Page 84 of The Warlock's Trial

We all rushed over to Verla. My stomach bottomed out when I saw the blood dripping down her arm. The beast’s fangs had sliced deep twisted cuts through Verla’s forearm, leaving chunks of hanging flesh behind. The white of bone poked through the gruesome wounds.

Warren stripped off his coat and wrapped it around Verla’s arm as her whole body trembled. Odin lay at Verla’s side, meowing loudly.

“Why did you do that? You didn’t have to save me!” Nadine shouted. I could see the pain written across her face. She blamed herself for getting Verla hurt. “That thing could’ve killed you! You should’ve let it bite me.”

“I would’ve snapped you in half,” Verla argued.

“It almost did that to you,” Nadine shouted.

Verla winced as she pulled her injured arm closer to her chest. “I’m stronger than you think. If it didn’t hurt me, it would’ve hurt you, and I couldn’t let that happen. You need to survive, Nadine, for the coven’s sake.”

Tears leaked from Nadine’s eyes. She didn’t want to see anyone get hurt, especially for her sake. It was too similar to what had happened to Helena.

Verla’s eyes drooped. “We must follow the beast through to the Abyss…”

Her words trailed off, and her head lolled to the side, like she couldn’t quite see straight. She’d lost a lot of blood, but this was something else…

“That creature was venomous!” I realized.

Horror filled Professor Warren’s features. “We’ll need an antidote to counteract the venom.”

“Great,” I replied sarcastically. “Where are we going to find that?”

“We’ll have to turn back and request help from the fae,” Warren insisted. “We know nothing of questing beasts and don’t know how long it takes for that venom to take hold of her bloodstream. If we don’t act now, she could be dead within the hour. We have no choice but to leave.”

“No,” Nadine said firmly, her mind already made up. “We aren’t going to get another chance to return to Malovia, and we aren’t leaving here without the Oaken Wands. You can carry Verla back to the entrance, where Siona can provide help, but the five of us must go on.”

I didn’t have to read her mind to know what she was thinking. Nadine didn’t give a shit about the Oaken Wands right now. All she cared about was Verla, but Nadine had told me she didn’t want people dying to protect her. If we left now, then Verla suffered for Nadine—and Nadine alone. If we kept going, then Verla’s sacrifice would be in the name of the Oaken Wands. Nadine didn’t want anyone else getting hurt for her.

“Nadine’s the chosen one,” I said. “It’s up to her.”

“It’s what has to be done,” Nadine insisted. “Any time we sit around talking about it is wasted time.”

We all knew what that meant. Professor Warren had to get Verla back to the cave entrance as soon as possible, or it could be too late.

Chloe caught on. “Nadine’s right. We don’t have a choice.”

“All right,” Professor Warren agreed reluctantly. “I suppose there is no other option. Clarice and I will be at the entrance when you return.”

Warren stood and lifted Verla in his arms. Odin cried out and followed them back up the tunnel.

Nadine stared after them long after the sound of their footsteps faded. I wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned in to me, sniffling. “Verla shouldn’t have stepped in front of me. The creature was coming for us. We didn’t have time to talk out a plan. I knew what I was doing. I could’ve weakened it.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Nad,” Grant told her gently. “Verla’s going to be all right.”

Nadine scoffed bitterly. “Yeah, so long as I’m not there to kill her, I’m sure she’ll be just fine. Can’t say the same for the rest of you though, since you’re traveling with me. Who else wants to die for me?”

Talia reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “That’s not going to happen, because we’re all going to walk out of there alive.”

“You can’t know that,” Nadine argued.

Talia conjured the Seer Wand, and the tip began to glow. “Yes, I can. I can’t see what we’re getting ourselves into down there, but I know we’re going to make it.”

Talia could’ve been lying for all any of us knew, but nobody questioned her, because we all wanted to believe she was telling the truth. It was the hope we needed to push onward.

Slowly, Nadine nodded and got to her feet. She approached the largest pit and peered into the dark slime. “We named our movement The Coven’s Shield, and the coven needs us now to get those Wands. Let’s keep moving.”

Grant gazed into the pit beside us. “We’re like a band of superheroes. Might I suggest we call ourselves the Shield Squad?”

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