Free Vampire's Thirst (The Awakening Series) by Cynthia Garner Page B

holding a note of censure, probably for Kimber’s apparent lack of faith in Aodhán. “Day by day our magic wanes, siphoned off by the Unseen.” Her gaze flitted over the necromancers before it settled once more upon Kimber. “Without our magic, we will die. It is what sustains our realm. It is everything to us.”
    “So what do we do?” Maggie leaned forward, never letting go of Jason’s hands.
    Kimber paused. It would be so much easier to practice using a vampire, but she knew that would never happen. Plus she didn’t want to put any of Duncan’s people at risk. This was still such an unknown. She explained to Maggie and Jason about her previous experience in drawing upon the Unseen to fell zombies. “But it’s not easy, and it’s very draining. The first time I tried to draw the Unseen out of a friend who’d been bitten, I almost died.”
    Maggie and Jason took a few moments to mull that over. Then Maggie said, “Tell us what to do, and when do we start?”
    Kimber drew in a deep breath. This was where things got a bit murky. “I’m honestly not even certain this will work. I’ve never tried to join my power with other necromancers. But I think it can be done. Except…” She looked at Maggie. “I’m not so sure you should do anything.” She motioned vaguely toward the pregnant woman’s midsection. “I don’t want you to do something that could jeopardize your baby.”
    The other woman frowned and, disengaging one of her hands from Jason’s grip, placed a palm protectively over her belly. “Nor do I, but how does practicing my craft—doing my job—put my baby in jeopardy?”
    “With what I think we’ll need to do, it very well could. It will take a tremendous amount of energy, even energy that would ordinarily be given to your baby as a natural process of childbearing.” Kimber briefly closed her eyes. Now was the time she should tell them that she carried around some of the Unseen within her and let them know how it was affecting her mood. She didn’t want to verbalize it, though, because now that she was pregnant, too, it made it all the more real. Logic told her that whatever might put Maggie’s baby in danger would surely have the same effect on her baby.
    “Just what is it you think we need to do?” This from Jason, who looked as concerned as Maggie did.
    There was no hope for it. Kimber had to come clean. At least partially. She cleared her throat. “Just to be sure we’re all on the same page, you are aware that the Unseen is what’s animating the zombies, right?”
    They both looked startled. Brigid looked bored once again with the chitchat going on around her. Damned fairies. Nothing was important until it affected them directly.
    “You didn’t know?” Kimber frowned.
    Maggie and Jason exchanged a look and shook their heads. “No,” Maggie said. “I thought it was a virus, since it’s spread by bite.” Her expression became uncertain. “You know, like in the movies.”
    “Right,” Jason contributed. “That’s what I thought, too. You’re saying it’s not that way?”
    Kimber suddenly felt like she’d been all alone in this battle, even though there were other necromancers all over the world. Maybe she was more aware because she’d seen the initial attack? “It is spread by bite, yes. Patient Zero, Lazarus, was the one who bit the ME, who then spread the zombie phenomenon, for want of a better word. But the origins are from the Unseen, not a virus.”
    “And you’ve been able to push it out of them?” Maggie glanced at Jason again and Kimber saw her fingers tighten around his hand.
    “Yes.”
    Maggie’s eyes widened. “Were you touching a zombie when you did it? How did it feel? Did it hurt?”
    “It hurt.” Kimber leaned forward. “Doing this puts a great strain on your system. I can’t stress that enough. It’s different than tapping into the Unseen to animate a corpse for questioning. That’s a piece of cake because you still have a spark of the