If they won’t leave, I’ll have to invite them in, Andor. I can’t let that thing get them.
You will not. Take a deep breath. Feel me breathing with you.
You’re under the freakin’ ground, Andor, you shouldn’t be breathing. She knew she sounded a little hysterical. She hadn’t been frantic when the vampires had attacked, why now? What about the puppet had her reeling so far out of control?
I’m not like this, Andor. You can count on me. But she was like that. She was exactly like that—nearing hysteria.
Sívamet. Breathe. You are holding your breath. It makes perfect sense. What is a vampire’s puppet? It used to be a human being. Two other human beings are standing in its way to acquire you. You are human, and more than anything, you have suffered the worst of traumas. The last thing you want to see is any human being torn to pieces.
Her heart thudded wildly. Her lungs burned. She gripped her gun to try to ground herself. Is that what that puppet will do? Tear them to pieces?
For the first time, Andor hesitated.
Tell me. She nearly screamed the two words in her mind. You have to tell me right now.
The puppet stepped off the slope. Not down, but off, as if it thought it could walk on air. It tumbled down, rolling, grunting, its arms flailing, legs working as if it might still be walking. When it got to the very bottom, it lay for a minute as if stunned, but its head was turned to face them and its red eyes stared without blinking straight at its prey.
It eats flesh, Lorraine. It craves it. If it gets to either of those men, you cannot watch. You must turn away.
“Herman, Adam, that thing eats people. Get out of here. You have to go. Right now, you have to go.”
Both men turned toward her and raced straight at her. Simultaneously, they hit the barrier and yelled, the sparks rising like tiny flames all around them as they bounced off. They fell to the ground, but scrambled up, looking toward the puppet. It had climbed to its feet and was lumbering toward them. It was slow, but it was steady and its intentions were very clear.
The closer it got to them, the easier it was to see details. The creature was horrifying. Lorraine could identify that it had once been a man. She could see him under the rotting flesh. His mouth was a ragged slash. His teeth were brown and there were stains on his chin and clothing. It looked to be a suit he had worn.
Herman suddenly stiffened. “Ethan? Oh my God, Adam. I think that’s Ethan.”
Even though Herman faced away from her and she couldn’t see his expression, she’d been trained to read body language, and he appeared to be genuinely shocked. He even took a step toward the hideous puppet and stretched one hand toward him.
Adam caught Herman’s arm and pushed it down. She caught a glimpse of Adam’s horrified expression. It was genuine. There was no faking that. Both men backed closer to the barrier.
Andor, I have to let them in.
Lorraine. Sívam és sielam. You are my heart and soul. You need to use your head, not your heart. Why would these men not run? At least run behind the barrier, or around to one side of it? Why would they wait right in front of you when moving would save their lives?
“Get around to the other side, out of his line of sight!” Lorraine all but screamed it. I don’t understand. What would be the purpose?
Just as the puppet is programmed to certain behaviors, so are they. They are under the influence of Sergey. If you invite them in, they will invite the puppet in or force you out to him. The puppet will kill both of them and take you to his master. They don’t know that because they don’t understand what is happening. They are pawns to be sacrificed. Bait.
The world tilted as a wave of dizziness rushed over her. I can’t watch them die, Andor. I can’t. I’d rather go with him and hope you rescue me.
You cannot save them, csecsemõ. There was so much compassion in his voice she nearly wept. She pressed the hand gripping the gun to her heart.
No, I can’t. But you can. Please, Andor, for me. Do this for me. I can’t watch them die. I can’t see this thing, obviously once a friend, kill them and then eat them.
He will not kill them first. They prefer their victim alive and filled with adrenaline for as long as possible, just as a vampire does.
Lorraine took a deep breath and let it out. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead and trickling between her breasts. We’re only an hour or so before sunset. Can the others rise and kill it? She knew they were still too far away from sunset. These Carpathians were ancients and had a particular sensitivity to the sun.
The puppet was so much closer. Too close. Adam and Herman screamed, terror mounting, but they couldn’t make themselves run from the man who’d once been a friend.
If I shoot him with arrows or the flamethrower, will that take him down?
Andor sighed. Invite the two men inside the safety circle, Lorraine. I will strike at them and put them out so they cannot invite the puppet in. I am nowhere near full strength so you will need to keep an eye on them at all times. If necessary, you will shoot them, do you understand? They cannot speak.
Thank you, Andor.
