Defy The Alpha(s)-Chapter 802: Magical Residue

"Start the spell now!" Micah howled at the witches just as he released his bolt, the arrow striking a zombie square in the head.

There were only two ways to kill a zombie: a headshot or complete decapitation.

But even a headshot was risky.

That had been confirmed when the creature he had just shot kept walking forward, the arrow lodged deep in its skull like nothing more than an inconvenience.

Then another arrow whistled past Micah’s shoulder and buried itself into the zombie’s head. This time the creature dropped.

Micah turned to his side.

Jeremiah.

The boy had already reloaded his crossbolt.

Micah muttered a quick thanks before turning back toward the approaching wave of faster zombies.

Decapitation would have been faster, but they were holding the line here and Micah was no martyr. He wasn’t stepping a foot beyond the gate just to make sure each corpse stayed down.

He had promised Adele he would stay alive, and he intended to keep that promise. Not that death would have been the worst outcome for him.

He was half demon. If he died, he would simply end up in hell, which was technically home. But Micah had no intention of abandoning his place in the mortal world and taking up permanent residency in hell. Not yet.

What bothered Micah most was the sheer number of zombies now approaching the academy.

It was uncanny.

Since the ward had been erected, they hadn’t experienced a single attack. Not one.

And now suddenly they were everywhere.

Two possibilities ran through Micah’s mind.

Either the creatures had been lurking deep in the surrounding woods, waiting. There was nothing but miles of forest around Lunaris Academy. The school had been intentionally built on the outskirts of the city to provide privacy for the students.

Or...

Ziva had something to do with this.

It would not be beneath that diabolical sister of his to find a way to make everyone’s life miserable after failing her mission earlier today.

And something told Micah the second option was far more likely.

And he was right.

Because what Micah did not know was that when Ziva escaped the academy—bleeding and nearly dead—she had cast a twisted spell.

Using her own blood that had spilled on the ground, she made it become a beacon. It called the zombies, drawing them toward Lunaris Academy.

Then she bound the spell to activate at nightfall. Ziva had believed she was going to die earlier. And if she did, she intended for everyone at Lunaris Academy to go down with her.

And though she hadn’t died after all, Ziva had never bothered reversing the spell.

What was done was done.

Micah suddenly realized something. The witches weren’t chanting.

His eyes blazed as he turned toward them.

"Why don’t I hear spells filling my ears right now?" he shouted.

Samantha barked back immediately. "It’s not midnight yet, Micah! It’s barely eleven!"

But Micah wasn’t having any of it.

He growled, "Unless you want to end up as zombie food, then I suggest you start doing something right now! I don’t care if you have to manipulate time itself!"

The look in his eyes must have convinced them.

The witches exchanged uneasy glances as it dawned on them that they were just as trapped in this mess as everyone else.

Meanwhile the battle continued.

The wolves were holding the line, but the zombies kept coming. The bodies were beginning to pile up along the cobbled path outside the gate.

Then one of the witches suddenly spoke.

"Wait, maybe we can draw power from the zombies."

She pointed toward the growing pile of corpses.

Samantha frowned as the idea formed in her mind.

"Violent deaths release powerful magical residue," she murmured. "We might be able to tap into it."

"But they’re already dead," another blonde witch said uncertainly.

"Not completely," the first witch argued. "There’s still lingering energy."

Micah, already losing patience, shouted, "Enough chitchatting! Get those lips moving already!"

On any other day the witches might have bristled at the command.

Tonight they didn’t argue.

The four of them joined hands and began chanting.

The strange words rose into the night air, low and rhythmic.

Seeing them finally act renewed Micah’s focus. He fired another bolt into a zombie’s skull, returning to Malakai and Harrington side.

Apparently the human situation had been handled.

Together the three of them held the line.

Behind them, the witches’ chanting grew louder and louder.

Then suddenly, the pile of zombie corpses ahead of them burst into flame.

Everyone froze.

"I think it’s working," Micah whispered.

"Step back!" he ordered.

Immediately the wolves retreated several steps from the gate.

A pale white mist began to rise from the ground, spreading outward before curving upward like an invisible dome forming around the academy.

Slowly it climbed higher and higher until the entire school was enclosed. A humming sound filled the air.

The ward had returned.

"Is it strong enough though?" Harrington asked skeptically.

Samantha approached them with a confident swagger.

"Five times stronger than the last one," she said. "Not even the most powerful witch could break this."

As if to test her claim, a zombie suddenly lunged at the barrier.

The moment it touched the invisible wall—

CRACK!

A violent surge of electricity exploded across its body. The creature convulsed wildly, its teeth gnashing as its limbs trembled uncontrollably before it collapsed into a smoking heap.

"Damn," one of the wolves muttered, fascinated.

Samantha smirked. "You might want to put up a voltage warning sign."

Micah let out a long breath. That was the least of his worries — at the moment though.

"Micah!"

He turned just in time for Adele to rush forward and throw herself into his arms.

He caught her instinctively.

For a moment they simply held each other.

Then they broke apart just enough to kiss. The kiss was rough, desperate and pure relief that neither of them had died tonight.

Someone cleared their throat.

Micah looked over with annoyance.

One of the blonde witches stood there, arms crossed.

"So," she said dryly, "where exactly are we supposed to spend the night?"