“Girl power,” Halee said with a smile as Cali alighted atop the wall.
The three volkaanes lifted their charges into their arms and jumped lightly down to the ground inside the cemetery. Leesa took advantage of the moment to plant a kiss on Rave’s cheek before he set her down.
“Thanks for the lift, big guy,” she said.
Dominic was already peering out into the dark cemetery, which seemed to stretch endlessly before them. He pointed to the south.
“The magic is that way,” he said.
Leesa followed his finger, but saw nothing but uneven rows of graves that faded into the darkness. She had no doubt, though, that their foes were where Dominic said they were.
“Dral and I will go have a look,” Bain said.
The two volkaanes raced soundlessly off into the blackness. Dominic continued to stare off to the south, a look of intense concentration etched into his features. Leesa wished she knew what her mentor was sensing. Whatever it was, it clearly troubled him.
Dral and Bain returned in just a few minutes, appearing as silently as they had disappeared.
“The magic is everywhere,” Dral reported.
“Thin strands of blackness, twisting like snakes in the air,” Bain added. “Hundreds of them, if not thousands.”
“Each ends at a body, or at a grave,” Dral continued. “Some of the corpses are already standing above the ground. Others are still digging themselves out. None have yet moved off the graves from whence they came. They make no sound at all, either.”
“What does it mean?” Leesa asked Dominic. “Why are they just standing there if they’re already reanimated?”
“I think perhaps the Necromancer is waiting until they are all ready to march before unleashing them. That means we may still have time to stop them.” He turned back to Dral and Bain.
“Did you spy any of the black waziri or the Necromancer?”
Bain shook his head. “The air was thick with the ribbons of black magic,” he said. “We moved a short distance into them, but the farther we went, the more numerous they became. It grew too difficult for us to move unseen among them—we did not wish to risk touching one.”
“It is good that you did not,” Dominic said. “That magic is obviously meant to bring the dead to life. What it would do if it contacted a living thing I cannot even guess.” He stared out into the darkness again. “I need to get a bit closer. Stay behind me.”
The wizard began walking out into the graveyard. His companions followed quietly behind him. Rave stayed close by Leesa’s side. So did Cali.
Dominic had taken fifty or sixty steps when he stopped and turned to face his comrades.
“Wait here,” he told them. “I need to go a little farther, with no other magic around me that might distort the vibrations I seek.” Without waiting for a response, he continued on.
Leesa watched worriedly as Dominic strode deeper into the cemetery. She was relieved when he stopped after only twenty paces or so. He spread his arms out wide to his sides and stood motionless for several long moments. Leesa imagined that he must be soaking in the magical vibrations of their enemies. Finally, he lowered his arms and walked back to join them.
“I have located all but one of our magical foes,” he told them. “Viktor and the apprentice Jordan are the nearest, though they are not together.” He turned and pointed toward the center of the cemetery. “Jordan is there.” Dominic moved his arm a foot or so to the right, so that he was pointing closer to the edge of the huge graveyard. “Viktor is that way,” he added, before swinging his arm part way back to the left so that it was in between the two directions he had indicated. “The Necromancer is farther away.”
“What about Andre?” Leesa asked, remembering that the Necromancer had seized Andre’s magical spirit before Dominic could destroy it.
Dominic turned back around. “Andre troubles me,” he admitted. “I cannot detect his vibrations anywhere. He used his magic back where we just came from, and his trail led here. I should be able to sense him somewhere, but I cannot.”
He stroked his beard. Whether he was still puzzling over Andre or had moved on to other matters, his comrades did not know. They watched him expectantly. This was his show. He would tell them what to do next.
“We must act now,” he said finally. “Further delay only serves the Necromancer’s purpose. That our enemies have decided to separate serves ours, however. We shall go after Jordan first. He is no match for me.” The wizard looked at Leesa. “Stay close by my side. If I can, I will run my magic through you, to prevent our foes from detecting my presence. Surprise is our biggest advantage—I do not wish to lose it until we must.”
