Page 61 of Within the Flames
Sixteen
She could feel each of the elements bubbling up inside her, reaching to be let loose on the world and take the vengeance Macey desired for her. She held them back though, she couldn't let them go too early or else the Mahoun would know what she had in store for him far earlier than she anticipated.
"Are you okay?" Luc asked.
She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Admittedly, it was nice not to be on her own but he was bordering on clingy with his checking in. She tried to reason with herself, pointing out that he was her guide. That gave him a right to be clingy. The success of his life's mission depended on her well being.
Her mind drifted to the vision of him with the others but she dismissed it quickly. She didn't want to think about him that way, it would only complicate matters further and blur the lines between them. She shouldn't be thinking about it at all, especially when she didn't know if her men were safe.
Stupid thought. Of course they weren't safe. All of them were in and about the Mahoun's castle. Safe wasn't something anyone was here. Danger lurked in every corner and death was an almost certainty no matter what any of them did. She was just trying to keep the death to a minimum.
"He's being quiet," Luc observed.
"It doesn't mean he's not listening," Macey returned. Chances were he wasalwayslistening. Privacy was a thing of the past while they were in the Mahoun's lair.
"I'm sure it doesn't."
Their footsteps echoed off the dungeon floors but otherwise, there wasn't a sound around them. The bodies surrounding them didn't stir, for which Macey wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not. They didn't seem to be anyone she knew but that hardly mattered. The Mahoun had claimed so many lives it was tragic to think of.
Shuffling started at her feet and she frowned more. "Was that you?" she demanded.
Luc shook his head. "No..."
"Then..." Her words trailed off as one of the bodies began to move. "They're alive!" Relief washed through her as she rushed to help the person to his feet.
"Macey! No!" Luc called, jumping between her and the man needing help.
"What are you..."
"Macey, look with your eyes and not your heart. I know you want them to be alive. Trust me, I want that too, but they're not."
She blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what he was saying and what she was seeing. It didn't make any sense.
The rest of the bodies began to shuffle about, doing weird jerking movements as they rose.
"L-luc?" Her voice shook violently as her mind tried to process what she was seeing.
"You know as much as I do." He didn't sound much steadier. "Any ideas?"
"How will they react to fire?" She shot him a glance, hoping to find some reassurance on his features.
She didn't. All she got was a hint of fear but an undercurrent of determination.
"I've no idea. But let's start with the most obvious."
As if by magic, he pulled a shimmering blade from his robes and muttered something in Greek over it. A blessing no doubt, she'd seen some of the kelpies do the same in their own language.
Luc stepped towards the figure in front of them and swung the blade around, slicing cleanly through the neck of the man limping towards them.
There was no blood. No scream. Nothing to suggest he'd been alive. Everything to terrify Macey even further. To make matters worse, his body still moved towards them, the blood and sinew of his neck a gruesome testimony to the body's previous set.
"Alright, so chopping their heads off doesn't work," she muttered, disbelief coursing through her. How had her world become like this? It was almost enough to regret every dream of adventure she'd had a small child.
"Which means that stabbing, slicing or other kinds of chopping won't work either," Luc said dryly.
"No, I don't suppose it would. What's left then?" She backed towards him as the decomposing bodies moved inwards, forming a tight circle around them. She grunted in frustration. This was like every zombie movie she'd ever seen. She made a mental note never to yell at the characters about getting into stupid situations like this again. It was only too easy to end up in one.
"Pure magic from the heavens?" Luc suggested with a shrug.
