Page 73 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

“Me?” Vander mocked. “Never.”

“Idiot,” Parsnip lovingly said. The two of them certainly had an interesting relationship. I didn’t think I’d thrive in their snipping atmosphere, but it obviously worked for them, and the adoration in their eyes spoke volumes.

“The point is,” Mattie got us back on track, “it will take time for me to locate the spells, and then I’ll have to point them out to Vander and explain their weak points. Djinns are heavily magicked. It’s layer upon layer of castings, and they’re stacked on top of one another tightly. A djinn’s restrictions are the outermost layer. Their connections to their object of attachment are deep down in their very core. We’ll have to pick that apart without destroying Aurelia.”

“And to even get to that layer, we’ll have to weed through the others,” Vander added.

“Aurelia’s aware of all this?” I asked, suddenly worried for her safety. Others might think that was foolish, but I didn’t care. She might have caused a lot of death and damage, but I doubted any of it was her desire. In a lot of ways, she was the worst victim of all.

“She is aware,” Ray assured.

Mattie nodded. “I spoke with her earlier today.” Mattie’s voice was rough and sounded pained. “I…Ray is correct. For a djinn, she seems oddly…calm.”

Muriel had been quiet, and her thoughts were lost to me. She finally spoke up and introduced a whole new fear into the conversation. “I hate to bring this up, but you’ve already told us that djinns are creative and find work-arounds to their restrictions. Do you think that’s what Aurelia might be doing? It would be the ultimate coup. She claims releasing her is a bad idea, yet it is the only solution. Aurelia conveniently says she’ll just sit by and allow herself to be bound again. What makes any of you believe her?”

Silence filled the room with only the sound of the crackling fire and Trinket’s soft breaths against my skin. That silence spoke volumes. No one knew for certain, including Ray.

“I cannot discount that threat, priestess,” Ray finally spoke. “It is a risk.”

“A risk we must take?” Muriel asked. “Is there really no other option.”

I wanted to blurt my earlier offer, the one Ray had handily shot down. My lips closed on the words. Ray was right. It wouldn’t end with me. If that were the answer, I’d have already driven out to Professor Stover’s house and offered myself on the silver platter of his designation.

“Well, that sucks balls,” Vander summed up. Parsnip didn’t scold him, and I got the distinct impression he agreed with his bonded mate. I thought all of us agreed.

“So, we’re doing this?” Peaches asked and couldn’t stop his fluttering wings this time. Dust filled the air. Vander, Muriel, and Ray covered their noses. The rest of us were either unaffected or didn’t need to breathe.

“Looks like,” I answered.

Peaches sighed, and his wings stilled. “Well, I suppose it’s been a hot minute since I’ve done anything incredibly dangerous and stupid. I guess I’m due.”

“Well said.” Vander held up his hand, and Peaches gave him a hearty high five. The slap of Parsnip’s hand quickly followed. The rest of us simply stared and wondered at pixies’ optimistic nature. Maybe it wasn’t optimism at all. Maybe it was simply making the best of a shitty situation.

“So, when are we doing this batshit crazy operation? And where?” Vander asked.

Mr. Moony’s lips thinned, and he looked terribly put-upon. “Dusk seems appropriate enough. I do not relish the thought of damaging the bar, but it was built to withstand hurricanes and various species’ foolish anger. It seems the best choice.”

Peaches leaned up and planted a warm kiss on Mr. Moony’s cheek. “That’s kind of you.”

“It is practical, not kind,” Mr. Moony protested.

Peaches didn’t argue. He simply gazed up at Mr. Moony with knowing eyes.

“Okay, we’ve got a location. How are we going to get this asshole there?” Vander questioned.

“Leave that to me and Hamish.” It seemed like Ray had an answer to nearly every question, except maybe the most important one. Was this going to work, or was it going to come back and bite us all in our collective ass? And if we did fail, how many others would pay the price for our failure?

ChapterTwenty-Seven

Hellfire Rayburn

Paranoia is a dreadful mental condition. I’ve seen its insanity consume too many otherwise intelligent minds during my centuries-long life. Fairies were just as susceptible, if not more so, than any other species. Those with the most to lose were often the most susceptible to its pitfalls, and Professor Arthur Stover had a lot to lose.

“You truly believe this will work?” Hamish asked. Since we’d already discussed the overall plan, I did not believe he was speaking about our endgame but the here and now. “You think Stover will fall for this?”

“We will use his growing psychosis against him.”

Stover was greedy. Currently, there were two ways we could exploit that greed. One was claiming knowledge regarding what Wendall did or didn’t know and who he’d told. The other, more useful bit for us was Stover’s interest in Fairy.

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