The necromancer had built flesh for their carriers of death. The revenants’ eyes were vacant. They were unable to speak or think. With some of the strongest necromancers, I could sometimes see the pain and agony of those who had only partially come back but knew the horrors they had become.
The ones that lumbered towards us now didn’t have that sense of recognition. I didn’t think they had been in their flesh for long enough. No, these were newly built, and the necromancer who controlled them had to be close.
“You need to cut off their heads,” Laurel said, her sword shining in the light. “It’s the only way.”
“You could also burn them,” Rowen said.
Laurel flipped her off. “I could, but we know that’s not happening.”
I ignored the two of them and looked at Sage. “You need to go. Run.”
“Where am I supposed to go? What the hell is happening?”
“We’re about to be inundated with death,” I said, still unable to quite believe the words coming out of my mouth. “A necromancer, a dark witch, is controlling them.”
“Is this the darkness you spoke of?” She was sharp. That would help keep her alive. At least, I hoped so.
“I don’t know. No one does. They’re here, and they’re not going to stop until they kill everyone in their path.”
“So, where’s the necromancer? The one controlling them?”
“That’s a good question,” Rowen said. “We need to do a seek spell.”
“Do you have the power for that?” Laurel asked, and I knew it wasn’t said unkindly, even if Rowen flinched. Rowen was already exhausted from using nearly all of her magic to protect the town. She needed her coven. She needed Laurel back to full steam, and she needed Sage to learn her powers.
“Yes, but it’s not going to be strong. I’ll need you to take them out while I do the spell.”
She began to mutter under her breath, but I heard the words, nonetheless.
“Ancestors, Watchtowers, sisters, and friends, lend me your strength to seek out the end. Find the darkness that now controls death, show me the hideout with next word and breath. Give me the power to find what we seek, this is my will, so mote it be.”
She lowered her head and held her hands out to the sides, repeating the words silently as she chanted. “Stay behind me,” I growled, knowing there could be more than the necromancers’ pets behind us. I couldn’t leave Sage on her own.
“I’m not leaving you alone.” Her hands shook, but she stayed near.
“They’re coming!” Laurel yelled and threw herself in front of Rowen. The two might seem to hate each other some days, but they were practically sisters. And Rowen would die for Laurel, and vice versa. That was why they tended to get along, even with the animosity.
Jaxton stood by Laurel’s side as the first revenants came. The hawk shifter’s talons slid through dead flesh, and then the fight was on.
The revenants made some sounds, but not many. They couldn’t scream, though I swore I could see the pain and rage in their eyes. Sage was at my side and had picked up an aluminum bat from one of the alleyways I hadn’t even noticed. Good. She could fight for herself, though I still wouldn’t let her do too much. Trace was at my side, fighting as the first revenant came at us. I roared, rattling the windows, and looked over my shoulder to see if it had scared Sage. Her eyes widened only slightly, and her grip tightened on the bat.
“Okay, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“That’s fine, you’ll learn,” Laurel shouted over her shoulder.
I moved myself in front of Sage again and lashed out at the first revenant. It let out a silent screech before it fell, its head rolling off to the side. Sage blanched beside me, but she didn’t stop moving. Instead, she looked as if she were ready to protect me. My bear growled proudly at the idea.
We stood near the bridge, the stream under us now roiling. I cursed because I knew who was doing it. Sage was a water witch, even though she didn’t understand her powers. If we weren’t careful, she might hurt herself. Or one of us.
“Breathe through it,” I said, and she frowned at me.
“What?” she asked as she slammed the bat into a revenant as it came at us. I ripped off its head, and blood sprayed. She looked down at herself and shivered. “It’s a dream. It’s only a dream.”
“No, it’s not.” I killed another revenant. “Don’t let the power within you overwhelm you.”
“What power?”
“Look down,” I ordered as I killed another monster.
She did indeed look down and nearly tripped backward as she saw the raging stream below us. It had slowly started to rise, cresting into waves that weren’t natural.
“That’s your power. It’s untapped, untrained, but you can figure it out.”
“I’m not doing this. It has to be the others.”
“It’s you. Rowen is using wind in her spells to protect and to find. Laurel’s using her sword. We’re using the talons and claws we have. This is you. The water in you.”
She shook her head, but as another monster came towards us, lumbering slowly, she held out her bat. Water slammed into the bridge, washing two of them away.
Trace cursed, sighed, and then leaped over the bridge’s edge to deal with the revenants.
“Maybe keep them here so we can take care of them and not slowly move them downstream in the path of an unsuspecting innocent.” I slashed at another revenant, and its head rolled to the side.
“I did that?” Her body shook, her fingers whitening around the bat.
“You did,” I said and held back a smile. My bear was pleased. This woman was strong, far stronger than she knew. And she was mine—if she let me have her, and if I let myself pretend it could happen.
Because she was a witch, the one person my pack would never agree to have as its alpha’s mate.
Interestingly, my bear didn’t care.
And it wasn’t time for me to think about how sexy she was with her power radiating in those hazel eyes. How her honey-brown hair floated around her as if caught in a hidden wind that only her powers showed.
She gripped the blood-covered bat for dear life, and yet, she kept fighting. She might not think she believed what she was seeing, but she still fought. Protected, even in this dream that she thought she waded through.
And she did all of it as if on instinct.
She was so strong, so powerful. I couldn’t wait to see what she did next.
First, we had to survive.
Jaxton shifted quickly into his bird of prey, forcing a scream out of Sage’s mouth. That was disappointing, but she had never seen Jaxton shift before. She had never seen anyone shift before. Maybe she would get used to everything and not cower when it came to the animals who lived within us.
Jaxton’s talons pierced the air as he killed the final revenant, the one that had come too close to Trace and Laurel. The three were friends—close friends—and they would fight and die for each other. Just like I would do for my siblings.
As the final monster fell, Rowen came towards us and cursed under her breath. “They had a spell blocking me. I can’t find them. But did you get their scent?” she asked as she ignored Sage for a moment and stared at me.