“We’re almost there!” she called back to me, leaping up onto a table and grabbing some of the vines hanging down from above. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as she shimmied up, then swung over to grab onto a string of fairy lights that illuminated the seating area.
Only for the line to snap and her to end up tumbling to the ground.
“Ow…” she murmured.
I raced over to her side, tackling another humanoid, this one with a sword in hand.
Who fights with a sword anymore?
The Whisper’s minions, apparently.
I slammed my head into him at full speed, skull meeting his sternum. A little thrill coursed through me when I heard all the air driven out of his lungs. Once I was sure he wasn’t about to get up again, I leaned down so Cherry could grab onto my fur and haul herself up.
“Thanks,” she murmured breathlessly. “I owe you one.”
Oh, she owed me far more than that, but it was a matter for another time.
“Come on, to that door!”
She didn’t need to clarify which door she meant, and we raced toward it. As we ran, the ground cracked open in front of us, and roots sprang up, bringing a familiar woman dressed all in white with them.
I skidded to a stop. Even though it had happened twice already, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that I couldn’t sense the Whisper when she was in close proximity, not her scent, her footsteps, or anything else my enhanced abilities should have picked up on.
“Give u—” Before she could get the rest of her words out, Cherry ran up to her and punched her square in the nose.
“Sorry, love to stay and chat, but you should probably deal with that fire!”
“Fire?”
I didn’t knowwherethe not-psychic got a lighter, but she jammed the same bent bobby pin she’d used to pick the lock into it, making the flame stay lit even after she let go. Grinning, she dropped it in the open chasm, then grabbed an abandoned drink from the closest table and tossed it in as well.
“Youbitch!” the dryad screamed, but Cherry was already running. I took off after her.
How could shenotbe a psychic and still do so many uncanny things? She’d read me, Chris, Jackson. She’d read the assassin. She’d said things that no one else could ever know. She always seemed to know what to say to every person we approached, and now she magically just had every tool we needed to get away?
Something didn’t add up.
But my desire to figure it out would have to wait, because we still needed to make it out the door. Despite all odds, we managed to barrel through it, slamming it behind us.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Cherry said breathlessly as she leaned back against it. I wanted to tell her that this wasn’t the time to stop, but I was still in my wolf form.
“I can’t believe you pissed off the Whisper.” The voice was completely disembodied, but I recognized it as the guitar tuner. A moment later, he was walking through the wall, looking just as strung out as before.
“I never would have told you to go see her if I knew you were gonna end up making such a mess.”
“You’re a witch?” Cherry blurted, and it was my turn to be a bit baffled. Even with my enhanced sense of smell, I’d thought that much was obvious. His bohemian outfit, moon tattoo on his sternum, and galaxy nail polish screamed witch. Sure, I understood stereotypes weren’t always reliable, but they werestereotypesfor a reason.
“Yeah. I specialize in illusion and charms. I’m not gonna risk my life for you, but I figured I could at least buy you a couple of minutes.”
“Hell yeah, we’d love that. Thank you!”
“Whatever, just get to running.”
“Aye-aye!”
Cherry took off. Since I was bigger and faster than her, I hung back to observe what the witch was going to do.
“Waiting for the show?” he asked wryly, and it was the most he’d said to me since we met.