I jumped back from the skeleton coming my way. Edged weapons weren"t exactly the best defense against bone, but my dagger would have to do for now because the magic I"d just run through my body had burnt me out, and I"d need a clear head to call down the magic of the Moon Mother, considering how much chance for disaster there was when it backfired.
A quick glance over my shoulder told me that Morio had engaged the zombie that had attacked him. The shouts of the others rang out as they clashed with their opponents. Hoping Chase would be okay-he was the most vulnerable of us all-I brought my attention to bear on the skeleton again. As I moved in, trying to gauge the best way to attack the creature, it sidled to the left. I didn"t have any of Delilah"s fancy spin-kicks or Menolly"s strength behind me, but I wasn"t a total couch potato when it came to Bruce Lee-ing my way through a confrontation.
Sucking in a deep breath, I lunged, slicing at the bone-walker.
A hit! I actually hit its right hand. As my silver dagger slashed at the bone, there was a pale flare of light and I managed to sever the hand from the wrist. The skeleton"s hand scuttled across the ground, trying to find something to attack. But now that it no longer had its body to back it up, there wasn"t much danger from it. The thing would just drag itself blindly around until it ran up against something it could grab hold of. Unless somebody munched it first, or the spell dissipated.
The skeleton"s eye sockets gleamed with a sickly green fire, and its jaw clattered, as if it was trying to talk. Lucky for me, it didn"t have sentient magic that would allow it to speak. I danced away as it lashed out with its other hand, grasping to catch hold of me. The thing might not be wielding a sword or dagger, but it had unnatural strength and it could crush my windpipe without so much as a blink.
I heard a cackle from my left and turned to see Menolly landing smack on top of another skeleton. It fell beneath her and she began ripping it bone from bone with her bare hands, laughing all the while. Delilah was near her, her dagger singing in the night as she kicked and slashed her way through another bone-walker. Turning back to my own opponent, I made another calculated attack and managed to catch the left hand the same way I"d severed the first.
"Anybody need a hand?" I shouted, feeling a rush of excitement. The Hunt was still flush in my soul, and the exhilaration of the chase came flooding back to my tired muscles, giving me a much-needed boost.
With a victory cry, I decided to try Menolly"s method and launched myself headfirst toward the skeleton. It stumbled back, but not quick enough and I body slammed it, knocking it to the ground as I fell on top of it. We landed in the mud, but the bones were hard and rigid, and it felt like I"d fallen in a rocky field. Ignoring the pain, I brought the hilt of my dagger down on the skull of the creature, smashing a hole through the forehead, into where the frontal lobe would have been located if it still had a brain.
It shrieked as I brought the hilt down again, this time cracking through the bone between the eye sockets and nose. Though it waved its arms around, without any hands it couldn"t do much more than smack the arm bones against me. Or at least that"s what I thought until I felt the creature embrace me, elbows wrapping me tight as it struggled to crush me against its chest.
Cripes. Obviously, I hadn"t thought this all the way through!
I tried to break free but it was stronger than I, even with all the damage I"d done to it. The bone-walker was squeezing my waist like a bony python.
Pushing against the ground, I attempted to gain enough leverage to bust free of the vise grip, but my hands were too slick to manage any real purchase. Everything was starting to look blurry and I realized I wasn"t getting enough oxygen.
"Relecta de mordente!" Wilbur"s voice rang loud and clear and the skeleton"s arms loosened. It tried to scramble out from beneath me to get away from the necromancer"s bone-be-gone spell. Wilbur"s voice rang loud and clear and the skeleton"s arms loosened. It tried to scramble out from beneath me to get away from the necromancer"s bone-be-gone spell.
I rolled away and pushed to my feet, sucking in deep lungfuls of air, covered from head to toe in gra.s.s stains and mud. As we stood there, Wilbur steadying me with one hand, Menolly rushed past us. She was wielding a femur from one of the other bone-walkers, and she swung it right toward the skeleton"s waist, bludgeoning the creature in half. She then proceeded to pound it to smithereens.
I glanced up at Wilbur. "Thanks. I mean it," I said, wishing I hadn"t thought such nasty thoughts about him.
He grinned then-not exactly a friendly grin, but it would do. "They"re tricky." And then he was off, headed toward the last group of three.
Delilah was finishing up with a couple of skeletons and I blinked, peering into the darkness. I could see something moving beside her. It looked like a large dog at first, but when I squinted, it took on the shape of a large, ghostly feline.
