In spite of everything, Theo almost wanted to smile. Trust Mirage to be his usual pompous self even in the middle of a life-or-death battle against zombies.
Not that this mattered right now. Reinforcements had arrived, but the battle was far from over. Theo saw Ryan and Fia swing down on a tentacle together, Fia already aglow with a strengthening spell. Cay was fast after them, staff in hand. Even Guntar jumped onto a rooftop, in his human form and with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
When he felt a tug on his arm, Theo realized Victor was trying to haul him to his feet. Quick as he could, he forced strength into his legs and got up on his own. Victor nodded before releasing him. Theo swayed a bit, but didn't fall.
"Be careful," Mirage said, surveying the roiling mass of zombies with a strangely contemplative air. "This may be far more than it appears."
"What do you mean?" Theo asked.
"If you ask me, this has General Grave written all over it."
"General Grave?" Theo's heart twisted. One of the Grand Generals? Right, Mirage had said something about her specializing in dark arts. Did that mean creating zombies?
"I'm guessing she attacked the village and transformed its residents into zombies. The job appears to be fresh, which means she must be somewhere nearby. So stay alert."
"What?" Alarm sparked down Theo's spine. "Hold on, does that mean – if they're the villagers, we shouldn't be fighting them!"
Mirage threw him a cold, almost pitying look over his shoulder. "They're already dead. There's nothing we can do for them, aside from allowing them a proper rest."
Theo swallowed, then jerked his head in a slow nod. The idea still didn't sit well with him, but he understood it was the only way.
What a horrendously cruel thing to do. Slaughtering an entire village, then reanimating their corpses to act as her army. Whoever this General Grave was, Theo had the dreadful sense she might be far more depraved – and formidable – than Hellebore.
"Victor," Mirage said, tugging on his whip. Victor walked forward to join him, sword lifted. When a diagram blazed beneath him and purple flames engulfed his blade, Theo lurched in surprise.
But he caught himself quickly enough, and called upon his own Levia to cast a strengthening spell on Victor too. Victor turned around when a pink diagram joined the purple one, its gentle glow softening the harsh light of his Levia.
"It's the least I can do," Theo said, lifting his chin.
Victor nodded wordlessly. As he turned around, a lump swelled in Theo's throat. This was all wrong – it shouldn't be Victor striding into battle, wearing his spell as protection. He should be watching Zenith's azure cape and platinum hair swirling in the wind, feeling relaxed and certain in a way that he only ever did around his familiar. His knight.
Well, he told himself fiercely, it would be like that again someday. Someday soon. Until then, he needed to help Victor – no, everyone.
As Victor and Mirage charged ahead, Theo reached for his Levia once more. Maybe he couldn't power everyone up with a single spell, but he could still cast multiple spells at once. Augment the strongest fighters, give the weaker ones some much-needed backup.
To get a better view, he climbed on top of the nearest building. As his Levia gathered inside the Star of Miriel, a ferocious roar shook his bones. Kress, tearing the heads off two zombies at once. Theo quickly cast a strengthening spell on her. Now wreathed in pink light, she swung the headless bodies with enough force to knock down all the zombies around her.
A burst of flame from the northern side of the village announced Ryllis's presence. Bolts of fire blasted from her spear with every stab and swipe, while an elemental diagram blazed bright and strong beneath her. Figuring she didn't need his help, Theo hunted about for other people.
Zombies were climbing up a roof to reach Fia, who shot rocks at them from a sling. Unusually small, large-headed zombies. Theo's guts twisted when he realized what they must be. If General Grave had massacred the entire village, that included the children too.
Get it together! he urged himself just as a zombie child grabbed Fia's leg. They fell onto their back, kicking and thrashing. Next to them, Ryan bellowed a war cry and whacked at the zombies with a staff.
His heart slamming, Theo cast a strengthening spell on Fia. This time, their kick dislodged the zombie, and they jumped back onto their feet and fired a rock point-blank into its skull. Theo tried not to wince as the zombie child hit the ground with a sickening thump.
For a moment, Ryan stared at the diagram glowing beneath Fia like it had come from Mars. Then he jumped to his feet and a new diagram spread across Theo's spell, its searing green light wiping out every trace of pink.
