Page 112 of Enspelled

An explosion rips clean through his words.

It sends Keane staggering, but his grip around me tightens, holding me up when the force would have driven me to the ground.

With only one building close by, it isn’t hard to work out what just blew up.

34

SERA

Inearly go down from the force of the explosion. As it is, I stumble, but before I can crash to the ground, firm hands grip my upper arms and catch me.

With my hands full of Briar’s grimoire, I lift my head and give Bodie a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

He nods, but his attention isn’t on me, it’s on the smoke billowing through the forest.

Mel must have hit the Wolfe packhouse. There’s no other explanation for an explosion like that.

And I’m not the only one to think that from the roar that erupts out of Liam’s mouth. I back away as his face twists in rage. When he shifts, shredding his clothes, I get ready to run.

They must all be dead.

Bodie grabs my arm and pulls me toward the forest, his face more serious than I’ve ever seen it before. I dart a glance at Briar and Keane to find Keane pulling Briar deeper into the forest, his lips a thin line.

Mel must be on her way.

I don’t have a wolf nose that I can smell her, but Keane and Bodie do.

Liam, now a wolf, takes off, disappearing toward the packhouse, a snarl of rage marking his exit.

I lose sight of him, but only for a few seconds—because in the next moment, a large dark-brown wolf smashes into a tree beside me so hard that it makes me wonder if he survived, especially when he doesn’t move again.

“Let’s go.Now.” Keane’s voice is a lash.

No one argues with him.

All of us, Abigail included, sprint into the forest.

I don’t know how we’re going to fight or win against Mel, but for us to stand a chance, we need time to come up with a plan.

Even then, our odds are slim.

We run for a long time, several minutes at least. As we do, I spend half the time trying to hold Briar’s grimoire in a position that means it doesn’t keep knocking my chin, and I marvel at Bullhorn Ellie.

Well, Abigail, because even though she’s still wearing the loud velvet dress that Ellie is known for, without her magical disguise, she’s fit enough that she’s keeping pace with us with no problem. If anyone is struggling, it’s me and Briar.

Finally, we come within sight of a small wood cabin. Despite the door being right there, Keane leads Briar around it. The rest of us follow.

“Why aren’t we hiding inside?” Briar pants.

“After the way Mel blew up the packhouse with all those wolves inside it, that might not be such a good idea,” Bodie responds, not sounding the least bit out of breath.

“How was she able to steal Briar’s power?” I ask when my breathing has steadied out. “I didn’t think you could steal someone’s power like that.”

“A witch’s power? No.” Abigail fans her reddened face with one hand. “But Briar isn’t a witch. A phoenix doesn’t come into her full powers until she turns twenty-two. Until then, she’s vulnerable.”

I glance at Briar. “That’s in a few days. Why didn’t she just wait until then, if she was so eager to be powerful?”

Abigail snorts. “Do you honestly believe she would still be alive then? No. With all of you working together, you were well on your way to figuring her out. She had to act now.”

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