As Kieran came closer, he could make out the form of the teen girl who’d stared at him in the government building every morning since he could see spirits. She picked at the buttons on her sweater, looking down at the body in disgust.

“I can move things in this form,” the girl said, glancing behind her at a group of nine bodies in the corner of the yard. Though they were no less dead, their movements seemed more purposeful.

“Once, maybe twice. In a body, you can move things all day long. Regardless, I have one body left. If you want it, you can have it. Otherwise, I need to call someone else.”

“What’s going on?” Kieran asked, joining Alexis.

She looked overtired, badly in need of some downtime. “I summoned nine of your ten hopefuls. Before I summoned the last of them, I remembered Mia and wanted to see if she’d help out. She’s insanely powerful.” She gestured at the teen spirit, who was now staring at Kieran with her large, unblinking eyes. “All the other dead bodies are filled, as you can see. This one’s the last, but Mia doesn’t want to get in.”

“Why is it…all broken like that?” Jack asked, edging away from the corpse at Alexis’s feet.

“One nutcase who was supposed to clear off earlier snuck in here and waited with the others. Bria stuffed him into a body by accident. I had to wrestle him out and shove him across the Line. He’ll probably weasel back out, though. He wants to stay in this world. Anyway, he was trying to choke me when I got him out, so…” Alexis gestured at the broken limb before returning her gaze to the girl. “Take it or leave it, in five…four…three…” She paused. “Two…”

“Claim your vengeance,” Kieran said. “Set things right. Put yourself at peace.”

“One…”

“Okay,” Mia said in a humdrum tone.

In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

“Hang tight while I strap you in,” Alexis said with a focused expression. She closed her eyes. “This is the hard part.”

The body jerked.

“Fuck it.” Jack jumped backward.

The head rolled. An arm flopped to the side.

Jack took another step back and turned so he had one shoulder pointing at the sliding glass door.

“Done.” Alexis heaved a weary sigh and kneaded her right shoulder. Kieran stepped in and gently moved her hand aside, taking over the massage. She leaned back against his body. “You did your research. All the people you called were plenty powerful and ready to tear Valens’s head off. They’ll manage themselves well.”

A cadaver (Kieran now understood why Necromancers used that term—it was much nicer than dead body, corpse, or rotting zombie) broke free from the pack and rushed at Alexis’s table. Jack shifted his weight, ready to react, but he didn’t get the chance.

Alexis merely glanced in the cadaver’s direction, rolled her eyes, and shifted her gaze to the left. The cadaver jerked to a stop with its limbs flailing. The shoulders turned, as though someone else had physically moved them. A moment later, the hips followed. The head whipped around last. The creature lurched forward, walking in the direction Alexis had gazed.

“Sorry,” Bria called out. “That one has been dying to get away. He’ll cause havoc when we finally set him free. They’ll stay put for now, though. I was just tying them all together and chaining them down.”

“That’s how Valens’s old Necromancer was able to work with the Air Elemental to place the spirit trap,” Alexis said tiredly, rubbing her stomach. He could distantly feel her hunger, half drowning in her anxiety and fear. “Bria has the power to trap the spirits for a short amount of time. Up to a day, she said. She always thought they’d have to be in bodies to be trapped, and for how she does it, I think she’s right. But with an Air Elemental to carry and stabilize the magic, and a few tweaks—” She made an explosion with her fingers. “Now we know the exact magic used for the spirit traps.”

“Could you do it?” Jack asked.

“Me?” Alexis rubbed her eyes. “I don’t see why not. Other than morality reasons.”

“Are you girls ready?” Kieran asked as Jack opened the sliding glass door. He soaked in the warmth of her body, the tantalizing feeling of her magic sliding across his skin. Was this the last time he’d get to head into dinner with her? The last time he’d casually drape his arm across her shoulders?

“It’ll be okay.” She rubbed his arm. “Daisy said so. Just don’t ask her why. She gets violent, which means she’s up to something.”

“Oh yeah. She’s up to something, all right.” Bria chuckled. “But damned if I can figure out what. She’s taken Zorn’s training to heart. I can’t even get into her computer! A teen, keeping me out—what has the world come to?”

Kieran didn’t comment. He knew exactly what she’d been up to, and if it hadn’t been for a couple of crucial mistakes that had moved up the time table, Daisy’s long game might’ve saved their asses. All the guys had heaped praise on Mordecai, but that young lady was a diamond in the rough. Zorn had been right all along.

