Page 80 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
Rae makes a sympathetic sound. “You should rest,” she says, and shakes her head at the sharp look I give her. “Just for a couple of hours. We can go back out when it’s fully light. See if there are any clues left on that zombie you found.”
I push shakily to my feet. “Yeah, sure. You—”
Blake shouts from outside. I race to the door, Rae on my heels.
The sight before me has me stopping in my tracks. Blake is by the gate, helping another figure who is leaning heavily against him. They turn, and Rae gasps.
It’s Dane.
“Help!” Blake cries. “He’s injured!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Despiteeverything,Idon’thesitate. I drop my bat and race over to them, then sling Dane’s other arm over my shoulders to help him up into the church. He looks worse for wear, of course, covered in dirt and blood.
I assume it’s his own. His shirt is sticking to his ribs on one side, and I’ve no idea if we can convince anyone to help if we find a bite. Mason told them to last time, and Dane is the last person any of them will want to assist.
“Come on,” Blake murmurs, voice thick. “Let’s get you inside.”
Dane swings his head towards me, blinking slowly. “Isaac, you…”
“Inside,” I say.
We manoeuvre him into the church. Rae has my bat, and she hovers, following us down the aisle and over to the stairs. We stop there to let her go ahead.
By the time we have Dane in the room where they’ve all been staying, it’s full of the rest of the town, all of them eyeing Dane warily.
“Have you been bitten?” Blake asks, voice trembling, and Dane shakes his head.
“N-no. Need water.”
“Yeah, okay.”
We lower Dane to his sleeping bag, and I hold him up as Blake brings Dane’s flask to his lips. He drinks greedily and I eye him as he does. I can’t see a bite on him, but I’m a little worried about his side.
And the others. Where could they be?
While I might be willing to wait for a few minutes to ask my questions, Nia certainly isn’t. Once Dane’s had enough to drink, Blake digs around in his bag for a protein bar, and she crouches before all three of us.
“What happened?” Her voice is too harsh. “We looked for you.”
“The necromancer,” Dane says, and Rae’s frown only deepens. “He took us.”
Nia shakes her head. “That’s not poss—”
“He did. He killed Otto.” Dane looks at me when I jerk. “I’m sorry.”
“You saw it?” I murmur, and he nods. I don’t think he means the sorry, even if he sounds like he does. I swallow down bile and keep my hands on Dane gentle.
“What about Autumn?” Rae asks.
Dane shakes his head. “She’s still alive. I couldn’t get her out.”
“Where?” Nia demands.
“Underground. I don’t know, somewhere in the centre of town. I couldn’t—it was dark. I don’t know how many tunnels I took before I climbed out.”
“What about Mason?” I ask, voice hoarse.
