Chapter Forty-Four
Selena
Sticks and Stones and Graveyard Bones
Just outside the gates of Greenwood, Dillan put his game face on. He summoned his sword from his leather cuff and said, “Whatever happens, stay behind me. Look only at my back. Stop when I stop, run when I run.”
I took a deep breath—the bat in my hands—and followed him without a word as he jogged toward the cemetery gates, sword gripped with both hands. The voice inside my head that usually warned me off was oddly silent. I pushed the thought away when we passed the arch. The gloom in the air settled heavily on my shoulders, like a weight pinned me in place. I suppressed any desire to backtrack and kept moving. Adrenaline zipped through my veins. If this was what entering a zombie shoot ‘em up game in real life felt like, sign me up.
As if they heard my thoughts, a group of corpses hobbled toward us.
Or maybe not.
“Easy to kill, just way too many,” commented Dillan as he hacked at the groaning, gurgling corpses in various stages of decay. Some looked as fresh as if their burial had been only yesterday, while the rest barely held their skeletons together. It felt like being in a scene from The Walking Dead—reality TV style. “Sure wish we could have done this during the day.”
“I don’t think Ormand would wait that long.”
A head rolled to my side. I stopped a beat and kicked it away like a soccer ball before hurrying to catch up with Dillan. He never once looked back to check if I kept up with his pace. And disturbing him didn’t enter my to-do list for the night. As long as he kept the puppets away from me, I’d keep going.
The ground felt slick and squishy under my feet, almost like stomping on wet sponges. I didn’t want to know what caused the ground to feel that way. I just kept my eyes on a fixed point on Dillan’s back. He picked a path toward the mausoleums and committed to it with single-minded determination. Worry mounted when we hadn’t run into Kyle or the others. I sent a silent prayer up to the heavens for their continued safety. But if they were anything like Dillan, they’d be fine. No matter how many puppets got in his way, he hacked through them. Each slash met with rotting flesh. The ones he’d missed, I slammed my bat into. It was like a scary version of Whack-A-Mole.
One corpse managed to grab me by the shoulders from behind. My yelp died before it even left my lips. I didn’t have time to swing my bat. Dillan had already severed the arms of the puppet, and with a quick upward slash, reduced it to goo. I gritted my teeth and stifled the urge to touch my shoulder when he positioned himself in front of me again.
“I’m definitely going to need a shower after this.” I grimaced.
“Trust me. You better burn that jacket,” he said above the chorus of moans around us.
“Just keep moving!”
In minutes, he managed to get us close to the mausoleum Ormand used for his lair. Green light reached out toward us. The closer we got, the thicker the gross smell got. Like inhaling rotten eggs and wet garbage mixed with the sickly sweet smell of burnt barbeque.
“Breathe through your mouth,” Dillan said over his shoulder.
I opened my mouth, breathing in and out, but the stench still made my eyes water. Because of the constant groaning of the puppets, I hadn’t heard the others until we actually caught up with them. Garret busily fought off another group of corpses. Riona held her ground by his side, drawing symbols in the air. A crackling flame burned the horde behind the one Garret just dispatched. A cool trick, but totally useless since they just kept on coming. Where were Kyle, Sebastian, and Mr. Sloan? They should be helping keep Ormand busy. My worry hit a painful peak in my chest. In a corner beyond the fighting, Penny stood, pale and motionless, drool dripping from her chin. It took all of my willpower not to run to her.
“What took you so long?” Garret pushed hard on a big corpse and slashed down.
“What happened to Sebastian? Wasn’t he supposed to be with you?” I asked.
“The hellhound ran off somewhere,” Garret grunted. “Stupid mutt.”
“Tired, old man?” Dillan taunted while he decapitated a skeleton.
“Boys!” Riona said. “Not right now.” She kicked a female corpse to the ground so hard it turned to goo in seconds.
I swung my bat at the head of an old woman hobbling toward me. At least I thought she was old. “Where’s Kyle?”
A watery hiss came from behind the mausoleum. “He’s right here.”
I covered my mouth as Ormand turned the corner. Nothing of my good-natured boss remained. His olive-toned skin stretched so tightly over his face that he looked like a mummy without its wrappings. His sneer uncovered pointy teeth and black gums. Obsidian eyes stared out of deep, almost hollow, sockets. Only clumps of hair remained on his head. He wore a black robe that brushed the dirt. In the hours since I first saw him at Greenwood, he’d rotted into something that was never human to begin with. His boney fingers curled around Kyle’s throat, lifting him several inches off the ground.
Kyle struggled to get away, but stopped when he saw me.
“Good. You’ve brought her with you.” Ormand licked his lips. “I was just explaining to this boy,” he spat, “that I was looking forward to the reunion.”
