“Well, that was certainly anticlimactic,” he muttered.
“The on-and-off thing is kind of annoying, isn’t it?” First with Cole, now Gavin.
“Maybe you need a tune-up.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll just pop into the supernatural ability repair shop sometime tomorrow.”
He grinned, his fingertips tracing the line of my jaw. A patented Cole Holland move. The contact unnerved me, and I turned away.
“Sit down,” Cole shouted. The harshness of his voice echoed off the walls.
I ignored him. It was either that, or tell him to suck it in a thousand different ways.
“Yeah, stop flirting. It sickens me,” Mackenzie said loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. She came up beside me and winked, and I realized she’d wanted Cole to hear, probably thinking he would erupt with jealousy.
Sweet of her, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. I knew his attitude stemmed from my refusal to leave the fighting to the others.
Cole stomped past our group, viciously shouldering Gavin out of the way, and took his seat. Lucas blew me a kiss before taking his.
Frowning, Gavin sat. Mackenzie plopped into the chair next to his and motioned for me to take the one next to her.
“If there’s any hint of trouble,” Cole said to no one in particular, “I want to know about it immediately.”
“Wow. Micromanage much?” Gavin muttered.
I tuned them out and closed my eyes. I could do this. A deep breath in, hold, hold, then release, and as the air left me, my spirit rose from my body. Chilly air wrapped cruel arms around me, squeezing me.
I turned and looked down. My body still reclined against the cushions, my eyes closed, my features relaxed.
Gavin tapped me on the shoulder.
My gaze lifted to his, and I arched a brow in question.
He motioned to the door with a tilt of his chin. I nodded. Right now, as emotional as I was, I would have to be more careful than usual about what I said.
Cole moved in front of Gavin and whispered a command, his expression fierce. I was able to make out the words take care but no others.
Take care of...me?
Gavin whispered something back, and I thought I heard the word crazy.
Me again?
Or was I being just a tad narcissistic? Not everything was going to be about me.
We left the barn using the door Frosty held open for us. Blood Lines surrounded the property, the house, the barn and everything inside it. Meaning all of it was solid to our touch.
Once we entered the forest, my group branched away from Cole’s. Unable to help myself, I looked back. Cole’s gaze was already on me, watching me with confusion...longing...until he snaked the corner and the moment was lost.
I wasn’t sure what the attention meant, or if I’d misread him, or how—
I slammed into a tree, ricocheting backward and landing on my butt.
Mackenzie laughed. “That, when she can see the Blood Lines.”
“That true?” Gavin asked, helping me stand. “You can see the Blood Lines?”
“They glow,” I replied through gritted teeth. I’d deserved to be pimp-slapped by a tree, I really had. No more Cole. Just. No. More.
Intrigued, Gavin said, “So...you, a girl who has never been on patrol before, a girl who has never been shown the proper path to take, could get us out of the forest using our preferred path?”
“Watch me.” I took the lead, getting us out of the wheat fields and into the forest, maneuvering around every tree wiped with a Blood Line and ghosting through those that weren’t. Within half an hour, we cleared the foliage to stand at the edge of a dirt road. I spread my arms in a look-at-me gesture.
“Impressive,” Gavin said.
Even Mackenzie muttered her approval.
“Now what?” I asked. How much ground could we cover on foot like this?
“Now, we hunt.” He took only two steps, but suddenly he was at the end of the road.
I whipped to Mackenzie, questions poised at the edge of my tongue, but she followed Gavin, beside me one second, beside him the next. Shock beat through me. I took a step, then another, and...
I was only two steps away from where I’d started. What the heck?
I took another step, another and another, but I never gained extra ground. Frustration surpassed my shock.
“You will stop messing around,” Gavin called. “Come on.”
It was a command that did not violate my free will—I wanted to stop messing around. I stepped toward him and a second later, my surroundings blurred. A second after that, I was standing beside him.
“How did I do that?” I gasped out.
“Spirits are bound by spiritual laws, not physical,” Mackenzie explained. “Just tell your feet to dash, and hello, they will.”
“We’re hitting neighborhoods tonight,” Gavin said, pointing in the direction he wanted us to go.
He moved forward at that impossible speed, Mackenzie right behind him. I looked down at my booted feet and snapped, “You will move just as quickly!”
They obeyed, shocking me all over again. I quickly caught up with the twosome, and we soared through neighborhood after neighborhood, searching for any sign of zombie activity. I lasted one hour...two...three...before the swiftness of my movements began to take a dangerous toll.
