“That worked,” I confirmed. “You freed the soul.”
“Thank the gods for small favors,” Dani replied as Noah appeared at her side like a protective shadow. His fingers wereclaws, and he was ready to shred anything that went after his mate.
He positioned himself to cover her blind spots. "Stay close," he told her. "I've got your back."
My distraction cost me. A rabid squirrel leaped at my face while I watched Dani and Noah. Thankfully, my reflexes reacted, and my arms flew up. Filthy, tiny claws dug into my flesh and cut through the layers of skin. Igniting my arms in my purple witch fire, the little bugger screeched and tried to fling itself away from me.
"This is like the world's most fucked-up game of whack-a-mole!" Lia shouted as she worked her way through a pack of undead dogs while I stabbed the squirrel through the head.
“Go for the head, Phi!”Adèle shouted. Spinning around, I caught sight of Phi slamming her dagger through the skull of an alligator she was wrestling.
"Thanks for the advice!" Phi called as she jumped to her feet.
A quick scan told me my sisters were holding their own. No one was seriously injured. However, it didn't seem as if we had made much of a dent in the number of zombies.
"How many of these things are there?" Dre shouted over the supernatural chaos.
"More than you can fight traditionally,"Adèle informed us."You need to disrupt their connection. They're operating as a hive mind."
"How the hell do we do that?" Lia blurted.
“With Dea's spiritual powers,”Adèle explained. “You can reach the spiritual network they're using. The Collector is broadcasting control signals through the trapped souls. Think of it like a ghostly radio frequency. You need to create interference by flooding that channel with emotions.”
"You mean flood the network with panic, fear, and terror at the same time?" I clarified.
“That won’t be very effective,”Adèle corrected. “Use positive emotions like love, hope, and joy. The Collector feeds on pain and despair, so you would make it stronger. Positive emotions will burn through its control like acid.
"I can try to overwhelm their frequency," I said, as I reached out with my abilities.
Rather than reach toward the trapped souls, I pushed the emotions toward the malevolent intelligence coordinating them. I flooded the connection with every happy memory I could dredge up. Christmas mornings with my sisters. Maleko's laugh. The first time I held my children. The feeling of buying Willowberry with my sisters. I sent everything I could.
It didn't take long to see it was working. The creatures became erratic. Some began wandering in circles while others attacked each other in confusion.
"Excellent! Now press the advantage,"Adèle urged."Keep channeling those positive emotions. You're burning away the Collector's influence."
"Incoming!" Cyran warned as a fresh wave of creatures poured through our compromised ward line while I worked.
"This isn't sustainable," Phi called out as she incinerated something that looked like it had been a dog before it became an abomination. "Dea is going to exhaust herself while we continue fighting these endless waves."
"You’re right. We need to stop the Collector entirely?" Lia snarled as she stabbed an undead bunny. "He's just going to keep us busy fighting his zombies while his minions finish whatever plan he has to get free."
"The binding ritual," Phi said suddenly. "We don't stay here fighting these things. We do it now. In broad daylight. It will catch the Collector off guard."
"Before the optimal alignment?" Kota asked. "How exactly do we hide a massive magical ritual from every tourist in the French Quarter?"
"Very carefully," Dani replied. "And with a lot of help from the coven."
"We’re doing this in Congo Square, right?" Lia asked, catching Dani's train of thought immediately as she carved through another cluster of undead with righteous fury.
"Congo Square is the original sight and already has the power needed," Adèle advised. "You will need to glamour the area and cast strong aversion spells that will make mundies avoid the area.”
“What do we do about Michel’s bloodline?” Lia asked as she slashed an alligator.
“His blood is in the gris-gris bag. You can bind to it for the ritual. You'll need to get the other families there alive for the binding ritual," Adèle explained.
Dre blasted another wave of creatures back toward the ward line. "If we're doing this ritual in daylight, we'll need every amp of magical power we can get."
“You will have it. The spirits are gathering,”Adèle reported. Her mental voice carried notes of awe. “They know what you're planning and want to help.”
