26

Kael remained standing in the middle of the road long after Adrian disappeared.

The forest was silent again.

No footsteps.

No rustling branches.

Nothing.

He looked down at the folded map in his hand.

The paper was old.

Very old.

Its edges had yellowed with age, and the ink had faded enough that some of the trail markings were barely visible.

Yet one place stood out clearly.

Hawthorne Falls.

A blue circle surrounded it.

Nothing else.

No explanation.

No note.

No reason.

Kael turned the map over.

The back was blank.

He exhaled slowly before climbing back into his truck.

As he drove toward the lodge, one thought refused to leave him.

How does he know Emily's name?

Not just her name.

He knew things about her.

Things no stranger should know.

And despite every instinct telling Kael to distrust him...

Adrian had never once lied.

He simply refused to answer the questions that mattered most.

---

The Crescent Moon Lodge was quiet when Kael finally returned.

Most of the pack had gone home after the festival.

Only a few lights still burned in the common room.

Noah looked up from the couch as Kael walked in.

"You're late."

Kael tossed the folded map onto the coffee table.

"I ran into Adrian."

Noah immediately sat forward.

"Where?"

"Old bridge on Ridge Road."

"What happened?"

"He gave me this."

Noah unfolded the map carefully.

"Hawthorne Falls?"

"You've heard of it?"

"I've heard stories."

"What kind?"

Noah frowned.

"My grandfather used to mention it."

"He said no one goes there anymore."

"Why?"

"He never said."

Kael leaned against the fireplace.

"Adrian thinks we need to get there before someone else."

Noah looked up.

"Someone else?"

"He wouldn't say."

Lena entered just in time to hear the last sentence.

"That's becoming a habit."

Kael almost smiled.

"It is."

She walked over and studied the map.

"Hawthorne Falls..."

She frowned thoughtfully.

"I've never seen that trail."

"It hasn't been on park maps for decades," Kael replied.

"Most people think it washed out years ago."

"So why would Adrian send you there?"

"I don't know."

The room fell quiet.

Finally Lena looked at Kael.

"When do we leave?"

Kael didn't hesitate.

"At first light."

---

Emily slept more soundly than she had in months.

The festival had exhausted her.

For the first time since arriving in Black Hollow, she didn't dream.

Or so she thought.

Just before dawn...

A single image drifted into her sleeping mind.

Water.

Crystal clear.

Pouring over dark stone cliffs.

Mist catching sunlight.

She stood beside the waterfall.

She wasn't alone.

Someone held her hand.

A man's hand.

Large.

Warm.

Safe.

She couldn't see his face.

She looked down instead.

A silver crescent pendant rested against her small chest.

Not the one she wore now.

A smaller one.

Made for a child.

A woman's voice echoed softly behind her.

"Never forget this place."

Emily turned.

The voice faded.

The waterfall disappeared.

She woke with a start.

Morning sunlight streamed through the bedroom window.

Her heart raced.

"What was..."

She rubbed her eyes.

"...that?"

Unlike her other dreams...

This one hadn't felt like imagination.

It felt...

Real.

---

At the conservation office, Melissa was already making coffee when Emily arrived.

"You look tired."

Emily smiled.

"I think yesterday finally caught up with me."

Melissa handed her a mug.

"Festival hangover."

"Is that a real thing?"

"In Black Hollow?"

"Absolutely."

Emily laughed.

"I'll recover."

"Good."

"Because Noah left you a note."

Emily picked up the folded paper.

Emergency trail inspection.

Kael and I had to head out early.

We'll meet you after lunch.

—Noah

Emily frowned.

"They're already in the field?"

Melissa nodded.

"Something came up."

Emily looked toward Kael's empty office.

For reasons she couldn't explain...

She felt disappointed.

She'd been looking forward to seeing him.

---

Forty miles north of town...

Kael parked beside an overgrown logging road.

"This has to be it."

Noah looked out the windshield.

"It doesn't even look like a road anymore."

"It hasn't been used in years."

They grabbed their packs and started hiking.

The farther they walked...

The thicker the forest became.

Branches hung low over the forgotten trail.

Moss covered fallen logs.

Birdsong echoed through the trees.

After nearly an hour, Noah stopped.

"Do you hear that?"

Kael nodded.

Water.

Not a creek.

Something larger.

They continued forward.

The sound grew louder.

Then the trees suddenly opened.

Both men stopped.

Before them, water cascaded nearly eighty feet down a wall of dark granite into a clear pool below.

Mist drifted through the morning sunlight, creating tiny rainbows.

"Hawthorne Falls," Noah whispered.

"It actually exists."

Kael slowly looked around.

The place felt...

Different.

Older.

The air itself seemed unusually still.

Then something caught his attention.

Near the edge of the pool stood a weathered stone marker, half-hidden beneath ivy.

Someone had carved symbols into its surface.

Noah stepped closer.

"I've never seen writing like this."

Kael brushed moss away with one hand.

There were no words.

Only a single carved image.

A crescent moon.

Exactly like the pendant Emily wore.

His heartbeat slowed.

"Adrian knew."

"Knew what?"

Kael stared at the ancient carving.

"This place isn't just an old waterfall."

He turned slowly, studying the cliffs surrounding the pool.

"It's important."

Before Noah could answer...

A voice echoed softly through the trees behind them.

"I'm glad you came."

Both men spun around.

Adrian stepped from the forest carrying nothing but a walking stick.

He looked almost relieved.

"You found it."

Kael folded his arms.

"You've got exactly one chance."

Adrian nodded.

"I know."

"No riddles."

"No half answers."

Adrian looked toward the waterfall.

"I'll tell you what I can."

He paused.

"But first..."

He pointed toward the base of the falls.

"...there's something you need to see."

Neither Kael nor Noah noticed the lone figure watching from the ridge above the waterfall.

Magnus had arrived first.

He had been there long before sunrise.

Hidden among the rocks, he watched the three men below with unreadable crimson eyes.

He smiled to himself.

"You're already too late."