Page 50 of Wilds of Wonder
“So everyone is seeing the wolf, right?” Driscoll asked.
Maverick and I both shot him a look.
“Well, I just had to double check since neither of you seemed to notice the giant head-chomping plants that were about to decapitate you while you were snuggling on the ground, staring into each other’s eyes.” He took a deep breath. “That felt good, actually. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.”
“We weren’t snuggling.” For spirits’ sake. Why was I arguing with him?
“In case you two forgot,” Maverick said as he summoned his fire magic, “we’ve got bigger problems than the plant-eaters.” He nodded toward the white wolf, who prowled through the grass toward us.
“I really, really hate it here,” Driscoll said.
I didn’t disagree. I summoned my frost magic, ice swirling above my hand in swooping circles, even though our magic seemed to have little effect on the wolf. Not to mention, my magic was weaker here, that thread I wanted to pull at getting harder to grasp.
Driscoll raised his hands. “I used the rest of my magic trying to save your two asses, which was a complete waste.” He mumbled that last part. “So you two are on your own.”
“Let’s back away slowly,” Maverick said out the side of his mouth. “Running will only trigger its predator instincts.”
The grass brushed against my knees as I slowly walked backward, while the wolf’s red eyes watched us.
“Why isn’t it attacking?” Driscoll asked. He glanced around. “Also, does this grass seem way too much like regular grass to belong here?” He scratched his head. “Other than the fact that it’s purple.”
He was right. The wolf wasn’t attacking. It had growled at us, but I was starting to think that was just the sound it made.
“Maybe it wanted us to come here?” I suggested.
“It doesn’t matter what it wants.” Maverick eyed it warily, flames dancing over his palm, flickering out. “It’s a wild beast. It will kill us if we give it the chance.”
I swiveled my head. “Do you look at everything with such a narrow mind?”
He scoffed. “I use something called observation. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” He gestured to the wolf, who now looked between us, head cocked, ears pointed straight up. “It’s a wolf three times the size of a normal wolf, and it has already tried to kill us once.”
My hands curled into fists. “It’s also very likely from this place. Where trees have eyes and plants eat people. It might not be what it seems.”
“You guys are worse than me and Leoni,” Driscoll muttered. “We’re never going to get anywhere with you two.”
“If all you’re doing is judging based on what you know, then what kind of critical thinking is that?” I asked.
Maverick gave me an odd look that I didn’t entirely understand. Then he looked down at his boots and shook his head. “I don’t have time for this. I didn’t die, which means I’m going the right way.”
Well, that made no sense. He was just as confounding as this world around us, which I still couldn’t make head nor tail of. If we could get to that library, maybe we’d have a shot at getting answers, at making an actual escape plan. I glanced back at the giant plants, their mouths now closed, all of them sleeping soundly. If we lived long enough to make it there. I couldn’t imagine what still awaited us.
Maverick began walking past me. His gaze darted to the wolf as he attempted to inch by it.
The wolf let out another growl, nudging its head.
“Did it just shake its head?” Driscoll asked.
Of course it did. Because why wouldn’t a wolf understand us?
Driscoll stroked his chin and glanced at Maverick. “I don’t think it wants you to go that way.”
The wolf took a step forward, all of us taking a step back.
“I don’t think it wants any of us to go that way,” I said.
“So then what does it want?” Maverick asked, a bone-weary exhaustion filling his voice.
The wolf took another step forward, nudging its head again.
