Page 4 of Raven in Midwinter

“And how far would I have to walk to do that? How stupid do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re stupid at all. I think you’re astounding, always have, but without fail, your first instinct is to help, and in the dark woods, not everything is safe.”

His brows furrowed. “You’re serious.”

“The trees try to warn us, but not everyone can hear them. You have to be vigilant because there’re things that want to take you away.”

“Say what you mean.”

“Be careful. That’s all I’m asking.”

“This is like when you warned Amanda’s boys not to stray off the path when they’re walking on Corvus, don’t whistle after dark, and never follow the lights. Because what they think are fireflies might not be.”

“That’s right.”

“Sometimes, in the woods, I swear I hear whispering.”

“That’s the trees.”

“So that’s not my imagination playing tricks on me?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re freaking me out now.”

“I’m not trying to. But the reality is, testing those boundaries between the seen and unseen world, when you hear voices carried on the wind, is foolish.”

He exhaled sharply. “Okay.”

“Just remember, what other people think are ridiculous superstitions are memories for some of us.”

“Yes,” he murmured, cupping my chin in his right hand, smiling down at me. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “Now, you saw foxes in the family graveyard when you were following the voice. Do I have that right?”

“Yeah. There were two, no, three. They were there, but then when I got closer, they were gone. And I know they’re probably afraid of me, but⁠—”

“They live on Corvus, where nothing is hunted, so they could fear other things, a larger predator, but not you. Not humans. They don’t associate people with harm.”

“Then why would they run?”

“I don’t think they did.”

He huffed out a breath. “But, Xan, they must have. They were there one second and gone the next.”

“Foxes carry messages from other realms. They come and go as they please, as they’re liminal creatures. I think they were there to tell you something.”

“Me?”

“Or you were supposed to see them, and then tell me.”

“What do you think they were doing there?”

“I think, for whatever reason, at the moment the veil is thin.”

“I thought the veil was only thin at Halloween or, um, Samhain?”

I smiled.