly intending to engage it,” I said. I stuck my phone in my pocket. “Sophia and Gareth are on their way. They don’t want us to engage this thing. Who the hell has the power to—” I stopped.
There was one type of person who could absolutely raise the dead. A necromancer. Which meant our serial killer was now using his powers to bring back the dead in an entirely different way. For what reason, I wasn’t sure. Nobody in their right mind would raise a zombie.
“Puck, do you know if anybody else is hanging out in your thicket? A necromancer had to raise this corpse, and I think it’s the same necromancer who’s on a killing spree. I don’t know why he’d want to create a zombie, but I have a feeling his plans have increased from just finding ready victims to something bigger.” Even as I said the words, I knew they were true. There were times when instinct showed you its hand, and I was seeing the cards bright and clear right now. Something about Whisper Hollow had called to the serial killer, and unless we actually found him, I had the feeling he was going to plant his roots here.
“I don’t know. To be honest, I haven’t paid much attention lately.” He looked back at the girl who was sitting on the ground, holding her leg. “Hold on, sweetheart, help is coming.”
She gazed up at him, eyes wide. “It hurts. My leg is on fire.”
“There’s an ambulance on the way,” I said, edging back as the zombie stumbled forward a few more steps. “It seems fixated on me. I suppose I can lead it on a merry chase until they get here. It doesn’t seem to be able to run.”
“Just don’t trip over anything.” Ellia pulled out her violin, setting it under her chin. She frowned. “I’ll try playing something to calm it, though I don’t know if it will do any good.”
She began to play, a soothing melody pouring out of her violin. I wanted to close my eyes and lose myself in it, it was so calming. But I forced myself to pay attention, every few moments darting a few steps farther away from the zombie as I led it away from the others. At least the walking dead moved a lot more slowly than the Unliving. The stray thought crossed my mind that Veronica probably took offense when people mixed up zombies with the Unliving. I would, if I were one of them.
As I moved farther away, Puck darted forward, skirting the zombie and joining me. I glanced at him.
“You shouldn’t have to do this on your own,” he said. He motioned for me to get behind him. “I don’t think the thing can affect me. So please, let me take your place.”
I more than willingly stepped aside, but as I did so, the zombie turned, following me. “Somehow I think he’s focused on me.” I stepped to the right, and the zombie stepped to its left. “Did anybody tell you obsession isn’t a healthy emotion?” I said, trying to lighten the situation.
Puck picked up a rock and threw it at the zombie. It bounced off of the corpse, landing on the ground next to it. But the zombie didn’t even look his way. It just kept coming after me.
“Okay, you freak.” I tried to control my breath, even though I was frightened. Although I knew that he couldn’t do much, I wished Bryan was with me. At least Puck seemed to be trying to help. As long as the zombie was focused on me, though, I could keep everybody else safe. Once again, I headed away from them. But when I spotted a firepit out back of Puck’s house, a thought crossed my mind. “Do you think fire would take care of this thing?”
“It might. I’ll be right back. Be careful until I return.” Puck headed toward his house on the run. Ellia switched songs, and I suddenly felt myself perk up. I felt stronger and more alert. She was playing a tune that she used when I was tired and needed an extra burst of energy.
“Thank you!” I called.
She just kept playing, strengthening the music.
As the melody grew stronger, so did I. I led the zombie over to the other side of the clearing, keeping it well away from her and the other woman. I was about six paces from it, and I intended to keep that distance between us.
About five minutes later, Puck came running back around the side of his house. He had something in his hands that I didn’t recognize at first, but then I realized what it was as he fitted it over his shoulders like a backpack. He was carrying a flamethrower. Where the hell he got it, and what he used it for, I wasn’t sure. But I immediately decided that I needed to be out of range to avoid a very fiery fallout.
“Don’t you use that thing until I move farther away,” I shouted.
Suddenly, the zombie froze, turning toward Puck. It started for him as quickly as it could move.
“You better hurry,” I said as I slogged out of the way.