Kyle stared at me as if trying to say something with his eyes. I couldn’t understand what he wanted me to know. My initial shivering fear turned into bone chilling dread. Planting my feet firmly didn’t stop my knees from shaking. My skin crawled. I glanced at Dillan, but he no longer stood by my side. He leapt forward, sword raised. Ormand freed one hand from Kyle’s neck and with an unseen force coming from his fingers, flicked Dillan to the side like a flimsy toy soldier.
Dillan hit another mausoleum a few yards away with a loud thud. The collision knocked him unconscious. While his body lay limp on the ground his sword turned back into a charm. Overwhelmed by too many corpses charging them at once, Garret and Riona couldn’t help us. They barely managed to keep the foul smelling creatures away from me.
Kyle took advantage of Ormand’s one-handed hold and pulled himself free from its grip. The action left deep gouges along his throat from his long fingernails. Dark crimson blood flowed freely from his wounds and the sides of his mouth as he coughed.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Ormand said. He kicked Kyle firmly on his backside, sending him to the ground on all fours. “You filthy boy.”
My best friend tried to crawl his way to me. The wounds on his neck sizzled, smoke coming out of them. His body convulsed.
“See, now the poison’s spreading.” Ormand frowned, which looked more like a happy pout. “Too bad. I was hoping to play with you more.”
I felt sick to my stomach. Kyle’s body twisted like a pretzel. The ground felt unsteady beneath my feet. I struggled to breathe. Of all of us there, I felt the most useless. Where was that voice encouraging me to fight when I needed it?
“I knew you would come. But a bat? Do you plan to kill me with a splinter?” He glided closer to Penny’s unmoving form. He wrapped an arm around her waist while his other hand touched her cheek. “Beautifully obedient, isn’t she?”
“Stop touching her!” I snarled like a feral cat, ready to swing. I might not be able to kill him, but I could hurt him.
“Oh.” His brows lifted. “I like feisty. Let’s make this a little more interesting, shall we?”
“I’m here, so let Penny go!”
Ormand waved his finger from left to right. “That’s no fun,” he said. “Come, this place has gotten too noisy for my taste.” He lifted Penny and drifted back into the gloom behind him.
Without thinking twice, I ignored Garret’s bellow for me to stay put and leapt forward. I followed the monster that held my other best friend hostage deeper into the cemetery with a group of corpses running after me. I forced myself not to pay attention to them. The light of the moon allowed me to see where I was going. I wasn’t planning on tripping any time soon. Ormand kept a safe distance at all times, only giving me enough leeway to catch up.
The mausoleums created a long, dark alley. They were eerie representations of houses for the dead. A thick mist swirled around my knees, making it look like I waded through smoky water. The alley opened into a clearing where Ormand stood at the center with Penny in front of him like a shield. Before I could reach him, I was yanked back by boney fingers that grabbed my arms and legs. The sour breath of the corpses holding me wafted at my face. I grimaced and tried not to breath in the stink. One yanked away my bat. A lot good it did me anyway.
Ormand’s triumphant laugh sounded like dying cats. He kept his hold secure on Penny, throwing his head back. When the echoes of his laughter faded, he returned his beady eyes to me. “Welcome to the old section,” he said with a wave of a hand.
I called on my inner Dillan and said, “Could have fooled me.”
“Sarcasm.” He tilted his head toward Penny. “I like that. I enjoyed so very much playing with you and your little friends.”
An involuntary shiver rushed through my body. “Is that why you waited this long instead of grabbing me earlier?” He turned to Penny as if he wanted to whisper something into her ear. I growled when he licked her cheek. “Stop touching her!”
He smacked his lips together. “Come to me and I’ll let her go.”
Before I could respond, a rustle came from my left.
“Let the girl go, Ormand,” Mr. Sloan said as he stepped out of a group of pines with the hellhound by his side. He held a long sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.
“Rainer Sloan,” Ormand cooed. “Aren’t you retired?”
“Walking my dog and stumbled through here. Imagine that? You’re having a party and I wasn’t invited.”
Sebastian growled, baring his long canines. His hackles stood.
“Don’t come any closer, Legacy, or the girl dies.” Ormand sank his nails deeper into Penny. “And keep your hound leashed.”
“No! Let her go. I’ll come with you.”
“Selena, you don’t know what you’re saying.” Mr. Sloan glared at me.
“Shut it, Rainer!” I scowled, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I ignored him and returned my attention to Ormand. “Just let Penny go.”
Ormand waved away the puppets holding me in place. “Come then,” he said like he’d won the race.
I gathered the last of my courage and took a step forward. “Give Penny to Mr. Sloan.”
“Come closer.”
Another step. “Give her to him, now!”
Just as Ormand shoved Penny into Mr. Sloan’s arms, a hand grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
“Selena, do you trust me?” someone said.
I twisted to see Dillan standing by my side. I hadn’t even heard him coming. Blood dripped down the side of his face from a head wound. The fear and resolve in his eyes told me what I needed to know. I nodded once. Then with a deft flick of his wrist, he upended his sword and plunged its blade into my chest.