"Circles are just straight lines that like to hug themselves!" Elder Thornberry's voice came from behind a large oak. He peeked around it, now wearing what appeared to be a colander as a hat. "Try skipping! The forest respects enthusiasm!"
"I am not skipping," Sam stated flatly.
Mac chuckled. "Afraid it might damage your tough-guy image?"
"I'm more concerned about dignity than image."
"Says the man who turns into a wolf and runs around naked in the moonlight," Delilah quipped.
Sam felt his ears warm. "I don't run around naked. I run around as a wolf. Completely different."
"I've always wondered," Delilah said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "When you shift back to human form, where do your clothes come from?"
"Magic," Mac answered with a straight face. "Very dignified magic."
Elder Thornberry reappeared, now standing upside down on a branch. "No, no, no! South by southeast! The mushrooms always lie on Thursdays!"
They turned right this time, following a path that narrowed until they were walking single file. Sam noticed the paired trees were growing closer together, their trunks sometimes fused.
"Time feels wrong here," Delilah whispered. "My watch is running backward."
Sam checked his phone. The screen showed three different times simultaneously.
"Look!" Mac pointed ahead where the forest suddenly opened into a clearing.
They stepped out—and found themselves exactly where they'd entered the forest an hour ago.
"Perfect," Sam growled. "We've accomplished absolutely nothing."
"Not nothing," Elder Thornberry said, suddenly beside them. He pressed something into Sam's hand—a small wooden carving of two wolves standing back-to-back. "Sometimes you must lose your way to find your path. The Collector seeks pairs that resonate. Like calls to like!"
With that, he skipped into the trees, singing the now-familiar melody that had haunted them since the library.
Sam stared at the wooden carving in his palm. Two wolves, back-to-back, their tails intertwined. Something about it made his skin prickle.
"What does that old coot mean by 'like calls to like'?" he muttered, pocketing the carving.
Delilah sighed. "At least we're out of those endless loops. Maybe we should?—"
A thunderous squawk interrupted her. The ground trembled as an enormous cottage on massive chicken legs stomped into view. The house swiveled toward them, then promptly turned its back and began walking away.
"Oh no you don't," Sam growled, striding after it. "We didn't spend an hour getting lost just to watch you chicken out."
Mac snorted. "Chicken out. Nice one."
"Not intentional," Sam grumbled, quickening his pace.
The house picked up speed, its enormous drumsticks propelling it with surprising agility. Each step left a footprint deep enough to serve as a kiddie pool.
"It's running away from us!" Delilah jogged alongside Sam. "How do we stop a house that doesn't want to be caught?"
Sam's wolf instincts kicked in. "Circle around. Cut off its escape route."
They split up, Mac heading right while Sam and Delilah veered left. The house, sensing their strategy, spun in a complete circle, chicken legs crossing in an awkward dance that would've been comical if it weren't so frustrating.
"Have you tried knocking with your left hand while reciting the Shifter's Code backward?" Sam suggested, remembering an obscure protocol from his childhood.
Delilah shot him a look. "That's not a thing."
