No Good Deed | Hale - TVD/TO/TW [3]

35 | Deal with the Devil

A high pitched whistle breaks through her mind.

Her eyes fly open. Her chest feels like a knife had been cleaved through it. Her magic has disappeared—as if too much had been used. Scabs on her arm itch intensely.

Her eyes find the gaping hole in the ground. She knows that wooden paneling. And that fireplace. And that view.

"No, no, no, no!" She covers her ears even though no one speaks. She shuts her eyes despite the lack of roaring flame before her. A scream rips through her throat.

"Lexi!"

His voice cuts through her heartbeat echoing in her ears. Lexi opens her eyes to find Derek in front of her, trying to pry her hands away from her head; pain radiates from her temple as she lets him lace his fingers with hers. "What happened?" She rasps. She feels the tears drying on her face. "Why are we here?"

"I don't know." If she was listening, she would have heard the lie.

She looks down at his arm. "You're bleeding." She gently pokes the wound, ignoring Derek's hiss of pain. "We need to leave, now."

She staggers to her feet, her hands still linked with Derek. Both of them walk out of the house, Lexi pulling Derek with her. The moment the fresh air hits her face, her mind clears. "What do we do now?"

Derek glances around the woods. "Scott needs us. If you're up for it."

She looks back at the house. "Anything to get away from here." Without giving him a warning, Lexi jumps onto Derek's back and wraps her legs around his torso. "It'll be faster," she mutters against his neck. "If I'm not too heavy."

"Oh, trust me." His hands wrap around her thighs to support her. "You're fine."

Burying her face in his neck, Lexi squeals when Derek takes off running through the woods. As the air whips past her face, she finds herself relaxing against Derek's back, her breathing findings regular rhythm after the hell she faced in that house. Before she realizes it, Derek slows down before the police station and lets her slip off of him.

"So, why does Scott need us?" Lexi asks as they step into the eerily quiet building.

"He found out who controls the kanima," Derek replies. He frowns when he catches the scent of blood; stepping in front of her, he leads her through the lobby towards the sheriff's office where Scott said to meet him. Only a closed door stands in their way.

She feels claws swipe at the back of her neck. When she yelps, covering the new wound, Derek does not have enough time to turn around before the kanima swipes its claws through his neck as well.

The door opens; Derek falls forward.

A scaled hand wraps around Lexi's throat and pins her to the wall. She grasps at the arm, staring at Jackson as she gasps for air. The boy's eyes change to the kanima's.

Scott and Stiles stare at the two of them while another boy—Matt—kneels down before Derek with a gun in his hand.

"This is the one controlling him?" Derek snaps. "This kid?"

"Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big bad werewolf." The boy grins. "Oh, yeah, that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas. It's like a frickin' Halloween party every full moon. Except for you two." The gun passes between Lexi and Stiles. "What do you turn into?"

"Abominable snowman," Stiles replies. "But, uh, it's more of a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal."

"Damn it, Stiles, shut up," Lexi hisses through her teeth.