You Are So Undead to Me (14 page)
“
Desino.”
Desino.”
“To desist.”
“
Absisto,”
I said, rushing on before he could get to the next part of his little review.
“Absisto
and
desino
can be used separately or in conjunction for increased power.
Reverto
may only be used on Reanimated Corpses, while
reverto terra
can be used on Unsettled, random Unsettled body parts, and on Rogues once they’ve been immobilized, though I shouldn’t try to immobilize a Rogue on my own. I should call Settlers’ Affairs first.”
Absisto,”
I said, rushing on before he could get to the next part of his little review.
“Absisto
and
desino
can be used separately or in conjunction for increased power.
Reverto
may only be used on Reanimated Corpses, while
reverto terra
can be used on Unsettled, random Unsettled body parts, and on Rogues once they’ve been immobilized, though I shouldn’t try to immobilize a Rogue on my own. I should call Settlers’ Affairs first.”
“Okay, so—”
“And I already know how to seal a grave, how to conjure an aura around a grave to see if it’s been tampered with, and how to give and receive power donations so I can cover for another Settler or have them cover for me. I’m basically set, unless you’ve got a different second-stage handbook than the one Mom gave me.”
There. Now he’d have to teach me something new. Or, better yet, put an end to these tutoring sessions completely. If he wasn’t going to help me learn anything useful, my time would be better spent trying to figure out who was raising zombies and what they wanted before they ruined homecoming. Call me crazy, but I was still dying to go to the dance, even with a fake date and half the girls at school giving me the cold shoulder.
Oh hell, why lie to myself. I was way more excited about my fake date with Ethan than I’d been about the real date I’d had with Josh. Even when Ethan was boring me to tears, a sick part of me was still thrilled just to be near him, to watch the way his green eyes got all sparkly when he was making fun of me, to see him laugh when I made fun of him, to feel his hand on mine as he corrected my placement when we were practicing spells, to—
“. . . so what do you think?”
“Um, what?” I asked, trying my best to look bored. “I was zoning out again, sorry. After four days of the same thing over and over and over—”
“I asked you if you wanted to learn another way to disable RCs, but if you’re bored, you can go home. I’ve got better things to do than—”
“No, I want to learn. I do,” I said, trying not clap with excitement. Finally, something useful! “I swear I will not tell anyone that you taught me the flame spell. It will be our little secret.”
“I’m not going to teach you the flame spell.”
“But you said—”
“The flame spell is for third-stagers. Third-stage spells take a lot of energy and are dangerous to Settlers who can’t control their power.”
“I can control my power just—”
“It could kill you, Megan.”
“So could a Reanimated Corpse, Ethan. Really, I swear I can handle—”
“We’re going to learn the
pax frater corpus
.”
pax frater corpus
.”
“Peace brother dead body?” I asked, sounding less than enthused. Not another freezing spell, not when I’d thought we were finally getting somewhere!
“Somebody’s been practicing her Latin.” He grinned and chucked me under the chin before pulling a tiny dagger out of his pocket.
“What’s this for?” I asked, reluctantly taking the dagger when he held it out.
“You need something sharp and metallic for the next spell. This is something I picked up at headquarters, but anything that will pierce flesh would work—even a safety pin, if it comes to that.”
“Cool. So what is it?”
“It’s called the
pax frater corpus
. It immobilizes an RC permanently,” he said, backing away a few steps. “Even without a taste of the blood that helped them rise, the corpse will remain inoperable until its grave can be found and the
reverto terra
performed.”
pax frater corpus
. It immobilizes an RC permanently,” he said, backing away a few steps. “Even without a taste of the blood that helped them rise, the corpse will remain inoperable until its grave can be found and the
reverto terra
performed.”
“Wow, really? No bursting back up through the ground?”
“No bursting back up through the ground.” He bent his knees and lifted his hands into the air, assuming what looked very much like a combat position.
