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Another vine slipped through the crack in the wall, this one faster, moving with purpose, and I dove for the case. My shin bashed the metal rim of the cot, rocketing pain down into my toes.
The western wall exploded. Splinters shot through the room, and I screamed, half leaping, half falling onto the cot. The thin mattress slid, and I grabbed the edge without thinking, lifting and curling so that it shielded the bulk of my body. I lay cocooned for two heartbeats, listening to the crash and whoosh of vines as they tore through the room before I felt the solid whomp of something crashing into the back of the mattress.
Agony radiated from the runestone, zapping down my forearm into my elbow and I realized I was unconsciously trying to access magic. If I didn’t control myself, I might truly melt my bones to the point of permanent damage.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to stop.
The mattress ripped away from me, and I was at once accosted by open, vulnerable air. Somewhere in the mayhem the medical kit had been tossed closer and I reached for it with my good hand, feeling blindly for the scissors I knew were in there.
A vine snapped at me, its thorns acting like talons that ripped past the gauze holding my arm in place and slashed across my forearm. My skin blazed with a new and different sort of pain as it tore open, and I yanked the scissors out. With a scream, I jabbed the scissors into the writhing, twitching vine.
An eerie hiss echoed off the walls and the vine recoiled, but there were five more in the room now, all swiping through the small space. One had found the table and was squeezing it to tinder, sending paperwork scattering to the floor, but all at once it seemed alerted to my presence. It abandoned the table and the five tentacle-like vines swept toward me. Prone as I was, bereft of the mattress for cover, I scooted until my back was pressed against the wall and scrambled to get upright.
Brandishing the scissors, heart pounding, I tried to prepare for the next attack.
The first vine caught my ankle, circling my shoe so tight I lost feeling in my toes. I swung on instinct, slashing my scissors across the next vine as it came for me, but the creature had my ankle, and it wasn’t letting go. In an instant it yanked, dragging me screaming from the wall.
Wooden floor scoured across my hip.
Desperate, I stabbed the scissors into the floor and held tight. My momentum snagged to a stop with jolting force, and I nearly lost feeling in my fingers. I could see the gaping hole in the western wall, could feel the frigid darkness pouring into the little safe room, and somehow that was worse than an actual monster. The vine pulled more, tightening so that I felt its thorn sink past my shoe and into the sole of my foot.
“No!” I sobbed.
The metal scissors bit into my good palm. I could feel my grip slipping. Closing my eyes, I tore free of my shredded gauze bandages and gripped the scissors in both hands. Agony spiked through my arm and my grip slipped a fraction.
Derrick’s voice floated to me from somewhere. He was calling my name, but I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t risk concentrating on more than holding those blasted scissors.
A low, primal growl penetrated the room. I felt new movement around me, something solid leaping to stand over me, and I cracked my eyelids to look up.
One powerful, too-long foot was by my face. I blinked, taking in the muscled calf covered in grey-white fur, its shape vaguely human and far too large. He stood nearly as tall as the room itself, the bulk of his shoulders wide and solid, near every inch of him covered in fur. His long, pointed muzzle faced the vine beast with a snarl that showcased all his canine teeth and menace.
“Derrick?”
He swiped once with a clawed hand, severing the vine around my ankle and I slumped against the floor. Without looking at me, he launched for the next vine, tearing into its length with claws and teeth. Heart pounding in my ears, I stared as he rampaged through the room.
One vine slashed him across the back, its thorns ripping past fur and into his skin. A fine pink mist sprayed over the nearby wall and Derrick reared back, roaring. Sensing weakness, the vines converged, three of them lashing with a speed that blurred. I breathed out, meaning to scream or warn him, but my voice was lost somewhere.
Two vines caught him, one at the wrist, the other at the opposite thigh. They yanked in unison, and he staggered to a knee. His muscles strained, the bicep of his captured arm bulging as he struggled against the vine, pulling it closer to his face until at last he was able to snap at it with his teeth. The vine broke away, writhing as it returned to the hole.
Arm freed, he slashed through the remaining vine, sending it retreating like a whip. Then he was on his feet, rushing toward me. His werewolf face contorted in so much rage I flinched and tried to scoot away, but my heel caught the hem of my skirt, and I only managed a scant inch.
He scooped me up, far more gently than I’d imagined possible in his current state, and I got a face full of fur. Then he was rushing for the portal and I nearly shouted a warning because hadn’t the portal been gone? But as we approached I saw an inky violet-blue swirl in the wall and I imagined that must be part of the plan. Closing my eyes, I clung to Derrick as we passed through the swirl and prepared for the Middling.
Chapter Twenty-Three
We burst onto Earthside where Constable Cade stood, arms raised, violet ribbons of light swirling from his hands. His eyes were the deepest shade of night, not a hint of white to them, and he looked more Fae than I imagined possible for a warlock. His jaw was set and I could see the strain it was taking for him to hold the portal open.
Sunlight blinded me for a moment, slanting down from the forest canopy above, but I spotted another man beside Cade. He was older, more distinguished, with a lined face drawn up in concern and a navy-blue coat that stretched to his thighs.
No sooner had Derrick crossed, passing between two oaks instead of birch trees, than Cade dropped his arms and slumped forward to catch himself on his knees. The violet light snapped out, and the odd, inky portal we’d passed through dissolved to nothing.
Derrick, still in werewolf form, dropped my sodden weight onto the dirt and ran off, disappearing into the forest in seconds. Stunned, I toppled onto my shoulder and tried to coach my heart into a regular beat.
Daylight streamed through high leaves, dappling the forest floor with dancing shadows and there was the scent of recent rainfall. Beneath me, the ground was wet, a puddle forming under my soaked dress, but I couldn’t find the will to move.
“Nora?” Constable Cade was at my side, his cool fingers bracing my neck as he helped me into a sitting position.
I shivered, though there was warmth ebbing from the sun. “Where did Derrick go?”
