Page 26

Chapter 26

Shadows in the Graveyard

I wonder if the people milling around Fort Langley realize there are a couple of killers in their midst.

In the back of the SUV, I press my nose against the window as Sky drives us past the village, which is a fusion of colorful heritage buildings and trendy shops and restaurants. In any other circumstance, I’d be racing through every door, geeking out over the history of the trading post, and taking pictures of the Fraser River. Instead, we turn down a quiet street and roll to a stop in an empty parking lot at the back of the cemetery.

We get out, breaths misting, a chill rippling through my body. I adjust the gauntlet before stuffing my hands in my pockets to keep warm. At our backs is a deserted playground. An icy wind makes the swings creak and bare branches scrape against each other. Ahead, past a tall row of hedges growing over a chain-link fence, the cemetery stretches across several acres.

“Why couldn’t the curse be hiding somewhere fun, like a donut shop?” I mumble .

Natalie scans the misty scene that awaits us, solemn. The gray clouds sit low, threatening snow or sleet.

Hayley studies our surroundings with a practiced eye. “We need to lure them somewhere they’ll be easy to trap. Let’s get Katie to walk—”

Natalie rounds on her. “We are not using Katie as bait.”

My heart skips a beat as I become the subject of the conversation.

“Why not?” Hayley asks, unintimidated. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”

Sky’s eyes dart from Natalie to Hayley, a hint of nervousness as tension simmers between them.

Neil, a muscular Asian guy with a shaved head, shrugs. “It’s not a bad idea.”

The cold has already seeped through my layers, and I shuffle my feet to keep warm, my boots crunching on the salted pavement. Given all the witches here, I don’t think I’d be in danger, and it’d be nice to be useful. Even if it’s in the sort of way a live worm is useful to a fisher. “I don’t mind—”

“No.” Natalie glares at the others in a way that could melt steel. “I’m sure you can all manage to apprehend Freddie and Oaklyn without endangering an innocent life.”

Something about her word choice feels like being called helpless. And something about her phrasing must have pissed off the others too, because suddenly we’re all scowling at each other. The air between us seems to have congealed.

Sky’s phone buzzes. She answers with a curt, “Yeah.”

Natalie turns to everyone else. “Look, I need Katie’s help finding the curse. You’ll have to catch them the usual way, all right?”

They shift uncomfortably. A couple of them nod.

Sky hangs up. “Jaques is taking the kids home. The Madsens are near the cenotaph at the front.”

“The what?” Hayley asks .

“It’s a monument. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Hayley hesitates, then nods. “Okay. Let’s hit it.”

The Shadows split up to check the area on all sides, which leaves Natalie and me to do our part finding the curse.

I roll my shoulders and let out a slow breath, focusing. The sooner I find it, the quicker we can get out of here—and hopefully avoid a run-in with the Madsens.

My pulse picks up as we pass through a gap in the hedge and enter the cemetery. Gravel paths break up the cut grass, crossing through the middle and running down the left side. Ahead, mature cedars and chestnut trees are scattered across the field, blocking our view of the monument.

I lead Natalie to the right, planning to weave through the tombstones and trees until something hits my senses.

Though the village is bustling with pedestrians a block away, it’s eerily still among the graves, the frosty grass groaning beneath our boots as we walk. I concentrate on my heartbeat and any strange sensations. Another shiver rolls over me as I try not to think about what’s under our feet. God, I’m glad it’s daytime.

Natalie’s fingers brush my arm. “Stay close.”

I ignore the heat blooming beneath her touch. “I am.”

“You keep darting ahead.”

“Well, I can’t focus on finding the curse when you’re literally breathing on my neck.” I cross my arms and hunch against the cold, ready to get away from these heavy gray clouds and back to the coziness of CSAMM’s enchanted courtyard.

“I’ll breathe in the other direction, then,” Natalie says doggedly.

I face her. “Natalie, I’m not going to get abducted.”

Past her, Hayley strides down the sidewalk on the other side of the cemetery’s iron fence, and her eyebrows shoot up as we argue. We’re drawing attention to ourselves .

“You’re being overprotective,” I whisper to Natalie. “Never mind trying to find a curse, you’re making your feelings obvious. You don’t see any of them panicking over my safety.”

She says nothing. My heart swells knowing this is true.

We keep walking through the graves, Natalie putting exactly one foot of space between us. My nose and chin are numb, and I cup my face to try and warm up. We pass headstones of all shapes and sizes, from evenly-spaced plaques to large crosses with benches. Many are weathered and mossy, their inscriptions barely visible in the weak daylight. Others have personal adornments, like artificial or real flowers, wreaths, trinkets, and flags with poems.

“I still don’t get why the Madsens want to steal a curse,” I murmur. “Like, the second a person touches one, it starts trying to kill them. What are they planning to do once they get one?”

Natalie stays quiet. When I look at her, her gaze is on everything but me.

Frustration churns in my gut. “You’re going to keep withholding information from me?” I ask flatly.

“It’s for your own safety.”

I press my lips together to avoid spitting out an argument. This need-to-know arrangement blows. I get that Natalie is just following the rules and keeping me safe, but it’s forcing me to be less than everyone else in CSAMM. What’ll it take to truly belong with them?