“So what’s the catch?” I asked, mirroring his pose. If Ethan wanted to rumble, I was
so
ready. Dad had been teaching me a few self-defense moves I was dying to try.
so
ready. Dad had been teaching me a few self-defense moves I was dying to try.
“Why do you think there’s a catch?” He started circling and I countered, a smile on my face. Looked like today might be entertaining after all.
“There has to be a catch or we’d use the
pax
-whatever all the time,” I said, tensed for him to lunge. “To avoid the risk of an RC being seen on its way back to its Maker, if nothing else.”
pax
-whatever all the time,” I said, tensed for him to lunge. “To avoid the risk of an RC being seen on its way back to its Maker, if nothing else.”
“Deductive reasoning skills. So sexy in a woman.”
“I’m not a woman, I’m a bratty kid. Remember?” I stuck my tongue out at him, doing my best to ignore the tingles threatening to take over a large portion of my body. He was just messing with me, trying to make me lose my focus.
“True.” He smiled his big-brother smile, which helped kill the last of the tingles. When would my stupid body learn Ethan was not interested? “So the catch, brat, is that you have to pierce the Reanimated Corpse’s body with something metal while chanting the words to the spell.”
“Okay, stick the zombie while
pax frater corpus
-ing. Doesn’t sound so hard.”
pax frater corpus
-ing. Doesn’t sound so hard.”
“It might not be, if those three words were the entire spell.” “So, what is the entire spell?” I asked, willing my mind to absorb the next words out of Ethan’s mouth.
“Pax frater corpus, potestatum spirituum inmundorum ut eicerent eos et curarent omnem languorem et omnem infirmitatem.”
Oh. Smack. I was so never going to be able to say all that.
“Give or take a few words here and there.” Ethan grinned, and his eyebrows arched with excitement. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“It sounds like suicide. You’d be dead before you got half of that out.”
“Yeah, so why don’t we just try the first three words right now. I’ll be the RC and you be Meggy the Zombie Slayer.”
“Very cute.”
He grinned. “And we’ll see if you can take me.”
Ethan circled a little faster.
“Okay, fine, let’s go.” I gripped the knife and tried to look menacing.
“First the wager. If you stick me and say
pax frater corpus
before I pin you, then I’ll teach you the fire spell as long as you promise not to use it until you graduate second stage.”
pax frater corpus
before I pin you, then I’ll teach you the fire spell as long as you promise not to use it until you graduate second stage.”
Breaking a promise was bad, but dying was definitely worse. So I rather quickly overcame the guilt I felt for knowing I’d use the flame spell if I needed it, still a second-stager or not.
“Sounds good.” I forced myself to relax. Now I
had
to win, no matter that he was bigger and obviously stronger. I’d just have to stay out of reach until I got a good opening and then move and talk really fast.
had
to win, no matter that he was bigger and obviously stronger. I’d just have to stay out of reach until I got a good opening and then move and talk really fast.
Hmm . . . now might be a good—
“I’m not done,” he said, holding up a hand as if he sensed I was getting ready to pounce. “But if I pin you first, you stop bugging me about the spell and the investigation, which is none of your business.”
“It’s my business if my school is in danger. And it most certainly is my—”
“Starting
now
!” He lunged forward and I barely had time to squeal and leap to the side.
now
!” He lunged forward and I barely had time to squeal and leap to the side.
“So unfair!”
Ethan groaned a very convincing Reanimated Zombie groan and made another grab for my arm. I sidestepped again, then made a break for the more wooded portion of the cemetery. He was faster in the open, but hopefully I had a dancer’s superior coordination and—
“Ahh!” I tripped over something and went sprawling onto the grass.
A second later, Ethan’s hands were on my wrists. I was flipped over and pinned beneath a hundred and sixty or so pounds of boy before I had time to realize I’d dropped the stupid knife. Now, even if I managed to get a hand free, it was over. Ethan had won, without even breaking a sweat.
