Page 82 of The Nowhere Witch

Too bad I didn’t have anyone to bounce my theory off. I wasn’t sure how many hours I’d been here, but Gregor’s body was cold. When I put my fingers to his wrist, there was no pulse. Worse, there wasn’t a tingle of magic either. Gregor was gone, and suddenly all I could think about were the laughs we’d had, like his death had swept clean his betrayal for the moment.

I grazed my hand over his, feeling utterly alone, only to be jerked to an awareness. There was a thundering sound on the other side of the dome prison. I jumped to my feet, heading toward the noise.

A clawed hand broke through the dome. I scrambled back to the other side. They were sending something in here to kill me. This was it. I’d need to fight my way past whatever monster was coming for me. Another claw broke through, before the head of a monster appeared, all teeth and horns, growling as it fought its way in.

I should attack it now, before it finished its entry, while it was still struggling. I didn’t have a weapon other than my magic, and it would have to be enough. I had to do it. Its waist was through. I had to attack before it freed its legs. I’d trained with Bautere for just this moment. If I didn’t use the skills now, there would never be another chance.

I leapt in the air, trying to angle myself so that I’d come down on top of its shoulders. I’d wrap my arms around its neck and choke it out.

I flew toward it, but the creature was too fast. It ducked, and I skimmed over it. I landed with a thump on the ground. I was dazed, but not from the fall. I looked down at my hand, the one that had grazed the creature, doubting what I’d felt.

I turned, staring at its fangs and roughened skin, and saw a familiar glimmer in the eyes.

“Hawk?”

It growled in response. Oh yeah, that was definitely Hawk. I got up, running over.

“What are you doing? You’ve got to get out of here. Go back the other way. You’ll get stuck.” I pushed on his shoulders, but there was no moving him where he didn’t want to go.

He continued to push his way in, finally dropping to the ground inside the dome in spite of me.

“Why did you do that? You idiot!”

The creature’s body was slowly morphing until the familiar form of Hawk was lying in the snow, completely naked. I definitely wasn’t dead yet, because I had a hard time not appreciating his form. He rolled to his back, not a shy bone in him.

I purposely kept my gaze on his chest and face.

Damn, it slipped lower. But whoa. He really didn’t have any reason to be shy.

Face. Stare at his face.

By the time my gaze did make it to his face, he’d raised a brow. I’d just gotten caught sneaking a peek.

“I was checking for injuries, you egomaniac,” I said.

“Sure you were,” he said, amusement oozing out.

“Why did you do that, anyway? Are you insane?”

“I couldn’t break you out. Nothing else worked but forcing my way in,” he said, still a bit winded from the effort. “The force is stronger going outward. This dome has a weird gravitational pull of some sort.”

“Then why? Now you’re stuck. You’ll die with me. There’s no way out of this.” I wanted to leap on top of his still-reclined form and pound on his chest for the stupidity.

“You’ll get us out,” he said with utter confidence.

“I couldn’t save myself or him,” I said, pointing to Gregor’s dead body.

Hawk looked to the body and then back at me. “I’m not worried.”

Of all the egomaniacal head trips. Of course Hawk would think I could move mountains for him alone. There were no bounds to his arrogance, even now.

“That’s why you came in here? You figured that I wouldn’t be able to save myself, but I’d saveyou? We’ve been at each other’s throats since I got back, and yet you think I’ll find the will to get you out?”

“Yes,” he said, as if it were a simple matter of fact.

“That’s insane. You tried to get me railroaded out of Xest. I couldn’t get a job or a place to live. You filled my position in a day.”

He laughed softly. “I knew something was bothering you that day when you wouldn’t tell me. I didn’t replace you. I hired someone to do a job.”