AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I retrieved my knife from my purse, unsheathed it, and then warily pushed its point into the fog. An odd blue-white light immediately flared down the length of the blade and the fog shivered away from it, creating a small pocket of “clean” air.
“Wow,” Saska said. “I’ve heard tales of the ‘godly glow’ that happens with certain blessed silver items, but I’ve never actually seen it in action.”
“It’s a first for me, too.”
But then, we’d only recently convinced the priest who kept us stocked in holy water to sanctify and bless our knives. He’d been more than a little reluctant to do so beforehand, despite the constant flow of demons entering the reservation. The brutal deaths of several of his parishioners at the hands of said demons had finally convinced him otherwise.
“Then you have no idea if it’s capable of banishing evil with the merest touch, or whether that’s just another folktale?”
“None at all.”
“Hell of a time to find out, then.” She eyed the pocket free of the fog somewhat dubiously. “Though that tiny bit of clean air isn’t going to do either of us much good.”
“I suspect it might increase in size once we head in.” I hoped like hell that that was the case. “Stay close, and keep your hand on my shoulder. I’ve a bad feeling you might not get back out if you lose contact.”
She nodded. As I stepped toward the wall of fog, she gripped my shoulder and followed. The fog continued to peel away from the knife point and, as I’d hoped, created a pocket of fog-free air for us to move through. But we weren’t alone in this place. Something kept pace with us in the gray beyond our bubble, though the only evidence I had of it were the tight swirls of fog eddying past the knife’s point.
I shivered and pressed on, warily stepping around the ghostly trunks of trees that only became visible once we were in touching distance.
We were barely a few steps in when the howling began. It was a low, mournful sound that had goose bumps tripping lightly across my skin.
Saska’s grip tightened on my shoulder. “What the fuck is that?”
“A werewolf.”
“It doesn’t sound right.”
“Because it probably isn’t.” I flexed my free hand, briefly sending little sparks of energy dancing through our pocket. “I suspect it’s probably another zombie wolf.”
“Because why not,” she muttered. “Do silver bullets work against them things?”
My eyebrows rose. “You have silver bullets?”
“Not on me, no, but I know Samuel has requested them from the Society.”
“Officially, or via his sister?”
The smile that tugged at Saska’s lips suggested there’d been more than a few occasions when the request had been unofficial. “Hanna hasn’t been working with them long enough to risk inappropriate appropriation.”
“But he nevertheless has a source within the organization, does he not?”
“One or three, perhaps.” Her smile grew. “It’s always wise to spread the love around.”
A comment that no doubt referred to more than just shady silver bullet acquisitions. “To answer the question, yes, silver will work against the dead as easily as the living, but in this case, it’d be a waste. Just shoot their knees out to stop them moving, then aim for their brains to break the connection with the monster who raised them.”
“I’m thinking those rather specific recommendations come from experience,” she muttered. “It’s an interesting life you lead, Lizzie Grace.”
“As understatements go, that’s right up there.”
The movement eddying the fog sharpened abruptly, and my pulse rate jumped. My grip on the knife was now so fierce, my hand ached.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha whispered.
“The wolf who howled before is looping around us again, and he’s looking to attack. Get ready to defend yourself.”
“Aren’t werewolves afraid of silver?”
“Yes, but this wolf is already dead, and I don’t know if the same rules apply.”
