Witching Moon

by Yasmine Galenorn

  Herne nodded, pointing to Viktor and Kipa. “I suggest that when Raven casts the spell the three of us go in and break apart the ones who are still unaffected. Then we can go to work on the ones that are being held. Ember, protect Raven. Raven, do you need to concentrate on the spell during the entire time that it’s working?”

  I shook my head. “No, this is one I can just cast and let go. But once I’m done with that, there’s not going to be much I can do. It’s an extremely potent spell, and I’m aiming for maximum effect. If I just targeted one I would have more energy.”

  “Okay, then Ember, definitely protect Raven. If they get through us and head toward you, the two of you run back and get in the car. I don’t care which car, just get in it and lock the doors.” Herne paused, glancing at me. “Can they break into cars easily?”

  I shrugged. “Eventually they can break through the glass of the windows or windshield. But I think it will take them a while. Even though they are far stronger than they normally would be if they were just in their inanimate form, their bones don’t weigh that much and so when they beat against the window, if it’s a single pane it will break. But car glass is sturdier. Okay, they’re close enough. I need space so the rest of you fan out and get ready to go.”

  The skeletal walkers were close enough now to see clearly. And that’s exactly what they were—walking skeletons, shuffling across the lawn as their bones made rippling noises like an eerie xylophone. Their jaws were open, as if they were trying to speak but nothing came out, and no sound came out of their mouths.

  A red fire glowed from their eyes, giving them sight enough to see where they were going, but it wasn’t their sight—it was the sight of whoever had animated them. It was like a form of radar. I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but it gave the skeletal walkers a sense of where trees and people and animals were. It didn’t process through their minds, because they had no minds, but it was like a robot sensing where something was.

  I summoned up my energy, gathering it up like a coiling vortex inside, and I willed it into my fingers, ready to cast as I held out my hands toward the walkers. I took a deep breath, and then in a loud voice, cast the enchantment.

  The flesh is gone, the bone remains,

  no blood runs through skeletal veins,

  life force replaced by magic will,

  I now command thee, freeze, be still.

  In one great rush, the energy billowed out toward the walkers, surrounding them with a misty cloud. It blew through their eye sockets, through their gaping mouths, surrounding their bones. The walkers slowed, as though they were walking through mud and then, fully paralyzed, three of them stopped, caught in stasis until the spell wore off.

  The other three kept coming, unaffected by the spell. Viktor, Kipa, and Herne moved in, swinging their great hammers. The skeletons reached out, clawing at them, but the men were able to keep them at bay as they hit the creatures again and again.

  Herne let out a grunt and with one mighty swing, his skeletal opponent shattered, the bones falling apart. The magic had held them together like glue, until at last brute force broke through. Viktor managed to decapitate his skeleton, and Kipa knocked the legs out from under the one he was fighting. It went down, still clawing its way to him, using its hands to pull itself along.

  Herne moved onto the frozen ones, swinging again and again.

  I held my breath, hoping that the spell would keep, that it wouldn’t break until they were so much dust and powder. But the next moment, Herne yelled, as one of the skeletons that had been frozen began to move again. The skeleton Kipa was fighting was still dragging itself along the ground toward him, but he swung his hammer high, bringing it down on the skull. The thick bone fractured, breaking it into pieces. Its arms were still moving, still trying to drag the torso forward, but it couldn’t sense where anyone was.

  Kipa turned to the other frozen skeletons who were now on the move again.

  Ember tapped me on the shoulder. “We should get back.”

  I nodded, wondering if I had enough magic left to try for another spell, but I knew that I couldn’t manage it. I let her lead me back away from the fight, which was growing closer.

  The men continued to battle the skeletons, and the sound of crunching bones filled the air. The skeletons neither screamed nor wailed, nor gave any sign that they were in pain. And truly, they weren’t. They were mere automatons, playthings for the Dragonni. But it was still unsettling to watch the men pulverizing these creatures who at one time had been the framework for human beings. But the body was no more the heart of the spirit than a box was the sum of what it held within it. Bodies were vessels, and so were the skeletons—simply a physical part of mortal existence.

  One of the skeletons managed to latch hold of Herne’s ankle—it was the headless one without legs that had been dragging itself along the ground. Herne cursed and brought his hammer down, smashing the vertebrae and the ribs, and then the arm bones. Finally, he pulled the hand bones away from his leg and tossed it across the lawn. It tried to scuttle back to him and he brought his boot down on it, shattering it into fragments until it was finally still.

  I shook my head. If it took two gods and a half-ogre to fight six skeletal walkers, what would we do when Typhon was really active on this world?

  I turned to Ember. “If this fight is this difficult, can you imagine if the Dragonni enlist armies of these creatures? There are certainly enough skeletons in the world for them to do that.”

  “Don’t even think of it,” Ember said. “We’ve got to do something before then. Maybe form militia units to go out and fight these creatures when they’re spotted? We’ll need to require that they be shifters, Fae, or perhaps even vampires. But then again, what will we do if the vampires prove to be affected by the dragons?”

