Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)(21)

“Miss Fitt,” he said after several minutes of searching. “Our risk of being noticed by the Dead rises each moment we linger.” His tone was friendly, but there was a harsh edge to his words. “I have fulfilled my end of the deal. Let’s return to the carriage.”

“But we’ve seen nothing.” I smacked my hat’s ribbon from my face. “Just a bit more. Please.”

“No.” He planted his feet and shook his head once. “Was the spirit on Friday not enough for you? You don’t want to see a corpse. I can promise you it’s a horrible sight, and I don’t want to carry you home in a faint.”

His words rankled me. I wasn’t like the silly girls he was used to, and I was tired of him treating me like... like Allison.

I stepped toward him, my chin tipped high. “Mr. Wilcox, I have seen plenty of corpses. I’ve been present twice when the Dead alarm rang.” I thrust up two fingers. “I want to know how many Dead walk in this cemetery. I want to know if... if...” My words faded.

Clarence wore an entirely unexpected expression: amusement. His mouth turned up in a smile. It wasn’t his usual polite grin—this one was completely genuine, and it transformed his already handsome face into a beautiful one. All I could do was stare, mouth hanging open like an idiot.

Clarence pressed a gloved hand against his lips for several moments before a soft bark of laughter broke free.

“You’re nothing like your brother, are you? You’re bold—brave even.”

I reared back, all thought of his looks gone at those words. “What did you say?”

His smile fell. The color drained from his face.

“You do know Elijah,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me? You said you only knew of him.”

“Yes, well...”

My temper flared to life. “You lied.”

He lifted his hands in a rigid movement, as if it took a great control to remain calm. “It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like? You said you didn’t know him.”

“I didn’t know him—not well, at least.” He licked his lips and slowly lowered his hands. “He was the year behind me at Germantown Academy.”

“And?”

“And nothing.”

“That’s it? How do you know he’s not like me, then?”

“I-I saw him some during the school breaks and at events. He always looked scared. But honestly, I never really knew him. If we’d been chums, don’t you think our mothers would know?”

I took a long breath and considered his words. Was I being overly suspicious? I am seeing monsters everywhere. I let my stiff posture soften. “Why didn’t you say that on Friday evening? Why lie about something so trivial?”

“It’s... well... it’s quite simple, really. I felt sorry for you.”

“Sorry for me?”

He nodded quickly. “Yes. I was sorry that Elijah hadn’t returned. I-I thought if we talked of him, you might grow upset. I can see now that you aren’t that sort of lady.”

I lowered my arms and eyed him for several moments. I didn’t know if I believed him or not. But really, did it matter if he’d known Elijah?

“Please, Miss Fitt, accept my apology.” He leaned into a bow, his head hanging low.

“Of course.” I nodded curtly. More and more strange confessions were piling up between Clarence and me. If I didn’t watch myself, he would soon be uncovering mine.

Suddenly, something caught my ear—the sound of rustling underbrush. I went to the fence. There was a distant and rhythmic thrashing in the cemetery. I glanced at Clarence. “Do you hear that?”

He frowned, and his eyes unfocused. “Yes,” he said. “It’s getting louder. Closer.”

He was right. I could distinctly make out footsteps now, coming at high speed, pounding along with snapping branches and shaking leaves.

“It sounds like a wild animal,” Clarence said. “Come away from the fence.”

I pushed my face against the bars. “But I hear two feet,” I answered. “Like a person running.” Could someone alive be in there? Could it be Elijah?

Whoever it was, they were close now. The beating footsteps crashed loudly in the forest.

“Come away from the fence,” Clarence repeated.

It was definitely a person running, but what sort of person could race through dense shrubs and trees like that?

“Come away!” Clarence roared. He clasped my arm and yanked me back, wrenching my shoulder.

Then it crashed full speed against the fence. A corpse.

It shook the bars and sent a low clang echoing in the air. Its gleaming skull pressed against the bars where my face had been only moments before. It was the corpse of a Union soldier. Its old bones were clothed in the tatters of a uniform. Its teeth clacked as it bit frantically, while bony arms reached between the bars. It clawed at the air, trying to push far enough to reach us on the other side.

Clarence shoved me behind him. We retreated slowly, our eyes never leaving the frenzied body. We stopped fifteen feet away and watched in dumb horror. This corpse was nothing like the stiff and shambling ones I’d seen doing the necromancer’s bidding. No, this corpse had unbridled energy and moved with the speed of the living—perhaps faster, even.