Lingyun smiled brightly. "Your wish is my command."
I stared at him, black blood still dripping from my sleeves onto the scorched grass. "That's not what I—"
"I'll start the water," he continued, interrupting me. He was already moving toward the house, his manic golden retriever energy radiating off him. I could have sworn a tail appeared behind him and started wagging frantically. "I'll make sure that it is hot enough to boil the zombie stink off but not hot enough to cook our pretty princess alive."
"I will stab you," I told him flatly, but my feet were already following him because standing here covered in gore was rapidly losing its appeal.
The happy little murder buzz was starting to fade, leaving me with nothing but sore muscles, zombie blood in places zombie blood had no right to be, and the memory of an entire day spent watching parasites threaten my house before I had to burn living people because they were too infected to stay living for long.
