Page 91 of Witches of Dubious Origin
She was too close. If we ran, I knew she would just send her rising undead army after us. Why had we let Jasper stay in the car? We needed him.
The raven appeared above Ariana. He swooped low, diving at her head. I saw his beak make contact and she jumped and tried to smack him. She missed. He rose high again and dove straight at her like a bullet. At the last second, he turned and scratched her face with his talons.
The scream that came out of Ariana was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was a deep bellow of primal wrath that made everything in the vicinity of the labyrinth go completely still, except for the hair on my arms, which was standing at attention. Suddenly, the earth at Olive’s feet was churning as more fists punched up through the dirt.
Olive whipped around where I crouched on the rock. “She’s raising an army. We’re going to have to run.”
I jumped down from the rock just as the raven made another pass at Ariana. This time, she anticipated and reached down, then ripped an arm right out of the ground and threw it at the bird. My brain made a fritzing noise, clearly rejecting what it was seeing. It was a direct hit. The raven was knocked off course and headed straight for a nearby rock at the entrance of the circle. He slammed into it, and I ran forward, with Olive right behind me.
“No, no, no!” I moved to stand in front of the bird, shielding him from Ariana. “Don’t be dead, don’t be dead.”
Olive stood shoulder to shoulder with me. “Look out!” Blue flames shot out of her fingers, and when a hand punched through the ground at our feet, she blasted it back under the surface. I made a mental note to ask her to teach me to make flames…later.
Ariana pivoted to face us. She positioned her arms wide with her fingers spread, and the ground beneath our feetbecame a frenzy of fists and arms clawing their way out. I could feel the earth churning with malice and I knew we were in deep, deep trouble.
Ariana looked invigorated by the rising horde. I had the brief thought that this was how I was going to die and then I immediately rejected it. Nope. Not today.
Olive was holding her hands in front of her. Her fingertips were alight in blue flame, but as helpful as it had been to release the hands that held us, I didn’t think her fire wielding was enough to stop Ariana. Otherwise, she would have weaponized it by now.
“Give. Me. The. Book.” Ariana shouted each word. I clutched my backpack close and Olive assumed a defensive stance beside me as we huddled in the entrance of the labyrinth with the unconscious raven behind us.
“No.” I tried to make my voice strong, but there was the tiniest quaver in it.
“So be it.” Ariana stared at us, unblinking, as the heads and shoulders of her army began to appear, rising up from the dirt. There was no way we could hold back this number of undead.
Olive and I pressed closer together, bracing for impact as the first of her minions lurched out of the dirt and came at us at a run. The skeleton, which had a cracked skull, empty eye sockets, and a missing jaw, started to sprint and I felt my entire body clench. It was so close and then,bam!It was on the ground as if it had run into a thick wall of glass.
What the what?!I glanced from side to side, trying to figure out where the thick haze that separated us from Ariana and her minions had come from.
Olive glanced behind us at the path that cut through the copse of trees and said, “It’s about time. Did you get lost?”
I followed her line of sight, expecting to see Jasper. Instead, it was Miles and Tariq. I almost sagged with relief. “Help!”
“Of course.” Miles nodded. “You need to get the book out of here. Take the raven and get back to Jasper. Whatever you do, do not let any harm come to the bird. You must protect it and Jasper even if you have to take the car and get them out of here. Understand?”
“Yes.” I didn’t understand, not really. I was shaking and terrified. Running from here with an unconscious bird was fine with me, as I would leave the undead army behind, but it was also terrifying because I would be on my own.
“Here.” Tariq handed me a small cloth pouch. “This will help you awaken the raven. You won’t be able to rouse Jasper until the bird wakes up.”
Rouse Jasper? At this point, I was going to kick him for not being here when I…we…needed him.
“They’re coming through your shield, Miles,” Olive said.
“Go!” Miles ordered. He turned back to face the horde with Olive and Tariq. I knelt down and gently scooped up the bird. I cradled him against the backpack I still wore on my front, then I sprinted through the trees for our SUV.
It was parked exactly where we’d left it. I opened the driver’s-side door and found Jasper fully reclined and unconscious. I glanced from the raven to the man. I thought about the tattoos on his forearms and how he and the raven were never in the same place at the same time. They were connected!
“Jasper!” I used my free hand to shake him. He didn’tmove. I remembered what Tariq had said and focused on the raven.
I hurried to the back and opened the hatch, then I gently laid the bird down. I opened the cloth pouch Tariq had given me. A small vial filled with purple flakes was inside.
Assuming it was like smelling salts for a bird, I unstoppered the vial and held it under the raven’s beak. The bird didn’t move, so I moved the bottle back and forth, hoping to get the scent moving out of the vial. Nothing. Was I supposed to sprinkle it on him? Make him eat the dried flakes inside the vial? Panicking, I glanced at where Jasper was asleep.Come on, I chided myself.Think!Or maybe don’t think? What were my instincts telling me?
Somehow, Jasper and the raven were in some sort of mind meld. That’s why Miles had been insistent that nothing happen to the bird. Could the bird’s death cause Jasper’s? I felt my anxiety spike all the way out of control and I hopped on my feet while a high whine came out of my mouth.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I went with my gut and tipped the vial over the bird, sprinkling the purple flakes all over him. I held my breath until I saw his wing twitch ever so slightly. Slowly, as if he was coming out of a deep sleep, the bird ruffled his feathers. He popped up onto his feet and then blinked. He gave me a sideways glance from those familiar pale eyes and then spread his wings and launched himself out through the open hatch. I watched him soar, making certain he was okay and not headed back to the labyrinth.
“Zoe, are you all right?” Jasper appeared beside me, running his hands through his thick black hair as if he was tryingto reorganize his brain. “I can’t believe Eloise is Ariana Darkwood. She murdered your mother and your grandmother.”
