Page 52 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Not as hard as downtown. Not like a punch to the skull. More like a stubborn shove.

My grip slipped. The corpse twitched.

Faith moved in and drove a binding nail through its pant leg. Then another.

The undead dropped, pinned, clawing at the wood.

Eve’s hellfire took it a heartbeat later.

The smell of burning fabric and old flesh filled the viewing room, and the fake lilies looked like they were judging us.

The woman slid down the wall, crying, hands pressed to her mouth.

Tegan crouched in front of her, voice gentle. “You’re safe. Can you tell us how many?”

The woman shook her head frantically. “I don’t know. They were in the back. They just… they just moved. I thought it was a prank.”

My stomach twisted. Everyone thought it was a prank now. Mina’s story was already spreading.

That was the point.

Still, hearing it out loud in this place made my skin crawl.

Nishi moved toward the back hallway, flashlight cutting through the dim light. “We clear the prep rooms. Fast.”

We followed.

The embalming room looked like a nightmare dressed up as a workplace. Stainless-steel tables. Cabinets. Drainage grates in the floor. A rolling cart with tools I didn’t want to identify.

Two undead were in here.

One stumbled near the far wall, head twitching, mouth smeared dark. The other was slumped against a table, arms hanging, as if it had woken up mid-nap and decided violence sounded fun.

Faith fired clean shots, and the first one dropped.

The second one lurched up.

Eve burned it.

It went down with less fight than I expected, like it wasn’t being pushed as hard. Like the hand on the tether had loosened, even if only slightly.

Tegan stared at the remains, breathing hard. “That’s it?”

Nishi swept the room with her light, then checked the doorway to the cold storage area. “For now.”

Faith glanced at me. “How’s your control?”

I swallowed. “Better than downtown. Still contested.”

Eve’s eyes narrowed. “Because the anchor is gone.”

My hand drifted toward my pocket, toward the disk. Cold pressed through the fabric as if it wanted attention.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “I think removing it helped.”

Nishi pushed into the cold storage room, and the temperature dropped instantly. Metal drawers lined the walls. A hum vibrated through the air.

Two drawers were open.