Zombies Sold Separately

THIRTY-TWO



Colin and I ran.

This time he kept right beside me as I sped to the Paranorm Center, rather than beating me there. If I wasn’t so concerned about being watched, hunted even, I would have felt more wonder over his speed and grace. I knew then that it was going to take a lot to actually beat him in another contest.

As soon as Colin and I reached the unbirthday party sculpture, Rodán stepped from the shadows. He wore a sleeveless brown tunic and breeches. His white-blond hair shone beneath a park light and his crystal-green eyes had a dark, solemn look to them.

“Stay here and wait for Nyx, but be wary,” he said to Colin.

“Of course.” Colin gave a brief nod.

I walked counterclockwise around the sculpture and recited the line engraved in the granite circle, from the nonsensical poem, “The Jabberwocky,” also by Lewis Carroll. “‘’Twas brillig,’” I recited, “‘and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.’”

As I spoke the last word, the hidden entrance opened behind the sculpture at the base of the largest mushroom. I gave Colin one last look before I followed Rodán down the stone steps to the Paranorm Center. The door closed behind me with a rumble while torches glittered and came to life on either side of us, lighting the way down.

The council guard was waiting for Rodán and me, a large pair of Doppler males. I frowned as they met us at the archway leading from the circular hall. The Dryads were in their wooden columns, their faces unusually still, as if simply carved from the wood and not a living part of it.

None of the guards were Shadow Shifters, who usually guarded the hall. I glanced at the shadows that seemed thicker and heavier than normal. Shadow Shifters, likely told to stay out of the way because the council’s guards were going to take care of us.

The thought came to me out of the blue. Why would the guards need to “take care of us”? A crawling sensation crept up my spine and goose bumps rose on my skin. Something wasn’t right.

The smell of crushed rose petals was thick and cloying as we entered the chamber where the five council members were seated around a crescent-shaped table at the back of the room.

At the center of the table was Council Chief Leticia, a Doppler who also represented all Dopplers. She was wearing the Drow-made chain and pendant over her bright yellow robe, but it didn’t glitter like it should have. Like it had when I saw her at the Pit.

I held back a frown when I saw the almost disdainful expression on her face. What had happened since the days before Christmas, when she was so kind and complimentary? I felt her anger, strong, palpable, and that anger was directed toward both Rodán and me.

Bethany, a striking blond Siren, represented all fifteen or so Fae races. Haughtiness in her sea blue eyes was normal, but today they looked almost … vindictive.

The envoy for all Weres was a Werewolf named Eric. Like all of the older Werewolves, he came from the Czech Republic. I didn’t know him well, but Eric had always seemed like a pretty nice guy—for a council member. Now, though … he looked scary. About-to-shift-at-the-full-moon scary.

That saying—about a person being so uptight it looked like he had a stick up his butt—that’s what I’d always thought of when I’d looked at Reginald. He represented all Shifters, including Shadow Shifters. The elderly male’s face looked so tight right now that I swore I saw cracks where his wrinkles should be.

Caolan, the delegate for Light and Dark Elves, looked … unpleasant. Light Elves are beautiful beings as a rule. Unlike Dark Elves, they tended to keep their emotions hidden behind smooth exteriors. Perhaps his expression shocked me the most because he had a nearly hateful glint in his eyes.

I looked from one council member to the next, trying to comprehend the fierceness I saw in them as a whole. Rodán and I had stood before this council just weeks ago during the nightmare we’d all been through with the Vampires.

The council and their idiotic decisions, like choosing to not destroy a deadly serum, or at least not having it guarded appropriately, which resulted in the Vampires holding the paranorm and norm world hostage. Those were the kinds of things this council would do. Idiotic.

At this moment I saw something akin to death in each council member’s eyes. I glanced at Rodán.

As always he was beautiful in every single detail from the crystal green of his eyes, his shining white-blond hair, and the strength in his build. The power within him seemed to expand to encompass me, somehow giving me comfort at a time when I didn’t think I should be feeling any kind of comfort.

“Rodán, Proctor of New York City’s Peacekeepers,” Leticia said in a cold voice to him before turning to me. “Nyx Ciar, of the Night Trackers.”

My heart started thumping as my gaze went from one council member to the next. Their expressions remained the same, from cold to angry to hateful.

