Page 76 of How to Flirt with a Witch

A groan makes me jump. The young man’s eyelids flutter open, and he looks groggily past me. He can’t be any older than I am—a teenager in his first year of university.

“You need to run,” I tell him. “There’s something bad going on, and you can’t be here.”

Blinking, he takes in the cracked pavement, the roots, the boulders, and the two women facing off. Cracks, booms, and the whoosh of dirt and pebbles fill the air.

He stumbles to his feet, swaying. Mouthing in wordless terror, he covers his head and disappears through the swirling debris.

Nausea churns inside me. Did I compromise Natalie’s secrets? What if this guy tells someone what he saw?

This is all my fault. I should’ve listened to Natalie and stayed in class.

“Get behind me, Katie!” Natalie roars.

She swipes her arm, pelting Oaklyn with pebbles to block her from advancing. Oaklyn throws her arms up, and I leap over the fissure in the ground and run to Natalie.

With another swipe, she pulls a boulder in front of Oaklyn’s path. Oaklyn wraps roots around it, hauls it aside with a deep grinding noise, and advances, the roots undulating above her head like Medusa’s snakes.

Natalie waves her hand again, and a concrete planter grinds across the pavement. Oaklyn flicks her wrist, the roots tossing that aside too. She’s like a puppeteer, manipulating everything Natalie throws at her.

Only a car’s length separates them now. They’re both breathing hard, faces clammy, nostrils flaring. I’m two steps behind Natalie, unable to do anything useful. My skin prickles as her power intensifies.

“You’ve made a mistake, Oaklyn,” Natalie barks. “The Shadows have no choice but to come for you now.”

Oaklyn rolls her eyes. “Not the threat you think it is, sweetheart. Your junior spy club already caught up with us.”

Wait—the Shadows already found the Madsens? If Oaklyn is here, then where are they?

Natalie is quiet, maybe wondering the same thing.

Oaklyn sneers. She slashes the dagger, and the roots strike. Natalie reacts in a blink, sending a wave of pavement and dirt that lifts Oaklyn into the air before dropping her back to her knees.

Dust fills my mouth and nose, making me cough.

“Get in my car,” Natalie says, panting. Sweat glistens on her face, her hair coming loose from her bun. Her irises are purple like when she used magic in the alley.

Behind us, a gap opens in the swirling dust and pebbles, revealing her black car.

I back up a step. “M-my bag and phone are…”

She follows my gaze to where my belongings are scattered on the ground.

Oaklyn strikes, and Natalie slams the planter into her without mercy. Oaklyn screams in pain as she flies backward and hits the ground.

Fear grips me, tightening my chest. I thought I wanted to see everything Natalie could do, but this is beyond anything I imagined.

Natalie curls her fingers, and pieces of rubble nudge my bag and phone toward us. I force my legs to move and grab my stuff with numb, trembling hands.

Before Oaklyn can stand, Natalie hurls the boulder back at her, pinning her legs. Oaklyn’s shriek is a cry of genuine pain as the weight crushes her.

“Katie, go!” Natalie shouts, sprinting toward me.

We race to her car. Around us, the swirling dust dissipates.

As we get in and slam the doors, a heavy thud reverberates, and everything darkens. I scream. A mass of roots slides down the windshield and off the hood.

Even injured and with her legs pinned, Oaklyn is still fighting.

Natalie switches on the windshield wipers to clear the dirt and mud, and we speed away.