Page 108 of Midnight Auto Parts

But Anunit wasn’t there.

Whispers rustled through the trees. Limbs snapped. Leaves crinkled. Children cried softly.

Women spilled out, pulling up short to discover Kierce and me. They turned to flee, but Keshawn pushed through them to the front, spotted me, and broke into the first smile I had ever seen on her face.

“Frankie.” She skimmed over the others. “Mom.” She waved an arm over her head. “She’s here.”

“Frankie?” Tameka wedged through the crowd, tears filling her eyes when our gazes met.“Frankie.”Her cheeks flushed withemotion. “Thank God you’re okay. Your friend told me you were safe, but Anunit?—”

“We lost the other bones,” Keshawn, who noticed what Kierce and I were doing, blurted.

“You ran after Anunit attacked Rosalie.” I waved away their worries with a dirty, bloody hand. “I don’t blame either of you for praying she chose to protect the bones over pursuing you.”

“No.” Keshawn took her mother’s hand. “We ran after what she did toyou.”

“You must have been as shocked as me,” I said, “to discover I could be harmed in that form.”

“I thought if Anunit attacked me, I would lose the body but my soul could remain with Keshawn.” Tameka let out a shuddering breath. “I was terrified when she sank her claws in you. All I could think was that if she did that to me, I couldn’t escape. Then any hope of seeing my daughter in the afterlife would be gone.” She swallowed. “We went back for them, after we calmed down, but they were gone.”

“A friend of mine has them.” I flexed my cramping hands. “Want to get out of here quicker?”

The mother and daughter beamed at the chance to pitch in, and I was happy to give it to them.

“Kierce, can you mark the remaining bones?” I trawled my fingers through decaying vegetation for a hint of white. “They know what to look for.”

While he got them started, I resumed my task, focused on what was in front of me.

On my periphery, I noted the women shifting, uncertain what to do, but I didn’t have time for soft words or promises of safety. I almost melted with relief when I lifted a muddy bone and freed myself to move on.

And then reality began to twist and warp, the ward screeching dissonance as watery streaks appeared in the barrier.

“Stay put,” I snapped as the women made a break for freedom. “We’re almost done here.”

Unwilling to give up the ground she had gained, one woman planted her feet and waited, staring up at the sun.

“Got mine,” Keshawn called, rising with her prize in hand.

“Got mine too.” Tameka rose with a wobble in her knees. “Let’s get these to?—”

The ward crashed around us with a bone-jarring thud that dropped everyone but Kierce and me to their knees. Illumination from the spotlights blasted the women in their faces, and they shut their eyes against the glare. The deer-in-the-headlights looks didn’t last long before they ran past the commune’s borders the way a spooked herd of antelope fled a pursuing lioness.

Arm in arm, the Ezells came to me and offered up their finds.

“We’ll go with you.” Keshawn tipped up her chin. “We want to help.”

The thought of moving even an ounce more dirt made my fingers throb with a plea to rest them.

“I’ll take that deal.” I was grateful when Kierce helped me to my feet. “I’m running out of juice.” I turned my ankle on my first step. “Fast.” I didn’t fuss when he took the bag from me and passed it to Tameka. “I can walk.” I put out my hands. “You don’t have to carry me around like a fairytale princess.”

Ignoring my protest when I wobbled again, he scooped me into his arms and rolled me against his chest. I rested my sweaty forehead over his heart, breathing him in, but that was a bad idea. His scent calmed my jangled nerves, and sleep beckoned me.

The toll of healing my injuries, then tearing open a gate and holding it, was gnawing through my reserves until spots danced on the edge of my vision in a taunting promise if I shut my eyes, I would feel so much better.

“Not now,” I groaned, fisting his shirt. “I need...”

“I know,” he gritted out, his jaw taut. “Hold on.”

“What’s wrong?” Tameka hustled to match Kierce’s stride. “What can we do?”

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