Though he
was
breathing faster. But then, so was I . . . and not from our brief run across the graveyard.
was
breathing faster. But then, so was I . . . and not from our brief run across the graveyard.
Feeling Ethan’s legs pinning mine to the grass and his hands encircling my wrists was giving my heart a workout far more intense than any cardio routine. My pulse pounded and blood rushed to my face, heating my cheeks as I realized his lips were only a few inches away from mine. Man, it was nearly impossible to pull my eyes away from those lips, but was I ever glad I did.
Because what was going on in his eyes was
waaayyy
more interesting.
waaayyy
more interesting.
Those gorgeous green eyes with the slight yellow swirls were glued to my lips and his breath was still coming fast. But when I flicked my tongue out along my lips—more because I was freaked that he was staring at them than anything else—he stopped breathing completely. Like . . . he couldn’t even breathe because he wanted to kiss me so badly!
But surely not, surely I was just—
“I won,” he whispered, finally meeting my eyes.
“Yeah, you did,” I said, not even sure what I was saying my heart was beating so fast. “I’m a klutz.”
“You always were, except when you were dancing.” Something about the way he said those words made the sentence one of the sweetest things I’d ever heard. But I didn’t have time to think up a response because, a second later, Ethan’s face was moving closer to mine.
Closer. And closer, until I could feel the warmth of him against my lips and there was no doubt that he was going to kiss me. He really, really was! My eyes slid closed and every nerve in my body lit up with anticipation, every part of me knowing this was going to be the best kiss of my entire—
“Gunhhh . . .”
I screamed and my eyes flew back open, but Ethan was already on his feet, inserting himself between me and the zombie a few feet away.
I scrambled to a seated position, only slightly comforted by the fact that this was a normal Unsettled, no red eyes, no slobbering for human flesh. As far as I knew, a black-magic practitioner couldn’t even raise a corpse during the day since night was an integral part of the spell. But then, I shouldn’t be summoning another daytime Unsettled either. I’d been working on my shielding nonstop! I couldn’t imagine how my power had somehow penetrated those shields . . . unless . . .
“It’s here for you?” I asked, coming to stand beside Ethan. The zombie had a Williams College sweatshirt on and looked way too old to be in high school, but I still found it hard to believe Ethan had allowed his shields to drop.
“Yeah, sure is.” Ethan looked embarrassed as he shoved his hand into his back pocket and pulled out his BlackBerry.
“Have you ever—”
“Never,” he said, his tone sharp enough that I shut up while he got the Unsettled’s basic info typed into the device. “Carter, what is it you don’t like about your death?”
I grinned to myself, secretly pleased Ethan had stolen my
Nip/ Tuck
line.
Nip/ Tuck
line.
“I never told Kate I was crazy about her. We’d been friends forever and I was afraid to mess that up, but now . . . I just really wish I’d told her how I felt.”
Ethan asked a few more questions about Kate to make sure he knew how to find her in order to relay Carter’s message, but I hardly heard any of it. Part of me was busy mentally replaying those last moments before the Unsettled had arrived, when I
knew
Ethan had been about to kiss me. The other part was freaking out about Carter’s request. Surely this wasn’t a mere coincidence! This was a bona fide sign.
knew
Ethan had been about to kiss me. The other part was freaking out about Carter’s request. Surely this wasn’t a mere coincidence! This was a bona fide sign.
Maybe Ethan had secretly been feeling more than friendship for me too but had been afraid it might interfere with our tutoring relationship. But now, with the tutoring out of the way, he’d realized he could show me how he felt. And what better way to show me than with a kiss? Our first kiss. The first kiss of many, many kisses to—
“Hello? Megan?”
“Yeah? Sorry,” I said, tuning back in to reality in time to see Carter dash away.
“Listen, I think I know what happened,” Ethan said, shoving his BlackBerry back into his pocket. “When we were on the ground, I could feel a power current flowing between us, and it got stronger when I leaned closer. Kind of a buzzing feeling”
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