"There has been one other time that you couldn't see or smell a Lost. Do you remember?"

  "The old man?" Rider asked.

  "Not him, the others. We were in the middle of the woods there, too."

  Rider's eyes grew wide. "The le—"

  "Shhh," I said. "I think it's best no one else knows."

  "That is wise. I am... uneasy out here."

  "Can you help me to the water? Logan suggested we clean up."

  "I would like that."

  Letting me hold his arm for support, he led the way out of the woods and back to the edge of the village, where he turned toward the running water.

  We walked upstream until we were on the other side of the village. When we passed the flames, we said nothing, and I tried to avoid looking at the building altogether.

  "They have found a spot to stay the night," Rider said as we reached a stretch of river that wasn't flowing quite as fast as the rest.

  "Let's get cleaned up, then we can give them a hand with making camp," I said, walking out onto a rock.

  "How is your arm?" Rider asked, taking off his shirt to wash it out.

  "Better now that I can clean it. How's your side?"

  "It should be healed by tomorrow morning."

  "Thank you for getting me out of there."

  "Thank you for going in." Rider hesitated. "Do you know what happened to the werewolf inside?"

  A hundred thoughts went through my head. Do I tell him? Do I want to think about it? What will happen if he knows? Does he really want to know?

  Many more questions flew by before the big one came up. Why did I go in there if I wasn't going to tell him?

  After too long of a pause, I took a deep breath. "She tried to protect the children in the room."

  Rider watched the far riverbank. "That explains why she did not run. It does not explain why she did not survive."

  I splashed water on my arms and even tried to wash the blood off my pants, but it was all stalling.

  Rider waited patiently, letting me approach it at my own speed. When he was done at the river, he sat on the bank.

  Once I had cleaned up as much as I could without jumping in, I told Rider what happened inside.

  With the words came the horror of everything I had seen. I had to stop a few times to sniff and wipe my eyes. By the time I finished, I had gone numb. It was the best defense I had. Maybe the only one.

  After sitting for a while, I forced myself unsteadily to my feet and moved away from the water. I wasn't the only one that was having a hard time with the details, so I gave Rider some space for a little while. Black smoke filled the sky, and I watched as I waited.

  "I think I will go for a run," Rider said.

  "That's not a good idea. Not with that thing out there."

  "I gotta say, I agree with her," Boone said as he arrived with Logan.

  Although Logan was as quiet as Rider was, Boone was not. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d heard their approach.

  "I will hear anything if it comes near," Rider said.

  "That's true," Logan said.

  Moving to my feet again was an effort of willpower. "I don't think you will, though."

  Chapter Thirteen

  "You think this thing is quiet?" Logan asked.

  I wondered once again what could catch hold of something that could hide itself as thoroughly as a leprechaun could. "Either that or it lays in wait for someone to stumble over it."

  "What makes you think that?" Logan asked.

  I felt worn to the bone and standing in place talking wasn't helping any. "I've seen... evidence."

  "In the Path?" Logan asked. "Did you see what it was?"

  My brow furrowed and I shifted my weight from foot to foot. There was no way I could mention the leprechauns in front of anyone. "I didn't see it, and I can't tell you what I did see."

  Logan raised an eyebrow and waited for more.

  It had been a long day and I really didn't like having everyone staring at me. I kept my mouth shut in case I said too much, or, a rising possibility, in case I got ticked off at someone.

  There was movement behind them, which caught my attention. Something was coming straight at us, fast. The only thing I could do was gasp before ripping into the Path and solidifying it.

  Or almost solidifying it. The spear that was being hurled at us slowed as though it were stuck in jello before it finally fell to the ground a few feet before reaching its target. Logan and Boone turned as the weapon thudded to the ground. Rider ran toward the forest, having already seen what caused my distraction.

  When the spear hit the ground, I let the Path flow normally once again.

  "We need him alive," Logan hollered, running after Rider.

  Boone already had his gun in hand and followed.

  It was one step too far. My legs wouldn't hold me, but when I fell, I managed to stay sitting up, alert for more spears or other projectiles. Rider reached the forest first and disappeared. Logan wasn't far behind.

  Boone was more cautious. I watched him switch directions, then go into the woods off to the side.

  The sound died away and I was alone. It took a few tries to push the Path away, which was a mark of how tired I was. Once it was gone, even sitting up was difficult. I felt as though I was on a boat, going out to sea.

  It would be really stupid to lie down right here, I repeated to myself a few times.

  Maybe for just a minute.

  That was all the convincing I needed to give myself. I lay back on the ground, then rolled over to stare at the sky. Moments later, I heard feet pounding on the ground, coming in my direction. I tensed, ready to enter the Path once again and use up the last of my dying embers of power.

  "Cassie," Boone's voice came out as a command and I relaxed.

  "I'm going to need a minute," I said, not using the effort to raise my voice. "A minute and a crap-ton of caffeine."

  Boone's pace slowed. "Damnit, you scared me." His voice was more relieved than agitated. "I thought you were right behind me."

  The world spun, but I still managed to sit up. There was no way I was going to lie there and have someone standing over me.

