Page 69 of Witch Unbound
His hand in mine was a solid pressure as we picked up speed, desperately trying to outrun whatever this distortion was.
Light bloomed in the distance. Freedom. The exit. Wren ran into it with Lauris close behind. They stood bathed in it, silhouetted against it.
“Cora!” Wren’s cry was filled with fear and desperation.
But the faster we ran, the farther we got… Fuck. “Rune, I think I know what we have to do.”
“What?”
“We need to stop running.”
“What?”
“The faster we run, the farther they get.”
“Cora, there’s athingbehind us.”
“I know.” Shit, I could be wrong. I could be totally fucking wrong, but the light was dwindling. Almost out of reach completely. “Rune, my gut says we need to do this. But my gut also said set the tree on fire, and it got Bramble killed.”
“Not your fault, Cora.” Rune squeezed my hand. “I trust you. We do this. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”
We ground to a halt and a roar lit up the world behind us. Heat singed my skin and the earth shuddered, bringing the overwhelming conviction that something was about to attack. Every muscle and sinew ached to run, and Rune’s boa-constrictor grip on my hand told me he felt the same. But I locked my knees, gaze fixed on the light.
Please. Please. This had to work.
As a fresh blast of hot air washed over us, bringing a sense of impending contact with something, I was certain I’d fucked up.
But then the light rushed toward us, bringing Wren and Lauris with it.
It washed over us, tugging us out of the gloom and spitting us onto soft, downy grass. I remained on all fours for a moment, one palm pressed flat to the earth, the other still wrapped in Rune’s grip so that our collective fist punched at the earth.
“Cora!” Wren leapt on me, wrapping his arms around my neck and momentarily choking me. “You made it.”
I gently extricated myself from his death grip. “What the hell was that?” I glanced back at the woods, several meters behind us, all inky trunks and jagged branches. No sign of a monster.
“The slenderwhip won’t come out,” Wren said. “Bixie says the forest is its home. Bixie says Cora did good not to look. Bixie says bad luck the warping happened when we were almost out, but Cora clever to stop, but also stupid because the slenderwhip could have eaten Cora.” His lip trembled. “Wren not want Cora to get eaten.”
I stared at him, trying to keep up with what he was saying. “Who the fuck is Bixie?”
A spot of light bounced out from behind Wren, hovering in the air in front of my face. I caught the distinct shape of a humanoid body and fluttering wings before it dashed away again.
“What is that?”
“Bixie is a pixie,” Wren said proudly.
“No.” I shook my head. “Bramble is a pixie.” I pressed my lips together. “Was a pixie.”
Wren gave me a stern look. “Pixies are many sizes. Bixie says if we want to save Bramble, we need to hurry.”
My head snapped up. “What?”
“What did you say?” Lauris demanded.
Wren sighed dramatically. “Bixie says if we want to save Bramble, then we need to hurry.”
Lauris and I exchanged shocked glances as hope blossomed in my chest. I pulled myself up quickly.
“What do we need to do?” Lauris asked.
