Pure Blooded (24 page)

That’s easier said than done
, he said.
In fact, I don’t think my mind works that way. My beast won’t allow me to lower my guard like that
.

I’ll take the lead, then
, I said.
We have to be unpredictable, and my wolf is on board. I’ll let her take the reins first
. How we were going to achieve this was anyone’s guess, but it was worth a shot. He growled, but moved to the side so I could take the lead.
Clear our brain the best you can
, I told my wolf. This was going to be easier for her to do than it ever would be for me.
Think of nothing until the moment we do it
. She barked, assuring me she had it.
If we can do this successfully, we have a chance
.

There was movement all around us. I took off at a trot, thinking about the last good book I read to take my mind off what we were doing to help my wolf. It seemed like eons ago when I actually had time to do something other than fight the next supe in line or battle through a ghoul-infested forest.

Rourke snuffed at me from behind, voicing his trepidation, but went along with the plan, staying close to me.

What was the last good book you read?
I asked him as my wolf began to zigzag, based only on smell.

What?
His response couldn’t have been more incredulous.

Just play along. Instead, what’s your all-time favorite book? You know, when you used to have spare time?
My wolf was doing a good job of dodging the threats, but there were so many. I didn’t know how long it would take to throw Enid off—if it was even possible.
You had to have read a book sometime in your life before you met me and our lives were turned upside down
.

Jessica, I haven’t read a book in too long to remember. Watch out for those two!
he yelled. Two ghouls, one a female about seventy and one thirtysomething male, came at us from behind a huge pine tree. The male was moving faster. Maybe age had something to do with it?

I see them
. My wolf smoothly dodged them but picked up the pace immediately.
And I’m not letting you off the hook about your lack of reading. We’re going to fix that in the future. But since we’re talking about it, my favorite of all time is
Lord of the Rings.
After the movies came out, I read them all one after another. So good
.

He huffed at me.
This is not the time for this discussion
.

It’s the perfect time for this discussion—because we shouldn’t be having it!
My wolf wove us in and out of trees, while I kept my mind on good books. Each time I heard a rustling, we shifted our movements and then shifted again. She had great reflexes.

Rourke followed me with no issue, but he was on high alert and couldn’t shut it off. I just hoped Enid had been tracking
my
movements and not ours together.
Jessica, you’re moving toward the cemetery
, Rourke said.
I don’t think that’s a good idea
.

My wolf is in control
, I said.
The sounds are coming more infrequently now. I think it might be working. If Enid doesn’t know we’re heading there, the cemetery can be safe, because all the ghouls are in the woods
.

Nothing is safe
, Rourke grumbled, veering with me out into the open.

I switched my mind to my favorite TV shows as we sped past several tombstones. I was feeling quite confident that maybe we’d thrown Enid off.

Not a second later, low moans came from a hill to our right. My head snapped to it in alarm.

Run!
Rourke shouted, shoving into me from the behind.
As fast as you can. Now!

The horror scorched into my mind like a blistering brand as I watched them come at us like loping zombies over the grassy knolls.

Wendigos.

Keep to the open spaces!
Rourke yelled as we dodged and leapt over gravestones. The wendigos were running hard. They were very different from the ghouls. These guys were alive.
We can’t fight off both ghouls and wendigos. We’re going to have to do something drastic
.

Like what?
I asked, glancing behind me. We’d gotten in front of them. I spotted only two, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more.

I don’t know yet. When I think of it, I’ll tell you
.

We continued to run. And the wendigos continued to gain. They were clearly supernatural now, with the essence of the necromancer inside them. I took a peek over my shoulder. They looked disheveled, their faces smudged with dirt and their clothes ratty.
I think they were cemetery workers. One guy looks like he could be a grave digger. Do they even have those anymore?

They’ve been turned recently
, Rourke agreed.

Rourke turned and followed a path over another hill. At the
top we caught sight of the other edge of the cemetery. It was at least a hundred yards away.
Rourke, we have to make a decision. They’re gaining on us. I’m not sure we’ll make the other side, and when we do, there’s a wall of ghouls to contend with
. A line of ghouls was emerging from out of the woods on the far end. They weren’t moving very fast and were likely just going to sit and wait for us to be dumb enough to try and get through them.

We have to fight the wendigos. They’re the biggest threat
, Rourke said.
We keep running until they’re almost on us, then we turn and attack. Use your claws and slash right through their necks. It’s risky, but we have no other choice. But whatever happens, don’t let them bite you!

