Under A Blue Moon | #ONC2022

Chapter 9

"Well, can't say this is how I saw this going." I rolled my eyes at Logan's dry tone.

My arms were crossed as I stared at the struggling witch. Penny was sitting on the wooden floor of the small storage room. It was barely able to fit all three of us. Especially when she began thrashing about, kicking her legs wildly.

I sighed as she screamed behind her makeshift gag. Yeah, this was not how this was supposed to go. But we had very limited options. I had to roll with it.

"Penny," I said softly, hoping she would calm down. "I know you're scared, but I'm not going to hurt you." Logan scoffed under his breath. I glared at him and took a step toward Penny. She whimpered and pushed herself as far back as the shelves would allow.

"I don't think she believes you," Logan mused. He leaned against the door, eyes glinting with humour.

Ignoring him, I tried again. "I know you're scared, and honestly if we had more time, I would have done this completely differently. But we don't." She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was.

"Last night my pack was attacked by dead people who crawled out of the lake. Now, last I checked, we didn't have a zombie apocalypse. So that leaves being cursed by a witch as the only other option." Penny stopped moving. Her eyebrows drew together. "Given that you and your co-worker, Elaine, are the only witches in town, you're at the top of our suspect list."

Staring daggers, she mumbled behind her gag. Ignoring it, I continued, "When I touched you yesterday, you zapped me." Then I asked the all important question, "Did you curse my pack?"

Penny closed her eyes. Head bowed. I moved closer and that's when I saw her necklace. It was glowing red. The bonds tying her hands snapped. Pulling off the gag she flung her hands toward me and yelled, "Perdere!" (destroy).

The room filled with a blinding light and magic exploded through the room slamming into me like a truck. We were blasted through the door, slamming into the wall with force. Debris from the roof and walls fell, burying us.

I opened my eyes, blinking away the blurred vision. My ears rang from the sudden explosion and for a moment I couldn't remember where I was. But then it all came screaming back.

I was still as I processed what just happened. That explosion should have killed me, or I should at least be seriously injured from the roof collapsing. Yet I was here, alive and with minimal damage by the feel of it.

Confused, I pushed a piece of the wall that had fallen on top of me to the side and that's when I felt the tightness around my stomach. Looking down I saw muscled arms wrapped around me in a vice grip. I followed them around to Logan whose eyes were closed. My body cradled against his broad chest. Not only had he covered me with his body, but he had twisted us so he received the worst of the impact.

I twisted around to face him, and his arms loosened. His head lolled to the side and a thin stream of blood ran from the top of his head and down his smooth cheek.

"Logan," I called as I shook his shoulders. But there was no response. I leaned my head against his hard chest and listened intently. When I heard the steady thumping of his heart I sighed in relief.

Cupping his head, I gave him a once over. Further down his body, a large piece of wood was lodged in his side.

"Shit. Logan!" I yelled again. He was out cold. As long as that piece was in his body, he wouldn't be able to heal properly. So, I wrapped my hand around the thick piece. Saying a silent prayer, I ripped it out. That woke him up.

He cried out in pain and pushed me away. His eyes snapped open and instead of his usual brown eyes, they were golden. I breathed out in relief. His wolf was near the surface which meant his healing was kicking in.

Looking around, the bakery was destroyed. The walls had been decimated and there was a clear view of the front where the windows had been shattered. Under a few pieces of rubble, I could make out a few people. From the sounds and slight movements, no one seemed to be dead. Which was a relief.

Behind me, someone coughed, and I tensed. Turning, I saw Penny stagger out of what was left of the storage room. My vision went red, and before I realised what I was doing, I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground.

"You're fucking dead," I spat. My fists were raised and ready to pound into her face.

In a panic, she wrapped her hand around mine and my head snapped back. A slew of images flashed before my eyes: Corpses forcing their way out of the ground; bodies piled in the streets; water running red.

I pushed out of her grip and staggered backwards. Shaking my head to disperse the last of the images, I was stunned into silence. Penny rolled over onto her elbows, coughing.

"I didn't curse your pack," she wheezed through deep breaths.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded.

"That's what I saw when I touched you. I swear I didn't curse you or your pack. We had nothing to do with what happened last night." Her teary eyes looked at me, pleading for me to believe her.

"You're a witch. You could have made those images up." She shook her head rapidly. "When I met you, I sensed your power. I bet you're powerful enough to do something like this."

"No, I'm not. Necromancy is forbidden. Anyone found practising is put to death." She pulled herself up on wobbly legs. "Besides, my family are nature witches. We've never dealt in the dead. Our magic is the complete opposite of necromancy. I swear."

I scoffed, "Last I heard, nature witches couldn't explode a building."

Logan coughed and groaned drawing my attention away from the witch. I knelt by his side. He tried to pull himself up but cried out in pain. "Stop moving, you idiot. You're still healing." I pressed him down onto his back causing him to wince.

His eyes flicked to Penny who stood over my shoulder and a growl emanated from his chest. "I'm going to kill you," he snarled.

I shoved my head in front of him. "Calm down. If you kill the witch, she can't help us."

Penny knelt by my side and looked at Logan with guilt. "I am so sorry. I know you probably don't believe me, but I had nothing to do with what happened to your pack. Neither did my cousin." Then she levelled me with a determined look. "But I can help you save them."