Page 98 of Shadow Witch

Paige rolled her eyes but gave in. She had no desire to leap onto the back of the massive beast and wrangle it to the ground. “Okay, fine. Since I actually know how to play the bait, I’ll do the job you can’t.”

“Ha!” Drucinda barked as she eyed the temple before she slid her gaze back to Paige. “Ready?”

Paige lunged to the side and nodded. “Ready.”

“Here we go,” Drucinda said as she kicked a foot against the wall, using it to propel herself higher. With another few steps, she climbed nearly to the ceiling before she flung herself over the wolf’s head.

She tucked into a ball, spiraling through the air before she landed neatly behind the wolf. It whipped around to face her, snapping its jaw.

“What happened to your bait antics?” Drucinda shouted, punching the wolf in the nose to drive it back a step.

“I tried my best!” Paige shouted. “Here wolfy, wolfy. Back here.”

“Jump on him!”

“What?” Paige cried.

The wolf lunged at Drucinda again. She ducked before she wrapped both hands around its snout. “Jump on him!”

Paige stood frozen for a moment, her heart pounding.

“Do it!” Drucinda encouraged as she continued to wrestle with the wolf.

Paige bobbed her head up and down as she tried to find the courage to leap onto the beast’s back. She crept closer, trying to assess its movements before she flung herself forward.

“Today, Paige. Jump!” Drucinda said through clenched teeth.

Paige leapt into the air, spreading her arms to latch onto the wolf. Drucinda twisted its head to the side, causing the furry creature to fall and roll away.

Paige landed with a hard thud against the stone floor, the air leaving her lungs. She gasped for breath as she tried to recover. “Jerk,” she forced out.

“I couldn’t help it. Try again,” Drucinda said.

Paige forced herself to her feet, preparing for another assault. The moment she lunged, Drucinda shifted again, sending her into another nosedive to the floor.

She climbed to her feet, gasping for breath. “You’re doing that on purpose.”

“I’m not,” Drucinda answered, her features taut from her efforts to control the wolf. “If you’d just do your job.”

“This was supposed to be your job!” she shouted as she leapt at the wolf again, this time landing on his back.

The wolf bucked her, rearing back on its hind legs like a wild horse.

Paige dug her fingers into his fur in a desperate attempt to hang on to the wolf. “Stop it. Stop!”

“You aren’t doing very well,” Drucinda said as she inched backward.

“Help me!” Paige shouted as the world spun around her in a dizzying array. “This thing is crazy.”

“Well, you are trying to kill it.”

Paige gritted her teeth as she struggled against the wild beast. “There’s no way I can kill it.”

“Are you joking?” Drucinda crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes at Paige. “Kill it before it kills us.”

“Why don’t you kill it?” Paige shouted as the wolf reared back again. “Oh, I can’t take much more. Please, stop, Mr. Wolf.”

The wolf’s motions slowed, his ears flicking.

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