The hairs on the back of my neck lift, and my feet move faster before I process what’s happening.

“It’s close,” I whisper, letting instinct guide me.

Natalie hurries to keep up.

I cross to the next row of graves, nearly breaking into a run. This is why I’m here. This is the power none of them have, and I’m going to use it to the fullest .

My breaths quicken. Anticipation tugs me onward like a magnetic force.

Near the center of the cemetery, hidden from public view by trees, a headstone with a square top sits darkened by moss. A bouquet of artificial white roses rests against its base, frost clinging to the faded green stems and weathered petals.

I stop, my heart beating out of my chest. Icy wind curls around us, making branches groan.

“The flowers?” Natalie murmurs.

I nod.

She crouches and studies the headstone. Her brow pinches.

“Familiar name?” I ask. Have we found a witch’s grave?

“Not sure.”

I roll my eyes in frustration. Vague and secretive as ever.

She checks over her shoulder and reaches into her inner pocket for the vial. “Don’t touch it. We’ll neutralize it right here.”

Suddenly, something grabs my ankles, yanking so hard that I fall forward. I catch myself with my hands, crying out as pain shoots up my arms.

“Katie!” Natalie shouts, jumping to her feet.

The grass slides under me, icy and wet. I grab onto anything I can, trying to stop, coming away with fistfuls of mud. I kick to free my ankles, but they’re bound together.

What’s happening? What’s dragging me?

An image of zombies rising in the graveyard flashes through my mind’s eye before reason takes over. This must be related to the curse, or…

A deep bark reverberates through the tombstones, sending a shiver through my core.

The Madsens.

My heart jumps into action as it becomes clear we’re in danger. How did they find us so quickly?

Paws thunder closer. I wince, bracing myself for Wyatt’s jaws. But the dog leaps over me, darkening the sky, and continues barreling toward Natalie.

“No!” I cry, thrashing as panic closes around me. A thick root binds my ankles, dragging me further from her with every frantic beat of my heart.

Natalie sweeps her arm, and a patch of grass raises like a shield, a rrrip filling the air as it tears away from the dirt. The dog bursts through, jaws snapping.

She raises another shield, but again, it isn’t enough—and a cold realization crashes over me. She can’t pull up big chunks of earth to fend off the attack because we’re in a graveyard. To pull up the earth would be to pull up corpses.

“Someone, help!” I shriek, kicking. We need the Shadows over here. Now.

Everything darkens as the root pulls me into the shade of a tree. It stops, and I get my hands under me and sit up, gulping down air. My palms and fingertips sting from grabbing at the ground.

“Hey, sweetheart,” a low voice says.

A chill ripples through me. I lift my gaze to a pair of tight jeans, a black leather jacket, and a snow-white face with black makeup. Oaklyn’s lips curve into a smile.

She’s pulled me into a copse of four yew trees, their dense branches shielding us from the others.

“All this for a curse?” I ask, my voice rough.

She cocks an eyebrow, a flash of bewilderment crossing her face. Before she can respond—and before I can figure out what the hell that expression was about—branches groan. She sucks in a breath and flicks her dagger upward so the root releases my ankles.

Sky sprints toward us, a hand extended to manipulate the yew trees. The branches reach for us as fluidly as arms, the needles grabbing Oaklyn like thousands of fingers. I seize the chance to scramble to my feet. Thank God.

“Ow!” Oaklyn stumbles back and slashes her dagger like a whip, blocking the attack.

I back up, my legs shaking and my hands throbbing. Mud is smeared all down my front, the icy dampness seeping through my jeans.

Through the trees and back where I came from, furious barking fills the air. Natalie has formed a wall with gravel from a nearby path, forcing Wyatt back. And behind her… the cursed flowers are out in the open, a white beacon under the dark clouds.

Urgency constricts my chest. I have to get to the curse before Freddie does—wherever he is. Even if that means touching it.

I take a single step when an arm wraps around my neck, pulling me back.

“No, you don’t,” Oaklyn hisses in my ear, her other arm still fending off Sky’s attack.

I roar in frustration, elbowing her and stomping on her foot. She grunts but holds on. Her arm is like a metal band across my throat, pressing against my airway as she pins me to her. I wheeze, my head clouding with panic.

Shouts break out nearby. Finally, more Shadows are here. Oaklyn spins us, and I try to stay standing, my feet clumsy.

Snap! The iron fence surrounding the graveyard groans, bending around the dog as if made of rubber. Hayley and two others control it, racing to Natalie’s aid.

Neil, meanwhile, comes to help Sky. Oaklyn’s arm tightens, her breaths labored as she fends them off.

A deep groan fills the world. With a jolt, the earth beneath our feet splits. It knocks Oaklyn off balance, and she stumbles. But the quake wasn’t enough, and she drags me back with her .

A branch whips across my face, a sharp sting. I hiss. Warmth trickles down my cheek.

Oaklyn barks out a laugh. “Careful you don’t damage your biggest asset.”

“Neil, watch it!” Sky snaps.

“I’m trying to help!” he growls, slipping in the icy mud.

