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 d
DOMINIC SAT BESIDE LEESA in the front of the SUV now, giving him a better view through the windshield to follow the trail of magic. Jenna had not yet returned, so Cali was alone in the back, playing with maps and Google on her phone to see if she could figure out where the black wizards might be heading.The invisible trail led them steadily eastward through several suburban towns whose edges seemed to blend in with one another. For the most part the route they followed was lined with old houses and thick, leafy trees, though now and then it took them through small commercial sections. Leesa thought that Rave and his friends were probably able to make pretty good speed through the mostly dark residential areas, but knew they would have to slow their pace in the more open and well-lit commercial blocks, especially those containing bars or all night markets. She just prayed the volkaanes weren’t delayed too badly. Since she was obeying the posted speed limit of thirty miles per hour, sh
Before he could even take a step toward the wall, the five volkaanes leaped easily up onto the top of the thick barrier. Rave reached down and grabbed Leesa by the wrists and hoisted her effortlessly up onto the wall. Bain lifted Dominic the same way, and Halee pulled Cali up.“Girl power,” Halee said with a smile as Cali alighted atop the wall.The three volkaanes lifted their charges into their arms and jumped lightly down to the ground inside the cemetery. Leesa took advantage of the moment to plant a kiss on Rave’s cheek before he set her down.“Thanks for the lift, big guy,” she said.Dominic was already peering out into the dark cemetery, which seemed to stretch endlessly before them. He pointed to the south.“The magic is that way,” he said.Leesa followed his finger, but saw nothing but uneven rows of graves that faded into the darkness. She had no doubt, though, that their foes were where Do
Dominic led the party deeper into the graveyard. Most of the markers they passed were standard stone or marble rectangles with rounded tops, but scattered among them were monuments of other types—mostly obelisks, statues and pointy steeple shapes.They walked close together, except for Dral and Bain, who had flanked out to either side. Leesa walked on Dominic’s right, a half pace behind him. Rave marched beside her, his two metal spikes gripped in his hands. Cali followed a few steps behind Leesa, and Ulric and Halee brought up the rear.Dominic extended his arm to the side, palm facing backward, signaling everyone to halt. Caught unawares, Leesa bumped into the wizard’s outstretched arm. She gazed ahead, trying to see what had caused Dominic to stop.As she peered into the darkness in front of them, the answer was abundantly clear—they had reached the area of the cemetery affected by the black magic.Even here at the far edges, dozens of rope-like black strands twisted through the ai
LEESA WATCHED DOMINIC GO for just a moment. Cali took advantage of the pause to place her hand on Leesa’s hip. At the same time, she raised her other hand to the rear and concentrated hard, imagining a beam of yellow magic shooting from her palm just like she had done in the woods with Leesa and Dominic. Somewhat to her surprise, a pale beam immediately shot forward from her hand in a continuous, laser-like stream. She kept the beam aimed head high, sweeping it across the ranks of zombies. She watched the magic blast into nearly a dozen zombie skulls before it abruptly shut off. The creatures all collapsed to the ground.“That’s what I’m talking about,” Cali said, more to herself than to anyone else.Dral acknowledged her help with a quick wave of his hand, then continued darting into and around the pursuing zombies, plunging his spikes into their heads as he passed.“Let’s go,” Leesa said.She trotted forwa
Dominic kept his magic focused on the spot where his foe had disappeared for another few seconds, making certain that Viktor’s magical essence could never be regenerated. When he was satisfied that Viktor was destroyed forever, Dominic turned his attention to the oncoming zombies, who were no longer held in check by Viktor’s magic.“To my side, Halee,” he yelled, wanting the volkaane out of the way.Halee bounded to Dominic’s side as the wizard unleashed a wide swath of magic, instantly incinerating more than a hundred of the nearest creatures. There were still plenty more zombies behind them, but they were far enough away to give Dominic and Halee some breathing room.When Dominic finally let his power subside, the surviving owl had landed on the ground beside its fallen mate. A silver flash briefly lit up the night. A moment later, a man Dominic had never seen before stood in its place. The wizard was pretty sure he knew who the m
With only Dral and Bain holding back the oncoming zombies, some of the creatures had drawn dangerously close to Leesa and Cali. The two volkaanes raced around spiking the nearest ones, but more and more continued to attack.“Can you encase you and Cali completely inside an air shield?” Rave asked Leesa.She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. But I don’t know how long it’s going hold against so many of these things.”“I don’t think it will have to. They are guided by their unceasing hunger. I’m betting when they can no longer smell you, they’ll head elsewhere to satisfy their cravings.”Leesa pictured an invisible cocoon surrounding herself and Cali as she invoked the air shield spell once more. As Rave predicted, as soon as the shield materialized the zombies suddenly turned away and began heading in the opposite direction in search of human flesh.Leesa breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the creatures lumber away—until she realized that the closest human flesh would be Dominic.“Rave!”
With the four volkaanes leading the way, the party surged forward into the mass of hungry zombies, cutting through the mostly slow moving creatures with relative ease. Wanting to save his strength for the confrontation with the Necromancer, Dominic used his magic sparingly now, flinging bursts of magic only at some of the faster zombies who got too near.Leesa and Cali stayed close behind the wizard, with Jenna bringing up the rear and using various spells to keep the pursuing zombies at bay. First, she turned the ground to mud, causing the ungainly creatures to slip, slide and fall over one another. When the mud spell wore off, she froze the ground, which had the same effect on the zombies’ footing as the mud. She would have preferred to destroy as many of the creatures as possible in revenge for Michael’s sacrifice, but she knew she could never kill enough of them to slow their advance the way the mud and ice did.Finally, the party broke through the last