  “That I don’t even want to think about. But you’re right, we should form a few militia units. We’ll have to get permission from the United Coalition, I imagine. Or maybe we can enlist the Fae militia—they’re still training in TirNaNog and Navane.”

  At that moment, Herne gave a triumphant cry and we looked over to where they were standing. All the skeletons were broken to pieces, and the men were pulverizing the bones that were left. I folded my arms across my chest as Ember and I returned to the sidewalk, and then walked across the lawn, not getting too close should any stray bones still be creeping around. But we could see the damage done.

  “Are you guys okay?” Ember asked.

  Kipa nodded, breathing hard. “Yeah, I’ve got a few scratches on me, though. Luckily, I’m most likely immune to any poison they may have had. Do they usually carry poison?”

  I shook my head. “No, not usually. Not unless they’re carrying daggers, and it looks like these walkers weren’t. So what do we do now?”

  “You tell us. You know more about skeletal walkers than any of us. Should we clean up the bones?”

  “You know, you might want to bring Akron in and have him douse the area with holy water. It would probably end any residual magic that might still be around.” I looked around the cemetery. “Do you know how many hundreds of people are probably buried here? We better keep a guard out here, in case the dragon twins decide to come back and build a few more of their toy soldiers.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Herne said. “I’ll make a few calls.” He moved to the side.

  I turned to Ember. “Are we still on for tomorrow? To go over to the veterans home?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, so get a good night sleep. I have a feeling we’re going to be run ragged over the next few weeks. Because you know that pair isn’t going to stop with just a few skeletal walkers.”

  “Yeah, I know. That’s what scares me.”

  Kipa and I walked back to my car after saying good-night to the others. I wasn’t sure what Herne was going to do about a guard, but that was up to him. Kipa tossed his mallet in back, and I stretched out in the front seat, leaning my head back against the headrest. I fastened my seatbelt, and as he p
ut the car into gear and pulled out of the cemetery, I couldn’t help but glance down the road toward the area where the veterans home was. I could see phantoms here and there, wandering the streets, unable to be seen by most others. As we drove past them they looked toward the car, noticing my energy. I just looked back at them, too tired to figure out who they were or why they hadn’t crossed over.

  “Tomorrow is going be one hell of a day. I’m glad that Sejun gave me something to help me to sleep, because I’ll need it.”

  Kipa nodded, and turned the radio to a classical station. “When we get home, I’ll give you a back rub and you can take a long bath and then go to bed. Would you like cookies? I’m not very good at baking, but we can stop somewhere and pick up some.”

  I laughed. “You’re too good to me, and I thank you for that. And no, I don’t want cookies, but some ice cream would be fun. I think we’re out.”

  We stopped at a Frosty Freeze and Kipa ran inside, coming back with a bag full of different flavors. “I couldn’t decide what sounded best, so I got several I know you love, and a couple I like. Do you think two and a half gallons is too much? I think I got five quarts.”

  Relaxing, I shook my head and poked my nose in the bag to see what he got. “No, and I’ll guarantee you that if we give Raj some, this will be gone by tomorrow. Let’s go home and put on an old movie and climb into bed with Raj and ice cream and just chill.”

  And that’s what we did.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kipa had breakfast ready by the time I got up. He was quickly becoming a decent cook, at least for simple things. And the kitchen was clean, unlike when he had first attempted to cook for me.

  “Do you have to go into the office today?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately, I got a message from Mielikki’s Arrow. She wants me over there for a few days. Will you be all right here without me?” He slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me, along with the stack of toast points. I loved toast, and two slices were never enough.

  I was about to answer when my phone jangled. I glanced at the caller ID.

  My mother.

  “Hello?” I said, holding the phone to my ear. I wasn’t about to put her on speaker. I never knew what she was going to say and even though she seemed to like Kipa, I was still cautious about her interaction with my friends.

  “I thought I’d show up tomorrow morning. Will that work for you?” That was my mother. Down to business.

  “Sure. It’ll be good to see you again,” I said. And I meant it. Mostly.

  Phasmoria was an intimidating force, and she was about as far from an apple-cheeked, aproned mother holding a plate of cookies as you could get. But she was handy in a fight, and she had my back—that much I knew. For a long time I had resented the fact that she had left me with my father, but now, after some time and reflection, I realized that it had been for the best. I wouldn’t have thrived if I’d had to live in the Morrígan’s Castle. And life among the Bean Sidhe wasn’t a barrel of fun for any child.

  “Good. I’m bringing you a present. Will your young man be there?”

  I tried not to crack a smile. To hear my mother refer to Kipa as my “young man” was hilarious. But truth be told, if you paired them off in a fight against each other, I wasn’t sure which one would survive. Of course, the gods were immortal, but I imagined that Phasmoria could inflict a buttload of damage on Kipa before he managed to disarm her. He was extremely polite to her whenever they met—and I had never seen him be as polite to anybody else.

  “He has to head over to Finland for a few days. So it depends on how long you’re going to be here.”

  “That depends on what we’re going to be doing. What are you up to?”

  I groaned. I hated telling my mother about situations I got myself into because she was always a smartass about it. She’d help me out when she could, but she was a smartass.

