Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(85)

“Omigod!” she croaked.

“You okay?” Noah sounded out of breath.

Biji rolled onto her side. He’d landed a few feet away but looked unaffected by the trip, aside from his blond hair being a mess.

“You son of a bitch!” she hissed. “I swear to … god … I’ll …” Biji staggered to her feet, fell then got up again. She was dizzy from the sensation of being propelled at inhuman speed through the water. The world was spinning, and her only rational thought was to run as far and fast as possible from the lake before it got her again.

“Careful.” Noah caught her with a chuckle. “Sorry. It was the fastest way.”

“I hate you,” she groaned, shaking from cold again.

“You’re welcome.”

She gripped his coat to steady herself and looked up at him. His smile was warm, his thick arms around her. For a moment, the anger and pain were gone. He was devastatingly handsome, a realization she’d missed in all the tension of their brief encounters. Caught in his blue-grey eyes, Biji didn’t notice that her body had stopped shaking.

Aware only of how openly she was staring, she released her hold on him and pushed away. His hands dropped, taking with it his heat.

“I’m never going swimming again,” she said to fill the awkward quiet.

“Maybe you just shouldn’t go without a water element to fish you out,” he suggested.

Biji gave him a dirty look and took a few unsteady steps up the bank. She grabbed a branch to stabilize herself. Noah gave her a push to help, and she reached the top of the slope. He joined her.

“Should be that way,” he said, pointing. “I had the lake bring us to the closest point possible.”

He took her hand once more, and she glanced at him, not understanding him. Did he do it to keep her from falling? Because he thought she was beautiful? To hurry her up?

Any other time, she’d debate why, but her sense of urgency grew again. The air was warning her this time that there was danger nearby. Biji wasn’t about to run away from the danger. If anything, she wanted to pound Dawn’s face in. Better yet, if she had one of those Tasers they used to torture Morgan …

As if sensing they were close, Noah fell again into a troubled quiet. Biji began to hope Dawn wasn’t there, because she didn’t quite trust Noah to protect her friends instead of coming to Dawn’s defense.

The snow tapered off then stopped falling. She almost screamed in happiness when they broke free from the forest onto the gravel road that ran along the south side of the lake. If she could run, she would have. She’d been by the graveyard, but never to it. It was a historic cemetery, no longer used, yet still well-maintained. She thought she heard that some of the Turners’ relatives were buried there.

Biji broke into a slow trot, anxious to find her friends. Noah matched her pace and kept alongside her as they hurried down the road. They stopped at the driveway leading to the cemetery. It was long and hadn’t been cleared of snow.

There were tracks going to and from the graveyard. They were wide and left the distinct markings of snow chains, a staple in the northern Idaho community in winter. One set of tracks leading out onto the road were only half filled in with snow.

They plunged down the driveway. The deep snow slowed their pace to a walk. Biji shivered hard, her grip on Noah’s hand tight. He glanced back at her more than once, and she focused on her feet. She was hurting, but she didn’t want to tell him how much, not when they were so close to finding Summer and Morgan.

The sound of crunching came from the road. They both turned. A huge, black SUV was creeping up the driveway, slowing as if to turn.

“That’s my truck,” Noah said, frowning.

Biji’s gaze darted towards the cemetery. They were only halfway down the driveway.

“Can you run?” she asked him urgently.

“Yeah. You?”

“No.

Noah looked at her.

“You have to help my friends,” she whispered.

“And what? Leave you out here for my sister to pick up?” he asked angrily. His blue eyes flashed.

“No. I’ll go to the forest and make my way to the cemetery,” she replied.

He dropped her hand and pressed both to his temples. Biji sensed him struggle once more at the thought of confronting his sister. She willed him to be strong enough to do it, because her own body wasn’t going to let her.

“Promise me you’ll stay where it’s safe.”

She shifted. It wasn’t her intention. She wanted Noah to rescue her friends while she kicked Dawn’s ass once and for all.

“That’s the only way I’ll do it,” he said. “God help you, Biji, if you don’t listen to me this time.”

She swallowed hard. He was serious.

“Okay. But you have to help them,” she repeated. She felt like she was entrusting a broke man with a million dollars and a key to her car. It wasn’t a good feeling.

“I will,” he said. “I won’t let Dawn hurt them.”

Biji nodded uncertainly. Noah glanced down the road then took her hand and tugged her into the protection of the forest. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“You’re right,” he said. “Dawn has to be stopped. If I can’t do it, call someone who can.”