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Authors: Tasha Black
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police officer, but he didn’t acknowledge her commands.
Whoever it was, he was fast. Grace was no wolf, but she still held a few of the Tarker’s Hollow High track records. Her legs were short, but her lithe body gave her nearly endless stamina, and she hoped that her target would tire before she did.
She slipped her Maglite out of its place on her belt as she ran and sent a bouncing beam of light ahead of her. Grace couldn’t help but notice that whoever she was pursuing was doing an amazing job of running in the woods in almost full darkness without any kind of light.
As they approached the edge of the woods and the entrance to the path that followed the creek back out to the main campus, Grace gained on the mysterious runner and hoped to overtake him in a few more strides.
She pushed herself until her legs felt like they were on fire, and managed a burst of speed as she broke out of the trees right behind him.
She was just in time to see him dart behind a large tree.
Grace dropped her flashlight and rounded the corner of the tree with her arms out, hoping to snag him.
Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness without the flashlight’s beam, so by the time she was sure of what she was seeing it was too late.
The man in black was gone, and in his place a cluster of blackbirds flew straight at her. The flutter of their wings made a strange hushing sound and smooth feathers brushed her cheeks as they hurtled past.
She threw her hands up reflexively, but the last bird still slashed a deep cut across her cheek with its beak as it passed. Grace pressed her palm to the wound as she spun to look for the man in black.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Grace’s skin began to hum and tingle.
Magic.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then retrieved her flashlight. Luckily, it still seemed to be in perfect working order.
Grace thanked god for small favors and began to jog back through the woods to the amphitheater. Hopefully, Lilliana wouldn’t be too spooked to keep talking.
From the woods on the edge of the amphitheater, she could see that the grassy stage was empty.
Grace picked up her pace. Maybe Liliana had simply seated herself on the stone stairs.
She broke out of the woods and scanned the whole arena.
Empty.
“Lilliana?” she called.
There was no reply.
A swatch of color flashed in the beam of the light. Grace bent to pick up the belt to the bright yellow raincoat Lilliana had been wearing. It was the only sign that the girl had ever been there.
Grace took her time traversing the stairs back to the stone monument, hoping to see some sign of Liliana.
Though she told herself that the girl had simply been spooked, a flash of inner wisdom told her this disappearance was something more sinister.
Without warning, Grace was knocked in the chest with a horrible empty feeling. It echoed the whispers she’d heard in the woods on the way to this meeting, but amplified a thousand times.
And now she knew what it meant.
Ainsley needed her. Ainsley needed her now .
Chapter 10
J ulian paced the Sycamore Woods cul-de-sac waiting for Ainsley, too distracted to expand and contract his consciousness.
What was disturbing him? His skin was fairly crawling and yet there was nothing wrong.
Wildflowers growing from cracks in the pavement nodded at him in the slight breeze. As usual, there was a musty, leafy smell. The mournful sound of crickets cut through the stillness of dusk. Everything was as it should be in the abandoned neighborhood - just as it was at every sunset.
Suddenly he sensed a huge discharge of magic.
Deep in the trees beyond Sycamore Woods, a wolf howled. Julian ran toward the sound as fast as his legs would carry him.
As he approached the edge of the woods, the howl melted into a human scream with a note of despair so dark it turned his stomach.
He plunged into the woods. Ainsley was in there somewhere. And she wasn’t ready to protect herself. Though she should be by now.
As he crashed
Whoever it was, he was fast. Grace was no wolf, but she still held a few of the Tarker’s Hollow High track records. Her legs were short, but her lithe body gave her nearly endless stamina, and she hoped that her target would tire before she did.
She slipped her Maglite out of its place on her belt as she ran and sent a bouncing beam of light ahead of her. Grace couldn’t help but notice that whoever she was pursuing was doing an amazing job of running in the woods in almost full darkness without any kind of light.
As they approached the edge of the woods and the entrance to the path that followed the creek back out to the main campus, Grace gained on the mysterious runner and hoped to overtake him in a few more strides.
She pushed herself until her legs felt like they were on fire, and managed a burst of speed as she broke out of the trees right behind him.
She was just in time to see him dart behind a large tree.
Grace dropped her flashlight and rounded the corner of the tree with her arms out, hoping to snag him.
Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness without the flashlight’s beam, so by the time she was sure of what she was seeing it was too late.
The man in black was gone, and in his place a cluster of blackbirds flew straight at her. The flutter of their wings made a strange hushing sound and smooth feathers brushed her cheeks as they hurtled past.
She threw her hands up reflexively, but the last bird still slashed a deep cut across her cheek with its beak as it passed. Grace pressed her palm to the wound as she spun to look for the man in black.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Grace’s skin began to hum and tingle.
Magic.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then retrieved her flashlight. Luckily, it still seemed to be in perfect working order.
Grace thanked god for small favors and began to jog back through the woods to the amphitheater. Hopefully, Lilliana wouldn’t be too spooked to keep talking.
From the woods on the edge of the amphitheater, she could see that the grassy stage was empty.
Grace picked up her pace. Maybe Liliana had simply seated herself on the stone stairs.
She broke out of the woods and scanned the whole arena.
Empty.
“Lilliana?” she called.
There was no reply.
A swatch of color flashed in the beam of the light. Grace bent to pick up the belt to the bright yellow raincoat Lilliana had been wearing. It was the only sign that the girl had ever been there.
Grace took her time traversing the stairs back to the stone monument, hoping to see some sign of Liliana.
Though she told herself that the girl had simply been spooked, a flash of inner wisdom told her this disappearance was something more sinister.
Without warning, Grace was knocked in the chest with a horrible empty feeling. It echoed the whispers she’d heard in the woods on the way to this meeting, but amplified a thousand times.
And now she knew what it meant.
Ainsley needed her. Ainsley needed her now .
Chapter 10
J ulian paced the Sycamore Woods cul-de-sac waiting for Ainsley, too distracted to expand and contract his consciousness.
What was disturbing him? His skin was fairly crawling and yet there was nothing wrong.
Wildflowers growing from cracks in the pavement nodded at him in the slight breeze. As usual, there was a musty, leafy smell. The mournful sound of crickets cut through the stillness of dusk. Everything was as it should be in the abandoned neighborhood - just as it was at every sunset.
Suddenly he sensed a huge discharge of magic.
Deep in the trees beyond Sycamore Woods, a wolf howled. Julian ran toward the sound as fast as his legs would carry him.
As he approached the edge of the woods, the howl melted into a human scream with a note of despair so dark it turned his stomach.
He plunged into the woods. Ainsley was in there somewhere. And she wasn’t ready to protect herself. Though she should be by now.
As he crashed
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