Zombies Sold Separately

by Cheyenne McCray

  I was pinned up against the stage.

  The cloth fluttered away from my grasp.

  My gaze riveted on the Zombie that had just impaled me with a slender metal pipe.

  Stars sparked behind my eyes as I reached up with my good hand and drove my dagger into the Zombie’s brain.

  Tears would have been flooding my face if I could cry. The pole was too long for me to pull out myself and I couldn’t move.

  “Help!” I shouted, forcing my words on the air so that another Tracker could hear.

  Colin appeared beside me.

  His mouth was set in a harsh line. He grabbed the pole. “You could bleed to death if I take this out.”

  “I’m Drow.” I gave a loud grown. “I’ll heal. Just do it.”

  He took a firm grip on the pole and jerked it from my arm.

  I screamed again. It hurt so badly that I could feel myself starting to black out from the pain.

  Blood flowed down my bare arm, flooding over my suit.

  “I’m fine.” I stumbled away from Colin. “Have to get the keystone.”

  The bursts of green and orange light filled the air like a pyrotechnics show.

  People in the crowd who hadn’t been changed into Hosts obviously thought it was part of the show from their laughter and shouts of appreciation. They continued to sing along with Sinatra.

  But more panicked sounds, more shrieks of terror, were starting to fill the air.

  Blood pounded at my temples.

  I had to hurry.

  The Sentients were taking over Host bodies. Amory’s mere presence was allowing the change to begin.

  I held my arm to my chest, gritting my teeth, and almost passed out again when my knees hit the ground.

  With my good hand I reached for the cloth and clenched it in my fist.

  My head was yanked back and I cried out.

  A Zombie had a tight grip on my hair.

  Colin came up from behind the Zombie and beheaded it with his sword.

  Screams came from all around as those close realized this was no show.

  At once the Zombie released my hair and I dropped onto my one hand, the cloth still in my fist.

  I shifted my body so that I was balanced on my knees and snatched the stone up in the cloth.

  Blood continued to pour down my arm from the wound and I felt lightheaded. I could bleed to death if I wasn’t careful.

  Stumbling, I somehow managed to get to my feet.

  I tossed the stone onto the stage.

  It rolled between the two Sorcerers.

  Desmond’s multicolored bursts of magic like small lighting, laser-like charges appeared out of his fingers and struck Amory.

  Amory looked stunned as a multicolored sparkling liquid gel form of him began to be pulled slowly from his body. The gel was attached to him and was being stretched out toward the keystone.

  Desmond’s power must have been drawing his essence out.

  A supernatural tug of war.

  It was happening so fast Amory had a look of horror on his face.

  “No!” he bellowed when he saw the stone. His image shot back into himself.

  Suddenly out of Amory’s liquefied form his magic flew out, full of sparks and multicolored laser lights, and the same amoeba and plasma appearance of Desmond’s multicolored magic.

  Amory’s magic came at Desmond’s in such a powerful blast it lit up Desmond’s entire body. I saw Desmond’s form start to be pulled out of him—just like Amory’s had.

  I held my free hand to my shoulder, pressing against the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood as I nearly held my breath. I could do nothing but watch this supernatural tug of war. A tug of war that held the earth in the balance.

  Sinatra sang on, as if there and oblivious to what was happening.

  Desmond thrust back at Amory with an even brighter glow.

  The battle between them looked evenly matched, their magic meeting at the middle, over the keystone.

  But then Amory took control.

  In the bright flare of light, Desmond appeared to grow pale. His features slackened as he weakened under Amory’s assault.

  Desmond’s liquefied image moved from his body again, only more fully, and began stretching out toward the center of the stage, where the stone was.

  It broke free and the floating blob form continued to move toward the stone.

  I released pressure on my shoulder.

  I grabbed my buckler from the center of my weapons belt.

  Raised it and flung it at Amory.

  The buckler bounced off a shield protecting Amory and landed on the stage instead of returning to me.

  A shield. The Sorcerer had shielded himself.

  My hopes sank.

  I glanced at Desmond who was struggling against the pull of Amory’s magic.

  Then renewed determination strengthened Desmond’s features. His image began to retract back into himself.

  Amory gave a cry of rage and I saw a renewed glow coming from him.

  Desmond’s image wavered.

  Something needed to happen. Desmond couldn’t do this himself no matter what he’d thought. He was losing the battle.

  We were losing the battle.

  Waves of agony made me weak.

  Still I hurried, running on the asphalt beside the stage.

  I ran to the left of the stage, until I was behind Amory.

  Every jostle of someone from the now screaming crowd made me come close to passing out.

  I held back a shout of pain when I used my air element to raise me to the level of the stage.

  On my knees and one hand I scooted onto the stage.

  I looked at Amory’s backside as I rested on my haunches.

  My vision swam as I watched the powerful ripple of muscles beneath his tunic as he fought. I noticed the shine of lights on his bald head.

  I reached across my body and drew my remaining dagger. Slowly I got to my feet and started toward the Sorcerer.

  “Nyx!” Colin’s shout morphed into a roar as an enormous Dragon rose beside the stage.

