The dead turned toward me.
For one impossible second, every zombie in the cul-de-sac stopped fighting the vines, the metal, the wind, and Lingyun's fire.
Their ruined heads lifted in the same direction, and every cloudy eye locked onto me like the fire-breathing asshole at the entrance had just pointed a dinner bell straight at my face.
Behind them, the glowing zombie strained against the metal rods around its legs and the roots wrapped beneath the road. Smoke leaked between its broken teeth. Its chest pulsed brighter, hot enough that the air around it bent.
I stared at it.
"Oh," I muttered. "So you're stupid too."
Lingyun's fire curled higher up both arms. "Pretty princess?"
"Don't let it spit again," I grunted, not impressed with any part of my day today.
His smile came back sharp and mean. "Gladly."