Leesa swallowed hard. Dominic’s plan would put her in the front line of the fray, but that was what she had been training for. She hoped she would be up to the task.
“I understand,” she said.
“The rest of you stay behind us, watching for any approaching danger. If you see or sense Viktor or the Necromancer, inform me immediately. If any zombies begin moving toward us, destroy them.”
The others nodded. Ulric rubbed his two spikes together, as if sharpening them.
Rave draped his arm around Leesa’s shoulder. “My friends will keep behind, as you ordered,” he said to Dominic. “I will be remaining at Leesa’s side, however.”
Leesa grew warm inside, and not just from the heat flowing into her from Rave’s arm. Dominic smiled.
“I expected nothing less,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Dominic turned around and began walking. Leesa sucked in a deep breath and kept pace at his side. The moment she had been dreading was at last at hand.
41. INTO THE GAP
DOMINIC LED THE PARTY deeper into the graveyard. Most of the markers they passed were standard stone or marble rectangles with rounded tops, but scattered among them were monuments of other types—mostly obelisks, statues and pointy steeple shapes.
They walked close together, except for Dral and Bain, who had flanked out to either side. Leesa walked on Dominic’s right, a half pace behind him. Rave marched beside her, his two metal spikes gripped in his hands. Cali followed a few steps behind Leesa, and Ulric and Halee brought up the rear.
Dominic extended his arm to the side, palm facing backward, signaling everyone to halt. Caught unawares, Leesa bumped into the wizard’s outstretched arm. She gazed ahead, trying to see what had caused Dominic to stop.
As she peered into the darkness in front of them, the answer was abundantly clear—they had reached the area of the cemetery affected by the black magic.
Even here at the far edges, dozens of rope-like black strands twisted through the air three to four feet above the ground, each so utterly black they were easily visible even in the darkness. Every strand ended in a similar place—smack in the chest of a newly unearthed corpse. Many of the zombies stood motionless atop their graves like grisly statues, but a number of them were still pulling their legs and feet clear of the soil, causing the ribbons of magic attached to them to wriggle like black snakes.
“Jordan is not far ahead,” Dominic said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Take care not to touch any of the magic.”
The party moved forward again, more slowly this time. They paralleled the strands of magic where they could; when they were forced to cross any of the threads they either stepped carefully over or ducked under them.
Suddenly, the black ribbons disappeared. Leesa blinked in surprise. One moment the air was filled with the thin black snakes, the next they were gone as if they had never existed. Low growls replaced the silence that had previously shrouded the graveyard.
“Uh, oh,” Cali said softly. “This can’t be good.”
With the black magic no longer restraining them, the zombies began to move from atop their graves. Every one of them headed in the same direction, toward the nearest source of human flesh—Leesa, Cali and Dominic.
Many of the zombies moved with the same lumbering gait Leesa had seen in h
er dreams, but bunches of them—the most recently buried, it appeared—approached at near normal speed.
Dral and Bain were already engaging the vanguard of the creatures, using their volkaane quickness to dart among them, jamming their metal spikes down into the zombies’ skulls as they passed. The mindless creatures paid no heed to their attackers. The zombies had but one desire, one drive—to assuage their hunger with the taste of human flesh. Despite the toll Dral and Bain wreaked among them, the creatures kept coming forward. For every ten the volkaanes destroyed, twenty more took their place.
“We must make haste,” Dominic said. “I’m afraid the element of surprise has been lost.” He pointed out into the mass of zombies in front of them. “Jordan is that way. Rave, cut us a path.”
Rave, Ulric and Halee sped forward, joining their two comrades in battling the zombies. So fierce and quick was the volkaane attack that they opened a gash twenty feet wide in the zombie ranks. No longer fettered by the need to avoid the bands of black magic, Dominic, Leesa and Cali ran into the gap. Zombies fell in behind them. The humans were now surrounded by hungry zombies.