  “I’m headed over to an old veterans home today to try and corral an ancient creature that has decided to wake up. I happened on it by accident, and at first I thought I woke it up. But then we discovered that it works on a cyclic timeframe. Oh, and the Dragonni have hit Seattle. We took care of some skeletal walkers last night.”

  My mother was fully aware of Typhon and the damage he was bringing with him. In fact, she had been the one to warn me first that I would be on the front lines, dealing with the collateral damage. For once in my life, I wished she had been wrong.

  “Well, isn’t that lovely? How are you doing? Also, you and I are going to have quite a talk about why you didn’t tell me what happened to you until after the fact.”

  “How could I have told you what was happening to me when I was in the middle of it? Pandora had me tied down to a stone slab, and she was pulling off my nails and teeth. I couldn’t very well text you at that moment.”

  I rolled my eyes, and Kipa stifled a snort. “Parents,” he mouthed.

  “Yes well, that’s true enough. But you should have called me the moment they rescued you. I would have come immediately.” The concern was apparent behind her words, even though they came out as criticism.

  “Thank you for caring.”

  “Of course I care. I’m your mother, child. I’m not some stranger. You carry my blood in your veins, and I will always be here for you. Speaking of which, have you told your father about what happened to you?”

  I grimaced. “No. It would hurt him too much. I don’t want him to know. And don’t you tell him either!”

  “We’ll talk about it when I get there. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that she hung up.

  I stared at the phone, shaking my head. “Sometimes I’m grateful I didn’t grow up with her. Honestly, I love Phasmoria, but she is a pain in the ass.”

  And with that, I got busy eating my breakfast so that I could get over to the agency.

  Kipa packed an overnight bag and, after giving me a long kiss good-bye, headed out in his truck. I made sure the wards and security system were set, told Raj to be good and left him snacks, and headed out in my car.

  It took me an hour to get across the bridge thanks to rush-hour traffic, but I finally made it over to the agency and parked in the parking garage. I jogged across the street toward the building, glancing up at the overcast sky. It had to be seventy-five and it was muggy as hell. I stopped, staring at the thunderclouds. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, skipping from cloud to cloud, and thunder rumbled right behind it. The clouds opened and a drenching rain came pouring down, soaking me within seconds. The streeps began to run for cover as I held out my arms, letting the downpour soak me through. The lightning charged me up and even though I was wet, it made me feel alert and ready for action.

  As the rain drenched me, I sputtered and jogged up the steps to the building, pushing through the front door just as another round of lightning came through, this time the thunder lagging a few miles behind it.

  Deciding it best to forgo the elevator, I headed up the stairs. “Hey.” I waved to Angel as I opened the stairwell door and ducked into the waiting room.

  She stared at me for a moment, then jumped up. “You stay right there. I’ll get you a towel. You’re dripping everywhere.”

  “Good morning to you too,” I said, raising my eyebrows. At that moment, Yutani came charging around the end of the hall, stopping short when he almost ran into me.

  “I take it it’s raining?” He ran his gaze over me, arching one eyebrow.

  “Oh, are you a smartass too?” I wrinkled my nose, grimacing. “How much garlic did you eat?” He reeked, like he had just come off of a garlic farm or from an Italian restaurant.

  “I know, I know. I took a shower but I couldn’t get it all off. It’s coming through my pores.” He gave me a wry grin, shrugging. “I couldn’t help it, I went to an all-you-can-eat buffet and they had the best garlic bread there, along with spaghetti and lasagna and—”

  “You’re making me hungry and I just ate breakfast.”

  “There are some croissants in the
break room, along with half a cheesecake that Angel brought in.” He turned abruptly and headed back toward the hall.

  Angel reappeared, carrying a large towel. “Here you go, towel yourself off. Viktor and Ember are waiting for you. I’ll tell them you’re here. If you want some coffee, it’s made.”

  I nodded. “That would be good. At least the storm broke and that should counter some of the mugginess. But it’s pouring out there.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that, or at least I wouldn’t worry about it interfering with your plans. Ember and Viktor have worked in the rain before, so get prepared to be soaked even more.” Laughing, Angel pointed toward the break room. “Go ahead and go on back. I have work to do or I’d come with you.”

  Luckily my hair was still braided, and while it was wet, it was manageable. I headed to the break room, laughing gently. My dress was clinging to me like a wet T-shirt, but my denim jacket covered my boobs and that was all that mattered.

  Viktor and Ember were waiting. They waved as I entered the room. I tossed the towel over the back of one of the chairs and sat down as Ember jumped up to pour coffee for me. She set the cup in front of me along with the cream and sugar, and then sat back down.

  “You still game to go out there? I know it’s so wet that a fish would drown out there. And also, lightning.” Viktor grinned as another flash illuminated the room.

  I counted. One. Two. Three—the rumble of thunder shook the walls. Three miles away, by best estimate. “Well, none of us are going to wear a lightning rod on our heads, I assume? Or any sort of spiked helmet? So yeah, I’m game. A little thunder and lightning can’t stop me. In fact, it recharges me. Although things will be a lot more spooky over there. Remember, there’s no electricity in the building, so bring flashlights along with whatever else you need.”