Syl crouched in the bushes, the forest quiet around her. Damp leaves brushed against her skin, the smell of the earth at her feet tickled her nose, and excitement kissed her lips.

  Her prey was close. Just through the trees ahead. Unaware she was so close, or that she’d stalked it for hours. Now was the time to strike.

  She prowled forward, silent, barely disturbing the branches any more than a shadow would. Her ears were alert for any sign she’d been noticed, but nothing stirred. Her prey was sleeping. And it would never wake.

  Within fifty feet, there were barely more than a few bushes between her and her target. She stopped and waited, again listening for any sign of movement. There was a shift, perhaps a shuffle, as her prey rolled over in its sleep. Syl kept low to the ground and slinked forward again.

  At thirty feet, there was a break in the forest enough for her to see where her prey had laired for the night. Flickers of orange danced through cracks in the square building, but Syl didn’t fear fire.

  Wait, fire? Why would a Lake-Wolf have fire? And… that building looks like a waystation.

  Syl’s mind reeled as she tried to make sense of what she saw.

  Where are the others? How… how did I get out here? The last thing I remember…

  Her body inched forward and interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes locked on the back of the waystation as she approached it.

  She tried to call out but had no voice. Her body moved of its own volition despite her screaming at it in her head to back away. She had no control over her actions.

  What’s going on?

  Sharp tree bristles poked at her paws and the lingering smell of cooked meat wafted from the waystation. It was disgusting.

  Paws?!

  Syl willed herself to stop stalking towards the waystation she suddenly recognized. Towards the smell that was so familiar. The smell of Leeze’s cooking.

  She took another step forward, and she was only fifteen feet away. Almost within striking distance. Her body tensed for the attack. But an unexpected sound, a click and then a squeak, had her crouching down and her eyes scanning for movement.

  There, around the front of the waystation, light poured out from the open door. One of her prey said something she didn’t bother trying to understand, then walked out and down the road.

  Syl’s eyes went from the building to the lone man walking into the bushes, and a morbid smile creased her face. And then she was loping silently through the woods parallel to the man. He would be her next victim.

  NO! Stop!

  She screamed and railed against the limbs carrying her, but nothing she did made a difference. Her body slowed as she got closer, a hint of movement visible through the leaves. Her muscles tensed, and she prepared to…

  “Don’t!” Syl screamed and sat bolt upright. The thin blanket threatened to restrain her, and her foggy mind could do little to help untangle her. “Don’t. Stop,” she repeated as the light from the fire in the waystation blinded her. It was so much brighter than the woods outside.

  “Whoa, Syl, you damn near scared me to death,” Kule said from beside the fire. “Maybe you don’t want to announce to the whole world, or the Lake-Wolf, where we’re sleeping tonight?”

  Syl put a hand to her head as she struggled to order her thoughts. Was that just a dream? It was so real.

  “I, I’m sorry Kule… I think I had…” she stopped and looked around. “Where’s Reylo?” Her eyes widened when she saw the open waystation door.

  “Went out to take a leak,” Kule answered.

  Syl threw her blanket off and jumped to her feet. “And you let him go alone?!” she accused. Her body was lethargic from the sleep, but she pushed past it to pick up her bow and quiver.

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  “Figured he didn’t need help holding it,” Kule said dryly.

  “What’s going on?” Dena asked drowsily.

  “Syl had a nightmare… or something,” Kule said, but didn’t move.

  “It’s out there,” Syl said, ignoring Kule’s comment.

  “What is?” Dena asked, but Syl was already moving for the door.

  “The Lake-Wolf,” Syl said as she stepped outside.

  Which way did I see Reylo go?

  “What?!” Kule asked from inside the waystation. “What do you mean the Lake-Wolf is out there? How do you know? And… why are you going outside…?”

  Syl ignored the questions and decided to risk calling out. “Reylo!” she shouted. “Reylo, where are you?”

  “You sure you need to yell so loudly?” Rogar asked her as he filed out of the waystation with the others.

  Syl’s night sight was better now that she was away from the fire, but she still couldn’t see Reylo. The moon and stars above provided barely enough light to outline the edges of the road and the tops of the trees.

  “Reylo!” Syl called out again.

  “I’m sure he’s fine, Syl,” Rogar said.

  “Then why isn’t he answering?” Dena asked, and nocked an arrow.

