Stryx screeched.
A second later, the corpse yelled. Help!
“No, Kevin, we need to know where Maisie is. Maisie,” I enunciated, stepping to the very edge of the circle.
Big box! Cat piss. Master come! Kane! HELP!
I frowned. “What?”
Stryx’s frenzied movements continued so hard that the cage fell over. The crash shocked Kevin out of stillness. His gray hands clawed at the dirt until he had enough momentum to rise into a sitting position. I stumbled back, wondering if this was normal. I had my answer when Zen freaked the f**k out and ran out of the circle screaming.
I grabbed her as she darted past. “Whoa! Hold on. Where are you going?”
Her eyes were wild. “The spell went wrong. He shouldn’t be moving.”
I frowned at her, my heart thumping. “What?”
“We accidentally reanimated him. He’s a revenant!”
My brow hurt from frowning at her so hard. I’d heard the term revenant before but couldn’t quite put my finger on an exact definition. Before I could ask Zen, however, a terrible moan to my right grabbed my attention. Kevin Johnson was on his feet. His coordination was off, so he didn’t so much walk as shamble .
“Wait. Are you telling me that”— I pointed an accusing finger at Kevin— “is a godsdamned zombie?”
Before she could answer, Stryx started squawking louder and pushing against the edge of the cage. His frantic movements rattled the cage so hard it rolled. Fortunately, the ruckus distracted the zombie and he stopped moving toward us like a drunken toddler. Kevin was still tuned into the owl’s thoughts, so he provided a running commentary. Fly! Must fly! Need master!
Unfortunately, he also started lumbering toward Stryx’s cage.
“Shit,” I whispered. “I don’t suppose you have any zombie-be-gone in that bag of yours?”
Zen’s rapidly retreating voice reached me from halfway across the cemetery. “Screw the owl. It’s every man for himself.”
“Some voodoo priestess you are!” I yelled after her. I wanted to drag her back and make her deal with this, but I didn’t have time. Because at that moment, Kevin the Zombie was grabbing at Stryx’s cage. The owl’s shrieks of alarm only seemed to egg the revenant on. He also continued to scream Stryx’s thoughts. Danger! Fly! Master, help!
In between screams, Kevin smacked his lips like a fat man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“Okay, Sabina.” I gave myself a pep talk. “Pull yourself together. It’s just the reanimated corpse of a human.” Louder, I yelled. “Hey, Zombie Boy!”
“Gargh?” the zombie groaned, and his stiff neck swiveled so he could gaze at me with his dead, dead eyes.
I rubbed my head in what I hoped the zombie would find an appetizing manner. “Come and get it!”
He waved an arm as stiff as a tree branch in my direction. Then he started groping at the cage with rigored fingers. I probably shouldn’t have been offended that a zombie just shooed off an opportunity to eat my brains, but I had to admit it stung.
By this time, Stryx’s cries must have had no meaning, because Kevin had stopped his translations in favor of moans.
“Fine. Have it your way.” I grabbed my gun from my waistband.
“It won’t work.” Zen’s voice came from far away. I looked over my shoulder and saw her crouching behind a bush near the entrance.
Ignoring her, I turned back around and squeezed off five rounds in quick succession. The zombie’s body jerked with each impact, but he didn’t fall or even drop the cage.
“Told you!” a faint feminine voice called.
Mmmoooaaannn. Kevin had finally gotten the door of the cage open and was fishing around inside for the frantic owl.
“You gotta cut his head off,” Zen yelled.
Of course I did. As I ran to look for something to use in the weeds, the zombie let loose an eerie victory cry. A second later, my hand closed around the handle of a garden spade. Not ideal, but better than the portable shovel I’d used to dig the grave.
I turned in time to see the zombie’s maw open wide. Despite his stiff limbs, the revenant’s strength was impressive as he managed to grip the struggling owl and lift it toward his gaping mouth.
“No!” I drew the spade back and started running. It happened in slow motion. My legs burning. The head of the tool swinging through the air. Kevin’s jaw crashing down on Stryx’s head. The jolt of impact slamming up my arm.
The zombie fell to the side, spewing a mouthful of feathers as he went. But I’d been too late. The owl’s ravaged carcass dropped to the dirt at my feet.
The zombie moaned and rolled. Before he could work up enough momentum to rise, though, I slammed my boot heel into his chest. A grunt escaped his chest. His hands clawed at my shins.
I looked down on him like an avenging angel, raising the spade handle up with the metal end pointing down. Beneath me, the zombie went still. His grotesque face morphing into a pitiful mask of fear.
“Mother?”
I slammed the spade down with all my might. It stopped partway through the neck. Putting my heel on the shoulder of the metal, I stomped down until the spade broke through with a crunch and lodged in the soil beneath the zombie’s severed neck.
Panting, I wiped the back of my shaking hand across my forehead. A twig snapped behind me. My heart kicked back into gear as I spun.
“Shit!” I yelled when I saw it was just Zen. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.” My heart downshifted, but my ire was still up. I glared at the human. “Thanks for all your help, by the way.”
She crossed her arm. “Forgive me, but some of us aren’t immortal.”
“Whatever.” I sighed and looked down at the Stryx’s lifeless body. “Now what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“I think you’re missing the bigger issue here.”
“What?”
She pointed to the headless zombie.
“Oh. You must have done something wrong.”
She shot me a look. “I did everything right. The only variable was you.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re half-mage, right?”
I nodded. A bad feeling crept through my midsection all the sudden.
“But you don’t use your powers?”
I looked down at my boots. “Not really.”
“What did he say to you before you killed him?”
I looked up quickly. “You heard that?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“He said ‘Mother,’ ” I mumbled.