Chapter 15: Full Moon
Rose sipped her tea slowly, carefully taking small, single sips at a time. She did not want another repeat instance of her drink deciding to spill into her trachea instead of her esophagus. She wasn't entirely sure she would ever be able to drink pumpkin juice again without her throat burning at the memory of coughing for five minutes straight.
Mairwyn sat across the table, clicking a long, pointed nail on her teacup's handle as she held the gaze of Rose's mother. Rose rolled her stronger shoulder, knocking off her mother's hand.
Rose took another cautious sip of her tea, closing her eyes to drown out the shame at her parents' reaction to her new friend. Granted, her mum's surprise had only lasted a sliver of a second. As if a ghost had passed through her mother's body. The bushy eyebrows had only narrowed for a breath, just so. Her dad, on the other hand, sat with crossed arms and a glare that managed to look simultaneously astonished and suspicious.
Speaking her new friend's name in the presence of her parents had been like trying to speak in a foreign language without sandpaper in her mouth, thanks to the aphasia. Her parents had barely heard her at first, talking over her as they unlocked her wheelchair's breaks and planned to move her back to her private hospital room for the remainder of their visit. Rose had slammed her hands on the table and pointed to where she was sitting, then pointed her finger at the goblin across the table and stated louder, "Mairwyn, my friend."
Now that she thought of it, maybe she had been a tad dramatic with slapping her hands on the table. The china had rattled and everything. However, she refused to feel ashamed. It had been a faster alternative to getting her parents' attention.
Rose sighed as her mum finally broke the silence. Hermione Granger-Weasley held out the Granger-Weasley-TM-business-only handshake to the young goblin.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger-Weasley," Mairwyn returned the handshake, squeezing strongly and making Rose bite down the giggle that wanted to escape her lips.
"You've been a good friend to my daughter while she's been in here. Rose has talked fondly of you." Hermione nodded her gratitude, still all business-professional but with an edge of warmth.
"Yes, she failed to mention you were a goblin though," her dad blurted out, receiving a glare from her mother.
"Shh, Ronald!" her mother hissed between clenched teeth.
Rose hid her face in her teacup, finding she didn't have the courage to look into her new friend's eyes. She could feel the steam coming off her cheeks and it certainly wasn't from the tea.
After a painstakingly long moment of silence, Mairwyn burst out laughing. Little musical high-pitched giggles. Rose risked a larger sip, aspiration-be-damned, and prayed to Merlin that she could disappear into her teacup. Several families in the community room glanced over with raised eyebrows at their table.
"This explains everything," Mairwyn huffed between her cool laughter. "Us goblins, we all know of you, Mrs. Granger-Weasley."
"I… I beg your pardon?" Rose's mum's voice squeaked.
"You're the head liaison between us 'magical creatures' and the rest of your department, are you not?" Mairwyn wagged a finger at Rose's mother, sharp teeth pointing through her smile. "You have quite the reputation."
"What do you mean my wife has a reputation?" Rose's dad's face took on five shades closer to match the shade of his hair.
"I'm only twelve, but I hear my elders talk." Mairwyn paused and smiled, no shyness in her eyes. "You're known as the most dedicated and devoted liaison the department has ever had. However, one of the worst in terms of actually understanding both our culture and your own Witch culture." Mairwyn hesitated, tapping a finger on the table. Rose's friend was one to always select words carefully. "Although, you're just about the only one out of the entire Ministry of Magic that us Goblins almost trust. Nevertheless, have you not noticed we try to avoid you at all costs? Your last faux pas with the elder Urgs caused the family to hide in their home for almost a week out of embarrassment and shame."
"Faux pas? What do you mean?" The wrinkles on her mother's forehead crinkled in concern. "I did not mean any…"
Mairwyn shook her hand, cutting off her mother gently. "What's done is done. It's of no consequence now."
"But I want to know if I'm offending…"
Rose watched her father put his hand on her mother's knee and squeeze.
Mairwyn looked intently at Hermione, head tilting. "No, I don't think you care much if you offend us. You have an idea of the way you think things should be and you pay little heed to the way things are."