“What’s going on?” I half whispered the words to myself and half to Rodán. He didn’t respond, just kept his gaze fixed on Leticia.

“You both have been called to us to answer for your crimes.” Leticia’s voice was like a slap that I jerked away from. “Your complete disregard for our laws, your defiance in following the rules of our kind, your violations of all we hold sacred—every offense has led this council to the conclusion that we must put an end to your many transgressions.”

I caught my breath, protests rising to my lips but I couldn’t get anything out. What was she talking about?

Rodán said nothing but clasped my elbow with his fingers.

“Furthermore,” she said, her voice echoing in the chamber, “the Night Trackers continue to act outside the law whenever they choose to. All of you are a disgrace. As of this moment, we are eliminating Trackers as a paranorm organization altogether.”

My mind spun as I looked at Rodán. What was happening? Why wasn’t he saying anything?

Leticia nodded to the guards who’d escorted us into the chamber. “Take Rodán and Nyx to the detention center where they will await their sentencing.”

My jaw dropped. “What?” Her words didn’t make sense. Just a week ago she told me the council wanted to give me some kind of award and now they were arresting me?

A Doppler guard reached for me.

Rodán’s grip on my elbow tightened. I heard him whisper a word. Everything went black.

We shot through the transference so quickly I didn’t have time to be sick. Rodán’s power was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. One instant we were in the council chambers, about to be arrested, the next we were standing beside the unbirthday party sculpture in front of Colin.

“Come,” Rodán said to Colin as he still gripped my elbow with one hand. He reached out and clasped Colin’s forearm. “Take us to your place, Colin. Now.”

Darkness again. And again we traveled so quickly that I didn’t feel the usual clamping sensation on my head or pressure on my body.

Central Park vanished and then we were inside Colin’s apartment. We had arrived in the darkened living room and the only light on was in the kitchen.

Rodán released us both and stepped away. Shadows darkened his already hard expression. “It was a setup to take us over as Hosts. I believe the Sorcerer Amory is coming after the Trackers.”

Realization dawned on me. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Even the fact that Leticia’s pendant didn’t glitter should have been a big clue. “Amory’s Sentients got to them,” I said slowly. “And it appears to the entire council.”

“I had my suspicions that something wasn’t right when I received the order to appear before the council,” Rodán said. “It was worded in a way that caused me some concern.”

“I’m glad you figured it out.” I shook my head. “I’m not sure I would have until it was too late.”

“From this point on,” Rodán said, “Night Trackers must meet away from the Pit until everything is righted as it should be.”

“We can’t let anyone through the door without checking them for the burn mark,” I said.

Rodán gave a short nod. “Agreed.”

A knock on the door caused my heart to leap. I looked at Colin and we went to the door. “I’ll check, you cover me.”

He was suddenly holding a very wicked-looking dagger. “I’ve got your back.”

Rodán took one side of the door, Colin the other.

At the threshold stood the Sorcerer Desmond, wearing faded jeans and a Grateful Dead t-shirt. “Hi, Desmond.” I made a gesture toward his ear. “Just to be safe we’re checking everyone.”

Desmond drew his long hair away from the left side of his head and turned so that I could see there was no burn mark.

“You’re sure we don’t need to check the right side?” I asked as he raised his head.

“Positive,” he said.

When Desmond came through the doorway, Colin greeted him with an Old World hand-to-elbow grip as I made the introductions.

“Pleased to meet you, brother,” Desmond said to Colin in his almost-Scottish accent.

I introduced Desmond to Rodán who gave a slight inclination of his head. Desmond responded in kind.

We checked each Tracker as they arrived and I told each of them that I would explain later the reason we were doing that.

When they walked in, most of them gave Desmond a curious look. Fere, a Tuatha from Otherworld, was late arriving. He always tended to run late.

Almost all of the Trackers looked either concerned or curious. Ice just had his usual cocky expression and Joshua seemed like it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Colin had a generous-sized living room, but with all of the Trackers present, half of the group being large males, it was a little crowded.

The three not present were Olivia, Angel, and Lawan, and I missed them desperately. Were they okay? Would we be able to save their essences and return them to their bodies?

“Where’s Angel?” Nadia asked as she looked around the room. “For that matter, where are Olivia and Lawan?”

Nadia was one of my best friends and I felt bad for not letting her know what had happened. There just hadn’t been time.

“We will discuss this shortly,” Rodán said to her.

