“Did you hear me?” I snapped. “You run, they chase. Get it?”
She gave a slow nod and that foot stilled. “Okay. Got it. ”
I approached slowly. “You’ve got to relax. They’re thirsty, but mostly they get off on your fear. ”
I pushed my way through to stand by her, protecting her. I was shaking, but not because I was scared—mostly I was totally revolted by the smell of them.
Who were these strays anyway? Why were they even out here? Tom held them in a pen south of here. They were well fed. They had no need to wander.
But now, standing close
to Regina, the answer became clear. She was soaked with blood—even I could smell it. It was her blood that’d called them.
“What happened to you?” Because it wasn’t the Draug that’d done this to her. She wouldn’t be standing if they had—once a Draug began to attack, it didn’t stop. Only staking or fire stopped these monsters once they began to feed, a horrific fact I knew from personal experience.
“It was one of the guys. ” Her voice was slurry, her eyes blank, and I worried she might be going into shock.
I scanned the rest of her body, taking in the bloodied neck and collar. The knot of anger and resentment that’d permanently lodged in my chest cinched tighter. “What do you mean? Which guys?” But then the Draug moaned as one, jerking my attention back in time to see them take a few steps closer. “Oh shit. ”
I stepped in front of her. I needed a plan, and now. Personal experience told me this train was leaving the station.
“What?” Regina stiffened—I’d mumbled the wrong thing. “What’s wrong? I thought you said it was okay. You told me not to run. ”
This close, I spotted a fire shimmering to life in the Draugs’ eyes—it was hunger. Regina was getting hysterical, and the creatures were amping up right along with her.
“What are these things?” Her voice was tremulous, panicked.
“Draug. ” I felt her edging away and shot an arm back to snag her coat with my hand. “Don’t move. ”
“What’s a Draug?” she wailed, her voice cracking. “What should we do?”
“Relax. Lemme think. ” I wore my gym sweats and sneakers, which meant my stars were stashed in my pack. I had them out in seconds, pinched between fingertips, poised for throwing. Shuriken weren’t stakes, but they’d create a decent distraction until I could figure something else out.
“What are those? What are you doing?” Terror washed off of her in waves, and it was whipping the Draug into a bloodthirsty frenzy.
“Hey, Curly. ” I shot her a look over my shoulder. “Calm down. ”
The Draug snarled and inched forward. She grabbed my shoulder and shrieked, “Throw them. You have to throw them. ”
I’d turned my entire focus from Regina to the monsters and was startled when she reached around me and ripped two of the stars right from my fingertips and whipped them at the Draug.
They swatted them away. Instead of being injured, they were even more riled.
“Don’t you touch my stars. Ever. ” I had no choice. I had to throw the other two. A quick thunk-thunk, and the stars struck flesh—the neck of one of the older Draug and the chest of the younger. They swatted my shuriken away like they were mosquitoes.
We couldn’t run, but I needed room to think. “Back up slowly. ” I reached around and grabbed Regina’s wrist to hold her close as I edged us away. The only thing keeping away the Draug was my tenacious grip on my own courage. Not scared. Not scared. Not scared. I repeated the words in my head like a mantra. I tightened my fingers around Regina’s arm. “What’s your weapon?”
“My weapon?” Her other hand found me, fingers curling into my biceps. I doubted she’d really even heard me.
“Listen. Do you have your weapon?” I prayed it was something worthwhile, something I could use, unlike the flute that’d been given to Mei-Ling, my roommate of last semester.
“My weapon?”
“You know. Your weapon. ” Jesus. This girl. How had she survived her first day? “You did get a weapon, right?” The Draug shifted from foot to foot now, edging closer, spreading out and hemming us in. I let go of her wrist and shoved it away. “Whatever it is, get it. ”
“Weapon. ” She dug frantically through her pack. “Weapon, weapon. ”
“Not to stress you out or anything,” I whispered tersely, “because, please stay calm…but really, any freaking day now. ”