  The others shuffled behind her, realizing the truth of Dena’s words.

  “Reylo?! You out here?” Kule called out. “I mean, I know you’re out here, I saw you go… but are you out here and not dead?”

  “What kind of question is that?” Leeze hissed at him.

  “I thought it was a fair one…” he answered back.

  “Shut up, and find him,” Rogar ordered.

  Syl walked down the middle of the road as she continued to call out for Reylo. The lack of a reply terrified her, but she kept her head.

  Which side was it on? I saw the back of the waystation first… so it was on the left side of the road. It probably still is.

  Syl didn’t nock an arrow but kept one at the ready as her eyes raked across the treeline to her left. “Reylo!” she yelled again.

  Movement further down the road in the bushes to the right had her spinning and pulling her bow taut.

  “Whaaaaaat?” Reylo asked, and stepped out onto the road. One hand was still holding his pants up as he raised the other to wave. “Can’t a guy take a…?”

  Reylo’s sentence cut short as a massive blur streaked across the road and snatched him into the bushes in a flash.

  “Reylo!” Syl shouted, and dashed after him. She plowed straight into the woods without stopping to see if the others were following her.

  Breaking branches and Reylo’s pained screaming guided Syl as the Lake-Wolf carried him deeper into the woods.

  Syl slapped branches aside as she gave chase, relying on her ears to keep her heading in the right direction. She couldn’t see more than a foot or two in front of her, but she could clearly hear Reylo being dragged along.

  And then just like that, the night hushed.

  Syl stopped dead in her tracks and crouched down. Her arrow nocked on instinct, and her ears perked for any sign of Reylo.

  Nothing.

  “Hey, see anything?” Rogar whispered from somewhere behind her.

  “Nothing,” Kule whispered back. “Leeze?”

  “Shhh,” Leeze answered. “Do you want it to find us?”

  The others had followed Syl and spread out in the woods behind her. She knew she was the closest to where the Lake-Wolf had carried Reylo, which meant she had the best chance of seeing it.

  Except she couldn’t see anything. The canopy of trees blocked out what little light there was from the moon above. Her eyes were practically useless.

  “Stop moving,” she whispered to the people behind her.

  The sound of movement behind her immediately ceased. They may not have been full-fledged hunters yet, but the others were quick to follow instructions. With them silent, Syl strained her ears for any sign of movement. Any sign of anything.

  Still nothing.

  Did it stop moving? Why can’t I even hear Reylo anymore? Does that mean he’s…? No, stop. Don’t think like that. Focus.

  Syl took a breath and concentrated again on listening to the woods around her. It was deathly silent.

  Either the Lake-Wolf was still, or it was moving so quietly she had no chance of hearing it. Given what she remembered of her dream, it was probably the latter. Which meant it was getting ready to strike again.

  There was one other thing Syl could try, but she hesitated. She’d been able to feel the Lake-Wolf back at the village. She couldn’t see or hear it, but she’d been sure it was there. Maybe she could do that again?

  But what does it mean if I can?

  Syl forced her eyes shut to dismiss the thought. That was a problem for later. Surviving, and keeping her friends alive, were the important things. With her eyes still closed, Syl focused on the memory of what it felt like back on the roof. What was it that made her so sure the Lake-Wolf had been looking at her?

  The sense of malice. The hate. It was palpable, and she reached out to feel that again.

  At first, there was nothing, but she didn’t give up. She visualized the woods around her. The trees, the knotty roots, and the uneven ground, she let her imagination build it all in a net centered on her. And like a spider’s web, she felt each strand of that net for the same sense of hate from the village.

  From the first strand… nothing. The second, also nothing. The third, still nothing. Is there any point to this? Was she really crazy? Was it all just her imagination?

  No, it wasn’t. She couldn’t place it, yet, but that same ball of hate from the night before was definitely there somewhere. Like a miasma hanging between the trees and along the forest floor. All around her, but not.

  It’s like an echo of where the Lake-Wolf was. Understanding hit her like a slap. She dismissed the strands of her net where the echo was weakest and fixated her concentration on those that remained. Plucking them one by one, she finally found the source of the malice.

  A bundle of hate so concentrated Syl found her stomach turning and she had to fight back the urge to vomit. Worse though, as she pushed past the sensation, was the location of the Lake-Wolf.

  It was behind them.

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