“He’s too weak to walk, and I can’t carry him. I know you’re sick, and I know you hurt, but I need you to fight, just a little longer, okay. Please help me save him.”
Nox rolled to the side.
“C’mon, I know you can do this.”
Nox got to his knees and rocked forward, pulling one foot under him.
“That’s it, just a little more.” Luca put his arm around Nox’s back. “I’ve got you.” He helped Nox stand.
“Easy…” Luca took a step and so did Nox. “Watch the ramp.”
The golden wolf sat at the bottom.
Nox growled.
“Concentrate on walking, not the wolf.”
Nox bared his teeth.
“Hey,” Luca hissed. “We don’t have time for you to try and intimidate a ghost. As soon as Isaiah comes out of that RV, he could see us. I can’t outrun them and right now, neither can you.”
Green fire burned behind the haze covering Nox’s corneas.
The wolf darted toward the vehicles and stopped beside a compact car.
“Hopefully, it knows which one the keys go to.”
There was still no sign of Isaiah. Fenrir stood in the shadows between RVs, watching the motorhomes.
Luca guided Nox to the passenger side and tried the door. It opened.
“Watch your head.” He lowered Nox to the seat. The vinyl creaked.
Nox slumped, arms at his side, legs still hanging out of the door.
“You still with me?”
Luca petted Nox’s cheek. The fire of the Anubis’s gaze faded away.
“C’mon, hang on a little longer. Please.” Luca couldn’t lose him now.
Nox licked his cracked lips and his eyes fluttered open for a moment. Luca helped him move his legs into the vehicle and pushed the door shut just enough for it to catch but not enough to make more than a soft click. He went around to the other side and got in.
He pulled the seatbelt around Nox and buckled it.
“We’re going to be okay.” The hairs on the back of Luca’s neck stood up.
Isaiah.
Luca cranked up the car. “Hang on.”
Shouts came from the near the RVs and betas ran in their direction. Luca stomped the gas. The rear tires slid on the wet ground until they found traction, and the vehicle lurched forward.
Rumbling engines cut through the whine of the tiny car and headlights filled the rearview. The compact bounded over ruts in the ground hard enough to toss Nox in his seat and rattle his door.
The trucks closed in.
They’d never outrun them.