Page 48 of How to Flirt with a Witch

Icy adrenaline surges through my body, slowing down time as the animal rockets toward us.

Before I can put my hands up in self-defense, Natalie pushes me behind her with one hand and swipes the other through the air.

My arms prickle like I’m walking under a powerline. A gust of wind lifts my hair. The ground shudders beneath my feet.

With a deep crack that rattles through me, the pavement splits, a fissure snaking across the alley to draw a line between us and them. Asphalt crumbles into the chasm. Gasping, I stumble for balance as the shifting earth rumbles through me—but most of the quake is on the other side. Beneath Freddie and the dog, the ground swells and heaves like a living thing, jolting them so they’re forced to crouch. Wyatt scrambles forward with a scrape of nails on pavement, but it keeps rising, the slope forcing him to slide back to his handler.

I take a shaky step back. I don’t understand what I’m seeing. How is this happening?

Freddie’s desperate roars tear through me. “Get ’em! Get ’em!”

Wyatt snarls and snaps in frustration. He regains his balance amid a cloud of dust, and then I lose sight of them. The earth keeps climbing until it forms a vertical wall blocking their path.

Natalie is still holding up a hand, palm out. She looks back at me, breathing hard, a sheen of sweat on her brow. Something flashes in her eyes—a purple glow passing through her brown irises. “Katie, in my car, now! We need to go.”

I take another step back, gulping down air, my legs like jelly. My brain is sluggish as I try to understand what’s going on.

Natalie’s outstretched hand. The wall of pavement.Is she…?

No. Impossible.

My skin still prickles with that staticky feeling, a strange wind tugging my hair and clothes. “Where’d you park—”

“End of the alley.”

My legs can’t move fast enough. I race away, the shadows pressing in on me. My open jacket catches the wind, the wintry air raising goosebumps on my clammy skin.

I slam into her car with my palms, anchoring myself against it. She’s parked on an angle in the alley, the wheels cranked as if she got out in a rush.

Over my shoulder, Natalie backs toward me, glimpses of Freddie and Wyatt visible through crumbling gaps in the wall of pavement.

My insides are numb. I must be in a dream—a nightmare.

Natalie spins around and runs at me, pumping her arms. “Go!”

Behind her, Wyatt darts through a gap and charges after her with long, powerful strides, his teeth glistening in the street lights.

“Natalie!” I shriek, pointing.

“I know!” she shouts without looking back. “Open the doors!”

While the dog gains on her in a rush of thundering paws and huffing breaths, I whip open the passenger door. I dive in and slam it, and as I lean over to open the driver’s side for Natalie, she leaps onto the hood and slides across on her butt.

Wyatt catches up, snapping at her feet as his front paws scramble for purchase on the hood. He barks furiously, claws screeching on metal.

I scream, pushing the door wider. Natalie grabs it and gets in, slamming the door just in time for Wyatt to throw himself at the window. His claws and teeth scrape the glass as he tries to break through.

“Drive!” I yell over the snarling.

Natalie starts the car and stomps down, accelerating so fast that I suck back against the seat. Tires squeal, the car jerking left and right before we gain traction.

Behind us, Wyatt stops running and looks at his handler, who stumbles out of the alley and watches us go, his fury palpable even from a distance.

“Put your seatbelt on.” Natalie’s raspy voice fills the car.

I obey, my hands shaking, as she flies through a red light. “Will he follow us?”

“He won’t make it to his car in time.” She glances quickly at me, like she’s trying not to take her eyes off the road but can’t help it. “Are you okay?”