dragged their spirits into the bodies? I had no clue how this actually worked.
“Wait for me!” The voice was familiar, and when I turned around, Raven dashed up. She was wearing a short skirt over heavy leggings, boots, and a heavy jacket over a tank top. “Cripes almighty,” she said, staring beyond the gate.
Behind her, Kipa led a group of stalwart men. They all had a keen look to them and felt on the wild side.
“I’ve brought members of my SuVahta. Herne? Oh, there you are,” Kipa said, picking Herne out of the group. “We’re here. Let’s go in. My men have been warned.”
Relief washed over me. These were men out of Kipa’s elite guard. They were wolf shifters, on point, fearless, and loyal. At least we had a decent number to go up against what seemed like a swarm of the hungry ghosts.
I dashed back over to the medics’ station and handed Angel my bow. “Please hold this for me.” I didn’t want to go back to the car, and it seemed foolish to encumber myself with the extra weight and bulk. After she took it, I withdrew Brighid’s Flame from its sheath. The blade glinted against the light penetrating the clouds overhead. It was razor sharp, and could cleave through metal when need be. The sword had more powers to it than I fully understood, but it was up to me to discover them.
“Ready,” I said, returning to the others.
“Ready,” Viktor, Yutani, and Raven chimed in. She looked luminous, as though her magic was filling her aura. I had no idea what spells she had lined up to cast, but whatever they were, she was positively pulsating with energy.
“The others will have to catch up. Let’s go.” Herne motioned for the officers to open the gates and—with him leading the way—we charged in. The police closed the gates immediately after we were inside and I realized their primary function here was to prevent the vrykos from breaking through the gates into the streets.
We eased toward the creatures, eyeing them carefully. There were several groups clumped together, five over to one side, four to another, another six beyond. And then there were strays, wandering through the cemetery, ignoring the central hive.
Herne motioned for Viktor and me to move to the right, while he and Yutani took the left group. Kipa and his guards split off to take the center grouping, and Raven moved off to one side and quickly laid out a skull on the ground, two candles, and a few other tools. I quickly lost sight of what she was doing as the vrykos facing us began inching forward, the light in their eye sockets growing more malevolent with each passing moment.
I caught the gaze of one of the creatures. I could swear it was thinking—If I move here where will she move…what kind of weapon does she have…what are my chances of eating the flesh off her bones? Things of that nature.
Feeling all too scrutinized, I caught my breath and rushed forward, sword high, thinking on the go about which way I should turn. At the last moment, I swept Brighid’s Flame down and around, twisting in midair to swing from my left rather than from my right.
I made contact with the vrykos, my blade biting deep into its flesh. I had managed to clip the creature at his knees, and Brighid’s Flame was sharp, with a polished edge. The blade bit right through the flesh, stopping only briefly at the bone, but the force I had put into the swing carried through and pushed the blade through the knee joint, separating the lower leg from the rest of his body.
I was startled when no blood appeared, but then remembered he had been dead beforehand, and so there was no blood to spill out. However, magic couldn’t preserve a corpse in its entirety, or at least whoever had cast the reanimation spell couldn’t, and so a thick ooze of green juices slimed out of the wound, splattering on the ground. There was a hiss as it fell and I suddenly remembered that the blood of the vrykos—such as it was—was also toxic. It was burning the grass, which immediately withered up and turned yellow.
The creature hopped forward on the other leg. He had his arms stretched out in front of him and was aiming for me. I jumped back. He swiped at me again, remaining surprisingly steady on one leg. A low hiss came from his throat,