"But I…"
Rose felt herself looking at her mother, willing her to listen to Mairwyn and stop interrupting. Hermione Granger-Weasley bit her lip, brown eyes wide and blinking before meeting Mairwyn's gaze again.
"I apologize for interrupting. I'm listening."
Rose felt herself smile, uninhibited with pride and pleasure. Her mother always had an opinion, and was quick to form one and share it – whether or not anyone wanted to hear it. She couldn't remember the last time her mother took heed of criticism. Rose thought if she could capture this moment in a bottle, this is what dignity would look like.
Mairwyn nodded, black eyes still intense but her gaze was gentler. "My parents say you are the best liaison we've ever had within the Department of Magical Creatures. You hear our concerns and we know you fight for them… despite your complete and utter lack of understanding our culture and values. And I say 'our' to encompass all magical creatures, not just us Goblins."
Rose watched her mother nod and swallow, confusion spreading as beads of sweat accumulated against her mother's temples.
"You have insulted House Elves by freeing them, making it seem like there was a hierarchy of jobs within the magical community. That binding blood to serve a family is somehow 'less' and 'demeaning' on a scale of livelihoods; not something noble and done in loyalty. Also, you never address the eldest member in goblin households first, you speak to their children instead. You don't offer to divine the future for the families who welcome you as their guest, despite being a witch. This is a tradition of good faith between witches and goblins that has lasted millennia. Can you imagine one of us sitting there, knowing full well you can read our tealeaves and the fate that may befall us - illness or a storm set to roll through - and you hide that from us. And that is only scratching the surface, Mrs. Granger-Weasley."
Hermione opened her mouth and closed it. Rose looked down at her tea, studying the specks of leaves at the bottom arranged in either a snowflake or wave-like pattern. It was hard to tell. Her mother was still listening.
"My wife-" Ron began, red blush deepening.
"-You're right, Mairwyn," Hermione stated calmly and quietly, interrupting. "I… There is very little excuse not to know your cultures and values. Especially as a member of the Department for Magical Creatures and Beings. I… I fought for so long for my own culture to be accepted. Muggle culture, that is. I... I projected my own beliefs upon those who I wished to help. There is much... so much I want to change about Wizarding Society. The way it's run. I have assumed much about what I thought Magical Creatures and Beings may also wish to change... about Wizarding Society and their own. I…"
Rose reached over to hold her mum's hand. It trembled. She threaded their fingers together and squeezed. Her mum squeezed back and didn't let go.
"Gods, I'm so embarrassed. I knew going into the role as a witch who did not grow up with all the customs... I knew it'd be hard. I tried to read and prepare… Knew I was bound to make errors and learn from them… I didn't want to seem unknowledgeable or at a disadvantage compared to the purebloods who have typically held this role in the past. I assumed too much… I am sorry."
Mrs. Granger-Weasley let go of Rose's hand, fingers no longer shaking. "If you or your family will teach me my errors, I want to learn. Not that it's your job to. Just... I want to know how I can be a better liaison. I mean only goodwill. And I suspect I will need to apologize to all the others I have ever worked with."
Mairwyn didn't smile, but nodded slowly, eyes shining.
Rose let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and absentmindedly blinked at the steady, ocean-salty burn lapping at her eyes. Her heart pounded to the heavy beats of a kettledrum, yet she felt as if her dad were taking her for a ride on his broom. That free-floating feeling. The thought struck her as she wiped her eyes and met the wise and humbled gaze of her mother. It was pride she felt, and it tasted both warm and bittersweet. Hermione Granger-Weasley's irises blew open, honesty and humility written in her wrinkles.
"Rose is invited to stay with my family for the weekend of Nos Galan Gaeaf, if Hogwarts and you will allow it?" Mairwyn nodded towards Rose, a smile fighting to escape. "Perhaps you can take tea with my parents when you escort Rose back to Hogwarts?"
Albus tried to swallow the yawn that had been teetering to escape his lips for the past half hour. His attempt failed. The ghost-white boy sitting across from him met his eyes quickly, a flash of storm-gray brewing before they quietly slipped back to his book.
