Page 93 of Hallowed Bones

I turn slowly toward the direction of the flashing lights. “Here…” I hold out the bag in my hand. “Take this and get the car.”

He doesn’t hesitate, grabbing the bag from me and my keys when I hold them out. “What are you going to do?” he asks.

My eyes are locked on the diner’s parking lot. Tingles race up my spine and down my limbs. My wolf stretches awake and sniffs the air before growling low, angry.

I don’t answer Reyes as I leave him, jogging across the road to the other side. My nose leads me forward, and when I reach the crowd, the people react with shock. Their eyes widen when they catch sight of me, and it’s as if they sense my need, because they part like the Red Sea. Not a single person stands in my way as I walk straight up to the yellow tape that’s been rolled out to keep everyone else at bay.

Someone—an older man—sobs as he bends over a prone body. His knees are on the ground, his voice half hysterical as an EMT tries to help the man to his feet. The air currents shift, and what was before just a hint of a scent becomes an overwhelming stench of death.

I cover my nose and mouth with my hand, but that only serves to stifle the smell the smallest amount. Rot and decay is thick on my tongue, in the back of my throat.

… Spontaneous combustion?

… No, she was found behind the dumpster.

… Is that her husband?

The whispers of the people around me as they contemplate what caused the tragedy before them slips in and out of my ears.

“No!” the man screams, nearly throwing himself atop the body. It takes two EMTs on either side of him to force him to his feet, carting the middle-aged male several feet back and away enough to see what he’d been hovering over.

Shit.

I clench my free hand into a fist as the faint thrum of the dark magic slips in with the scent of blood and death. The crowd behind me all rear back when they see it too. A moment later, two cops rush forward along with a third EMT to cover the body, but it’s too late. We’ve all seen it now.

The truth.

This wasn’t just a killing—it was another sacrifice to create, yet again, more grief. More warning. Ignoring this creature has only made it angry.

I turn away, and just as before, the crowd parts to release me. I stomp past them, ignoring the wide eyes and horrified looks, the women that cover their mouths in shock, the men who avoid looking at me entirely. I don’t stop until I’m back across the street and standing at the side of the Hummer. I yank open the passenger’s-side door and crawl inside.

“Drive,” I snap.

Reyes takes one look at my face and carefully backs out of the parking spot. He turns in the direction of the manor and presses the gas. He doesn’t ask. He doesn’t say a word until the old buildings and houses of Salem are long behind us and there’s nothing on either side of the road but acres and acres of trees. Only then does he finally speak.

“What happened?”

My head thumps against the seat’s headrest. Closing my eyes doesn’t erase the image from my mind but instead makes it infinitely clearer. Sharpening every angle, every bone-white, broken piece of the woman’s body, until it’s as if both the wolf’s vision and mine have combined. The wolf prowls beneath my skin, confused and worried and needing an outlet that I cannot offer the creature.

“Lyall?”

I blink my eyes open, realizing I still haven’t answered Reyes. I pass a hand down my face, feeling the hairs along my jaw tug at my skin as I do.

“Was it the Veil creature?” he asks. “Did it strike again?”

Oh, if only that were all it did. The backs of my eyes burn, and it takes several long moments for me to look at him.

“It was a woman…” The words are unleashed in a croak.

Reyes blinks. Frowns. “What—”

“She was pregnant.”

Silence.

“Pull over.”

Reyes doesn’t hesitate. The Hummer slows to a stop on the side of the road, and I slam the door open, turning and vomiting the contents of my breakfast into the grassy shoulder.