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Why wasn't Percy more expendable than him? Unfortunately, the undead didn't care who was standing there with their hands outstretched and a puzzled expression on their face. They saw fresh food and went for it. They traded their shambling gait in for a souped-up sprint. Fred's eyes widened, and with a scream he spun around and raced for the others.
    The growling and moaning came closer and faster than the rocks ahead of him, and Fred risked a glance back. The undead were on his heels and still catching with their teeth gnashing and their mouths salivating for his juicy flesh. Fred reached for his stick, but Ned climbed above the rocks and cupped his hands together. "Don't use magic! The stone will see you!" Ned yelled to the young man.
    Fred rolled his eyes, and turned in time to dodge a dive by one of the undead. Its fingers scraped the sleeve of his new cloak, and when he finished rolling out of the way he scowled down at his damaged coat. He lifted his furious gaze at the half dozen creatures, and when another jumped at him he twisted around and swung a fist into its rotting jaw. Its teeth flew off and clamped onto the closest undead, but that didn't stop any of them. Fred yelped and jumped up high enough to avoid another dead dive-bomber, this time at his legs. His feet smashed down on its head and he used it as a springboard toward the rocks and his allies. The undead pursued him over a zigzag course from one boulder to another as he retraced his steps perfectly.
    Fred reached the rocks with his lungs burning and the creatures all lined up behind him. When he was twenty yards from the rock Ned yelled at him, "Duck!"
    "Are you kidding me?" Fred screamed back. Ducking would have made him a sitting duck.
    Ned pointed his staff at Fred, who widened his eyes and dove to the ground. Sins shot out from the side of the rock brandishing a large dagger, and he cut the legs out from beneath the undead. Their limbs turned into piles of dust and they dropped to the ground, but dragged themselves toward Fred. He flipped over and kicked at them before a beam of light pierced the six undead in their heads. They fell face-forward into small heaps of rotting flesh and stopped moving.
    Percy came over and helped Fred up. "Maybe next time you can be the bait," Fred wheezed to him.
    Percy laughed. "I hope there isn't a next time. That didn't look like much fun."
    Ned passed them both and tapped on one of the heads. There was a hollow sound, and he smiled and gave a nod. "This will do very well."
    "You're not getting me to wear one of those things," Fred refused.
    Ned chuckled, and flipped one of the undead over. The innards were gone, replaced with a smooth sheet of leather attached to the skin. The same was true for the arms where they were merely shells of skin without bone or sinew. "It's nothing more than a hood," Ned told him.
    Percy stooped and picked up one of the undead. "So that's how you can use an undead skin. Keep the head intact and remove every other part to create a skin costume."
    "Precisely," Ned replied.
    Percy tossed the six skins over his shoulder and straightened. "Perhaps we should return to the girls and see how they are doing," he suggested.
    "And Canto," Fred reminded him.
    The other boy smirked and whispered a few words on passing by him back to the steeds. "I thought I'd already mentioned him."
    Ned followed Percy, but Fluffy stayed beside Fred and growled at something behind him. Fred turned to see Sins staring at him. "Oh, um, thanks for saving me," Fred shakily thanked him. "So, um, why don't you use that knife more often?" he asked Sins.
    "A cut can miss a vital organ, but a poison dart will always kill the victim," Sins replied.
    "I'll, um, I'll remember that," Fred replied. Fred stuck close to Fluffy on the way back to the horses, and the four humans returned to camp.

CHAPTER 6
     
    "What in the world was that column of light?" Pat asked them when they returned to camp. She noticed the clean skins over