Restless (21 page)

3
8. SEEKING A TRAIL

WITH CALI PROVIDING DIRECTIONS
called up on her smartphone, Leesa piloted the SUV through the tree-lined outskirts of Woburn toward the ballpark. To make it easier for Cali to guide her, Cali had taken the front passenger seat instead of Dominic. The wizard and Jenna sat in the back, with Dominic behind Leesa. As usual, Cali had done most of the talking during the two-hour ride. Leesa didn’t mind—Cali’s chatter helped make the time go by more quickly.

From nearly a mile away, they could see the bright glow of the
ball field’s towering light stanchions illuminating the night sky. A few blocks later, they found themselves at the back of a long line of red brake lights.

“Looks like everyone has the same idea we do,” Cali said
as the car inched forward in the stop and go traffic. “They all want to see the place where the zombies attacked.”

“We need to see it for a very different reason, though,” Dominic said.

“Well, we’re not going to see it going this way,” Leesa said glumly. “Look up ahead.”

Flashing red and blue lights reflected up into the trees
two hundred or so yards up the road, marking the presence of a police roadblock that was the cause of the barely moving line of cars.

“It doesn’t look like they’re letting anyone by,” Cali said.
She rested the phone on her lap. For the moment, her map was useless.

Leesa noted the complete absence of vehicles coming from the other direction.

“It doesn’t look like they’re letting anyone out, either,” she said. She turned to Dominic. “What do we do now?”

“We do
not actually need to get to the field,” Dominic replied. “If we circle it, I will cross the trail of waziri magic at some point and can follow it away from the park from there. Cali, can you get a map on that phone of yours that will give us a way to drive completely around the place? It does not matter how far out we go.”

“You betcha,” Cali replied, already
pecking at the screen of her cell with her finger.

“
Get us off this road as soon as you can, Leesa,” Dominic instructed. “When Cali is ready, she will tell you which way to go.”

Not too far ahead, Leesa saw several cars making a left turn, obviously having the same idea of
getting out of the traffic before being detoured by the roadblock.

“There’s a street just ahead where I can
turn off,” she said. “I’ll pull out as soon as we get a little closer.”

Just then, a line of six or seven military trucks rumbled by on the wrong side of the road. The SUV shook as the huge trucks sped past.

“Looks like the army’s going to be taking over this place,” Leesa said. “Just like in Maine.”

“Since we do not know how much of the town they
plan on cordoning off,” Dominic said, “we had best get moving. Cali, how are you coming with that map?”

Cali twisted around and held her phone up for Dominic to see. “Got it right here. As soon as I can see the name of that street up there, I’ll know exactly where to go.”

Leesa pulled out behind the line of trucks and turned left at the intersecting street.

“Go straight for about half a mile,” Cali told her, “and then turn right. I’ll tell you where.”

With Cali directing her, Leesa began making a slow, winding loop of the park area. They had to reroute themselves twice to avoid more roadblocks, but in general Cali kept them far enough away that they were able to stay out of too much traffic. Considering that the digital clock on the dashboard had just flashed past eleven o’clock, Leesa was surprised to see as many cars as she did. The possibility of seeing zombies was obviously a compelling draw for many people.

They had completed about half of their planned circuit when Dominic called out for Leesa to stop.

“There it is,” he said, pointing ahead through the front windshield. “The trail of magic.”

Leesa peered ahead, but saw nothing
other than a red traffic signal at the intersection up ahead. The same difference in vibration that prevented the black waziri from detecting her magic kept her from being able to see the traces of theirs.

She pulled the car over to the curb.

“Wait here,” Dominic instructed. “I’ll be right back.”

The wizard got out of the car and walked
fifteen or twenty paces to the intersection. The light turned green as he neared the corner. His comrades watched as he stopped and turned his head first to the right and then to the left. He waited a moment for the light to become red again, and then took a few quick steps out into the middle of the intersection. He paused there for just an instant before spinning around and moving back the way he had come, continuing on until he had disappeared from sight round the corner. When he reappeared, he strode quickly back to the car.

“They went east,” he said as soon as he had climbed back into the SUV. “I
can follow their trail with ease. They will not be able to hide from me.”

