“Genie, please, you have to—”
My words were cut short as she lunged for me. I managed to stagger backward just in time to avoid her clawing hands, but it wouldn’t stop her for long. Everywhere I looked, abductees marched toward us, blocking off every exit. I thought about diving into the river and letting it sweep us all the way to the ends of the pocket, but who was to say there wouldn’t be more waiting for us there?
Crap, crap, crap! I weighed my options, wondering if I could somehow coax out a Purge if I panicked hard enough. That would be a last resort, considering I had no control over what emerged. Still, I could keep it in mind, if things really got desperate. The pixie Purge had turned out all right, after all.
As Genie lunged for me again, the pixies propelled themselves into defense mode. Boudicca led a battalion of six against my best friend, whizzing around her head and pulling her hair—but Genie’s focus was unbreakable. All around me, the rest of the pixies set to work, trying to push back the encroaching zombie horde. They flashed their gaudy lights and scratched, scraped, punched, kicked, and clawed at the clueless enemy, but nothing they did made a difference. The zombies marched on, apathetic to the attack.
“Persie, quick!” Nathan grasped me by the elbow and dragged me closer to the tree trunk, away from Genie’s intent hands. With a rough shove, he pushed me into a crouching position and joined me there. His palms went up, and scarlet sparks juddered out of his hands, spinning around us in a vortex as his mouth moved in a silent spell. The vortex gathered into a revolving ball of dark red, rippling with threads of silver and gold. He clamped his hands into fists and the ball responded, shooting out a shimmering dome of magical protection that slid around us and slammed into the ground with a hiss, singeing the grass where it hit.
I eyed the dome suspiciously. Through the reddish sheen, I could still see everything beyond, and the zombies were getting closer by the moment. “Another spell from the Grimoire? Tell me it’s strong enough to keep these people from strangling us.”
He panted. “It’s a very strong one, which is why I don’t use it too often. Not that I usually have a reason to.” He tipped from a crouch to rest on his knees. “As you can see, it takes a lot out of me.”
“If Genie could snap out of this trance, she’s got a billion tricks like this up her sleeve.” I saw Genie looking blankly at our hiding place. Evidently, we weren’t quite invisible, as she began to approach our shelter. Before long, she was right outside the protective bubble, bumping against it and swiping at the shield to try and break through. The thud of each impact bounced the bubble around as though we were crouched inside a balloon, but it appeared to be holding.
The pixies! I suddenly remembered the rest of our party and scanned the Wisp realm for them. Fired up, they were still in a one-sided battle with the zombies, divebombing the listless abductees. A large group of pixies had managed to bring one of the zombies to a halt by heaving backward on the young woman’s arms, legs, and hair, but she still made the motions as if she were moving forward.
I was about to turn back to Genie when I noticed the Wisps swarming—by the hundreds—and they were looking for a fight. Splitting in every direction, they launched their assault on the pixies. And my poor Purge beasts didn’t see it coming.
Now on their home turf, the Wisps were strengthened in violence and fury. They outnumbered my creatures considerably, surrounding the pixies and powering up their central flames, building to that scorching heat that had stung my skin in the sphere. Then I heard the most heart-wrenching sound… the scream of a dying pixie. I searched desperately for the creature who’d made the sound, but there were too many Wisps, their light hiding the pixies’ torment from me.
Another scream pierced the air, brimming with untold agony. They would all die, I realized, unless I did something.
“Let me out!” I yelled at Nathan. “They’re killing them!”
Nathan dipped his chin to his chest. “I can’t, Persie. If you go out there, they’ll hurt you too.”
A third scream shivered through the bubble, chilling me to the bone. I felt his last moments as though they were my own. I’d made the pixies, and I didn’t want them to die for me. I couldn’t just sit back and let them all get burned to a crisp while trying to protect me. I might not have been the bravest person in the world, but I wasn’t a coward, either.
“Let me out of here, NOW!” I shouted.
Nathan’s eyes hardened. “I won’t do it, Persie. I’m sorry. I don’t like this any more than you do, but I can’t let you go out there.”
“Listen to them, Nathan!” I was beside myself now, my voice cracking. “They’re dying! Please, let me try. I have to try!”
“No,” he said simply.
Frantic, I hammered on the inside of the bubble, causing the magical shield to spark. For a moment, it reminded me of my nightmare again, only this felt way worse. The helplessness came from a different place, heavy with the responsibility of the pixies’ fate. “Stop! Please, stop!” I bellowed, tears streaming down my cheeks. “They haven’t done anything wrong! Please, stop! They’re only trying to protect me. They don’t deserve to die! Please, please, please!”
I pounded harder on the bubble. “Please…” I slumped back on my haunches, holding my
