bounced off the shields that still protected the sorcerer. He reached out to catch Deirdre’s arm once more, trying to pull her through a rift, and it slowed him enough that I could pull the binding still tighter around him.
He ignored me. He underestimated me, just like we’d planned. He turned all of his attention to Deirdre, to the stronger witch, and tried to milk her power into his own. Violet sparks filled my vision as I watched, as I saw exactly how he’d ensnared me.
But I didn’t have enough. The wild magic that wanted to leap out and contain him lingered just beyond my reach. Waiting for the worst possible time to overreact. Probably after all the fighting was over and Rocko disappeared after enslaving me and Deirdre and Silas, maybe after killing the wolves and—and a bear?—and... Henry.
Henry.
I choked, turning and searching for him as I lost my compass and didn’t know where to look for help. The binding held Rocko as he started to drag Deirdre into a rift, as he used our previous connection to try and summon me as well, but it would not hold forever. It was just an anchor, slowing him down.
I searched for a sign and saw only gray and black and brown wolves, racing through the dead grass and trying to reach us. Where was he? Where had they all come from? Where was Henry? I needed him. I needed him.
I took a shaky breath, about to give up, when a voice boomed, “Ophelia!” and a wave of absolute certainty rolled through me.
Henry. He was there.
I didn’t even need to turn to see him. I knew. He was behind me. He stood with me, even as everything else went wrong.
The magic roared just as loudly as he had and spiraled through me like a tsunami. I channeled it, fought to direct it, using the hints that Deirdre gave me just a day earlier, and aimed it at the sorcerer.
Rocko leaned back, his eyes widening slightly, and his grip on Deirdre loosened.
My arms remained outstretched as I advanced toward him, barely holding on to the chaotic stream of pure power. “I bind you. I bind you, sorcerer. You are bound to this place and you will not flee.”
He cursed and backed toward one of his rifts. “You will never bind me, you feeble—”
“You are bound,” I repeated, and the words carried the full weight of ancient spells I never thought I’d be strong enough to use. He would be stuck there. We could finish him off however we wanted, taking our time if necessary. “You will release the wolf. You will cease sending your spells out—”
“You do not order me,” he said, drawing himself up to his considerable height. His face reddened at the absurdity of it, no doubt, that his “little mouse” had turned out to have claws and a mind of her own. Rocko remained where he was, despite looking like he tried to retreat and disappear into the air. “You are nothing without me, do you understand? You’re nothing. Less than nothing. A pathetic excuse for—”
He didn’t finish. Deirdre and I both shouted hexes at him at the same time, just as two wolves leapt at his throat.
Rocko screamed and waved his arms, magic sparking out until the air itself shimmered and sizzled, and the wolves sneezed as they backed away. They had blood on their paws and muzzles, but when the sorcerer’s robes fell to the ground, no body remained within them.
I went to my knees as I stared at the pile of cloth, then around at the various rifts that began to close with a soft pop as each one’s magic failed. I reached for one, thinking I might still find Silas, but fell short as a callused hand caught my wrist. I tried to shake him off, staggering to my feet. “We have to find Silas.”
“We found him,” a quiet voice said, and my chest nearly caved in to hear Henry’s voice. “He’s…mostly fine.”
I couldn’t look at him. My throat closed and I tried to pull away. “Nola—”
“She’s alive,” he said. Henry drew me closer, reeling me in like an unruly fish. “Stunned. Maybe a little lost in her wolf half, but we can work with that. Are you okay?”
I shook my head as my whole body started shaking. I felt too hot and clammy cold at the same time, and I wanted to throw up and cry and laugh until maybe he’d lock me in