  "I was. I was just really far behind you."

  Boone chuckled, but I think it was more of a tension reliever than anything else. "I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.”

  "Did they catch who threw the spear?" I asked.

  "No idea," Boone said. "I rounded back when I realized I'd lost you."

  He watched the forest closely, gun still in hand.

  "We need to get out of the open," Boone said. "You saved us once, I'd rather not put you to the trouble again."

  I wanted nothing more than to lie back down, but when he held out his hand, I took it.

  He hauled me to my feet, where it took me a minute to catch my balance. When I did, it was only because I was leaning heavily on Boone that I could go anywhere.

  "This sucks," I said, not quite under my breath as we moved into the woods.

  "I'm sure they've already caught the culprit," Boone said, trying to keep his voice light.

  I shook my head, but said nothing. The sucky part was feeling useless. Rider had been stabbed, for goodness sake, and he was back in action. It wasn’t as though I wanted to go running around in the forest, but I really hated becoming a burden.

  When Boone picked a spot under cover, I sat back down and leaned against the tree. He stood, alert and ready to fire on anyone that approached.

  "It's getting dark," Boone said. "We'll need to start making our way to the camp."

  "How far away is it?"

  "About a mile."

  "Yeah, right. I'll race you there."

  "I can throw you over my shoulder."

  "Ha! That's so not going to happen."

  "Right, then, back on your feet."

  I had to bite back a moan when he pulled me up once more. At this point, though, there was no use complaining—Boone was doing most of the work. It might even have been easier for him had he thrown me over his shoulder.

  We hadn't gotten far when worry began to creep in.

  I started to look around for my other partners. "Where are they?"

  "I'm sure they're fine," Boone said. "If we don't hear from them by the time we reach camp, we'll send some of the squad out to help them."

  "If Rider or Logan turn crazy, we're screwed. You know that, right?"

  Boone chuckled, but it was forced. "You haven't seen what the others can do yet."

  "Maybe she'll get the chance."

  Boone started to bring his gun around, but then the voice seemed to register with him.

  Davis stepped out of deepening shadows, Renick close behind.

  "What's the situation?" Davis asked.

  "Here, help her," Boone said, shifting me over to Davis.

  "This sucks," I said under my breath again.

  "She just saved our lives, but it had a pretty high cost," Boone said in way of explanation. "I'm going to run and check on Rider and Logan." He hesitated for a minute. "They'll hear me, right?"

  "You can't go alone," I said. Boone started to say something, but I cut him off. "No exceptions.” I grinned at him. “If you walk away on your own, we'll just have to trail behind. Way behind, in my case."

  Boone grinned. "Right. Davis, you're with me. Renick, get her back to the camp."

  Davis got me on my feet and I sagged against a tree. Then, they were gone.

  Renick watched them go before turning to me. "Come on, princess, let's move out."

  "I need a minute," I said.

  "Saving the boss man may give you a free ride with him, but not me. Let's go."

  "Remind me to punch you in the face once I get my strength back." I pushed myself away from the tree, then wavered.

  Renick put his arm around me, helping me stay on my feet while keeping his gun in hand. "You might break a nail doing that."

  "More like break my hand on your hard head." Once I steadied myself, I was able to lean on his arm and walk on my own.

  "I can't believe it’s only been one day out here and you're already falling down."

  "Pissing me off isn't going to make me move any faster."

  "You all are civilians, for Pete's sake. We spent the day running around in the woods and you all did what? Look for clues? This isn't the city. You're not going to take fingerprints and match them up to find the killer."

  "I'm beginning to hate the sound of your voice."

  "Well, princess, you need me right now."

  "What I need is to stop for a minute."

  He sighed, but I ignored him and leaned against a tree, trying to pull some vestiges of strength together.

  "Did you twist your ankle and fall on Boone to save his life or something?"

  "What is your problem?"

  "We're just trying to figure out what use you are out here."

  We? "Well, I walked through the past and got attacked there, then I watched people slaughter each other. I found out that whatever the hell this thing is, it infects people, driving them crazy, and it either moves silently or lays in wait. And you did what today? Walk through the woods?"

  He shrugged. "Something like that. Don't think you and the Walker are the only ones around that can do things."

  "I'll keep that in mind."

  "Ready to move out?"

  "Yes, the sooner we get back the better."

  Talking with Renick made my blood pressure rise. For a little while, I managed to move through the woods on my own. However, when I started having to keep myself up by pushing myself from tree to tree, Renick moved in to let me lean on him once again.

  "You know," Renick said after a while, "that Walker friend of yours has gotten all buddy buddy with Tolman."

  I tried to find a point to what he was saying. "So? We're working together. Like it or not, we're a team."

  "So, if I was about to be bludgeoned to death right now, you want me to believe you'd help instead of run away."

  I rolled my eyes. "Of course I would. Unless I was the one doing it of course."

  His laugh was a dry chuckle. "So, we're supposed to be all friendly and braid each other’s hair now, is that it?"

  "Well, it might be nice if you stood still when I punch you in the face, but," I mock sighed, "I know I can't get everything I want."

