They had completed about half of their planned circuit when Dominic called out for Leesa to stop.
“There it is,” he said, pointing ahead through the front windshield. “The trail of magic.”
Leesa peered ahead, but saw nothing other than a red traffic signal at the intersection up ahead. The same difference in vibration that prevented the black waziri from detecting her magic kept her from being able to see the traces of theirs.
She pulled the car over to the curb.
“Wait here,” Dominic instructed. “I’ll be right back.”
The wizard got out of the car and walked fifteen or twenty paces to the intersection. The light turned green as he neared the corner. His comrades watched as he stopped and turned his head first to the right and then to the left. He waited a moment for the light to become red again, and then took a few quick steps out into the middle of the intersection. He paused there for just an instant before spinning around and moving back the way he had come, continuing on until he had disappeared from sight round the corner. When he reappeared, he strode quickly back to the car.
“They went east,” he said as soon as he had climbed back into the SUV. “I can follow their trail with ease. They will not be able to hide from me.”
Leesa reached for the transmission lever, ready to put the car in gear and pull away from the curb.
“Just a minute,” Dominic said, stopping her.
“What is it?” she asked. “What are we waiting for?”
“For Rave and his friends. With his blood inside you, he said he will be able to sense you from miles away, but we do not know how many miles that means. I do not want to drive beyond his range. Rave knows to come to Woburn, so we must wait for him to find us. The volkaanes should be here in less than an hour.”
Leesa hadn’t thought about any limitation to Rave’s ability to sense her. Dominic was right; they needed to wait. She switched off the engine.
“As long as we are waiting,” Jenna said, “I have an idea.”
Everyone turned to look at the witch, who had been mostly silent for the entire trip.
“Tell me,” Dominic said.
“I have a friend who lives near Salem, which is not too far from here. While you wait for the volkaanes, I can fly there and try to find him. If I can, I’m sure he’ll agree to help us.”
“Your friend is also a witch, I assume?” Dominic asked.
“Yes. His name is Michael. He and I have a long history together.”
Dominic nodded. “Go, then. We can use all the help we can get.”
Jenna opened the door and stepped out of the car. Before she closed the door, she leaned her head back inside.
“Do not wait for our return if the volkaanes arrive before we do. I know which direction you will be heading. As owls, I’m sure we will be able to find either you or the volkaanes—or a magical battle, if it comes to that.”
Jenna shoved the door closed and hurried across a nearby lawn, where she ducked behind a hedge. A silver flash briefly lit up the darkness, and then an owl winged its way up into the night sky and raced off to the east.
While they waited for Rave to arrive, Cali surfed the internet on her phone, looking for updated stories about the attack. Accurate details were hard to come by. Many witnesses had tweeted or posted about the incident, but they often gave conflicting information—not much of a surprise given the panic that had ensued from the very first moments. Once again, official reports were vague and next to useless. Just like in Maine, the government had clapped a tight lid on the information. The one report the occupants of the SUV could confirm for themselves was that roadblocks had quickly surrounded the area.
“There’s an awful lot of speculation,” Cali said, “but not much real information. I’ve found a couple of reports trying to tie this attack to the one in Maine, but it’s pretty much all guesswork. The cause has been linked to everything from secret medical projects run amok—like in the Resident Evil movies—to a new kind of naturally mutated virus or environmental pollution of some kind.” She smiled wryly. “At least no one has mentioned evil wizards and black magic yet—though I suppose it’s only a matter of time.”
“This must be driving the doctors and scientists crazy,” Leesa said. “I doubt that black magic as the source has occurred to them at all.”
“There is nothing within the framework of their world view to explain the zombies,” Dominic said. “Magic simply does not exist as a factor in their world.”
“I bet there’s a scientist or two out there somewhere who’s a fantasy book or movie fan and will suggest magic,” Cali offered. “But I bet most of their associates will look at them like they’re crazy.”
“Even if they do come to the conclusion that the zombies are born of magic, they will have no way to counter it,” Dominic said solemnly. “Only we can stop it.”
Leesa began to feel a pleasant warm tingling in her body. She looked out the front windshield and saw Rave standing there, smiling in at her. She wondered if the small amount of blood she had ingested could be the source of the tingling. Maybe the thing went both ways. Rave could sense her from miles away, and she could sense him when he was nearby.
Behind Rave stood Dral and Bain and two other volkaanes Leesa had never met. One of them was a striking looking female, the first female volkaane Leesa had seen close-up. The woman was as beautiful as the men were handsome, with long, lustrous dark copper hair and the same bronzed complexion. While slightly smaller in stature than the men, she was nonetheless tall and athletic looking.
“Rave’s here,” Leesa said to her companions as she pushed her door open.
She hopped out of the SUV and rushed into Rave’s arms. Dominic and Cali followed a bit more decorously.
When Leesa threw her arms around Rave, she heard a metallic clinking from one of his pockets.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Rave let go of her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pair of eight inch long metal spikes.
“It sounds like we may have more than just a few zombies to deal with,” he said. “We figured this would be quicker than snapping necks.” He mimed stabbing Leesa in the top of the head with one of the spikes. “The spikes were Bain’s idea.”
