Page 52 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

“Delicate,” Johnny mocked while holding a fresh glass of rum up in mock salute. “That’s a flowery way of saying it, boss.”

Lucroy inclined his head in agreement.

Peaches rubbed the fresh-looking vampiric bites on his neck and flushed. “What about you, Johnny?”

“Can’t say that I’ve ever seen something like that, but mostly, I’ve just been around Muriel’s crew, and she seems to keep them well-fed enough.”

“She does,” I replied. “It is part of her contract.”

As Wendall’s actions just demonstrated, zombies could be dangerous. Priests and priestesses had to obey certain rules under fairy law, and one of the most important ones was keeping their reanimated creatures fed well. Muriel was a model priestess in that regard.

“The hypnosis must have expended far more energy than any of us imagined.” Lucroy’s fingers continued combing through Peaches’s hair.

“I suppose so,” Johnny easily agreed. “The question I’ve got is if it was worth it or not because I gotta say that I’m not too pleased with what it did to that boy up there.” Johnny pointed his glass in the direction of Wendall’s apartment. “That had to have scared the shit out of him, and I don’t like it.”

Everyone knew Johnny had a soft spot for Wendall. It was difficult to find anyone who didn’t, Professor Arthur Stover excluded.

Lucroy’s fathomless black gaze found mine, and we shared an understanding nod.

“The amphora,” I answered.

“That thing on the keychain?” Peaches asked. “I thought Wendall said it was a reproduction. That doesn’t seem right. Why would something like that be a djinn’s object of attachment? Were there even reproductions of those kinds of things when Aurelia was created? Goddess, my head is starting to hurt.” Peaches lightly shook his head and placed his fingers against his temples.

“Do you need to get back to the orchard?” Lucroy checked his watch. “It has only been a little over two hours, but if—”

“No, it’s not that.” Peaches flew up and kissed Lucroy on the cheek. “But thank you for keeping track. I think my head just hurts thinking about all this, and combined with worrying about Wendall, it’s making for some painful mind soup.”

I cocked an eyebrow at the oddly descriptive choice of words. Lucroy didn’t bat an eyelash.

“I do not believe the amphora was as fake as Wendall believed,” Lucroy answered.

“Agreed. Most likely, Wendall assumed it was given that it was attached to something so modernly mundane as a keychain. Amphoras come in all shapes and sizes depending on the need. Small ones were created for precious oils and perfumes sold in small quantities. They would have been commonly ubiquitous centuries ago. It could have been easily hidden and carried on one’s person.”

“Huh.” Johnny knocked back a little more rum before slamming his glass down on the counter. “I would have expected something larger, but I suppose that makes sense. If it’s something you have to carry and keep close at hand, you’d want it to be easily mobile.”

“I get that, but why do you think it was that in particular?” Peaches asked. “Wendall described a lot of stuff in that office. That professor sounds like a pack rat.”

“The pixie has a point.” Johnny gave Peaches a salute with his nearly empty glass.

“He does,” I agreed, “but I find it interesting that in his memory, Professor Stover had no reaction to Wendall’s presence until he turned and noticed the amphora.”

“Yeah, but he wasn’t even looking at Wendall,” Peaches argued. “He didn’t know he was even there. He just responded when he knew Wendall was in the room, and he’d been there a bit before Professor Asshole knew.”

“My beloved makes a good point. However, I have to agree with Ray. I find it difficult to believe the professor would leave this object lying about if he were worried about another seeing it. He would keep it close at hand and would not want to let it go. That said, the professor did have another object in his possession when Wendall entered the room.”

“The book!” Johnny smacked his hand on the counter. “Can that be an object of attachment too?”

“My understanding is that anything could be,” I answered. “The book could be a possibility, but it would be in danger of deteriorating. It does not seem as likely a choice.”

“Fair,” Johnny huffed.

Lucroy ran a hand down Peaches’s throat, skimming over his bite marks. Peaches shuddered and made a warm, giggling sound. “I believe the book could be the object, but the amphora is more likely. Either way, as to Johnny’s earlier question, despite Wendall’s unfortunate response, I do believe the procedure was worth it.”

“As much as I hate it, I agree, Lucroy.” Muriel shuffled off the last step. When I craned my neck around her, I was disappointed to see she was alone.

“Wendall?” I couldn’t help but inquire.

“Better, but he needs time.” Muriel sounded truly apologetic. “Give him a little space, Ray. Wendall’s a big ball of guilt right now. He’s smart and will figure things out, but right now, he’s running more on feeling than logic, and that’s got him twisted up.”

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