by Eliza Tilton
My heart stopped, and if it wasn’t for Edgard pulling me forward, I wouldn’t have been able to move.
The dead were coming.
Hundreds of them.
Chapter 26
Leo
Wind whipped my face as I sat in the center of the summoning circle outside of the port. I was nothing but sulfur and death. It filled my senses, casting out any concern I had before. The moment Arbiter cawed, I saw through his eyes the marriage was complete. If Shifty and Owens died, my sister would get the Owens’ fortune and her and my momma would be taken care of forever.
I squeezed my fists, and blood oozed out of my cuts and onto the ground, sizzling in the circle. I’d gone too far now; I knew that. There ain’t no chance of saving myself. Red images flickered through my mind, followed by screams and people panicking as my monsters descended.
Thanks to the tome Shifty taught me to read from, I found a spell to raise bones from the ground in a mass quantity. Every man and woman that died in this place had risen and now descended on the port below. Shifty would never be able to stop the horde. One of the zombies would kill him, and when they did, I would perform a spell to lock him back inside his phylactery gem. Shifty made a grave mistake teaching me to read and cast spells.
Still, many would die today. I had given specific commands to the zombies of who must not be harmed: my family, Arabella’s, Mr. Barnum, Father Henry, to name a few.
Even if I saved the ones I cared for, part of my soul died with this summoning. There was no going back. I had to surrender and accept my fate—another thing Shifty taught me.
Where are you? The dead were sniffing and running to find Shifty. I couldn’t connect to Arbiter and the dead at the same time. The crow flew overhead, scanning the grounds while I bounced back and forth between the zombies, searching the port. A glimpse of a familiar face popped into view, and I smiled.
Found you.
My victory was sorely met as Shifty pivoted around and hacked the skeleton I inhabited to pieces. He glared at the body as if he knew I was inside, right before the connection broke.
I leapt into the next body and watched Shifty run away from the pavilion, my sister in tow. If he was smart, he’d hole up in a building. When he was dead, I’d go after Mr. Owens and kill him too.
My pulse quickened with rage. It wasn’t just the thought of Shifty marrying my sister. I went to him for help, and after everything I had done for his sorry soul, he betrayed me. Instead of putting Owens under a spell, or possessing him, Shifty jumped into the nephew? Why? How did that help me at all?
How dare he pretend to be one of us.
I chased after them to Mr. Owens’s home. Mr. Owens stumbled out of a carriage, hollering and waving at everyone to follow. Two men by his side cocked their rifles and aimed at the zombies racing to the gate. Now that I knew their location, I sent the horde forward. The dead, a mix of skeletons and decomposed bodies, flew into them. Bullets only stopped two of the zombies, and four got through, slaughtering the terrified men in a visceral frenzy of teeth.
Shifty ushered Francesca inside while shooting at the dead sprinting toward him.
Grunting, I changed focus from Shifty and used the dead to attack Mr. Owens. The fat, sniveling man tried to load his rifle but was too damn slow. Every pain I had endured had been because of that useless, selfish beast who only cared about his own pockets. In a scream, I commanded the dead to swallow him whole.
He drowned in a pit of screams and gurgles.
One down.
The dead banged on the house, clawing at the wooden planks. Without the coordination to open a door, they scratched and sniffed, searching for an entry. I growled at the stumbling block and thought on another way to get inside.
Climb.
Twenty dead crawled up the sides of the house, their speed amplified by magic. One found an open window and dove inside. Screams erupted in the house, and chairs flew as my creatures scrambled on the floor toward their targets.
Where are you?
I’d never been inside this house which meant I’d need to search, but I couldn’t focus on more than one undead at a time.
A man shot my current host in the head, and the connection broke.
I jumped into the mind of the nearest zombie. Blood flowed from my nose, and I coughed as drops slid down the back of my throat. If summoning the dead made my head ache for days, what would mind linking do to me?
Using the dead to search, I guided my current body toward the open bedroom door. A flash of white fabric flew past the hallway. Shifty jumped into view, grinning, and shoved a dagger into the zombie’s head, twisting the hilt in wicked glee.
Damn it!
After three more body hops, my temper flared and I growled. I can’t be this close and fail! I can’t!
The only way to kill Shifty was to capture him and exorcise the demon out of his human form. Once the two were separated, I could destroy the phylactery I carried and Shifty would be forced to return to Hell—the one place he hated more than the mines.
I focused on the dead inside the house and sent the image of Shifty to them. They split up, and I bounced from body to body until I found him at the end of a hall, my sister behind him.
Do not touch the girl.
Seeing through the eyes of the dead, I smiled.
This is where it ended.
“You’ve learned, but not fast enough.” Shifty relaxed his posture and smiled then slung out a pistol from his side and shot.
“No!” I opened my eyes and smashed the ground with my fists. I coughed and blood splattered the grass. A bitter cold seeped into my bones, and I shook.
My head swayed, and I got sick all over the grass. Pain pounded in my head to the point I wanted to bash it on a rock to make the throbbing stop.
I couldn’t keep moving between zombies. The connection would kill me.
