I was about to turn back, thinking I’d hit a dead end, when I heard that pitiful laugh again, coming from just beyond the Reaper. That’s when I noticed the dummy was blocking the entrance to a square-shaped clearing in the maze. I ducked under the spider and the scythe into the opening to find more ghoulish dummies lurking in the square. One figurine looked like he was supposed to be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and an orange-painted knockoff of Frankenstein’s monster loomed in the corner. Just beyond a dummy of a totally inaccurate werewolf, I saw Pete Bradshaw holding Katie in his arms.
At first it looked like a lover’s embrace, but I knew better. Katie’s eyes were locked with his, and his talonlike fingernails scratched at her neck, leaving row after row of bloody cuts. With each tear of his talons, Katie would start to whimper, only for the sound to shift into a strained giggle. Like Pete was using his psychic powers to convince her that she liked it.
My stomach already felt ill from the sight in front of me, but as Pete raised his blood-smeared fingers to his lips and licked them—the way I’d relish a spatula covered in brownie batter—I almost lost the stale taquitos from April’s freezer that I’d eaten for dinner.
I took three deep breaths to keep from hurling, then walked right up to Pete with my hands on my hips. “No fair!” I said in my whiniest voice. “I want a turn.”
Pete’s head snapped in my direction, his pointy teeth bared and his lips smeared with blood. Katie’s head lolled back over his arms. “Go away,” he snarled.
“Whatever.” I grabbed Katie’s limp body and yanked her out of the way. “Why should she have all the fun?” I made sure Katie could stand on her own two feet and then pushed her aside. “Get lost, girl.”
Katie stumbled forward and then started walking in a lazy circle, like she was in a trance—which I guess is normal since she was. Hopefully, she’d stay dazed through what I had to do next.
“This one’s mine,” I said, stepping closer to Pete.
“I am?” Pete asked. He looked me up and down, taking in the tall boots, fishnet tights, little pleather shorts, lacy cami, mysterious eye mask, and my tough-girl leather jacket. He cocked his head in appreciation. “I am,” he said.
“You better be.” I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close like I was about to kiss him. “I was promised a trance when I came to this party. Now give me what I want.”
“My pleasure,” he said, and clasped his taloned hands on either side of my face. “I always loved the feisty girls.” But just as he was about to look me in the eyes, I clamped my eyelids shut and kneed him as hard as I could in the groin.
Pete’s hands fell away from my face, and he wailed as he doubled over, coughing—proving that even the undead feel it where it counts.
I didn’t get much time for satisfaction before Pete roared and came charging at me with his fangs and talons bared. “I’m gonna kill you for that!”
I swung out of his way, and he tackled the werewolf dummy instead of me. He tore off one of its limbs and threw it to the ground.
“Really? Are you sure?” I asked. “’Cause I’m pretty certain this is actually the part where I kill you.”
“What?” Pete asked. His lips dropped over his Akh fangs.
I pulled out my stake from my jacket’s inside pocket. “Yep. That’s pretty much what’s going to happen.”
Pete screamed and lunged at me. I twisted out of his path and sent a kick into his back. He stumbled toward the Frankenstein statue. I was feeling pretty good about having him cornered, and my ability to be done with him soon, when a dazed Katie Summers stumbled and swayed right into him.
“No!” I shouted as he grabbed her by the neck, his sharp fingers wrapping around her throat. She didn’t even try to scream, but I could see the panic behind her glazed-over eyes, as she tried to fight her way out of her trance.
Pete propelled her forward by his grasp on her neck. “Let me pass or I’ll rip her throat out.”
I scrambled out of his way—what else could I have done—and let him drag Katie by the neck to the clearing’s exit. He was going to escape into the depths of the maze. I lifted my stake to throw at his back as he crouched to climb under the Grim Reaper’s scythe, but then he stopped and turned halfway toward me, making it impossible for me to aim at his heart.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve got your scent. We’ll find you when I’m done with her.”