Ditching the salt canister, I sat back on my heels, scoping out the situation. The cougars were severely weakened, but the rest of the animals were still shambling around us, their bodies twitching.
The smell was ferocious. I bit back another gag.
Asher let out a soft groan.
I checked on his wounds, struggling to keep my expression neutral. The beasts had done a number on his leg, shredding flesh and muscle. The bleeding had slowed, but only a little.
“We need to get you home.”
“Don’t bother,” he said, gritting his teeth against a fresh wave of pain. “Unless you’re… in the mood… for a quickie… I’m not strong enough.”
The cougar swiped at him again. I smashed the book down on its paw, flattening it.
Damn it,we couldn’t keep this up all night.
I couldn’t believe I was about to say this, but… “How quick is a quickie?”
Asher cocked an eyebrow. “You serious?”
I rolled my eyes and reached for the zipper on my borrowed sweatshirt, telling myself I was only doing this to save our lives. “You’re saying this will work, right? That if I give you my… energy… you can juice up in time before something else attacks us?”
“Oh, hell no.” Asher coughed out a laugh, the bastard. If the animals didn’t maul me first, that bad-boy grin was going to be the death of me. “But at least I’d die a happy man.”
“Great.” Not sure whether I was more relieved or flustered, I zipped back up, getting to my feet. Looked like I was in for a solo fight. “I’ll beveryhappy to facilitate your demise later. Right now, I’ve got other priorities.”
Something seemed to be riling up the other animals. The wolf wobbled toward me, unsteady but no less menacing. The coyote nudged her pups closer, trailed by a half-dozen mice, a nightmare formation of tiny skeletons striped with patches of matted, sticky fur.
A flightless seagull, way out of his element here in the woods, stared at us from the sidelines. With one wing and a smashed beak, the poor thing looked wasted.
“Get the hell out of here, Gray,” Asher said. He was fading fast.
“I’m not leaving you, dick.” I jumped in front of him just in time to stomp on two coyote pups. Their skulls collapsed like wet papier mâché under my bare feet.
God, I really hope they can’t feel anything.
“I’ll buy you some time,” Ash said. “Get back to the house.”
“No way. You’ll die out here.”
He shrugged, but his brave face was slipping fast. “Come back later… Give me another one of your… magical kisses.”
“Forget it, O’Keefe.Thatwas a one-time deal.”
The milky-eyed wolf lunged for me, and I jumped out of the way just as it snapped its jaws. I leveled it with a swift kick to the side of the head, but it shook off my attack and circled back for more.
Asher cursed. “They’re… everywhere.”
He was right. The mice swarmed over his legs.
“Gray!”
I spun around, and the wolf leaped on top of Asher’s chest. Gripping my book of shadows, I swung with everything I had, caving in what was left of its skull.
Itsskull. Not hers. I could no longer think of this abomination as a once-beautiful wolf.
After a last crushing blow, the wolf finally stumbled backward, dropping into a heap next to Asher.
I wondered how she’d gotten to this place. My throat tightened.
