The rain had stopped by morning, but the sky was still gloomy. Faith headed for Daena’s house, watching for Willet or Destiny on the way. She didn’t see either of them. At Daena’s house, Faith pressed the button for the doorbell. There was no answer. Maybe she was out. Another worry drifted into Faith’s mind.

She tried the knob, and it turned. That couldn’t be good. Faith pushed the door open further, hoping Daena had just forgotten and left it unlocked. Faith could see down the hall to the sitting room, where Daena lay on the carpeted floor with a deep gash across her. She was alive, her hands pressed over the wound. Faith ran to her, pressing her hands over Daena’s shaking ones.

Daena stared at Faith with a deep worry in her eyes, but no fear. “Sheriff Willet came for me.” Her voice was quiet and shook. She almost managed a smile. “He didn’t know what he was looking for.” All traces of the smile vanished. “Ninivus doesn’t have your daughter. The one responsible for all of this does. Quivis.” Her voice had become more strained. The bleeding of the wound hadn’t slowed. “It has to be him, the one Lily told me about.”

“We need to get you help,” Faith said.

Daena shook her head. “It’s too late…” She pulled her hands out from under Faith’s and reached up to her pendant. She undid the clasp of the chain, then took Faith’s hands away from the wound. She put the pendant in Faith’s hands and closed them around it. “The wyvern blood is the only way to stop Ninivus now.” She breathed shallowly, each breath a wheeze. “Never let it break.” Her hands slipped from Faith’s, her eyes staring off at nothing.

She was gone… Faith stared at the red glass pendant, her hands shaking. Who was Quivis? A creak came from the door and she looked back down the hall. She hadn’t closed the door all the way, but it was opening now. Faith ran straight ahead, up the two steps into the small kitchen. She looked around for somewhere to hide, not knowing who was coming.

She spotted the closet in the corner and went inside. It was only occupied by a bucket, a mop, and a broom. Faith slowed her breathing and listened. Another creak came. She put the chain of the pendant around her neck, fastening the clasp. She didn’t want it to slide out of her pocket and break.

“I know you’re here, Faith,” Willet said. “I saw you come in here.”

Faith’s breath caught, but she didn’t move. She heard heavy boots on the stairs, then in the kitchen. She breathed slower, not daring to move.

“What did Daena Harold tell you?” Willet asked. The stairs creaked again as he left the kitchen. “It’s no use hiding, Faith.” His voice was low, as though he was trying to be soothing. He didn’t succeed. “I’ll take you to Suzie if you join us.”

Faith was tense all over. She focused on what Daena had said, that Quivis had Suzie. Maybe Willet could take her to Suzie, but this wasn’t the way to get her daughter back. And for all she knew, Willet would just kill her as soon as he found her. Willet didn’t say anything more, and Faith didn’t hear anything else. She opened the door a crack. The kitchen was empty. She looked around the corner of the door and saw the living room was empty too, other than Daena.

A short hall led off the kitchen, straight ahead to a door to the backyard. Faith closed the closet door quietly and went to the back door. The window was fogged over. As soon as she was outside and over the short white picket fence, she ran. She didn’t look back, and she didn’t stop until she reached Riley’s house.

He looked up from his papers when she ran inside, then he stood. “What happened?”

“Willet killed Daena,” Faith said, fighting to catch her breath. She told him all Daena had said about the pendant.

Riley glanced at the front window, then he closed the curtain, leaving the room gloomy. The only light came through the kitchen window. Faith had already locked the door, but she still didn’t feel safe.

“I’ll call Holtby,” Riley said. “He needs to know about Daena.”

Faith went with him into the kitchen. He didn’t seem to mind. After Riley told Holtby what had happened, Riley hung up the phone.

“We’ll leave for Eads today,” Riley said. “We need a few things from the store first.” He glanced at the front windows again. “I don’t think Willet knows you’ve been staying here.”

“Do your notes say anything about Quivis?” Faith asked.

Riley shook his head. “No, nothing. They don’t say anything about wyvern blood or a pendant either.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Hopefully we’ll find something at Sky and Sea.”

The two of them left for the store on foot. From the mostly empty parking lot, Faith could see Destiny Park, but there was no one there. When she looked back at the store, the lights were out. She spotted Mr. Trindle’s car, but the other cars could be there for the few other stores nearby.

“Were the lights out when we got here?” Faith asked.

“I’m not sure,” Riley said. “The sign says it’s open.”

The two of them looked at each other, then they went inside the store. Messengers slunk through the aisles, leaving wet trails like slugs. There was no one at the registers, and no one in the aisles. A trail of red led down past the aisles toward the other end of the store.

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“What’s that way?” Riley asked.

Faith stared at the trail of red, tense all over. “Mr. Trindle’s office.”

The trail wasn’t just drips of red. Someone had been dragged. Faith and Riley hurried along the other side of the registers, as far from the messenger filled aisles as they could be. Neither of them said it, but they had to find whoever had left that trail. When they reached the other end of the store, Faith could see a light from the office. The door was open a crack, and the trail led inside.

