Page 58 of Court of Heathens

Phrixius nods. “We will stop him. I have stopped necromancers before, and we will again.”

There will be so much death, and we still might not win. For all the gods’ strength, Phrixius cannot lower himself for what needs to be done to end this. He doesn’t have the darkness and death in him.

I do though.

I can stop this.

My gaze turns the zombies’. If I take them away from him, he will flee, right? I took one once—yes, it was older and only one, but how much harder could it be? Regardless, I need to try. I cannot risk any of my men or my coven.

If I don’t, everyone here will die.

He will kill them to get to me. I cannot let them be slaughtered.

I meet Phrixius’s eyes again. “I have to try,” I say without explanation, and his brows furrow in confusion before his eyes widen.

“Freya, no!” He reaches for me, but I dance out of reach and turn to the approaching zombies. This might not work, but I have to give it my all. I cannot stand by and let this happen.

All the death I feel in the air belongs to me. It calls to me . . . . It is me.

I denied it all my life, but I cannot deny the truth anymore. I am a master of death, reincarnation, and reanimation. I am a necromancer, and these soldiers will be mine.

Taking a deep breath, I step farther away from my coven and my men, so their magic doesn’t interfere with what I am going to do.

I centre myself, remembering what Phrixius said, and reach within me to those vines, filling them with my intentions.

Control. Take them over.

Make them mine.

I repeat it as they flow out of me, growing in power and strength as if they have been waiting for this moment. It hurts, like a thousand tiny cuts lashing my body, and I shudder and sway, but I stand strong as they grow and consume, reaching for the zombies. I expected resistance, but the darkness just keeps spreading.

There is so much of it, I have no idea how I kept it inside.

It bursts from me, ripping me to pieces so I bleed from a thousand cuts.

My body is one big open wound, but something in me knows if I stop now, it will be much worse. All that darkness needs an outlet. There is no going back.

I’ve let it go, I’ve released it, and it is hungry.

Everything they worried about and told me makes so much sense because no matter how much intention I pulse into that magic, it feels wild, evil, and dark.

Hands land on my shoulders and my back, grounding me. Their magic infuses mine as they lend me their strength and power. I am able to regain control, aiming the darkness where I need it.

When it hits the first row of zombies, I gasp loudly, my eyes opening wide. I don’t know why I expected it to be invisible, but I watch in horror as the inky black vines crawl up the marching bodies and slide into their eyes, mouths, noses, and ears. I rip into them, but they continue to march as it burrows deep until I feel the spark of his magic.

With my hands held out, I turn and close them into fists. The vines consume that spark, snuffing it out and ripping them apart piece by piece. I watch in horror and fascination as the zombies split into limbs and pieces, and they fall and stop, but the ones behind them keep coming.

Rolling my shoulders back, I stand taller and open my palms again. The vines seem bigger, growing with power as they hits row after row, doing the same. Sweat beads on my skin and rolls down my body, the exhaustion making me pant, but I still stand, killing with the vines. I don’t take them over, not like before—no, I tear the life from them until limbs scatter the grass before us, yet they keep coming.

The veins only grow stronger, their ends attached in my soul, draining it of life, and I sway under the power.

“Enough,” Phrixius barks. “It’s killing you. Pull back.”

The soldiers are still coming. “No, I need to finish this,” I grit out, my voice sounding strange.

“Little witch, stop,” my demon pleads.

I shake my head, even as my vision seems to darken, and I know I’m running out of time. Magic always has a price—the stronger, the steeper. This death magic could kill me. I need to end this now.

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