I parted my lips to utter a warning, but no words came. They remained trapped in my throat along with a lifetime of warnings I should have uttered then and now. Why couldn't I speak?
I whipped my head to the side and implored John with my gaze. Please, John. Run. I knew he wouldn't. It was no use. He would stay and defend me until his dying breath. Just like Henry had.
Oh, why? Why had I gotten close to John? I should have known it would end like this. That he would be Gretta’s next victim. She couldn't allow someone to come between her and me, lest she die.
John locked eyes with mine. He opened his mouth and spoke the word I knew he would. The same as Henry had so many years ago.
“Run!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Oh, I wanted nothing more than to run. I truly did. It wasn't because I didn't want to leave this nightmare behind, because I did. I wanted to do exactly what John told me to do. We needed to leave this place fast. Go somewhere—anywhere, but here. But still…I couldn't move.
John grasped my shoulders then yelled again, “Run!” His words cracked with urgency, “Run!” He tried shaking me out of my stupor, but it was to no avail. Why can't I move? What's wrong with me?
I heard him, but I didn't respond. I didn't move. I didn't run. I was frozen like a lifeless statue in a cold museum. With only the movement of my eyes, I pleaded with him to help me. A tear escaped one of my eyes, and then rolled down my cheek. That single tear managed to do what my heart could not. Escape. John didn't understand my tearful plea, just as Henry hadn’t.
It isn't fair!
I felt my chin and lips begin to tremble. I wanted to double over and cry just like a little girl would do. I wanted to run home to my mother and hug her close to me, but she'd been gone for years.
How would my death affect my Henry? We'd finally found each other again. I am not supposed to die. Not now. Not this way!
“Run!” John yelled again, “I said, run!” His nostrils flared and a bead of sweat slid down his temple. John shook me again. This time fierce, determined to get me to follow.
Again, fate had other plans.
I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a tightening in my already clenched jaw. Another mass of birds fluttered away, squawking loudly as they escaped the trees and circled overhead. They knew death was near and they could feel it. I wanted to escape. I wanted to fly away just like they could. Yet I remained still. I was frozen.
As the storm moved around me, I shut my senses down one by one. I could no longer smell the sulfur of Gretta’s brew. I could no longer see the fear and urgency in John's eyes. I could no longer taste his lips on mine.
All I knew, all I still wanted, was Henry.
A voice broke through the clamor of the storm. A man's voice. I searched through the smoke and flying debris. Who was speaking?
“Stay back!” Gretta raised her big walking stick and pointed it toward the road to town. “Don't come any closer.” The wind carried her shouts.
Who was it coming down the road? Why did he risk his life to enter this chaos?
There. The fog cleared and a figure was visible through the mist. “Hey, you two,” he pointed at John and me. “You need to get out of here. This storm is dangerous.” His eyes searched the area around them and settled on the witch. Recognition lit his face. “Okay, the stakes are higher than I thought. You need to run. I’ll deal with her.”
Noble, but foolish.
The man took a few steps forward until moonlight touched his face. He looked familiar. Who was that? He moved forward a bit more and the bright light illuminated his entire face.
The clerk from the bookstore. Edwin.
“You!” Gretta gasped as she recognized her assailant. “After what I’ve done for you, you’re turning on me?”
“I’m not the one you loved. It was my father. You only helped keep me healthy for his sake.”
“Back and forth through my life—in and out of a wheelchair at your whim. Not because you cared so much that you had that kind of power, just because you couldn’t be bothered to help us. You let Father die.”
Gretta pointed her long bony arm at me. “She let him die! It’s her fault. She withheld the ingredient I needed.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment. You had plenty. You just liked the game. You wanted people to need you.”
Gretta took a step toward Edwin.
Edwin raised his rifle and pointed it at Gretta.
I squealed.
Edwin shot a comforting gaze my way. “You can trust me. I'll help you.”
Gretta gasped and covered her heart. But could he actually kill her with that gun? After all this time, is that all it would take? If I’d known…
The dragon roared overhead and swooped down with a fiery blaze. He filled the air between Edwin and Gretta with flames. Why did he protect her from Edwin? So many questions, so few answers.