24

No one on the trail moved.

The forest seemed to be holding its breath.

Sheriff Reeves slowly lowered his flashlight.

"Did everyone see that?"

One of the firefighters swallowed hard.

"I wish I hadn't."

Ben kept staring at the ridge.

"It wasn't a bear."

"No," Kael answered quietly.

"It wasn't."

The old retriever, Ranger, had backed against Kael's leg. The dog's ears were pinned flat, and a low whine vibrated deep in his throat.

Kael knelt beside him.

"Easy."

Ranger immediately leaned into his hand.

The dog's fear wasn't fading.

If anything...

It was growing.

---

Noah slowly swept his flashlight across the ridge one last time.

"Do we go after it?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he closed his eyes.

He listened.

The wind whispered through the pines.

A creek rushed somewhere downhill.

An owl called from deep within the valley.

Then...

Nothing.

Whatever had been there was gone.

"We're heading back."

Ben looked surprised.

"That's it?"

"We found the dog."

"We know the boy is safe."

Sheriff Reeves nodded in agreement.

"And we don't chase something we can't identify through the woods in the dark."

No one argued.

Not because they weren't curious.

Because every person standing there had felt it.

The sensation of being watched.

---

The walk back toward the lake was much quieter.

Ranger never left Kael's side.

Twice he stopped walking altogether.

Each time he looked behind them into the darkness.

Each time...

Nothing was there.

Yet the dog's tail remained tucked tightly beneath him.

---

Halfway back, Noah quietly moved alongside Kael.

"You knew."

Kael kept his voice low.

"I knew what?"

"That it wasn't hunting us."

Kael looked ahead.

"It had plenty of opportunities."

"So why show itself?"

"I don't know."

Noah frowned.

"You've never seen tracks like those?"

"No."

"But they reminded me of something."

"What?"

Kael was silent for several moments.

"Stories."

Noah looked over.

"What kind of stories?"

"The kind my grandfather used to tell."

He gave a small shake of his head.

"I always thought they were just stories."

---

When the search party finally emerged from the trees, the crowd at the bonfire immediately stood.

Parents rushed forward.

The little boy broke away from his mother the instant he saw Ranger.

"Ranger!"

The old retriever barked happily for the first time all night and bounded toward the child.

The reunion drew relieved applause from the crowd.

Emily smiled.

"Thank goodness."

She hadn't realized how tightly she'd been holding her breath.

---

Then she noticed Kael.

He looked tired.

Not physically.

Mentally.

As though something had happened that he couldn't explain.

She walked toward him.

"Are you okay?"

Kael looked at her.

For just a second...

The worry on his face disappeared.

"I'm fine."

"You found Ranger."

"We did."

"What happened?"

He glanced briefly toward Sheriff Reeves.

"Probably a frightened dog chasing wildlife."

Emily studied him carefully.

He was lying.

Not maliciously.

Protectively.

She couldn't explain how she knew.

She simply did.

"You don't believe that."

Kael smiled faintly.

"I believe Ranger is going home."

She folded her arms.

"That's not what I asked."

He chuckled quietly.

"No."

"It isn't."

Before either of them could say anything else, Ranger ran back toward them.

The old retriever stopped directly in front of Emily.

His tail wagged once.

Then he sat.

Emily laughed.

"Hi, buddy."

She knelt and scratched behind his ears.

The dog licked her hand enthusiastically.

"Looks like you've made another friend," Noah said.

Emily smiled.

"I've always liked dogs."

Kael watched silently.

Ranger wasn't behaving normally.

He trusted people.

That much was obvious.

But this...

The old dog leaned his entire body against Emily's knees as though he had known her for years.

Almost as though he felt safer near her.

Kael's thoughts raced.

Why?

---

The bonfire slowly returned to life.

Children laughed again.

Someone started another batch of marshmallows.

The musicians, encouraged by the crowd, unpacked a guitar and fiddle once more.

Gradually...

The fear faded.

At least for most of the town.

---

Later that evening, after many families had gone home, Emily wandered down to the edge of Crescent Lake.

The water reflected the moon so perfectly that it looked like another sky beneath her feet.

She skipped a small stone across the surface.

One.

Two.

Three skips.

Then it sank.

"Not bad."

Kael's voice came from behind her.

She turned with a smile.

"I've never been very good at this."

He bent down and picked up a smooth, flat stone.

"You have to throw it lower."

He demonstrated.

The stone skimmed the water.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

Six...

Seven.

Emily's eyes widened.

"Show-off."

A genuine laugh escaped him.

"I've had practice."

She picked up another stone.

"Okay."

"Teach me."

For the next fifteen minutes, Kael patiently showed her how to angle the stone and flick her wrist at the right moment.

Her first attempt splashed immediately.

"So much for that."

"The angle was too high."

"My second try?"

Four skips.

Emily's face lit up.

"I did it!"

"You did."

"I actually did it."

Kael couldn't help smiling.

"You learn quickly."

She tossed another stone.

Five skips.

She turned toward him triumphantly.

"I think I'm catching up."

"You've got a long way to go."

She narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Challenge accepted."

For a while, they simply stood together by the lake.

Talking.

Laughing.

Neither noticed how late it had become.

---

Back near the dying bonfire, Noah leaned against a picnic table beside Lena.

"They disappeared."

Lena followed his gaze toward the lakeshore.

"I know."

"They've been gone almost twenty minutes."

She smiled.

"They're skipping rocks."

Noah laughed.

"Kael is skipping rocks."

"I never thought I'd see the day."

Margaret quietly walked past them carrying a lantern.

She looked toward the moonlit shoreline where Emily and Kael stood talking.

Her smile was warm.

"They deserve one peaceful evening."

Noah noticed the change in her expression.

"You don't think it'll last."

Margaret looked toward the dark forest beyond the lake.

The smile slowly faded.

"I've lived in Black Hollow a very long time."

She tightened her grip on the lantern.

"I've learned that the mountains are always quiet..."

"...right before they decide to change someone's life."

Far across the lake, hidden among the towering pines where the moonlight could not reach, two crimson eyes watched the pair standing at the water's edge.

Magnus had not moved in nearly an hour.

He wasn't watching the festival anymore.

He wasn't watching the town.

He was watching only Emily and Kael.

As Emily laughed at another failed attempt to skip a stone, Magnus's expression hardened.

"The bond is growing."

His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Faster than it should."

He turned and disappeared into the darkness without making a sound.

As he vanished into the forest, one thought echoed through his mind.

If I wait much longer...

The choice may no longer be mine.