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She was outside, free from my frozen clutches. No doubt she’d hear the leaves crunch beneath my feet, but if I stood still, she might spot me. I ducked behind a fallen tree, cowering beneath the sharp pieces of bark protruding into my back.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she taunted, taking slow steps toward the tree line.
A blast of air flew next to me, crashing into trees to my left, uprooting the dead stumps and sending the shredded branches everywhere.
“I’ll find you,” she sang out, filled with too much amusement for such a dark promise. The fact that she found this entertaining made me fear her even more.
Another blast of air, this one crashing into the log I’d been hiding behind. My body flew through the air, and I landed hard on my side, right into the trunk of a tree, knocking the literal breath out of me. I rolled to the ground, a crumpled mess beneath the leaves and tree limbs that littered the ground.
I couldn’t move. Hell, I could barely breathe after the impact from the tree trunk. But I didn’t have time to even think of a plan before Morgan found me, jerking me up by my hair in a painful tug, and dragging me through the grass toward the cottage.
Weakness.
I was too weak to do anything, and it pissed me off. I didn’t hold the strength of my werewolf side and using my magic earlier to freeze took a lot out of me. Maybe if I hadn’t just flown into the side of a tree, I could try again, but the pain in my side was sharp, and even being dragged took a lot of energy—especially when every rock and bump in the dirt hit my side on the way back.
“You know, you have been a pain in the ass since you got here,” she said between grunts as she pulled my body. If this weren’t such a deadly situation, I’d be offended that she thought I weighed so much. “A thorn in my side. But at least I won’t have to deal with you much longer. No one to save you now, Princess.”
I was completely helpless, and no one was coming to rescue me. Morgan was right, I am pathetic.
No.
I wouldn’t go out like that—the girl who needed saving every time trouble hit. I took down a feral wolf, dammit! A wolf that tore through other humans like I do Chinese food. If I could handle that ravenous beast, then what’s a resentful witch?
She continued her trash talk as she dragged me across the yard, and I remained still, waiting for the right time to make my move because I only had one shot. If I failed, I might not get another. Patiently, I let her yank me to the cottage.
“Cresco!” I yelled, using my magic to pull the vines that blanketed the cottage. The vines slithered down the old bricks like a silent predator, and up Morgan’s leg, twisting around her ankle as they rooted to the ground, giving her a good tug.
Morgan might have a few tricks of her own, but so did I. It might sound crazy, but I’ve watched enough television and read enough books to pick up a few ideas.
“I see you’ve gotten stronger,” Morgan said, blasting the vines to smithereens. Using her air, she lifted to her feet, standing tall as I stood with a limp. “No worry; I will take care of you, all the same. Because I am the stronger witch. I have the power of the ancients!”
Her arms flew into the air, reaching toward the sky as they collected a swirling pattern of wind, forming a tornado in her hands above her.
My eyes grew wide as I watched this massive force of power growing in size before me. I started limping toward the cottage, creating a barrier around only myself so as to not extend too much of my power. I was already wobbly and sluggish. How much more of my energy could I spare?
Morgan sent the tornado hurling toward me, dismantling everything in its path. Holding my barrier was a difficult task, but I managed to keep it intact.
The tornado looped around the cottage, making a circle back to where I stood.
Oh, shit. Round two.
My defense was slowly cracking, being weakened with every lap the tornado took. How could I survive against that violent, destructive force of nature when I could barely stand?
“Cresco,” I whispered, using the vines from the cottage, the grass on the ground, and any other plant life that wasn’t devoured by the tornado to help me move. The vines lifted me, carrying me inside as the grass pushed them along. Even the branches that were blown into the yard grew, twisting around the vines as an added layer of protection.
Little flowers sprouted and bloomed—and in a moment so bleak, it was absolutely beautiful. If that was the moment I died, seeing such a vision, it wouldn’t be the worst way to go.
The world around me had come to life in ways I never imagined—it was all so animistic. My connection to nature had never felt so pure, and a pang of guilt hit me when I remembered that I gave up my Earth affinity.
No time for that now.
The vines dropped me off in the center of the cottage, blocking the entrance with the massive trunks and green foliage. And they continued to grow on the floors, along the walls, and throughout the cottage, covering every space in nature—in life.
I hobbled to the bathroom, shutting the door and placing my hand against the rotting wood, hoping my magic could soak into it and use it as a barrier. I was too weak to make another.
A blast sounded from outside the door. Morgan must’ve burst through the vines, and now she was coming to the bathroom.
My breathing hitched, and my eyes darted to the window. Even if I could climb through that, which would be a miracle in itself, I couldn’t do it before she got there.
