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jumped from the column and grabbed at the sparkler. Their clawed, decayed hands sliced and tore the sparkler into dust, and the light was extinguished. With the threat destroyed the column of light disappeared, but the number of undead didn't diminish.
    Percy's face paled. "I stand corrected, but was that wise to alert them to our presence?"
    Ned nodded at the stone. "Would you have appreciated that surprise on us rather than on that small bit of magic?" he countered.
    Percy smirked. "I suppose not, and it seems even from the air we have the disadvantage." He turned to Sins. "Have you any suggestions on avoiding that detection mechanism?"
    Sins dark eyes glanced over the city, and they stopped on a particular group of undead. These ones shuffled around in circles on the outer ring of the city. Sins nodded at the undead. "They will provide us the cover we need," Sins told them.
    Fred looked at the assassin as though he was insane. The young man suspected he wasn't too far from the truth. "How are they going to help us?"
    Ned pulled at his beard and nodded. "That may work," he agreed with Sins.
    "What may work?" Fred asked him.
    Percy's eyes lit up and his smile slipped into a smirk. "That is very ingenious, even for you, Sins, but how are we going to use the undead without destroying them?"
    "What's ingenious?" Fred yelled at them.
    Ned wrapped an arm around Fred's shoulders and grinned at the boy. "How would you like another new outfit?"
    Fred blinked. "Um, no?" he guessed.
    "But you might look becoming in undead," Ned insisted.
    "Undead?" Fred squeaked.
    "Exactly," Ned replied. "The only way to get close to the stone undetected is to be undead, but seeing as none of us is willing to go the full distance then we will need to acquire outfits to deceive the stone. That's where you come in."
    The other two with them were surprised, and Percy gestured to Fred. "Where he comes in?" Percy repeated. "Why not let Sins handle them and we create the skins?" Fred's face paled. These mad people intended to wrap themselves in rotting corpse flesh.
    "Those undead are too close to the others. They need to be led away, and our best bait is Fred here," Ned insisted. "Then I can use my magic and Sins his skills to capture them."
    Fred's eyes widened and he tried to slink out of Ned's grasp. The old castor wasn't letting go. "Maybe we can try flying over again?" Fred desperately suggested. "The gargoyles are a lot faster than a floating sparkler."
    Ned solemnly shook his head. "I'm not willing to risk their lives."
    "But I'm risk-able?" Fred countered.
    "You only need to catch their attention and let them shamble after you," Ned pointed out. He grabbed Fred's chin and turned him to face the city. "See how slow they move? A blind, one-legged beggar could outrace their gait." Fred gulped. Those things hadn't looked so slow when they sprang from the column. "And you needn't lead them too far. We will wait for you behind those rocks." Ned indicated a pile of stones along the road that led past the dead city. The distance from the group of undead to the stones was two hundred yards. "Just to be safe you should leave Fluffy with us."
    Fred was marched execution-style down the hill road and the group stopped at the rocks. He was shoved out from behind the protection, and glanced back to see the three men and Fluffy peeking over the top of the rocks. "We'll be right behind you," Ned encouraged him.
    "Thanks..." Fred muttered.
    Fred sighed and crept toward the group of shambling undead. They walked in and out of a hole in the remains of the defensive wall as though guarding the city from the living. Fred dodged behind boulders and abandoned carts overturned from the rushed evacuation. He came within twenty yards of them when he found he no longer had any closer hiding spots. This was the time to catch their attention and lead them back to his ex-friends.
    Fred took a deep breath, stepped out in the open and waved his hands. That's when a thought hit him.