Page 34 of Rogue Witch

Ariel whirls, hate in her eyes, and she shouts something that’s drowned out by the shouting spectators. Three students on the far side of the hanging tree run toward the surrounding forest. I stumble forward, legs heavy, as if I’m slogging through water. My boot catches on something. I jerk my gaze to the ground as I stumble over a damn rock. I whip my attention back onto Chelsea. She and the guy are now balanced on tiptoes, both of them gripping the ropes that encircle their necks.

Panic tightens my chest to near pain. Chelsea isn’t using magic. Her ability to use magic has to be suffocated by the magic pressing in around us. My sluggishness goes clear through to my bones. We’re supposed to overcome The Shadows with peace, harmony, and love—and trust, mostly trust in one another. How the hell am I supposed to trust Ariel or fucking meditate? By the time I enter an altered state, Chelsea and the guy will be dead.

Red hot fury ignites my chest. “Hey, bitch!” I shout at Ariel.

She snaps her gaze onto the four Shadows and points at me.

A maniacal laugh bursts from me. “Come get me, motherfuckers!”

The Shadows don’t move.

“Get her,” Ariel shouts.

Two girls break from the crowd, headed my way. Oh, this is just perfect. I’m supposed to fight students? My wolf approaches the students near the tree. Two more scatter, then whirl and run for the trees.

“Hey!” Ariel shouts.

One of the Shadows shoots after the fleeing students. The two shifters reach my wolf. My wolf leaps onto the nearest wolf and tears a chunk of fur from his back. The wolves’ snarls are lost amid students’ shouts of “Get the bastard!” and “Pull harder!”

I push through the weight of apathy as the two girls are within five feet of me. I narrow my eyes on them. The girl on the right freezes.

“Run,” I whisper.

Her eyes widen.

“Fucking run,” I hiss.

She whirls and runs. The other girl lunges and spins, leg thrown high for a roundhouse kick. I dive to the ground as her boot grazes my cheek. I roll and come to my feet in a squat. She spins, but I hook her ankle with my foot and yank hard. She lands on her ass. I leap on her and ram my fist into her jaw. She goes limp. I push to my feet, breathing hard, and stumble toward the tree.

Someone shouts, “Look out!”

Half a dozen students spin and surge toward me. Growls and snarls fill the air. The phantom spectators cheer. Magic presses against me so hard I drag in a breath. I can’t stop all my attackers by brute force. The Shadows hover, waiting. I hesitate. If I continue to use magic, I will be infected like Ariel. If I don’t return home, Stony could die. Familiars don’t always survive the loss of their witches. I swing my gaze from Chelsea to the guy. Neither can I let them die.

Then I’ve got to be very careful.

I square my feet and center my magic, throw my palms up, and channel power up through my abdomen, chest, and down my arms.

I chant to the tune of Humpty Dumpty,

“Academy students built a magic wall.

“Academy students’ magic wall fell.

“All the students and all their Shadows couldn’t put the wall together again.”

The students headed toward me fly backwards and land on the ground. The Shadows are five feet away. I don’t care. I’m out for blood.

“Finish them,” Ariel shouts at the students pulling the ropes.

The students gripping the ropes pull hard. Chelsea and the guy swing free of the ground. They’re clawing at the ropes around their necks as they spin. The weight of magic increases. I laugh without humor and extend my hands, palms up. The same swirling balls of black fire, smoke, or whatever it is that I conjured against the Thol’guk, form in my palms. I throw one like a baseball, then toss the left-hand one into my right hand and throw it, too.

Students scatter, but those pulling the ropes continue their backwards steps. Chelsea and the guy hang five feet in the air and kick wildly. The phantom crowd leaps to their feet and cheers when my balls of energy strike two students and they fall. A guy conjures a spear and hurls it in my direction. I jump out of the way and throw another energy ball at the section of rope above Chelsea’s head. The energy ball slices through the rope and she drops to the ground.

Power surges through me. I conjure another ball and draw back my hand to throw the ball of energy. My wolf charges me, barking madly. Yeah, I know. When this is over, he’ll give me hell for interfering. Fuck him, too. As long as the Shadows don’t come any closer, I can keep going.

Four students fall upon Ariel and begin beating her with their fists. My heart thunders. About fucking time. I’m tackled from behind and hit the ground face first. I can’t catch my breath. I try to push off the ground, but my attacker weighs a ton. A knee presses into my back and spots race across my sight. I conjure the vision of—

The weight leaves my back. A wolf snarls inches away from my head. I roll away. My wolf’s mouth is clamped around my attacker’s arm and the guy is trying to shake him off. My God, the guy is a mountain of muscle. Where did he come from?