Page 30 of Cursed Wolf

A beat of silence passes between us. My thoughts fly to Kaira’s fierceness, and I know she’s fighting and will never give in to Lyra.

Jae’s lips pinch to the side, and I reach over to dry her cheeks of tears.

“I think we should do it. She’d want that.”

“Whatever you feel comfortable with, sweetie.” I have to be strong for both my sisters, but I’m so full of guilt and fear, I worry that I’ll crumble inside and out. I don’t have a choice. I have to do this for Kaira and all our sakes.

Jae gnaws on the corner of her fingernail, and I tenderly take her hand and lead her out of the room.

“Let’s get our sister back.”

“Okay. Please just don’t let her become a zombie.”

“Of course,” I say confidently, though, on the inside, I’m quivering. I have no idea what I’m doing, but if I’ve proven anything to myself, it’s that I’m incredible at winging things.

Nikos

“How do we get stuck with all the fucked-up jobs?” Crius whines as he and I maneuver Narah’s mother out of the basement, where we moved her the last time we’d been in the house.

Her body is dead cold and already in a state of decomposition. Fingernails and teeth have fallen out, and she reeks. The musty stench of rotting flesh has me on the verge of gagging each time I inhale.

“Just hurry the hell up. I’m taking all the weight down here.” My arms strain at the bottom of the stairs, with Crius in the lead.

Heaving her up each step, he groans. His fists are white from gripping the bedsheet we’d rolled her in.

By the time we make it to the hallway, she slips from my grip, and her feet thump onto the wooden floors.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining. I’m carrying most of the head and torso, and it stinks. I think she might be reaching a liquifying state.” Crius stares at the wet patches on the bedsheet.

I don’t even want to think about it, or I’ll puke all over her.

“Just fucking pick her up, and let’s get her outside. Then I’m scrubbing my body with a wire brush.” I bend and wrench the fabric once more, and we hurry through the house toward the back door.

Stone and Narah had discovered her mother’s curse removal spell and paired it with another spell to remove spirits from possessed people. For that, a body was needed to expel the spirit into and a talisman that evidently would draw any nearby spirits to it like a magnet. Apparently, Lyra’s spirit should be snatched into the dead body, then vanquished almost instantly.

Patching the spells together terrifies me, but we’re not exactly swimming in options to save Kaira.

Once in the yard, the afternoon sky grumbles with dark storm clouds, promising rain. Following Crius, we make a fast stumble to the riverbank and dump the body. I groan, stretching my back, while Crius crouches by the water’s edge, frantically washing his hands. My skin crawls just as much.

Twisting around, I find Stone and Ragnar in a heated discussion with Narah. Jae’s sitting on the lawn closer to the house, tearing at the grass and wiping her eyes.

“Is she alright in this location?” I ask out loud to Narah, pointing down to her mother.

“Perfect,” Stone answers. “Can you partially unwrap her?”

I cringe, and Crius is by my side, patting my back.

“Thanks for taking one for the team.”

“Asshole.” Hastily, I tug at the fabric, touching as little of her body as possible. The sight is revolting. Once done, I make a hasty retreat over to the others and see that Crius has joined Jae.

“Okay, so what’s the next step?” I ask, wanting this over with.

Narah looks up at me, her face flush, her lips pinched tight, beyond stressed.

“I think we’re almost there. We just need to bring Karia out. Once we begin, you and Crius untie her and get her into the water.”

“Okay.” Nodding, a jolt of fear runs up my spine. “That’s assuming she won’t wake up and go feral on us, spelling our asses, right? Is there something we can do to ensure she doesn’t awaken?”

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