Faith pushed the door open. The light overhead flickered. A gray metal desk occupied the space and Mr. Trindle lay on the floor in front of it. Faith knelt beside him. He lay on his side, with a long metal pipe through him. Red had soaked through his suit and made a puddle on the floor around him. He gasped, trying to say something. Riley stayed by the door, likely watching for messengers. Mr. Trindle grabbed the front of Faith’s shirt, trying to pull her closer. She leaned closer.

“I saw something in the lake.” His voice came out as a raspy whisper. “And it saw me.”

“Who did this?” Faith asked. They had to call for help or get him out of there.

“Destiny Crass is alive,” he whispered. “She’s strong…” His eye started to close.

“Mr. Trindle,” Faith said. She didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t respond, his eyes half closed, staring past her.

A shiver ran through her. Faith forced back the tears that tried to get free. How could they stop Ninivus when he had so many messengers and if Destiny could do something like this? Riley pulled Faith to her feet. She was shaking. There was a phone on the desk, but Riley picked it up before Faith could. Faith barely heard what Riley said. She stared at the door, but no messengers came in.

Riley set the phone down, then took Faith’s hand and led her back past the registers. The messengers writhed in the aisles, some of them creeping closer. Faith and Riley walked faster, stopping outside the store. Faith stared at Destiny Park, feeling like she was trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Riley hadn’t let go of her hand, didn’t let go until Holtby was running toward them. Holtby was alone.

“Where is he?” Holtby asked.

“In his office,” Riley said.

Faith looked back at the store. The lights had come back on. Riley headed back toward the store and Faith forced herself to follow. The messengers were gone from the aisles, but the trail of blood remained. Faith and Riley led Holtby to Mr. Trindle’s office. He was still lying there with the metal pipe through him.

Holtby had gone ashen pale. He glanced around, how he had on the way to the office. “It doesn’t look like anything was taken. I’ll check, but I’m not sure this was a robbery. It would have taken a lot of force to impale someone that far with a pipe that thick.”

“He said Destiny is alive and she’s strong,” Riley said. “We’ve seen her around town.”

Holtby frowned hard. “Destiny Crass? I remember when she went missing.” He shook his head. “I saw her last night in the park. She...became something else.” What did that mean? “Did you see anything else? Things have been happening all over town.”

Faith could tell Riley was deciding what to say.

“There were dark, wet things in the aisles,” Riley said. “A lot of them.”

Holtby got even paler at this. “People have been seeing a lot of those lately. I’ll take a look around.”

“Has anyone else gone missing?” Faith asked.

Holtby looked at her with pity in his eyes that she didn’t like. “No. We haven’t found your daughter either. I’m sorry. Now Willet is missing, not that we can prove he killed Daena. I’ll call for someone to come get Mr. Trindle.” He looked at Riley. “The two of you can go home. Let me know if you think of anything else.”

Faith and Riley went back to Riley’s house. Faith sat. It was hard to believe Mr. Trindle was really gone, that Destiny had impaled him with a pipe. Riley came back from the kitchen with two cups of coffee. They drank in silence.

“We’ll leave for Eads in the morning,” Riley said.

Faith nodded.

Riley went back to his notes. Daylight dwindled, the sun disappearing. Riley had lit the candle. He started to gather his notes when a creak came from the kitchen.

Riley went into the kitchen and came back with a knife. “Nothing.”

The creak came again, this time from the bedroom. Faith stood, wishing she had a knife too. Something pulled itself out of the darkness of the bedroom, as though it had been a part of it. The messenger took a step closer. Riley ran at the messenger, plunging the knife into it. He pulled the knife out and the messenger became nothing more than a puddle. Faith stared at the darkness of the bedroom, and so did Riley. Nothing more came out of it.

Riley went in there and lit the candle. Nothing was wet and there weren’t any messengers. No more creaks came from the kitchen or the bedroom. Riley set the knife on the table next to the bed. Faith helped him gather his notes and books and take them into the bedroom. He blew out the candle in the living room. Faith closed the bedroom door and locked it.

“I’ll keep watch first,” Faith said.

Riley looked about to protest, but it turned into a yawn. “Wake me in an hour.”

“Two,” Faith said.

Riley didn’t protest and lay on his pile of blankets. Faith sat on the bed and leaned back against the wood headboard, watching the door. The candle flickered, almost going out. It was a new candle. A creak came from the other room, then the candle went out. Faith heard a loud crack and the bedroom door swung open. She grabbed the knife, just as hands grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her. She hit the floor hard in the living room and heard the knife sliding away across the floor.

Faith stood quickly. Nothing felt broken, just bruised. The curtains were open a crack, moonlight spilling in. Faith saw the knife and reached for it, but another hand reached it at the same time. This one had small blue scales all over it. The hand pulled away fast and Faith heard a grunt in the darkness. Faith grabbed the knife, backing away in the ray of moonlight. Riley joined her there. The darkness in the bedroom doorway moved. Faith could barely make out someone standing there. That hand hadn’t belonged to a messenger.