Page 55 of Zomromcom

Belinda’s voice rang with aggravated tolerance. “Doug made me come!”

Holy shit. The counterfeiters—two of them, anyway—had decided to help. Even if that meant dying in the effort.

At their feet, Gwen occasionally twitched, her face stony and cold.

It was the same expression she’d worn while prophesizing.

When she’d communed with her oracular power at Sabrina and Starla’s kitchen table, though, a stream of livid red blood hadn’t poured from her nose, and she hadn’t been seconds away from a grisly death.

Last-ditch effort time. A little surprise Edie had considered but hadn’t even mentioned to Max, because it seemed too goofy and unlikely to help anyone in any way. But it might help Gwen and Doug and Belinda now, and there was absolutely nothing to lose, was there?

She sucked in the deepest breath possible as she ran through the woods, watched the zombies lurch onto their hind legs as they growled bon appétit , and began to scream the dumbest song ever at top volume.

Over and over again, she shouted that she was the map. Like that ridiculous anthropomorphized scroll in Enora the Explorer . And to her absolute shock, the zombies whipped their heads her way, their full attention captured by the familiar asinine refrain.

Whereupon Doug killed one with a single, vicious, head-separating swipe of his tire iron, while Belinda decapitated another. Max, coming up from behind, managed the final two.

Ears ringing in the sudden silence, her heartbeat echoing in her skull, Edie slowed and frantically scanned their surroundings.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing that shouldn’t be there, apart from flaming homes and a catatonic oracle and injured fighters and headless zombie bodies strewn on the forest floor.

“Is that all of ’em?” Kip shouted, and waited for an answer.

None came. At least, nothing audible.

After a minute, Sabrina tipped her head. “Starla says that must be the whole pack. The Girl Explorers don’t see any more creatures.”

A ragged cheer rose, along with a stifled sob from Sabrina.

Kip and Lorraine sprinted to Gwen’s limp body, falling to their knees on either side of her.

Sabrina dropped her knife, sagged against a tree trunk, and appeared to be having an intense, tear-soaked conversation entirely within the confines of her thoughts.

Doug and Belinda high-fived each other and tucked away their own weapons, then began gathering Tupperware containers in their arms.

Max sheathed his sword and turned to Edie, his exhaustion evident in dark hollows beneath his blue eyes and creases lining his yellow-splattered features. “You’re injured, ma puce. Let me see.”

He reached for the zipper of her half-shredded coveralls.

A stray zombie burst through the trees behind him, no longer hidden by the shadowed depths of the forest, its hind legs bunched for the killing leap.

There was no time and no choice. Only instinct.

Shouldering Max out of the way with a violent shove—he stumbled to the side, caught by surprise—she dove between him and the zombie and lashed out with the cleaver, pouring all her remaining strength into the strike.

The creature’s momentum drove them both into the ground, the impact bone-crushing, and she had no breath to yell.

It hurt. Everything hurt. She was taking agonizing claw swipes to her sides and arms and a dozen other places, but she couldn’t pinpoint precisely where, not when she was busy slashing and swinging and trying to remove that fucker’s head from its motherfucking neck, because shit , this needed to be over .

Bone cracked with her final blow. Blood sprayed. And at long last—thank fuck —the head detached, the zombie’s bloodstained teeth still snapping at her.

With a vicious kick, Max launched that head deep into the woods before dropping to her side, his eyes black as coal and hot as a furnace.

“What the fuck were you thinking ?” It was a terrified, enraged bellow, the harshness of his words belying the gentleness of his hands coasting over her limbs, checking her wounds. “My gods, Edie, you’re bleeding fucking everywhere . If you’d just told me—”

“No time. I was…still armed. You…weren’t.” Cautiously, she shifted the slightest bit and had to pant for a minute before she could speak again. “Nothing…broken, I…don’t think. But some…of the…claws did damage.”

Each breath burned . Gods, she needed painkillers. The good stuff.

“I know. When I tried to yank the zombie off you, its claws were so deep, they”—he gulped air—“tore…things.” Raising his head, he shouted for Sabrina, then a first aid kit. “We’re going to stabilize you here, then get you to an ER. Hold on, my Edie.”

