Tyler nodded, absentmindedly grabbing the clothing Marcy held out. He started to dress, his gaze never leaving the necromancer’s body. Marcy beckoned me and I moved toward her. She held out both mine and Rourke’s clothes, and when I took mine in between my jaws, she whispered, “Make it snappy. The sun is up and this place will be hopping soon. James has the van ready to go so we can move quickly.”
I nodded and padded into the woods, Rourke right behind me.
We shifted back and dressed in under two minutes, and as we walked back side by side, Rourke said, “You help the girl while Nick and I gather the bodies. I’ll send Ray off to search for something to set them on fire. We’re going to need a big blaze. Ray can light it after we take off.”
“We’ll have to take the necromancer with us,” I said definitively. “Alive or dead.”
“Agreed. From what I can sense, she’s alive, but barely,” he answered. “If anyone can help her, you can. She probably needs a power jump so she can refuel her own magic herself, but be careful. Once she has that, she might wake up, and who knows what she’ll do when she finds herself caught.”
“I’ll be careful. If she snaps out of it, she’s going to be in for one hell of a surprise. She doesn’t look more than twenty-two at most.”
Marcy was on the ground next to the girl when we arrived, and James stood between Tyler and his mate, arms crossed. The van was idling at the edge of the cemetery. James had parked it on the grass just in front of the trees.
Rourke’s voice was full of authority. “Irish,” he said, addressing James, “come with me.” He nodded toward Nick. “You too. We need to pile the dead up and burn them. Ray, you go find something flammable. We need a strong, hot fire. Humans are going to be talking about this for centuries, but it can’t be helped.” Rourke turned and began to walk back toward the mausoleums. Nick followed immediately, and after a moment, so did James.
I nodded to James, letting him know I had this as I knelt next to Marcy. “Did you find anything?” I asked her. “What do you think happened to her?”
“Necromancy is powerful magic. It takes a lot of juice.” Marcy shot me a wry glance. “She’s just a little slip of a thing, isn’t she? I’m not sure how she did it—controlling that many.” Marcy ran her hands lightly over the girl’s body. “I can’t find any serious injuries. I think she just burned herself out, which can be dangerous. A supe can short-circuit themselves with magic if they push too hard.”
Marcy moved back so I could scoot in. I laid my hands on the girl’s stomach and addressed my wolf. Can you spot anything? We began to ease our power in, trying to jump-start her magic. Wow, do you see that? Her signature was a vibrant orange and alive, buzzing and bouncing throughout her system. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I turned to Marcy. “I’m going to transfer some of my power to her. Be ready to restrain her. She’s not going to be happy to see us when she comes to.”
“My fingers are at the ready,” Marcy answered, wiggling them. “I’ve never met a necromancer before, which is kind of weird since I’m a witch and they’re kind of witchy. I have no idea what to expect. When she wakes up, there’s a possibility she’ll order forty ghouls to jump out of the woods and attack us. She might have a backup plan in place for this very thing.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but just in case, I’ll knock her out the good old-fashioned way if it looks like trouble.” Tyler began to pace in front of us. “Tyler.” I glanced up. “I need you to stay calm, whatever happens. If you interfere, there’s going to be trouble. And this goes without saying, once she wakes up, she’s going to need her space. Freaked-out is what I’m expecting.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “Just do it already, she’s barely breathing.”
He still looked a little unstable. I needed to know he wasn’t going to act. I nodded my head toward an area a bit away from us. “Go sit down.” My voice held an order. We were wasting time. “Now.”
For a moment it appeared like he would argue, but then he closed his mouth and sat with a thump, closer than I would’ve liked. “Fine. I’m sitting. Fix her.”
I took a slow breath to center myself as I pushed more power into her tiny body. This time I wasn’t seeking anything but trying to force it into her cells—like giving her magical mouth-to-mouth.
At the end of a draw, she gasped and her chest jumped. But she remained out cold. I threw another dose into her, making sure I kept it in check. I didn’t want to give her too much. Her body reacted like it’d been charged, her chest heaving up twice before she finally blinked awake, terror on her face as she glanced up at me. “Don’t move just yet,” I said quietly. “Let me give you a little more so you can heal yourself.”