“Anyway, we’re ready,” Bria said, and gave Kieran a thumbs up. “More than ready. We have a collection of cadaver power the like of which I’ve never even heard of. They’re better than real forces.”

“How is that?” Jack asked, leading them into the kitchen.

Delicious aromas swirled around him. Saliva coated his mouth and his stomach fought the churning to growl. Daisy and Mordecai moved around the table, placing the final utensils. Zorn and Thane chatted as they filled pitchers of water and what looked like iced tea. Boman transferred slices of meat to a platter.

“What do we need?” Jack stopped at the sink to wash his hands. Alexis headed upstairs with Bria to wash up and change.

“Grab the salad out of the fridge,” Thane directed.

By the time they’d finished the preparations, the girls were back.

“Because they can’t be killed,” Bria told Jack, acting as if he’d only just asked her about the efficacy of the undead army.

“What can’t be killed?” Thane asked.

“Bria thinks the zombies in the backyard are better than real forces, by which I believe she means alive people.” Jack shook his head, smiling.

“Zombies are better than people any day. Everyone knows that.” Daisy straightened up to admire her handiwork on the table. “They’re hard to kill.”

“Right. Yes.” Jack chuckled and placed the bowl on the table. “Except these aren’t actual zombies.”

“No, these are mind-controlled zombies, basically.” Bria grabbed the salad forks. “You lop off an arm? Who cares. They won’t feel it. You stab them in the chest? Great, they’re good and close and can claw out your eyes. They aren’t afraid of getting hurt, and they aren’t afraid of dying. They’ll do whatever I push them to do.”

“But their magic isn’t as strong.” Jack lifted a brow before peering into the oven. He grabbed a pot holder and took out the aluminum covered baked potatoes. “And I don’t care what you are, or who is pushing you—if you lose your head, your arms, and/or your legs, you’re not going to do much good in the fighting ring. Not to mention that while their version of fighting might be ferocious, it’s not actually good fighting. I could start smacking heads off, no problem.”

“Lexi has a collection of highly powerful cadavers, who are actually trying to learn how to control their bodies. Usually a soul just gets in and flails around until they figure out how to move, but her people will be off the chain good.” She grabbed the platter of green beans and headed to the table. “I’m stoked. Not to mention that if Valens uses his Necromancer, our girl can rip the souls out of his corpses.” She clawed the air. “Rip that shit right out. Boy will they get a surprise.”

“That’s not the surprise I’m hoping she’ll give,” Kieran said softly, pulling the chair out for Alexis.

Bria took her seat as Donovan strolled in with a grim expression. He headed right for the sink to wash up.

“You good?” Kieran asked, taking his seat. The rest of the guys followed suit.

“It’s all rigged up.” Donovan leaned over his phone, which he’d set on the counter. “Three hours before dawn. They’ll lose some really great magical war weapons in the blast. Fuck ’em.”

“Agreed.” Bria put up her glass.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Donovan slapped off the faucet, dried his hands, and hurried over. He sat, poured himself some tea, and put up his glass to join the cheer. “Fuck ’em.”

“Fuck ’em,” everyone chorused.

Kieran dropped his hand to Alexis’s leg and gave her a light squeeze as food was passed around and plates were loaded. He wished Henry could’ve gotten away to join them, but Henry was running the surveillance team keeping tabs on Valens and his people.

“I came to San Francisco thinking I’d lost the heart of my family,” Kieran began. “My mother. I had my Six, and Bria joined us, but in some ways, we were lacking a center. A hub to gather around.” He rubbed Alexis’s leg and looked on her beautiful face. “We found it here. With you.” He looked at Daisy, then Mordecai. “With all of you. Now we’re a stronger unit than we’ve ever been, and it’s because of your willingness to include us. We won’t go into this fight with only vengeance on the mind. Not anymore. We’ll go into this fighting for a future. Fighting to secure happiness in this territory—for ourselves, and for everyone Valens has trampled and kept down. I’m honored to take this leap with you all.”

“Fuckin’ A!” Bria put her fist into the air. “I can’t wait to unleash the dead with you all!”

Everyone paused with their glasses heading upward.

“You just couldn’t give him the moment, could you?” Jack asked her. “You couldn’t just be normal for two seconds.”