Merlin Kills a Zombie by Molly Fitz

Author:Molly Fitz [Fitz, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Partridge & Pear Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17

The next thing I knew I was struggling back to consciousness in a very unfamiliar place.

Standing.

Chained to a boulder.

On top of a mountain.

Oh, boy…

I yanked against my chains, but they had zero give.

Merlin. What had happened to Merlin?

My eyes strained as they scanned the darkness, at last landing upon a small metal cage, not unlike the kind a human would use to trap a skunk or raccoon that had gotten too close to the house.

Merlin lay unconscious inside.

“Merlin! Wake up!” I whisper-yelled. Even though I didn’t see anyone else up here with us, our captor could still be nearby. We needed to find a way to escape before it was too late.

“How did we get here?” I asked him, but still he didn’t stir. That’s when I remembered.

Luna.

She’d killed Tom and then turned on me. But why?

Merlin moaned in his sleep but didn’t acknowledge my pleas for help. At least I knew he was alive, even though he wouldn’t be helping me make an escape plan any time soon.

I struggled against the chains again, grunting and pulling until I ran out of breath.

“Give it up,” a deep and eerie voice commanded from somewhere nearby. “You can’t win.”

I scanned the summit but couldn’t see anyone.

“Who are you? And why have you brought us here?” I shouted into the darkness.

“Pretty demanding for someone who has no options left,” the voice said with a cruel chuckle. Well, at least he found this entertaining. I, however, was not amused. I also couldn’t place the voice. It was familiar and strange at the same time.

My eyes narrowed in on the sound and finally spotted a black cat perched at the edge of the mountaintop.

Beside the cat, a cauldron flared to life, glowing a hideous swampy green.

“Mr. Fluffikins?” I asked cautiously. But hadn’t he departed for his own town with Drake in tow? And wasn’t he supposed to be one of the good guys?

The cat spun to face me, backlit by the brewing magic. “Recognize me now?”

The cat’s chest was pure black, its eyes a bright glowing green. Mr. Fluffikins had a tiny patch of white on his chest and golden orb eyes. This wasn’t him.

But what other black cats did we—? Oh.

“Dash,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Took you long enough.” The dangerous illusion witch simpered at me as if this were all a game. “But then again, I believe you know me better like this.”

A poof of magic obscured my view. When it cleared, a no-nonsense police officer scowled back at me. This was the original form in which I’d met Dash, as the cop investigating my old boss Harold’s death. Of course, it had all been a trap. As an illusion witch, Dash could take on any form she pleased.

At least I’d always thought of Dash as female since I’d first met the illusion witch under the guise of a police woman. Now, however, I was almost certain the black cat was male. Wait, why was I wasting time trying to figure out pronouns for a cat who almost certainly wanted to kill me?

Think, Gracie.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.