Albus felt his knuckles pop against the strain of squeezing his fists. His new "friend" had managed to raise his thin, pointy eyebrows into a variety of positions that would make any contortionist proud. The looks ranged from scrutiny to apathy, disgust, and condescension. The dance of facial expressions happened anytime Albus had opened his mouth to remark on something he'd read or a book that looked to be a promising source for magical tattooing. Why Will had wanted to befriend this pompous snake, Albus had absolutely no idea.
He'd done what felt right last night, clapping when the group of Slytherins remained quiet as the grave following Malfoy's impressive Beater performance. The silence had been deafening, and the look on Malfoy's face had made shivers fire across his spine. It was the first and only time he'd ever been able to get a read on the boy. The experience left Albus feeling haunted, like a wind scraping and hissing through the heather on rainy winter's day. Albus had spent all of five seconds frozen by the flickering feelings radiating off of Malfoy: a rapid succession of despair, shame, rage, guilt, and hope. It was the thunderclap of hope that caused Albus to bring his hands together over and over again until the crowd joined in. The crowd that radiated distrust, hate, and envy.
Perhaps he felt just a little bit guilty. That crowd last night wasn't so different from how Albus felt toward the boy sitting across from him now, rapidly scribbling notes and shooting unimpressed looks from across the table. The boy really was a living, breathing block of ice. Not to mention a perfectionist, with standards on how to research and read texts. Albus let out a huff and turned the page of his book, barely registering the words he skimmed.
Will, on the other hand, sat next to him with a long pile of notes slowly filling up the page. His friend turned each page with the reverence of a 9th-century monk. Every five minutes, without fail, Will shared a summary of the information he'd devoured. His friend was head-over-heels enchanted with learning anything about magic, even the most mundane details. Albus couldn't help but smile. His smile would disappear though when he noticed Will's enthusiasm tug a smile out of the corner of the ice-block's lips.
"Mates, you've got to listen to this," Will commanded, pushing the book into the middle of the table and leaning closer. Albus caught the whisper of a smirk forming on Scorpius' face. He fought against the urge to roll his eyes.
"So, this woman… Healer Elphicke… She's been working on combining potions into runic tattoos to alleviate health problems that keep popping up in witches and wizards… like Dragon Pox…" Will rushed out, scrunching his nose. "What's that?"
Scorpius opened his mouth to answer but Albus beat him to it, feeling slightly guilty for the smug smile that played at his lips for being first, "Dragon Pox is a highly contagious disease for Witches and Wizards. Most magical beings, honestly. Although it tends to have little effect on Muggles."
Will raised his eyebrows, eyes losing focus for a heartbeat before shaking his head. "Do you think we could reach out to her? Send her an.. um… owl or something?"
Before Albus could reply, a girl with decked in a too-tight green jumper and matching dark-green eyeshadow bounded up to the table. "Scorpius! Oh my gods! There you are! I've been looking literally all over the castle for you!"
Scorpius's eyes widened before his shoulders slumped inwards on himself, his body folding in as if he were an accordion and could hide under the folds of his cloak.
"Oh look at how cute you are, studying with your little Gryffindor friends!" The girl's heels licked as she reached to pinch Malfoy's cheek, but hesitated when Scorpius managed to retreat into the folds of his cloak even more. She flashed a bright smile at Will and him instead, lips painted a light taupe. "I'm Vincenza, third-year Slytherin, and Scorpius's new partner on the Quidditch team!"
Scorpius raised a single, pointed eyebrow.
"Oh don't give me that look!" Vincenza managed to squeak and laugh simultaneously. "I'm the other Beater. Oh my gods, we're going to have so much fun! I saw your moves last night – well, sort of. It's hard to see at night. But I have so many ideas!"
Scorpius just nodded, eyes dazed and emotionless. Albus almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"Anyways, we have practice in an hour. Captain Nott wanted me to let you know to meet us on the field and not be late." Vincenza rolled her eyes at that and popped her bubblegum before resuming loud chomping.
The witch opened her mouth, a flicker of shadow passing over her eyes before rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck. "Also, I thought we could meet at the field earlier. Get to know each other a little bit… you know… since we'll have to manage the Bludgers and stuff together?"
Albus felt himself biting his lip, the witch looked nervous. Did she know something about the Malfoys?
