Page 72 of After Darkness Falls

"What's in it?" Chloe asked, pocketing it.

Greer shrugged. "You know, essential oils, eucalyptus. Mostly magic, though. A mushroom that only grows at the very tip of a stiff cliff, flowers that must be picked on a blue moon, the raw heart of a…"

Chloe held her hands up in surrender. She didn’t need to know whose heart she was ingesting. "Got it. No questions asked. If it helps, I'll use it."

The witch laughed. "Wise. Keep practicing, and I'll see you next week, same time?"

No way Chloe would miss that.

By the end of a long week, she was glaring every time her eyes fell on Night Hill, seeing it as the source of all her troubles. She was certain that if Levi had let Mikar, or basically anyone else, train her, every part of her flesh wouldn't feel like it had been beaten repetitively.

Except maybe Jack. She could be wrong, but she suspected that Jack's training plans might make Levi's seem like child's play.

To be fair, in just a week, she'd made considerable progress. She practiced the "block punch, grab, and twist arm" move Levi had used on her every day, moving against an invisible attacker, her hands only grabbing air—but she got faster and faster.

By Sunday, walking up to Night Hill, she was looking forward to showing her progress, although she wouldn't admit that to Levi.

He told her he'd pick her up at six at the bottom of the hill, so she arrived at five-thirty, determined to speak to Bill again.

She knew something was wrong almost right away. Bill's cabin was dark and empty, its door wide open. Behind it and to the left, the gate heading up to Night Hill was open.

No, not open. Smashed. Destroyed.

Hearing and feeling movement behind her, she spun on her heels and breathed out in relief when Mikar appeared.

He lifted his arm, pointing east.

"On the hill. Now."

Not Night Hill. Coscnoc.

She opened her mouth. "No questions,” he said. “You run, you hear me? Don't look behind you, run—through the woods, not on the trail. Don't trustanyof your friends. One of them is behind this."

The next moment, he was running up Night Hill, leaving her side for the first time in three months.

Chloe stared at his back for a heartbeat. She'd never seen him so spooked, not even in London. What was he afraid of?

Don't trust any of your friends. One of them is behind this.

Behind what exactly? Breaking Night Hill's barrier? She didn't understand a thing.

But she did know one thing: Mikar had protected her since she'd entered Oldcrest. He had been a deterrent, at least, and maybe even a shield. And now, he was gone.

So, turning to face east, she ran.

At least she was good at running. The huntsmen hadn't dubbed her Cheetah for nothing.

Night Hill and Coscnoc were perhaps a mile apart, separated by a muddy ravine. Any other day, she would have headed south, toward the Institute, and then north to Coscnoc, but the three-mile delay wasn't an option right now. She trekked through the mud, forcing herself to keep her gaze forward. Once she'd reached the base of the east hill, she glanced at her legs and grimaced.

"Sorry, pretty boots. I promise I'll clean and polish you."

If she survived whatever was happening.

Obeying Mikar's directions, Chloe remained away from the paths leading up to the summit, although running through the woods wasn't easy. When her lungs protested, she took a short break, using the opportunity to remove the mud at the sole of her boots on a tree trunk.

Then she leaned against it, closing her eyes.

What was going on?

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