Leesa could not believe so fierce a battle could be so quiet. The volkaanes made no noise, nor were there any screams or cries from the zombies when a spike pierced their skulls. They simply collapsed in a heap to the ground, marionettes with their strings cut. The only sound in the entire battlefield was the low rumble of hungry growls emanating from a thousand zombie throats.
With the creatures all around the party now, Ulric and Halee were forced to move to the rear to keep the pursuing zombies at bay. Without Ulric and Halee’s help in front, Rave, Dral and Bain were hard-pressed to keep a path open. Leesa could tell they would not be able to maintain the advantage forever—there were simply too many zombies. Dominic could blast his way forward, she knew, but he still held his magic in check to avoid giving himself away. She was under no such constraints, however. Their enemies could not detect her magic.
She raised her right arm as she trotted alongside Dominic.
“Magnus irrundi,” she chanted, opening and closing her palm the way her mentor had taught her.
Short bolts of yellow magic burst from her hand, blasting into the zombie ranks in front of them. Running the way she was, her aim was not as good as she would have liked, but enough of her bolts struck home to help Rave and his comrades continue to lead them forward. She just hoped they found Jordan soon.
Suddenly, Dominic halted. He grabbed Leesa’s arm to keep her from racing past. Cali stumbled into Leesa, almost knocking her over.
“What’s happening?” Leesa asked when she regained her balance. “Why are we stopping?”
Dominic’s eyes were fixed off to the right. “Viktor is coming,” he said. “He must be wondering why all the walking dead are heading this way and is coming to find out.”
“What are we going to do?” Leesa asked. They were surrounded by zombies, and now a black waziri was coming. She knew Dominic did not want to face Viktor and his apprentice together.
“I must confront Viktor,” Dominic said. “It has forever been our destiny. You will have to deal with Jordan.”
“What?” Leesa exclaimed. “I’m no match for him. He’s been at this way longer than me. Rave will try to help, but what about all the zombies?”
“We have no choice, I’m afraid. Our paths are set. There is still one thing I can do for you, however.”
Dominic grabbed Leesa by both biceps. She could feel the power of his magic flowing through his hands. After just a few seconds, he let go.
“I have placed some of my magic inside you,” he said. “Use it wisely. Once you call upon it, it will not last long.”
“How?” Leesa asked. “What should I do?”
“That will be for you to decide, when the moment comes. Until you have no other choice or you see an opening, use only your own magic.”
Dominic looked away from Leesa, toward the path in front of them. “Dral!” he called. “To the rear. I must take Ulric and Halee with me.”
Dral sped around behind them, working to keep the pursuing zombies back while Ulric and Halee joined Dominic.
“Open a path for me that way,” the wizard instructed them, pointing to the right. “Cali, help Dral.”
“Huh?” Cali said, surprised to hear the wizard talking to her. She had been feeling a bit like a forgotten child to this point.
“Help him how?” she asked. She glanced down at the metal spike in her hand. She had asked for the weapon in case of an emergency, to stop any zombie who got too close to Leesa. She didn’t think it would do her much good against the horde of zombies chasing them. Especially since the creatures would not ignore her the way they ignored the volkaanes.
“Use Leesa’s magic,” Dominic said. “Why do you think I let you come along all those days of her practice—for the fun of it? I must be off. Good luck to all of us!” He turned and ran into the gap created by Ulric and Halee.
42. BATTLES GALORE
LEESA WATCHED DOMINIC GO for just a moment. Cali took advantage of the pause to place her hand on Leesa’s hip. At the same time, she raised her other hand to the rear and concentrated hard, imagining a beam of yellow magic shooting from her palm just like she had done in the woods with Leesa and Dominic. Somewhat to her surprise, a pale beam immediately shot forward from her hand in a continuous, laser-like stream. She kept the beam aimed head high, sweeping it across the ranks of zombies. She watched the magic blast into nearly a dozen zombie skulls before it abruptly shut off. The creatures all collapsed to the ground.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Cali said, more to herself than to anyone else.