For one moment, she debated. He still sounded weak. Would forcing him to save these two men push him back to square one after all the concentrated work the others had done to get him ready for travel? Still, the puppet came closer, and she wanted to scream in fear for the humans and also for Andor.
I am here, Ferro said. I will join with Andor. He will not have to use much energy to control these men.
Sisarke, Sandu joined them. I am here.
As am I, little sister, Gary joined in.
Lorraine let out her breath. “Herman, Adam, I invite you in. Come into the circle of safety. Now. Hurry.”
Both men whirled around and rushed the barrier. The moment they were through it, the puppet bellowed in triumph. Both men opened their mouths to invite the puppet inside, Adam grabbing at Lorraine’s arms, yanking at her, to try to force her out of the zone deemed safe by the Carpathians.
“Come …” Herman froze in midsentence, his mouth open, one arm outstretched toward the puppet.
Lorraine hit the back of Adam’s hand hard with the butt of the gun, slamming down on it with enough force she might have broken bones. The adrenaline they wanted in victims rushed through her like a fiery stream. One word escaped Adam’s mouth before he froze in place as well. “Bitch.”
“You have no idea,” she whispered. But she wasn’t. She was terrified for them. She hadn’t touched their minds, before, but now she did, backing away from them and the barrier, putting distance between her and the puppet.
She found the exact spot where the ancients had gone to ground and sank down onto the soil, still holding the gun and pulling a flamethrower and a spear closer to her. The puppet roared his rage and kept coming. He hit the wide ribbon of safeguards and tried to bulldoze his way through in spite of the fact that it stopped him.
Sparks danced in the air, a million of them, flicking all around the puppet. He tried to put his hand through the barricade and flames raced up his arm. He screamed and stumbled back. His face contorted. One of the birds flew from the tree with savage ferocity and shrieks of rage, dove toward the puppet, that wicked, curved beak slashing his face open. Blood and worms poured out.
Lorraine’s stomach heaved. She couldn’t stop the little cry escaping. This had once been a man. He hadn’t chosen to serve the vampire; he’d been made into what it wanted—a servant to do its bidding. Just as Elisabeta had been made to serve the master vampire. Her gaze went to Herman and Adam, two men frozen in time, their bodies locked into position.
The puppet rushed the barrier again, this time right in front of Adam. He’d yanked Lorraine to the very edge of the circle where the barricade was. One arm was outstretched. She saw immediately that he was in danger. She leapt to her feet, firing several shots in rapid succession at the puppet, as she ran toward Adam. The puppet jerked hard with each penetration of the bullets, his chest exploding in five places, one right after the other. Each hole leaked a dark, oily-looking liquid with a multitude of wiggling white worms in it.
She caught Adam by the waist and yanked hard, trying to pull him over as if he was a statue rather than a flesh-and-blood person. The moment she wrenched at him, they both went down, Adam landing on top of her. Immediately his eyes focused on her, and one hand clamped down on her wrist to pin her hand to the ground so he could wrestle the gun from her.
Lorraine was already in motion. She didn’t care about anything but stopping him calling out an invitation to the puppet. She smashed her free hand as hard as possible into his mouth and then continued to his throat. As his head reared back and came forward, she hit him again, this time in his nose, slamming her palm hard enough to break it. Blood sprayed at her. It trickled from his mouth where she’d knocked out teeth.
Andor.
Stomach lurching, she twisted her wrist to free it. Adam had relaxed his hold just enough to allow her to break free, gun still in her fist. One leg trapped his, and she brought her heel down on his groin.
Beneath her, his body went still, frozen once more. She dared one look at his ruined face and then crawled away from him. Several feet from him, she vomited. She spit several times and rinsed her mouth out with water from the smaller bottle in her pack. All the while, the puppet kept slamming into the barrier, testing every few feet and raising tiny sparks that looked like little fireflies.
The sounds he made were horrible. He would roar and then bellow. He would shriek and then whimper. Several times he wiped at his chest, smearing the blood and insects all over him. That made her sick all over.
Lorraine, you must not look at him. It is making you very sick.
I can’t stop myself.
We can end his misery right now, but you will have to participate. That way you do not have to watch his suffering until the sun sets. It is not much longer, but all of us are uncomfortable with your pain and misery.
She covered her eyes but peeked through her fingers as the unfortunate creature flung himself against the safety net and bellowed his rage. Why do I have to participate?
We must see what we are taking aim at.
She wiped beads of sweat from her forehead. She wanted to crawl into the ground with Andor. She needed someone to hold her, to comfort her.