“BCS. It’s all the rage.”
I pulled back, admiring my friend, feeling lucky and loved all at once. “Did Juanita tell you what to expect? Did she give you any useful details?”
Marcy shook her head. “Nope, just that you needed me and where to find the ingredients to the spells. Oh, and she also made me practice some verbal ones. She’s handy, that one.” She patted the side of her hip. “I also brought along the dagger James gave me for the rabid zombie wolves.”
“Okay.” I blew out a breath, deciding to accept the road we were on. “I guess we’re in agreement to go in and fight. Together.” Rourke, my father, and my brother would all be equally furious with me for not trying to break out and seek backup. But Juanita had given us the way out before, and I had to assume she would try to help us again if things became dire. In a desperate moment, I called out to each of them in my mind, hoping the alternate reality wouldn’t keep out our communication, and at the very least to tell them we were okay.
No response.
Marcy held out her hand to me, grinning. “I want you to shake on it, before you get second thoughts and try and toss me out the nearest tree. Juanita said this was the only way we would ever have a chance to defeat the bokor. In fact, she drilled it across my phone with words like ‘ONLY WAY’ and ‘THIS IS IT.’ So swear you’re not going to get rid of me.”
I shook her hand. “I swear I’ll keep you around. Do you still have your phone on you?”
“Of course.” She drew it out of her back pocket and handed it to me. Its face was dead white again. “That’s not much help.” As soon as the words left my mouth, the phone started to vibrate in my hand. Then blinking words scrolled across the screen:
YOU ARE IN DANGER. YOU ARE IN DANGER. YOU ARE IN DANGER.
“No shit!” I yelled into the air, spinning my head around to find the danger. “We know that. But how do we fight against it?”
WOLVES. WOLVES. WOLVES.
As soon as I read the screen, I heard the growls.
“Marcy, stay still.” I handed the phone back to her and crouched into my fighting stance, scanning the circle. “The wolves want me, not you. Remember that.”
“I don’t think those mutants are picky. Fresh meat is fresh meat.”
“The bokor pulled me in, but she wasn’t looking for a twofer. If there are too many, I want you to climb the nearest tree and wait them out.”
“See, you’re already doing it. Stop,” Marcy muttered. “You promised you weren’t going to protect me. We can handle this. How many do you see?”
“Four.” I scanned the area to make sure. The wolves were lurking in the shadows directly across from us, only their red eyes visible. “We’re going to need to take care of them systematically. If you’re going to fight, pull out your dagger.”
“It’s already out.” I glanced over to see that she had a firm grip on the handle. The blade was longer than mine, but she needed the extra length because she wasn’t as strong as I was. Score one for James.
“Once they charge, I’ll hold them down,” I said, “and you stick the knife right behind their eyes. Got it? We work as a team.”
“How are you going to—”
One of the wolves broke from the tree line and loped headlong toward us. I leapt into the clearing, morphing instantly into my Lycan form. Right as it closed in. I grabbed on to its neck, careful to stay away from its teeth, and hit the ground, one arm clamped around its middle. It lashed out in a fury, snapping and growling, trying to free itself. It smelled like decay and its organs were mushy and soft under my grasp. Gross.
Marcy rushed toward us, her knife shaking slightly. “Marcy, do it fast.” I gritted my teeth as the wolf struggled in my arms.
She lunged forward, plunging the blade into the wolf’s head, quick as lightning. The wolf instantly went limp in my arms and I glanced up, smiling. Marcy appeared a little wild-eyed, but she took hold of the wolf by the scruff and tossed the mangy thing to the side as I stood.
“That was impressive—” I turned. “Look out!”
Two wolves barreled toward us at the same time, sprinting into the clearing. I rushed forward to intercept them, springing out to kick one in the flank, sending it flying as I took the other one behind the ears, tearing it off the ground and tossing it out of the circle. The wolf sailed far into the trees, crashing through them as it landed. Neither would die, but I hoped this would buy us time, and only one would recover at a time.
“Jeez, I’m amending the name Hercules, and from now on I’m going to refer to you as Wonder Wolf.” Marcy whistled. “You moved so fast I could barely make out your form. That wolf flew clear across the clearing into the trees over there.” She gestured right as the thing sprang back into view. “Dang, they don’t stay down long, do they?”
“Marcy, I may be strong, but I can’t be in two places at once.” I turned as the other one rose. At least now they were coming at us from different directions. I moved toward the wolf closest to us, the one I’d kicked, as both he and his buddy closed in. They bared their yellow, decaying teeth and snarled.
“Don’t worry.” Marcy placed a hand out in front of her and started chanting right as the wolf began to run. “I’ve got this one.”
“Okay.” I turned as the wolf in front of me sprang. In one motion, I unsheathed the knife strapped to my arm and angled my body to the side, striking the wolf through the brain as it leapt past me in midair. It collapsed to the ground and I moved back to help Marcy, only to see that the other wolf was already down in front of her and she was pulling the knife out of its head with a satisfied grunt.
It was hard not to be impressed.