“Knight,” the Guardian said as we started to cross the bridge. Puck looked back, and I waved him on. He made a face and left us. “Do not discount the gift you have been given,” the Guardian continued in a low voice, as Puck followed Grimalkin over the bridge. “The soul of a Winter fey resides within you. You are no longer part of Faery, but neither are you completely mortal. You are…unique.” The Guardian drew back, the faintest hint of amusement beneath its impassive voice.
“We shal have to see where it takes you.” I bowed to the robed figure and crossed the bridge, feeling ancient eyes on me the whole way. When I reached the other side and turned back, however, the Guardian was gone. The enormous bulk of the 348/387
Testing Grounds was f loating away, growing rapidly smaller and less distinct, until it vanished into the End of the World.
following Grimalkin down the corridor back to the temple, we reached the heavy stone door of the gauntlet. For a moment, I feared we were too late. The Wolf lay in the doorway, unmoving, his huge head resting on his paws. Bloody foam spattered his mouth and nostrils, his fur was dull and f lat and his ribs stood out sharply against his black pelt.
Through the opening, the spirits still clawed at him, trying to drag him back into the temple, lost and trapped forever. But even collapsed and apparently lifeless, he was still as unmovable as a mountain.
“Pity,” Grimalkin remarked as we drew close. “Not the end I would imagine for the Big Bad Wolf, crushed under a door, but I suppose he is not invincible after all.”
The Wolf ’s eyes opened, blazing green. Seeing us, he gave a feeble cough and raised his head from his paws, staring at me. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth.
“So, you made it after all,” he stated. “I suppose I should congratulate you, but I find I care very little at the moment.” He panted, his eyes f lickering between me, Puck and Grim, and pricked his ears. “Where’s the girl?”
Puck looked away, and I took a breath, raking a hand through my hair.
“She’s gone.”
The Wolf nodded, unsurprised. “Then, if you wish to leave by this route, I’m sure you can slide under the stone. These spirits are annoying, but they should not pose a problem anymore.”
“What about you?”
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The Wolf sighed, resting his head on his paws again. “I have no strength left.” Closing his eyes, he shifted painfully on the rocks. “Nor do you have the strength to move this door. Leave me.” I clenched my fists. The memory of Ariel a’s sacrifice was still a painful burning in my chest. “No,” I said, making the Wolf crack open an eyelid. “I’ve already watched one friend die today. I will not lose another.
Puck…” I stepped forward and put my shoulder against the bottom of the slab. “Come on. Help me move this.” Puck looked dubious, but he stepped up and braced himself against the rock, wincing as he tested it. “Oof, are you sure about this, ice-boy?
I mean, you’re human now….”
He trailed off at the look on my face. “Right, then. On three? Hey, Wolfman, you’re gonna help out, too, right?”
“You cannot free me,” the Wolf said, eyeing each of us in turn. “You are not strong enough. Especially if the prince is a mere mortal.”
“How very sad.” Grimalkin strode up, stopping just shy of the Wolf ’s muzzle, barely out of snapping range. “That the great dog must rely on a human to save him, because he is too weak to move. I shal sit right here and watch, to remember this day always.” The Wolf growled, the hair rising along his back. Planting his feet, he braced his shoulders against the slab and tensed, baring his fangs.
“Go.”
We pushed. The stone resisted us, stubborn and unmovable. Even with the combined efforts of Puck and the exhausted Wolf, it was too heavy, too massive, for the three of us to move.
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“This isn’t working, prince,” Puck said through gritted teeth, his face red from the strain. I ignored him, digging my shoulder into the rocky slab, pushing with all my might. It scraped painfully into my skin, but didn’t move. On instinct, I opened myself up to the glamour around me, forgetting I was only human.
I felt a shiver go through the air, a rush of cold and suddenly, the slab moved. Only a fraction of an inch, but we all felt it. Puck’s eyes widened, and he threw himself against the rock, pushing with all his might, as the Wolf did the same. The spirits shrieked and wailed, clawing at the Wolf as if sensing he was slipping from their grasp. Closing my eyes, I kept myself open to the cold, familiar strength f lowing through me and shoved the stone block as hard as I could.
With a final, stubborn groan, the slab gave way at last, rising a mere few inches, but it was enough. The Wolf gave a snarl of triumph and skittered out from beneath it, ripping himself from the grasp of the spirits still clinging to him, leaving them in the doorway. Puck and I jerked back as well, and the door slammed shut with a hollow boom, crushing a few spirits into mist.
Panting, the Wolf staggered to his feet, then gave himself a violent shake, sending fur and dust f lying. Glancing at me, he gave a grudging nod.