Before Scorpius could respond, Will's cheerful voice cut through the air, breaking the ice of nerves. "Join us for a moment, eh? Then you can steal Scorpius from us?"
Vincenza beamed a too-white smile at Will and slid in beside Malfoy who looked like he very much wanted to melt into the wall just like the ghosts floating in and out of the stacks behind him.
"What are you reading about?" Vincenza asked, twirling her ponytail around her finger. The smile was still plastered to her painted face.
"Nothing-" Albus rushed to say at the same time as Will pushed the book towards Vincenza and stated "Healer Elphicke. Heard she's researching runic tattoos… and as an amateur artist, I'm interested."
Albus swallowed the groan escaping from his tongue. Scorpius just inclined his head, unperturbed. Hawk-gaze focused on Vincenza.
"Oh my gods! Elphicke is in a book already?! She'll scream! Oh my gods I have to owl her immediately!" Vincenza squealed, bouncing on the bench and causing a few students in their vicinity to glare. A few ghosts covered their ears and brought a finger to their lips. Albus felt his cheeks heating. "It's so sweet of you all to research Slytherin's last Beater. She'll be so pleased her legacy is living on!"
Albus, Will, and Malfoy quickly met eyes from across the table for a hair's breadth. Will's eyes widened in astonishment.
Malfoy spoke for the first time, arms relaxing and a small tug playing at his lips. "I'm naturally nervous to fill Elphicke's shoes and wanted to learn all I could about her."
The line was so suave Albus had to turn away to roll his eyes. He immediately felt slightly ashamed of himself. It irked him to no end that Malfoy brought out the worst in him.
On the other end of the table, Vincenza's eyes sparkled. "Elphicke was one of the few who always took me seriously and made me the Beater I am today." Vincenza's adjusted her posture, straight and full of pride. "She's such a remarkable witch. Literally no sense of style but she's like so smart. Made it into the Healer Academy after graduating from Hogwarts last year and took on a side-project in Runology and healing magic!"
"Tell us more about her… she sounds extraordinary" Malfoy's eyes flickered.
Albus gulped, feeling every bone in his body shout danger at the way Malfoy charmed the witch with ease.
Will sprawled out on the common room sofa, pulling his brown hoodie over his head and letting out a dramatic sigh. The multitude of stacked books spilled across his stomach, causing him to grunt. The fact that Albus laughed made him smile even wider.
His thoughts felt like a pinball, shooting in a million different directions at once. Vincenza had promised to put Scorpius in touch with the young healer so he could owl her about the tricks of the trade for being a Beater, and, of course, inquire about her current job and research into magical tattoos and medicine.
Albus' job would be to write to his father on behalf of Scorpius, perhaps secure a meeting between father and son in the magic prison. Maybe even secure a lawyer on behalf of Mr. Malfoy.
Will glanced over at Albus, who sat cross-legged on the floor with a blank piece of paper. The kind of paper that looked like it belonged in wedding invitations or diplomas. The extravagance of the magical world really was ridiculous.
Nudging Albus with his knee, he caught his friend's intense eyes, which were clearly in overthinking mode, and glanced down at the paper several times over. Albus looked frozen at the prospect of writing a letter to his father about his new friendship with Scorpius. Will let his chuckle escape him. "C'mon Albus. Three sentences: Dear Dad, I made a friend with a kid named Scorpius Malfoy. Will likes him more than I do but I'm warming up to him slowly. His dad needs help, he's in wizard prison and Scorpius wants to know how to arrange a meeting with him, maybe get a lawyer – or whatever the magic equivalent is. I met Mr. Malfoy at the hospital and he had a magical tattoo that was burning his arm and causing a great deal of pain. Scorpius is worried sick. Being that you are apparently famous, can you pull some weight with someone? Love, Albus. And P.S. Teddy told me everything."
Albus' face drained of color. Will nudged his friend again and smiled wider, "Alright, that was like what… Maybe five sentences or something? No big deal. Just write it and get it done. Just maybe leave out the cheekiness, eh?"
Shaking himself, Albus popped his quill into an inkwell and looked up at him with wide, intent eyes. "That was good. Can you say that again? I'll write it down this time."