That was easier said than done, especially if that’s what Enid thought we’d do.
I promised Tyler I’d get in touch with him if things went south
, I panted as we continued running.
This is pretty far south. Ray can be here in a matter of minutes and Tyler will follow quickly. If Ray shows up, we can use him as a distraction, and because he can fly, maybe he’ll be safer?

Go ahead and sound the alarm, and then I want you to get ready to fight
.

Tyler!
I called.
We’re in trouble! Not only ghouls, but we’re also being chased by wendigos. Get here as soon as you can
.

We’re on it
, my brother answered immediately.
We guessed it would get bad. We have your scent. Ray will be there soon
.

Tyler, you have to be very cautious. You can’t risk getting bit. Contact me before you hit the area and I’ll give you the plan
.

Got it
.

I tuned him out and focused on our situation. Then I had a thought.
Rourke, my gut is we have to make change happen in a big way right now. If we don’t, we’re going to become wendigos
.

We just tried that and it didn’t work!
he answered.

No, we were still moving forward in the same way, just putting
our minds on something else. I’m talking about doing something completely unexpected
.

Like what?
I could tell by his tone he was leery of my plan already.

I don’t know, but it has to be out of character—something shocking
. I leapt over a tall grave marker and spotted something in the distance. It gave me an idea.
This way
. I careened to the right, not giving him a choice. Rourke followed, staying close to my flank.

Where are we going?
He nudged closer.

I saw some mausoleums. Two, side by side. We’re going to jump on top of them and hide
.

Jessica, they will see us do that. Even if we aren’t doing something predictable, like hiding, they can follow us by sight
.

Not if we can reach the buildings before the wendigos see us, and the key word was “hide.”

I still don’t get it
.

Follow me and find out
, I said as I made a sharp turn. I raced downhill over the terrain, thanking my lucky stars these mausoleums were over the next hill. I’d just gotten a glimpse of their roofs at the right time. If we ran fast enough, we could get there before the wendigos rounded the incline behind us, giving us a few precious seconds where the hill would obstruct their line of sight.

This is crazy. These guys are gaining on us and they can jump just as high as we can
.

I huffed.
I’m trying to do something unexpected, and having you not on board is actually perfect. Just follow me and try to stop overthinking it. I just need to make sure they can’t see us for a few seconds. Look behind us and watch. Let me know when we duck out of their line of vision
. I raced toward our goal. Once we rounded the top of the next hill, I could see the mausoleums clearly. They each had flat roofs and large columns and a small peak in front, which would give us something we could crouch behind.

Okay, we have about four seconds before they come over the top of the last hill
, Rourke called.

Perfect
. I sprinted the last few yards and leapt, stretching my body as far as I could, landing on the roof of the closest building. The mausoleums were at least fifteen feet high. Rourke made a move to follow me but I yelled,
Jump on top of the other one!

Rourke swerved at the last minute and did as I asked but was snorting his dislike as he went.

Now duck down
, I said.
Flatten yourself out so you’re smaller
.

He did it as best he could and then turned his big tawny head toward me.
Jessica, this is the craziest thing you’ve ever had us do so far
.

No, it’s the most brilliant, and you want to know why?

If cats could look sarcastic, he was achieving it.
I can’t wait to find out. Why?

Because it feels wrong
.

He stayed down, but his ears were pinned back and he snarled,
What do you mean it feels
wrong
? That’s not what I want to hear right now
.

No, wrong in a good way. We’re hiding from the threat. It wouldn’t normally be something we would do. A few minutes ago you wanted us to fight them, and I agreed with you
. I poked my head up and looked, careful not to make a sound. The wendigos were barreling over the hill in front of us but were not aiming for the mausoleums.

Even if the wendigos pass us by, they’ll figure it out soon enough and turn around
, Rourke said.
They won’t give up the hunt
.

Probably, but I don’t think it will matter. By jumping up here to hide, the die has been cast
, I said.
All we needed to do was to change the game
enough—
to make the future a little more unpredictable. If we achieved that, we survive. If not, we become horrible flesh-eating supernaturals
.

I’m not sure it’s going to work like you hope—

There was a whooshing noise and Ray landed on the mausoleum next to me. “What the hell are you two knuckleheads doing up here?” he bellowed. “Don’t you know you’re under attack by a horde of shitty, awful-looking zombies?”

I huffed at him, my ears down, showing him my displeasure. I couldn’t talk to Ray internally, so there was no real way to tell him to leave besides swiping at him with my paw and trying to knock him off the roof. I raised my front leg to give it a try.

“Hold on,” he said. “Don’t get your undies in a bunch. We can fight these things. They don’t look that tough.”

I glanced over at Rourke.
Do you see the wendigos? They must have heard Ray’s yelling
. Tyler must not have stressed to Ray how dangerous this was. Ray was too new and cocky to know better.

