By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel(44)

We were fucked.

Zombies surrounded us on all sides, at least ten deep. They didn’t make any noise, only the shuffling of their feet and our heavy breathing filled the air. Another eruption and another spray of rock and soil. More zombies rose from the ground.

Son of a banshee, only a matter of time before Quinn’s fire gave out. My dragon snarled when I heard Quinn shout. I pivoted and wrenched a zombie off of him, throwing it into several more and toppling them like a virgin at an incubus party. The slow shuffle of others took their place.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice strained. “That was a close one.”

Quinn took out more powder, but nothing happened. No glow.

“Ah, basilisk balls.” He tried again. Nothing. His dagger appeared in his hand.

“You need to behead them. Nothing else kills them.”

“Would have been nice to know that before we came in here. I could have brought a sword or something.” Quinn’s breath came in harsh pants, but he stood his ground. I took a quick glance around. Could we run for it?

No, there were just too many. I might make it through, but I don’t know how Quinn could get past without being bitten. We had to try.

“Stay in front and keep moving.” Would a bite infect me or would I be immune? Couldn’t be sure, but I was sure Quinn would be susceptible to their venom. I wasn’t losing him.

Using teeth and claws, I slowly moved us forward, protecting him, and exposing my back. Several hands grasped at me, so I spun and made short work of them before lunging in front of Quinn to take out several more.

Another eruption sounded somewhere in front of us. Shit. So not good. I felt zombies closing ranks, a circle that would soon become our noose. If I could only see through the fog, I could look for a way out.

Quinn swung his dagger with some skill, hacking at zombies, but unable to destroy them with such a puny blade.

Even as adrenaline raced through my body, I was tiring. How long could I keep them from biting him? My claws came down again and again until my shoulders and arms ached.

“There’s too many!” Quinn panted and drew closer.

“What about your ring? Turn yourself invisible. You can get out.”

“I’m not leaving you—”

“Quinn, just do it! I’ll be fine,” I said as I toppled several zombies using the body of one I’d beheaded like a battering ram.

“It’s not working!”

Glancing at Quinn, I groaned. He’d slipped the ring on, and activated it, but the magical fog made his outline glow the same pale green. Maybe zombies didn’t see very well?

One made a grab for him and I lunged in front to slash it to pieces. So much for that theory.

“What was it the cyclops said? Something about a mage’s touch reignites, right?” Quinn stabbed a zombie in the eye, twisted.

“The powder gave out,” I grunted as I hefted another zombie by the ankles. “Duck!”

Spinning it in a circle, bones crunched as I used one corpse against another.

Quinn straightened once I stopped spinning and resumed beheading.

“Maybe I’m meant to—”

“You couldn’t get it to reignite.” No time to soft pedal.

“There has to be something else. He said to surrender.”

“I’m not turning myself over to any zombies. Who knows what”—I beheaded another zombie—“a fucking”—and another one—“cyclops means.”

“Then you should leave me. You can make it through without me. I’m holding you back. No reason for us both to die.” His voice was pained, but a thread of steel laced it.

“What? No! Not happening. We make it together.”

“Twig.” He turned into me, his hand going to my cheek. I jerked as I repelled another undead creature and Quinn’s hand slipped to my neck. He gasped.

My heart stuttered.

“Quinn, what’s wrong? Have you been bitten?” My voice shook with fear, something I rarely experienced.

“I know what the cyclops meant.” His voice filled with awe.

No time to respond since the zombies pressed too close for comfort. I shoved, and I slashed, but I couldn’t hold them back much longer.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

I grunted, impaling a zombie on my claws.

“Then I need you to let me in.”

Let him in? I didn’t even know what that meant, but suddenly we were plastered chest to chest and his hands ringed my neck. My arms flailed trying to keep the zombies from getting him, panic rising.

Warmth spread through my body, suddenly radiating from where Quinn touched me.

“Wha—”

“Do you accept me?” Quinn’s fingers made my neck tingle, not quite painful, but also not quite pleasurable. “I need you to say you accept me.”

I lashed out at another zombie, this one’s mouth coming too close to Quinn for comfort.

“Say it, Twig!”

“Dammit, I accept you.”

And then excruciating agony stole anything else I might have said.





16





For a moment everything seemed to stop. The universe, the zombies, even my heart. Suspended in time.

Then it all sped up, my body flailing, a pain so great I must be dying. I fell to the ground, covering Quinn, protecting him as best I could, even as I thrashed helplessly, screaming from the blinding pain.