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

person’s soul to work with, to anchor the Unseen to. But now, with everything so messed up…” She shook her head and sighed. “It’s not like it used to be.”
    She almost volunteered the information about what she’d done to Atticus but thought better of it. She didn’t know how these two felt about vampires, and she didn’t want to give them any ideas. The last thing she needed was for them to go around attacking vampires.
    The other woman looked hopeful when she asked, “Does it reverse the process? It makes them human again?”
    “No.” Seeing the disappointment on Maggie’s face made Kimber feel like she’d just kicked a cute, fuzzy kitten. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t do either of them any favors if she wasn’t direct. “The initial infection kills them, Maggie. When the Unseen is stripped out of them, they go back to their original state, which is being dead.”
    “Oh.” The word came out in barely a whisper.
    “I’m sorry.” Kimber didn’t know what else to say. Everyone had someone who’d been turned…well, except for Kimber. She had no family and the one friend she’d had who’d been attacked had been killed before he could turn into one of those mindless cannibals.
    “How did you do it?” Jason asked, twining his fingers with Maggie’s.
    “The procedure is much the same as you would use for a raising. Only instead of summoning the Unseen to inhabit a body, you summon it to leave a body. Or bodies, more accurately.” Kimber studied them carefully. Both seemed to be following her reasoning, even if they looked a little shell-shocked. “I’ve only been able to do it once without holding on to a zombie, and it…” She swallowed. “Well, let’s just say it’s easier doing it by starting with one zombie.”
    “You’re saying we have to do this one at a time?” Maggie’s frown crinkled her forehead.
    “Not exactly. You start with one but spread it, like an infection.” She gave a small smile. “We fight infection with infection.”
    Brigid sat up straighter. “Yes, I understand your thought process on this.” She gave an abrupt nod. “I would be able to assist in this endeavor.” Her gaze flicked over the other two necromancers. “My power acts as a focus. Think of me as a prism, anchoring three separate laser beams into one more powerful beam.”
    It felt weird for one of the fey to be talking about laser beams, but that was the kind of world Kimber lived in now. Ten minutes later, impatient with going over the same talking points again and again, Kimber came to a decision. “We need to practice.”
    Jason stood and rested clenched fists on his hips. “You want us to go out into a bunch of zombies? And do…what? Hold their hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’? Are you nuts?”
    “No, no.” This was getting them nowhere. Kimber stood, too, and added, “Look, let me talk to Duncan. There has to be a safe way we can do this.”
    “ Safe and zombies really shouldn’t be together in the same sentence,” Maggie muttered.
    Kimber couldn’t stop a quick grin. “We’ll find a way. I’ll get back to you.” As Brigid got to her feet, Kimber turned toward the door and saw Leon. Her smile faltered. She’d actually forgotten about him for a few minutes. “Come on, Leon,” she said on an aggrieved sigh. “Take me to your leader.”
    He shot her a disgruntled look that almost made her want to apologize. Almost. She recognized that he was just doing his job and that she was really upset with Duncan, not Leon. But she felt like she’d choke on any apology she might try to give, so she kept her mouth shut.
    When they reached the lobby, she saw she’d been in the human section long enough for the sun to set and full dark to fall. They crossed to the stairs that led up to the other floors, Kimber leading the way with Leon and Brigid following silently behind. As they approached Duncan’s office, she looked at Leon and said, “Why don’t you show Brigid to her quarters? I’m