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“There’s no wind,” I observed. Everything about this moment seemed unnatural. Dogs barked in the distance. The ordinary sound took on a sinister quality.
Gun’s voice reverberated in my ear. “All the pieces are in play.”
I tightened the bundle of nerves that threatened to unravel in the pit of my stomach.
“The Gift of the Magi are in position,” Monica whispered in my ear.
“I didn’t realize we could have nicknames,” another voice whined in the background. Camryn.
Gun shushed her. “If the stag can have a code name, then so can we. You can be DQ.”
“Why would I want to be Dairy Queen? You know I have issues with lactose.”
“Drama Queen,” he hissed.
“Ooh, I like that.”
Frigid air rushed through the trees and slammed into us. Trees groaned as they bowed from the pressure. Instead of dispersing the mist, the wind appeared to thicken it.
Matilda withdrew her blade. “You might want to ready yourself.”
A gust of wind tore through the trees, bending their branches to its will. The sky darkened.
I stood beside Matilda and her mare and tried to appear as confident as she did. The Night Mallt wasn’t fooled.
“If you’re going to regurgitate, cariad, wait until the enemy is upon us and use it as a weapon.”
Vomit as chemical warfare. Got it.
Eyes fierce, the Night Mallt looked down her nose at me. “This is where we set the tone. A storm approaches, and we shall meet it with thunder and lightning of our own making.”
“The Fujiwhara Effect,” I said.
Matilda looked blank.
“When two storms collide.”
“Another lesson from your grandfather?”
“No, I actually learned this one in school.”
The leaves scattered, followed by a chorus of barks.
Matilda’s chest rose and fell. “Here comes the first wave. Stay vigilant.”
I faced the crossroads as white hounds with crimson-tipped ears ripped holes through the shadows. Their fangs gleamed with the promise of carnage.
Matilda rode forward to meet them with her chin held high. She let loose a shrill whistle that was almost too high-pitched to hear.
The hounds froze in place. I counted a dozen of them, as intimidating as werewolves, each one as large and ferocious as the next.
Matilda said a few words I didn’t understand. The hounds broke free of their temporary hold, even angrier than before.
She turned toward me. “They refuse to obey my commands.”
Snarling and snapping, they surrounded the mare.
I rushed out from behind the tree. “Stop!”