“Cool,” Cali said, staring at the thick spikes. “Sure beats sticking a pen into their eye.”
“Where’s Jenna?” Rave asked, glancing around. “Didn’t she make it?”
“She went to find a friend,” Leesa replied. “Another witch to help us.”
“As you can see, I brought some extra help as well.” Rave indicated the two new volkaanes. “This is Halee and Ulric,” he said. “I’ve already told them who you three are.”
Dominic nodded to the volkaanes. “Your help is most welcome,” he said. “Time is growing short.”
“I take it you have found the trail you were seeking?” Rave said.
“Yes. Our foes have gone east.” Dominic pointed to the east and a bit to the south. “Even now, I can sense the magic being used. They are less than twenty miles from where we stand. We must go, before we are too late.”
“Go, then,” Rave said. “I will have no trouble tracking Leesa from here. We will not be far behind.”
He kissed Leesa’s forehead. “Be safe, my love.”
“You, too,” Leesa replied, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. The last thing she wanted to do was to let go of Rave’s hand and leave him, but she knew that she must.
She rose up onto her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips, praying that it would not be their last kiss.
39. A CROP OF CORPSES
A LAYER OF WISPY CLOUDS drifted across the glowing face of the full moon above Pine Grove Cemetery, further darkening the night. The place was awash with black magic now, but the darkness and the stone wall prevented anyone who might be passing by at this late hour from noticing what was going on within its confines. Hundreds of black ribbons now snaked silently from the dark whirlpool created by the Necrom
ancer’s magic, each one seeking out a separate grave. When they found one, the magic fingers penetrated down through the soil until they reached the caskets buried below.
Whether the coffins were fashioned of rotting wood or impervious metal did not matter—the black magic simply dissolved the casings away and then enveloped the remains that had been contained inside, bathing them in a powerful reanimation spell. In mere seconds after the contact, long dead eyes winked open as the corpses blinked to life and began slowly clawing their way to the surface, pushing aside the layers of dirt that entrapped them. Already, several of the creatures had almost fully unearthed themselves. Several dozen more had breached the surface with their arms and heads.
The Necromancer continued chanting above the magical whirlpool, his voice rising and falling in a haunting cadence as he called forth ever more strands of black magic. With the nearest graves already claimed by the spell, the magic was forced to flow farther and farther into the cemetery seeking out new remains to animate.
Only when he had summoned more than a thousand of the narrow black ribbons did the Necromancer finally fall silent. Exhausted from the strain of his efforts, he collapsed into his chair, the wood groaning under his weight. For a moment, Viktor thought even the sturdy, reinforced chair might break apart under the load.
While the Necromancer gathered his strength, more hands and arms wriggled up through the soil, until the grounds seemed to be fairly filled with writhing limbs doing a macabre dance as they clawed at the dirt in an effort to loosen themselves further.
“Go in amongst the graves,” the Necromancer commanded Viktor and Jordan after a minute or two of rest. “Make sure none of our newly risen friends break free from the magic until I give the signal. I do not want any of them leaving this place early and drawing attention. Only when they are all ready to march will we unleash them upon the city. By then, it will be too late to stop them.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Viktor replied.
He and Jordan spun away from the Necromancer and the whirlpool. They split up and began carefully weaving their way among the gravestones, stepping over or ducking under the sinuous ribbons of magic as necessary. Neither of them was quite sure what might befall them if they made contact with the magic, and they did not want to find out. Only a few of the corpses had managed to rise completely out of their graves so far, but more were appearing with every passing minute. The black wizard and his apprentice made certain each one stayed attached to the strand of magic that had reanimated it.
The magic prevented the zombies from leaving the cemetery—whenever Viktor or Jordan sensed any weakness in a connection, they quickly reinforced it with their own magic, strengthening the bond. If even one zombie broke free and departed prematurely, they knew the Necromancer’s wrath would be swift and unforgiving. The image of Andre vanishing into the abyss of the black whirlpool and the sound of his screams were still fresh in their minds. Neither of them wanted to follow their former comrade into dark oblivion.
40. FOLLOWING THE TRAIL
DOMINIC SAT BESIDE LEESA in the front of the SUV now, giving him a better view through the windshield to follow the trail of magic. Jenna had not yet returned, so Cali was alone in the back, playing with maps and Google on her phone to see if she could figure out where the black wizards might be heading.
The invisible trail led them steadily eastward through several suburban towns whose edges seemed to blend in with one another. For the most part the route they followed was lined with old houses and thick, leafy trees, though now and then it took them through small commercial sections. Leesa thought that Rave and his friends were probably able to make pretty good speed through the mostly dark residential areas, but knew they would have to slow their pace in the more open and well-lit commercial blocks, especially those containing bars or all night markets. She just prayed the volkaanes weren’t delayed too badly. Since she was obeying the posted speed limit of thirty miles per hour, she didn’t think they would have fallen too far behind.
