The sound punched straight through the fog.I jerked my head, startled back into my own body.
Owen was on one knee, one hand braced on the ground, the other flat to the earth like he was holding it down by sheer will.His face was thunder itself.
“She’s not going with you.”
I’d never heard him sound that ferocious.
Lightning streaked overhead, a jagged white scar across the sky.
“Get the Sun Disk, Piper!”Owen barked.
The ground vibrated again—and Garrat froze mid-step, teeth bared.Like Owen had pinned him to the earth.
I didn’t think.I moved.
I scurried to where the Sun Disk had fallen.I dropped the flashlight—I couldn’t afford to drop the vial—and snatched the Disk up with my free hand.
“Place it at the tree!”Owen said, voice still dark and dangerous.
Garrat strained, snarling, but he couldn’t move.Owen’s druid magic held him like a fist around his throat.
I clutched the Sun Disk in one hand and ran back to the sliver of green by the roots.
My shoes were already ruined, so I stepped into the oozing blackness and tried not to gag—or think about the smell—then dropped to my knees.
I stretched the Disk out and pressed it against the roots.
Instantly, it lit—gold blooming in a perfect circle, bright enough to paint the underside of the leaves.
I checked my watch.
Ten minutes to go.
Too much time between now and the planetary alignment.Too much time for Garrat to find a way out.Too much time for anything to go wrong.
I wasn’t sure what to do next.
In my hand, the vial warmed.I glanced down at it.The potion had started to… glow.I sucked in a breath.
“Uh…”
“Piper.”Garrat’s voice.I lifted my gaze to him.“Don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?Who killed her and why?”
I stared at him, my heart clawing its way to my throat.
“Y-yes.”
“Don’t listen to him, Piper!”Owen said.“He’s trying to trick you.”
“I have all the answers,” Garrat continued as if he hadn’t spoken.He lifted his hand toward me once again.“Come.And I will give them all to you.”
The compulsion was so strong, I almost reached for him.
“Shewill not.”
Owen.His voice was feral.His face still a mask of thunder.
I glanced his way.Saw the blood dripping from his nose.Whatever he was doing to keep Garrat away from me, it was hurting him.A pang of terror went through me.
