The lovely Google lady assured me I had arrived at my destination as I pulled into the parking lot a few blocks away from Mrs. Park’s house.

“Whew,” I said. “That was an adventure.” I looked over my shoulder. “Everyone still alive?”

Olivia had both hands over her eyes. “Are we there yet?”

“Yes, drama queen.” I faced forward and put the car into park. “You know, I think I did pretty good. That’s the first time I’ve ever driven a tank in the snow.”

“This is a truck.”

“And the roads weren’t even plowed!”

I heard a noise from the front seat beside me.

“What are you whining about?” I said to Conrad. “Didn’t you do enough of that on the way here?”

He whined-growled, then let out a loud chuff. That was about all the commentary he could manage since he was in his wolf form.

“Olivia, can you pass me that backpack?”

As she handed it over, she said, “What’s in there anyway? I brought everything I need.”

“It’s Conrad’s clothes, in case he needs to change.”

“He better not change! My god! I still don’t think you can sell the world on the idea he’s a dog, but it’s going to be a lot harder if he’s walking around in jeans and a shirt.”

“I know that, but it’s better safe than sorry. He’s body shy.”

Conrad growled and woofed at me.

“You don’t get to bark at me. You are.” I turned to Olivia. “And if he has to answer questions about why he looks like a wolfman, he’ll probably want to do it dressed.”

“This is already a disaster. What’s he even doing here?”

“He can understand you, you know. You can talk to him.”

For a moment, Olivia looked uncomfortable, then she muttered, “Sorry, Conrad.”

I went on, “And, frankly, I’m surprised you have to ask that question.” I put my arm over his shoulders and ruffled the fur at the back of his neck. “He’s our muscle! Nobody’s going to mess with someone that has a wolf.”

Olivia glanced at him. “Okay. I won’t argue with that.”

“All right, let’s go!”

I got out of the truck and went around to open the door for Conrad. Olivia gathered up her messenger bag, put on her hat and gloves, then opened the extended-cab door beside me. Once everyone was out, I locked up.

When I turned around, Conrad was tensed and poised with his nose slightly in the air. I sniffed, then covered my nose.

“Geez! What is that—” I stopped mid-question and let my hand drop back to my side.

I remembered Anna, in my dream, had talked about a smell that had covered the town. My stomach sank.

“Conrad,” I said, “are you okay?”

It took him a second to nod.

Olivia put her nose in the air. “Oof. That is…that is weird. Is it an animal?”

I hesitated, but Olivia was capable and mature beyond her years. She was my ally, not a child. “I think it’s whatever’s been taking those people.”

Instinctively, I reached out for Conrad. He bumped against me and let me hold his ear.

“Come on,” Olivia said. “Let’s get this done.”

As we walked to Mrs. Park’s house, I asked Olivia why we hadn’t pulled up in front. She said it was because Mrs. Park would have been able to hear the truck.

“And that’s a problem?”

“We’re putting the ward down without her knowledge.”

“Huh. That seems…morally dubious.”

“The woman’s obsessed with magic. I don’t want her fiddling around with it. She won’t be able to sense if she breaks it. Then she’ll be defenseless, and there goes all my work.”

“It’s Mrs. Park. She knows better than to bother a magic circle.”

“It’s not a magic circle.”

“She’d still know better.”

“Jacky told me not to ask her because she might say no.”

“And you didn’t argue with him because you didn’t want to deal with her hanging over your shoulder while you worked.”

“Fine! You caught me! But I have to focus, Emerra.”

“Don’t worry. If she sees us and comes out, I promise I’ll distract her.”

Mrs. Park’s house was exactly like I’d imagined it: small, squat, sturdy, and colorful. I could see dimples in the snow where her yard ornaments were waiting for spring to come again. All her window blinds were down and closed, but at the back of the house, I could see some light bleeding around the edges.

“I kind of want to see inside,” I said. “Should I go knock? Do you think she’d make us tea?”

“Don’t you dare,” Olivia said.

She opened her bag and pulled out a stick. Considering the nothing I knew about magic, it might have been a wand, but to me it looked like a stick. There were leaves still attached to it.

“Is there anything you need me to do?” I asked.

“No. Try to stay out of my way…and keep watch.”

She’d said the last three words in a quiet, serious voice. Maybe she saw me as an ally too. If so, I would not disappoint her.

