Zombies Sold Separately

TWO



The pungent scent of spices rising from the manor’s herb garden overpowered even the exotic perfume of the woman kneeling at the Sorcerer’s feet.

He had always favored Maia and had always enjoyed her company.

Maia’s warm autumn skin and dark eyes made her so exquisite that few could compare to her. Sunlight gleamed on her long black hair that lay perfectly over her shoulders. The air in the garden was so still that not a leaf stirred, much less a strand of her hair.

Unlike most of his people, she had not outwardly started the change—her skin remained unblemished, her eyes clear. When she walked she was a thing of beauty, her movements fluid and graceful.

At this moment in time she was perfect.

Almost.

And that word, almost, meant everything.

“Please, Lord Amory,” she whispered as she turned her tear-streaked face up to him. She clenched her hands against her belly. “It was an accident. I did not intend for—”

He held his hand up to silence her. She immediately bowed her head and looked at his feet again.

“It is what it is, Maia.” His heart ached for what he must do now. “Our people are dying. Your body will begin the change now.”

The young woman’s sobs were harsh, loud.

Amory let out a sigh. “The baby will take your essence before it dies. Soon your body will be only a Shell, Maia. You would not be yourself.”

“No.” Her words came in a frantic burst as she met his eyes. “It will be different here in the Doran Otherworld than it was in Kerra. I know it.”

Amory shook his head. “The Doran Otherworld has the same effect on our people as Kerra.”

“What about the new Otherworld you have discovered?” The young woman’s voice had a hint of hopefulness to it.

The Sorcerer studied Maia, wishing things could be different. “The Earth Otherworld would have allowed you to live and to keep your baby—had you conceived there. In your new body.”

He knelt and cupped her face in his palm. With his thumb he brushed a tear from her cheek. “But you became pregnant here. Your body and the baby are now under attack. All is ruined.”

“You are a powerful Sorcerer, Lord Amory.” Her throat worked as she swallowed, her eyes wide with panic. “You can fix this. You can do anything.”

He slowly shook his head. “I cannot.”

“Send me there. To the Earth Otherworld.” Maia sounded almost hysterical and he knew it was time to end this. “Please send me there.”

Pain gripped Amory’s heart as if someone squeezed it in his fist. Pain for this young woman and her unborn babe. Pain for all of the suffering of his people that had only grown worse despite his search for a new Otherworld that wouldn’t kill them.

“The only way you could have survived was to move your essence to a new Host and only if you were not pregnant,” Amory said. “You cannot move your baby to your new Host body. It is impossible. The child would remain in the belly of your Shell. A Shell is a creature with no essence, no mind, no will but to kill, maim, destroy. The baby would die.”

“Please let us try, Lord Amory.” Maia’s tears flowed down her beautiful face and spilled onto her gown. “Maybe it will work for me and my baby.”

“I am sorry.” He moved his palm from her cheek and now had his hand splayed over her entire face. His skin was so dark that it made her flesh appear even more autumn-kissed. He clenched his fingers in a tight grip and dug his nails into her skin. “I am sorry.”

Maia screamed as he did what must be done.

The Sorcerer infused her entire being with his power.

He burned away all of the infection that would have taken her life. As magic glowed around her body in hues of orange and gold, her internal organs started to fail and she began to die.

He was only speeding up what she would have gone through over the next months, ending her and the baby’s suffering in minutes instead of days.

Maia’s screams echoed throughout the gardens, reverberating off the stone wall behind him.

And then she was silent.

Such a sweet, beautiful woman … and now nothing.

Only the pile of clothing lying at his feet and her cremated remains.

“I did what was best.” Amory spoke to himself as he stood. “What I had to.”

What he’d had to do too many times.

Amory caught the attention of the gardener and pointed to the pile of rags at his feet. “Take care of this.”

The gardener gave a slight bow before going to the water pump. He would burn the rags that had once been Maia’s dress and then he would wash away her cremated body so that her remains would join others’. It was a place where Amory had been forced to put many out of their misery.

He walked up the path to the back steps of the manor. As he entered the cool interior, he swept his hand over the top of his bald head and felt nothing but smooth, warm skin. It still jarred him a little to not feel his own long, brittle graying red hair, to not see his own reflection staring back at him whenever he looked in the mirror.

But this body was young, strong, powerful. He felt alive again. With his magic, once he was living in the Earth Otherworld with his people, this body would never die.

The interior of the manor was dark and cool compared to the brightness and warmth of the day. It was as he preferred it to be. He sensed his servants at hand but they kept well out of sight and would only appear the moment he needed one of them. They were well trained.

When Amory reached the Room of Life, he paused at the threshold of the cavern. Thousands upon thousands of egg-shaped stones glittered and sparkled, reflecting the light of dozens of candles that were lit throughout the cavern.

In that place, the life within the stones gave him renewed vigor. It made it easier for him to let go of the pain of extinguishing a single life only moments ago.

Amory took the steps one at a time until he was inside the cavern that was deep below the manor. He strode to a far wall where he kept larger stones that were closer to the size of ducks’ eggs than hens’.

Amory picked up one of the larger stones and smiled as he held it to eye level. The front of the stone was flat, like a window.

He called to the magic of the stone, willing it to bring to him what he wished to see.

Manhattan’s skyline filled his view.

The Sorcerer smiled.