I could tell Jessa was still confused. Apparently this wasn’t common knowledge among supernaturals, and I felt better for not being the only one in the dark.
“Follow me,” Tee said. Together with Louis they sprinted toward the bodies. Now that we'd broken the barrier, the power surrounding the bodies slapped us in the face, but still no scent of death. It was a warm day, and one would have expected a ripe odor. All I got was this weird burnt umber scent.
Grace caught my eye as she mouthedzombies.
I nodded, reading her loud and clear. I’d seen those movies and it never worked out well to bring back the dead. I trusted Louis and Tee though. Somewhere along the line, I'd fallen into a place of trust with these supernaturals. A place where I could release a little control and allow others into my heart. So if they believed this was our only option, I was backing them all the way.
We were closing in on the bodies, each of them suspended at least eight feet above our heads, magic holding them in stasis. Their heads were drooped forward, making it hard to discern facial features, but I recognized a few from their distinct hair or bodies.
"I don't want the zombies to fight him," Jessa snarled. "I want to be the one to do it."
She was upset, and rightfully so. A lot of the fifty supes tasked to the president had been from Stratford. Supes she knew … maybe had grown up with, even. The fact that a human could betray them in this way might be the very thing to start a war between human and supernaturals.
I felt her outrage—it matched my own.
At this point, Jessa was no doubt wishing she still had her dragon to call on inside, to fight the beast.
"Let's just focus," Louis said, more bite than usual in his voice. "No matter what way we defeat him, it's the right way."
"This will work," Tee said. "I'm too old to fail, and my determination could bring this army to life with a single thought."
"No!" Louis bellowed just as Tee said those words.
The ground trembled beneath us, rocking me back and forth and I fought to stay upright. My depleted energy rose, and I loved how it was almost instinctive to use the energy now, after so many years of being vulnerable.
Tee collapsed in her mate's arms, and I'd never seen him so furious. "She should never have risked herself," he snapped, hands trembling as he poured visible power into her. “That spell is too much for one magic user.”
Jessa dropped a hand on his arm, and I wondered if she was sharing power with him. As a shifter, her magic was less obvious, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. "She’s strong enough," Mischa whispered as she dropped her hand on him as well. Grace did the same, and I followed suit.
My power leaped from my body to Louis's and a burst of relief hit me when I heard Tee gasp, her eyes flying open. "It worked," she said before a beat had passed. "They're rising."
Louis's chest rumbled. "You could have been drained past the point of recovery. Why do you have to take risks like this, mate?"
She patted his arm, face drawn even as her eyes sparkled. "I was the only one with the juice left. Now we're all tapped out, so it's up to our new army." Her eyes drifted up. "And the dragons."
"Our new army…" Mischa gasped as she trailed off.
I didn't blame her. I almost choked on the fucking air sailing into my lungs.
Zombies.I understood the concept of them, but until this very second hadn't really wrapped my head around what that would mean.
"How are they flying?" This was a breathless question from Grace, one I absolutely needed the answer to as well.
Like a swarm of undead buzzards, the bodies no longer hung prone and lifeless. They were rising. Slow at first, and then faster and faster, all of them heading in this semblance of a flying superhero pose toward the dragons.
"They're tethered to the dragon that stole their lives," Louis said, still holding Tee close to his chest. "They'll seek revenge on the one who caused their deaths, like vengeful wraiths, and in doing so will hopefully break its bond to the ley line."
This was our one chance. A bunch of zombies hell bent on revenging their own deaths. I was holding my breath, hoping against all hopes that this would work.
I felt Jacob's pain and fatigue through our bond and knew they couldn't hold out much longer against the beast.
"Without their quad bond, they're not as strong," Mischa said with a sob.
We all felt it, the helplessness at being down here while our mates were up there.
"They're strong enough," Jessa said fiercely. "And the zombies are going to help them." Her eyes narrowed as she shifted her position to see better.
She closed her eyes, reaching for Braxton through their bond no doubt. I did the same, shivering at the odd sensation of Jacob's dragon. It felt like him, but an ancient, metallic, prickly version of him. That energy made me feel alive and also uneasy at the same time.