Arial! Her twin, long dead but still watching over her! As I watched, the mist-shrouded leopard leapt at one of the skeletons and took it down, giving Delilah the chance to attack the other. Between the two of them, they finished off the bone-walkers. Then, Arial turned to gaze up at Delilah, and within another blink, vanished. Her twin, long dead but still watching over her! As I watched, the mist-shrouded leopard leapt at one of the skeletons and took it down, giving Delilah the chance to attack the other. Between the two of them, they finished off the bone-walkers. Then, Arial turned to gaze up at Delilah, and within another blink, vanished.
Smiling, I barely noticed the tears streaking down my face. Arial wasn"t just Delilah"s long-lost twin, she was also my long-lost sister, and Menolly"s. We hadn"t even known about her until a few months ago and were still trying to pull together all the pieces. Father didn"t want to talk about it, more than to say that she hadn"t made it through her first night. So he and Mother had decided not to tell any of us about her, but instead buried her quietly in the family gravesite.
Wiping my eyes and only managing to smear a streak of dirt across my face, I glanced back. The rest of the walking dead, including the two zombies, were so much dust and ashes. We were standing in a now quiet and empty graveyard among the scattered bones.
We gathered at the center. Everybody looked worn out, dirty, and tired.
"I saw her," I said softly to Delilah.
She looked at me, another crash of lightning illuminating the gentle smile on her face. "I"m glad. I"m glad someone else besides me can see her."
"I think with all the necromantic energy here, it helps."
Menolly gave me a quizzical look but I shook my head. "Later."
She nodded.
"So, what do we do now?" Delilah asked.
"We have to break the spell that"s running through the ley line or it will just keep calling them out of their graves. And if the Bonecrusher shoots more magic into the current at another juncture, the havoc will eventually travel back here. We have to find Stacia." I looked at Morio and Wilbur. "What have you got for us? What can we do to disrupt the magic she set into motion here?"
Wilbur arched an eyebrow. "There is something you can try, but she"ll know what you"re up to if you do it. You can polarize the energy so it snaps back at her. Like a rubber band stretched too far."
Shaking my head, I asked, "Can you think of anything else we can use? I don"t want to warn her that we"re onto her little tricks."
"I may have an idea." Roz squatted down, examining the soil of one of the disturbed graves. "I"m not sure how it would work, but there"s a technique I once saw used long ago before I was an incubus. It acted like the knots you tie in an umbilical cord-only magically."
"Say what?" I stared at him. "I"ve never had a baby, delivered a baby, or even seen one born. What are you talking about?"
"I know what he"s saying," Chase broke in. Delilah put her hand on his arm. He absently patted it. "I"ve been present at a few births-"
"Really?" I asked.
"Don"t act so surprised. I"m a cop. Cops end up helping out with babies and accidents and what have you." He stuck his tongue out at me and then snorted. Turning back to Roz, he continued. "You tie two knots in the cord, leaving a central section. When you sever the cord between the two knots, it prevents the blood from draining out both ways. And from what I can figure out about magic, I suppose it would prevent the magic from leaking out. The demon might not notice it right away. And . . . won"t it cause the magic in the ley line to scatter?"
I stared at Chase, stunned. "You"re really picking up the jargon, aren"t you?"
He grinned.
"You"ve got it," Roz said, giving him a hearty pat on the back. "But we don"t need to cauterize the magic in the ley line-we want it to leak. We just don"t want Stacia to notice."
I began to understand what he was saying. "That means we need to create a magical tourniquet. We slap it on the flow of energy, and then we bust the spell a little ways down the line. The question is, do we have the know-how to do it?"
Wilbur and Morio looked at each other for a moment. I could tell both were ruminating over their personal repertoire of spells. I stepped away from the group while they thought and put in a call to Iris, giving her a quick rundown on what we needed.
"Can you do something like this?"
She paused, then said, "Yes. I can. It"s not dangerous per se, but when the magic comes pouring out of the ley line, you"re going to deal with some backlash. You need me down there?"
"Yeah, but you can"t leave Maggie alone."
"She won"t be," she said, then sighed. "Bruce is here. And . . . Smoky just returned."
My stomach dropped a mile. I wanted nothing more than to race home and find out what he had to say. "Did anybody come with him?"
"Nope, and he won"t talk about it until you get here. I"ll have Bruce drive me down. He"s got his car and driver with him. I"ll tell Smoky you"re fine so he doesn"t take it into his head that he has to join us." As she hung up, I turned back to the others.
Morio was shaking his head. "I don"t think I can do it. I don"t know what I"d use."
Wilbur shrugged. "I"m not so sure I can either-"
"Not a problem," I said. "Iris can and she"s on her way." Before they could ask, I added, "Smoky"s home, so Bruce is bringing her down in his car."
