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Essos nods. “Probably. With the scepter and the dagger, it may not matter that she doesn’t have an affinity for the dead. Being a Fate means that her powers aren’t as specific as the rest of ours are.”
“We really need to get both those things back from her,” Finn points out, as if we all weren’t aware of the obvious.
“I might have some thoughts on that,” Cassius suggests, winking at me. I can only imagine what that wink is suggesting. No, I don’t need to imagine—I know, because I know that banging a Fate just went to the top of his to-do list.
I give Essos a warm smile that only grows when he presses his forehead against mine. “We should get this show on the road,” I gently prod. I can’t think about what Posey’s doing with those souls right now, what she can do with them. If she can use the scepter to control the souls, what else can she use it for?
“Autobots, roll out,” Finn says before he loops his arm around Cat’s shoulders and vanishes.
CHAPTER7
We congregate on the street in front of Zara’s parents’ home. I’m surprised to find that the suburban neighborhood seems vacant. I expected zombies would be roaming around aimlessly, but I don’t hear any eerie moans, nor do I see any shambling corpses.
I wonder if Cassius’s intel was wrong.
The street does look like what I’d expect from the set ofThe Walking Dead. Bloodstains mar the ground, and cars are parked to block off the street on one end with makeshift fencing on the other.
It takes a moment, but the scent of rotting flesh finally hits me, and I can’t help it—I turn and puke on Cassius’s feet. Sheepishly, I wipe my mouth, giving him an apologetic look.
Essos rubs my back gently then faces Zara. “We can play this one of two ways. We can cloak ourselves and go into your home and check on your family, or we can announce to them that we’re here.”
I don’t think Zara has taken a single breath since we landed. She’s staring up at her home with tears welling in her big, dark eyes. Essos scans the area around us as I approach Zara and place one hand on her shoulder.
Zara looks at me, then at the rest of our friends, who are ready to support her in any way they can. “I just want to look inside. Helene, will you go with me?”
Helene’s eyebrows lift, but she nods. “Let’s do this, kid.” She holds out a hand to Zara, who takes it without hesitation.
I can’t just stand here and wait for Zara and Helene to return, so I start to walk down the block.
Essos is practically fused to my hip, walking in tandem with me, shortening his stride to match mine. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asks tersely.
I stop walking and face him. “I’m going to walk around and see what I can see about what’s happening.”
“No.”
I take a deep breath in through my nose and try to envision that I’m in a garden, and that I’m at peace and not in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
“Essos…”
“I’ll walk with her,” Finn volunteers. He steps forward and loops his arm with mine. “You know I won’t let anything happen to her. I’m the fastest god alive, and I proved it to all of Solarem.”
I can appreciate the effort he’s putting in to reduce the tension between me and Essos, even as I see the muscle in Essos’s jaw tick. It’s a tradeoff I’m willing to accept. I love my husband, but he’s suffocating me with his need to protect me.
“Fine,” Essos grits out. I feel his stare on my back as Finn and I continue down the block.
The sun is starting to rise, and it’s not unlike the morning my mortal life was cut short. Except, when I look into the sky, nestled in the clouds are the spires of Solarem.
“You have to give him a break, Daphne,” Finn says.
“Essos can handle his own battles, thank you very much,” I point out sourly.
At the edge of the street where the cars are parked to block out the zombies, I finally see mortals. There are five of them that seem to be on patrol. Two sit atop pickup trucks so they can look at the zombies milling about while the other three congregate and share–if the smell is to be trusted–a joint.
“Do you see a safe spot we can view the zombies from?” I ask. “I’m not interested in finding out if zombie gods are a thing, but I’d like to get a better read on the situation.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to pass on that. Your husband will disembowel me and feed my entrails to your dogs. Which I’m sure they would enjoy very much, but I would not.”
“Besides, why get any closer to the danger when you’re already close as can be?”