Ellia shifted songs again, and this time it felt like the energy and magic of her music was headed toward Puck. He held out the nozzle of the flamethrower, the hose attached to the contraption on his back. I had the feeling he was carrying enough gasoline to torch himself and his house if he wasn’t careful.
“Stand back,” he called toward us.
Ellia and I moved in front of the woman who was injured on the ground. I realized we still didn’t know her name, but now wasn’t exactly the time for introductions.
Puck aimed the nozzle of the flamethrower toward the zombie and then anchored himself in the snow. As the zombie drew closer, he flipped on the switch and a massive flame shot out, engulfing the walking corpse. At that moment, I heard a siren in the distance. Sophia was on her way.
The zombie let out a garbled screech and spread its arms wide, staggering back from the impact of the flame. Whatever juices were saturating its clothing caught fire and, like a torch, the flames shot high into the air, blazing as they spread across the corpse’s body. I turned my head, shielding my eyes. While I knew that the zombie was already dead, the sight of a human being immolated wasn’t exactly on my want-to-see list.
Puck kept the flamethrower aimed at the zombie, pouring on the heat. The zombie lurched backward, tripping as it tried to stumble out of the way. It fell backward into the snow, but by now the fire had taken full hold, and the body blazed like a log.
At that moment, Sophia, Frank, and Gareth came racing around the side of the house, guns drawn. They skidded to a halt when they saw the burning corpse.
I let out my breath, starting to relax, before I froze again. The zombie sat up, still burning, and was attempting to get up off the ground. The damn thing was still moving.
“What the hell do we do?” I asked.
“As long as anything of it remains, it will attempt to continue on,” Gareth said. “Who was its target?”
I raised my hand. “Me. At least, I was its target until it noticed Puck carrying the flamethrower.”
Gareth reached over his shoulder, shrugging off the strap that crossed his chest. Attached to the strap, I could see a large hammer that looked a lot like a sledgehammer. Only it looked more wicked, with spikes on either end of the hammerhead. “I’m ready,” he said. “The rest of you move. Sophia, do you have the silver bullets?”
She nodded, he
r gun still trained on the zombie. “Should I give it a try?”
Gareth nodded, the hammer resting against his shoulder.
Sophia took aim, then shot. The bullet sped toward the zombie, piercing the center of the creature’s forehead. She shot again, and then a third time.
Whether it was the fire or the bullets, I wasn’t sure, but the zombie stumbled forward, landing on its knees. Then, almost as if in slow motion, it hit the ground. The crackling flames were the only thing we could hear, and after a few moments I realized that the creature was really, truly, dead.
Chapter Sixteen
As we stood there, staring at the burning body, the medics came around the side of the house. Puck pointed them toward the woman.
“Liza needs your help. Please tell Corbin that she was attacked by a zombie.” He walked over to her side and knelt, whispering something. I could see her shaking her head, and then, with a roll of her eyes, she turned away from him. Puck returned to stand next to Ellia and me.
“Somehow I don’t think we’ll be going on a second date,” he said, but there was a hint of mirth beneath his words. He didn’t look too upset. He turned to me. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “Thank you. There wasn’t much I could do to it, given it wasn’t a spirit. Sometimes people can make a big mistake because the Unliving are corporeal as well, but they are physical in an entirely different way. And they don’t come out during the daylight.”
Ellia pulled her cloak tightly around her shoulders. The snow was continuing to fall, and I realized that I was absolutely freezing.
“What time is it?”
“Going on six,” Puck said.
“I have to get home. Unless I’m needed for anything else?” The Crescent Moon Society would be meeting in half an hour and I wanted to see if Bryan had made it home.
Puck shook his head. “No, thank you for coming over. I’ll make a thorough search of the thicket and if I find anything unusual, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, I’d better go see how Liza is doing.” He looked over at Ellia, and I saw something in his eyes that told me he still had feelings for her. And yet I heard concern in his voice for Liza as well. Wondering what Puck was, but feeling the question would be intrusive, I gave him a nod and turned away.
The Phantom Queen Page 16