Page 66 of Huntress

Sharp spines connected to every vertebra severed through skin, a formidable defense. The body contorted and rose, transformed into a deadly opponent.

“Gods,” Elsie whispered.

Her demon’s voice was urgent beside her. “Get the witch to remove my collar.”

Elsie gave him a quick, incredulous look. Perrie would never agree.

The fog reached the other human corpses, pouring into their bodies through whatever hole it found first, turning victims into foes and granting them terrible new powers. The pregnant woman was among the last to rise, her lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth, her swollen belly rumbling and roiling as her undead fetus fought to escape.

The same magic reanimated the rat guards, who grew even larger. Their tails split in two, a second treacherous barb forming a deadly new threat. They surged to their feet, venomous acid hissing as it spilled from their mouths like drool, burning the ground where it splattered.

Arrows flew to assist, and the last living rat fell before she could shout a warning to Trenton. Elsie cursed. They’d been set up for this. Under her orders, they’d followed the necromancer’s playbook almost perfectly. She’d been wrong about the humans being used as hostages; they were psychological weapons. Her squad would need years of therapy after this.

Mutt’s earlier words rang through her mind. ‘You can’t outsmart a rat.’

More humans rose, a green sheen in their eyes reflecting light. Zombies. True zombies. Mindless creatures that would attack whatever happened to be in front of them, with or without their necromancer’s instruction. Women would go after their own husbands, children after their parents; all trace of who they once were was gone.

“Morgan, Banks! Help Perrie get the humans underground!” she commanded. They’d lose the advantage of their archers, but they had to get the humans out of there. She glanced at Grady. “Go with them.”

The geographer gave a sharp nod and grabbed a panicked woman’s arm. “Come with me, we’ll get you to safety!” Her terrified eyes softened slightly when she saw that the big man was a hunter, and she followed willingly.

“We need to stop Jeshua,” Elsie said. The hound at her side gave a short, tight nod. They’d never finish this fight if he kept reanimating corpses as fast as they fell.

The frantic rush of escaping nestlings drew the zombie’s attention. Over half of them broke off to pursue, and three more humans fell screaming before Grady and Banks intercepted.

Grady fought like a man possessed, and Banks fired arrow after arrow with deadly precision. Humans kept dropping, and for every zombie they took down, another one rose. The evacuation team was quickly overwhelmed.

Perrie and Morgan worked together to shove panicking humans through the barrier, but the witch’s face was pale with effort. She maintained the barrier while still trying to suppress the reanimation fog and move people through all at once.

On the far side, Trenton’s group was already beginning to falter. They managed to corner one of the reanimated rats and took its head in a brutal, coordinated strike, but their breathing was labored, their movements slowed. Marley had spent too much energy healing them, and she was barely keeping up. At this point, exhaustion was as big a danger as the rats themselves.

The next demon charged in as the first fell, faster and even more vicious. His tail was split in two, each side bearing a scythe-like blade at the end. It slammed into Steve, long venomous claws raking across his shoulder and chest while one of those tails swept around to sever the tendons in one of his legs. Steve cried out, staggering backward, and Marley barely caught him before he hit the ground.

“Steve’s down!” she shouted, tearing his shirt and using it to wipe away the acid bubbling out of his wounds.

Morgan’s vision split; the injury from earlier was his downfall. A pair of zombies overtook him, one of them sneaking a vicious strike to his ribs while the other was attacking. The impact lifted him off his feet and sent him crashing into the wall of the tram station’s entrance. He didn’t get back up.

“Morgan!” Perrie screamed.

“I’ll cover him!” Grady promised, planting himself like a shield over their fallen friend. Banks shifted his focus, using his arrows in pure defense rather than to attack. They’d lost the upper hand.

Elsie pulled her dagger out of a human zombie’s gut, and Mutt took the head. Together they descended on Jeshua. The puppet finally snapped his mouth shut and turned to face them. His head lolled to one side, nearly resting on his shoulder, a creepy grin splitting his face.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Jeshua taunted, his voice a warped version of his own. “You look a little scared.”

Trisse tried slipping behind him, but the two zombie rats flanking the puppet moved with horrifying coordination. One of them caught him with a brutal backhand, claws slicing along his side, laying flesh and bone bare. Trisse grunted and stumbled, blood blooming across his shirt. He stayed on his feet, but the damage was significant. His shoulders hunched and his body curled defensively, trying to protect himself from further harm.

“Get behind the barrier,” Elsie ordered, throwing herself between Trisse and the rats. She blocked their attacks, her feet digging into the dirt as she was pushed back by the force of their blows.

“But–”

“Now!”

The husk that had once been a hunter laughed again, higher-pitched. His laugh was manic, and wrong. “If you can’t handle a few little zombies,” that deep, alien voice growled, “how will you ever manage me?”

Those words hit like a physical weight. A direct threat from the necromancer. The suppression of his magic was heavier now, the air grown thick and suffocating, like humidity rising before a storm. Elsie felt it in her gut. Jeshua’s master was nearby, watching.

Mutt fought beside her, sword moving in a blur. His fury was palpable. He took another grazing hit, hissing when the acid burned, but he refused to back down. Each time Jeshua or a rat targeted Elsie, he managed to get between them. She wasn’t used to having someone work so hard to protect her. Hell, she wasn’t used to being forced into a position where she needed protection.