Sensing trouble, I held up my hands and slid between them. We were a passionate group, dedicated to one another and fighting the good fight. Apparently we were also cranky when woken. “This is not the time for a fight,” I reminded them. “We need to know what we’re up against.”
Naida kept her gaze pinned on Raven a moment longer and then turned to me. “I was in the water, taking a swim.”
Of course she was. The ocean was like catnip to her. She turned into a huge ball of love when she had ready access. That didn’t explain her attitude, of course, unless ... . “Were you attacked in the water?” I asked, something occurring to me.
“I sensed something in the water,” she replied. “It was fine at first, peaceful. There’s nothing better than swimming under the moonlight. I saw a few dolphins, petted a shark ... and then it was there.”
I waited for her to continue, but she seemed lost.
“What was there?” Raven barked.
Naida’s glare was back, but she regrouped. “I sensed danger. I couldn’t decide if there were multiple entities in the water or if I was dealing with one big entity, so I headed for shore. The longer I was in the water, the more the danger grew.”
Kade stirred. “What sort of big entity are we talking about here? Like ... was it a kraken?”
I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing. It wasn’t an appropriate response, especially when we could find ourselves under siege in seconds. Still, he was adorable sometimes. His lack of knowledge when it came to the paranormal world was utterly delightful under the right circumstances.
“Krakens are extinct,” Raven replied, and in a much more reasonable tone than I would’ve expected. “They’ve been dead for thousands of years, much like certain species of mammals and fish.”
“Oh.” Kade nodded in understanding. “Did you get to ride them when you were a kid or something?”
Raven’s eyes narrowed. “Just how old do you think I am?”
“Don’t answer that,” I instructed under my breath, holding out my hands. “Naida, did you see what it was when you were exiting the water?”
The pixie shook her head. “No. I ... it’s big. I think it’s multiple entities. I don’t know what they are, but ... I’m filled with dread.”
Those were alarming words coming from her. Almost nothing frightened her. If she was afraid now, that didn’t bode well for us.
“We need to hit the perimeter,” I decided, my mind busy. “Nobody goes alone. I want multiple groups.”
Dolph, our resident strongman, stepped forward. “Nellie and I will go with the pixies.”
I nodded in agreement. They were a solid group. Nellie and Dolph supplied the brute strength and Nixie and Naida had enough magic at their disposal to keep everyone safe. “That’s a good idea. Kade and I will head straight out,” I started.
Luke, who was late exiting his trailer, shook his head. “That’s the water side. You’ll need more than two bodies. Cole and I will go with you.”
I hesitated and looked over his shoulder, to where Cole stood, sleepy but ready, and nodded. “That sounds like a plan.” I looked to Raven. “That leaves you and Percival.”
Raven made a face. “Percival is still in the trailer. I told him to stay there. He’s more of a detriment than a help if I have to expend energy protecting him.”
That made sense and still ... . “You can’t go alone.”
“She won’t be alone,” a voice volunteered behind me.
Max Anderson, the owner of Mystic Caravan and Kade’s father, strode out of the darkness to join us. He looked completely put together, as if he hadn’t been sleeping at all, and was ready for battle. He was a powerful mage, probably the most powerful weapon in our arsenal, and the grimness lining his forehead was a sure sign we were in for quite the battle.
“You don’t usually show up this early,” I noted, unable to keep the surprise from my voice.
“I love Charleston,” Max replied. “You know that. I was out to dinner with friends when ... I sensed it.”
Well, that was ominous. “What is it?”
“Evil.” Max was succinct. “I’m not sure what it is, but it’s going to take all of us. In fact—” He broke off, lifting his chin and peering between two tents. I could hear footsteps pounding against the ground but remained immobile when I saw Max wasn’t reacting. We weren’t about to come face to face with the enemy, at least not yet.
Seth, our resident tiger shifter, barreled into the opening. He was bare-chested, his hair wet, which probably meant he’d been in the water, too. That was to be expected given our proximity to the ocean, a rarity for us. I expected a lot of frolicking ... if we could get past whatever evil was darkening our doorstep.
“It’s zombies,” he announced, causing me to furrow my brow.
“Zombies?” I was baffled. “How is that possible?”
“Are water zombies a thing?” Kade asked.
I hesitated and then looked to Max. “I don’t know.”
“Zombies are real,” Max informed his son, his calm demeanor never slipping.
“But water zombies?”
Max opened his mouth and then held out his hands. “I can’t say with any degree of certainty.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I insisted. Oddly enough, hearing we were dealing with zombies had settled me. We could take zombies, even if we were fighting an army of them. Zombies were mindless. They didn’t think strategically. Their only move was brute force. “Seth, go with Max and Raven. If anybody gets in trouble, call for help.”
“Let’s go.” Cole brushed past Luke in such a manner it was painfully obvious they were still arguing. I had to hand it to the elemental. He was mentally strong and refused to back down. I would’ve already given in to Luke’s pouting, which was probably why Luke often walked all over me. Cole was determined to rein in my best friend, which I had to admit, was for the best.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Kade agreed.
Our foursome was quiet as we crept through the center of the fairgrounds. The closer we got to the water, the more my inner danger alarm pinged. We were close.
I opened my mouth to tell the others just that, but Kade was already moving. His military skills mixed with his mage skills as he blasted the zombie approaching from the east with a potent burst of magic, driving the creature against the nearest tent. It wasn’t enough to stop the creature. It shook off the attack as if it had been nothing more than a vigorous tickle, regained its footing, and continued moving forward.
“What the ... ?” For the first time since I’d met him, Kade showed fear. “How do we stop them?”
“Like this.” Luke produced a dangerous-looking dagger from the sleeve of his shirt and slid in front of Kade, shoving the blade into the creature’s underjaw. Immediately, the zombie stopped moving and slid to the ground.
“It’s just like a movie,” I informed Kade, keeping my voice low. “You have to kill the brain … or what’s left of the brain, which doesn’t appear to be much in this case. That means stabbing them ... or beheading them. We don’t have an axe, so stabbing seems our only option.”