Dral acknowledged her help with a quick wave of his hand, then continued darting into and around the pursuing zombies, plunging his spikes into their heads as he passed.
“Let’s go,” Leesa said.
She trotted forward into the open space created by Rave and Bain. As she ran, she fired quick bolts of magic to either side, destroying any zombies who got too close. Cali hurried after her. Whenever she got the chance, Cali touched Leesa and fired a beam of her own.
No matter how many zombies the two girls and the volkaanes destroyed, their numbers never seemed to thin. Leesa hoped they found Jordan soon, though she had little idea what she was going to do when they did.
She didn’t have very long to think about it.
A section in the middle of the mass of zombies parted, and Jordan came striding forward. Dressed all in black, his white face seemed almost to float in the darkness.
Leesa wondered briefly why the zombies did not attack the apprentice. She supposed it must have something to do with the black magic and his role in bringing the creatures back to life.
She pushed the question from her mind—such musings were not going to help her find a way to defeat Jordan.
The young wizard’s eyes swept across the field, pausing briefly when they fell on Leesa and Cali before moving on. Two ordinary human girls would not register as a threat to him, Leesa knew. She watched as his gaze fell upon Rave, who was still racing among the zombies, dealing death with his twin spikes. Before she could do anything, Jordan lifted his arm and sent a bolt of black magic streaking toward Rave.
Rave sensed the magic at the last instant. He threw himself into a running flip, somehow avoiding the beam as it streaked beneath him and exploded into a couple of zombies behind him. Undaunted, Jordan unleashed a second blast of magic. As soon as Rave’s feet hit the ground, he tried to dive forward, but as fast as he moved, Jordan’s magic was faster. The beam struck Rave high up on his body. He crumbled lifelessly to the grass.
“Nooooooo!” Leesa screamed.
Several hundred yards away, Dominic turned to face a new opening that had just appeared in the horde of zombies. He watched as Viktor marched toward him among the headstones, stopping just inside the line of suddenly motionless zombies. Clearly, the black wizard was exerting his control over the creatures, who now stood growling
in a large circle around the two waziri like spectators at a boxing match. Ulric and Halee stopped as well, keeping their spikes ready while watching cautiously from a few feet inside the ring of zombies.
Standing thirty or forty feet apart, Dominic and Viktor faced each other like two western gunslingers facing off on a dusty street at high noon. Viktor spoke first.
“It’s been far too long, Dominic,” he said disdainfully. “I’m glad to see you finally crawled out from whatever hole you have been hiding in all these years. We figured that our latest little venture would draw you out.”
Dominic forced a smile to his lips, knowing he could show no fear here.
“I recall your friend Josef saying something similar, just before I destroyed him.”
Viktor scowled at the mention of his lost comrade.
“I do not know how you managed that,” he said. “Perhaps you got lucky or perhaps you had help. Rest assured, neither shall avail you now. If your two volkaane friends make a move to interfere, my zombies will keep them busy, unless I decide to kill them first.”
“I do not need help to deal with such with you,” Dominic replied, filling his voice with much more confidence than he felt. “Just as I needed no help to defeat Tomas and Andre.” In fact, he had gotten plenty of help, but he was pretty sure Viktor would not know it. The more doubt he sowed in his foe’s head, the better. “By the way, where is Andre? His magic seems to have vanished. Was there a limit to how long your master could sustain Andre’s spirit?”
Viktor’s expression darkened at the memory of Andre disappearing into the black whirlpool.
“The time for chit chat is over,” he said. “It’s time for you to meet the doom that should have been yours a century ago.”
Viktor raised his arm and sent a stream of black magic streaking toward Dominic. Dominic was ready, though, and called forth an air shield that stopped the beam before it could reach him. Viktor was undeterred—he had never expected his triumph to be instantaneous. He sent four more dark bolts flying at Dominic in quick succession. The shield blocked each of them, but Dominic could feel the immense power of the black magic tearing at the fabric of his protection. To remain purely on the defensive was to invite an inevitable defeat.
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