Page 170 of Grave Situation

“Start small. What do you know about zombies?”he counters, and I roll my eyes.

“Well, Leicht, they’re?—”

Soulless reanimated bodies with no will of their own. Their ambulation and ability to function come from the tiny sliver ofsoul energy the necromancer who raised them infuses into the spell used.

I’m so startled by the sudden appearance of that knowledge that my mouth drops open and something flies in.

Leicht’s laughter echoes through my head as I cough and hack, trying to get whatever the fuck that was out of my throat. Turds, I hate flying.

But it seems Leicht was right; I just had to ask the right question. Necromancers use their soul energy to raise zombies? That seems shortsighted—don’t they need their souls?

The answer comes to me before I even finish thinking the question: Yes. Inexperienced or stupid necromancers often use all their soul energy to raise the dead and find themselves sucked dry and as soulless as the zombies they created. However, unlike those zombies, who can exist until they are destroyed, the necromancer remains human and will die in due course—but without a soul, will not enter the afterlife and be reborn.

Now that I know where in my brain the relevant information is stored, I’m able to filter through it. Leicht was definitely right: Asking how to kill the zombies was the wrong question. Zombies are already dead; they can’t be killed. That’s not what I need to do.

It’shours past sunset when Leicht tells me he can see the ship my friends are on. I don’t bother to ask how he can be sure it’s the right one—he can see a lot better than me, especially in the dark, and I don’t feel like being called an idiot again today.

“How do you want to do this?”he asks.“Should I drop you in the ocean?”There’s far too much anticipation in his tone for my liking.

“No. Let me tell Jaimin to warn the captain, and then get close enough for me to slide off onto the deck.”It won’t be easy, but he’s a dragon and I’m a mage-god. If we can’t manage it, what’s the point of having all this power?

Jaimin rallies despite his startlement, and twenty minutes later, Leicht is hovering above the ship’s deck, his wing beats making the sails billow wildly. I stare down at the wide-eyed sailors below and wonder if this was really a good idea.

Too late now.

Sucking in a breath, I pat Leicht’s leg and slide off, thickening the air beneath me slightly to slow my fifteen-foot drop to the deck. As soon as I’m clear of him, Leicht pulls up, putting some distance between himself and the main mast before he turns toward the coast.“I’m going to find dinner. Call if you need me.”

“Enjoy yourself.”

If I had hoped to make a heroic entrance, those hopes would have been dashed when I didn’t land on my feet. Instead, I wind up sprawled on the deck, thanks to the fact that I forgot to account for the movement of the waves.

“Ow,” I say, my nose pressed to the rough wood planks. I better not end up with a splinter in my face.

“That’s my graceful love,” Jaimin declares, and big hands that are not his help me to my feet.

“Are you hurt?” Coryn asks, his gaze skimming me in the light of the torches some of the sailors are holding.

“Only my pride.”

He purses his lips thoughtfully. “I don’t think Jaimin can heal that.”

“He’ll survive,” the love of my life declares, coming up beside me to slide an arm around my shoulders. “His pride is used to being bruised.” The light words are belied by how tightly his arm is holding me.

The sound of a throat being cleared draws our attention to the captain, who’s standing a few feet away with a decidedly neutral expression. “Is there anything you need, sir?”

“I wouldn’t say no to anything that might be left over from dinner.” I paste on a winning smile so he won’t be tempted to throw us all overboard.

“I’ll let the cook know. Uh… will the dragon be returning tonight?”

I shake my head. “Not unless we run into trouble.”

The captain doesn’t seem to know what to make of that, finally just nodding before he walks away.

“Come on,” Jaimin urges. “We told Peiris to keep Arimen below, just in case he said anything he shouldn’t, but we’re all eager to hear how things went. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just tired,” I assure him, leaning a little into his hold. “By the way, I promised my mother we’d visit when all this is over. She’s excited to meet you.”

He misses a step.

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