Page 59 of My Faire Lady

21

Ascream jerks me upright. Wind tosses clothes off shelves, shaking the wooden hangers, and rain pelts the entrance of the shoppe as the flame on the candle snuffs out.

I fling my arm over the sleeping bag, but it’s empty—the chainmail discarded in a lump. The front door slams against the wall, shuddering on its hinges.

Another scream.

Lottie.

I scramble, but my feet tangle in the quilt and I hit the floor as a howl echoes through the night. The hair on the back of my neck stands upright, goosebumps pebbling along the length of my arms.

Fuck fuck fuck.

The full moon.

Ripping the quilt off my legs, I bolt to my feet and race through the shoppe, catching myself on the door frame as I scan the quad. I squint my eyes, but beyond the rain falling in sheets and the loss of electricity, the world is a black hole. Even the lightning crackling in the clouds isn’t enough to cast light on the ground.

“Lottie!” I scream, heart racing. But the storm swallows my voice.

No answer.

Cursing under my breath, I frantically trace an illumination rune into my palm. A blast of light flares over the quad, and my chest tightens. Lottie’s at the fountain, shin deep in water, with her back pressed against the marble lip.

Jeremy stalks toward her on his hind legs.

Her face is colorless, and at the flash of light, her gaze whips to me. She opens her mouth, as if she’s screaming my name, but a crash of thunder overtakes the sound. Jeremy lifts his head to the sky and howls, the fur along his spine bristling.

He has no control of himself.

I leap from the stoop, and as my bare feet splash into the water, I trace another rune against my hand. Without the full moon, I wouldn’t have enough power for it, but the moment I lift my finger, the water twists around Jeremy’s feet. It licks up his haunches and yanks him down. His front paws claw at the muddied earth, and Lottie’s eyes shoot wide as she heaves herself into the fountain, clinging to the statue jutting from its center.

The fountain. My heart leaps into my throat, and between blinks, I see my mother’s body there, lifeless.

The illumination spell fades, plunging the space into darkness, and water threatens to sweep my legs out from under me as I blast another beacon into the sky. I regain my balance the same moment Jeremy pulls himself from the water-weaving spell.

“Jeremy!” I scream, throwing myself forward.

The current fights me, pulling me back with every step I take, and rain streams down my face, blurring my vision.

Lottie spares me a wide-eyed glance. My shirt is plastered to her body, and her chin trembles as her knuckles blanch under the strain of remaining upright against the slick marble.

Jeremy’s head whips toward Lottie, and his upper lip pulls back, exposing his fangs as a growl vibrates from the back of his throat.

I throw myself through the water, gritting my teeth as I close the distance between Jeremy and me. He slinks around the fountain, and Lottie runs across the ledge, her feet bare against the marble. She jumps from the edge, but as she lands, her feet slip out from under her and she disappears beneath the water. The light in the sky vanishes.

“Lottie!”

I dig into my waning power and cast the light back into the sky. My breath hitches. Jeremy is standing on the ledge of the fountain, hovering over a soaked, trembling Lottie as saliva drips from the corners of his mouth.

“Jeremy!” I scream, so loud the words claw the back of my throat. The distance between us shrinks, but I’m too far, my muscles and magic straining. “Jeremy, stop!”

Lottie scrambles, feet unable to find traction, and Jeremy sinks to his haunches. Lightning crackles in the clouds, and my pulse gallops. We’re in an open space, free of trees or bushes or tall buildings. If a bolt strikes the water, no amount of magic will stop it from killing us all.

“Scarlet!” Lottie screams, finding her footing. “Run!”

I throw myself over her the moment Jeremy launches into the air. Time slows, and I trace a series of runes against my hand that will drain my magic. Jeremy sails toward us, his maw spread wide, and I drag a final line along the bare skin of Lottie’s arm. A protection.

She clings to me, burying her head against my chest. The blacks of Jeremy’s pupils dilate, and as his taloned claws tear through the collar of my shirt, my protection spell blasts into him.