I shook my head. We had to end this, there would be no winning while we stood on infected land.
I pointed a blade at the man who’d taken my initial orders. “Get two of your guys into the trucks and go. We need to get clear of this land. It’s infected.”
He nodded to me and turned to bark orders.
“Oka, watch my back,” I said.
“On it.” She put her butt against my calf.
I poked my head in the Humvee.
The kids were silent. Their faces were white with fear. Chris clutched at her belly. “Is it done?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
She let out a soft groan. “God save us.”
I shrugged. “I’ll be honest. It probably won’t be Him doing the saving.”
Frost looked at me, his eyes wide. I gave him a wink.
“You look after Chris for me. Okay? Protect her.”
He took a breath and nodded. “Okay.” He placed a hand on hers.
One of the other children grabbed at me. “Are you going to get rid of the monsters?”
I nodded. “I will keep you safe,” I promised.
And I knew in that moment, I’d give my life keeping that promise if I had to, magic or no magic.
“Pam, we have incoming,” Oka said.
The kids smiled up at me and I turned back to the battle.
I looked down at Oka. “Let’s get them out of here.”
Chapter Twelve
Oka wasn’t kidding about the incoming zombies. There was a literal wave of them cresting the small hill that ran off the side of the road.
“Well, that sucks,” I muttered.
For the first time, I caught the sound of jangling bracelets and I turned toward them.
Apparently, Sage hadn’t really given up or been killed, but her attempts at defending the camp were weakening as the horde closed in. The caravan was seeing just how unskilled she was, and it was the worst possible time for that shit.
The zombies had us surrounded.
I had to do something. And with that decision went any other choice I might make later. I knew it. But I knew it like I knew we’d die if I didn’t do something.
Yes, now you will feel the power of your true bloodline.
Fear cut through everything else. “Oka.”
“I’m here. Do it if you have to.” She nodded at me, but I felt it in her too. This magic was not something she understood either.
So, I hefted myself up onto the bed of the truck as it fired up and opened myself to the dark magic, shaking as I did so. This was the power that had first appeared in me, the power that had sent my first family to sell me off to a pair of trolls.
The magic slithered down my arms to my hands.
Just like your other magic, you can use it to create anything. Power, straight power will be best.
I nodded and held my hands together, cupped as if I held a ball. The magic pooled there against my palms, cool, and slick, nothing like the elemental power that had always felt warm. Safe.
This was anything but safe. I held it there as it vibrated, rattling my teeth and reeking of sulfur, of demons and death, as the humans loaded the guards into the second wagon.
The horde closed in and I threw the spinning black ball of magic in front of us and then leapt down from the truck. Bodies flew every which way, creating an opening, along with a bit of a crater for the trucks to navigate. The pull on my energy was immediate and I swayed where I stood, my muscles spasming hard. “Go,” I roared at the driver, my voice twisted and strange even to my own ears, and he didn’t wait to be prodded again. In an instant, he mashed the gas pedal to the floor, and the truck lurched forward, faster than it probably had in years.
The tang of the exhaust was a welcome scent as the second truck followed suit, taking the rest of the caravan away, bumping down into the shallow crater and up the other side faster than I thought either truck could go. Oka and I brought up the rear, cutting the zombies down as we ran.
I didn’t dare use the magic again. My body ached as though it had been dropped off a ten-foot cliff and bounced every inch along the way.
They closed in on us as the trucks got farther and farther ahead. How fucking big was this swath of infected land? Normally the zombies stayed in a tight radius of their nest and whatever ground they’d claimed as their own. Problem was, if we were running toward the center of the nest, it would take even longer to get out of range. There was no way to know, though, so the best thing was to just keep moving.
Story of my damn life.
I sliced and cut more and more of them down, seeing one or two more familiar faces. None of them I knew well but having seen them alive only moments before didn’t make it any easier.
All the while, my mind raced. I’d used the magic of my mother, but what had it cost me?
What had it taken from me?
As the sun shone through the lower branches of the evergreens around me, one of the men who’d just been fighting alongside me attacked. I gritted my teeth, seeing him that way. He was a fresh zombie, so he wasn’t decayed yet, though he did have a huge chunk of flesh taken out of his neck where he’d gone down.
“Sorry, but it’s better this way. I’ll end it quickly,” I said to him. I knew he couldn’t understand me, but it helped me hang on to my own humanity to talk to him.
He roared, his vocal chords rattling as he lunged for my midsection. I jumped back, just outside of his reach. He fell to the ground at my feet. Zombies weren’t terribly coordinated in the beginning and tended to put all their energy into each attack. So, if they missed, they toppled. Before he could right himself, I severed his head with one swift movement.
“We should get out of here,” Oka cautioned.
“Agreed.”
But as I was moving to make my escape, three of them closed in on me. I wasn’t surprised, but I was running out of adrenaline after fighting all night. After killing more than one comrade. After seeing the fear in the kids’ eyes. After I’d given Macey her end. After using a magic that terrified me.
I was tired. Tired of wandering. Tired of fighting. Tired of just surviving.
