Page 84 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

I knew what he wanted me to say, but even if I were tempted, my body was probably too far gone for even Ray’s fairy magic to reanimate.

“We should call Muriel,” Peaches said. “Give me your phone, Lucroy. I know you have her number on speed dial. We’ll need her anyway to clean up this mess.” Peaches started rooting around in Mr. Moony’s pants pocket.

“My love.” Mr. Moony grabbed Peaches’s wandering hands and held them tight. “There is nothing more the priestess can do.”

Peaches’s mouth slipped open, and his eyes went impossibly round. The red puffiness surrounding his golden eyes grew as tears reformed. “What do you mean? There has to be something. We can’t just sit by and let Wendall…” Peaches ran out of steam, and his head planted into Mr. Moony’s chest.

“Johnny,” Mr. Moony’s voice raised slightly. I vaguely heard Johnny’s reply before Mr. Moony said, “Please contact Muriel. Tell her… Tell her she needs to get here. Quickly.”

I didn’t hear Johnny’s answer. Maybe he didn’t say anything. Sometimes, there simply wasn’t anything to say.

I felt like apologizing again. Instead, I handed Ray the amphora. Now that Professor Stover was dead, the reason behind the magical casting no longer existed and wouldn’t react. It had nothing to protect.

“Here,” I said, pushing it into his palm. “Keep Aurelia safe. Let her be at peace.”

Ray’s fingers wrapped around the amphora, squeezing so tight I was afraid it might shatter. His eyes slipped closed, and his crimson lashes darkened with unshed tears. “If only I could wish for your life to be returned.”

“It is one of my restrictions,” Aurelia answered. “For the first time in my long life, I regret that is true.”

“It was a wise restriction.” Ray didn’t sound like he appreciated Aurelia’s maker’s foresight.

I managed a smile and tried to touch Ray’s face again, but I couldn’t move my arm, and my lips cracked and peeled when I attempted a grin. My body wouldn’t last much longer, and I wasn’t certain if Muriel would need to be here to remove what remained of her reanimation magic or not. If worst came to worst, Vander could probably break the magical connection. My vision hazed, and my ears increasingly felt like they were stuffed with cotton. I kept my gaze trained on Ray’s face and took comfort in Trinket’s small weight.

It wouldn’t be long now.

ChapterThirty-Two

Hellfire Rayburn

This can’t be happening.Everything in me rebelled against the idea of losing Wendall. It was too soon. We should have had more time. I’d never viewed Time as the enemy, but I now did. It took everything I had not to force my bond on Wendall. He’d hate me for it, but maybe it would still work, and that would be worth all the animosity in the world.

Holding his failing body, I knew he was too far gone. There was too little left for my bond to adhere to. Within a matter of minutes, Wendall would be gone, and I’d be left alone. Funny, I’d been alone for centuries. It never occurred to me that would be an undesirable state. Now, nothing sounded worse.

“It doesn’t have to be.”

I barely heard Matilda, and her words were so nonsensical that I dismissed them.

Vander didn’t. “What do you mean?”

Wendall’s pale blue eyes grew distant and faded. The barely there grin teasing his cracked lips lessened until they were little more than a peeling line slashed across his face.

Matilda’s voice grew in volume. “Aurelia’s restriction, it doesn’t have to be one.”

My head snapped up, gaze zeroing in on the witch as I said, “Explain.”

Licking her lips, Matilda’s gaze flicked around wildly. “Aurelia’s restrictions are breakable. I can show Vander the threads of magic, and he can break them.”

Lucroy’s gaze lowered to Wendall as he asked, “I do not believe we have enough time for that. Earlier, you said it would take a year, maybe more.”

Matilda furiously shook her head. “That was for the spells binding her to the amphora, but—”

“Her restrictions are more superficial,” Vander finished, excitement filling him. “Fuck, you’re right.” To the rest of us, he said, “Think of it like an onion. The restrictions binding Aurelia to the amphora are at the very center. Mattie and I’d have to get through all the other layers to get to that one, but her restrictions are something different. They’re the outermost layer. It’ll take, what…two, maybe three minutes to break through that?”

“Give or take,” Matilda easily agreed.

Gripping the amphora tight, I thought of asking Wendall. I thought I needed his permission for this, but when I gazed back down, his eyelids were closed. My hearts thudded and skipped at least two beats.

“He’s still there,” a breathless Muriel said as she sped into the room, dropping to her knees beside Wendall’s too-still body. “Oh, sugar. What did that man do to you?” She swiped her fingers under her dripping eyes. “I felt the drain but couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it. And then my magic slammed back into me, and I knew…I was already on my way here when Johnny called.”

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