Leesa reached for the transmission
lever, ready to put the car in gear and pull away from the curb.

“Just a minute,” Dominic said, stopping her.

“What is it?” she asked. “What are we waiting for?”

“For Rave and his friends. With his blood inside you, he said he will be able to sense you from miles away, but we do
not know how many miles that means. I do not want to drive beyond his range. Rave knows to come to Woburn, so we must wait for him to find us. The volkaanes should be here in less than an hour.”

Leesa hadn’t thought about any limitation to Rave’s ability to sense her. Dominic was right; they needed to wait. She switched off the engine.

“As long as we are waiting,” Jenna said, “I have an idea.”

Everyone turned to look at the witch, who had been mostly silent for th
e entire trip.

“Tell me,” Dominic said.

“I have a friend who lives near Salem, which is not too far from here. While you wait for the volkaanes, I can fly there and try to find him. If I can, I’m sure he’ll agree to help us.”

“
Your friend is also a witch, I assume?” Dominic asked.

“Yes. His name is Michael. He and I have a long history
together.”

Dominic nodded. “Go, then.
We can use all the help we can get.”

Jenna opened the door and stepped out of the car. Before she closed the door, she leaned her head back in
side.

“Do not wait for our return if the volkaanes arrive before we do. I know which direction you will be heading. As owls, I’m sure we will be able to find either you or the volkaanes
—or a magical battle, if it comes to that.”

Jenna shoved the door closed and hurried
across a nearby lawn, where she ducked behind a hedge. A silver flash briefly lit up the darkness, and then an owl winged its way up into the night sky and raced off to the east.

While they waited for Rave to arrive, Cali surfed the internet on her phone, looking for updated stories about the attack. Accurate details were hard to come by. Many witnesses had tweeted or posted about the incident, but they often gave conflicting information—not much of a surprise given the panic that had ensued from the very first moments. Once again, official reports were vague and next to useless. Just like in Maine, the government had clapped a tight lid on the information. The one report the occupants of the SUV could confirm for themselves was that roadblocks had quickly surrounded the area.

“There’s an awful lot of speculation,” Cali said, “but not much real information. I’ve found a couple of reports trying to tie this attack to the one in Maine, but it’s
pretty much all guesswork. The cause has been linked to everything from secret medical projects run amok—like in the Resident Evil movies—to a new kind of naturally mutated virus or environmental pollution of some kind.” She smiled wryly. “At least no one has mentioned evil wizards and black magic yet—though I suppose it’s only a matter of time.”

“
This must be driving the doctors and scientists crazy,” Leesa said. “I doubt that black magic as the source has occurred to them at all.”

“There is nothing within the framework of their world view
to explain the zombies,” Dominic said. “Magic simply does not exist as a factor in their world.”

“I bet there’s a scientist
or two out there somewhere who’s a fantasy book or movie fan and will suggest magic,” Cali offered. “But I bet most of their associates will look at them like they’re crazy.”

“Even if they do come to the conclusion that the zombies are born of magic, they will have no way to counter it,” Dominic said
solemnly. “Only we can stop it.”

Leesa began to feel a pleasant warm tingling in her body. She looked out the front windshield and saw Rave standing there, smiling
in at her. She wondered if the small amount of blood she had ingested could be the source of the tingling. Maybe the thing went both ways. Rave could sense her from miles away, and she could sense him when he was nearby.

Behind Rave stood Dral and Bain and two other volkaanes
Leesa had never met. One of them was a striking looking female, the first female volkaane Leesa had seen close-up. The woman was as beautiful as the men were handsome, with long, lustrous dark copper hair and the same bronzed complexion. While slightly smaller in stature than the men, she was nonetheless tall and athletic looking.

“Rave’s here,” Leesa said to her companions as she pushed her door open.

She
hopped out of the SUV and rushed into Rave’s arms. Dominic and Cali followed a bit more decorously.

When
Leesa threw her arms around Rave, she heard a metallic clinking from one of his pockets.

“What’s that?” she asked.

Rave let go of her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pair of eight inch long metal spikes.

“
It sounds like we may have more than just a few zombies to deal with,” he said. “We figured this would be quicker than snapping necks.” He mimed stabbing Leesa in the top of the head with one of the spikes. “The spikes were Bain’s idea.”

