The tractor. It was hitched to the structure. Danny dropped the tools and climbed onto the seat. The engine sputtered then turned over. He shoved it into gear, dragging the cages away from the burning debris. He looked over his shoulder. A few of the thick timber bars smoldered, but the fire hadn’t fully caught on the thicker, newer wood. The dog stood on her hind legs and put her paws on the wood. Bill stretched his hand toward her.

“Get us out of here, please.” The fisherman clutched his son to his chest and waved the smoke away from the coughing boy.

The girls wrapped their arms around each other and wept. Tears shone on sooty faces. “Hurry.”

“I’m coming.” Danny ran toward them. Where was Nathan? There. He was in front of Mandy. Firelight gleamed on something metal in his hand.

A knife!

Mandy breathed. Danny saved them. The rush of smoky air into her lungs made her lightheaded.

“You ruined everything!”

Nathan was less than ten feet away. The blade in his hand reflected the orange glow of the fire.

“I never thought you’d betray me. If I can’t have you, no one will.” In a swirl of déjà vu, Nathan lunged. “You’ll have to take their place as the sacrifice tonight.”

Jed jumped in front of Mandy. The knife slipped into his torso with a sick, wet sound. Clutching his belly, Jed fell to his knees. Nathan raised the knife level with Jed’s neck.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Mandy’s gun was in her hand. She aimed at the center of Nathan’s chest and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck him dead center with a quiet smack, the impact jerking his body. He focused on Mandy and lurched toward her, the knife still clenched in his bloody fist. Mandy fired again and again, until the gun clicked on an empty chamber. Nathan fell backward into the fire. A high-pitched, inhuman shriek sliced through the smoky air. Embers shot into the sky. His head struck a piece of wood, cutting off his screams. The flames embraced him.

Ignoring the burning body, Mandy rushed forward.

“Jed!” She dropped to her knees beside him. She ripped his shirt open. Under his rib cage and above his scar, blood seeped from a wound much smaller than the last one. She balled her sweatshirt up and pressed it to the cut.

“Danny!” She frantically looked around. He was climbing off the tractor. The wind shifted. Glowing embers blew toward Evan, still tied to the pole.

Grabbing the saw and hatchet from the ground, Danny freed Evan, then ran to the wicker man and handed the saw to the man in the bottom cage and the hatchet to the girls. “Here.”

The man started sawing. Samantha worked the hatchet.

“I’ll get another tool.” Evan stumbled toward the barn.

Jed’s body convulsed.