My limbs trembled lightly at first, then more noticeably, then more violently. After a while, I was barely able to remain upright.
“Guys,” I huffed, and stopped.
A mistake.
Suddenly I could feel the heaviness of my feet and could barely maintain my grip on the ax.
I hated to admit it, but Cole and Frosty were right. Stamina was important. I needed to up my training.
Gavin slowed and turned to face me.
“Rest,” I said.
So hungry, a ragged voice whispered, claiming my attention.
I spun, but no one stood around me.
Will eat. Food will scream. Yes. Yes!
Hmm, what’s that smell? Must have.
Hard bands wrapped around my upper arms. Instinct took over, and I raised my fist to attack the culprit. I turned.
Gavin ducked, avoiding impact. Straightening, he frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I—I don’t know.”
Your condition, the man in the car had said.
“The smell of rot is in the air.” Excitement bubbled in Mackenzie’s tone.
Smiling, Gavin released me. He shot a flare in the sky to alert Cole and Lucas, then palmed two daggers. “Yeah, baby. The zombies are nearby.”
I inhaled deeply, but I smelled only the pine of the trees. And...Gavin. I smelled Gavin, and it was better than the pine. It was delicious. Mouthwatering.
“You able to fight?” he asked me.
I wasn’t actually sure, wasn’t even sure I cared. I leaned into him and sniffed. Hmm. Snack time.
He looked as if he wanted to question me, but a male with a hunched back and a twisted ankle ambled from the side of a house, drawing his attention.
The zombies weren’t just nearby; they were here.
This one wore a dirty, ripped suit, and his tie was askew.
Three other zombies moseyed out behind him, and five more behind them.
Must have, must have, must have.
Mine, all mine.
Gonna be so good!
The voices stacked one on top of the other, insistent and loud. I shook my head and tugged at my ears, even as I licked my lips and stared at Gavin’s neck.
He tossed something small and black at the zombies and shouted, “Down!”
He hit the ground. Confused, I remained standing.
Boom!
A minigrenade exploded, ripping through the first line of zombies. Arms flew one way and legs another, minus the bodies. A white-hot blast of air shoved me backward. When I landed, twigs and grass and body parts rained over me.
Gavin and Mackenzie hopped up and rushed headlong into battle, hacking and slashing at the creatures still standing.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself into motion. “I can do this. I can do this.”
But...as I carved through the spine of a female zombie, she reached for Gavin, ignoring me. As I cut off the arm of another, he bit at Mackenzie, as if I wasn’t even there.
WILL TASTE.
MINE, MINE, MINE.
HURT. MAIM. KILL.
GOOD, SO GOOD.
Argh! The voices. Louder now, screaming at me. I dropped the ax to clutch at my ears. Stop. Please, stop. But they didn’t. They only grew louder. My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground. The zombies stepped over me, desperate to reach Gavin and Mackenzie.
What are you doing? Get up. Fight. Help your friends. You’re better than this.
Finally Pep Talk Ali, a voice of reason. Barely discernible over the noise. I palmed a dagger with a trembling hand and stood. My legs quaked, and I swayed, but I somehow found the strength to lumber forward.
Splattered in black blood, Mackenzie presented a macabre picture as she spun and sliced the throats of the three zombies attempting to latch onto her arms. Gavin jumped over a pile of headless, writhing zombies, avoiding grasping hands, to press against Mackenzie’s back.
I lifted my blade. I would help them...touch them. They glowed. Soft light pulsed from their pores. Such pretty light. Drawing me.
Mine.
I had to taste it. Them.
Taste. Yes. Mackenzie was closest, and she would be the first to feed me. I would gorge on her. She would scream, and I would laugh, because I would be full for the first time in my life.
“Ali,” she growled. “There’s one behind you!”
One...a zombie. Behind me. He didn’t care about me. Bypassed me.
But she’d warned me. To help me...the way I was supposed to help her.
So many times I’d wanted to help the people I loved, and I’d failed. My dad, my mom, my sister, my grandfather. I couldn’t fail again. I blinked, my wits returning. Realization—and horror—slammed into me. I’d come close to harming my friend.
I bit my tongue until I tasted blood, dropped the blade and backed away from her. How could I have entertained such dark thoughts?
“Ali, light up!” Cole called.
He was here. I turned, our gazes meeting. He was sprinting toward me, moving as quickly as I had done. And yet I easily tracked his movements. Could even see the concern on his face.