When we’d all taken a place whether sitting or standing, Rodán positioned himself at one end of the room and explained what had just happened at the Paranorm Center and with the Paranorm Council.

“I don’t understand,” Tracey said. “Why would they do this?”

Rodán gestured to me. “Nyx will explain further.”

“With a little help from a Sorcerer,” I said to the group of surprised Trackers.

I went to the head of the room where Rodán was standing. He stepped back and I motioned for Desmond to join me.

“Desmond is a Sorcerer from the world the Zombies and Sentients are traveling from.” I continued before anyone of the surprised-looking Trackers could interrupt. “I’m going to let Desmond explain that part. It’s complicated.”

The distracted artist-Sorcerer I’d caught off guard just one day ago was gone. In his place was a confident male who’d made the decision to help this Earth Otherworld and do whatever it took to stop Amory.

Desmond used the same holographic magic now as he had with me in his apartment, to demonstrate the facts to the Trackers. He told the story starting from Amory’s search for a new home for his people and why. Hearing it another time made everything even more clear to me.

It didn’t, however, make it any easier to know that I’d soon be out of my body and in someone else’s and my own body would become the thing I hated the most. A Zombie.

Several of the Trackers asked questions as Desmond spoke, clarifying different aspects of the situation until everyone seemed satisfied.

“Got it.” Meryl, who preferred the form of an oriole when she shifted, perched on an arm of the couch. “Sentient’s essence goes into a Host, Host’s essence goes into a stone, stone goes back to Sorcerer for safekeeping, and Sentient’s body becomes murderous Zombie.”

Nadia shook her head. “Not to mention that said Sentients and Hosts, along with a badass Sorcerer, are planning to take over the world.”

“That’s the sum of it.” I stepped aside so that Rodán could take the floor again. Desmond retreated to where he’d been standing with his shoulder hitched up against the wall, and I sat on the couch between Nancy and Colin.

“Sounds like a C movie,” Kelly said. “Too bad to even make a B.”

“It’s worse than you realize,” I said. “You’ve all been wondering where Lawan and Olivia are.” I cleared my throat. “The Sentients took over their bodies and the Sorcerer has their essences in stones in the Doran Otherworld.”

Dead silence before Ice said, “Shit.”

“We have Lawan’s and Olivia’s Host bodies,” I went on. “I’ve interrogated the one who took over Olivia, but didn’t learn anything of value.”

“Are they gone forever?” Tracey asked, looking horrified.

I glanced at Desmond. “There should be a way to recover the stones with their essences and Desmond can handle the exchange. It’s part of what we’ll be working on.”

“Wow.” Nadia shook her head. “Can’t believe it happened to Lawan and Olivia.”

“Don’t worry.” I heard the conviction in my voice. “We will get them back.”

Nadia frowned. “What about Angel?”

I glanced at Rodán before looking at the rest of the room. “We don’t know. She vanished after the attack at the theater.”

“Shit,” Ice said again.

I agreed wholeheartedly.

“Captain Wysocki has disappeared,” Rodán said to me. “I fear she has been taken.”

My breath caught in my throat. The captain, too?

“I would like to address the issue of you as Trackers.” Rodán took control of the meeting. “Even though it is not the real council that has made the ruling to disband the Night Trackers,” Rodán said, “we must now operate covertly. No one outside of this room is aware of what has happened to the council members.”

Nancy finished the last piece of a Godiva chocolate bar before she said, “How do you know for sure that the council members are all now Hosts?”

“If you’d been there, you’d be certain.” I twisted in my seat to look at her. “I didn’t realize it until Rodán told me after we’d escaped. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“What now?” Nadia shoved back a lock of her thick red hair, her expression earnest as she spoke. “If we’ve been disbanded, what happens to our territories?”

“We still do our jobs.” Ice wore an expression of anger rather than the smart-assed one he usually had on. “This bullshit won’t stop us.”

“Ice is not correct.” Rodán brought everyone’s attention back to him. “This is not bullshit. Worrying about our normal concerns as Peacekeepers won’t matter if we as a world are taken over.”

Rodán continued, “This matter commands our full focus and attention. Nothing matters except solving this and stopping the Sorcerer Amory.” Rodán looked calmly at each of us. “It is like tracking a Metamorph who is mugging a norm while at the same time someone is trying to wipe out the world with a nuclear bomb.”

