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"Oh?"

"I'm not leaving this cottage."

She opens her mouth, ready with an argument. I beat her to it.

"Until we know who's behind this..."

I meet her eyes.

"...or what is behind this..."

Then I glance toward Sayer.

"...nobody in this house is facing it alone."

For a heartbeat, Carys just looks at me. There are a dozen emotions in her eyes. Relief.

Frustration. Disbelief. Something older. Something neither of us is ready to name.

Finally, she exhales.

"I suppose arguing with you would be pointless."

"It usually is."

A reluctant smile escapes her before she catches it.

"I remember that being one of your more irritating qualities."

"I've been told I have several."

"I can think of at least ten."

"For now," I say, allowing myself the smallest smile, "I'll settle for keeping everyone alive."

Outside, the crows take flight all at once, disappearing into the darkening October sky. None of us notice the figure standing just beyond the tree line. Watching. Waiting. Smiling.

As the countdown to Halloween continues.

9

CARYS

OCTOBER 21 ~ 10 DAYS UNTIL HALLOWEEN

Iwake before sunrise. Not because I slept well. Because I didn't. Every creak of the cottage had sounded deliberate. Every gust of wind against the windows had become footsteps in my imagination.

At some point after midnight, I'd finally drifted off on the sofa. Rhett had insisted on taking the armchair. Not because it was comfortable. Because it gave him a clear view of both the front door and the hallway.

Typical.

When I step into the living room, he's already awake. Of course he is. He's standing near the front window with a mug of coffee in one hand, watching dawn creep across the gardens.

"You ever sleep?" I ask.

"Sometimes."

"You should try it more often."