“Danny!” I yelled. “Get over to Naomi! I think this is Marinette’s last hurrah. She’s gathering power—”
A horrid scream pierced the air as the bokor keened, her body withering before my eyes as Marinette sucked every last drop from her.
Danny dove for Naomi, sensing the danger. The temperature was so cold my fingers were numb. I pulled myself up on my knees, ignoring the searing pain in my thigh, and I picked Marcy up under the arms, dragging her backward away from the spectacle.
The priestess’s cheeks hollowed out, her fingers began to shrivel, and then one by one her teeth fell out. Marinette was greedy in her taking, and once she was finished, she would be even more powerful.
And I was her next target.
I had to get my friends out of the way. “Danny, follow me. Pull Naomi out of the circle, but be careful not to prick her with your teeth. When Marinette is done, she’s coming after me.” If I was overtaken, she wouldn’t spare them. “Once they are out of the circle, I need you to go try to find help!” Danny began to tug Naomi along, whining as he went, fearful he would hurt her.
My wolf was still focused on making sure the yellow masses couldn’t enter the rest of my body. So far it had been working, but I was going to need my magic to battle Marinette. It couldn’t be tied up fixing my leg. There’s no doubt she’s coming after us, I told my wolf. This is it. We’re going to need our magic to battle her. Do you think we can we do both? Fight and keep the yellow from spreading? My wolf growled. I took that as a no. Well, we have no other choice.
The bokor gave one last moan and collapsed on the ground, face-first.
She was nothing more than a skeleton. Marcy was outside the circle, tucked behind a totem pole. She was beginning to groan and that was a good sign. With the sorceress dead, she should be able to break the spell. Danny was right behind me with Naomi. “Stay back here with them until you see the loa enter me,” I told him. “Do not go out there, whatever happens. Once Marinette is occupied with me, go for help. Try and find your way out of this realm. The Pack is right outside searching for us.”
Danny snapped his muzzle and gave me a low, disapproving bark.
“It doesn’t matter what you think,” I countered. “I won’t be able to keep Marinette out of me. I don’t have any more spells, and nothing you can do will stop her. She’ll just kill you once and for all. Now, focus on finding the Pack and leading them here. Ray is the only one who can save you. Don’t you dare give up. Do you hear me, Daniel Walker?”
Danny leaned over and rubbed his flank against me. He was hanging on because he was a strong wolf. I pointedly ignored his yellowing eyes and the missing fur. He had to be okay, and in order for me to make sure he was, I had to fight this loa and win. I just wish I knew how.
There was a snapping noise. It was the sound of bones breaking.
I peered into the circle. Ew. She was taking the bokor’s bone marrow.
Suddenly the phone beeped.
I’d never gotten to it and hadn’t realized it had stopped ringing while I’d been occupied getting Marcy out of the circle. I bent over and plucked it out of Marcy’s pocket. It vibrated in my hand.
I turned it over right as air brushed by my face. There were only three words scrolling across the screen.
SHE IS YOU!
“What?” I shouted into the air. What did that mean? “That doesn’t help. I need—” I glanced up right as Danny lunged for me, barking wildly. Wind twisted my hair, and with the force of a tornado, the loa struck, knocking me back into the circle.
She was inside me before I could take my next breath.
16
Coldness filled me, consuming me with its intensity. My limbs were not my own and my veins were filled with ice water. My wolf howled, furious.
The possession was immediate.
By the time I hit the ground, she was in control. She had more power than I’d ever thought possible. The bokor had amped her up by giving her everything, even if it had been unwilling. The combined magic tore through me, unwelcome and reckless, overpowering anything I had inside me.
Try, I told my wolf as my head spun, to grab on to her magic…
I am here now. The voice in my head was crystal clear, like we were having a real conversation. It’s only a matter of time before you succumb. I will infiltrate every piece of you until you are no longer here and only I am left. Once I do, I will become you.
Juanita had just told me the same thing.
SHE IS YOU.
What the hell did that mean? I’m not giving up without a fight, I told her.
Fighting me will not work. I’ve been preparing for this for centuries and I am too powerful for you. She snickered, enjoying herself.
I was immobile physically—Marinette had control of my limbs—and I could no longer sense anything around me. Her magic was an unruly mass, and as I lay there, it began to attach itself to my magic one strand at a time. NO! I shouted. You can’t take it away from me. To my wolf, I said, If she absorbs it, it will be hers to wield!