The trail followed a fairly direct route, changing roads only twice so far, leading Leesa to believe the black wizards knew exactly where they were going. She guessed that the Necromancer was probably with them, but she had no way to know for sure. She hoped she was wrong—she would much rather face the black waziri separately and deal with the Necromancer after.
“Uh, oh,” Cali said from behind Leesa. “I think I know where we’re going.”
Dominic twisted around in his seat. “How can you know that?”
Cali held up her phone. “I did a search for large cemeteries in Massachusetts. The biggest one in the whole state is in Lynn, which is only about five miles ahead. It’s called Pine Grove Cemetery. And get this—it’s got almost ninety thousand freaking graves!”
Leesa wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. “Did you say ninety thousand?” she asked.
“Yep. Nine zero thousand. That’s an awful lot of dead people.”
“And an awful lot of potential zombies,” Leesa said glumly. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what ninety thousand zombies might look like.
“It makes sense,” Dominic mused. “The more remains to choose from, the better for the Necromancer. If Pine Grove is indeed their destination, they may have already begun.”
Leesa felt her pulse quicken. It seemed the moment she had been dreading was just about here.
“I guess we’ll know soon enough,” she said. “Five miles won’t take very long at all.”
“They turned left up ahead,” Dominic said.
Cali glanced at the street sign as Leesa made the turn. She touched the screen of her phone, replacing her search with a map of the area.
“Yep,” she said. “We’re heading toward Pine Grove all right.”
A few more minutes of driving brought them to a T-junction. Ahead of them stretched an old stone wall six or seven feet high. On a low hill beyond the wall, a seemingly endless mass of headstones were just barely visible in the darkness.
Leesa knew they were looking at Pine Grove Cemetery. “Right or left?” she asked Dominic.
“Our enemies went left,” he said. “Pull over there, though.” Dominic pointed to a spot across the street by the wall.
Leesa turned left and pulled over to the curb. Dominic got out of the car, so Leesa and Cali did likewise. Leesa looked back the way they had come, but saw no sign of Rave and his friends. She hoped they showed up soon. The three of them moved close to the old stone wall, where the shadows were even darker than the night.
“Magic is being employed at this very moment,” Dominic said, “not too far from where we stand. Very powerful magic.”
“What do we do now?” Leesa asked.
“We wait for Rave,” the wizard replied. “And while we wait, I will take a quick look.”
Dominic hooked his hands over the top of the wall and pulled himself up until his head was above the wall. He hung there for several moments before dropping back down.
“I cannot see them,” he said. “The magic is spread over a wide area, less than a quarter of a mile from here. Such a wide dispersal can mean only one thing.”
“What’s that?” Cali asked.
“That the Necromancer is attempting to reanimate a very large number of remains.”
Leesa definitely did not like the sound of that.
“When you say ‘a very large number,’ what do you mean?” she asked. “Dozens?”
“More like many hundreds, I’m afraid.”
Leesa’s heart sank. She had been expecting to fight the Necromancer and a couple of black waziri, and maybe a few zombies. Overcoming the wizards and the Necromancer would have been difficult enough. She had never imagined having to battle hundreds of zombies, too. She didn’t see how they could possibly succeed.
Cali recognized the glum look on her best friend’s face. She laid her hand lightly on Leesa’s forearm.
“Don’t worry, Lees. Good almost always beats evil in the end, no matter what the odds.” She
grinned. “Are you forgetting all the books you’ve read? All the movies you’ve seen?”
Leesa forced a smile onto her face. “Yeah, you’re right. But I’d feel a lot better right now if this was a movie.”
A moment later, she did feel a lot better when Rave and his comrades joined them beside the wall.
“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting long,” Rave said.
“Not at all,” Leesa replied. “We’ve only been here a few minutes. Dominic says the Necromancer and the black waziri are inside the cemetery. There may be a couple of hundred zombies, too.”
Rave looked at the wizard.
“I do not know if they have all been reanimated yet,” Dominic said. “But we had best be prepared for them.”
Rave nodded, smiling. “It’s a good thing I brought my friends, then. What’s the plan?”
“I think it best if we go over the wall here and approach through the cemetery. Once inside, we will send a couple of you volkaane ahead to scout. Cali, you can wait here with the car.”
Cali shot the wizard a withering glance. “Didn’t we go through this already? I didn’t come all the way to freaking Massachusetts to wait by the car.” She moved closer to Leesa. “I’ve got to watch my girl’s back.”
Dominic glanced at Leesa, who nodded. Short of using magic to stop her, Leesa knew Cali would follow whether invited or not.
“Very well, then,” Dominic said. “We all go.”
“Good.” Cali looked at Rave. “I could maybe use one of those spikes, though. Just in case.”
Halee stepped forward. “I think Rave will be wanting to keep both of his,” she said. She held out one of her metal spikes to Cali. “Take mine.”
Cali accepted the spike. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go,” Dominic said.
Before he could even take a step toward the wall, the five volkaanes leaped easily up onto the top of the thick barrier. Rave reached down and grabbed Leesa by the wrists and hoisted her effortlessly up onto the wall. Bain lifted Dominic the same way, and Halee pulled Cali up.
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