Rain poured from the sky, putting out the candles surrounding me. If I didn’t stay connected, the dead would go wild, but I couldn’t get Shifty from here.
I’d have to take the risk.
Rubbing the side of my head, I ran down the hill and into the horde.
Zombies, blood, and newly dead painted the port. The rain created pools of red along the streets, turning the once peaceful harbor into a hellish nightmare. I turned away when I saw one of my monsters feeding on a body. If I didn’t ignore the gruesome details, the guilt would overcome me, and I couldn’t afford to waste another minute.
Only when I was facing the main street did the extent of my summoning hit me.
I thought I raised fifty, sixty, the max eighty . . . Instead, there were hundreds of dead swarming the street.
What have I done?
They needed to be controlled, and even after I killed Shifty, could I handle this many dead?
I pulled my soaked cloak over my head. Mud squished under my boots and splattered my pants as I hiked through the pandemonium. When I passed a zombie, it didn’t acknowledge me and continued its carnage.
The Owens’ house was at the far end of the main street. I needed to make it there without anyone recognizing me, especially Arabella. If Arabella and I met, everything would fall apart.
She wouldn’t understand my plan. I doubted her brother would agree to let me live. By now, she would’ve told them all.
I was poison. It was better if I never saw her again.
“Leo!”
I froze.
No. No. No. No.
Ignoring the call, I ran.
“Leo, stop!”
Arabella screamed, but her scream ended in a high-pitched note that held me in place. I tried to shake free, but an invisible weight pressed against me, paralyzing every muscle. My joints locked, and heaviness wrapped around me.
Nothing on my body responded to my demands. What was happening?
Arab
ella walked in front of me, determination etched on her face.
Her long, wet hair stuck to the sides of her freckled face. The blue gown she wore reminded me of those fancy ladies on display in the clothing store, except soaked to the bone. She was the epitome of beauty, and glaring really hard.
With her hand outstretched, she sang a question. “What did you do?”
The words vibrated in my head, and my teeth chattered. “What are you doing to me? I’m looking for my sister.”
The hardness in her face softened. She dropped her hand and stopped singing. “I don’t know where she is, but this”—she waved her arms out wide—“is your doing.”
“You don’t understand.” My body shook, and I tried moving my arms. Every movement felt like wading through deep mud. It took a minute for the numbing sensation to leave. “How did you do that?”
“We all have our gifts.” Her voice had an edge to it, one I hadn’t heard before.
Arabella never mentioned magic to me. Was it tied to her scars? If she had the power to paralyze, I needed to block out her voice. Putting my hands behind my back, I recited a simple barrier spell that would block any sound. It wouldn’t last long, which meant I had to escape her, quickly.
Massive gray clouds covered the sky, pouring rain on us. Wind whipped her hair around her face. This unnatural tempest appeared out of nowhere. What started as simple rain manifested into a thunderstorm. Did my summoning do this?
She mouthed a question, and when I didn’t respond, her face hardened. Lifting her hands high, she yelled, the sound muted in my ears.
The gusts from the storm came faster, harder, until we were pushed off the main road. Arabella shouted, and I squinted through the sheets of raindrops to make sure she was okay. She had fallen to the ground in a puddle of mud and covered her face to protect herself from the pelting rain.
My heart tugged to where she lay. No matter how much I wanted to lift her out of the dirt and run away from all this, I had to keep going.
She opened her mouth to yell or sing, but the noise never reached my ears. Her eyes widened with either horror or fear. She reached out with her arms in a silent scream. Though I couldn’t understand what she said, I understood the meaning in her heartbroken frown.
Don’t you do this to me. Not now.
Our gazes met, and I wanted to drop beside her in that mud. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. “There’s no other way.”
Before she begged me to stay with her pretty eyes and soulful words, I ran, faster than my mind could say goodbye.
Chapter 27
Arabella
The blue undertones distorted the beautiful olive hue of Leo’s skin. The dark circles around his eyes and sullen cheeks filled me with a thousand worries. No good could come out of this magic. It would kill him and all of us. If I didn’t chase him, I’d lose him forever, whether it be to death or worse.
I pushed off the ground and gathered my skirt into my hands. It wouldn’t be long before Edgard or Father found me. We were separated after the pavilion, and I chose to search for Leo, hoping he could end this madness. The Lord granted me this gift for a reason. Today, I would find out why.
I sloshed through the mud, peering in to the rain to follow Leo. For a boy on the edge of death, he moved quickly. My song didn’t stop him, and that worried me even more. I didn’t know how he blocked my ability, but if I couldn’t stop him with words, someone would do it with a sword.
Thunder lit the gray sky, crackling like an angry mother. My dress slowed my steps, the fabric weighted down by the rain. I was tempted to rip the fancy cotton off and run through the port in my underthings. Regardless of etiquette, I wasn’t ready for the world to see my scars.
What will I say when I confront him?
I had thought about this for the past few days, conflicted on how to stop Leo without harming him. So far in all the tests Edgard and I did, with various animals and insects, none died. It seemed my power, or songspell as Edgard named it, could control movement—nothing fantastical like most magical abilities.
Still, it was my gift and it had a purpose.
