"This isn't just grave robbing, is it?" Katherine asked once both were safely out of the grave.
Lucía ran a hand across her cheek, her expression still grim. "I doubt it. I know some creatures that dig up graves, mostly to feed on the corpses, but I don't know any that steal bones. If they're taking only certain bones, it means they need them for something specific."
Katherine swallowed hard, her mind racing through possibilities she couldn't quite grasp. Unlike the ghosts she was used to dealing with, who tended to have fairly human motivations, the creatures Lucía spoke of were far more terrifying. And the fact that Lucía seemed genuinely concerned about what they'd found made the redhead nervous.
Lucía, for her part, appeared calm, but deep down she was irritated by all the unknowns and unexpected variables. The truth was, as much as it pained her to admit it, thinking wasn't her strong suit. She was a hunter who relied on instinct, following trails until she found the creature she was meant to put in the ground. She hated complex cases.
"Forget it. Just focus on the task at hand," Lucía told herself, sighing to release the tension. That was when her gaze returned to the grave they had just exited, and she noticed something. The reflection of her flashlight on the coffin lid revealed something previously hidden by dirt—a pattern.
Lucía narrowed her eyes, her muscles tensing slightly as she leaned forward, ready to climb down again and examine it, no matter how annoying it was. But she didn't get the chance.
A howl, deep and guttural. A wave of sound and fear swept through the cemetery, startling the crows perched like ominous spectators in the trees. It was filled with something primal and cruel, shaking both girls to their bones.
Lucía turned her head quickly, her pupils now dilated and focused on the creature revealed by her flashlight as the scent of full moon and madness flooded her nose. Her body moved on its own, stepping forward to place herself between the creature and Katherine. Every muscle was coiled like a spring, ready to act.
And there it was—the creature she had been hunting. Walking with predatory grace on its two hind legs. It's massive frame, packed with dense muscle and covered in dark fur. Its huge arms ended in bloodthirsty claws that sparked as they scraped against the tombstones in its path.
But what truly filled Katherine's heart with primal fear were those yellow eyes, glowing with sickly malevolence in that lupine head.
The creature didn't waste time. With an unexpected motion, its enormous claws closed around a nearby tombstone, sinking terrifyingly easily into the stone surface before ripping it from the ground.
For a moment, Lucía saw the gesture in slow motion. "No way…" Her mind couldn't believe what was happening. Then the tombstone flew toward her with tremendous force. The air whistled, torn by the weight of the projectile. Lucía barely had time to react.
She looked at the redhead behind her, frozen in place. Fear had settled in her bones, making them heavier than the ground beneath her feet. Lucía made her decision in a fraction of a second. Her arms wrapped around Katherine with the speed of pure instinct, launching them out of harm's way at the last moment.
The tombstone crashed into the ground, shattering in a rain of dust and sharp fragments. And just as Lucía managed to land with Katherine in her arms, she felt the vibration in the earth. At the edge of her peripheral vision, a beast was charging toward her on all fours.
Lucía's body moved, reacting with the speed of someone trained to face death head-on, without a second of hesitation. In the same instant she pushed away from Katherine, her hand was already deploying the folding staff, the black chrome metal snapping open with a dry click.
Time slowed. The shadow of the werewolf fell over her like a wave of fury, its jaws open in a display of sharp fangs, ready to tear flesh and bone. Meanwhile, Katherine could only watch.
Lucía twisted her body just in time. The staff came between them at the last instant. The creature collided with her like a speeding train, the force of the impact ripping her from the ground and dragging her along with her attacker.
The world became a whirlwind of brutal motion, tombstones flashing by like gray blurs and shadows splintering under the moonlight. A second later, everything stopped when Lucía was slammed against the ground.
The air was knocked from her lungs, but she had no time to recover it. The weight of the creature was on her. Her staff was still between the werewolf's jaws, but her muscles were beginning to fail under the beast's overwhelming pressure.
Watching from the ground, Katherine couldn't move. She couldn't scream. She couldn't even think. She could only see Lucía trapped, struggling against something that wanted to tear her apart. A fear unlike anything she'd ever known invaded her mind, and for the first time, her faith and courage weren't enough to restore her will to fight.
The sound of metal breaking between the werewolf's jaws echoed with a dry, brutal crunch. Lucía clenched her jaw, her amber eyes glowing with the reflection of the full moon now high in the sky. She could feel the danger double in the instant her weapon ceased to exist. But the creature also felt the impact of its mistake.
The fragments of the staff lodged in its throat, forcing it to stagger back with a muffled growl, its body shaking with fury as its claws flexed with murderous intent.
Lucía's blood boiled in her veins, adrenaline fueling her reaction speed. The creature's movements seemed slow to her glowing amber eyes. She could see in slow motion as the monster rose onto its hind legs, its silhouette expanding beneath the dim moonlight. The claws lifted into the air. Then they came down in a violent arc, aiming for her flesh.
Lucía rolled across the ground, her body reacting, conditioned by experience and instinct. Her back grazed the damp earth as she moved out of death's path, the sharp claws missing her by mere centimeters. The strike slammed into the ground, tearing up the soil in a burst of dark mud.
Lucía pushed herself up immediately, her palms pressing against the cemetery's gray earth. Faster than she had any right to be, she was on her feet in a second, leaping back and sidestepping to keep her distance from the beast.
Her eyes, molten gold pits of light, scanned the creature before her, the surroundings, anything that could influence the outcome of this fight. Then she saw it. Her backpack, which carried most of her tools and weapons, had been thrown far out of reach when the werewolf had tackled her.
Lucía clicked her tongue in frustration, feeling the danger of the situation sink into her bones. She had no access to her other weapons and no time to retrieve them. The werewolf was already turning toward her again. With no other options, Lucía extended her right hand over her left arm, her fingers closing around the hidden hilt beneath her sleeve.
The knife slid from its sheath in a fluid motion, its blade leaving a shimmering trail of silver light in the air. Lucía held the knife firmly in her grip, the blade reflecting the pale glow of the moon. Her body braced for a second round against the creature. But the werewolf didn't move immediately. Instead, it growled—low and rough—a sound that rumbled in its chest like a war drum.
Lucía gave a mocking smile, her breath still ragged from the brief but extremely dangerous first clash. "What's wrong, rabid dog on steroids? Don't like silver?"
But Lucía didn't get the reaction she was expecting from the intelligent mind buried beneath all the moonlight-induced brutality. The werewolf didn't show more rage or aggression. Instead, it simply stared back at her, flexing its claws. Lucía blinked, her instincts screaming that something was very wrong.