The next rock Fia launched was shrouded in a rippling layer of water, and it punched straight through a zombie's chest. Satisfied, Theo kept surveying the battlefield. There – Mirage was struggling against a zombie, his whip wrapped tight around its neck while it scrabbled at his throat. Victor raced toward them, but before he could get there, Theo cast a strengthening spell on Mirage. With a sharp wrench of his whip, he tore the zombie's head clean off its neck.
A thump and clatter from nearby made Theo jump – and his heart rocketed into his throat when he saw a zombie attempting to climb up to him. Sweat stinging his skin, he cast a shield diagram. He had no illusions it would hold off the zombie for long, but it would at least buy him time.
He clenched his teeth, willing back the panic welling in his chest. No. He couldn't lose concentration now, not when everyone needed him.
Then the zombie's head snapped back and its arms dropped limp by its side. It sank like a stone, a crossbow bolt quivering through its chest.
Dispelling the shield diagram, Theo lifted his head to see the pirate with the crossbow crouched atop the house across from him. A werecat with a shock of electric blue hair, he grinned and flashed Theo a thumbs up, which Theo shakily returned.
Now that he was safe, he got back to work. His gaze landed on Darian in the center of the mob, back to back with Gryseld. Though she fought valiantly, her steps were lurching and unbalanced.
"Too much for you, prince?" Gryseld called over her shoulder.
"Worry about yourself!" Darian snapped, impaling the zombie in front of her. Another charged from the right; she yanked her rapier free and whirled to intercept it, but Theo could tell she wouldn't be able to make it in time.
Before he could cast a spell, Gryseld gave her tail a tremendous swing. It smacked into the zombie with an impact that made Theo wince, and the zombie spilled into a useless pile of skin and bones to the ground.
"You're welcome!" Gryseld said, cackling. Rather than reply, Darian lunged at another zombie.
Without her lightning, she was a severe disadvantage. Theo clenched his teeth, drawing more Levia from his core as he pictured the most powerful elemental spell he knew. The Levia rushed through his body as it poured into the diagram, making him lightheaded, but he didn't dare let up.
He didn't have a contract with Darian, so the spell wouldn't function at its full power. Still, the diagram that flared beneath her feet blazed so bright it sent the nearby zombies reeling. Its harsh glow almost obscured Darian's outline, but Theo still managed to see her stab her rapier high into the sky.
And to his utter astonishment, a bolt of lightning streaked down to meet the blade. When it struck, a resounding boom split apart the air and forks of sizzling light blasted across the battlefield, lashing like tongues of white fire.
The light seared across Theo's retinas, blindingly blight. He squeezed his eyes shut, but couldn't block out the stench of burning flesh or the harsh sting of ozone. Dimly he realized he was no longer sending Levia to any spell besides the elemental diagram, but it didn't matter anymore.
The world behind Theo's eyelids flashed red one more time, then darkness settled in. Taking a chance, he cracked his eyes open just in time to see Darian fall to her knees and the diagram go up in sparks around her. She was breathing hard, sweat plastering her hair to her forehead.
Though he wasn't in half as bad condition, Theo's heart wouldn't stop racing and his legs felt weak. Heat still pulsed from the Star of Miriel, but the Levia glowing inside it had become much fainter.
"Well." Gryseld was the first to speak. "That was quite something, princeling."
Darian let out a shaky laugh. Quiet as the sound might be, it seemed unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.
Silence.... Theo blinked, forcing himself to focus. The zombies lay on the ground in limp piles, showing no signs of movement aside from the occasional sparks still crackling around their limbs or smoke curling from their charred bodies.
His heart thudded in disbelief. Had they done it?
He had no idea Darian was this powerful. Or was it because of his Levia, or the Star of Miriel?
If he actually formed a contract with her, what might they be able to accomplish? Could they...defeat a seraphim?
He remembered Cyrias's inhumanly calm smile, and a shudder rippled down his spine.
A flash of movement caught his attention – followed by a dreadfully familiar skittering sound. The fighters backed off, weapons raised, as the fallen zombies began to twitch and convulse.
Looked like it wasn't over yet.