Go back inside, I mouthed to Kason as I came toward him.
But both his gaze and the barrel of the gun aimed past me, never wavering. Except the slightest twitch on the trigger.
I swept toward him faster, the gusting snow slowing me to a crawl, but at the same time braced myself for whatever was about to happen behind me. For whatever Kason had seen to shake his confident grip on the trigger. My insides plunged to my shivering knees because I wasn't going to reach him in time.
The ground shifted under my feet, spilling me face-first to the snowy sidewalk. Instinct flashed my hands out to catch my fall, and they slammed against the hard-packed snow. A scream pitched out of my mouth at the ice-tipped needles piercing my palms.
A gunshot fired, and the sound bounced around my skull. I looked up, dazed, to see cast spells bursting toward Kason in the doorway, but they fizzled out before they entered the house to touch him.