Will felt his belly hurt from laughing, his friend looked like a deer caught in headlights. "No mate, you got this. Figure it out. He's your dad."
If he knew who his father was, he'd write novels for him every day. That is if the man cared to know an ounce about his son and who he was.
Swallowing down the twist in his throat, Will clapped his friend on the back and pushed the books off his lap. It was time to find Teddy and learn more about that potion he'd tasted the other day. He had perhaps half an hour before curfew hit and time was precious.
"I'm going to find Teddy, I'll be back in half an hour!" Will shouted over his shoulder, leaving Albus before the boy could convince him to write the letter for him.
The castle was relatively silent for a Saturday night. Nothing at all like the vibrancy of London at this hour in the evening on a weekend. A few students huddled together in packs, carrying books. Blue-tinged light pulsing from their wands like ocean waves. Will found the extra light to be unnecessary. The lanterns that lit the castle flickered brighter as he passed by and portraits greeted him – mostly cordially – and directed him to the dungeons where he'd seen Teddy working yesterday.
Darker in the dungeons, the torches remained dim as he passed by, creating eerie flickers across the faces of the statues lining the corridor. By the time Will found the room where Teddy brewed, he barely had any light to guide him, beside the pale glow coming from the cracked door.
"Give it back," a high-pitched growl hissed from the open door.
Will paused, sliding in closer to the door. Positioning himself flat against the side of the wall where the door would swing open and hide him from view if needed.
"Why should I, werewolf? You've never tasted Wolfsbane before and don't want to."
Will bit down on his lip. Teddy's voice was unmistakable, slightly higher-pitched, and clipped in the sort of English vowels that would make the Queen proud.
"Yes, I'm a werewolf. Are you scared, wizard? Scared I might bite you? The full moon is tonight."
Teddy laughed dryly, footsteps echoing across the floor. "I dare you."
Slipping to the floor, Will huddled himself closer to the wall. He didn't trust his shaking legs to hold him upright. The girl Teddy taunted could only be Sköll.
A responding slap echoed from the room, causing Will to jump. "Don't try me, wizard. I will bite you and it won't be my fault."
It made no sense. Why was Teddy riling up the werewolf? Everyone had been giving the girl a wide berth. He didn't know much about lycanthropy, although he had checked out a book from the library not five hours ago. But he was fairly certain taunting a werewolf the day of a full moon qualified as both idiotic and dangerous. Could they turn without a full moon in a dungeon?
"Now, give me the Wolfsbane, wizard. I'm already late in taking the dosage because Professor Slughorn needed extra time to perfect the brew." Sköll hissed, spitting out the last few words like it was a bad taste on her tongue.
"No," Teddy said, voice laced with vehemence.
Will felt as if a cold rain slammed into his body.
"No?" The word was whispered. It was the first time Sköll sounded dumbfounded, underconfident.
"If you want it, come catch me."
The events happened in quick succession, reminding Will of the stop-motion flip books he used to thumb through years ago. One event frozen in time before moving to the next, tiny movements in between lost to time.
The door swung open, slamming against his scrunched-up knees. Hit bit his tongue and covered his mouth to stop his howl. Teddy was a blur in the distance before Sköll also bashed the swinging door into his throbbing knees. Will didn't wait, but ran after the figures, pain slowing him down.
The only thought rushing through his head was that Hogwarts was about to have a feral werewolf roaming the halls. And it'd because Teddy somehow confiscated and withheld a potion that Sköll was willing to take… to prevent herself from turning into a werewolf.
It didn't add up.
The first clue of danger hid in the portraits. A group of figures cowered, all painted in a Renaissance style. Knights with shining armor held distraught maidens. A group of top-hatted gentlemen pointed shaking fingers around corner towards a corridor bathed in moonlight.
Will swallowed, poking his head around the corner to find a long-limbed, jet-black wolf salivating. Her paws screeched against the stone as she scratched the ground.
Teddy, hair electric blue, held the Wolfsbane high in the air. "Looking for this, dog?"
Sköll growled, the low rumble sending shock waves into Will's bones. Will didn't trust the girl, but what the hell was Teddy playing at? He was going to get bitten, if not sliced to death.
