Witch and Wizard_ The Fire - James Patterson [66]
I back away from him, suddenly on my guard, but his cavernous eyes follow me, expectant. “I will,” I say, though I have no idea how. “I promise … I promise I’ll do whatever I can.”
Then Janine whispers in a very small voice, “Save me, too, Whit.” She’s leaning heavily on Emmet now, and I can see how shallow her breathing is. The blood has soaked her shirt a sticky dark brown. Her face is almost translucent, and a cold sweat stands out on her brow.
I nod solemnly.
I don’t know how I’ll manage it, but I need to save her more than anything.
Chapter 71
Wisty
IT’S SO DARK in this part of the Shadowland that Byron and I can’t see a thing in front of us. We have no idea where we are, where we’re going, or where my brother is. We’re picking our way over uneven, rocky ground, and I can just barely make out the reaching branches of a pocket of trees up ahead.
There’s magic over there, I can feel it, like some kind of cocktail of dark energy pulling my own M toward it. I stray from the path to take the quickest way possible toward those alluring trees and immediately slam my shin into a boulder in the darkness.
“Wisty — watch out! Careful!” Byron urges.
Why the heck do people always tell you to watch out after you’re already hurt?
The gash is wet with blood, and I bite my lip, stifling a cry, and Byron holds my hand in support. After a minute the pain ebbs and I stand up, ready to set out again. Even though I’m kind of disturbed that Byron is still holding my hand in his clammy grip, I’m too scared to let go.
“At least we’re safe here,” I say, trying to look on the bright side.
“Safe?” Byron repeats. “You neglect to account for flesh-eating Lost Ones and spirit-suckers, not to mention the danger of getting trapped in this maze forever and eventually running out of strength … and oxygen.”
I can always count on Byron for a healthy dose of optimism.
“Relatively safe, I mean. Safe from Pearce and The One. They’re Straight and Narrows, right? So we don’t have to deal with them in the Shadowland, at least.”
Byron conspicuously doesn’t answer.
My skin is still wet from the river, and my dripping hair makes it feel like I’m crawling with a thousand roaches, their little legs scurrying over my arms and down my neck. And now Byron’s got me thinking about Lost Ones. After ten minutes of stumbling along in the pitch-blackness, paranoid, I’ve had about enough of the creepy quiet and dark.
“All right, Byron, say something annoying.” I’ve lost count of the times when I’ve flamed out in a Byron-induced rage.
“What? Wisty, after all we’ve been through, I resent that you would imply —”
“Just kidding. I’ve got it pretty much down to a science at this point. Stand back.”
As he lets go of my hand, I release a spark, and suddenly I’m covered in the familiar glow, flames licking out from my body.
I love the feeling of being a human torch.
“Whoa,” Byron breathes, and I still feel a bit of pride at the awe in his voice. “That seriously never gets old.”
I lead the way down a path full of potholes, along craggy cliffs. Insects crunch and slither beneath our feet, and I shudder. Was it really my wet hair that I felt crawling on me?
“Where are we going anyway?” Byron asks after a few minutes.
“I don’t know. To the end, I guess. Didn’t you say that the end is near? I think you might be right, B.”
I mean it as a joke, but it comes out way more serious, and Byron goes quiet.
I kind of feel sorry for the guy. True, he has a history of playing both sides and hasn’t always been 100 percent trustworthy, but this particular time it is kind of my fault he’s part of the focus of a cross-world manhunt. And he did think he was saving my life back there with Pearce. I sigh.
“Listen, Byron, I meant to tell you …” I cough. I’m really bad at this. “I’m uh … sorry … for, you know, turning you into a weasel. Even if you did deserve it.”
Byron’s eyes cloud over — with tears? Okay, I wasn’t prepared for that.
“Hey, now,” I mumble uncomfortably. “No need to get all emotional. I just wanted to let you know that despite all the bad blood between