Page 108 of The Lone Wolf Café
I tried again. And again. Finally, on the third attempt, I was able to stand up, though I was wobbling so severely that a strong breeze would likely knock me over.
My ribs burned like they never had before. It felt like my entire chest would fall apart if I moved too much.
Just one foot… in front of the other…
Suddenly, I felt a tight, curling sensation around my torso, just below my breasts. I froze, pain replaced by panic as I wondered if this was some sort of werewolf trap.
I lifted a hand to my chest and gingerly touched the space just below my rib cage.
Vines?
“Nettie!”
A dark, shadowy figure appeared at the other end of the field, sprinting rapidly towards me.
It was Rowena. She had used her chloromancer powers to create a brace around my ribs.
“Rowena…” I croaked, barely able to get air into my lungs. “Stay… back…”
She leapt in front of me, protectively ushering me behind her back, as she conjured more vines around Big Red’s feet.
“No…” I pleaded between wheezing breaths. “Rowena… stop…”
She didn’t stop. But I knew what she was doing. Like me, she was desperate. She likely thought that now that Big Red was tired, if she could just get the beast restrained, I’d have a chance at calming her down.
But I was battered. Broken. On the edge of losing consciousness, and barely able to stand upright. If I took another fall off Big Red’s back, it could kill me.
Rowena was able to make more progress with her vines this time. But as soon as they reached Big Red’s knees, the giant wolf began to thrash. Some of the smaller vines snapped, cracking back toward the earth like whips.
Rowena’s powers alone weren’t going to be enough to restrain Big Red.
“Where are the other witches?” I asked, still struggling for breath.
Rowena didn’t answer, focusing all of her energy on her spellcasting. Big Red nearly had their front left foot free, and I could tell they were recovering from their exhaustion and gaining a second burst of energy.
But Rowena’s silence told me what the real answer was. They were terrified. They likely believed that this plan was a failure, and that charging into the field to help me would put them at risk. After all, unlike Rowena and I, a single bite would forever alter their lives.
I couldn’t blame them.
I was losing hope, too.
”We need… more help…” I wheezed, just as Big Red got their other front foot free. “More… help…”
I lost my footing and fell to my knees, clutching a palm against the brace around my chest.
If we’d had help…
Maybe we could’ve done it…
Maybe…
A sudden, harsh blast of air whipped me in the back.
I froze, my spine stiff as a board. The wind had been quiet all night.
That couldn’t have been natural.
Which means…