Elbowing Max out of her way, the witch thumped down onto her knees beside Edie. “How bad is it, vamp?”

“Bad.” The word was curt. Ice-cold, even as his fingertips tenderly swept Edie’s hair back from her forehead. “Do you have enough power for healing? Whatever you want for payment, you can have. Just fucking fix this .”

“Since I didn’t need to repair the wall or collapse an enormous building…” Sabrina smiled at Edie. “Time for us to hold hands, hon. Squeeze as tight as you can.”

Edie did. It was hard to tell how hard she was squeezing, though, since her fingers were kind of numb. No, her hands. No, her arms.

“This is…” She looked up at Sabrina and tried her best to smile. The expression must have looked pretty unconvincing, because the witch actually jerked back a little, her face creased with horror. “Very…romantic.”

“Try not to fall in love, okay?” The other woman winked as she moved closer again, but her eyes didn’t hold even a smidgen of levity. “I know I’m a better bet than that asshole vampire you’ve been banging, but I’m spoken for.”

“Alas,” Edie rasped.

Max made a choked sound. “I can see the wounds closing a bit, witch. Thank you.”

Now that he mentioned it, nothing seemed to hurt much anymore. Or at least the pain was drifting farther and farther away every second. That was some first-class witchy healing, all right.

Sabrina’s hand patted hers before pulling away.

“Max.” It was the first time Sabrina had ever used his actual name. “Look here.”

With her eyes closed, Edie couldn’t quite tell where the other woman was pointing.

“I see the blood. What are you—” Max’s voice cut off. “No.”

“She’s been bitten,” Sabrina said softly. Kindly. “There’s been a saliva-blood fluid exchange. We have less than ten minutes.”

“Tell me how to save her.” When the witch didn’t answer, his volume rose, and the order rolled through the forest like thunder. “ Tell me how to save her .”

With her thoughts so fuzzy, it took Edie a few seconds to put things together. Especially since his slow, gentle strokes through her hair felt so nice.

She was dying.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

She might die, but if she didn’t, they’d have to kill her. Very, very soon.

If she weren’t so addled, she’d probably feel worse about that. At the moment, though, she was more worried about Max.

With an effort, she opened her eyes and made eye contact with Sabrina. “Don’t…have him do…it. Don’t let…him see. Maybe…Belinda? Very…pragmatic.”

“No,” Max gritted out, his voice shaking. “Edie—”

She redirected her attention his way. “Don’t…tell me…would have been…fine…this time. I saved…your ass.”

“I was focused on you and not paying enough fucking attention to my surroundings. Again.” Ducking down, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I had no weapon. You saved me. Without you, I’d probably…”

His breath hitched, and his words trailed to a halt.

He’d probably be in the same position she was now. Or headless.

“Yay…me,” she whispered. “You…protected. Killed…for me. My turn…to protect…you. Save…someone…I love. Finally.”

Cool wetness dripped down onto her temples, her cheeks. Her chin. She closed her eyes again, savoring her last moments with Max. Because they were out of choices now. There was only one solution to this problem.

“I do…love you. So much.” Her lips had gone numb too. She hoped she wasn’t drooling. “Do it…now. Before…change.”

There was a long pause, as if he were conducting a silent conversation with someone.

A cold, round object pressed into her palm, and he closed her hand around it. “Hold on to this for a minute, my Edie. When you’re better, we’re going to have a long talk about you giving it back to me against my express orders.”

Her eyelids were so heavy, but she raised them. Simply to see the adoration in his faded-denim eyes one final time.

There it was. All the love he couldn’t put into words.

Vamp boy looked absolutely terrible. Filthy and terrified and far more ancient than a mere twentysomething. Also beautiful.

So very beautiful.

The faint scent of citrus and warm spice broke through the miasma of death and blood all around her, and a flood of warmth pushed aside some of her numbness. His pomander. He’d given her his mother’s good luck charm to hold, filled with Edie’s orange-clove soap.

