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I opened my mouth to say more, struggling to form words that would make sense, when a woman’s scream tore through Witches Walk, startling us both. I jumped and whirled to find Meredith on the path, eyes wide in terror, one shaking finger pointing at a space behind Cade. I tracked to where she was pointing, spotting the slumped figure of a man prone in the dirt. Moonlight glimmered off the surface of something dark and wet pooling beneath his head and I pressed a hand to my mouth: Lord Malcolm.
“No,” I whispered and made to go to him.
Meredith screamed again, her voice hitting a shrill note and it was only after a second I realized what she was saying; “Murderer!”
Cade cursed under his breath. In one fluid move, he snagged my wrist and yanked me off the path, into the forest. My legs didn’t want to move. Every jolting step wobbled, and I nearly toppled over an old log, but Cade kept running, dragging me along in his wake.
Coming to my senses, I planted my feet and pulled back, forcing him to stop. “We can’t leave him like that!”
Seizing me by the shoulders, Cade gave me a little shake, his expression urgent as he bit out the words; “Think, Nora! You’re one of two outsiders here. Who are they going to blame?”
I stared at him, horror rooting me in place. Lord Malcolm’s body remained limp in the path, rumpled and undignified. It seemed impossible that he could be dead. He’d been so fierce, so strong in that werewolf form. What could have beaten him?
Meredith’s voice continued to cry murder, but it was a distant sound over the pounding of my heart. Somewhere further down the path, toward the manor, more voices were rising in alarm.
Cade took my hand, gentler this time, and I clung to him. Glancing around the forest, he listened intently for the space of two heartbeats before launching us off the path. I struggled to keep up, my little shoes barely protecting me from the many gnarled roots and rocks scattered across the forest floor. My lungs strained and my already shaky legs began to flag, but Cade wasn’t stopping.
Howls pierced the night, so close I could swear they were on our heels.
They probably were.
Without warning, Cade jerked us to the right. I stifled a yelp as we plummeted down a steep ravine, dirt and leaves sliding around. Something scraped my hip and my skirt hitched up past my knees. I lost Cade somewhere in the descent, but it was a relatively short drop and in seconds he had hold of me again.
He dragged us both into a small crevasse under the overhang of a large tree whose roots dangled out over the edge of the ravine. Moist dirt cooled the air around us, peppered my hair, and there was the sense of many small critters moving in the shadows.
My skin was stinging in several places and one of my stockings had rolled down to my ankle, making me acutely aware of the chilly night. I wondered if this was the same ravine I’d crossed with Malcolm, but there was no telling, not in the dark. Probably not even in the light, as I’d been hung over his shoulder for the duration of our escape.
Grief and terror warred in me. I hadn’t liked Malcolm based on Derrick’s story, and those awful threats he made, but the man had saved my life. I owed him something.
Through the speckle of moonlight, Constable Cade pressed a finger to his lips and glanced upward. I heard them a moment later, footsteps pounding our way.
My lungs were still straining for breath, and I swore my heartbeat was so loud anyone could hear.
“We’re sure it was the counselor?” said one of them. “I never read her for the fighting type.”
“It’s what Meredith says.” That was Mark. “She came around the corner and there was Nora standing over the body.”
I frowned and looked at Cade.
Why hadn’t Meredith mentioned him being there?
His mouth tightened, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was concentrated on the torchstone in my hand. I’d forgotten about pulling it out, and it was a miracle I hadn’t dropped it in our run, but there was no mistaking the little rock. It was unlit and I became grateful that I couldn’t access magic, or I might have gone ahead and commanded it to light. Rubbing my thumb over its smooth surface, I tried to coach my heartbeat into something steadier.
“I’ll bet Derrick had something to do with it,” Mark said with a low growl. “Little pup still doesn’t know his place. Did you see the way he glared at the man? You could have roasted a whole chicken in that hate.”
“What? Killed his grandfather and then left the warlock and his mother to reap the consequences? No, Derrick’s not like that.”
There was a sharp whistle further along the path and the two jogged away, still arguing about the possibility of Derrick’s involvement. I released a terrified breath and looked to Cade, but I knew better than to speak.
Blasted wolves with their excellent hearing.
Cade took the torchstone from me and threw it against a nearby rock. It flickered a dull green and there was a rumbling through the ground, magic releasing to tell Derrick where we were, and I had the thought that this must be a normal means of calling on the Constable. But we did not stay. No sooner had the stone hit the ground than Cade circled my wrist with his fingers and pulled me from the crevasse.
We made a careful, swift progression through the ravine, which widened and narrowed several times before ending at the base of a massive boulder. This we scaled, Cade first so that he could reach down and help my struggling, skirt-laden legs up its craggy surface. I began to curse my choice of dress. It was too thin, it did nothing against the cold, and the rough rock beneath me tore both the fabric and my skin.
Halfway up the boulder’s face, a second set of hands grabbed my free arm, and I nearly yelped. But it was Derrick, who took the brunt of my weight and lifted me fully up, depositing me on my feet at the top in moments.
Without meaning to, I grabbed him, holding tight in a breathless embrace. “Derrick!” I whispered into his chest.
