She didn’t listen. Instead, she clawed her fingers into the ground and twisted, stifling a scream as she tried to scramble away from me. “No, no, NO! It can’t happen like this,” she cried. Her voice was soft and breathy. “I have to complete my task! You have to die!”
Her eyes were incredibly striking. The irises were a full kaleidoscope of browns and yellows, colors that seemed to churn on their own. They dazzled, almost hypnotically. “That’s not going to happen,” I told her as I held her in place. “No one is dying here.”
Marcy leaned over her, commanding, “Stay still, or I’ll have to spell you. You only get one chance to cooperate with us. I suggest you take it.”
“The hell I’m going to cooperate!” she shouted, surprising us all. Her foot shot out and connected with my jaw, effectively breaking it.
My head snapped back and there was an ugly sound. I rocked backward and held my aching face as she sprang up, lithe and agile, the well-defined muscles in her small arms tensing as she got down in a defensive position. She was obviously well versed in combat, and strong as hell. We’d underestimated her, thinking she’d act like she looked—fragile.
“Ow, that hurt.” My jaw popped into place as it mended. She was so focused on me, she didn’t hear Tyler come up behind her. He quietly took hold of her around the waist. She immediately kicked and squirmed, but he held her still, not saying anything. Marcy was ready next to me, chanting a spell under her breath. I stood before I addressed the necromancer once again, totally healed. “Nobody is dying,” I reiterated. She met my gaze reluctantly as she continued to struggle in Tyler’s grasp. “We’re taking you with us, and if you don’t cooperate, my friend here will spell you. It’s that simple.”
“Please,” she moaned, changing her tune quickly when she realized she was out of options. “You have to let me go. I won’t call on any more dead. I promise! But I have to leave right now.”
“Why?” I asked, coming closer. Her voice had broken at the end, anguish seeping through. She had my attention.
She snapped her mouth shut and wriggled again, trying to get free.
I stopped in front of her. “We can’t let you go. It’s not an option.” My tone indicated that we weren’t giving in on that point. “You’re a liability and you’re coming with us. But you can tell us what’s wrong, and if it’s possible, we will try and help you.”
She pointedly looked away from me, refusing to answer. I nodded to Tyler, who began to half drag her toward the van. Marcy followed close on his heels, her fingers still up and ready.
A few feet from the van, the necromancer finally found some purchase and dug her dirty bare feet into the ground, twisting in Tyler’s grasp, angling her head back toward me. “No, please, you have to listen to me! If I leave with you, she will kill him. I can’t let that happen. You don’t understand! Please!”
At the mention of “him,” Tyler stopped moving, tensing, his breath labored.
I moved around to face her. “You need to be more specific. Who’s going to kill whom?”
Behind us, Rourke, James, and Nick came jogging down the hill, their jobs with the ghouls done.
The waif saw them, her face panicked as she shot her gaze from them back to me. “The woman who kidnapped me! She said if I failed to do what she ordered, she would kill my brother. Please! He’s only fifteen and he’s all alone. I have to get back to him before it’s too late.”
The guys pulled up behind her and fanned out. “I hear what you’re saying,” I told her, “but you have to come with us now. We can’t linger here and you have no way to get home that I can see. It’s going to take us a bit to figure this out. We’ll do it in the van.” Her face dropped. “But I’m giving you my word. If your story checks out, we will help you and your brother.”
She didn’t respond, only continued to look stricken. Rourke walked up next to me and addressed her. “If you want our help, get in the vehicle.” He gestured to the idling gator van. “If we don’t buy your story, we don’t help. We need to vacate this area. Now.”
James walked around the driver’s side and got in. Tyler guided the girl toward the side door, keeping a firm grip on her. I stepped in front of him and yanked it open. Tyler lifted her up and tugged her into the middle row. I hesitated before getting in. Jeb had told me to stay out of any vehicle. “I’m not sure if I should go with you. Enid might not be done yet.”
A buzz sounded.
Marcy had her hand on the front passenger door and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She cackled as she turned, showing it to me.
GET IN, CHICA.
I smiled. It was about time we heard from her. “Okay, I’ll ride.” Then I called into the air, “It would be nice to actually talk to you. When I get home, there are several things we need to discuss!”
Marcy glanced down at her phone. “No answer.”