She frowns down at Grim before glancing around them.

The thorns around them were moving, hundreds upon hundreds of them, unfurling into tiny faeries with pointed, gnashing teeth. The air filled with the sound of buzzing, and thousands of tiny black eyes glimmered through the thorns.

"Oh, this isn't good," Puck murmured as the buzz grew louder, more frantic. "I really, really wish I had that Off!"

"Run!" spat Grimalkin.

She sprinted off, mumbling curses under her breath as she ran.

The other three followed suit. The faeries swarmed around them, the hum of their wings vibrating the air, their high-pitched voices shrieking in their ears. Puck snarled something unintelligible, swiping at them with his knives, and Ironhorse blasted flame from his mouth and nostrils, roaring. Charred, dismembered faeries dropped shrieking from the air, but dozens more buzzed in to take their place. Grimalkin, of course, had vanished. They charged blindly down a tunnel of thorns, through swarms of furious killer wasp-fey, with no clue of where they were going.

She continued running blindly, wishing to be anywhere but here.

As they rounded a corner, a body appeared right in front of them.

She slammed Into the person, screaming in surprise before jumping back.

"Ow! What the heck!" someone yelped. It was a girl a year or two younger than Claire. She was tiny and Asian, with hair that looked as if she'd taken a machete to it, wearing a ratty sweater two sizes too big. There were furry ears peeking out of her hair.

She glanced behind them before grabbing the girls hand and continuing to run. "SAVE YOURSELF!!" She shouted.

"What is this?" she hissed, wrenching her hand out of Claire's as Puck came up behind her and Ironhorse charged in, blowing flame. She darted past them, looking back once to shout "Hurry up, Nelson!" over her shoulder. A kid built like a linebacker barreled through them, somehow dodging Puck and Ironhorse, and pounded after the girl. There was a glimpse of gorillalike shoulders, muddy blond hair, and skin as green as swamp water. He clutched a backpack in his arms like a football and charged down the trail without a backward glance.