Page 93 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
She and her sisters had taken to studying the Grimoire night and day, but it had yielded very little. Almost as if it was hiding its secrets, not ready or willing to reveal them at this time. The location of the other three wands remained a mystery, too, which made Aerin more determined to find hers regardless of the means necessary. Claire was leaning the same direction, which fueled Tierra's nightmares of losing her sisters to darkness.
Hammering and the sounds of saws carried from the back of the property. Tierra turned in that direction to investigate. The shed that had caught fire during their last zombie fight had been completely repaired, so what were Sunny's father, Basil, and Tommy repairing now?
Tierra reached the edge of the stone steps that led to the lower perennial gardens where she did most of her commercial growing. A large section of forest had been cleared to make way for a beamed structure that was no more than a skeleton at this point. Tierra's eyes widened in shock as zombies weeded the long rows of perennials while another horde worked construction on the new building. Not only were rotted bodies operating power tools, but loose limbs and hands held nails in place to be hammered and operated the dummy end of tape measures.
Tierra found Claire and Aerin—who looked chic and sophisticatedly breezy in the old clothes they'd found in the attic—in the thick of working bodies and parts. Were theydirectingthe mass?
"What the hell is going on here?" Tierra asked.
"Don't you love it?" Claire said. "This was supposed to be a surprise. Aerin had this great idea for a drying shed for the herbs and flowers that are in such high demand on the website. The shed isn't big enough for the quantities we need."
"But you're using zombies as...as...laborers?"
"Bet your ass," Aerin said, consulting her iPad. "We're getting shit done."
"We agreed," Tierra said, dread sinking in. "No more dark magic."
"Youagreed." Aerin lowered her iPad and faced Tierra. The spark in her silver eyes said that she was more than prepared for the argument to come, relished it even. "Using the zombies as organic labor, if you will, is so much better than them trying to kill us every time we turn around." Aerin gestured to Tierra's flowerbeds. "Just look at your plants. They are thriving. Turns out no one knows how to mulch better than the dead."
"I don't want them in my gardens." Tierra shivered thinking of their flesh-rotten hands touching her plants and vegetables, disturbing the soil around their precious roots. "A lot of these plants areconsumedin teas and medicines. Zombies can't betouchingthem. That's just...gross." And certainly wouldn't meet FDA regulations.
"Shh," Claire admonished. "You'll hurt their feelings."
"Feelings? Are youserious?"
"Yes, she is, and we don't discriminate in the work place," Aerin continued. "Fighting and name calling is prohibited. We're resolute in providing a safe, non-combative environment. It doesn't matter what time period they lived in, what positions they held in society, everyone here is on the same playing field. Dead. Who knew dead would make for one hell of a great workforce? I've never had a better group of employees."
"And besides," Claire added, "they're stuck here for now. They just want a purpose."
"Theywantsouls," Tierra stressed. "Our souls."
"They want whatever I tell them they want," Aerin said in a voice that chilled Tierra quicker than an arctic squall.
"Aerin, dark magic has a price," Tierra tried to reason. "One you might not be able to pay."
"You know what, I'm sick of this," Aerin said. "I did this for you, so don't judge me or tell me what to do or how I have to do it. I've been on my own a long time, sister. I can take care of myself, and I have enough money to buy small countries so don't lecture me on what I can or can't afford."
"You aren't doing this for me. This is all you. I want no part of it." Tierra held up her hands and stared at Aerin and Claire for a long silent moment. "And the price required will have nothing to do with money."
"Tierra!" Moira called. "It's Sunny. She says it's urgent." Moira hurried toward them and handed Tierra her cell phone that she'd left inside the house. "What in the hell is going on here? I've heard of the living dead before, but the landscaping dead is new to me."
"Hey, Sunny. What's up?" Tierra stepped away and greeted Sunny while Aerin and Claire made their explanations to Moira.
"I need you." Sunny's usually cheerful voice cracked over the line, heavy with stress. "I can't keep up with the customers today. It's like there's some sort of evil convention in town, and Ryan won't leave the supply delivery unless you sign for it, and we're nearly out of paper goods," she finished on a note of panic.
"You've signed for his deliveries before."
"I know, but with all that's going on in the world, people packing up and leaving without paying their bills, he refuses to leave the supplies without getting paid first. There isn't enough petty cash, and he won't take a check. I'm sorry, Tierra."
"Where's Aunt Justine?" Justine had been dealing with most of the day-to-day running of Ambrosia's.
"She never came in today. I figured you two were working together at the manor, or she's involved in the early morning coven gathering."
"What early morning coven gathering?"
"From what I've heard, they've performed a powerful ritual. A few of the witches have come in today and were real excited. I thought you knew all about it."
"No, I didn't." What was the coven up to? A trip to Ambrosia's would get her away from the dead heads and would hopefully help her figure out a way to deal with Aerin and Claire. They had to understand they were dealing with powers beyond their control. "I'll be right there." She hung up and tucked the phone into the pocket of her skirt.