  The Dragon breathed fire and smoke at Amory. It rolled over his shield, showing that the Sorcerer was completely encompassed.

  There was nothing I could do.

  Maybe it was the pain that had made me forget that the Sorcerer was shielded. Or maybe it was something inside me that didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t do something.

  I stood behind Amory feeling impotent as I cradled my arm to my chest.

  The stage trembled from the power of the magic battle raging.

  A battle that looked like it wasn’t going well for Desmond. Not the way his face had paled again.

  My grip on my elements felt weaker and I didn’t know how much longer I could stand.

  I looked at Amory’s feet. The stage he was standing on.

  And wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. If I could catch Amory off guard, maybe that would be what Desmond needed.

  Dizzy from loss of blood, I braced myself with my feet shoulder-width apart. I raised my good arm as I called to my earth element.

  I imagined the earth cracking open as everything began to shake and rock. Then I called to my water element, drawing water from the closest main.

  Water, earth, and asphalt exploded through the stage where the Sorcerer was standing just feet from me.

  The stage bucked and I fell to my knees.

  Amory shouted in surprise as he lost his footing.

  He started falling through the gaping hole in the stage.

  The orange glow of his magic wavered. Amory had lost concentration.

  Desmond’s power strengthened.

  The thick green glow of Desmond’s magic reached Amory and encompassed him in a bubble.

  Amory cried out as the magic caught him and held him above the rent in the stage, keeping him from falling into the hole I’d created.

  Desmond’s power pinned Amory’s arms to his sides.

  Laser-like illuminatio
n shot from him, striking and lighting up Amory.

  And then Amory began slipping from himself.

  I watched, transfixed at the image of Amory being pulled again from his body straight toward the stone.

  “No, no, noooooooo!” He gave a painful, agonized cry.

  Amory’s entire body shuddered and trembled.

  “Yes.” The word came from Desmond with the sound of vengeance and determination behind it.

  The image of Amory reached the stone.

  And then it was sucked down, whirling, like water down a drain into the stone.

  “New York, New York … New York…”

  Sinatra’s powerful ending strain sailed through Times Square as the Sorcerer vanished.

  FORTY

  Saturday, January 1

  A cool evening breeze blew my hair over my shoulders on New Year’s Day when I reentered the Doran Otherworld with Colin.

  “Everything that happened last night—or early this morning—seems almost impossible to believe now that it’s over,” I said as we walked through the grass toward Amory’s manor.

  Colin nodded. “Like the night lasted forever, but then was over before we knew it.”

  The moment Amory had been sucked into the keystone, all of his magic of the night had been undone.

  Essences that had been stolen that night returned to their Hosts and the Sentients returned to their original bodies. That left no Zombies.

  “Casualties were over two thousand beings.” My heart hurt when I said the words.

  “Considering all of the Zombies created from the exchange we could consider ourselves lucky that it wasn’t more,” Colin said.

  “Every life matters.” I looked up at the thousands of brilliant stars overhead. “They were lives lost and I hate that. It can’t be undone.”

  “I know, Nyx,” Colin said quietly. “I feel the same way, but it was small compared to what it could have been.”

  The media had reported it as a terrorist activity. Theories abounded right and left from the media and the public. That was consistent with how the media and the public responded to every unexplained tragedy that we’d faced since I’d become a Night Tracker.

  As far as the fight between Amory and Desmond on stage, in front of a billion people on camera, everyone thought it was a part of the night’s festivities. Just an elaborate show. The authorities were not commenting, but with all the deaths being reported someone would be answering more questions. Tough questions.

  Tough answers, though. What else could be said? An evil Sorcerer and his Sentients had been coming to the Earth Otherworld to steal their bodies, their lives, and to ultimately take over the world. Good it wasn’t for me to figure out.

  Colin studied me as we walked. “How’s your shoulder?”

  I rotated my arm, flinching at the memory of the Zombie impaling me with the metal pole and pinning me to the stage. It was only a memory, not real pain. When I’d shifted into human form I’d partially healed. Tonight when I returned to Drow, it had completely healed.

  “It’s fine.” I let my shoulders relax as we went up another rise. “After the last shift, good as new.”

  Lights from the manor grew closer as we walked. “Did Desmond say how long it will take to match up essences?” Colin asked.

  “Desmond believes he recovered what he’s calling ‘the source stone,’” I said.

  Colin raised his eyebrows in interest.

  “I don’t know anything more,” I said, “except that Desmond thinks it will help him do the exchanges en masse.”

  “Where did Desmond get this ‘source stone’?” Colin asked.

  “He found the stone on Amory’s Zombie right after he defeated him. Desmond wanted to study it further before doing a mass transfer.” Colin and I were almost to the manor now. “If that hadn’t been found Desmond wasn’t sure he’d be successful in saving most of those who’d been taken.”

  Colin shook his head. “The whole thing is hard to grasp.”

  “Yeah, it sure is,” I said. “If Desmond fails we’ll have hundreds working around the clock to do all that can be done. He’s pretty confident it’ll work, though. I lean toward trusting Desmond.”

