“Zerbrowski, go stand over there by Nicky.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to take one of the bones down.”
“Anita, just because you were brute enough to withstand whatever he did to me doesn’t mean you can touch this stuff with impunity.”
“Impunity, really?”
He grinned at me. “Hey, Katie reads to me and the kids at night, okay?”
I smiled and shook my head at him. “You go watch over Curtis, and let Nicky be my lovely assistant.”
“I’d usually argue that I’m your lovely assistant, but one magic whammy was enough for today.” The fact that he just did it without arguing meant it had hurt him or scared him even more than I thought. Crap. He was going to need to see a witch and a doctor to make sure he was okay.
“If you touch the bones, I cannot be responsible for what happens. They are powerful magical relics and I cannot control what they will do to you.”
Zerbrowski said, “Are you threatening us again?”
“No, I used magic to ensure my safety when I touched the relics. She’s about to touch them with her bare hands. It’s dangerous.”
“Maybe he’s got a point,” Zerbrowski said. “Maybe we should wait for some more magical backup.”
“This is death magic, Zerbrowski. I’m who they’d call for backup.”
“Just be careful, okay?”
“Okay,” I said. I looked at the bones with that inner sight, and the golden glow was there, but I realized that my hand was glowing with the same glow, except mine was thicker, shinier. What was on the bones was like golden cotton candy—light and full of air. What was on me was more like caramel or the whole apple. It was my magic. I’d never looked at my energy when I raised the dead like that. I’d felt it before but never seen it shine like this.
I laid a fingertip against the arm, and the shine of it merged. The voice was a little louder, Justine over and over in my head, but slower, not as frantic.
“If you take the bones outside the ritual area, you will be struck down,” Curtis said from the bed where Zerbrowski had sat him down. It wasn’t for his comfort; Zerbrowski didn’t want to have to stay on the floor with him. I didn’t blame him.
I picked up a piece of the arm and lifted it off the wall. The glow on it melted into the glow of my power, but it didn’t hurt. It felt right. I carried the arm piece away from the altar and the symbols, and I felt fine. The arm was in the most pieces, some of them still showing the burn marks from the flamethrowers that had been used on them in the cemetery almost two years ago. I carried the pieces back and forth to lay them on a clean sheet that Nicky had found somewhere. With each bone that left the ritual area, the murmur of Justine lessened.
“You should be hurt. You should be screaming. Why aren’t you screaming?” Curtis asked from the bed.
I lifted the big rounded pelvis off the wall and carried it to rest beside the arm bones. The voice in my head was less frantic now, not a plea for help but a lover’s murmur of your name against your hair. I got the jawbone next, and the energy quieted more.
“You should be writhing in pain, or dead. Why aren’t you dead?”
I had to stand on tiptoe to reach the top part of the skull, but I finally laid it beside the other bones, and the constant cry of Justine paused, and then it was like a long-contented sigh and then silence. Maybe they weren’t just bones, but they weren’t his magical battery anymore either.
“That’s not possible, no one could dismantle my spell without repercussions.”
“It may have been your spell, but it was my zombie.”
“I don’t understand,” he said.
“You tried to use death magic against me. I’m a necromancer, you can’t use death magic against me. But you especially can’t use death magic against me that’s fueled from my own power.”
“What are you talking about, your power?”
“Those were my zombie’s bones on the damn wall.”
“That zombie was a flesh-eating zombie—they have no master. They belong to no one.”
“This one belonged to me, because I raised him from the dead. He was mine and something you did to the bones is killing the woman he loved. Do you even care that you’ve almost orphaned a little boy? Do you give a damn about anything besides personal power?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about. I did not cast a spell to harm anyone.”
“You harmed me and tried to harm Anita with that bag of bones of yours,” Zerbrowski said.
“You were attacking me. I was merely defending myself.”
“Tell it to the judge,” I said.
“I did nothing wrong!”
“Like I said, tell it to the judge.”
“I did nothing wrong. I’ll be out on bail before you finish the paperwork.” Normally he’d be right, and his knowing that meant I was betting he had a record.
“If I were a regular cop, you’d be right, but I’m not, remember?”
“No, I’m human. You can’t execute me like I was some undead or half man.”
“Watch the half-man comments,” Nicky said.
“You’re a human sorcerer that stole body parts to perform death magic that almost killed an innocent woman. The magical malfeasance law was created just for humans like you,” I said.
“No, no, you can’t do this to me, I’m human. You only kill monsters.”
“If you think you’re not a monster, you need to get your third eye checked.”
* * *
—
Robbie Curtis got a warrant of execution issued for him, but I wasn’t allowed to be the instrument of justice. I was too personally involved, so another of my fellow marshals got to do the honors. Fine with me, as long as he can’t hurt anyone else ever again.
