Even if I could connect to them, what would I do? I can’t see a single way plants could help me in this situation.
“Paul,” I mutter, choking on my own fear. “What do you want? Did you come all this way just for me?”
“Actually, I kind of did,” he says in a jovial tone. “I was tracking you for a very long time—nice work staying ahead of me, by the way. It really threw me when you came into Eccles. The town line was magically blurred or something, and I lost the trail.”
“So why are you still here? Didn’t you push on, looking for me?”
“No way, babe. I’m smarter than that. I know your limits, and it would have been impossible for you to get too far ahead.I knew there had to be magic involved. Then, while I was prowling around in these mountains, I remembered some old tales Grandma used to tell.”
Oh no…
“Stories about a great and powerful spirit, grounded in the desert rock, that could grant incredible powers to an alpha wolf if he was pure and true.”
“Are you pure and true?” I almost scream, my disbelief making me forget about acting placid.
Paul chuckles. “There it is, princess. I know you’ve got real fire in you. God, it would be so good if you’d fight me. Like, really throw down.”
I press my lips together, determined not to give him that fight.
“To answer your question, I am pure and true. Pure evil, and true to my heart, my own cause. These fairytales are completely interpretable, didn’t you know that?”
“I suppose most people just interpret them as positive,” I remark.
“That’s their loss. Anyway, the pieces all started to click together. At one point, I picked up a hint of your trail to the north, but it faded fast.”
The time I ran away from Grace!
“I kept circling, and the magical shield actually did a really good job of showing me the town limits. All I had to do was wait for an opening.”
“So how did you get in?”
“It was the weirdest thing,” he says nonchalantly. “I saw this army guy just kind of materialize in front of me. I jumpedhim without thinking, and once I had him pinned, I could see inside the shield. We must have collided right at its edge. I thanked him for his help, of course.”
Feeling numb and sick as I imagine what he might have done, I refuse to ask.
“Don’t you want to know how I thanked him?”
“No.”
“Well. Alright, then. I won’t go into details. But I tell you, he was so excited, he just went to pieces.”
I swallow down my disgust, trying to stop thinking.
“So, I’m in, right? Finally in town. I’ve got your scent, and there’s a big thing going on towards the east—lots of interesting smells. But I can’t just go straight out there. I’ve got to stop in and pick you up first.”
“Why?” I cry, turning to look at him. “Surely the ancient spirit is more important than me?”
Paul stops, putting a hand on my shoulder to remind me of the wound and to make me stop. He gathers up some of my hair, yanking my face close to his, and cold fury takes over his features.
“You’re mine!” he hisses. “And you don’t fucking go anywhere without my say-so, got it? I’d never let you get away from me. And as it turns out, you’re actually going to be useful to me in a different way.”
“What?” I mumble, trembling in pain from his grip on my hair and injured shoulder. “What are you talking about?”
“Grandma told me a secret. She said that not many people knew this, but the ancient god couldn’t be summoned without a magic worker. If a wolf even tried, he’d trigger a massiveexplosion—the energy of the spirit being released and then returning to its lair. A witch has to guide the process. A wolf can’t do it alone.”
“I’m not a witch!” I moan. “Please, Paul, I’m nobody, I don’t have any power!”
“Oh, really?” he says, glaring at me. “Then explain why all your plants grew twice as fast as they should have. How your tracks were covered by moss almost immediately after you passed through. The air itself would fill with the scent of jasmine, hiding your trail from me.”
