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“You get them from our bud, Ju, too?”
“No. They were found in the forests. They’d been human before. Which is why the magic caused their skin to dry out and created the scales.”
“Learn something new every day,” Rainey quips. “On to number two?”
Bronywyn sighs. “On to number two.”
* * *
By the timeshe’s finished, we’re faced with six seated corpses, all staring blankly at Bronywyn. Their gazes follow her every move, dead eyes that track with one single purpose: to serve and obey.
To use a phrase Rainey coined: it’s fucking creepy.
Bronywyn looks exhausted, drained, and I wish like hell this was the end of our fight today. Shit, this isn’t even the beginning.
“You sure you’re up to a full-on assault?”
“I have to be,” she replies as she heads toward the door. Before she reaches it, she turns back to the dead. “Put on those clothes.”
In unison, they stand, sheets falling away, revealing completely naked bodies I will never, ever be able to unsee. I’m pretty damn sure the sight of the corpses will follow me well on into the afterlife.
“That’s just not something you see every day,” Rainey says as she turns away. “And I really wish I had not seen it.” She shivers.
“Once they’re dressed, we’ll need to load them in a van.”
“Ju has one here. We leave it in case he ever needs to meet us at a crime scene.”
“Great.”
“I’ll grab the keys,” Rainey offers. “You stay here and wait for your new entourage.” She rushes out the door and into the hall before I can tell her Ju will likely not hand over the keys willingly. He’s rather fond of his van.
Then again, he’s fond of these bodies, and he gave them up without much argument. “How are you feeling?” I ask as we listen to the rustling of cloth behind us.
“Tired, stressed, pissed. All of the above.” She smiles, but it’s hollow. “I just want the fighting to be over with.”
“Same.”
“I never thought I’d say this, but I should have listened to Chasin and killed the bastards when I had the magic rather than trying to climb the fucking ladder first.”
“You likely wouldn’t have been able to since they are never in one place at one time.”
“Until now.”
“Until now,” I repeat. “And the shadow magic would have corrupted you long before you achieved that goal, and killing them to save us wouldn’t have been something you were interested in once it did.”
“You’re not wrong.” She falls silent and clasps her hands in front of her. “I just… what if we don’t have what it takes to beat them?” Eyes misty, she turns to me. “What if they win?”
“They won’t.”
“And how do you know?”
“I just do,” I lie. Truthfully, I’m terrified she’s right. That we don’t have what it takes to beat all four councils and their legions of followers. But I also know how powerful even a single spark of hope can be.
After all, it only takes one spark to light a fire. And if we’re going to take on all four councils, we’re going to need one hell of an inferno.
