Page 83 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

Turning from me, Ray’s fiery wings reappeared, his flaming sword by his side. “It is not a sympathy I share.”

In the end, Trinket’s speed beat Ray’s. I hadn’t even known she’d recovered until I saw her leap through the air, mouth open wide.

Professor Stover never stood a chance. Trinket clamped onto his neck and bit down hard. She tore half his neck out in one gulp.

Blood poured as Professor Stover fell to the ground, pointlessly holding fast to his neck. Trinket tore a fair section of his trachea out too, and it wasn’t long before Professor Stover stopped moving, his body limp on the floor, more lifeless than my own.

We all stood there. I wasn’t sure if anyone else was stunned to silence or if I was alone in that regard. Trinket sat on the floor, licking her bloody fur and proudly chuffing. Ray appeared miffed the scuttlebutt stole his thunder.

“Queen Silvidia will be most amused.” Hamish chuckled. He didn’t slap Ray on the shoulder, but he looked like he wanted to. “In fact, I believe I shall go and tell her how her most fearsome warrior was beaten to his prize by a young scuttlebutt.” Hamish’s laughter followed him as he rent a tear in the atmosphere and slipped through.

I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to laugh or cry. Considering I wasn’t capable of crying, the choice seemed clear. “I can’t believe it’s over.” My legs gave way, and I slipped to the floor.

Ray caught me and eased my descent. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I probably wouldn’t have felt the pain of landing. Nothing hurt like it should. Professor Stover’s bullets wouldn’t have ended my second life, but they should have hurt a hell of a lot more than they did.

Ray’s eyes were full of pain. Those beautiful crimson rings shouldn’t look like that, especially with me as the cause.

“I’m sorry,” I said while lifting a finger and tracing it across his cheek.

Little flecks of my skin flaked off, some of them sticking. I had to look and smell like a horror film extra. Ray never flinched. He just gazed down at me as if I’d hung the moon and then informed him I was taking it away again.

“What are you apologizing for?” Peaches asked as he fluttered nearby.

Golden pixie dust once more filled the air, and I didn’t think anyone was about to complain about it. There was too much relief that all their magic had been restored. Mr. Moony was by Peaches’s side, an arm wrapped around his waist.

Mattie, Vander, and Parsnip scooted close, filling in the bubble around me. Parsnip placed himself between Peaches and Vander. I was glad the two pixies got along so well.

I couldn’t see Aurelia, but oddly enough, with her amphora in my hand, I could feel her. It was an odd thrumming that sang through my body. I vaguely wondered if it would feel more pronounced if my body were more intact.

“Is everyone else okay?” I asked. There’d been a lot of vampires in the bar, and I couldn’t see Johnny anywhere.

“Leon and Johnny are attending to my nestmates. They required feeding after…that.” Mr. Moony’s voice dripped with disgust.

“But they’re okay?” I wanted to be certain.

“They will be fine,” Mr. Moony reassured me.

“I’m so sorry.” Mattie grabbed a section of her dangling necklaces and twisted them. “After the dampening cloth was removed, I could see the magical threads, but they were… It’s difficult to explain, but the best I can say is they were too tightly woven. I think with more time—”

“Over a year, maybe two,” Vander huffed.

“Yes, a year at least, Vander and I’d be able to dismantle them, but not within the few minutes we were allowed.” She shook her head, and reddish blond curls swam in my vision. “There wasn’t much we could do beyond creating a barrier to keep Aurelia from hurting you.” She grimaced. “I suppose that didn’t work out the way we planned either.”

“To the contrary.” I heard Aurelia’s voice but still couldn’t see her. “The boundary was effective. I would have figured a way around it eventually, but in the short term, it worked.”

“Stover was more devious than any of us thought,” Parsnip said on a huff. “And I thought Letty was crazy.”

Vander kissed Parsnip on the temple and soothed, “That witchwascrazy. Stover just happened to be afflicted by the same condition.”

Trinket scrambled up onto my chest. Maybe I hadn’t looked in a mirror, but given what I could see of my arms and hands, I had a fair idea of what the rest of me looked like. No one flinched, and Trinket settled onto my chest as if there weren’t holes shot through here and there.

Thankfully, she’d managed to clean Stover’s blood from her fur. “Hey, sweetie, you did good.” I cringed at the last. I wasn’t necessarily praising her for killing Professor Stover. “If you hadn’t gotten that amphora away from him, then I wouldn’t have been able to grab it. But please, don’t ever put yourself in that kind of danger again. I’m not gonna be here to look after you.” Again, I wanted to cry and hated that my body was incapable.

“This sucks,” Parsnip said about the same time Peaches screamed, “This isn’t right.”

“Can’t we do something?” Parsnip waved a hand down at me.

I gazed up into Ray’s eyes, thankful that my own were still hanging in there.

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