As I moved away from the group, Trillian and Morio joined me.
"The lizard coming?" Trillian looked put out, but not angry.
"Not yet," I said, barely hearing my words. My thoughts were wrapped up in so many things, not the least of which was a turmoil of curiosity over what had happened at the Dragon Council.
Iris showed up before too long. She walked the perimeter of the field, feeling out the energy. Wearing a thick cape against the ever-present rain and the increasing fog, she"d brought her Aqualine crystal wand with her.
As we watched, she began using it like she would a dowsing rod, searching for the exact point where the Bonecrusher had cast the spell into the ley line. Before long, she stopped. She was standing beside a drain that had been placed in the center of an access path next to a row of graves.
"Here it is. This grate drains into a culvert that runs out to the sewer. At least, that"s my guess. It keeps this section of the cemetery from flooding. The grate-and the drain-also happen to run directly along the ley line. By shooting her magic into the culvert, it got sucked into the energy of the land."
"Good going," Morio said, joining her. He leaned over, staring through the grate. "That"s probably why only these graves were affected. The newer parts of the cemetery are east of here, through the gates. Far enough from the ley line to remain untouched by the spell."
"We should really map this out," Delilah said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jean jacket and shivering. "Tomorrow, I"ll come down here with Iris and diagram out exactly where the line runs through the cemetery."
"What next? How can we help?" I joined them, closing my eyes. I was tired, but I could still pick up on the hum of demon magic as it raced near my feet, along with the low pulse of the ley line. Together, they formed an odd cadence, though twisted and off-key.
"You can help by standing back and being prepared to fight anything that comes oozing out of the drain or bursting out of the ground. This is a tricky spell," Iris added. "When I sever the flow of magic, it will pour out of the ley line and there"s a good chance it"s going to create something ugly. Real Real ugly, and I"m not talking about just in the looks department. I"ll be too busy making certain that the lamia doesn"t feel the break, so you guys will have to cover my b.u.t.t." ugly, and I"m not talking about just in the looks department. I"ll be too busy making certain that the lamia doesn"t feel the break, so you guys will have to cover my b.u.t.t."
We moved into position, ready for anything and hoping for nothing.
Iris motioned for us to be quiet as she focused on the drain grate.
I could see the energy now, the vortex caused by the Bonecrusher"s spell as it intruded into the energy of the land. A swirl of winds, clashing against one another. Iris worked a few yards away from the actual juncture of energy, pinching pinching the spell so it didn"t suddenly bleed out and alert Stacia. She deftly wove her magic, latticing the lamia"s spell in a frost-shrouded net. Then, she began to tighten it, pulling it fast. the spell so it didn"t suddenly bleed out and alert Stacia. She deftly wove her magic, latticing the lamia"s spell in a frost-shrouded net. Then, she began to tighten it, pulling it fast.
The energy would eventually back up, and Stacia would figure it out, but if we were lucky, we"d have found her and wiped her out before she fully realized what was going on. One blessing to fighting a powerful opponent: They weren"t always up to speed with all their meddling, and they ran enough magic for something like this to go overlooked for a few days.
Some fifteen minutes of intense concentration later, we were all a cold, sodden mess. Iris looked at me and nodded. She held out a short dirk that looked both sharp and ruthless. With one swift motion, she stabbed into the palpable braid of energy and sliced through it, severing the cord.
One . . . two . . . three . . . holy h.e.l.l! One moment I was standing there, dagger out, waiting to see what would happen and the next, an explosion rocked the area in which we were standing, sending us all flying. Blown off my feet, I landed a good two yards back on the gra.s.s. holy h.e.l.l! One moment I was standing there, dagger out, waiting to see what would happen and the next, an explosion rocked the area in which we were standing, sending us all flying. Blown off my feet, I landed a good two yards back on the gra.s.s.
I scrambled up, checking to see if anything was broken, but by now my clothes were so heavy with water they"d cushioned my fall. Looking around, I tried to see if something had slipped through. Nothing . . . nothing . . . and then I saw Wilbur. He was on the ground, clawing at his neck.
"Wilbur-help him!" I raced over to his side.
Menolly got there before me. She went down on her knees and frantically started waving her arms over him. "I can"t see what"s got him."
"I can!" Morio shoved her aside.
Startled, Menolly hissed, but recovered quickly and crouched next to him, ready to help.
"What is it?" I knelt on the other side of the necromancer.
Morio waved his hand across Wilbur"s neck and whispered something. The outline of a gremlin came into view. Originating in the Netherworld, gremlins were implike spirits. While not fully demonic, they were dangerous and fed off psychic energy. The Yodalike creature splayed its wide hands across Wilbur"s head, while its feet were wrapped around his throat.