“Don’t you dare give up, human.” He brushed a kiss she couldn’t feel across her mouth, then stood and confronted Sabrina. “Your wife says there’s a solution if I’m willing. I am. Do it, witch. Now.”

Gods, Edie was getting so hungry. Why the fuck wasn’t anyone feeding her? Did she need to go hunt down some sustenance and feed herself? Because honestly, she felt strong enough to do it. Like she could run a fucking marathon .

Kip suddenly appeared at her side.

“Forgive me.” Squatting down, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she felt pressure on her wrists. Her ankles too. “We wouldn’t restrain you if we didn’t have to, Edes-a-lot. Whatever you’re feeling, can you try to push it back? Your mini-vamp would be hella grateful.”

In her vicinity, other conversations were happening.

Doug and Belinda, the former crying as the latter worked her knife on a strop and bit her lower lip until it bled.

Max and Sabrina, arguing about…something.

Steep sacrifices, and a life for a life, and how little time they had left.

But it was hard to focus on those other discussions when Edie was doing her best to shove down the weird alien-feeling rage cramping in her belly.

Belinda looked over at Kip, nodded, and began to walk slowly toward Edie.

But—hey. Who was that other woman? The one Edie had never seen before?

She was pretty. Round and soft-looking. Clad in cozy pajamas, with long brown hair pulled into a rumpled ponytail. Gracefully, she sat on her heels and smiled at Edie.

Why did no one else seem to notice the stranger?

“Sorry about the pajamas.” Her voice was warm. Sweet. It rang inside Edie’s head, which was odd. “It’s late, and I was sleeping when I got the call.”

“No worries,” Edie told her as the rage began to feel more distant. “Those look very comfy. I like the polka dots.”

The woman laid a gentle hand on Edie’s shoulder. “Thank you. Listen, Edie. I know what Kip just told you, but it’s okay. If you don’t want to fight anymore, you don’t have to.”

Wait. Wait a minute.

“Are you a reaper?” Edie blinked up at her. “You aren’t a surly European dude in a sheepskin thong?”

“Why would…” With a little shake of her head, the woman dismissed that tangent. “Yes. I’m a reaper.”

“Hey!” Edie brightened. “If I go with you, will I see my parents again?”

The reaper’s hand burned into Edie’s shoulder, but in the best possible way. “Maybe. You can’t know until you go.”

“I want to hug them again. Hear their voices.” Edie’s nose crinkled as she thought it over. “But I think I want to stay alive more.”

“That’s fine.” The proclamation didn’t seem to bother the other woman. “For now.”

Wow. The reaper’s phrasing…“Is that a threat?”

“Of course not.” Violet eyes. The woman had actual violet eyes , like all those spunky kidnapped virgins in old-school romance novels.

“I haven’t hurt you, Edie, and I won’t. I’m just here to keep you company on your trip.

When I said for now , I meant you might not have a choice much longer, and neither will I. ”

Belinda was standing over them, her knife orange-tipped in the firelight.

“It’s getting harder to hold her.” Kip’s voice had turned hoarse. “I don’t…”

“Move aside. Move .”

That familiar voice of arrogant command washed over Edie, and she tried to beam happily up at Max as he strode toward her. She wasn’t sure her face was listening, though. It seemed to be snarling, not smiling.

Then he was stretching out on the ground next to her, tugging her into his arms, and embracing her so tightly she could feel it even through the odd numbness.

“Forgive me, ma puce,” he murmured. “You’re going to hate this. But it’s what I wanted, and it’s far preferable to living without you.”

“Skip the sweet nothings,” Sabrina snapped, because apparently she was here again too? Interesting. “There’s no time. Are you absolutely certain, vamp?”

“I’m certain.” He pressed a kiss to Edie’s temple. “Your survival gives my death all the meaning it requires, my Edie. If you wallow in guilt or consecrate your life to my memory, I swear I’ll figure out how to become a ghost and fucking haunt you. Don’t test me, human.”

“Max—” Sabrina sounded desperate.

“Do it, witch,” he told her, and hitched Edie closer. “Now.”