I turn quickly to Syd. “Are you alright?”
She looks petrified, eyes slightly sunken, a gentle twitch occurring in her left one. I convince myself she is just in shock. I don’t have time to assess if there are any injuries because I hear groaning coming from the pile where thatthingwas thrown.
When it drags itself from under the mess, it isn’t bleeding. And I physically saw Brice’s canines pierce into the flesh.
“Interesting,” Alaric comments while rounding in front of me. “Never thought I’d see one of these.”
“What is it?” I shift to stand beside him just as whatever the Beyond this is pops its head from side to side, eyeingme. I’m not afraid of thisthing, but I need to be cautious not to give it a moment to get to Sydni. If it just survived a Werewolf tear, something tells me it won’t go down with ease.
“It’s a Necroth. Likely once a Shifter with a strong skeletal system.” Alaric’s gaze shifts from left to right.
Now that he says the name, I can connect their appearance to those creatures. This looks exactly like history books tell them to be.
These things aren’t seen past the wall that lines Demour. Definitely never this far west. They are the undead; created by the Ashpyte toxic waste that settles under Old Hearth.
“Why is one here?!” Sydni shouts.
“I don’t know… but we can’t worry about that right now, someone?—”
“Someone planted this here,” I finish for him. “They don’t do people’s bidding willingly, so someone is controlling it.” Xeraphine said she had done something similar to that driver, Jonathan, when she killed the twins. But he was Mundane, from my understanding.
For someone to control a Necroth without being present,that’spowerful.
We barely make it any further into our conversation before it lunges at me. My stride is steady as I intercept its flying fist. The sharp smack echoes, sending dirt scattering around us, and it’s a wonder my wrist doesn’t snap from the force.
Alaric moves in, locking his arm around its neck, but a quick jab to his face forces him to falter. He stumbles but manages to hold on, regaining his grip almost instantly.
Seizing the moment, I pivot, gathering momentum, and drive myelbow into its nose with all the force I can summon, aiming to break it.
It doesn’t work.
In a blur, it seizes my wrist and twists it into an excruciating angle. Pain shoots through me, and I drop to one knee, my body yielding to the pressure.
This power—it’s far beyond anything a typical Shifter could possess.
Niyla appears out of nowhere, driving her shin into its face. Already reeling from the last hit, it stumbles, giving Alaric the opening to heave it over his shoulder.
As its grip on my wrist loosens, I’m back on my feet, darting around to intercept the Necroth before it can recover.
The instant I secure one of its limbs, Niyla and Alaric grab hold of the others, and together, we pull.
“Wait!” Sydni shouts. “What if it knows something?!”
Grunting, I shift my arm around its neck and pull back. Unfortunately, I don’t think that there will be much talking to it. Its heart isn’t even beating, and with the amount of pressure that it is applying back, I worry it could tear us apart given the chance.
“Brice!” My backward pull wrenches the undead Shifter down to its knees. Its hands claw desperately at my forearm as its strength falters, leaving it subdued.
Just as the Werewolf is mere steps from me, Sydni is between both him and us. “Stop, please, at least let me ask!”
“Syd!” I grit through my teeth—I don’t think she understands just howstrongthis thing is. My arms shake as I fall down to situate myself on my knees behind it, pulling it and curving its back.
“Where is Xeraphine!?” Her voice is tinged with anger and guilt.
I’m grateful when Niyla steps in, pressing down hard on its shoulders. Even so, the strength of this thing is… it’s unreal. It shouldn’t be possible, and yet here we are, struggling to pin down what should be just a simple Shifter.
The creature just hisses and grunts at my butterfly, not saying a word.
My eyes shift to Sydni’s, and she screams again, “Where is she?! Who took her?!”
