Page 45 of Wilds of Wonder
The eel plunged toward us and we both rolled in opposite directions as it barreled into the ice. The frozen layer exploded, cracks webbing out toward where I lay, toward the white rabbit. The eel dove down beneath the surface, its body disappearing into the depths below.
“We’re not going to get so lucky next time,” I said, breathing heavily. “It’s puncturing the ice, trying to get us to fall in with that diadem.”
The white rabbit struggled to her feet. “Then I suggest you run.” And with that, she took off.
Ice exploded around her in quick, short bursts as the eel’s tail shot up. Eels didn’t have the best sense of sight, relying on body heat to hunt their prey.
“Fuck.” I took off running after her, jumping over the gaping holes in the ice, shooting out fire at the eel as it plunged its tail upward again and again and again, narrowly missing the white rabbit every time.
She was quick on her feet, but this lake was massive, and I wasn’t sure we were even going in the right direction. The eel let out a deafening shriek that made the ice trembled as its tail once again broke through, creating another huge hole.
The white rabbit shot a look behind her. “Having fun yet?” she yelled.
“Not even a little bit.” It was a lie. This was the most fun I’d had in, well, ever.
The eel erupted from below, blocking the white rabbit’s path. Except she wasn’t looking forward. She was looking back. At me.
“Watch out!” I roared, but by the time she turned, it was too late.
One minute she was running, the next, she was slipping on the ice, falling into the lake. Her white cloak fluttering in the air. And then she was gone.
No. No, no, no, no, no. I shot out a long rope made of fire at the eelbefore its large body could slip underneath to kill her. The rope lassoed around its neck, and it bucked against it. I held tight, keeping the eel from diving back under, giving my little rabbit time to find her way back to the surface. If she found her way. But of course she would. She was a fighter. She could do this.
My muscles strained as I held tight onto the fiery rope, the eel struggling against it. I braced my feet against the ice, but the creature pulled me slowly toward it, my feet gliding with ease across the slick surface.
“C,mon, little rabbit,” I said under my breath.
She wasn’t surfacing. Soon she’d run out of air. Muffled cries sounded from below, barely heard over the eel’s roar, and I looked down to see two fists beating against the ice right underneath my feet.
Fucking fuck.
The eel stilled, head tilting. It had heard her, and I couldn’t keep restraining it, not when she needed air. Now.
I gritted my teeth, letting go of the rope and whipping the saw from my satchel. I lowered it to the ice, cutting away while the eel let out a screech that shook the entire lake, slowly sinking into the water. I tugged at the thread of magic inside of me, summoning the biggest ball of fire I could muster. One that would deplete nearly all of my magic.
The fists pounded with more urgency.
Then I struck. I hurled my magic at the eel, who opened its mouth in surprise, right as the fire flew into it. The eel yelped, sinking away from view. That ought to keep it away long enough for us to escape.
“I’m coming,” I yelled, sawing through the ice as fast as I could. My muscles quivered, and despite the chilly air, sweat gathered on my brow.
Her fists stopped pounding.
“No,” I breathed. “Hold on. Just hold on a little longer, damnit!”
I sawed over halfway through the circle, then stomped on the ice, breaking it open. Pieces of it bobbed in the water, along with a white fur coat surfacing. I gripped the back of her coat and yanked her out. She landed on her stomach, and for one heart-wrenching moment didn’t move. I was just about to flip her over and pump on her chest, when she came to her hands and knees, sputtering and coughing out the blue lake water.
“Took you long enough,” she rasped, back still to me.
The diadem lay at her side, a curious blue dust surrounding it. I didn’t have much time to ponder it as the white rabbit, soaking wet and still on her hands and knees, reached for the object.
She was safe. Alive. Joy filled me, and so did a competitiveness. I scooped up the diadem and took off.
“Are you kidding me?” she yelled. “That is not fair!”
“Well, considering I just saved your life and defeated the giant eel,” I yelled back, “I’d say it’s plenty fair. Until next year, little rabbit.”
The diadem wasn’t the only thing I’d managed to get away with. I also had the kernel of an idea. That I could do this. I could be this at the academy too. If the white rabbit could be this brave, this bold, then so could I. I was going to change the trajectory of my career.