When I saluted, she rolled her eyes.

Conrad stayed beside me as I walked around the property. I stopped at each corner and scanned everything in sight.

The clouds that had followed us into town had dropped an extra inch of snow on the roads, but here they were only crowding the sky. They hung low over the bare trees and buildings. Out on the main street, in front of Mrs. Park’s house, there was a long line of streetlights, casting sharp shadows that disappeared into the rest of the darkness. At the back of the house, there was only a mess of black shapes.

“Can you see better in the dark than I can?” I asked Conrad.

He looked up at me as if I was an idiot for expecting him to know something like that.

“Right. Can you see better than a normal human?”

He nodded.

“Good.”

We paced while Olivia worked. I glanced at her every time we got close. The first five times we passed, she was walking around the yard, staring hard at the ground, sometimes pointing the stick downward, sometimes mumbling something. I couldn’t hear anything, but I could see her lips shaping the white cloud of her breath. On the sixth pass, my cheeks were nearly frozen, and Olivia was kneeling by the front left corner of the house, drawing on the siding with a white marker.

My eyes followed her snow tracks from the muddle at the front of the house, all the way to where she was kneeling.

So much for Mrs. Park not knowing.

Olivia saw me watching her. “I’m almost done.”

“How much longer?”

“Two minutes. Maybe three.”

I continued my surveillance, content in the knowledge that our work was nearly finished and I was probably a better spy than Olivia.

When I reached the corner of the property and turned to look down the street, a shiver ran through my body.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The scene looked exactly like it had on every other pass—the undisturbed light from the streetlights, the motionless shadows.

But I didn’t like it.

I stood there, watching for a few seconds, then slowly turned away.

Conrad didn’t.

When I finally noticed his absence, I turned back. He was still at the corner, staring at the empty road. The hair on his neck rose, and his ears sank toward his head.

I went over and knelt beside him so it’d be easier for me to follow the direction of his eyes.

About the time Conrad started to growl, I saw the figure.

At first it was so far away that all I could make out was movement. As it drew closer, I saw its shifting form. Dark shapes collapsed and spread as it walked. I couldn’t tell where the thing ended and the shadows around it began. Then it passed under a lamp.

It was still too far away to make out anything clearly, but I knew one thing for certain—I hated it.

“Come on.” I stood up. “We have to get Olivia.”

I ran back to the house. Conrad followed me. When I stopped next to Olivia, Conrad turned to face the way we’d come.

“Olivia,” I whispered urgently. “Tell me your done.”

“I already told you,” she said, “I need another minute.”

I glanced at Conrad. His ears were flat out to the sides, and his bared fangs looked almost as big as a vampire’s.

“I can give you ten seconds” was my counteroffer.

Olivia didn’t even look up. “That’s not how this works.”

“Something’s coming.”

That made her pause. “Is it a person?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. We have to get back to the truck.”

I heard a woof behind me. Conrad shoved his muzzle hard against my leg. When I looked at him, he tossed his nose in the direction of the figure.

I stared at him in confusion.

He repeated the motion.

Oh, geez.

He wasn’t motioning back to the figure, he was motioning to the truck.

I turned to Olivia. “New plan! Do a really good job on that ward, but please do it as fast as you can.”

I noticed her hands were shaking. Since she’d taken off her gloves, it could have been from the cold—but I doubted it.

“If you want me to hurry,” she said, “you need to back off so I can focus.”

I went out to the street. The coy, sickly, rancid-sweet smell was more noticeable now. Conrad put himself between me and whatever was coming. We stared down the road, looking for any movement.

Nothing.

Then it appeared—a blink of shadows skirting around a patch of light. It had halved the distance between us. No human or animal should have been able to move that fast. Despite the fact I couldn’t see its face, I knew it was watching me.

I ran back to Olivia. “It’s time to go!”

“One second.” The witch’s voice sounded like she was restraining it with chains.

“My desire to live says now.”

I looked around. Where was Conrad?

Olivia put her hand on the mark she’d finished drawing and closed her eyes. There was a bright flash of light under her palm, and the invisible boundary around the building briefly glowed white.

“You’re done?” I asked.

“I’m done,” Olivia said.

She reached for her bag, but before she could get it, I grabbed her arm and hauled her to the front of the house. I pounded on the door while Olivia tried to get steady on her feet.

