An Hour of Need Read Online Free PDF Page A

surprise, the wolf’s eyes softened as she gazed upon her son. Really?
    “Please, do not fight me on this, child. I know that I am still a stranger to you. You may not understand now, but in time you will see that my actions are for the best…”
    Her eyes returned to me and this time, to my shock, they were tinged red. Red that was growing more intense by the moment.
    Either I or the world had gone mad when burning rays shot from her irises toward me. They sizzled up to three feet away from me, where Aisha’s shield halted them abruptly.
    Alarm registered in the wolf’s eyes, and the rays instantly vanished. Then she leapt toward us. No, she flew .
    Grabbing me by the waist, Aisha zoomed out of the window and positioned us in the sun-streaked sky. I hurriedly climbed onto the jinni’s back as the wolf came hurtling after us. Claws the length of daggers extended from her paws, and she gnashed razor-sharp teeth.
    I felt like I was going to pass out. Not even from fear, but from pure and utter bewilderment.
    Aisha must’ve cast some invisible curse at the wolf, for she staggered in the air and faltered. It took her a few seconds to recover before she zoomed toward us again, and then again. Aisha kept beating her back with her magic, until it seemed that the wolf had given up.
    She turned around and went racing right back toward Bastien, who was perched by the window gazing worriedly toward us.
    What is she going to do now? Will she hurt him?
    Aisha seemed to be posing the same questions to herself. She made us drift and follow her down. By the time we landed at the edge of the now upturned living room, it was to witness Bastien growling and gnashing in a corner as the giant wolf closed in on him. Within a matter of seconds, her jaws closed around the fur at the back of his neck, the way a cat would hold a kitten, and then… they vanished. Just. Vanished.
    “Bastien!” I half screamed, half choked.
    I gazed around the room helplessly, as if they would manifest again in some other part of the room.
    That wolf vanished with him . And she had powers like that of the jinni or a… witch.
    “What. Just. Happened?” Aisha breathed.
    “I have no clue!” I cried. “She said that she was Bastien’s mother. But Bastien’s mother died! The hunters killed her! And what is a Mortclaw? Bastien’s a Blackhall!” Oh, God. Where has she taken him?
    Aisha remained speechless for several moments, simply eyeing the disheveled room. Then she wet her lower lip and turned to me. “I don’t know what has happened here. Though the name Mortclaw does ring a vague bell. I think I have some inkling as to the cause of that wolf’s powers, though it’s kind of confounding why she would still possess them… If you want answers rather than my ramblings, I believe you need to speak to a black witch.”
    “A black witch?” I repeated, staring at her. “They were vanquished, like, ages ago. I don’t know any…”
    My voice trailed off as I realized that I did. Of course I do, stupid.
    Mona. She had once been a black witch. A close companion of arguably the most notorious black warlock of all time, no less—Rhys Volkin.
    Mona. We need to talk to Mona.

Victoria
    W e returned to The Shade and, after gaining entrance to the island, Aisha took me directly to Mona and Kiev’s treehouse. Mona came to the front door, looking surprised to see the two of us. I didn’t think I had ever paid a visit to Mona specifically. In the past when I’d stopped by here, it was usually to see Brock about something.
    “Victoria?” she said, her brows rising to her blonde bangs.
    I was in too much of a rush to give her an introduction. “Do you know anything about the Mortclaws?” I asked.
    “Mortclaws,” Mona repeated, mouthing the name with a look of wonder. She drew open the door wider and invited us inside. We took a seat with her around a cherrywood dining table. “Yes,” she replied, to my relief. “Yes—they were the most virile tribe of