She sucked in a deep breath, her hands shaking. She needed a plan. Somehow, there had to be a way to keep herself safe. Without any weapons—not that they worked against ghouls—and with light only shining in front of her...
That was it. If she could guard her back, they’d have one less direction to attack her. Gemma could lay down on the sand, and with one of her sides against the shelter, she would also be guarded from a second path of attack. It was plausible.
At least, it was the best chance she had.
Gemma took a supine position against the shelter and waited for the growling to draw closer.
Within thirty minutes of the sun fully setting, the growling began.
An unprotected human, Gemma imagined it was thinking.A feast. Her chin began to tremble.
A second growl sounded minutes later, then a third and a fourth. Gemma gripped the sides of her trousers’ legs and stared unblinkingly at the stars above.
The growls grew even closer. She let loose a shaky breath, turning her head slowly to watch the horizon for any sign of the ghouls.
Crackling noises whispered back and forth.Are they...talking?The hairs on the back of Gemma’s neck rose.
Her torchlight flickered out.
No, no, no, no. She swatted furiously at the device, trying to reawaken the light.
Red eyes hovered mere feet above her head, the nightmare made flesh. From what she could make out in the dark, its form was a twisted mockery of humanity, its eyes blazing with an unholy fire that forced her mind into a whirlwind of panic and despair.
Shrieking, Gemma rolled away from the shelter to put distance between herself and the ghoul. Every instinct told her to run, but it didn’t matter how far into the darkness she went. She’d never escape the relentless pursuit of the desert-dwelling demons.
A cold dread settled over her like a suffocating shroud as more red eyes appeared on both her left and right sides. Warmth dampened the area between her legs as her bladder loosened. There would be no escape from these creatures, no reprieve from the fate that awaited her.
Again, the creatures crackled at each other. Then, in sync, they pounced.
Gemma’s scream died in her throat as her hands flung forward in a pointless act of defense. A soft, purplish sheen exploded from her palms and surrounded her like a dome.
The cries of the ghouls were deafening as they bounced off the shield. Their black talons clawed at the luster surface, but even they couldn’t penetrate it.What in the blazes?
Gemma stared out from beneath the dome, her eyes widening with every passing second.How am I doing this?
She yelped in pain as images flashed across her eyes: a bright-purple ball; red stone walls; her hand reaching for the orb; freezing pain; screaming into a pool of purple liquid.
The temple.
An eruption of light swathed the campsite, and the ghouls wailed as they turned to dust in the glow.
Gemma turned her head.
Colton had thrown a bomb from just outside his shelter.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Colton said, staring at Gemma as the embers of his bomb continued to glow. “Looks like you have some explaining to do.”
The dome around Gemma’s body disappeared the moment she lowered her hands. She sprung to her feet, anger overriding her every thought. “You bastard!”
Colton cocked his head. “Interesting.”
Gemma shoved him. “You were going to let them kill me!”
“They don’t kill people,querida. They feed off your nightmares for a little while. What I’m more curious about is where that little gift of yours came from, especially since your eyes are now all purpley.”
Her nostrils flared as she slammed her fist into his face.
Colton stumbled backward, laughing. “That’s seriously all you got?”
