Page 84 of The Executioners Three
The wind butted against Freddie. Leaves clattered, briefly drowning out the voice—briefly hiding the walker behind a curtain of gold and russet.
Then the wind cleared; the leaves fell; and Freddie saw who approached.
“Oh no,” she said at the same time Divya cried, “Laina?Is that you?”
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Laina gave no indication that she’d heard Freddie or Divya. Nor that she’d seen them. She strode steadily onward, oblivious to branches or briars or thickets of mud.
And the closer she got, the more Freddie could see. The more Freddie could hear.
In both hands, clasped before her like a prayer, Laina held a flickering candle, and in time to each measured step across the forest, she called:“Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Commandez-moi.”
“Um,” Divya said, eyes flashing to Freddie. “What the hell is going on?” Then she scooted forward, arms outstretched. “Laina? Hey,Laina.”
Freddie scrambled after Divya, also shouting. “Laina—hey,Laina!” But the class president offered no reaction. She simply walked. She simply chanted.
“Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Commandez-moi.”
Wherever Laina Steward was, it wasnotin this clearing. And now Freddie’s gut was really on fire.
Divya reached Laina first and skidded to a panicked stop, trying to stop Laina’s forward march. But her efforts were useless. Laina simply sidestepped and circled around.
“Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Commandez-moi.”The candle dripped wax onto her fingers.
Freddie didn’t bother trying to stop her. She just fell into step beside Laina, gaze raking up and down. The other girl was not dressed for this weather—her fishnet-clad legs rippled with chill bumps, and other than a flimsy cardigan, she had no jacket of any kind.
Divya rushed to Laina’s other side. Over and over, she said the girl’s name—“Laina; hey, Laina!”—but still, Laina continued obliviously on.
So Divya rounded toward Freddie. “What do we do?”
Freddie had no idea. Laina was clearly in some kind of trance, which was way outside the realm of her understanding. Shoplifters she could handle. Even bodies dangling from trees. But unresponsive girls with candles in hand wereX-Filesterritory, and Freddie wasnotactually Dana Scully or Fox Mulder.
Laina reached the clearing with the tombstones, while Freddie and Divya trailed behind. To Freddie’s shock—though not necessarily her surprise—Laina crossed the clearing and reached the third tombstone.
“Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Commandez-moi.”She knelt.“Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Commandez-moi.”She held out the candle. Wax fell to the leaves. Then she placed the candle on the tombstone…
And it was like a switch going off. One moment, gray daylight bore down. The next, darkness reigned supreme. Clouds that Freddie would have sworn weren’t there two seconds ago suddenly swooped across the sky.
Worst of all, though, was the smell. A scent Freddie was beginning to recognize as a harbinger ofmessed-up stuffon the horizon. A smell her gut screeched was wrong, wrong, wrong. Carrion. Rot.Death.
“Laina?” Divya asked, cutting in close to the other girl. “Hey, are you—” She brushed Laina’s shoulder.
And Laina screamed. Her hands shot to her ears, she crumpled into a ball, and it was like the night with the crows all over again. But worse, because now there was a candle burning and dark clouds andnothingscientific or logical that could explain it all away.
Freddie didn’t even think. She just lunged, grabbing for Laina. “Help me,” she ordered Divya. “We need to get her out of here.”
Freddie’s fingers connected with Laina’s ribs, and as fast as Laina’s screams had begun, they broke off. She unfurled in an instant, no time for Freddie to react.
Then she attacked. A blur of trained speed. Freddie’s whole world flipped upside down. Her back slammed to the frozen earth, punching the breath from her lungs. Her vision wavered.
Laina straddled her. Her thighs squeezed against Freddie’s ribs. Choked off Freddie’s lungs. Freddie had just enough time to see Laina’s fists swing in before she screwed her eyes shut, and…
And nothing. The impact never came.
“What… the… hell,” Laina panted, “is going on?”
“You’re awake,” Divya cried, and Freddie finally opened her eyes.