Justine Henderson is out of the hospital and home with her parents and baby. She’s hoping to get a place of her own in a few months. I wish her well and hope that she finds someone to love the way she loved Thomas. I hate the idea of her pining for him forever.
I took the bones to the crematorium and watched them go in the oven. I leaned against the wall and read a book until they were turned to ash, no chance of getting the ol’ switcheroo this time. I dumped the ashes in different bodies of running water. That is finally the last anyone will ever hear from Thomas Warrington. Jean-Claude and I have talked more about how my zombie could have gotten a version of the ardeur, but we don’t know why it happened, and if I don’t know why, then I don’t know how to keep it from happening again. He turned into a flesh-eating zombie because he’d been a cannibal in real life. It wasn’t in any written history on him, he literally took the secret to the grave, so no fault of mine technically. But what really bothers me is that the loving, charismatic zombie was so full of my version of the ardeur that he made himself and Justine fall in love with each other. The zombie was alive enough to get a human woman pregnant with a perfectly normal baby, as if he had been real. That was impossible, even I wasn’t that good, but the baby was happy and normal and a strong argument that maybe I was that good, which scared the hell out of me. I raised the undead, I did not do resurrection, no one did, but Thomas Warrington had been close. I didn’t know why he’d been so . . . human. I didn’t know why any of it had happened, which made my skin run cold if I thought too hard about it. But one problem at a time, right? We saved the girl and killed the evil sorcerer, and my breaking his finger was deemed reasonable use of force. All’s well that ends well, until next time.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
KEVIN J. ANDERSON has published more than 165 books, 56 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart. On his less-than-serious days, he likes to adven
ture with his character Dan Shamble, Zombie PI, who has appeared in five novels and numerous short stories. He has edited numerous anthologies and written comics, games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson and his wife, Rebecca Moesta, are the publishers of WordFire Press.
GRIFFIN BARBER spent his youth in four different countries, learning three languages and burning all his bridges. Finally settled in Northern California with a day job as a police officer in a major metropolitan department, he lives the good life with his lovely wife, crazy-smart daughter, and needy dog. 1636: Mission to the Mughals, coauthored with Eric Flint, was his first novel, and 2020 will see the publication of another collaborative novel, this time with Kacey Ezell, titled 2nd Chance Angel. Despite considering himself a novelist, he’s also had some success in the last few years penning short stories set in various universes across the many subgenres of SF. “Broken Son” is one such.
PATRICIA BRIGGS is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of both the Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha and Omega series. She resides in Eastern Washington near the Tri-Cities, home of Mercy Thompson; yes, it’s a real place! When not working on her next book, she can be found playing truant out in her horse pastures, playing with the newest foals.
LARRY CORREIA is the New York Times bestselling and Dragon Award–winning author of the Monster Hunter International urban fantasy series, the Grimnoir Chronicles alternate history trilogy, the Dead Six military thrillers (with Mike Kupari), and the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior epic fantasy series. Larry lives in Yard Moose Mountain, Utah.
KACEY EZELL is an active duty USAF instructor pilot with 2,500-plus hours in the UH-1N Huey and Mi-171 helicopters. When not teaching young pilots to beat the air into submission, she writes sci-fi/fantasy/horror/noir/alternate history fiction. Her novels Minds of Men and The World Asunder were both Dragon Award finalists for best alternate history in 2018 and 2019, respectively. She’s contributed to multiple Baen anthologies and has twice been selected for inclusion in The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF compilation. In 2018, her story “Family Over Blood” won the Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF Readers’ Choice Award. In addition to writing for Baen, she has published several novels and short stories with independent publisher Chris Kennedy Publishing. She is married with two daughters. You can find out more and join her mailing list at kaceyezell.net.
MONALISA FOSTER won life’s lottery when she escaped communism and became an unhyphenated American citizen. Her works tend to explore themes of freedom, liberty, and personal responsibility. Despite her degree in physics, she’s worked in several fields, including engineering and medicine. She and her husband (who is a writer-once-removed via their marriage) are living their happily ever after in Texas. “Bonds of Love and Duty” is a short story set in her Ravages of Honor universe. Visit her website at monalisafoster.com.
ROBERT E. HAMPSON, PhD, turns science fiction into science in his day job, and puts the science into science fiction in his spare time. He has consulted for more than a dozen SF writers; written informative articles ranging from the fictional depiction of real science to living in space; and written short fiction published by the US Army Small Wars Journal, Springer, Baen Books, and Seventh Seal Press (Chris Kennedy Publishing). Dr. Hampson is a professor of physiology/pharmacology and neurology with more than thirty-five years’ experience in animal neuroscience and human neurology. His professional work includes more than a hundred peer-reviewed research articles ranging from the pharmacology of memory to the effects of radiation on the brain—and most recently, the first report of a “neural prosthetic” to restore human memory using the brain’s own neural codes. He is a member of the SIGMA Forum and the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a service of the National Academy of Sciences. Find out more at his website: REHampson.com.
