Chapter 10

I'd experienced magic flares before, but only on a small scale and certainly never anything this intense.

The force of it ignited every cell in my body. All of my magic responded to the flare. Despite my efforts to rein it in, it erupted through my skin and formed a hurricane around me—one that grew larger and more powerful as the flare continued.

A blast of water and earth magic indicated Malcolm was similarly affected. I could see nothing beyond the vortex of my own magic, amplified many times by the flare.

Something appeared in the storm: my wolf, made of pure golden shifter magic so bright it hurt my eyes. I thought she intended to return to my body, but instead she pushed her head under my hand, lending her strength to my fight to rein in my magic.

Slowly, I gained control over the vortex as the flare began to subside. I drew my magic back into my body, letting it fill me with new and unfamiliar power derived from the energies of the Broken World. The sensation was similar to when I'd absorbed the sorcerer Mira?'s power, but this magic was pure and natural, not dark and poisonous.

The flare finally ended. I sagged against the charred side of one of the trees I'd inadvertently damaged with my cold fire. "I'm sorry," I told the trees.

My wolf, back in her furry form, shook herself briskly and curled her lip. I had no idea what that meant—maybe that I didn't need to apologize to trees.

Malcolm glowed with the power he'd absorbed from the flare. "You okay?" I asked.

He squinted. "Your aura is like a radioactive rainbow."

"You are a poet." I sighed and pushed away from the tree. "So, add massive magic flares to the list of things that are weird about this place."

"Hopefully those aren't frequent."

We set off again, following my wolf through the overgrown grounds of the estate. Rather than stick to the remains of the winding driveway, the wolf made a beeline toward what I believed was the main road that ran past Northbourne's main gate. Once we emerged from the woods, I had no idea what we'd find, or how I'd deal with having a wolf as a guide. Maybe I could talk her into returning to my body and guiding us from there.

"Carly said we'd have a guide and protector," I said.

Malcolm chuckled. "I'll be damned. Do you think she meant your wolf?"

"I don't know. If she meant the wolf, wouldn't she have said so?" I sighed. "Or maybe she didn't get the details, just the idea. In any case, it sure looks like my wolf wants to fill that role."

"Looks that way," he agreed. "Like you said, I'm not sure we have much of a choice but to follow."

We walked the quarter mile from the manor to the edge of the property. In our world, Northbourne's grounds were surrounded by a high wall and protected by a massive rolling gate. Here, only hints remained of a wall, and no gate. The road was there, though—a wide, two-lane country road. No vehicles were in sight. Not surprising in the middle of the night.

Without hesitation, my wolf turned left and trotted in the grass along the road, heading south toward the city.

"How do you suppose she's tracking the magic in the scroll?" Malcom asked as we followed. I plodded on the shoulder while he walked on the grass beside me.

"No idea. Not even a theory right now." Damn it, my knee ached. I ignored it and increased my pace.

"Is she making a beeline for the scroll, or are we following the same path Mariela took when she arrived here?"

"I don't see how we're following Mariela's trail so long after the fact, but we're walking along a road and not cutting through that field." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, which was just about the only part of my body that didn't hurt. "That makes it seem like?—"

I stopped in my tracks. Ahead, my wolf growled at something in the trees to our left.

A large, dark shape moved in the undergrowth. Twigs snapped. Something growled back at my wolf.

"Alice," Malcolm hissed. "What the hell is that? Is that a bear?"

The creature lumbered from the trees. I slowly unzipped a side pouch on my backpack, took out my Smith & Wesson, and chambered a round.

The thing turned toward the sound and stood upright, its long, striped tail curled around its legs. Its eyes were bright red.

"That is not a bear," Malcolm said.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I raised my gun.

"You sure we should shoot the giant demonic trash panda?" Malcolm asked. "That might just make it mad."

The raccoon-thing growled at us. "Don't call it a trash panda," I muttered. "I think you hurt its feelings."

The creature went back down on all fours and lumbered in our direction. I took aim between its red eyes.

Something else rustled in the undergrowth to our left—several somethings, judging by the sound. Multiple pairs of eyes glinted in the moonlight. More raccoon-things, or some other Broken World creatures?

My wolf tripled in size, her golden magic swirling around her body. She snarled and raced toward the raccoon-thing, her teeth bared. It hissed, turned, and disappeared into the trees, crashing through the undergrowth.

My wolf stopped at the tree line, raised her head, and howled. The sound was almost deafening and must have traveled for miles.

Dead silence. Not even a peep or a rustle from the forest.

Malcolm cleared his throat. "I think she just established this as her territory."

"So much for keeping a low profile." I stuck my gun in the side pocket of my backpack where I could get at it quickly, readjusted the pack, and started walking again.

My wolf trotted ahead of us, staying close to the tree line—presumably in case something decided to try its luck and attack us. Nothing else did, however. That howl had apparently sent the creatures of the forest scurrying away.

We'd walked for about ten minutes when I heard a large engine approaching. It sounded like a heavy truck. My wolf slipped into the trees to stay out of sight. Not a bad idea, since I didn't know who that truck might belong to. We joined her just inside the tree line and hid.

Headlights appeared over the top of a hill ahead of us. A military-style vehicle with dark paint and a large gun mounted on the back passed our hiding place moving fast. As it went by, I spotted an unfamiliar but unmistakably military seal on the side: a circle with a Latin motto, a vicious bird-of-prey figure, and a scale of justice. Two people in dark uniforms rode in front: a woman, who was driving, and a man in the passenger seat.

When the vehicle was gone, we emerged from the trees. "I wonder who they were," Malcolm said.

"Some branch of the military they have here that we don't have." I hooked my thumbs in the straps of my pack and started walking again.

Malcolm floated along beside me. "Wonder if they're the good guys or the bad guys."

"That's the million-dollar question. I suggest we stay away from them, regardless. Any contact with law enforcement, military, or even nosy civilians could bring a quick end to what we're here to do. We need to be invisible and not attract any attention."

Malcolm looked pointedly ahead at my enormous wolf. As if sensing his stare, she turned her head to show us her golden eyes and sharp teeth, then returned her attention to following the trail of the scroll.

"Invisible," Malcolm said dryly. "Yeah. Sure. No problem."