We’re losing control. The Madsens are holding nothing back.

In a desperate bid for freedom, I kick hard, my heel glancing off Oaklyn’s shin. She grunts, but her grip stays firm. Frustration writhes inside me.

“Get—the curse!” I choke out. “That’s—the priority!”

Neil hesitates and checks over his shoulder toward the others, but Sky cries, “Like hell we’re leaving you here!”

A sharp whistle pierces the air.

Shouts break out.

Wyatt has changed focus—he’s coming for us, his paws leaving prints on the frosty grass.

“Shit,” I whisper, writhing in Oaklyn’s grasp.

She forces me backward, abandoning the copse of trees and taking me further from everyone else.

“Let go of me!” I roar. “You can’t force me to find curses for you—”

Pain erupts in my ankle, and I scream. Wyatt clamps down, the agony of his jaws on tender bone paralyzing me.

“Good pupper,” Oaklyn croons. She releases my neck, and I fall, landing hard on my back.

I cough, gulping down air.

Sky lunges, grabbing for the dog, but Oaklyn stops her with a massive root. It catches Sky in the chest, sending her flying back with the force of being hit by a car .

I try to shout after her, but no sound comes, my throat spasming. The dog is dragging me by the ankle, and struggling only makes his teeth sink deeper.

Neil, still in the trees, summons a chunk of grass to cushion Sky’s fall.

“Katie, don’t let them take you!” Natalie roars from somewhere past the trees—growing further away.

“Obviously!” I grit out. My eyes water as the dog tugs, pulling me by inches.

A wall of pebbles rises up from the nearest footpath, arcing toward Oaklyn like a tidal wave. She ducks and throws up her arms, blocking the brunt of it with a tangle of roots.

The dog tugs again, and incoherent sounds spill from my lips. The world spins around me, a blur of frosty grass and gray sky and tombstones. Nausea floods me.

“Here! Here!” Freddie roars from behind me.

Wyatt drags me in bursts like I’m prey he’s captured. His breaths come in short huff-huffs .

Panic mixes with excruciating pain, drawing sharp gasps and cries from my throat. Where is he taking me? I try to kick him with my other foot, but it’s impossible to be coordinated when pain lances through me with every tug.

My breaths escape in frantic whimpers. My limbs are moving of their own accord, trying to get free. Nothing else matters. The whole world is just the primal need to get away from this predator’s jaws.

Cold realization floods me—I’m alone in this. Footsteps pound and shouts pierce the air, but nobody catches up.

Hands close around my upper arms, lifting me roughly to my feet. “Out!” Freddie shouts.

Wyatt lets go of my ankle, and a new stinging pain erupts—probably the punctures left behind .

The flash of relief is instantly smothered as Freddie tightens his hold. He releases one arm to gesture back to the fight. “Get ’em!”

“No!” I scream, fighting against his grip as the dog rockets away.

A cold, sharp point presses beneath my chin, and I gasp, freezing in place.

“Something a little less interesting than magic,” Freddie says, “but effective enough. Follow me, and I’ll be nice.”

I don’t move. If he wants me for my ability, he won’t kill me. I’m no good to him if I’m dead. “I’d rather stay,” I snarl.

The point digs deeper into my skin, and I bite my lip to keep from grunting in pain. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing this hurts. Though with blood dripping down my cheek from the branch and a sickening warmth oozing around my ankle, my appearance probably speaks for itself.

Freddie hauls me backward, forcing me down a gravel path toward an exit at knifepoint.

My chest tightens with panic as the prospect of being abducted becomes real. What are they planning to do with me? Are they going to torture me until I agree to help them?

“Just get to Katie! Now!” Natalie roars from across the cemetery. Through rows of tombstones and scattered trees, she and the others bombard Oaklyn and Wyatt with chunks of earth, trying to reach me.

But we’re losing. The iron fence is already at my shoulder, and something hits the back of my thighs. I fall, my elbows landing on hard rubber mats in the back of an SUV. It’s positioned right outside the open gate, the rear door swung wide—ready for me. God, did they do this the second we parked?

The Shadows sprint toward us, Natalie in the lead. A rock fires at us like a bullet, rebounding off the vehicle with a crack!

The tiniest spark of hope flares inside me. If I can just fight Freddie off for long enough…

“Assholes.” Freddie’s hands close over my ankles, and I roar in pain as he shoves me in.

I kick him in the gut. “Let—me—go!”

Come on, stumble. Anything!

He grunts and steps back, then hisses as a second rock slams into him from behind.

My heart in my throat, I seize my chance and launch myself out—but he catches me around the waist, throwing me back in like a sack of potatoes. My head hits the back seat, and bright lights pop in my vision.

A rattling thump reverberates through my bones.

I sit up, disoriented in the sudden dimness.

He’s slammed the rear door.

“No!” I kick the door and turn upright, shrieking in frustration.

Behind me, a grate separates the SUV’s front and back seats. I’m trapped.

A choked sob escapes, panic closing my throat. This is the same FJ Cruiser Oaklyn tried to shove me into at UBC—and this time, Natalie is too far away to come to the rescue.