I snarled.

“You don’t have to thank me yet, Hannon,” Ray said. “We’re not outta the woods by a long shot. Those two ran past, down the—”

The wendigos howled as they changed their direction. I poked my head up. They were running at top speed toward us. The reason Rourke hadn’t answered me was because he’d readied himself for a fight, crouching low. The wendigos made good time, and when the first one sprang toward me, I was ready. But before I could do anything, Ray intercepted it in midair and tossed it effortlessly to the ground.

It bounced and rolled a few feet and then was up again, snarling, pus and drool running down its chin. I howled as the next one flew at Rourke. With his huge paw, Rourke batted it away, tearing open its middle. The wendigo tumbled through the air and landed with a loud thunk on the ground.

They were both back in business within a minute.

The action had alerted the ghouls, and now they streamed in from all directions, surrounding us. They were reanimated
corpses, so they couldn’t jump very well or get on the roof, but they weren’t going anywhere either.

The wendigos circled the buildings, calculating their next attack.

If we can find the necromancer and disarm her, do you think they would all stop fighting us?
I asked Rourke.

The ghouls should drop like rocks and go back to being corpses, but the wendigos would still be a threat. They are infected, and while the necromancer might have
some
control, these guys are largely on their own. They crave flesh any way they can find it. If they stop being interested in us, they will hunt down the next available option
.

Good gods
, I said as visions of a town being turned into an army of hungry wendigos assaulted me.
Okay, then, we have to kill them
and
find the necromancer. I’m going to put Tyler on finding the necromancer if he can
, I told Rourke.

Rourke didn’t answer, as he was occupied when one of the wendigos launched himself onto the roof again. He efficiently sliced the wendigo up the side. Rourke was being as careful as he could so the thing couldn’t bite him, but it was still unsettling to watch. The wendigo fell back to the ground, but it still wasn’t down for the count.

I angled my head at Ray and nodded my muzzle toward Rourke, indicating he should go help.

“I’m going, I’m going, but I don’t think your boy really needs my help. Did you see that? He just clawed his arm off with one swipe.” Ray’s voice held some awe. This was the first time he’d seen Rourke in action in his true form. I nudged my head against Ray’s leg to get him to move. “All right, I’ll go, but if one comes here, I’ll be back.”

Rourke was indeed incredible to watch, but I wasn’t going to breathe easy until the wendigo went flying off the roof without its head. Rourke roared, and the sound shook the buildings. It
was so close to dawn the sky was beginning to turn from black to blue. Humans would be up and around soon. We were running out of time. We had to finish this.

Tyler, can you hear me?
I asked.

Yep, I’m almost to you
, he said.
And I smell a whole hell of a lot of interesting things coming my way. None of them make me happy
.

Great. Don’t head to where we are. I want you to find the necromancer. Use your nose. Rourke says they have to be stationed close by to operate these things, and there’s a whole bunch of them. I’m thinking the necromancer has to be on the cemetery grounds somewhere. If we can take him or her down, we have a chance to stop these ghouls. No operator means no more attack
.

I’m on it
, he said.
Marcy and James are close too. Ray sounded the alarm. I’ll keep an ear out for the van. She can help by throwing some spells out if I can’t pick up the scent
.

I knew he would do his best to find the necromancer, and for a moment I hoped Juanita had been in contact with Marcy. We needed an edge. I brought my attention back to the scene in front of me. The wendigos had decided to work in tandem and Rourke had his hands full, even with Ray’s help.

I leapt cleanly to Rourke’s rooftop, where Ray had already landed, and glanced over the side. There were at least sixty ghouls surrounding us and one headless wendigo on the ground. Rourke had finally hit his mark. But, ridiculously, its one arm was trying to locate its head, doing the pat-pat-pat around its body. Not sure what would happen if it managed to grab it, but I couldn’t imagine the wendigo could function very well again without its head secured on.

The remaining wendigo crouched a few feet away, separated a bit from the ghouls, ready to spring again, its vacant eyes never leaving the roof for a second.

“That bastard’s not dead,” Ray complained, gesturing to the headless wendigo. “You took one arm and its head off and the sucker is still trying to function. I can’t kill these guys like I usually do, because their souls have already left the building. We’ll have to bash their brains in or something.”

I stood, nodding my head toward the other wendigo, who was edging himself closer.

“I see him, I see him,” Ray muttered. “But he’d be a fool to come up here. He’s outnumbered. These others”—he gestured at the crowd of ghouls that were now clawing at the walls of the mausoleum—“are no threat. We just have to stay away from their teeth.”