The flash of Gordon's bright-red blood flashed in front of his eyes. He saw his friend's blood on the ground, soaking into his white Converse shoes. Flailing, he gasped, shaking his feet to rid himself of the blood stains.
After recognizing the panic and hallucination, Will closed his eyes, exhaling slowly and feeling the strength and coolness of the stone column support him as he sank to his knees. Damn, his knees hurt. Allowing a split second of peace, he thought of a starless, moonless night. Just the darkness and nothing. It was peaceful. Peaceful enough that he opened his eyes and the blood he'd imaged disappeared from around him. As much as he hated the experience, he sent up a quick thanks to the therapists who taught him mindfulness techniques in the juvi psych ward.
Sköll was still pacing the ground, her claws slicing into the stone. Revving herself to pounce.
Teddy held his wand out, Wolfsbane still held aloft. "You don't belong here. You dared think you could infiltrate this school and spy amongst us? Whisper secrets and rumors of hidden passages to let your daddy in? Hogwarts is nothing more than a sitting buffet for you, isn't it?"
Teddy spat on the ground, wiping his mouth with the hand that held the Wolfsbane. Sköll let out a low growl again, pacing one step closer.
It was an awkward dance. One of restraint, Will realized, feeling the pit drop in his stomach. Sköll was fighting for control. His hands were still shaking as he watched the scene unfold, the feeling of pinpricks tingling up and down his skin.
"I know everything about what your father is doing and I won't let you bring Fenrir into Hogwarts. I won't let him experiment on any more children, muggle or magical. And by the gods, I will not let you or him harm a hair on anyone at Hogwarts!"
Sköll snapped her jowl, her shadow cast a gangly and stretched form in the moonlight.
"The books made a mistake, writing your name down." Teddy roared now, eyes matching the electric blue of his hair. "You don't deserve to be here. You'll always be a werewolf. You'll never be a witch."
The unearthly howl that scraped against Will's earlobes was the only warning he had before Sköll pounced on Teddy.
Teddy's scream of pain rent the air before he shouted "That's it dog, bite me harder."
Will steadied his hand against the coolness of the windowpane as he stumbled towards the werewolf and boy. Blood was everywhere… and yet Teddy was alive enough to still be babbling nonsense and challenges. Sköll growled and whimpered.
The shock zipped through Will's mind like the zap of an electric fence. Sköll was still restraining herself. He gave himself the spans of a heartbeat to form a plan.
Dipping his fingers into the blood that seeped the stone, Will quickly finger-painted the image of a life-sized wolf on the iron-crossed windowpanes. He breathed into the image, willing it with whatever magic he had to come to life.
A moment passed before the slow and assertive form of a wolf emerged from his picture on the window, translucent with glass, patchwork iron, and blood-red eyes. The wolf circled him once in jerky movements, glass tail slicing the knees of his jeans. Will, too petrified with the scene he was witnessing and whatever magic just came out of him, was too stunned to care about the pain in his knees at the slice of glass.
He raised a trembling hand in the air, eyes locked onto the two glowing red eyes of his wolf. Slowly, he pointed his finger at the jet-black werewolf. The glass wolf dared to give him a grin before pouncing onto Sköll's back with a deep growl.
Not too hard, Will prayed. Sköll snarled, disentangling herself from Teddy's body as the boy laughed deliriously. The Wolfsbane was still clutched in his hand like a lifeline.
Will rushed to the portraits, remembering what Scorpius told him earlier about rescuing Albus's cousin. "You," he pointed to a knight riding a horse. "Get Headmistress McGonigal. Now. There's a werewolf loose in Hogwarts."
He rushed to Teddy's side as the form of two wolves circled each other, snarling and scratching. His glass wolf was too hard and slippery to get a solid bite into, but Will was certain that one stroke of the werewolf's paws down the middle would shatter his glass wolf into a galaxy of shards.
"Oh god, Teddy!" Will applied pressure to Teddy's leg, where the marks of a large bite bled in poppy-red gushes.
