Beside her, Mariana shifted to a more comfortable position. Reyva stared into the forest with an intensity that made Claire wonder what she was thinking. She wondered what the others thought of her plan. It used their strengths and their resources, but would it work? She couldn’t account for every single variation of what could happen, but it helped that the plan was straightforward: bait and trap.
It worked for fish.
Of course, this was a very dangerous fish.
“I’m going back out there,” Mariana said.
Claire placed a hand on her arm and shook her head.
The birds were silent again.
Emerging onto the shore, the dead man lurched toward the broken boat. His head was askew, bent at an unnatural angle, and he dragged one of his legs, twisted behind him. Only tufts of his red-and-gray hair were left, matted with dried blood. Between the clumps, broken bits of his skull were visible.
They held their breaths and watched as he approached the boat. Claire saw him study the ground. She hoped she’d cleared away enough of their footsteps that it wouldn’t look as though they’d been here recently or that they’d stayed for any length of time. With luck, he’d see the damage to the hull and assume they’d concluded the boat was useless—a logical conclusion since itwasuseless as a boat.
As he circled around the boat, she saw his ruined face. Beside her, Reyva hissed, and Mariana shushed her. Claire felt a scream build in her throat. She tapped her finger on her wrist, in rhythm with her pulse, and silently counted. She couldn’t let herself make a sound.
Bloodstained and mud-coated, he looked even worse in full daylight than he had in the shadows of the forest. There was no mistaking the fact that he was dead. She saw the slug-like pale pinkness of his exposed brain, clumped with dirt. There was no explaining awaythat.
She saw him discover the false tracks she’d left on the oppositeside. He knelt, touched one with clawlike fingers, and then, with a grunt, loped after them.
“I’m going to follow him,” Reyva whispered.
“No!” Mariana whispered back. “We’re not ready!”
“It’s the only way to be sure this works and he doesn’t surprise us. Get the engine in place and the snares set. I’ll try to give you as much time as I can before I lead him to the cave.”
Claire knew that was the plan, and it had all seemed fine and logical when it was theoretical, but now that the moment was here...
Mariana grabbed Reyva’s uninjured arm. “I know you feel like you have to do this. I get it. Really, I do. But what if he sees you? What if he catches you?”
“He won’t,” Reyva said.
“He could,” Claire put in. Maybe there was another way, a safer way, that didn’t involve Reyva sneaking after a dead man fueled by a supernatural whatever it was.
Reyva smiled one of her rare smiles. “Getting caught... Yeah, that’s not my greatest fear. You know that. You knowme. So, you have to trust me. I’ve got this.” And then she added, “Ineedto do this.”
After a moment, Mariana released her.
“Keep your distance,” Claire cautioned. If Reyva led the dead man to the cave too early, they’d fail. If she was caught, they’d fail. Lots of ways to fail. Very few to succeed.
“I will,” Reyva promised.
“And when the time comes, run fast.”
“Stop worrying,” Reyva said. “You really think I can’t runfaster than some undead asshole with a broken leg? Let me do this.”
Mariana had tears in her eyes. Her face was flushed. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Especially us. You’re amazing, pain or no pain.”
“Then trust me,” Reyva said. “I got this.”
“We trust you,” Claire said firmly. She thought of a hundred other things she wanted to say, but there wasn’t time. He was receding in the distance. “Good luck.”
Kissing Reyva’s cheek, Mariana said, “Yeah, good luck.”
With a wave to both of them, Reyva crept out of the forest and began trailing the dead man. Chewing on her lower lip, Claire watched her and worried. They’d said they wouldn’t split up, yet Reyva was already halfway down the beach. What if this was a mistake? What if their plan failed? Maybe they should have thought of a backup plan. Or a different plan. Or—
Mariana thumped her shoulder. “Every second, she’s risking herself. We have to move.”
