The world froze.

This time, Kimmie was ready.

She turned to Buka, who stared in disbelief at the scene in front of him. He wasn’t frozen, like the others. She assumed it was because she was holding his arm when she cast the spell. She didn’t bother trying to explain what had happened. She dragged Buka along and pushed him toward the entrance.

“Go!”

Buka shuffled a few steps, seemingly in a daze. She looked down and saw Ollie’s shotgun at her feet. She grabbed it, and then moved toward Ollie, only for a wave of dizziness to send her stumbling to her knees.

No!

The magic slipped away like sand through her fingers. She screamed inside her head. She’d thought she’d have more time. She needed more time. At least enough to get Ollie out of the cave.

She turned toward the entrance, only to fall on the floor as the magic left her completely. She looked up to see the world returned to normal. Ollie turned to see her by the entrance, a look of surprise on his face. She wanted to tell him what had happened, what he needed to do, but only one thing went through her head. She yelled at Kranka, taunting him, then scrambled to her feet, the sickness welling up within. She ran through the entrance as if her life depended on it.

*

Kimmie stumbled through the forest, Buka dragging her through the brush. They found a thick tree and she fell to the ground behind it, listening with barely concealed terror as a dozen goblins charged past on the other side. She fought the urge to vomit. That would certainly give them away.

A roar filled the air. Kranka, emerging from the cave. She heard him run past their hiding spot, like a bear charging through the woods.

The noises faded into the distance. Ollie called her name from somewhere far away, but even then she didn’t move. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep from retching so loudly that people in Sacramento might hear her. Once she was sure they were alone, she laid her head down on the ground, convinced she was about to pass out.

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“Are you hurt?” Buka asked. She shook her head, too exhausted to do anything else. A few moments passed and with it went the dizziness and a bit of the nausea, enough that she could sit up straight. They had to move. Ollie was defenseless out there, with an entire pack of goblins chasing after him. They needed to regroup. She motioned for Buka to help her to her feet. He lifted her up, and her vision blurred. She leaned against the tree trunk, still woozy.

“Can you cut this?” She held up her hands, still bound by thick rope.

Buka checked the ground. He found a rock and used one of the jagged edges to slice through the rope. It took a little bit of work, but he managed to get her free.

“Okay,” she said once the sensation dulled. “Let’s go.”

Buka held her arm, guiding her away from the lair. He had Ollie’s shotgun in his left hand, holding it by the end of the barrel, the handle end occasionally bouncing off the ground. She’d given it to him during their escape.

“Wait.” She held him back, then readjusted the gun in his hands. He tried to give it back to her, but a feeling of revulsion washed over her, making her already queasy stomach lurch down into her bowels. “No.” She pushed it back. “I can’t take it, even if I wanted to. I… can’t explain it.” Killing anything, even a horde of goblins chasing after her, was still anathema. Despite the terrible, terrible timing.

They moved through the woods carefully, Buka leading the way. Kimmie tried to gauge which direction they were running but reading constellations wasn’t her strong suit.

“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.

“My cave,” he said, his face a picture of concentration. “We can make more traps, and be safe there.”

“Buka,” she slowed, and Buka stopped to watch her, “we can’t go back there. They know where you live, and they’ll go looking for you. We have to go help Ollie. He’s the only one who can keep us safe right now. And he went that way.”

She pointed. Buka followed her finger, and his expression soured.

“The pack is that way.”

“I know.”

“And Kranka.”

Kimmie nodded. “I know.”

“They all want to hurt me. Even the hunter.”

Kimmie sighed. “Yeah. There’s that. But Ollie won’t hurt you while I’m around. I promise. And we need him to hurt the other goblins before they hurt all of us. We have to follow him.”

Buka’s expression faltered. He looked in the direction they were headed, obviously trying to think of a reason not to run into danger.

“Can you do the magic again?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m already this close to throwing up, or passing out. Probably both.” She glanced at the shotgun in Buka’s hands. “The only thing we have to defend ourselves with is that.”

Buka looked down at the weapon. He turned it over, studying it.

“This will hurt goblins.” It was a statement, but she nodded, and he looked at it again. “This will hurt… Kranka?” he asked, the words coming out slowly.

Kimmie nodded. “It’ll hurt him a lot.”

Buka stared at the shotgun for a long moment, his expression hardening.