Leo stopped in front of a three-story home with an ornate iron gate and wrought iron fence. High-trimmed bushes blocked the sides.
“Leo!” If he heard my scream, he didn’t respond.
He pushed open the main gate and ran in.
Whose house is this?
Being in the port a little less than a year, I wasn’t familiar with where everyone lived, but by the immense size of the home, it had to be a wealthy family. A nervous flutter made me say a quick prayer before entering the yard. Mr. Owens lay on his back, blood drenching him in a terrifying display. I covered my mouth and ran to the house.
The front door swayed open, and I tripped on a body as I rushed over the threshold. I screamed and scrambled off the man and dashed to the stairs. I hugged the banister and collected myself, taking steady breaths.
Someone screamed upstairs. A woman or girl, I couldn’t tell.
Even though I could wield magic, I felt exposed without a weapon. I glanced over at the body and saw a pistol on the man’s belt. Avoiding his massacred face, I unhooked the pistol and scurried away once I had it.
Shouts erupted above me, followed by heavy footsteps that sent dust motes from the floorboards to fall on top of my head. With the gun aimed ahead of me, I tiptoed up the stairs, waiting for the worst. Why would Leo come here? Who was he after?
“Do you really mean to fight me? Hand-to-hand combat?” A man with a deep voice laughed.
I stepped softly as to not be heard and ducked low as I crept around the banister.
“Why are you two fighting? We need to leave before more of those things come back!”
Francesca!
Keeping hidden, I moved behind a table by the left of the stairs. Leo, Francesca, and her new husband were at the far end of the landing in the doorway of a room.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, dear,” Francesca’s husband said. “Your brother has that under control.”
“Shut up, Shifty.” Leo growled and balled his fists. “This is all your fault, and it ends now.”
The man tapped a finger on his chin. “What was your plan? Kill me and leave your sister with nothing?”
“What’s going on?” Francesca stepped around her husband. “Christoff?”
He sighed. “I’m afraid your brother has become very paranoid.”
“I’m not paranoid!” Leo stepped forward, and Francesca shifted between them, holding out her arms to block the two.
“You can argue later. Right now I want to leave!”
I didn’t know what to do, but I certainly couldn’t hide here. If they left the room and came to the stairs, I’d be caught.
What do I do? Leo doesn’t look like he’s doing anything dangerous.
Leo shook his fists. Blood trickled from his hands and dripped on the floor. “I read the Book of Nine. You know, the one the warlocks used, and I have your precious gem. It’s over.”
Christoff’s eyes widened, and his gaze darted around the area frantically.
Francesca screamed as three men, their faces decayed, climbed in through the windows. I covered my mouth to hold in my own scream, paralyzed at the scene. Leo jabbed at Christoff, but he ducked and barreled into Leo’s chest, knocking him to the floor. The dead scrambled forward and dove for Christoff as he punched Leo’s face.
I stepped out from my hiding spot, focusing on the abominations. Hand outstretched, I sung a hymn, loud and powerful, dumping all my energy into the notes.
Leo screamed, but I kept singing, thankful my ability still worked. The dead shook, but they couldn’t move forward. Their defiled heads tilted and twisted, watching me with an emptiness. I twisted the words of the song, purging the evil curse from them. Leo’s scream rose into a high pitch, and I looked at him. He writhed on th
e ground as if my song was killing him.
“No, Arabella!” Leo wrestled with Christoff. “You don’t understand! Christoff is a demon! The one from the diary! Help me!”
I paused, shock and fear blanking my thoughts. When I glanced at Christoff, his eyes flared red. He wrapped his hands around Leo’s neck, squeezing and grinning. What if Leo is telling the truth?
With my song stopped, the dead vaulted forward, but instead of going after Christoff, they chased me.
I turned and ran across the hall into the nearest room, slamming the door. A hand shot through the opening. The creature was too strong, and no matter how much I shoved on the door, the weight of the dead pressed in.
My heart hammered. Fear muddled my thoughts, and my voice squawked instead of singing. The songspell was my only defense, except the gun. In order to shoot, I had to move away from the door, but the moment I let go, I was doomed.
Move fast. Shoot faster.
Oh, for once I wished Edgard were here. All the times he’d chased after me, and the one time he didn’t was when I needed him the most.
On three.
Three breaths later, I sprinted to the end of the room and twirled around, gun raised.
I was too slow.
The first creature lunged forward. He was only a few feet from my face. Releasing the trigger, I closed my eyes. I was knocked onto my back and my head slammed hard onto the floor, dizzying me. White sparkles blinked in and out of my vision, and the room swayed around me.
People screamed
My head hurt.
The thing on me was dead, but another zombie jumped on top. The weight of both men crushed my ribs, making it harder to breathe. In a desperate plea, I croaked out a tune, but the song held no power. With my chest unable to contract, I couldn’t get a note out of my lungs.
“Arabella!” I heard my death in Leo’s desperation.
I lifted the pistol and aimed at the fallen man, sympathy breaking my heart. I recognized him as one of the miners we buried. A father, a brother, and a family left behind. My fingers shook on the trigger, and I pulled just as the man dug his teeth into my arm, ripping the flesh.