  Renick laughed full out.

  "What's going on?" Vincent asked.

  Seeing him lifted my spirits considerably, despite the flat black of his eyes. Not caring if others were around, I moved away from Renick to be with Vincent. Even without the Path, I could feel him about to go off on someone.

  "He thinks it's funny that I want him to stand still when I punch him in the face."

  Vincent shook his head. "I mean you. I warned Logan that you were running on fumes."

  Renick left, still grinning, and went over to Tolman, who was cleaning his gun.

  "Not much of a choice," I said. "Someone chucked a spear at us."

  When I filled him in on what happened, I turned to include Renick and Tolman.

  It was hard to concentrate while leaning on Vincent. After a month away, it felt good to have him back, even if things were awkward. Trying to figure out where you are in a relationship—or if you even really have one—wasn't easy when you were surrounded by people you didn't know well.

  Vincent may have taken my distraction as a sign of exhaustion, so we moved to a rock. I sat down and my heart fluttered when he joined me on the same rock. Reminding myself I wasn't a schoolgirl with a crush didn't help drive the feeling away.

  "I could use some more caffeine," I said.

  "What you need is sleep," Vincent said.

  "Food first," I said, "I'm starving."

  "Food’s almost ready," Tolman said. "We have coffee heating. If you aren't taking a shift tonight, though, you might not want it."

  Hearing Tolman talking to me came as a surprise.

  "She won't be," Vincent said.

  I wanted to disagree and say I would help them guard the camp, but I wouldn't be any use to anyone if I fell asleep on the job. The feeling that I wouldn’t be able to pull my own weight really started to grate on my nerves.

  "I'll still take the coffee, though," I said, giving Tolman a tired smile.

  The food wasn't great, but it wasn't the worst, either. Not that it mattered much, as I ate it so fast that the taste barely had time to register. Around us, night closed in.

  "We found tracks earlier while we were canvasing the area," Renick said. "Well, I say tracks. Two prints were all we found. Whatever it was disappeared into some pretty dense jungle."

  "If it was dense, wouldn't it have left some sort of trail through the undergrowth?" I asked.

  "It should have," Tolman said, as though the creature had purposefully fooled him.

  "Yeah," Renick said, "but it didn't leave a trace behind."

  Something that big had to have put its mark somewhere.

  I thought hard about the catlike look of the cave drawings we’d been shown. "The prints, were they deep?"

  Renick shrugged. "Anything that big is going to leave some pretty deep prints if it walked through mud."

  "When you were around the prints, did you look up?" I asked.

  Tolman's eyes unfocused for a moment. It felt as though he turned inward to remember.

  "We didn't see anything in the trees," Tolman said.

  "But did you look at the trees? I'm wondering if there might have been claw marks or something," I said.

  "You think it might be a climber?" Renick asked.

  "It might explain why it disappeared," I said. "I can't imagine something that big, and presumably heavy, flying off. If it can become insubstantial and pass through things, I think we're screwed."

  Renick grinned.

  There was noise in the distance and I worried about what might be coming.

  "It's the others," Tolman said.

  Looking around I couldn't see anyone. Minutes later, the rest of the team trooped out of the darkness.

  To know what caused the noise, Tolman must have super good hearing, or like Davis, he sensed where she was.

  Rider looked gloomy and slumped down onto the ground nearby.

  "No luck?" I asked.

  "Yes and no," Logan said. He found a log to perch on. "We found the guy, but he put up a fight. When he realized he wasn't going to win, he slit his own throat."

  I shivered from the graphic images my mind opened up. Vincent shifted closer in a comforting sort of way.

  "From what it sounds like," Boone said, moving around the camp, "realize may be a strong word."

  "True," Logan said. "There didn't seem to be much going on besides the aggression and insanity."

  Davis, like Boone, seemed to be walking around the camp checking on things.

  "How are you holding up?" Logan asked.

  "Better, now that I've eaten and caffeinated," I said.

  Logan nodded. "Boone, I think I'm going to take a wide walk around the camp. Make sure everything looks in order."

  "Good idea," Boone said.

  “Why don’t I come with you,” I said. It was the last thing I really wanted to do, but a leprechaun was still out there that I needed to check on.

  While in contact with Vincent, I could easily feel his disapproval.

  "If you’re up for it,” Logan said.

  I downed the now-lukewarm coffee, then grabbed a headlamp and my gun.

  Once we had walked away from the camp far enough to not hear the others, Logan rolled his ears out. A little farther and we started to circle around in the dark.

  "That was quite a save earlier," he said after a while. "How are you really feeling?"

  "The coffee helped, but right now I feel like I could sleep for days. Other than that, I'm fine."

  "Long day."

  "Yeah," I agreed, "too long."

  We walked in silence again for a while. The red setting on my headlamp cast an eerie glow, but the canopy was thick here, so there weren't as many plants to trip over.

  “So, why the sudden interest in our perimeter?” Logan asked.

  “I don’t have one beyond wanting to know it’s safe, but I may need your help with something.”

  “This is the thing you couldn’t tell me about earlier,” Logan said. It wasn’t a question.