Story:

Then the attacker turned its head.

Farther along the street, someone was approaching the intersection. A plastic shopping bag rustled.

Shiki’s hand closed around her sword.

“Enough.” She left the shadows at a sprint.

The creature twisted toward the sound. Light revealed a slack mouth, elongated teeth, and eyes that no longer tracked movement with anything resembling human attention.

A ghoul.

Low-order, newly ravenous—and already moving toward another meal.

Shiki drew.

Steel cleared the scabbard with a sharp hiss. Runes along the blade kindled beneath her fingers, their pale light running toward the point.

The ghoul lunged.

She stepped inside its reaching arms.

Her cut crossed its neck in a single, level arc. For one brief instant, the blade caught the red moon.

Then Shiki was beyond it.

The body struck the pavement behind her. She turned, sword held ready, and watched until the last movement stopped.

At the intersection, the approaching pedestrian froze.

“Go back,” Shiki ordered.

The stranger stared at the fallen figure.

“Now.”

The shopping bag rattled as its owner retreated. Shiki lowered her blade slightly and approached the man beside the wall.

Too late.

She knew it before she crouched. Still, she checked. His coat had fallen open. One hand lay palm upward beside the wheel of his cart, fingers curled as though he had dropped something small.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

A scrape answered her.

Shiki looked down.