My thoughts kept spinning. I kept shaking my head, too. “How can you be so sure?”
“We are running out of valuable time, Chi. We’ve only got,” Bridgette ticked her eyes up and stared at the clock on the wall, “15 minutes to interrupt Dimitri.”
15 minutes. 15 minutes until I was lying face-first on that blood-covered-plastic floor. 15 minutes until Fagan smiled, strode over to that upturned milk crate, and plucked off that glinting sword. 15 minutes until he cut my heart from my chest.
Though all I wanted to do was succumb to the fear, somewhere deep inside my mind, the last reserve of my determination took hold. The bolshiness and anger that had once been the cornerstone of my personality.
“This is not negotiable. I’m coming. And that’s final,” I snapped.
I honestly expected them to keep fighting me. But as Bridgette switched her attention to Sarah, I watched them give up.
“Fine,” Sarah said. “If this is what you want to do, fine. But we have to leave now.”
Max looked as if he wanted to object, but I didn’t give him that opportunity. I took one step towards him then another. “You’re not meant to leave my side, and maybe I’m not meant to leave yours. Whether I like to admit it or not, we’re stronger together. Got that?” Though my words were strong, my tone still shook, and yet I didn’t back down.
So, amazingly, Max conceded with a shrug. He tipped his head to the side. He was still holding that whip, his knuckles white as he gripped it with his full strength. “Come on, then. No time,” he summarized in a breathy hiss.
No time.
If I ever made it through this, that refrain would be imprinted in my mind forevermore.
But the operative word was if. For the odds were stacked against me, and time? She was running out.
Chapter 10
We wasted no more time in gathering our small army and heading to the back of the shop. Once more we faced the back door. Though I could tell Sarah wanted to hesitate, she shoved a hand down her top and pulled out a key on a gold chain.
Though instantly I could tell it was a transport key, it was unlike any I had ever seen.
It was more ornate and looked far more expensive.
She yanked it off the chain and jammed it in the lock.
Instantly, magic spread out from the door, hissing and crackling into the air. It discharged along the wood, up the cracked plaster of the walls, along the chipped, polished concrete of the floor.
I didn’t jerk back in time, and as I stood there, waves of magic washed over my feet, climbing my legs with unpleasant prickles.
I just clenched my teeth and forced my mind past the sensation, concentrating on the fight ahead instead.
The magic took half a minute to discharge. When it did, Sarah bared her teeth, reached forward, locked a hand over the door handle, and yanked the door open.
Instantly a strong breeze rushed through it, catching the ends of Sarah’s hair and plastering my jacket against my chest.
We were a ragtag army, some of us in jeans and T-shirts, some of us in dresses and boots. But we all had weapons. Before we’d left the room, Max had handed me a small whip of my own. I very much doubted I could use it without inadvertently whipping myself in the head, but I wasn’t here to help them with the fight. I just knew I couldn’t be left alone in that room. Being on the run was far safer.
I tried to ignore the sense of inevitability that kept forming in my mind as we filed through the door one-by-one.
The door, which should have led to the alleyway at the back of the shop, emptied out into the graveyard, instead. Out here, the wind was faster, moaning and groaning through the trees and gravestones as it chased its way through the graveyard. It had a nasty chill to it, and instantly my exposed cheeks and hands started to smart.
The other witches began to file out around me, weapons at the ready.
Though I could tell Max was itching to plunge through the graveyard and head to the freshly dug grave, he stuck by my side.
“No matter what happens,” he began.
“I do not leave your side,” I finished for him.
We continued to head through the graveyard, our entire unit moving as one. I’d never been much for groups – I had stuck things out on my own.
Now I realized the benefit of moving with others. Though a part of me was still scared – okay most of me was still scared – I felt that we could manage this.
It didn’t take long to navigate between the twisting, winding rows of graveyards to the freshly dug grave. The closer we got, the more my stomach bottomed out until it felt like it would drop right through the center of the Earth.
The wind got louder, too. It started to moan through the trees that lined the rows of graves. It was so loud, it felt as if the wind was somehow rushing right between my ears.
My brow was covered in sweat, and my hands were clutched around the whip so tightly I’m sure Max would have needed several crowbars to get me free. I was still walking, though, and that was something.
My golden enamel necklace that had been a gift from my mother was proudly on display, the tiger rearing, ready to face anything.
I had no idea how much time I had left. In my mind, it was seconds until the clock struck 7:07. In reality, I probably had about 10 minutes left.
… Which meant I was okay, right? Because it would take more than 10 minutes for Dimitri
