“And the ritual?” Valerie asks.
“He wasn’t able to finish it, and he won’t be waking up any time soon.”
Valerie gives me an approving grin before flipping a knife over in her hand. “That still leaves us with the berserkr problem. So what do we do about them?”
I look out over the gym.
A boar huffs toward us, its tusks gleaming. More charge after it—
They swarm the now-naked hunter and begin to devour her. Snorting, they chew frantically, smacking their lips together. The sound is sickening.
I swallow my revulsion. “I’m not sure,” I admit. “Nils made it seem like the fly agaric would wear off, but I don’t know how long that takes. We have to keep them busy until then.”
“They seem occupied right now,” Amund says.
“Well, what happens when theirfoodruns out?” Valerie frowns. “The only reason they aren’t attacking us right now is because they have kills already waiting for them. But this won’t be enough to feedallthese berserkir.”
“Speaking of which, I think we should probably go, honey,” Patricia whispers urgently like she’s afraid the animals will overhear her. Jim has his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and Bea clings to both of them, her eyes wide.
“She’s right,” Amund says. “We should head for the locker room while we still can.”
I nod. “Let’s go.”
Bea starts to run, but Valerie grabs her arm. “No running. We don’t want to draw the animals’ attention or, worse, trigger their prey chase drive.”
We move slowly over the floor as a group. Amund and I are at the front, with Bea, Jim, and Patricia close behind. Valerie brings up the rear, in case any animals attack from behind.
“Cover your eyes, sweetie,” Patricia whispers to Bea.
My heart lodges in my throat as we approach the boars. The dead hunter is already unrecognizable, her ribs exposed. They chew wetly on her flesh, focused on their food as we move past slowly. I exhale a sigh of relief.
We continue over the slippery floor of the gym.
Amund holds up a hand as a few wolves dart in front of us, dragging the upper half of a body with them. They snarl and snap at each other, fighting over the kill. Quietly, Amund leads us around them, careful not to draw their attention to us.
Finally, we reach the locker room.
Amund pounds his fist on the door. Benches and other objects scrape over the floor. Once the blockade is moved, the door opens. I step aside, letting Bea and my parents through first, and rush in after them. Amund closes the door behind us once we’re all inside.
The locker room is packed with people. Some are standing in shock, while others are pacing along the lockers or seated on the benches, hanging their heads. Helga is making rounds, trying to reassure everyone, while Eva tries to heal the injured.
“We can’t let them hurt anyone else until the fly agaric wears off,” I say to Amund and Valerie.
A low frequency thrums through me.
I clap my hands over my ears. Ithurts.
“Edith?” Amund is beside me in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” My heightened senses are going wild. The air itself changes, crackling with energy. The atmospheric pressure plummets like a storm is coming.Shelter, my instincts blare in alarm.Find shelter.
Wincing, I search the locker room for its source.
“It’s coming from outside.” I grit the words out through my teeth.
Amund cracks the door wide enough to get a look at the gym.
All the animals have stopped eating. Their eyes flash as they look our way.
