Keeper(77)

I gasped under the weight of them both, and black spots appeared before my eyes.

The Scavenger was roaring as he swatted at Maggie while trying to keep me pinned beneath him. With an angry growl, he threw himself backward, sending Maggie flying through the air at an unnatural speed. She slammed into a car with a sickening thunk and collapsed on the ground. She did not get up. She didn’t even move.

“Maggie!” I screamed, but the Scavenger slapped me hard across the face.

“Quiet! I’ve had enough of these games.”

My cheek immediately began to burn and puff, and my eyes watered. There was a putrid smell of rotten meat stinging my nostrils, and as I tried to move, a snarl ripped through the air. Teeth grazed my skin, and I screamed.

When my eyes cleared, I found myself staring into the face of the largest wolf I’d ever seen. I screamed again.

Then the weight that was pressing me to the ground lifted, and large hands pulled me roughly to my feet. The man in the black hat gripped my arm so tightly I was sure it was going to break. His yellow eyes were glowing now, and his lips were curled up into a snarl revealing a row of sharp canines. Lycan! My mind supplied the word.

I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but the man growled, tightening his grip. With my other hand free, I yanked the dagger from my waistband and, with the last bit of strength I had, rammed it into his gut.

Blood sprayed from the wound, and the Scavenger screamed, releasing me.

Circulation returned to my arm, and I cried out from the pain of it. I staggered backward, clutching the bloody dagger in my hand. The Scavenger was doubled over, his hand clenching at the wound as blood ran down his fingers.

The dagger was shaking in my hand, but I gripped it tighter and lunged at the Scavenger, angling it upward toward his throat.

The tip was inches from driving home when the Scavenger twisted at the last second, the dagger slicing his cheek and jawline instead.

With a roar, he leapt at me. One hand clamped around my throat while the other pried the dagger from my fingertips. He tossed it on the ground and roared again, rivulets of blood dripping down his face. The gash, from hairline to jaw, was deep, but looked like it was already beginning to heal.

“Stupid bitch!” he spat, both hands now at my throat. He growled and pressed his fingers deeper into my skin. I clawed at his hands, desperate for air. My chest was on fire, and I couldn’t see anything but a swirl of black and red.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard a warlike cry, and Ty was there, his face contorted with rage. He slammed into my captor, driving his fist into the man’s face. There was a loud crunch, followed by another spray of blood that spattered over my face. The Scavenger screeched in pain and released me. I dropped to the ground like deadweight, choking and coughing.

Ty leapt on the man’s back and wrapped his arms around the Scavenger’s head, entrapping him in a tight headlock. The man was transforming again, his features snarling and snapping. But then it was over—the muscles in Ty’s arms tensing as he jerked the Scavenger’s head to the side with a sickening snap.

The body hit the ground. The body of another Scavenger, the one with short hair, lay a few feet away. The third was nowhere to be seen. Ty was panting, and blood poured from the split knuckles on one of his hands. Another trail of blood dripped down his face from a cut above his eyes, but that appeared to be his most serious injury.

I was frozen on the ground, numb and unable to move.

“Lainey?” Ty knelt down, inching toward me the way one would approach a wounded animal. He reached out a hand. “It’s over now.”

His fingertips grazed my cheek, and I launched myself at him, nearly knocking him over.

He groaned, but wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly. “I’ve got you.”

The warmth of his skin and the beating of his heart beneath my cheek brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, but gripped him tighter.

I closed my eyes, only to jerk them open a second later. “Maggie!” I wrenched myself away from Ty and stumbled to where Maggie lay unmoving in the grass.

“Maggie, can you hear me?” I tried to shake her awake.

“Looks like she hit her head,” Ty said, examining her.

“Will she be okay?”

“I think so, but we should get her somewhere she can rest.” He gingerly scooped Maggie into his arms. “Come on, before anyone notices us.”

I picked up my dagger, wiping it on the grass, and followed Ty.

People were starting to flood the parking lot. Given the general scene of mayhem that surrounded the corn maze, no one had seemed to witness the fight in the parking lot. My head was pounding and my limbs were like lead, but I forced myself to focus on Ty’s back, to keep moving.

By the time we made it to the car, my last ounce of energy had evaporated, and I slumped against the cool metal of the door, gripping the handle to keep from toppling over. After laying Maggie in the backseat, Ty helped me inside and ran around to throw himself into the driver’s seat, slamming the keys into the ignition. The back tires squealed on the gravel road as he tore out of the parking lot and onto the dark road.

My eyelids drooped despite my best efforts, and the gentle hum of the engine and the movement of the car as it sped down the road were making it difficult to stay awake. Every cell in my body was depleted, and even though I knew we weren’t out of the woods yet, the only thing I could focus on was how much I wanted to close my eyes. Instead I forced my mind to go through the ordeal again, frame by frame. Now that the shock was wearing off, the details were crystal clear.