15
“So three Bagmen and a slaver go into a bar . . .” Finn began as the wails grew closer.
We were lying in wait on a cliff high above the chute. And we were invisible.
Selena whipped her head around, hissing, “Are you serious, Magician? They’re almost here.”
The horde was like one giant, wailing beast scrabbling up the mountain. Though the night was dark, we could see their creamy, pale eyes as if they glowed.
Selena and Jack aimed their bows. Matthew and Jack lay on either side of me, Finn beside Lark. She was spaced out, monitoring the approach of the cannibals through her falcon.
Her wolves crouched behind Finn’s illusion, ready to attack the horde from behind.
“What?” Finn whispered. “Just because we’re about to be swarmed by bloodthirsty zombies doesn’t mean we can’t have a laugh.”
Matthew made a eureka! hand gesture. “Zomedy!”
“Damn straight, Matto.” Finn always seemed a little surprised by how much he liked the boy.
I’d wanted to ask Matthew about my latest interaction with Death, but he’d seemed preoccupied before. Now it was too late.
When the horde began funneling into the chute like a rolling wave, doubt over my plan racked me. What if this didn’t work? Our sole escape hatch was that booby-trapped canyon. If the cannibals prevailed and pursued, we’d have to hit it faster than we’d ever imagined, at night, in the pouring rain. . . .
The bad part about having ideas that people listened to? The responsibility.
The Baggers lurched closer, their path decided for them. I held my breath as they approached our cliff. Keep it moving. Nothing to see here.
Yet when they were directly beneath us, they stopped, scenting the air—
They’d detected us this high up! Even over their own stench?
More wails sounded; they began attacking the barrier to reach us. With vicious strength, they tore at the briars, biting them, uncaring as the barbs ripped their slimy skin. I felt every blow, every bite.
Jack snapped, “Fire, Selena!”
They began shooting, dropping Bagmen, but more replaced them.
I gritted my teeth, sweating, getting my ass kicked by proxy. My hair turned red, my glyphs burning bright.
Jack reloaded. “Evie, hang on!”
“I’ve got this.” But power was draining from me in this damn rain. Pain reverberated throughout my body like the tolling of a bell. We had to make them want to run. I gazed over at Lark. “H-hurry with the wolves!”
“Not yet!” Her red eyes were narrowed, her claws digging into the rock, her canines lengthening. “The Teeth are just hitting the valley now. Buy us five minutes!”
I grated to Finn, “Make your mountain move!”
“I’ll try!”
I’d only been in battle with one opponent before. Now enemies teemed. Just when Jack and Selena had both run out of arrows, we heard a welcome sound.
Howls.
The Bagger tide swept forward, driven by the snapping beasts. Screams of pain sounded. Some zombies stumbled a retreat, now missing hands and feet.
Red of tooth and claw, Lark’s wolves snatched out throats by the dozens. By the time the Bagmen started descending into the valley, the beasts’ fangs dripped, their sable coats soaked with rancid slime. It oozed off them in the rain, like thick paint.
Dizziness as I’d never known seized me. I sucked in ragged breaths.
“Evie!” Jack lunged toward me, pulling me against him.
Finn collapsed to his back, muttering, “I can’t believe I used to think creating illusions was better than sex.”
The cannibals arrived in the valley, only to be greeted by hell.
Jack helped me to my feet. From our spot, we surveyed the scene as the Bagmen charged the Teeth. We heard men yelling orders. Shots fired. Chaos. Muzzle flashes lit up the night, but there were too many Baggers.
Just a matter of time.
Selena said, “Holy shit, they ran right for the Teeth!”
Despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t stop smiling. “It worked!” I turned to hug Matthew. “We did it!”
He blinked. “Did we?”
Face beaming, Finn turned to Lark, words leaving his mouth in a rush: “I’m hooked on you like phonics.”
She gave him a startled half-smile.
When Finn stared at her smile, she grew flustered, closing her mouth to cover her fangs. Embarrassed in front of the cute boy.
She cast him a woebegone look, but he grinned. “Let your freak flag fly, hotness.”
As if she couldn’t help herself, she grinned back, flashing fang.
As I gazed over our alliance, pride surged through me. We’d combined our powers and had created a perfect storm of badassery. I felt in my bones that we could defeat Death.
Because we were unstoppable. With wonderment, I thought, We can do anything!
I realized I’d spoken aloud when everyone turned to me.
Jack, the boy I loved, pulled me closer, resting his chin on my head. Lark grinned, giving me a gang sign of respect. Finn put his arm around her. Even Selena’s shoulders jutted back.
That was when we heard the first cannon.