JOHN G. HARTNESS is an author, publisher, and podcaster from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the author of multiple novel series, including the award-winning Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series. He is also the cofounder and publisher of Falstaff Books, and a member of the Authors & Dragons live D&D podcast.
JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times bestselling author, five-time Bram Stoker Award and Inkpot Award winner, producer, and comic book writer. V-Wars, a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder (Lost, The Vampire Diaries) and based on Maberry’s vampire apocalypse book series, debuted in 2019. And his young adult postapocalyptic zombie series, Rot & Ruin, is in development for film by Alcon Entertainment. He writes in multiple genres, including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens, and middle grade. His works include the Joe Ledger thrillers, Glimpse, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, The X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, the Pine Deep series, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies, including The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, and others. His comics include Black Panther: DoomWar, The Punisher: Naked Kills, and Bad Blood. His Rot & Ruin books are being produced as webcomics for Webtoon. Jonathan is the editorial director of the new incarnation of Weird Tales magazine. He is a board member of the Horror Writers Association and the president of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at jonathanmaberry.com.
L. E. MODESITT, JR., is the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy novels—primarily science fiction and fantasy— including the Saga of Recluce and the Imager Portfolio series, and more than fifty stories. His novels have sold millions of copies in the US and worldwide, and have been translated into German, Polish, Dutch, Czech, Russian, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and Swedish. His first story was published in Analog in 1973. His most recent book was The Mage-Fire War, the twenty-first book in the Saga of Recluce series, and his next book is Quantum Shadows, a far-future science fantasy to be released in July 2020 from Tor.
JESSICA SCHLENKER is a professional geek with an MS in information security and a BS in biology. Her interests include homesteading, gaming, and reading (and dissecting) scientific papers in various fields. She lives with her husband, Michael Z. Williamson, and their children, cats, and her various homesteading animals.
SHARON SHINN has been part of the science fiction and fantasy world since 1995, when she published her first novel, The Shape-Changer’s Wife. Since then, she has produced more than twenty-five additional novels, one collection, a graphic novel, and assorted pieces of short fiction. She has written about angels, shape-shifters, elemental powers, magical portals, and echoes. She has won the William L. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, a Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times, and the 2010 RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category. Three of her novels have been named to the ALA’s list of Best Books for Young Adults (now Best Fiction for Young Adults). Follow her at SharonShinnBooks on Facebook or visit her website at sharonshinn.org.
Under the names M. C. SUMNER and MARK SUMNER, he’s the author of a whole scad of novels, and short stories, and nonfiction of all sorts. He has also ghostwritten enough books to be an official ghost. His novel Devil’s Tower was a nominee for the World Fantasy and Nebula Awards, and his mystery novel series News from the Edge became a television series that appeared on the Sci Fi Channel (as it was called at the time) in 2000. His most recent book is On Whetsday.
PATRICK M. TRACY lives in Salt Lake City and works as a network support administrator. His most recent publications include a contribution to the Noir Fatale anthology and the release of Sakura: Intellectual Property, which he coauthored. He was also one of the principal creators of the Crimson Pact universe, of which there are five anthologies. When not writing or fixing someone’s computer, Patrick enjoys archery and playing the bass guitar. Visit him online at pmtracy.com.
MICHAEL Z. WILLIAMSON is variously an immigrant from the UK and Canada, a retired veteran of the US Army and USAF, a nationally
bestselling and award-winning SF author and editor, and a consultant on disaster preparedness. When not doing these things, he is a bladesmith, a gunsmith, and a reenactor who favors the Viking era. He lives near Indianapolis with his wife, Jessica; children; and a variety of animals that are staff or livestock.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
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LAURELL K. HAMILTON is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series. With more than thirty books published, Laurell continues to create stories inspired by her lifelong love of monster movies, ghost stories, mythology, and folklore. Never one to rest on her laurels, she is currently working on a new novel set in yet a third fictional world and hopes to add to her list of short fiction soon. She lives in St. Louis with her family, two spoiled Japanese Chins, a house panther, and a house lion. In her free time, Laurell trains in Filipino martial arts with a specialization in bladework and enjoys reading, nature observation, and scuba diving.
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WILLIAM McCASKEY is a veteran of the United States Army who traded in the hot and sandy for central Florida with his family, dogs, and a very demanding feline overlord. In his free time, he enjoys honing his martial arts skills while imparting a few of them, traveling, and scuba diving. William made his debut with the science fiction novel Dragon Two-Zero.
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