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He let go and stepped back.
“Why is there magic? You don’t have a witch.”
“No,” he said. “We don’t.”
He turned and began to walk toward the silo.
I stared after him for a long moment. And then I did the only thing I could.
I followed.
We were close to the silo when I felt it.
The magic.
It bowled over me, and I staggered at the strength of it, taking in a great gasping breath. It rocked through me, and my head snapped up toward the sky, back arching as if I was electrified. There was something familiar about it, something just out of reach. It was bright and all-consuming and green, there was so much green, green like a forest alive and ancient.
But there was blue in it too, shot right through the middle, cutting the green cleanly in half. It was mourning and sorrow, deep and wild. A tear slid down my cheek as I gritted my teeth.
“Ah,” Malik said. “I see. So it is.”
The magic loosened its hold on me, and I took a lurching step forward, struggling to breathe as I hunched over. “What did you do to me?” I panted.
“Nothing you weren’t ready for. Not another word until I tell you. Stay there. I’ll let you know when you may enter.”
I wiped my face with the back of my arm, unsure why there was a goddamn lump in my throat, why I felt filled with so much grief that I could fucking taste it.
Malik was at a door at the base of the silo. He didn’t look back at me. He knocked once. Twice. Then three more in rapid succession.
He said, “Hello, little one. It is I. Malik. I am here. You are safe. I promise.”
It was only then that I heard it.
Another heartbeat.
It was quick, like the flutter of the wings of a bird. It felt small somehow, and as Malik opened the door, I was hit with the scent of another wolf.
A child.
But something was wrong. It didn’t feel like any other wolf I’d felt before. I didn’t know what it was, but it felt like something close to sickness, like a fog that reminded me of how humans smelled when they were slowly dying. It wasn’t quite there yet, but it was close.
Too close.
Malik disappeared into the silo, leaving the door open behind him. I heard him speaking in soft tones, saying “Hi” and “Hello” and “Were you sleeping? I’m so sorry to wake you, little one. But I promised I’d return. It’s just for tonight. Just to be safe.”
“I know,” a small voice said in response, and my chest hitched.
“I’ve brought a friend,” Malik said. “He is good. Not like the bad wolves. He’s important.”
“He won’t hurt me?”
“No. No one will ever hurt you again. I won’t let it happen.”
I waited.
Then, “Okay.”
I was startled out of a daze when Malik said, “Robbie. Come. Now.”
