Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
EMORY
T he white wolf sat there, a low rumble escaping its mouth as we stood in the grass. Beyond the grassy field, what looked like a maze of mushrooms shot up, all of the spotted fungus reaching taller than our heads, an odd red haze drifting from their button tops.
“So everyone is seeing the wolf, right?” Driscoll asked.
Maverick and I both shot him a look.
“Well, I just had to double check since neither of you seemed to notice the giant head-chomping plants that were about to decapitate you while you were snuggling on the ground, staring into each other’s eyes.” He took a deep breath. “That felt good, actually. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.”
“We weren’t snuggling.” For spirits’ sake. Why was I arguing with him?
“In case you two forgot,” Maverick said as he summoned his fire magic, “we’ve got bigger problems than the plant-eaters.” He nodded toward the white wolf, who prowled through the grass toward us.
“I really, really hate it here,” Driscoll said .
I didn’t disagree. I summoned my frost magic, ice swirling above my hand in swooping circles, even though our magic seemed to have little effect on the wolf. Not to mention, my magic was weaker here, that thread I wanted to pull at getting harder to grasp.
Driscoll raised his hands. “I used the rest of my magic trying to save your two asses, which was a complete waste.” He mumbled that last part. “So you two are on your own.”
“Let’s back away slowly,” Maverick said out the side of his mouth. “Running will only trigger its predator instincts.”
The grass brushed against my knees as I slowly walked backward, while the wolf’s red eyes watched us.
“Why isn’t it attacking?” Driscoll asked. He glanced around. “Also, does this grass seem way too much like regular grass to belong here?” He scratched his head. “Other than the fact that it’s purple.”
He was right. The wolf wasn’t attacking. It had growled at us, but I was starting to think that was just the sound it made.
“Maybe it wanted us to come here?” I suggested.
“It doesn’t matter what it wants.” Maverick eyed it warily, flames dancing over his palm, flickering out. “It’s a wild beast. It will kill us if we give it the chance.”
I swiveled my head. “Do you look at everything with such a narrow mind?”
He scoffed. “I use something called observation. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” He gestured to the wolf, who now looked between us, head cocked, ears pointed straight up. “It’s a wolf three times the size of a normal wolf, and it has already tried to kill us once.”
My hands curled into fists. “It’s also very likely from this place. Where trees have eyes and plants eat people. It might not be what it seems.”
“You guys are worse than me and Leoni,” Driscoll muttered. “We’re never going to get anywhere with you two.”
“If all you’re doing is judging based on what you know, then what kind of critical thinking is that?” I asked.
Maverick gave me an odd look that I didn’t entirely understand. Then he looked down at his boots and shook his head. “I don’t have time for this. I didn’t die, which means I’m going the right way. ”
Well, that made no sense. He was just as confounding as this world around us, which I still couldn’t make head nor tail of. If we could get to that library, maybe we’d have a shot at getting answers, at making an actual escape plan. I glanced back at the giant plants, their mouths now closed, all of them sleeping soundly. If we lived long enough to make it there. I couldn’t imagine what still awaited us.
Maverick began walking past me. His gaze darted to the wolf as he attempted to inch by it.
The wolf let out another growl, nudging its head.
“Did it just shake its head?” Driscoll asked.
Of course it did. Because why wouldn’t a wolf understand us?
Driscoll stroked his chin and glanced at Maverick. “I don’t think it wants you to go that way.”
The wolf took a step forward, all of us taking a step back.
“I don’t think it wants any of us to go that way,” I said.
“So then what does it want?” Maverick asked, a bone-weary exhaustion filling his voice.
The wolf took another step forward, nudging its head again.
“You know when I said this grass was pretty normal?” Driscoll asked, then pointed behind us.
Maverick and I both turned.
“Well, I think I was wrong.”
A door stood in the middle of the field. Plain brown with a round silver handle.
Something poked me in my butt, and I jumped, shrieking as I turned to realize it was the white wolf’s cold, wet nose.
Maverick smirked.
“Jealous?” I asked.
His smirk turned to a glower, and Driscoll whistled low.
I hadn’t meant to say that. It sounded so flirtatious. Something I had no interest in doing when it came to the bone collector. Actually, I’d flirted with the bone collector many times and enjoyed it a little too much. It was Maverick Von Lucas I had no interest in flirting with.
Driscoll strode toward the door. The white wolf lifted his head and howled, and Driscoll stopped in front of the door, then took three steps around it and peeked his head back out. “And it gets weirder,” he said. “ Something I didn’t know was possible after seeing trees with actual eyes.”
I tugged at the ends of my hair. “What does the wolf want us to do?”
Maverick stalked ahead of me. “I’m guessing he wants us to open it.”
“Go ahead.” I flung out an arm. “Be my guest.”
Driscoll came back around and crossed his arms. “Let me guess: he’s going to open the door and then it’ll fall on him. Or he’ll try to open it, but it will actually trigger an explosive that will blow us all to pieces. Or maybe?—”
“Can you turn him off?” Maverick said over his shoulder, stopping in front of the door and leaning down to inspect the handle.
“He doesn’t have an off button. Otherwise, trust me, I already would have tried it.”
Driscoll looked between us, frowning. “You know I can hear you both.” He glanced at the white wolf and shrugged. “At least you’re coming around.”
The white wolf flashed his fangs.
“Never mind,” Driscoll mumbled.
Both of us came to a stand behind Maverick, peering over his shoulder.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked right as he was about to turn the handle.
“No, I’m not sure about this, but I don’t think the wolf is giving us many options.”
Driscoll swallowed, his throat bobbing.
Maverick grasped the handle, and he slowly twisted it, the door swinging open.
I blinked several times. That wasn’t possible. The door opened to a completely different place. All stone and rubble, the wind whistling with an eerie tune.
Driscoll raised a finger. “I vote we stay in the field.”
Before any of us could respond, the white wolf crashed into me, propelling all of us straight through the opening. We stumbled into the new world, and I whipped around to see the door slamming shut and disappearing.
My pulse spiked, all the hairs on my arms raising .
I stood with Maverick, Driscoll, and the white wolf on some kind of stone... building? Temple? I couldn’t tell. Piles of stone had toppled over. Statue heads and other concrete limbs were scattered across the area. Pillars lay on their sides. Hills surrounded the stone structure, all different colors of the rainbow.
“Why did he want us to come here?” Maverick asked, glancing at the wolf, who just stared with its red eyes.
“Why don’t you ask him?” I said, gesturing to the creature. “And while you’re at it, maybe offer yourself up for a snack.”
“I get why everyone was annoyed with me and Leoni now.” Driscoll massaged his temples. “You two are like an old married couple.”
We both glared at him, and he raised his hands. “You’re right, I’m staying out of it.”
The stone trembled under our feet, debris rattling around us. We all moved in closer, our shoulders pressing in together.
“What is going on?” Driscoll asked.
The white wolf just sat there on its haunches, like it was waiting for something.
“I think we should run, figure out where we are, and make a plan,” I said quietly. “Something is very, very wrong.”
But before we had a chance to move, a fissure split the stone under us, and then, we were falling.