“Freya!” Theo shouted, rushing to her side. She was gasping for breath, her face pale. The wraith’s touch had left a dark, smoldering mark on her armor, and she struggled to push herself up.

  “Good thing you could keep your armor when you went through the shield,” Theo said. “You okay?”

  “I’ll be okay,” Freya said. “That thing is fast.”

  The wraith lunged, but this time it wasn’t toward Theo and Freya, but toward Emberion and Bruni. Emberion reared up on his hind legs, letting out a fierce, equine cry. Bruni didn’t stand a chance, toppling off in a mess of red hair and limbs and hitting the ground hard.

  That was when Nibblet lept from Theo’s shoulder and landed on the wraith.

  “Nibblet, no! You’ll be—”

  Theo broke off as the little glint wrapped its featherlike antennae around the wraith’s neck and pulled. The antennae glowed brightly and the wraith gave an earsplitting screech. It stumbled back, its skeletal hands coming up to grab at the glint. Nibblet let go and jumped away, out of reach.

  Emberion took the opportunity while the wraith was distracted to charge, his powerful hooves striking out.

  The wraith hissed, its form flickering as it absorbed the blow. Emberion kicked out again, the impact disorienting the creature, its movements becoming less fluid.

  Freya came to her feet and swayed for a moment—whatever the wraith had done, it hadn’t just hit her armor, it must have taken some of her energy.

  “We need to weaken it more,” she said.

  “I can… what can I do?” Theo asked.

  “Rocks,” Freya said. “Throw them at it.”

  “You think that will work?”

  “Theo, I have no idea, but in battle, you work with what you have,” Freya snapped.

  Theo nodded and bent down, hands searching for rocks but finding only pebbles. His gaze kept flickering up to the wraith—it had momentarily backed off and up to where Emberion couldn’t reach him, but it didn’t look like it had given up.

  His hand closed around a rock and he smiled grimly. Looking up, he did his best to aim–and when he let the rock go, it sailed through the air, hitting the wraith perfectly in the chest.

  Theo whopped. “Yes!”

  “Theo,” Freya snapped. “No need to bring more attention to yourself. Just find more rocks.”

  But the wraith’s gaze had locked on him, if course. With another screech that was about to shatter Theo’s eardrums, it lunged forward toward him. Theo grabbed a small pebble and threw it, but it bounced off the wraith with no obvious effect.

  Like with the snake, Theo prepared himself for pain.

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  But Emberion intercepted it, his hooves striking the creature again. The wraith let out a screech of rage, its form becoming even more unstable.

  Emberion stumbled and tripped over his own feet, falling to the side like a lifeless log.

  Theo screamed, fear lancing through him at Emberion’s still body. He grabbed the closest thing he could find, which turned out to be a thick branch that must have been broken off during a storm because its end was jagged and sharp.

  The creature launched at him again.

  With strength he didn’t know he had, Theo plunged the branch straight through its chest.

  The creature howled, its body convulsing around the thick branch. Smoke rose from around the branch. It writhed in agony, its form flickering violently.

  “Theo, back away!” Freya yelled, and she must have been close, because a moment later, before Theo had managed to get his body to do as commanded, he found himself pulled sharply back. They tumbled over each other and landed in a heap on the ground.

  With a final cry, the wraith dissolved, smoke spreading over their heads in every direction.

  For a few seconds, the forest was silent. Theo lay panting, Freya in a mess of tangled limbs next to him. He fought to get up, because Bruni. Nibblet.

  Emberion.

  Theo found his feet and stared wildly around the bit of forest they were in. Bruni was struggling to get up, looking no worse for wear than he had half an hour earlier (which really wasn’t saying much, what with the paleness, the sweaty brow, and the dark shadows around his eyes) and there was Nibblet, scurrying forward and climbing up Theo’s leg to his shoulder.

  “Thank goodness you’re okay,” Theo mumbled to her.

  But Emberion, still in horse form, lay motionless, looking like he wasn’t even breathing. Theo stumbled over to him, heart lurching in his chest.

  “Emberion,” he said, hand stroking his long neck. “Come on.”

  Bruni had said the wraith zapped the energy of whoever touched it. Emberion had pummeled it with his hooves, touching it over and over. He may be a dragon at base, but even a dragon must have its limits.

  “Emberion, can you hear me?” Theo asked. “Come on. Please?”

  It probably wasn’t his plea that did the trick, but Emberion dragged a long, shuddering breath into his lungs, and opened his visible eye. A moment later, he shifted, going from horse to human, naked and shivering.

  Theo rested his hand on Emberion’s shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

  “Been better,” Emberion mumbled. “But everyone is alive?”

  Theo nodded.

  “And the wraith?”

  “You weakened it enough for me to… kill it, or whatever. It’s gone.”

  A rough tremble passed through Emberion’s body.

  “You want clothes?” Theo asked. “I can get you clothes.”

  Emberion shook his head. “It’ll be a little while before I can walk. I’ll… I’ll change into something small, so you can carry me.”

  Theo nodded. “Of course, of course. Anything.” He was just grateful Emberion wasn’t dead.

  Emberion gave a soft smile, and then shrank, his body growing furry once more.

  Theo gave a short laugh. “A glint?”

  Emberion the glint was black, so Theo wouldn’t mix them up, but he had the same long antennae as Nibblet. Nibblet stuck her head out and gave a series of chirrups, and Theo hoped she approved. He picked up Emberion with gentle hands and let him slide into Theo’s pocket.

  “You rest there,” Theo said. Then he shook his head, because he would be walking around with a dragon in his pocket. Sort of, at least.

  My world is so crazy now.

  He stood once more and walked over to Bruni, who sat on the ground looking like his body was too heavy to get up.

  They were a decimated group headed toward certain death at the witch’s hands. Fantastic.

  “Bruni, can you walk?” he asked.

  Bruni looked up at him with weary eyes. “Can’t very well stay here, now can I?”

  Freya walked up to him and held out her hand, helping him stand.

  Theo remembered the pouches Glyssa had given him. He pulled them out and held them out to Bruni. “I don’t know exactly what these do, but Glyssa gave them to me, and I’m pretty sure you know what to do.”

  Bruni opened them and sniffed them one after another. “Nettle and dragonroot.” He nodded, and poured a little of each into his mouth.

  Freya held out a pouch of water and he took a long sip.

  He gave another nod. “Give me five, and I’ll be good to walk for a while.”

  A while. How long? And would he be able to fight once that was necessary, when they faced the witch?