"What the hell are you-"
"-Doing here?" Will snapped, pressing even harder on Teddy's leg and causing the boy to gasp in pain. "Saving your bloody life. What the hell were you doing, egging her on, you complete idiot?"
In one motion, Will took off his belt and looped it several times around Teddy's leg. "Trying to lose a leg or life, are you?"
Growls and howls pierced the air from behind him and Teddy blanched. Will didn't stop. He ripped the torn cloak from Teddy and wadded it against the boy's leg to stop the bleeding before tightening the buckle on his belt to hold it in place.
"So, what are you doing exactly?" Will spat, each word thick and over-articulated on his tongue. He didn't wait for Teddy to respond. He leaned in closer to the boy's face. The boy's eyes narrowed into a predatory glare. Will didn't care. "You're either trying to lose your life or infect yourself with lycanthropy, and I highly doubt it's the former."
"I have it all under control…"
Will didn't wait for a response. He heard the sharp shatter and death-turning groan as his glass wolf splintered to pieces. He ran with all the breath left in him, leaving Teddy to tend to his own stupidity.
The way he saw it, he had two problems. One: he had absolutely no idea that he'd run into a corridor with a dead end. Two: his knees had other ideas about turning back.
Will slid to his knees before the quilt of a unicorn traipsing around a pen. It was a stupidly peaceful scene compared to what he knew was lurking directly behind him.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he felt the hot air tickle his ear. Will stilled, holding his breath. The feeling of ice slid down his spine. It was the stench that slammed into him a second later, iron-coated foul. Bile rose from his stomach, burning his throat. The rumble of the werewolf's growl caused his body to shake involuntarily, breaking the spell of his stillness. Will could only watch, mesmerized, as the wolf's shadow rose before him, standing on two legs. A triumphant howl slammed across the empty corridor.
Ever so slowly, Will reached his bloodied hand to quilt, gently touching the hoof of the prancing unicorn. One desperate plea before the teeth would descend upon his head. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. Time slowed down as his heart thundered, demanding to break free of his chest.
A kettle-hot tear burned in a steady trickle down his cheek as he watched the shadow of the werewolf lower itself onto him.
Will groaned in pain as something sharp slid across his belly and flipped him. He landed with a grunt on a soft but solid surface. A surface that was rocking.
Opening his eyes, Will found himself grasping the back of a horse as it galloped out of the corridor, hooves clacking crisp, rapid beats against the stone.
Will gripped the horse around the neck and swung one aching knee over, holding the horse's hair tight. The absurdity of the scene not making any sense to his fear-addled mind. Perhaps he was hallucinating again? Currently lying in the corridor and serving up his guts as dessert for a werewolf. A single, giant spike twisted from the top of the horse's head as it barreled down the hallway, snarls steeped in frustration trailing behind its clattering hoofbeats.
That's it. I've officially lost it. Again. I'm checking myself into the psych ward if I survive this.
There was no way he was riding on a bloody unicorn. Actually, riding was a loose term. He was clutching to the horse's – no, unicorn's – flowing locks for dear life as it bowed its head and burst through the window, sending stars of glass flying.
Will tucked his head as glass shards scrapped against his ears and hoodie. The unicorn didn't stop galloping as it leaped onto the roof of the cloister. Will felt no shame in screaming his head off, lungs buring. If the werewolf didn't kill him, the crazy unicorn certainly would. The unicorn flew down the length of the cloister's steep arch as the Sköll climbed up, tiles flying off in her pursuit.
"Up there!" Voices screamed from below. "Stunners. Now!"
A series of red lights zipped behind him, causing the werewolf to let out a half-human-half-inhuman scream of pain.
"I said stunners only!"
"You think that'll stop a werewolf?" A high, prim voice from below squealed. "It's immobilized now."
The unicorn leaped onto the ground. Will coughed, wheezing from the brunt impact of the descent onto the ground. He fell off the unicorn's back, his lungs filling with fire as he gasped to swallow air and screamed through the pain of landing on his kneecaps.
A witch in dark green robes cast a spell over him as he watched the unicorn gallop down a bridge. His vision went black as the pain subsided.
Fighting against the feeling of heavy peace descending upon him, Will bit out, breath failing him, "Teddy's doing, not Sköll's."