“Mrs. Park!” I cried, doing my best not to sound hysterical. “Mrs. Park, it’s me! Emerra!”

I turned my head to see if I could spot Conrad. He was standing in the middle of the street. Everything about his posture said he was ready to fight.

Nope! I thought. Nope-ity, nope, nope! This is not happening.

I slammed my fist against the door and decided that hysterical might be the better option. It was certainly the honest one.

“Mrs. Park! Please let us in!”

Olivia grabbed the sleeve of my coat.

I heard a noise behind the door, then it opened to reveal Mrs. Park’s startled face.

“Emerra!”

Her surprise was understandable. My appearance was probably a little off-putting, what with the terrified tears crawling down my cheeks and the redheaded witch clinging to me.

“I’ll explain later!” I cried. “May we come in?”

Mrs. Park opened her door wide. “Of course!”

I grabbed Olivia, shoved her inside, and ran back to the road.

The smell was pungent now, and I could see the thing moving out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t dare look directly at it. I was afraid I’d lose my nerve.

I crouched next to Conrad. “Come on. We have to get inside.”

I put my arm over his shoulders and pulled, but I couldn’t budge him.

“Conrad, please! I don’t think you can fight this thing!”

I wrapped both arms around his neck. Despite my coat and his fur, I could feel the growl rumbling through his throat. I braced myself and hauled. If only I could get him to look away!

I might have moved him half an inch.

I let go, made a fist, and punched his flank as hard as I could. There was a snarl, a flash of teeth—then a sudden stillness.

I had winced when he snapped at me, but now I peeled my eyes open and glared as I spoke very fast: “Your job is to protect us. We’re in Mrs. Park’s house, not out here. Get your fuzzy butt inside right now!”

I scrambled to my feet and ran to the house. Conrad ran beside me.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, Olivia slammed the door and threw the lock. Conrad and I dropped to the floor in a tangle. I felt him pushing his head under and around my arm, and I heard him whining, but I was too busy trying to catch my breath to do more than put my hand on his head.

“Are we safe?” I gasped at Olivia.

“If anything’s out there, it can’t cross the ward unless it’s invited in.”

“You don’t see it?”

Olivia pulled down one of the slats of the front window’s blinds and looked out at the street. “Not yet.”

“Emerra,” Mrs. Park said, “what’s going on?”

She was standing behind us, staring down at me and Conrad. She hadn’t bothered turning on the overhead light. I could only see her expression by the dim light coming from the lamp on the end table beside her, but it was enough to see she was frightened.

I untangled myself and sat up. “Sorry, Mrs. Park. We didn’t want to scare you like this.”

“I’m afraid you’ve failed.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

“Is this about all those people disappearing?”

I nodded.

A scowl crossed her face, but then she drew herself up. “I suppose I should be grateful that Mr. Noctis was at least willing to accept my decision to stay here. I understand that, thanks to Olivia, I have a ward now?”

“The mansion would be safer,” Olivia said.

“This is my home. I’ve been here a long time, and my roots are deep. I’ll take my chances.”

Olivia didn’t respond. At first I thought she hadn’t heard Mrs. Park, but then the witch said, “I see something.”

I stood up.

She said, “The wind’s picked up, but I think I can hear something.”

“No!” I walked over to her. “Don’t listen to it!” When I touched Olivia’s arm, she turned to me. “It’s nothing but the wind.”

We both looked through the gap in the blinds at the sliver of the street beyond the window.

A misshapen figure hovered outside the edge of the light coming from the porch.

“It’s a person,” Olivia said.

“That’s not a person.”

“They’re limping! What if they need help?”

“That’s not a person!”

“I’m going out there.”

Mrs. Park spoke up: “You said it’s dangerous to go out there.”

Olivia moved toward the door. “I’ll stay in the ward, but I need to get a better look. I’m not going to leave someone limping around in the dark, in the middle of winter, when there might be a monster out there!”

I grabbed her wrist and jerked her back. “Olivia Oliversen, you will stay here. If you go outside, you will die.”

Silence fell. The whole room paused. Olivia stared at me.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll stay here.”

I let go of her.

The awkward silence broke when Mrs. Park clapped her hands and rubbed them together. “So, we have to wait until that thing goes away? That may take a while. Who’d like a cup of tea? I have some excellent herbal blends, perfect for an evening drink.”