They came at me with flesh hanging off their arms in slimy clumps. One of them closed a hand around my leg, and its vise-like grip was impressive. I slashed at its arm with my knife, and I did manage to cut it off, but it didn’t fully release me.
“Damn it.” I dragged the hand along, making my escape even slower.
Six others leapt at me from all sides, like I had a bloody football and was near the end zone. I tried to duck out of the way and they crashed into each other, landing on top of me in a snarling heap.
Pinned down as I was, panic caught hold of me.
“Oka, now!” I screamed. There was no one else here to pull them off and my exhausted state made taking hold of the wild magic a crap shoot.
That was all the encouragement she needed. She shifted into her tiger form, her roar rippling through the air.
She made short work of the zombies on top of me, tearing them off with her massive paws and teeth. Her strength fueled my own and I managed to slice off the last zombie’s head with a squelching thump.
Oka’s snarls were exponentially more ferocious than the zombies’ as she tore them away. The one on the bottom of the heap snapped its teeth at anything nearby. Once or twice it got a mouthful of one of its buddies, but they took no notice of the damage it caused.
Oka tossed the zombies aside like they were nothing more than field mice. I scrambled back as she bent down and tore the last one’s head off with her sharp fangs, dropping the still-snapping face next to me. Like a present. I grimaced up at her.
“Thank you?”
She nodded, but her eyes were not on me. I scrambled to my feet, wobbled a little and put a hand on her for balance. I was winded hard, my body ached, and with my strength low, there was no way I could use any magic.
I could almost feel it begging, and that was a sure sign I’d lose control. Who knew
what would happen then?
Around us the horde kept coming. I knew I could fight it all day long and not make a dent in it. It was time to make a run for it.
“Run,” I told her, and she didn’t need to be told twice. In her tiger form, she was a lot faster than me, but she brought up the rear, knowing how tired I was. Still, I felt her send me strength through our bond, powering my legs, heart, and lungs. I pounded the earth with each stride, pushing myself forward as I ran with the speed of the wind whistling through the trees.
The trail became a blur as we raced along, avoiding the reaching arms of the undead with ease. By some miracle, we put distance between us and the zombie horde. Their screams of hunger died down, and so did my pace.
Once I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we were safe from the undead, I slowed to a walk, and Oka shifted back to her house cat form. I stopped walking and she leapt into my arms. I hugged her close to me, taking a deep breath that made me gag. She smelled of rotting flesh, sweat, and blood. But she was alive.
I sat in the middle of the trail, holding her, and cried. Tears of horror for this world we lived in, tears of gratitude that we’d yet again survived a brush with death, and tears of sorrow for the members of the caravan we’d lost so horribly.
“I have to say, of all the ways to die in this new world, I think becoming a zombie is one of the cruelest,” I said as I worked to compose myself.
“Agreed,” she said, as she nudged my hand with her head.
“Thank you, Oka. You saved me. Again.” We often went back and forth, saving each other in this world, but it didn’t make it any less amazing every time it happened.
She shrugged, like it was nothing. “It’s what familiars do. You know that by now. I’d give my life for you.”
“I do,” I said. “Doesn’t mean I don’t still love you more each time.”
She patted my cheek with one paw. “Don’t get emotional on me. Let’s find the humans. They don’t have an amazing cat like me looking out for them.”
Not yet, I thought. Her eyes swiveled to me and she arched a brow but said nothing.
I smiled at her, knowing she was emotional too, and doing her best to hide it.
Despite her being my helpmate, she was young too.
I kept our pace slow, trying to regain some of our strength, which meant it was after midday by the time we came upon the caravan, a few miles up the trail. I was glad they kept going after they got off the poisoned land. They didn’t need a couple rogues taking out what was left of the herd.
We were spotted about a hundred yards off, and the shouting started early. They waved at me, and I heard . . .
“Are they cheering? For us?” I asked. To be fair, I figured they’d start shooting as soon as we came into view, thinking we were zombified.
“I guess,” Oka said. Her suspicion mirrored my own. What the hell was happening here?
The caravan came to a complete halt, and the group surged toward us. I stopped and took more than a few steps back to keep from getting mobbed.
Richard made his way to the front of the crowd. Sage stayed noticeably on the edge, arms crossed over her chest, her red cloak drawn close around her as if it were some kind of shield against . . . whatever it was she was protecting herself against. Goddess only knew.
Richard stood in front of me, his eyes fatigued, the lines on his face deeper, and then he smiled.
As if that shock wasn’t enough, he threw his arms around me before I could dodge him and gave me a gruff squeeze. Shock kept my mouth shut. Better to listen and see what this was all about.
Hell, he even bent down to pat Oka on the head. “Thank God, you’re alive. Both of you.” He nodded again to Oka. He motioned toward the caravan with a tip of his head. “There is much to talk about. Come.” He paused and glanced at me. “Do you think this is far enough away, that it’s safe to camp now?”
While I had no connection to the earth any longer, I could read the signs of dead land easy enough. And there were none screaming that there were any dead about to sprout up.
