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Ahead, not fifty feet away, the forest ash in shih to cut tall, inky shadows She could make out the tree limbs on beds of needles; the individual stones around her banked fire, the coals dozing under a blanket of ashes; even the glearo, Buck’s head raised and cocked a question at her sudden appearance in the ht, especially since she’d kicked him out of the tent

"Holy shit," she whispered, and watched in a kind of awe as her breath sraybut blue She’d set her boots outside the tent, and now she fuers suddenly clumsy, mouth dry I should wake up Toet the others Yes, but she wanted to be certain first She jammed her bare feet into her boots Too late, she realized that in her rush, she’d forgotten to shake them out To her relief, her toes discovered that no one had dropped in for a visit

She’d arto her feet, she darted that ith Buck galu after In only a few seconds, she splashed into a pool of light so intense that what she first saw, to her right, was only the long fingerling of her shadow as it ran away She could see Buck’s shadow, too, and the double glea what in hell had her so worked up Turning on her heels, she looked left and up through a break in the canopy

And into a night sky where the thick web of clouds had, finally, pulled apart Only the brightest stars showed That was because the h and full--and white

"Oh my God" Her hand flew to her mouth "You’re there, you’re really there, you’re back, you’re theShe heard a soft shush of a foot over earth

Then, to her left, the smell rolled from the deep black of the forest

She hadn’t lied She really did believe that her monster only worked one-way: a drop behind the eyes of soht have been there for a while, although not too long Earlier, she’d been outside with To, keen, cold metal of Superior, the fresh resin of woods, the fire--and Tom, of course She’d been very focused on him, his taste, the feel of his ainst hers His scent saturated her skin and hair and every part of her Toether was so sweet as to eclipse all else

Now, though, she recalled the dreae waspan that shooods and a blur that reen, but steely blue and sparking with ht where small waves curled over rocks

That hen the monster raised its head and took a whiff, and she woke

"It’s all right," she said to the wolfdog, not knowing if this was true Yet she sray mist, a hint of apple

And rot That was there, too Still

She htn’t have spotted him if not for the estion of a person there, a stick figure cut out of black construction paper

At the sight, everything in her that was huh, with its scaly arms and needle teeth Wolf was a buddy, soh the htmare and make it real

This would end in only one of tays: with Wolf dead or-- eeny-meeny-miny-mo--Tom, Chris, Ellie Take your pick

"You can’t do this, Wolf," she said to that dark silhouette in the trees "They’ll kill you" Or I will, to protect them "I want to ith Tom I’m sorry, Wolf Go back to Penny She needs you I wish I could help you be Siain, but I don’t kno I don’t know if you can" Or if I should try