Blood Moon (Silver Moon, #3) - By Rebecca A. Rogers Page 0,34

coming for us, and if Ben and I don’t free ourselves from this trap, we might as well kiss our hard work goodbye.

“Over here!” one of the witches yells. “They went this way! I can smell them!”

“Damn it,” Ben hisses. He struggles to pull himself up and loosen the rope, but to no avail.

I’m not even going to bother trying; I know it’s a lost cause. When the witches arrive moments later, they don’t seem too surprised to see us dangling in front of them.

“So we were correct, then,” the blonde says. “No matter. Let us cut them loose.”

The dark-skinned woman, who I’m convinced is Maggie, asks, “Where shall we take them?”

“To the All-Seeing One, of course.”

She must be the old woman in the cave, although her nickname is ironic since she’s obviously blind.

The blonde witch and Maggie cut the ropes located at the base of the trees on either side of us, and Ben and I crash to the ground. Thank the stars we aren’t injured; we could’ve easily broken our necks, credit to these idiots. Have I mentioned how strong they are? Yeah, well, they haul Ben and me like we weigh nothing, like they’re freaking bodybuilders for a living.

In just a few hours, daytime will shift to dusk. If we aren’t at Fiona’s home by the time she arrives from work, she’ll be worried. But she won’t have any idea where we are, or who we’re with. It may be best for all involved that she doesn’t know, come to think of it.

None of the witches speak as they carry us on their shoulders and through the woods. To grandma’s house we go.

Think they’ll kill us? Ben asks.

Jee, what a wonderful question, I respond matter-of-factly. How about we focus our efforts on getting away from these crazies and getting back to Fiona’s? Or, how about we discover what these women truly plan to do with this town?

We may never figure out their plan, and we may never get out of this alive. I’m just keeping it real.

I have an idea. Why don’t we just rewind the clock and not get caught in their trap? How’s that for genius?

Ben cuts me a warning glare. We can’t mess with time too much; otherwise, we’ll screw up everything. It’s all you, though, baby. He reaches out so our fingers intertwine.

I close my eyes, concentrating on the past and what we were doing prior to landing ourselves in this stressful situation. How far back we should go is completely up to me. Maybe I should plant us behind Lavenia’s home, or maybe in the woods right before we get caught. That sounds like the best option at the moment. If it sucks, or if things get a little screwy, then I’ll just port us to another spot in time.

In a blinding-white flash, Ben and I are off the witches’ shoulders and running through the forest, just as we were previously. He and I glance at one another with mutual perception of what lay ahead—the rope snare. Careful to avoid the trap, we zigzag through the trees surrounding it . . . and almost dive face-first into a pit full of razor-sharp, wooden spikes. My arms flail as I try to regain my balance so I won’t be impaled. Ben grabs my skirt, yanking me backward. He’s practically hyperventilating, I notice.

“You okay?” I whisper, waiting for my heart to stop pounding.

He nods. “Yeah, just dandy.”

I slowly rise up on my elbows. “That was close.”

Peering at me from the corner of his eye, he deadpans, “Ya think?”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like I saw that one coming. I would’ve rather been dangling upside down from that rope than have to deal with this,” I say, pointing toward the gaping chasm in front of us.

Ben runs his fingers from his forehead down to his chin, like he’s wiping off sweat . . . and possibly frustration. “We have to keep moving. I don’t even want to think about what’s beyond this point, though; it can only get worse from here.”

Halfheartedly, Ben pulls me up on my feet, and he and I begin traipsing through the forest once again. The witches aren’t far behind; I hear them conversing among themselves, wondering how we bypassed their ropes. They’ll probably wonder how we bypassed the death trap, too. One thing’s for certain: whatever lies ahead of us now, Ben and I will need to use all of our energy and intelligence to survive.

Chapter Nine

The easiest way to