in that direction and with the help of the moon I’m able to make out her black form on the ground. I run harder and reach her in seconds, falling down next to her. She isn’t moving.
‘Magi,’ I whisper through my tears. I pat her body and can feel her shallow breathing beneath my hand. ‘Mags, talk to me.’ I continue stroking her and she opens her eyes just a fraction but it’s enough to let me know she’s alive. I let out a sob. ‘It’s okay, girl. I’m here now.’
Uncle Jo catches up to me, panting heavily. His eyes continuously roam the night air, watching for any signs of impending danger.
‘Is she hurt?’ he asks quietly, taking in Magi’s still body.
‘She’s alive.’ I manage to get out. ‘We have to get her back to the house.’
He nods and gently lifts her up into his arms. She whimpers in pain, her head hanging loosely across his forearm. ‘Keep a watch out,’ he says, making me aware that we are completely exposed out here.
I suddenly remember who could be out here. My eyes scan the surrounding area as we walk back towards the house, the moon creating shadows that are playing out like a pantomime through the trees. Each step brings us closer to the house and to safety, but I don’t take my eyes off the tree line, expecting at any moment that someone or something is going to attack.
When we are close to the house I catch a flash of steel hurtling towards us. ‘Gantaha!’ I yell. A pearl-coloured electric force field appears around us, shielding us from the steel-tipped arrow. ‘Run!’ I yell. We take off sprinting back to the house, my powers waning with the strain it takes to hold the spell in place around us.
Aunt Lily is holding open the back door beckoning us to hurry with the frantic waving of her arm. We run through it and she slams the door shut behind us, just in time for my magic to shut down. She quickly locks the door and leans against in, her eyes wide with fear.
Uncle Jo carefully places Magi onto the table. She has lost consciousness but I can still feel her shallow breath. The pain I felt was in my right foot and instinctively I reach down to find that her right back paw is bloody. I lift it to see if there is any sign of a wound and on the inside I see a short, sharp object embedded into her skin. I gently pull it out causing Magi to whimper, but she doesn’t open her eyes.
Uncle Jo quickly grabs his rifle from the kitchen pantry and cocks it as he strides towards to the door.
Aunt Lily blocks his path. ‘No, Jo!’
‘Lil, move aside. That bastard isn’t getting away with that.’
‘Uncle Jo?’ The sound of my voice causes him to look at me. ‘He can’t get past the warding. We are safe for now,’ I assure him. ‘We need to help Magi.’ With shaky hands I pass him the dart-like object.
He closes his eyes for a second and then quickly glances back towards the door. Deciding to stay put, he puts the gun on the bench and grabs the tip out of my hand. He places it under his nose. ‘This has been poisoned.’
‘What! What do you mean poisoned?’ I ask.
‘I mean exactly what I said. Magi’s been poisoned.’ He takes another sniff. ‘It smells like some type of cyanide.’
‘Cyanide! What does that mean?’ I ask, barely able to contain my outrage.
‘It means that we need to get her to a vet soon or she could bleed out,’ he says concerned.
‘Could she die?’
‘Yes. Cyanide can prevent the blood from clotting, which means we need to reverse that as soon as possible.’
‘What do we do? If we go out again we are exposed and if we stay she could die.’
Think
,
Ellie!
‘Wait. There may be something in the book.’ I turn and run upstairs, grabbing The Book of Cole off the bed.
I race back down, plonking it onto the kitchen bench roughly, and as I open the book I notice that my hands are shaking.
I am madly flipping through the pages trying to find the healing spell that I’ve seen in here before. If I remember correctly it has the
Eric Jerome Dickey
Caro Soles
Victoria Connelly
Jacqueline Druga
Ann Packer
Larry Bond
Sarah Swan
Rebecca Skloot
Anthony Shaffer
Emma Wildes