Page 37 of Wilds of Wonder
She didn’t break my gaze as she flicked her wrist, and shards of ice flew through the air at lightning speed. They drove straight toward the beast’s eyes, then hit it, and simply... broke away.
“That can’t be possible. It’s immune to our magic?” I asked.
“Looks like it, bone collector,” she replied. “Any other bright ideas? Or are you going to taunt it more? Just to make it extra ragey.”
The beast took a step toward us that made the ground tremble. Itsthick pink tongue lolled from its mouth, peeking out from between massive canines.
“We don’t have time for this,” the short woman said, racing toward Emory and grabbing her arm. “The best we can do is get away and try to delay it like we did last time.”
“Oh good.” The tall man rubbed his hands together. “More running.”
As if it could understand us, the beast crouched further down, bracing its legs like it was ready to pounce. It hadn’t attacked us. It could have by now. But I wasn’t all that sure it wanted to hurt us. Which made no sense at all.
Emory and her companions pushed past me as I stared in awe at this thing. Gungar was right. We couldn’t kill it. We needed to better understand it, to know where it came from. To understand how it could be immune to our magic.
“Looks like you’re offering yourself up as a snack after all,” Emory called, jolting me from my thoughts. “Thanks, bone collector. That’s so kind of you.”
I shot out a wall of fire as I began to run, but when I looked behind me, the wolf crashed through the fire like it was nothing. It whined a bit, maybe got a few burns, but something like that would’ve incinerated a normal animal. What in the fiery spirits was this thing?
Patches of ice formed on the ground, making the beast slip, slowing it only momentarily, and I realized Emory was using her magic.
I turned and raced as my satchel thumped against my chest, cloak fluttering behind me. The wolf was falling farther behind, thanks to Emory’s magic. I’d never actually seen her use it. That had been one of our rules during our competition: no magic.
If this thing caught me, it would be over, and then I’d never make things right with Annalee. I clenched my teeth and pumped my arms so that I moved faster, catching up to Emory as she continued to shoot ice behind her.
“My magic is getting weaker,” she said. “I’ve used too much of it on this thing.”
The short woman shook her head. “It’s too warm in the cave to usemy water magic. It won’t turn to ice, and I’m pretty sure the wolf would just drink it up.”
“Well, we’ve seen what that thing does to my plants,” the tall man yelled. “And it’s not good.”
“Will all of you shut up and keep running?” I said, urging them forward.
“Just use the bolt,” Emory said.
“It’s too risky.” My hands tightened around it. “I know you like to live on the edge, but surely even you can understand why that’s a bad idea.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” she snapped.
“I know you better than you think, little rabbit,” I said as I continued to run.
The three of them skidded to a stop abruptly, taking me by surprise. I tried to stop myself but couldn’t, careening forward, unable to halt my momentum. Suddenly my feet met air, and I was tumbling into a large hole in the wall. I grasped onto the edge with one hand, keeping the bolt tucked tight under my arm with the other, trying desperately to get my footing.
Emory’s face appeared over the edge of the hole. “Give me the bolt,” she said, her hair curtaining her face.
“Help me up, and I will.”
She knelt. “So you can pull me into that hole with you?” She shook her head, then glanced at the taller man.
“Driscoll, use your magic. Grow a vine or something and snatch the bolt from him.”
This Driscoll frowned. “I mean, shouldn’t we, like, help him a little bit? We’re just going to take the bolt and let him fall? That’s cold.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Oh, come on. She’s a frost elemental. That’s cold?” He looked around at everyone’s unsmiling faces. “Tough crowd.”
The shorter woman turned to him. “Will you stop with the jokes? We’re most likely about to die. That wolf is going to catch us, and we need to get that bolt.”
My hand slipped on the edge of the hole, my muscles burning with the effort to not let go of either the bolt or the rock.
“What is your problem, Leoni?” Driscoll planted his hands on hiships. “All you’ve done lately is snap at me and gripe about pretty much everything I do.”
