Page 97 of Lust

The vision is coming to pass.

Alexei grabs at the rod in him and curses.

“I have to help him,” I tell Cody.

“You’ll break the spell if you cross the salt,” he warns.

“You can heal, right?”

“Cuts and scrapes. Notthat.”

Fuck.

“We can’t leave him like this,” I say. “He’s still alive. We can make another circle around him.”

“We might not have time.”

“Isn’t it worth it if we might save him?”

“Of course.”

“The pepper spray bought us some time before,” I explain. “If it comes again, I’ll spray it. I’ll electrocute it. I’ll keep it back. You think you can get that thing done in thirty seconds?”

Cody grimaces. “I can try. Help me over.”

“Luke?” Alexei groans.

“We’re coming,” I whisper.

Cody tosses his bookbag strap over his shoulder, and I keep my finger under the safety of the spray as I help him to his feet, out of the circle, checking overhead. Cody hops alongside me as we settle in the depressed part of the ground near my fallen roommate and friend.

As Cody gets back on his knees, I tuck the stun gun in my pocket since I need my hands. With one hand, I hold the spray. With the other, I run the salt along the sides of the trench.

Cody’s gripping his necklace and muttering to himself before I’m even finished, and as I complete the circle, there’s a sound from above. My head snaps toward it, and a black mass comes atme. I raise my pepper spray and shoot, the stream flowing into the hood of our attacker.

Another perfect shot.

I jam my finger down on the spray, and the Slasher’s claws withdraw to its face again, pulling back the hood, the moonlight shining off a jaw of lengthy teeth. But it doesn’t back away, like it’s getting better at enduring the pain, so in a panic, I fire up the stun gun, pressing it up against the back of its wrist.

The Slasher unleashes another cry, and I dodge a swipe before it retreats over the side of the trench, its screeching so high-pitched I need to cover my ears.

Another victory!

Maybe we’ll make it out of this alive after all.

Cody continues his spell as I hurry to Alexei, whose eyes are wide open, mouth agape as he struggles to breathe.

“Fuck, Luke. Fuck,” he says, but my gaze is focused on the spot where he’s impaled. Not just because it’s horrifying, but because this is the exact image from my vision, as if someone recorded what I was seeing in this moment.

Alexei grunts. “It hurts.”

My gaze meets his, his usual playful expression locked in strain as he grits his teeth. “Cody might be able to do something for the pain,” I say. “Just give us a moment, okay? Hang in there.”

Oh, please, Cody, fucking get this sorted out.

I turn to see how he’s progressing. He has his necklace in one hand, and he’s moving the other about vigorously. Again and again. This isn’t part of what he did before, and he’s not muttering the spell. What the hell is he doing?

I hurry over to him. His eyes are open, black as the night, and he’s not just moving his hand about. It looks like he’s writing something in the air.

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