Free Pure Blooded by Amanda Carlson

of
fleur de sel
on me.” She reached into her pants pocket and withdrew a small container of salt. “I can make fire, no problem, and I can spell the area to find other raw materials I need. I’d just need a pot of some kind to cook the spells in.”
    “Well,” Tyler said, coming up to us, “that sounds easy enough to procure. I bet there’s a Walmart on the other side of those dead trees.” He gestured in the distance. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with your cookware.”
    Danny elbowed him in the stomach. “Quit your grousing. You’re not thinking craftily enough, mate. I think what she’s talking about is a recon mission. If we can’t find an exit, we go to plan C, which would be find the priestess’s abode in this hellhole. She’s bound to have a house—or at least someplace she can scuttle off to. And if she does, she has to eat. Eating means pots. We break in, steal one, and we’re back before you know it.”
    “That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever—” Before Tyler could finish, there was a loud buzzing coming from Marcy.
    All eyes went to her as she slowly reached around to her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone. We gathered around her as she placed it out in front so we could see:
    GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!
    The message ran across the phone over and over again, ticking by so fast it was hard to read.
    Rourke roared into the air, “And exactly where do we GET OUT?”
    A heavy breeze laced with malice and intent rushed through the trees. Dead leaves rattled and shook, and low growls began to erupt from all around us.
    “We’re surrounded!” Tyler yelled. “She called in her wolves while we were debating cooking utensils.”
    Sure enough, red eyes began to light up the area as the possessed wolves crept closer through the trees on the other side of the circle.
    “How many are there?” Rourke said.
    “At least eight from my count,” Tyler answered. “They’re coming from all sides except behind us.”
    “Marcy, does the phone say anything else?” I said as I got down into a low crouch stance. “Keep looking.”
    “It says nothing!” she cried. “I’m shaking the dang thing and the message won’t change.” She held the phone up to her mouth and yelled into the speaker, “Listen, Jessica’s neighbor, we know we have to get out, but you need to give us a little more help than this!”
    There was a loud cracking sound, and the wolves howled their anger.
    “Over there!” Tyler called. “Do you see it?” He pointed at a tree to our right. It had started to glow, pulsing through the yellow haze like a beacon.
    “The phone is telling us to go to the tree,” Marcy said.
    We all took off, racing to reach it as the wolves closed in, yelping and snapping their jaws. Rourke arrived first, bracing his arms around the big trunk. One arm went through, which was a good sign. “It’s a doorway, let’s go!” He backed up and Danny lunged through, followed by Marcy. “Come on, Jessica, you’re next!”
    The rabid wolves were running hard across the clearing, trying to get to us. Tyler shoved me from behind, sending me shooting through right as a ghostly voice shivered along my spine, whispering, “We shall meet soon,
bèt nan bwa
.”

7

    “Where in the hell did you come from?” Ray yelled as we all landed at the edge of the channel, right in front of the boat.
    “
Ma Reine
,” Naomi said in a worried voice as she landed in front of me. “Are you all right?”
    I picked myself up from the tangle of roots and followed Marcy, jumping into the boat. “I’m fine, I think. We were chased into some kind of alternate reality by possessed snakes, but found a way out thanks to Juanita. I’ll explain later, but now we need to fire this boat up and get away from here.” I turned to Danny, who was already by the fan. “Can you get it started?”
    “Working on it,” he said as Tyler landed in the boat behind me and hurried to join him.
    “The snakes are gone,” Marcy