We were all quiet as we absorbed his words. Even Ice was silent, which was saying something.

“As Trackers,” Rodán added, “you’ll need to avoid the PTF because they will now be on the lookout to arrest each of you.”

“The big question,” Nadia said, “is how do we solve this?”

“It’s complicated,” I said from my seat on the couch. “I’ll go over it in more detail with my team.”

“Only your team?” Kelly said. “Why not the rest of us?”

“The fewer who know the details, the better,” Rodán said. “In the case that one of you is captured and taken as a Host.”

Rodán looked at Mandisa. “You will take Olivia’s place on Nyx’s team.”

Mandisa gave a slight bow of her head. She would be an asset—as long as she didn’t shoot any of us with one of her poisoned arrows. The tall Abatwa Fae had a look about her that said, “Cross me and die.”

Next Rodán caught Meryl’s gaze. “You will go in place of Angel.”

Rodán met the eyes of every Tracker as his gaze slowly swept the room. “We must isolate this group. We cannot have one more of you taken with information we possess and have that go to the enemy.”

Max, a scarred, auburn-haired Werewolf who grew up in the Bronx, got to his feet. “You’ve got it, boss.”

“Check in by phone?” Tracey asked as she stood.

Rodán shook his head. “I have a place for all of us to stay, where you will be safe. I’ve already made reservations at the Mandarin Oriental.”

“Nice,” Kelly said.

Rodán didn’t mention that was the same location we housed the Magi, but that wasn’t something he likely wanted in the minds of anyone who could potentially be caught.

“You will all be called upon,” Rodán said. “For the time being, until we are ready, I need you all to lie low.”

The room gradually emptied as Trackers headed to the Mandarin. Then only my team assigned to the Zombie case was left, along with Desmond and Rodán. Mandisa, Penrod, Colin, Meryl, Ice, and Joshua stayed.

Once the room was cleared of everyone not on my special team, I started outlining our plan. Our team would go to the Doran Otherworld and find out whatever we could before returning to the Earth Otherworld and making our stand. Each member of the team interrupted whenever they had a question. We had to know Amory’s plan and anticipate his next move in order to have a chance to stop him.

But when I told my team that I would take over Candace Moreno’s body, it caused a small uproar.

“Not acceptable,” Joshua said with a scowl.

Ice snarled. “Are you out of your damned mind, Nyx?”

“We can’t take the chance of you never being able to return to your own body, Nyx,” Meryl said with a stubborn tilt of her chin.

“We need to do what it takes to beat Amory.” I got to my feet from the couch and started pacing then stopped and looked at Desmond. “And I trust Desmond.”

“I will keep Nyx’s body safe,” Desmond said. “This task must be done. I believe that I can put Nyx back in her own body once you’ve completed your mission.”

“You believe,” Meryl said with a skeptical look. “But you don’t know for sure, right?”

Desmond met my gaze. “It is a chance you must take.”

Colin studied me with concern as did the others. Ice’s face was unreadable, but he didn’t look pleased.

I swallowed, trying not to picture my body as a Zombie. “Listen to what Desmond has to say so that we can get started.”

“One of the recovered stones is a keystone,” Desmond said. “We will be able to use it to locate the portal to Doran.”

“Are you coming with us?” Meryl asked.

Desmond shook his head. “I would go with you but my powers have been rendered useless there. I would be more of a hindrance than a help. I can do a much better job here where I still have my powers.”

“How will you be able to help us here?” Colin asked.

“Amory needs to come here, on what is now my territory, my soil. Once he does, then I will have the power to defeat him.”

“You all have talents that will help you on Doran,” I said. “Joshua will be able to go as shadow and Ice as any form of animal he chooses, such as a mouse when we’re in the mansion. Meryl goes as an oriole, and Mandisa and Penrod can use glamours.”

“Will our powers work there?” Meryl asked.

“Yes,” Desmond said, then looked at me. “Except for Nyx. She will only have the power of her Host body.”

“Which means none since the Host body is human,” Colin said dryly.

“The advantage I do have,” I said, “Is that the Host I’ll be taking over is that of a Sentient who happens to be Amory’s niece and a key member of his Inner Circle.”

“At least you’ve got that going for you,” Meryl said, still not looking pleased.

“At least,” I agreed with a nod. “Now to put our plans into action.”