“Cool,” Cali said, staring at the thick spikes. “
Sure beats sticking a pen into their eye.”

“Where’s Jenna?” Rave asked
, glancing around. “Didn’t she make it?”

“She went to
find a friend,” Leesa replied. “Another witch to help us.”

“
As you can see, I brought some extra help as well.” Rave indicated the two new volkaanes. “This is Halee and Ulric,” he said. “I’ve already told them who you three are.”

Dominic nodded to the volkaanes. “Your help is most welcome,” he said.
“Time is growing short.”

“I take it you have found the trail you were seeking?” Rave said.

“Yes. Our foes have gone east.” Dominic pointed to the east and a bit to the south. “Even now, I can sense the magic being used. They are less than twenty miles from where we stand. We must go, before we are too late.”

“Go, then,” Rave said. “I will have no trouble tracking Lees
a from here. We will not be far behind.”

He kissed Leesa’s forehead. “Be safe, my love.”

“You, too,” Leesa replied, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. The last thing she wanted to do was to let go of Rave’s hand and leave him, but she knew that she must.

She rose up onto her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips, praying that it would not be their last kiss.

39
. A CROP OF CORPSES

A LAYER OF WISPY CLOUDS
drifted across the glowing face of the full moon above Pine Grove Cemetery, further darkening the night. The place was awash with black magic now, but the darkness and the stone wall prevented anyone who might be passing by at this late hour from noticing what was going on within its confines. Hundreds of black ribbons now snaked silently from the dark whirlpool created by the Necromancer’s magic, each one seeking out a separate grave. When they found one, the magic fingers penetrated down through the soil until they reached the caskets buried below.

Whether the coffins were fashioned of rotting wood or impervious metal did not matter—the black magic simply dissolved the casings away and then enveloped the remains
that had been contained inside, bathing them in a powerful reanimation spell. In mere seconds after the contact, long dead eyes winked open as the corpses blinked to life and began slowly clawing their way to the surface, pushing aside the layers of dirt that entrapped them. Already, several of the creatures had almost fully unearthed themselves. Several dozen more had breached the surface with their arms and heads.

T
he Necromancer continued chanting above the magical whirlpool, his voice rising and falling in a haunting cadence as he called forth ever more strands of black magic. With the nearest graves already claimed by the spell, the magic was forced to flow farther and farther into the cemetery seeking out new remains to animate.

Only when he had
summoned more than a thousand of the narrow black ribbons did the Necromancer finally fall silent. Exhausted from the strain of his efforts, he collapsed into his chair, the wood groaning under his weight. For a moment, Viktor thought even the sturdy, reinforced chair might break apart under the load.

While
the Necromancer gathered his strength, more hands and arms wriggled up through the soil, until the grounds seemed to be fairly filled with writhing limbs doing a macabre dance as they clawed at the dirt in an effort to loosen themselves further.

“Go in amongst the graves,”
the Necromancer commanded Viktor and Jordan after a minute or two of rest. “Make sure none of our newly risen friends break free from the magic until I give the signal. I do not want any of them leaving this place early and drawing attention. Only when they are all ready to march will we unleash them upon the city. By then, it will be too late to stop them.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Viktor replied.

He and Jordan spun away from the Necromancer and the whirlpool. They split up and began carefully weaving their way among the gravestones, stepping over or ducking under the sinuous ribbons of magic as necessary. Neither of them was quite sure what might befall them if they made contact with the magic, and they did not want to find out. Only a few of the corpses had managed to rise completely out of their graves so far, but more were appearing with every passing minute. The black wizard and his apprentice made certain each one stayed attached to the strand of magic that had reanimated it.

The magic prevented the zombies from leaving the cemetery—whenever Viktor or Jordan sensed any weakness in
a connection, they quickly reinforced it with their own magic, strengthening the bond. If even one zombie broke free and departed prematurely, they knew the Necromancer’s wrath would be swift and unforgiving. The image of Andre vanishing into the abyss of the black whirlpool and the sound of his screams were still fresh in their minds. Neither of them wanted to follow their former comrade into dark oblivion.