Jasper stood over Cerie’s weak and withered body. He never imagined that someone could look so grotesquely horrible. Her ugliness surpassed that of the zombies – if that was at all possible. He’d taken more of her magic than he’d planned on doing. Although he felt badly about it, he also knew that it couldn’t be helped. When she snapped out of her lusty state and realized just what was happening, she screamed her pledge that no one would do to her what those vile vampires had done ever again. After which, she showered him with every insult that she could think of.
Cerie had quickly summoned a powerful amount of magic from deep within with the intention of overtaking him, but it backfired. Neither she nor Jasper were really aware of just what would happen when he took her magic. Fortunately for him -and not so fortunately for her- he absorbed all that she projected at him without even trying.
He harbored a bit of concern in the back of his mind over what might happen to him if that much magic was absorbed at once. To his relief, he didn’t end up like the former vampire king, Rowan. Instead, the result was a huge burst of energy the coursed through every inch of bone and muscle.
Once again, he was surprised by the alterations in genetics that had occurred in his body. His scientific curiosity was peaked. He wondered if his ability to hold so much magic was because he also possessed wolf and zombie genetics? Or, was it a result of using himself as a test subject for his genetic research work when he’d run out of funds prior to being attacked and then rescued from that alley by Rowan? The only way to know for sure was to discover how to introduce magic to a wolf or a zombie and see what happened. Frustratingly, that would have to be at a later time.
He needed to move about and expel some of the energy within him. The question at hand was what to do with Cerie. How long would she remain in such a weakened state? Would confining her to a room be sufficient? Or, should he tie her up? How long would it be before she regained her magic and became dangerous again? He just didn’t know.
After quickly dressing, he popped his head out of the door and searched the lab for Ben. When he saw no sign of him, he took one more look at Cerie. Feeling confident that she’d remain immobile for at least a short time more, he quickly made his way to the porch. The night air felt refreshing after days of being cooped up in that small room with the scent of sex permeating every inch of it.
Spotting Ben and Hank speaking with Lila, he quickly made his way to their side.
He could feel the heat of Lila’s jealous glare boring into him as he focused on Ben while saying, “I have her down for now, but I fear it might be for a short time.”
“You’re almost glowing,” Lila said with a breathy gasp.
Ben gave a satisfied grin as he said, “You’re loaded with magic, buddy. How does it feel?”
“Powerful,” Jasper replied. “I took more than I intended.”
“You’re lucky you survived,” Hank thoughtfully mused.
“I was a bit worried for a while,” Jasper admitted. Then, with a hint of regret, he said, “I didn’t mean to do that to her. It just happened. The more magic she projected at me, the more I absorbed without even trying. She’s in pretty bad shape.”
“She’ll recover,” Ben snipped without remorse. “Don’t let that bitch fool you. She’s as resilient as they come. If I have to be truthful, I wish you’d taken enough to kill her. She’s of no use to us. I’ll go one further and say that she’s a threat. Not only to zombies, wolves, and vampires, but to her own kind. You heard with your own ears that she sees me and my coven as abominations to be disposed of when she’s the one who needs to go. My coven is a loving group of witches who wouldn’t intentionally cause pain. Can she say that?”
“She wants to kill my son,” Lila interjected with open hostility. “You should have killed her.”
“I don’t kill just to kill,” Jasper firmly stated. “Just because we disagree on what to do with the infants, it’s not enough to kill her.”
“You killed the vampires,” Lila pouted.
“That was necessary,” Jasper quickly replied. “You know very well it was a kill or be killed situation. The situation with Cerie is not.”
“Not for us, maybe,” Lila said with angst, “but it is for my son and the other babies.”
Jasper took a deep breath and calmly said, “If it comes to that, we’ll do what is necessary.”
Still annoyed with the fact that, not only had Jasper spent several days in bed with Cerie, but he acted a bit too protective of her for someone who was supposedly only sleeping with the witch to rob her of her magic. Had he developed feelings for her? She was about to respond to him with a remark that was sure to keep the tension up between them when Ezra raced out of the darkness and stumbled to the ground at their feet.
“I bit him,” he breathlessly informed them.
“I bit him and then ran like the wind.” With a broad smile and a bright sparkle in eyes that were still sunken enough to remind them that he was still a zombie, he added, “I couldn’t believe how fast I was able to move!”
“Who?” Hank asked as he bent down to assist Ezra to his feet. “Who did you bite?”
“A wolfman,” Ezra said between gasps for air. Then, with prideful satisfaction, he added, “I was able to run. I ran like the wind. I don’t know if he tried to follow or not.” Looking directly at Jasper, he asked, “Do I still have zombie venom?”
“Who was this wolfman,” Jasper asked.
“I never asked him his name,” Ezra admitted. “He wanted me to bring him to you. He was insistent to the point of being scary. There was no way that I was going to reveal the location of our encampment to the enemy. So, I bit him and ran.”
“Was he a big, muscular guy with dark, wild hair driving a black pickup truck?” Ben anxiously asked. When Ezra nodded, he looked at Jasper and said, “Shit.”
“I have no idea just how much effect your venom will have on a wolf after the treatment you’ve received, but you do still have venom,” Jasper said with concern. “Where did you meet up with this wolfman?”
“Did I do wrong?” Ezra asked with obvious remorse. “You sound upset.”
“It’s true that the werewolves and zombies are enemies, but he is my friend,” Jasper quickly replied. “Where did you leave him?”
Ezra groaned, “I should have brought him, then.”
“Stop whining and tell us where you left him!” Hank bellowed.
Ezra quickly pointed to the area beyond the encampment’s perimeter where they would find the wolfman, should he still be there.
Ordering Lila to stay put, the three men raced off into the night. Ezra couldn’t help admiring the fact that Hank was easily keeping pace with both the warlock and the trybrid. In the dark, they looked like three men of equal stature. He’d never guess one was a zombie. He hoped that his body would eventually respond as well to the serum as his leader’s had.