I can’t tell the other wolves apart. And where is the fifth wolf?
The only one moving was Mimir, who dragged Alvilda’s lax, bloody body towards the open door of a black car. Mimir’s clothes had a little dirt on them and her hair was disheveled, but she didn’t appear to have gone through the same battle everyone else here had.
The hair on the back of Becka’s neck raised. This Shadow-Dweller had incapacitated all of them while barely breaking a sweat.
Saige, who had stopped short alongside Becka as she mentally digested the scene, surged forward with a growl, teeth bared for Mimir’s throat. Mid-leap, Saige’s body froze and then crumpled to the ground.
“No!” screamed Becka. She rushed towards Mimir, hands up and ready to attack. A headache slammed into her as she crossed some sort of boundary. Unlike Saige, she wasn’t knocked out, but the pain in her head was near crippling.
Mimir laughed a mirthless laugh, raked a hand through her hair and then tucked it behind her pointy ear. “At least my magic slowed you down.” She paused to pull Alvilda another few feet, a wide trail of blood left in her wake. “I knew better than to think you’d be vulnerable. But Becka, I’d advise you to stop right where you are and let me go in peace.”
Becka staggered forward. “No!” she screamed again. “You will drop Alvilda and break this spell that does… whatever it is you’re doing to everyone, right now!”
“I have no intention of stopping.”
“Why are you taking Alvilda?” Fear gripped Becka, and she glanced to Quinn hoping to see motion, but there was none. Had Mimir already killed them all? But if so, why was she taking Alvilda with her? “What’s she to you?”
“Oh, you know. She took a vow. She failed me. I’m calling in her debt. Same old, same old.” Her heel caught on a rock and, unbalanced, she momentarily lost her grip on Alvilda’s legs. Sighing, Mimir righted herself and resumed her gruesome task.
“You wanted her to poison me?”
“Oh, definitely!” Mimir replied with a quick nod and broad smile.
Becka couldn’t understand Mimir’s cheery response, and it filled her with deepening dread. “But… that doesn’t make any sense. Don’t the Shadow-Dwellers want to consume my power? How is that supposed to work if I’m dead?”
“According to our prophecies, if you are who we think you are, then there’s only one way to kill you. And it’s not by poison.”
She’s insane…
Becka rubbed her aching temples. “I didn’t drink enough poison to kill me, that’s why I’m not dead! Your prophecies are a bag of bunk!”
Mimir stopped dragging Alvilda and met her gaze. “No, Becka. My attempt failed, just as I thought it would. The prophecy has spoken.”
“Argh!”
Mimir resumed dragging Alvilda’s body to the car.
Becka followed her, edging closer and watching for an opening to step in and use her powers on Mimir while she was distracted, but the woman kept an eye on her.
“Stop! You can’t take her. Break the spell on my friends, now, or I will hurt you!”
Mimir reached the vehicle and dropped Alvilda’s legs, her focus singular. “As I see it, you have two options.” Mimir moved to Alvilda’s head and scooped her up under the shoulders, dragging her partway into the back seat. Having walked through the blood trail, Mimir’s heels tracked obscene smears with every step. “And you’re going to pick option number two.”
Becka continued to fight through the pain in her head and walk towards Mimir, barely able to think straight.
How is Mimir so physically strong? Is it more magic? Some acquired powers from feeding on her victims?
“One,” Mimir continued. “You come at me now, knowing I have resources at my disposal you probably cannot comprehend. You might take me down, but chances are I’m leaving with Alvilda regardless.”
“Your magic has no power over me,” Becka replied, confident her Null gift would shield her. Unless the Shadow-Dweller knows something I don’t? “I won’t let you take her.”
Mimir, having loaded Alvilda’s head, shoulders, and part of her torso into the car, moved around, picked up her knees, and shoved her body in further. “I appreciate your dedication, but the strain in your voice says otherwise. If you come after me now, you’ll never be able to save all of them.” Mimir gestured to those on the ground. “Option two, which I suggest you take, is allowing me to leave and then attempting to save your friends.”
Her heart leapt in her chest. “They’re still alive?”
“For now…” With one last heave, Mimir pushed Alvilda into the car. She stood up and stretched her back, which let out an audible pop followed by her satisfied sigh. She slammed the car door shut and squared her shoulders towards Becka. “But they won’t be for long.”
She could try and save Alvilda or save the others. Stomach churning with guilt, Becka realized part of her longed for the first option because she wanted to fight Mimir now and not let her get away, not because she cared about saving Alvilda.
But Quinn… Saige… Brent… Shamus… Lorelai… Luce!
“How do I save them?” Becka asked, reining in her anger.
Mimir smiled, opened the front door of the car, and then slid into her seat, closing the door and leaning out the window. “Break the spell. Something which should be a cinch for your unique gift. Just don’t dawdle!”
Becka nodded and walked to Quinn, dropping down to sit next to him. She felt around him, searching for the layers of magic Mimir claimed to have encircled him with.
“Oh, and Becka?” Mimir called, her voice a playful singsong tone, like a child’s. Becka paused and looked up at Mimir. “Find me.”
With those final words and a smirk, Mimir’s car rushed off down the road towards House Birch territory. Immediately the throbbing between
