A low laugh fills the forest, and we all spin toward it. Strides away at the edge of the clearing, Sophia steps out from the shadows, her new magic visibly pulsing beneath her skin like dark rivers. Her hands tremble, but her smile is triumphant. Oaklyn follows, a strange expression on her face, with her dagger raised and Wyatt slinking along at her side.
Sophia’s new magic seeps into the air and wraps around me like cold mist. I shiver, crossing my arms.
“Always so perceptive, Katie,” Sophia says.
“Let her go,” Sky says thickly as she kneels on Hayley.
Sophia taps her cheek with one long finger. “I don’t think I will. In fact…”
She twirls her fingers, and Fiona lets out a bloodcurdling scream. She arches her back, her knees buckling. She writhes and twists in pain, howling so terribly that goosebumps rise all over my body.
“What’s happening?” Hazel shrieks.
“Stop this!” Natalie roars.
“Mom…” Oaklyn says softly beneath it all.
There’s a sickening crack, and Fiona’s arm bends at a strange angle. Her screams rise, echoing through the woods.
I cry out, throwing my hands over my mouth as I fight back nausea.
As Fiona’s wails dissolve into dry heaves, Sophia tilts her head. “Hm, not quite what I had in mind. But every test needs a guinea pig.”
Sky lifts one hand from Hayley’s pinned form, breathing hard. “Nat?” she mumbles.
“Yup,” Natalie says beside her.
Sophia curls her finger, beckoning us. “I’ll need you all to come with me so we can get the rest of the witches under my command.”
I have a second to act. A second to do something before she gains control of my brain, my body, my free will.
The others must come to the same realization because in unison, they extend their hands, and magic blasts from Natalie, Sky, and Hazel with such force that everybody in the clearing is knocked off their feet. The air buffets out of my lungs as I fly backward.
The forest floor rises like a tidal wave, rolling toward Sophia. I catch a fleeting glimpse of Oaklyn diving behind a fallen log and Wyatt leaping after her as I hit the ground.
I squeeze my eyes shut, reaching out with my mind to the chimeras.She’s using your magic to do harm. Help us stop her before it’s too late.
Their presence swirls around me, everything mingling like currents in the ocean. And among them, as steady as ever, is Natalie. Even in turmoil, my body knows where she is, as if we’re connected by an invisible tether that nothing can break.
The chimeras hear me. They’re coming.
“You two-faced, lying coward,” Hazel snarls, and I snap my eyes open to see her stalking forward.
Oaklyn is getting to her feet at the edge of the clearing, her gaze fixed on Hazel.
“You knew what Sophia was planning!” Hazel says, redirecting her aim.
“Hazel, focus!” I shout. “We need you.”
Too late. With a roar, she lets loose a blast of magic, and a deepCRRRACK!fills the forest. A tree beside Oaklyn sways, a line running through its trunk like someone’s taken a chainsaw to it.
“Oops.” Hazel looks at her palms.
“Oh my God,” I say as the tree wobbles.
As if in slow motion, it begins to fall.
“Back up!” Sky roars, grabbing Natalie by the arm.