  Colin reached for my hand and held it in his. “What do you think Desmond has done with the stone containing Amory’s essence?”

  His touch, the easy manner he’d taken my hand startled me, yet at the same time felt comfortable. I wasn’t sure if it felt completely right or it was just my head fighting with my heart.

  With all that had happened, it seemed like forever since Adam had broken up with me. Yet … my heart felt like it was bleeding and I wondered when it wouldn’t feel like that anymore.

  I let Colin continue to hold my hand, though, part of at least an easy friendship between us.

  “Desmond just said he’d make sure the Sorcerer will never be able to hurt anyone again,” I said.

  Colin gripped my hand tighter. “Let’s hope he’s right.”

  When we reached Amory’s manor, we headed through it until we reached the cavernous Room of Life. Colin released my hand when I tugged at it.

  Desmond stood just inside the entrance when we walked in. He shook Colin’s hand and gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek that surprised me.

  I glanced over Desmond’s shoulder. “All of the stones are still here. Haven’t there been any transfers?”

  “To take the stones and find their host body would have taken years,” Desmond said. “Some would never have been found. Fate has given us a great big smile. I am completing mass transfers now.” Desmond appeared worn out, his wild hair looking like he had a serious case of bed head.

  “How are you doing this?” Colin asked.

  “With the knowledge and power I obtained from Amory when I locked him in the stone, as well as with the source stone.” Desmond rubbed his hand over his head. “I did not expect to take on Amory’s mind when the transfer occurred. I would not have chosen to take the evil I took on.”

  Desmond’s words send a chill creeping over me. “You took on Amory’s evil?”

  He shook his head. “I kept the important details I needed from him, and his power to combine with mine, then swept all of the evil away. It would have been crazy for me to keep it. It was beyond belief, the evil that had been within him,” Desmond said.

  Tingles of relief caused me to relax and I flexed my fingers. I hadn’t realized I’d moved my hand to my weapons belt at the mere mention of Desmond retaining Amory’s evil.

  “From Amory’s mind, I learned of something that he had found and was experimenting with,” Desmond said. “A ‘source stone.’ He was going to experiment in exchanging essences in mass with it, but decided since the stones were in place here that he wouldn’t take the risk.”

  “How is it used?” Colin asked.

  “It takes a special magic and concentration to draw power from the source stone.” Desmond looked over his shoulder at the many stones in the room and returned his gaze to Colin and me. “My power combined with Amory’s power, along with the knowledge I gained from his study of the stone’s magic, has provided us with what we need to reverse all the essences. I know I can do this.”

  “How are you going to do that?” I asked.

  “I’ll take the essences from stones here and perform the spell,” he said, “and transfer the essences in the stones into this source stone.”

  Desmond pulled a stone from his jeans pocket and held it up. The stone was larger and not plain-looking like the others. This one was as black as lava rock and as big as one of Colin’s big fists.

  “Amazing,” I said.

  Desmond leaned against a bare pillar that had once held stones containing essences. “I’ll return with the source stone to the Earth Otherworld and I’ll complete the transfer. The essences will go out from this stone and find their bodies once I complete the spell.”

  “What about the Zombies?” I asked.

  “They died within hours of Amory’s containment,�
� Desmond said. “Somehow Amory’s power had kept them alive. Without his power to maintain them, they quickly expired and literally vaporized to nothing. No trace can be found by anyone.”

  I gave a slight smile. “One less question for the norms in the Earth Otherworld.”

  Colin shifted his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “What about the essences from Amory’s world? What will become of them? Will they be trapped in the stone forever? Many of them are innocent, are they not?”

  “There is a world I know of from Amory’s mind that he wanted to choose,” Desmond said. “It was uninhabited. Amory’s lust for power and to conquer was great, though. He chose Earth over this other world because of the challenge to take over the infrastructure.”

  “What does that have to do with those beings who are innocent?” I asked.

  “This source stone is so powerful that it can restore those essences which are alive with a replica of their original healthy body in that world.” Desmond’s words surprised me into widening my eyes. “I will release them to that world and be done,” he continued. “It is up to them to make their way from that point.”

  With that Desmond raised his hand, the source stone on his palm.

  Brilliant colors and sparks flew from the stone. Loud crackling noises and thin, lighted laser-type trails soared from stones throughout the room into the source stone. It was almost blinding in its beauty of dazzling bright colors.

  Desmond smiled after the last spark vanished. “That’s it. Now to take it to the Earth Otherworld.”

  I stood there dumfounded. “Desmond, we owe our world to you. Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me.” Desmond shrugged with genuine modesty. “Just about anyone would do what I did if it came down to it. There was no choice.”

  “What about Amory?” Colin asked.

  “No Otherworld will ever have to worry about the Sorcerer Amory again.” Desmond pushed his hand through his long wavy brown hair. He looked younger then, like the weight of worlds was off his shoulders.

  “What did you do with him?” Colin said. “Where is his stone?”

  “Someplace he can’t be saved, someplace where he can’t save himself,” Desmond said. “In an Otherworld that is much like what is known as the Cretaceous period in the Earth Otherworld.”