“Oh, dear,” Luna said after noting my worn expression. “I told Merlin you wouldn’t appreciate that gift, but he insisted. He said you hadn’t been yourself since Virginia moved in, and he wanted to do something to show you that you’re appreciated.”
“That’s actually kind of sweet,” I said with a half smile as I rubbed at my sore backside. “But, yeah, you were right, the bird was a terrible idea. Especially considering it won’t stay dead.”
Luna’s ears shot back, and her blue eyes grew wide. “What do you mean it won’t stay dead?” she asked in a low whisper.
“Exactly that. That thing would seem dead, but then pop back up a few moments later. I’m pretty sure I watched Merlin break its neck, but even that didn’t stop it.” I shuddered at the memory—that one would, no doubt, reappear in my nightmares many times over. “Also I think maybe I’m avegetarian now.”
Luna hissed.“Don’t even joke about such terrible things.”
“Which of those things do you think was a joke?” I sputtered in disbelief.
Luna studied me for a moment.“Oh my, you are serious. Aren’t you?”
“Dead serious,” I said through gritted series. “Or, I guess, undead serious.”
“Yes, that seems to be the situation we have on our hands now,” Luna agreed with a solemn nod.
“Do you mean…?” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. The very word seemed so improbable.
“Zombies,” Luna confirmed my suspicion.
“But how?” I exploded, cursing our bad luck. Although something told me a lack of luck had nothing to do with this.
“The how is quite simple,” Luna explained patiently. “It’s the why I’m more worried about.”
“Well, now you have me curious.”
The she-cat stared at the house without saying anything.
“How are zombies made, Luna?” I prompted.
She blinked up into the sun, then turned to me slowly.“Well, you know how cats have nine lives?”
“Sure,” I said to hurry us along. I’d always assumed that was just an expression, but obviously not. I’d have to remember to ask about that later, when we weren’t facing down a zombie in the kitchen.
“It’s not all cats. Just witches. We’re not immortal, but we are granted extra lives.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I guess that makes sense.”
“We can bestow our lives upon others. It’s a complex but relatively well-known spell. Normally it’s a benevolent spell used to help mates match each other’s lifespans.”
“But I’m guessing that’s not the case with the bird Merlin brought me,” I ventured.
“No,” she said, searching the distance. “There’s a corrupted version of the life-share spell. It can be used to reanimate the dead.”
“But that bird only just died. I saw it,” I reminded her.
Luna’s face took on a drawn expression, which did not provide me with very much comfort. “Yes, that means our dark witch is close.”
“Do you think he’ll make more zombies?”
“I’m guessing the first one wasn’t an accident, so more will likely be on the way.”
“But why would someone surrender all their lives just to spook us a little?” That was the part I didn’t understand. Even if we couldn’t kill the bird, we were still much bigger and stronger and could find another way to overpower it.
“That’s what worries most,” Luna whispered. “The truly evil among us—the kind who would use a spell like this—can also control the minds and wills of others. It’s possible the culprit has an army of helpless witches at his disposal and that each of them have a cadre of zombies at theirs.”
I sighed and dragged a hand through my hair.“So things are about to get bad, huh?”
“Really bad,” Luna bit out, as if speaking the words would also make them true.
Luna was the bravest among us. If this new zombie situation spooked her, then we were in for some tough times ahead.
This day just kept on getting worse and worse…
3
“Now that you know what we’re dealing with here, I’m sure you understand that we can’t leave Merlin alone with that thing any longer.” Luna ran around the side of the house, back to the front.
I loped after her somewhat hesitantly. One undead songbird couldn’t do that much on its own, but what about a whole flock of them? There’s a reason Hitchcock’s aptly titled masterpiece was one of the most enduring horror films of all time.
When I entered the house, I found Luna pacing tight, worried circles around Merlin, inspecting him closely.“Are you sure it didn’t get a scratch or two in?”
Merlin puffed up his fur and then shook out his coat.“Even if it did, I’m fine. The life-share spell can’t be conducted through a third party. If someone wants to turn me into a zombie, they’ll have to do it face-to-face.”
Luna let out a sad mewl.“That’s what I’m worried about, dear.”
Merlin rubbed his face against his wife’s. “Don’t worry about me, my love. Just keep growing our children in your belly, and I’ll handle the rest.”
Luna narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail. She loved Merlin, but she definitely didn’t like being ousted from our adventures. When she’d still had her magic, she’d been the more powerful of the two cat-witches, and every now and then she seemed to question the sacrifice she’d made—whether that was fighting ghosts or inspecting strange noises at night.
“Luna caught me up on the magical side of things,” I said with a nod her way. “I think I understand all that, but what happened to the bird?” I glanced around but didn’t see the cursed thing.
Merlin strode across the kitchen and sat at my feet.“I defeated the vile fiend in the best, most enjoyable way possible.” He paused, lifting his nose with obvious pride.
“You a—”
“I ate it!” Merlin finished with wide eyes. “I’m not usually a fan of dark magic meat, but a meal is a meal. And I had to get rid of it somehow. At least this way we know he won’t be coming back.”
I shuddered at the thought of the mangled carcass stirring in my cat’s stomach.Yuck, yuck, yuck.
“But who would send a zombie after us, and why?” Luna asked, concern reflecting in her wide blue eyes.
“Surely you’ve noticed we collect enemies like they’re going out of fashion,” Merlin teased. “Granted, things have been suspiciously quiet for the last few weeks.”
“Hang on. There’s someone else we should be asking these questions,” I murmured, then marched up and down the hallway, banging on the walls. “I know you’re in there!” I shouted. “Come out. We need to talk to you!”
It didn’t take long for one very angry ghost to phase through the wall and regard me with an icy glare.
If looks could kill… Actually I think our resident ghost was hoping her sour expressionwould render me dead, but she was completely powerless and also bound to our house.
Virginia spent most of her time inside the walls, the only real place she could get any privacy. At first she’d enjoyed popping in and out of rooms and trying to spook us, but the less we reacted to her jump-scares, the more she’d voluntarily begun to fade into the background.
Still, the former evil henchwoman might know something about our new zombie master foe. And anyway, it never hurt to check.
“Why did a zombie attack us today?” I demanded as she bobbed before me, nearly translucent from her lack of magical energy.
“Is that what all the fuss was about?” she asked drolly. “And no one thought to wake me? I love seeing you three get your derrieres handed to you.” Virginia was too classy to talk about butts in English, clearly.
I rolled my eyes at her. Half the time our elderly ghost reminded me of a sassy teenager—and that was when she wasn’t trying to kill us somehow, someway. I had to hand it to her. She didn’t give up easily.