Cored

Chapter 44: The Thicket

Crawley didn't say anything about training the next day, so Katherine kept in her headphones and stayed to herself. She started taking down the Christmas decorations but left up the lights. They each warmed up leftovers throughout the day, never sitting at the table at the same time. When Picquery finally arrived that afternoon, he was a sight for sore eyes.

"Merry Christmas all," he said, shaking the snow off his jacket as he walked inside. "Thanks again, Crawley. I really appreciate you taking the shift."

"Of course," Crawley said, throwing his bag over his shoulder and walking out the door without a second glance.

"Seems you two had a... cheery Christmas," Picquery said, looking at Katherine

"It had its moments," Katherine said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Here, I brought you something. Just a little Christmas present." He handed her a small package. She opened it and found a tiny stuffed owl.

"She's so cute," Katherine laughed. "But you didn't have to do this, especially since I couldn't get you anything. Crawley already gave me the snow globe."

"What sn—" Picquery started but was interrupted by Crawley coming back in the door.

"Did you see Chris?" he said to Picquery.

"Yeah, he took the keys. Why, isn't he down there?"

"No," Crawley shook his head. "The car is there, but no Chris. Just an envelope on the passenger's seat."

The two men looked at each other for just a split second before Picquery ran out the door.

"Get her out of here!" he yelled just before he crossed the threshold.

"Katherine, come on, get your stuff," Crawley said, throwing her backpack at her.

"What's going on?" Katherine asked as he raced into her bedroom and tossed her suitcase on the bed, sending all of her belongings soaring inside.

"We have to go. We can't leave any of your magic behind. Hurry, change the walls back to white."

Katherine did as he said, draining all the color from the apartment. He closed her luggage with all of her things inside, then looked at her.

"Can you make the door?"

"What?"

"The door, the door to your house. We have to go, and we don't want to leave a trace just in case they are watching the registry. Come on!"

Katherine looked around, but he had gathered all of her things. She let the magic leave her chest and the door to her bedroom arrived, which Crawley opened and hurried her through.

"We can't stay here long. We'll have to leave by tomorrow but at least we can cobble together a plan," he said, closing the door before it turned to dust behind them.

"Crawley, what is happening?"

He looked at her, finally letting go of the breath he had been holding. "It's Chris. Whoever was sending those letters, they have him. Which means they know where you have been, that you've been training with us, who has been protecting you. They know."

She stared at him, dropping the wand she had clutched in her hand. Her magic grew, but it wouldn't leave her chest. It pushed against her lungs and made it hard to breath. She felt her fingers twitching as if they were ready to do a spell, but without anything to release. Blinking rapidly didn't help her become any less dizzy.

"Waine..." Crawley said, trying to regain her attention. "Waine?"

But she was already sliding to the floor, checking her pulse and putting her head between her knees.