"What can we do? How do we kill it?"
Delilah motioned me aside. "I don"t know what what can, but I know can, but I know who who can. Move back, everybody." She spoke so forcefully that everybody stopped to stare at her for a second before scrambling back. As she closed her eyes, her energy shifted. And then, before we could say a word, the air around her rippled and she transformed into her black panther self, but she wasn"t alone. The misty outline of a golden spotted leopard stood beside her. can. Move back, everybody." She spoke so forcefully that everybody stopped to stare at her for a second before scrambling back. As she closed her eyes, her energy shifted. And then, before we could say a word, the air around her rippled and she transformed into her black panther self, but she wasn"t alone. The misty outline of a golden spotted leopard stood beside her.
"Arial!" I let out a small gasp.
"Who"s that?" Morio said, his eyes wide.
Menolly glanced around, looking frantically from side to side. "Who"s who? What are you talking about?"
Chase and Trillian looked just as confused, but Roz said, "I see her," and Vanzir added, "So do I."
I turned to them. "Our sister-Delilah"s twin. She died at birth but she keeps watch over Delilah in her Were shape."
Trillian blinked. "So it"s true."
I turned back to Delilah and Arial, who grabbed the gremlin in their mouths, one on either side. The creature was screaming, struggling to break free, as it loosened its grip on Wilbur. Menolly dashed forward and dragged him away from beneath the gremlin, who was now one big chew toy for the two big cats.
Arial and Delilah proceeded to play tug-of-war with the creature, which I really didn"t want to watch but couldn"t help myself-it was like a train wreck, impossible to look away from-and then Delilah let go and Arial vanished, the limp gremlin in her mouth.
Delilah padded over to Wilbur and licked his face, then gazed up at me. I dropped to my knees beside her and threw my arms around her neck, planting a big kiss on her nose. She let out a soft growl and then rubbed her head against me, purring loudly. As soon as she started her singing, I backed away. Within a few seconds, she was herself again, crouched on the ground, shaking her head. I helped her up, steadying her as she blinked.
"Is he okay?"
"He will be," Trillian said. He and Chase were kneeling by the necromancer, checking his pulse and pupils. Wilbur seemed to be coming around and they pulled him to his feet.
He rubbed his throat, wincing. "That hurt like h.e.l.l. What the f.u.c.k was that critter?"
"A gremlin. I"m surprised you haven"t dealt with them before, being a necromancer," I said.
"Oh, I"ve dealt with several beasties from that realm, but never one of those. Are they common?" He stretched his neck, rolling it from side to side. "The thing had one h.e.l.l of a death grip, I"ll tell you that. I feel like it was trying to suck out my soul."
"There are a number of creatures who feed off psychic energy," Vanzir said, stepping forward. "I"m one of them, but I don"t have to in order to live, so I do my best to curtail the desire. But gremlins and small creatures of the sort need it to survive. And yes, they are common. People who wake up feeling tired all the time but can"t find any reason, or who feel drained when they go certain places, often have encountered gremlins without ever realizing it."
"Any way to keep them out of the house? I should ward against them," Wilbur said.
"We"ll talk protection spells a little later," I broke in. "Meanwhile, Delilah saved you and the thing is gone." I turned to Iris. "Was that all that broke through?"
She nodded. "Yes, I felt one rush at the gates, so to speak, and that was it. But we shouldn"t tarry. We have no idea how long it will be before the Bonecrusher realizes that her spell isn"t working, and we don"t want to be here when she arrives, wondering why."
"Maybe we do," Vanzir said. "Maybe we should stake out the area-what better way to find out where she"s at?"
"But would she have to show up? Can"t she just figure it out and cut her losses from wherever she"s hiding?" I frowned. "I hate to leave somebody out here like that-it"s too dangerous, and it also puts us a man down."
"Not if we bug the area with a camera," Chase said. "I could have my men in here in no time with a wireless surveillance unit. They can hide it in the trees, facing the area where Iris broke the spell. Then, if the lamia shows up, we"ll catch it back at the station. At least we"ll be able to get a bead on her."
"How soon can they get down here?"
"Within the next hour or so."
I glanced at Menolly, who nodded.
"We have time, I think," she said. "It"s still early in the night; I can wait here for them and guard them."
"Okay, let"s do it. Menolly, you and Chase stay here until it"s done. The rest of us-back to the house." As we headed toward the cars, leaving Chase"s so he could drive Menolly home afterward, Delilah sidled up to me and pulled me off to one side.