My feet root in place as terror slams into me. Prowling among mossy boulders and driftwood, silver-gray in the moonlight, are dozens of chimeras.
They crawl across the ground, spill into the water, and soar into the air, their forms shifting and changing—a deer becomes a crow, a bear becomes a seal. Purple eyes glow in the darkness like beacons, all turning toward me at once.
I step back, my legs trembling, my flashlight beam wavering.
They stalk nearer. Hisses and snarls rise, bleeding into my mind.
“Your nets cannot hold our storm, witch pet.”
“Remember the wisdom of your ancestors, who knew to let us roam.”
“We remember every cage and enchantment, every witch who tore our essence apart.”
My breaths grow shallow as the voices overlap, getting louder.
Something moves in my periphery, much too close. I whirl around, a gasp escaping. Are they flanking me like raptors?
The shadow closes in, spilling onto a log beside me. My legs feel like jelly as I step back.
Run!my inner voice yells.This was a mistake!
A tiny meow meets my ears.
I shine the flashlight at it. “Lucy?”
A fluffy white kitten with beige-tipped ears is sitting on the log, delicately licking her paw. She looks up at me with glowing purple eyes.
“You have arrived, little hunter,”she says in my head, her voice cold and powerful, completely at odds with the adorable ball of fluff in front of me.“Lower your light.”
I click the light off, blinking to try and adjust my sight to the darkness. “Sorry.”
She becomes a small silhouette in the moonlight, turning toward the chimeras on the shore.“Look at what is before you. This is what you are hunting.”
I follow her gaze to where they’re all still watching me. And in their midst…
My stomach flips, and I drop my flashlight with a clatter. Apersonis sprawled on the rocks. Chimeras surround her like hungry lions, looking down at her limp form.
“Oh my God.” I break into a run, moving as fast as the darkness and terrain allow, my steps clumsy on the uneven ground. “Get back! All of you!”
My first thought is that it’s Hazel, and the Madsens found out and… But no. It’s not her. This person is very pale with short blonde hair.
As I barge into the swarm of chimeras, wildcats hiss and wolves snarl at me, their teeth glinting in the moonlight. A bear stands on its hind legs.
My heart skips a beat, and I freeze. Am I next?
“No. Let her see,”Lucy says, her voice carrying.
A gust of wind lifts my hair, and there’s a noise like talons scraping against rock. I whirl around—only to see the fluffy kitten trotting over.
The other chimeras back up, glowering at me.
“See what becomes of those who try to consume our power,”Lucy says, filling my head.
I edge closer to the victim on the rocks, acutely aware of my audience. What’ll happen if I make a wrong move?
The person is small and frail beneath a long green cloak, a white T-shirt, and jeans. I crouch and push the locks back from her face, a zap of magic stinging my fingers like a static shock. She’s cold and damp—but her chest rises and falls rapidly, and her eyelids are fluttering.Purple light pulses in her veins like lightning in a storm cloud. Tremors pass through her body like she’s having a nightmare.
Recognition dawns as I take in her features. “Millie!”
