Hans rises to his full height and begins to chant softly under his breath. “Does he need my boost?” I whisper to Gerrit as we both watch on.
He shakes his head, blonde hair falling over his eyebrows, “Not for this one. He does stuff like this all the time.”
It kills me to watch his hair clump with sweat and not help him, but I respect his ability to handle this and watch on, impressed at his discipline.
Green swirls of magic fill the air and a loud crack has me wincing. A tree falls onto one of the dirt piles, barely touching the ground beside it. “We need this bigger. We have to be farther from the circle,” he mutters under his breath, moving towards the larger sigil.
I crouch, reaching my hands out to push my power into it when a sound behind me makes my blood run cold.
A cruel, merciless laugh encircles the clearing, amplified and freezing me to the spot. “Now, Briar, I’ve heard you’ve been quite naughty.” The voice is cold, devoid of all emotion, and unnervingly deep.
My head jerks, scanning the clearing, but I find we all are still alone. Flint is growling, the hair on his body standing up as he sniffs the air.
“He’s almost here. Master, we’ve got to move. Once he enters the circle, it may be impossible to get Miss Briar out.”
Hans looks at me pleadingly to help with a power boost, but I am frozen, fear flowing through my veins as if it belongs there.
“Briar… come out, little demon. All will be forgiven if you just come to me now.”
Gerrit appears behind me, hand on my shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “We will not let him get you, witchy. Give Hans some magic, and let’s run.” I look up at the hulking form of Gerrit, his touch calming and centering me slightly.
“Now, Miss Briar, you have to do it now.”
Flint’s words are a final encouragement I need to push through, placing my hand on the center of the sigil. My power ripples through Hans, and the tree’s growth speeds up, rapidly expanding to fill the yard of the place I’ve called home.
“I smell magic,” his haunting voice taunts, echoing around me. “You know better, Briar.”
His words sound closer now, and bile rises in my throat. The memories of his spells cutting into me cloud my head, blurring my vision. The ground spins underneath me, and I am grateful to be already on my knees, but it suddenly doesn’t feel like enough.
Two giant hands grip me by the shoulders, steadying me. Gerrit leans and whispers in my ear, “Just a few more moments. It’s almost big enough.” His words don’t register, the fear of my Banisher clogging my ears like cotton.
Just as Hans stops chanting and shouts, “We’re good, let’s go!” a figure appears on the other side of the clearing.
His body is wrapped in a black cloak that drags behind him, billowing around the sleeves. As always, the hood is up, shrouding his face in shadows. The only bit of his skin I can see are his weathered hands, a creamy peach shade marred by shining silver scars.
He points at me, and I freeze, invisible chains trapping me to the ground no matter how hard I fight.
“You two, leave and forget you ever saw her. If you refuse, not only will your deaths be slow, but so will hers. Go now, and everyone lives.”
Tears spring to my eyes, but I hold them back as I look at the two men who showed me more joy in three days than I have felt in my entire life. “Go, please. I cannot have your blood on my hands. Please, leave me here. I’ve made it this long. I can do it again.” With those words, I lose the battle with my tears, and they flood my face, soaking the ground below me as if they seek to drown me.
Gerrit’s anger is a living creature as he reaches for me and attempts to throw me over his shoulder. I stay planted on the ground, the spell cast by my Banisher rooting me like a tree. I can just make out the purple strands of magic that float around my ankles. “Hans! He’s got her trapped with magic somehow!
The Banisher is moving slowly, unhurried in his pursuit of me. Hans leans down, lips beside my ear, “I will not leave you. You have to throw your magic towards his. You can do this, Briar. Think of something warm, happy, and kind to counteract his darkness.” He entwines his fingers with mine, tightly wrapped along my sides.
Looking into his eyes, I can see he truly believes I can do this. I squeeze mine shut tightly, ignoring that the Banisher is increasingly closer, having reached the house. At this point, he’s two minutes away from us.
I focus on what Hans said about thinking of warmth and happiness, and my mind drifts to Gerrit, lifting me and pouring me into the bath, dumping a bucket of cold water on top of me. I think of Flint, hugging me the best a wolf can, wanting to continue having a mental connection with me. And then Hans, the selfless way he immediately offered to let me feed from him, the words he gave just moments before that helped me realize how much he cared for me.
Those feelings drip through me, warming my bones like a roaring fire.
I rip my eyes open to see Hans, whose face is split in half with a smile. I look down, and the strands around me unravel from my legs. “Move, butterfly. It’s time to fly,” Hans whispers, grabbing my hand.
I’m on my feet, sprinting towards the tree, when the Banisher calls out. “You do not know what you boys are unleashing on this world! Leave her to me!”
It takes effort to ignore the Banisher, and I feel his spells whipping around me. I call upon my own magic, letting it wrap around us like a shield, leaving his magic unable to take hold. Gerrit is over the tree and on the other side of the circle, hands out to catch me as I leap from the roots of the enlarged wood.
As fly through the air, he holds his arms out, catching me and dropping me just as quickly to help Hans safely down from the tree. Flint is the last to join, and then we’re off, running through the woods as fast as our feet can carry us, the shouts of the Banisher fading with every step.
