Chapter 142: Harsh Reality
Simon walked outside to find the most ragged version of Kell’s little mercenary company that he’d seen to date. It was easy to see what had happened. The Butcher’s Bill had certainly lived up to their name today and paid the price.
Instead of being over a dozen men and women, the little cult of personality was down to 5 members, a horse, and a cart piled with the bodies of the dead. The fact that they were at least bringing their dead home for burial touched him a little, though he worried about the possible biohazard.
Simon sighed and used a rag to wipe the soot off his face and his hands as best he could. He was soaked in sweat from the work he’d been doing, and he was sure he looked like a wild man, but he really didn’t care.
Not at first. When he saw that Freya’s hand had a bloody bandage on it, though, well, his flinty heart melted a little. At least, it did until he saw that they’d tied up a zombie and put it in the cart they were lugging with them. That used up most of the sympathy he had right there, but the rest of it died when he looked closer and saw that it was Kell.
“He’s the one that bit you, isn’t he?” Simon asked, pointing to the bound zombie that was still squirming on the pile of the dead. It wasn’t really a question, though. He already knew it was true. “You tried to save a zombie instead of killing one, and now you’re screwed.”
“I…” Freya said as tears started to tumble silently down her dirty face. No matter how angry he was, that was still enough to twist the knife in his soul.
“We have to save him,” she continued. “Surely someone knows a way. It’s just a temporary madness. Perhaps a priest could—”
“That man,” Simon said, pointing at the squirming corpse, “Is not mad. He’s dead, and dead is dead. There is no bringing him back. All he can do is get free, kill other people, and condemn them to the same fate.”
The words were harsh, but he didn’t know what else to say. He knew more about magic than anyone he’d ever known at this point, and though there might be a way to bring back the dead, he did not yet know it.