No strange depressions in the ground, no faint whiff of decay, no strange green rocks where there were stones of no other color.
“Yeah, sure.” I shrugged, acting like it was just a guess on my part. Who was I kidding? Obviously not them. They’d seen the magic in my hands, and now I had to explain that was a one-off. That it wouldn’t happen again.
“Good, good. Again, please, let’s talk.” Richard ushered me forward, a protective arm around my shoulder that I pushed off as Oka climbed into my arms.
I knew what was coming. I knew the talk he would give me.
But would I be able to give them the answer they wanted?
Chapter Thirteen
Richard led me through the caravan, and every one of the remaining members I saw either nodded or smiled to me. Fatigue was as heavy on them as it was on Richard, but there was gratitude in those lines on their faces.
My jaw ticked. Oka purred. “They know what you are.”
No shit, I thought back to her.
“But that magic, I felt it, Pam. It was dangerous. It didn’t want to be used by you but to be wild. It only wanted death—”
“Enough.” I cut her off. “Just enough.” I already knew that. I’d felt it in the aftermath, that desire to kill, to wipe out everything around us.
Never again could I use that magic.
We shall see about that. Danger will come to you until you break, Pamela. I would rather that not be the case.
Richard slowed as we reached the front of the caravan where the Humvee was parked. Already a small fire had been made and someone had put a pot of water over it.
He fussed around it like an old lady, producing two chipped mugs with real, honest to God, Earl Gray. My mouth watered at the thought of the fragrant tea.
What can I say? I was an Englishwoman to the marrow of my bones.
After a few minutes, Richard offered me a warm cup of tea. I held it between two hands, breathing the smell of something so familiar deep into my lungs.
I held my tea like it was some kind of lifeline. It was solid, real, and I knew exactly what to do with it. Drink it down no matter how hot it was. I took a sip and nearly groaned.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a decent cup of tea,” I said softly. “Thank you.”
Richard smiled and then turned as someone tapped him on the shoulder.
I recognized the newcomer as the man I’d commanded to circle the wagons, as it were. Richard welcomed him to the fire with an outstretched arm. He was muscular, with long brown hair that hung in waves past his shoulders. His face, however, was clean-shaven and covered in grit and blood, as were his clothes.
“How many have we lost?” Richard asked.
“Nineteen remain, which means . . .” He trailed off with a grimace.
“Eleven have been killed.” Richard sagged as he spoke. “That’s the worst hit we’ve had since the beginning of our journey.”
His reaction soothed some of my concerns about him. He was far more devastated by the losses than I expected him to be, and I could see it wasn’t an act.
Maybe he wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Oka stretched across my shoulder, her belly fur warm against my neck. “He actually cares for them.”
I nodded, but kept my mouth shut. I agreed with her. This was no act Richard was putting on. He was visibly upset.
Before I could ask them if they had recovered any bodies, Sage strode toward us. She pushed between me and Richard to place her hands above the flames. She snapped her fingers and the flames danced a little.
I snorted, couldn’t help it. She was posturing, and by the looks of it, her show had not impressed Richard or his man.
“Do we have all the names?” Richard asked.
“Most. We’ll add them to the roster of the dead,” the man—damn it, I needed his name—said.
“Macey was one of them,” I said, watching the steam from my cup scatter
at the mention of her name.
“Who the hell is that?” Sage demanded, rage flowing off her like a damned freight train. A freight train that was gunning for me out of fear as much as anger. I didn’t have the energy to bother facing her, so I just ignored her. I’d deal with her only when I absolutely had to.
“Macey has not been seen since the battle,” Richard confirmed, even though I didn’t need it. I knew what happened to her. I saw her empty eyes in the steam as it rose off my tea, so I blew it away.
“And the children, they are all safe?” I asked.
“All survived,” the man said.
Irritation flowed through me, not that they’d survived, but that I didn’t know who he was. Something about him tugged at me. What the hell was his name?
Oka shook her head. “No idea. I think he must be newer. I’ve not seen him around.” Macey. Ron. Most recently Chris. I knew them. But I’d stayed outside this group as much as I could, watching from the periphery. Looking at this man who’d saved those kids, and nineteen others, I felt like that was my mistake, to have not at least found out his name.
“Well done . . .” I trailed off, hoping he’d fill in his name.
“Tristan.” His eyes were carefully neutral, and I realized I’d seen him somewhere before this. But that was impossible, I’d not been with any other caravan previously. Trick of an exhausted mind, I supposed.
I gave him the best smile I could muster, given the circumstances. “Tristan. Thank you.”
He looked at Richard and nodded as if encouraging him. “I believe the thanks goes to you . . .” he trailed off, mimicking me. It turned out I wasn’t the only one who was bad with names in the group.
“Pamela, and her cat, Oka, if I recall,” Richard filled in for me while Sage glowered at him. If she had any actual magic, I think she would’ve dropped that man dead where he stood with a single, venomous look. All I could do was shake my head. More drama. The last thing this world needed was more drama.
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