“Tea sounds lovely,” Olivia murmured.

“Emerra?”

My smile felt shaky, but it was still a relief. “I thought you might be a tea person, Mrs. Park. Can I help you make it?”

“Oh, no.” She waved a hand at me. “I don’t need help.”

“But I want to see your kitchen! You have sun catchers, don’t you?”

She clicked her tongue, but she smiled as well. “Why don’t you follow me in, and you can introduce me to your new pet.”

My new pet?

I stepped away from the window.

Mrs. Park motioned to the wolf in her living room. “I knew you liked big dogs, Emerra, but I have to admit, that specimen is even bigger than I would have expected.”

My cheeks grew warm. “He’s…uh…he’s not my pet.”

“You didn’t pick a stray up off the street, did you? He looks too healthy.”

“This is Conrad, Mrs. Park.”

Then that marvelous old woman won my eternal devotion by immediately turning to him and saying, “Oh. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, Conrad.” After a microscopic pause, she added, “You look very handsome like that.”

I leaned close to him. “Told you so.”

[https://i.imgur.com/f011ZNa.jpg]

It was almost ten—long after the figure had left—before we felt safe enough to try to get to the truck. We thanked Mrs. Park for her impromptu hospitality and warned her not to go out when it was dark. She assured us she would be careful.

We picked up Olivia’s bag and the backpack with Conrad’s clothes, then, with only modest reluctance, the three of us stepped out of the ward and into the empty road.

The smell was much fainter, and everything was still. A quarter inch of snow had fallen while we were drinking tea, but it had already soaked into the asphalt and pavement. Water drops flew off our shoes and paws as we walked.

Conrad moved around me and Olivia, trying to see everywhere at once. I cast nervous glances at the shadows we passed, but I wasn’t constantly scanning the area the way I should have been. I was too afraid of what I might see.

Halfway to the truck, we found a round print in the snow off the sidewalk.

“It looked like a person to you?” I asked.

“Yes,” Olivia said.

I pulled out my phone and took a picture. We hurried on.

We arrived at the truck without incident.

I used the key fob to unlock the doors while we were still ten feet away. “Who’s taking back seat?”

There was a bark from Conrad.

I looked at Olivia.

She shrugged. “It’s only fair. He had to ride up front on the way in.”

“Aren’t people usually eager to call shotgun?” I opened my door and the extended-cab door so Conrad could jump in.

Olivia got in the passenger side. “I guess that depends on who’s driving.”

Conrad didn’t whine at all on the way home. He sprawled across the back seat, and he was so quiet, I had to use the rearview mirror to assure myself he was still breathing.

Olivia was also quiet.

After glancing at her a few times, I said, “See? All I needed was a bit of practice.”

She turned away from her window. “What are you talking about?”

“There are no gasps or moaning about my terrible driving and your eminent death. I must be doing better.”

“Or our perception of danger is relative.”

“Yeah,” I grumbled. “That could be it.” In a louder voice, I added, “I’m sorry, by the way.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look at me.

I went on, “About ordering you around. Back at Mrs. Park’s house. I know it wasn’t my place—”

“Just tell me how you did that thing with your eyes.”

I turned my head enough to look at her before returning my attention to the road. “My eyes?”

“How did you do that thing with your eyes?”

“I didn’t do anything with my eyes.”

“They flashed golden.”

I smiled because…well, it had to be a joke. Right?

“They did not.”

“I was staring right at them, Emerra. You told me not to go outside, and they flashed this bright shade of gold. And not a little bit either. All of them—all the black, anyway.”

Her tone was enough to convince me she wasn’t kidding.

“Weird,” I mumbled.

“It was freaky—that’s what it was.”

I had to force myself to shrug since my shoulders suddenly felt heavy. “I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t do it on purpose. Can we chalk it up to me being a freak?”

“I guess we’ll have to.”

We rode in silence for a while.

“Olivia, can I ask you a few questions about magic?”

“I don’t know anything about what kind of a freak you are.”

“Nah, I want to know about something else. See, I have this idea for a Christmas gift for Darius.”

“I thought you already bought your victim their present.”

“Oh, it’s not for my person. Jacky asked for help.”

“And you want to use magic?”

“I want to know if something’s possible, and what it would take to make it happen.”