Within These Wicked Walls(43)

Something grabbed my leg, tripping me. The impact on the ground sent my head spinning and my knife skittering into the shadows. I slammed my foot on the ground, breaking the fingers of the dismembered hand from my ankle, and launched myself at Saba, managing to tackle her to the ground before she could get her leg fully attached to her body again.

In the streets I would’ve punched her, but I couldn’t afford to slice open my right hand, too—my welding hand. So instead I reached over for the metal shovel, having to knock over the entire bin of tools to get to it. Saba grabbed me with her good arm, her strength keeping me from the shovel, even with one hand, and I made the mistake of looking at her. And feeling a twinge of guilt at the fear widening her eyes.

“Then let me go, Saba,” I pleaded, for her welfare and my own conscience. I didn’t want to feel my friend’s body break beneath my force, even if there were no signs that it hurt her.

She shook her head vehemently. Her goal was clearly to protect herself. Part of me respected that. I’d been doing it all my life.

But her intention meant that, for the moment, I could no longer see her as a friend—if ever again, but I’d deal with those emotions another time. For now, my good survival habits were urging me to remove the obstacle blocking me from what I needed.

So be it, then.

I grabbed her arm with both of mine and pinned her. Managed to grab the shovel and broke her arm at the shoulder with the narrow end. Stood, and did the same thing to her last leg. Then swiped them under my bed, so they’d have further to crawl to get to her body.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, barely able to look at her terror-stricken expression. I snatched up my satchel of supplies and raced out of the room.

I ran in the direction the pulse of my amulet led, down the stairs and around the corner, ignoring every other Manifestation I passed—all except for the horde of rats, which ran over and under my feet, making it hard to keep up my speed. I was hot and sweaty from the struggle in my room, so I barely felt the cold. I squeezed my fingers into my sweater to get rid of excess blood, though my heart pounded heavy and painful in my fingertips. I put on my welding goggles, smudging warm blood on my face that quickly turned cold in the air around me.

My amulet pulsed to the point it echoed through my body painfully, and when I turned the corner I saw why.

In the meager light of the dying embers, I saw Tom’s body crumpled on the ground, a dark puddle slowly pooling beneath him, his eyes staring at nothing.

And standing over him, looking straight at me, the reflective green eyes of …

Oh God …

A hyena.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this was no mortal beast, no Manifestation. It was the curse itself. The Evil Eye incarnate.

I only knew that because Jember had cleansed one—the only debtera in the last twenty years, maybe even fifty, to successfully do it. But he’d never taught me how he had cleansed it. All he’d said was if I was ever offered a job to do so, to run in the opposite direction and never look back.

It suddenly occurred to me where Jember’s leg and humanity had gone, and the reality of my imminent fate hit me like a fist to the skull.

“Please, God,” I prayed, grasping my amulet for comfort, but its pulses were so heavy, so painful, they felt like screams of terror.

The hyena stepped over Tom’s body, the tinkle of bells with every step, the mane on its hunched back standing on end.

I took out my silver disk and got to work.

You have no plan, Andi.

The hyena padded closer, its growl mingling with the crackling of the embers.

Did you expect the Evil Eye to just sit still and watch you work?

At least, thank God, my amulet shield reached three feet. I sat down and got to work.

Seven strokes in, I heard the scratching of sharp nails against the hardwood stop in front of me, felt the hot breath cloud my oxygen … heard the growl dangerously close to my face. I glanced up, just to make sure the amulet was doing its job. Three feet really wasn’t much when a bloodthirsty demon hyena was standing by.

And then I jolted up from my work. The hyena’s head was leaning forward at the three-foot mark, and then it backed away and rushed forward, slamming its head on the same spot again. Again. And again. It was making short work of my shield, already a foot closer than when it had started.

My heart raced. Oh God. There was no way I could finish the amulet at this rate.

But what other choice did I have?

I got back to work quickly, ignoring the slams of the hyena’s head against my shield.

But the more the hyena pounded, the worse the rumbling in my amulet became, until I had to pause, nauseated.

Keep going, Andi.

I wasn’t nearly done.

God help me. Give me strength …

I’d paused for too long. By the time I’d flinted my pen I felt the hyena’s hot breath on my face. I pulled my legs in closer. Did I have any shield left at all—?

Something grabbed me, dragging me around the corner, and I screamed and hit at it, dropping my barely half-baked amulet to the hardwood floor. But with one hand sliced open my fighting didn’t do much good. I closed my eyes briefly as my back hit the hallway wall, thankful I didn’t bite my tongue off from the jolt. Two strong hands gripped my arms, pinning them to my sides.

I glared at Saba, now eye level with her. “Let me go.”

She shook her head.