With me, through me, into me, ancestors fill my flesh with unending power. Bind my flesh to the earth. Fill me with unstoppable energy.
Immense pressure began to charge the air, weaving currents of electricity from each of the men to him. Their hair rose on end, creating an eerie impression of zero gravity.
“What’s happening?” Mammon called out.
It’s working.
Not as well as he would have liked. Though the bones of the zombies littering the field rattled and shook, the power he drew from them into Mammon was miniscule at best, something the demon could no doubt sense. But it was still working. Energy slowly wound through Belpheg’s body, filling him with hope and renewed determination.
It was going to work.
With an audible pop of electricity and a wave of power, the invisible barrier fell once more. He let out a low chuckle as the small army of zombies lining the property stumbled and staggered forward, heading straight toward them. No matter. He would use as much of their energy as he could to fuel Mammon.
“Where the hell did he come from?” Mammon suddenly muttered.
Belpheg followed the demon’s gaze to the left side of the clearing, where Mammon’s vampire-hybrid son had just strolled out from the forest. Keeping his eyes on the advancing horde of zombies, the vampire jogged to the perimeter of the circle.
“Where have you been?” Mammon asked him.
Rage glanced down at his gore-covered shirt before giving Mammon one of his signature, wild-eyed grins. “What does it look like? Fighting zombies.”
He sounded awfully happy about it, too. Imbecile.
Belpheg cast the vampire out of his mind. He was inconsequential now, and would most likely meet his death once this was all over. For now, there were more important things to worry about.
Like the fact that his other spell was beginning to work.
“What is that?” breathed one of his twelve men, his gaze on the shimmering figures that had begun to appear across the clearing.
“Is that…?” Mammon shifted uneasily in his spot as realization began to dawn.
“Yes.” Belpheg grinned. “I’ve called the Council members to us.”
His spell had weaved around the Council members’ souls, dragging their spirits into this dimension. Within minutes, their physical bodies would be forced to follow, since a corporeal body could not survive for very long without its life essence.
And once their bodies were again bound to their souls…
They would at last meet their rightful end.
…
Nestled into a spot at the edge of the forest, Dagan waited by his brothers for the invisible force field to fall. It was a less than comfortable spot, given that grisly zombies surrounded them on both sides. Their rotting stench floated over to him, singing his nostrils. Just being in their disgusting, drooling presence made his flesh crawl and his spine tingle. But at least he rested secure in the knowledge that the zombies weren’t after him this time.
Besides, with Lina at his side—with her hand tightly pressed into his—he might be able to withstand just about anything.
“Here it goes,” Tenos murmured from his spot several feet away.
A wave of energy whooshed through Dagan’s body, momentarily standing his hair on end. The barrier was down.
Acting on Brynn’s prior orders, the horde of zombies pushed forward without delay. Keegan waited for them all to pass before turning to the remainder of the group. “You all know what you have to do?”
The chorus of grim nods reflected their common understanding about the potential consequences of their actions.
“I’m not going to tell you it’s going to be okay. I don’t know what the future holds. What our chances are. But I know we need to act.” Keegan took a deep breath, his gaze raking over Tenos and Amara’s friends. “And I thank you all for laying it on the line to stand up with us.”
Amara’s mother Solara adopted an unusually stark expression. “We’re doing this for all of us, Keegan. That maniac has to be stopped, before he harms one more child or takes one more woman hostage. And we’re going to be the ones to do it. We’re going to stop him.”
Wow, those were the most impressive words that had ever come out of Solara’s mouth. Dagan nodded at her. “Well said.”
She gave him a saucy wink that was far more like her and blew him a kiss. From the way Lina’s hand tightened around his, she hadn’t missed the interaction. While she had nothing to worry about, he couldn’t help but be pleased by her reaction.
Keegan broke away from the group to go to Brynn, who stood with little Aegin snuggled safely in her arms. He’d apparently had quite an adventure, because after feeding he’d fallen straight to sleep. Not even the crowd of zombies they’d been surrounded by had been enough to keep his attention for long.