“Elise!”

Hain picked up the pace and ran after the girl with all his might. Where in the world was she going!

She was on the other side of the rickety bridge, near the woods he and the druid passed to get to Lárhus.

But she was too far ahead of him. Even if he conjured the lush grass, he still wouldn’t be able to catch up to her.

Then, as if she read his distressed mind, she slowed down and halted. But it wasn’t because she heard his cries. Something else caught her attention.

He shot his eyes open, trying to catch a glimpse of what made her stop yet saw nothing out of the ordinary.

There was nothing or no one here, just the ominous and thick woods. He shouted for the umpteenth time. She finally heard him.

Elise turned to face him. Her widened eyes, fraught with horror, darted from side to side. Scared witless for some unknown reason, she hushed him and gestured him to run away before hiding behind a gorse bush.

Without knowing why but acutely aware of the fright etched in her pearl-black eyes, Hain cowered behind a massive tree a few inches from the wooden bridge.

What could she have seen, he thought, while trying to find the source of her distress.

Then he heard it, the sound that gave Elise the heebie-jeebies.

Shuffling.

It grew louder and louder with each passing second. His eyes narrowed. The strange din came from the woods.

He held his breath and ran through every nook and cranny with his flickering and glassy eyes, trying to catch any shadow or figure that closed in on them.

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The thickets parted.

A man came through. He was covered in black from top to toe. Hain frowned. The stranger dragged a black bag across the blade of grass. His steps were slow and deliberate, not in a hurry.

Too occupied by the bag he dragged through the grass, the man failed to notice the bush Elise hid behind rattle as he passed by.

His eyes narrowed. Why did the man look familiar? But he never had the chance to ruminate more than this.

The hooded figure came to a standstill halfway across the bridge and didn’t budge an inch. He stared at the shimmering moat for what felt like ages.

Then he did something that did not make sense – not at first. The man poured out whatever was inside the black bag into the moat.

Before retreating to the woods he came from, the stranger paid his respects to the dark body of water. That’s when Hain noticed something that chilled him to the bone.

Boots. It was the man from the abandoned restroom!

With bated breath, he glanced at Lárhus and prayed that the gnomes would open the gates and catch the intruder red-handed.

But nothing happened. Lárhus was as still as the dead in their tombs and unaware.

Hain rushed towards the bush as soon as the man disappeared out of sight. A gasp escaped from Elise’s lips as she turned around, perhaps expecting to see another stranger, before breathing out in relief.

Her blinking eyes mirrored his own ones. “Hain? What are you doing here?”

“I should be the one asking that. Why did you—”

“It’s him, isn’t it? The one we saw back in the restroom.”

He nodded. “I… I think so. We should go and call for help before—”

Elise rose to her feet even before he finished his sentence and was about to run after the man with the boots.

Hain grabbed her arm before she darted into the ominous woods without batting an eye. Had she lost her mind?

“Where are you going!”

“We have to stop him before he slips away!”

“This is not your calling, Elise! We need to speak to your father and tell him to—”

“He doesn't care, don’t you see? That’s why I must do something! I can’t just stay put and do nothing knowing one of us might be in danger!”

Hain drew out a deep breath. She wasn’t going to listen to him no matter what he said or did. Although reluctant, he released his grip and let her sprint into the woods.

Left alone in the dead of night, he watched the beckoning woods with a heavy heart. Should he follow her? No, it was too dangerous…

But what if something bad happened to her? In deep thought, pondering whether to follow her or return to Lárhus and call for help, he made up his mind.

Swearing through gritted teeth, hacked off more than anything, he let the thorny thickets swallow him into the depths of the woods blanketed in eerie shadows.

Regret washed over him as soon as everything plunged into pitch-black darkness, but the damage was done. There was no turning back now.