“Over here,” Tora shouted. “Hurry!”

In seconds the searchers were on the move, heading south toward Tora and, thankfully, away from Argus and Angelina.

Tora was pleased. Noble couldn’t have done any better himself, she thought.

She waited until the searchers were well down the slope before heading back to rejoin Argus and the girl.

“Clever,” Argus said, when Tora arrived.

“It was nothing,” she said with a shrug.

Angelina’s body shifted, her eyes fluttered. “Nothing from nothing…leaves…nothing.”

It was obvious that Angelina was getting worse. She was cold, dehydrated, and exhausted, and they had to get her to the hospital right away before she went into shock or suffered any permanent damage.

“Come on,” said Tora. “I’ll lead the rest of the way.”

Without a word, Argus picked up the girl and followed his sister into Redstone.

Chapter 22

As Tora and Argus neared the town of Redstone, another problem became apparent. If they headed directly for the hospital, their path would take them straight through the heart of town. And while it was early, and most Redstone residents would still be in bed or sipping their morning cup of coffee, there was a real danger of being seen by any number of people.

And if they were seen, it wouldn’t be the kind of sight that people could just shrug off, and continue going about their business. This would be a stop-the-presses, hold-the-phone, call-Mr.-Ripley kind of event. Two monstrous werewolves tearing down the main street, one of them over seven feet tall with the lifeless body of a little girl in its arms.

It was the kind of thing people would remember, maybe even start gossiping about.

And so, even though it would take them longer to get to the hospital, Tora decided they would stay in the forest as long as possible and run around the outskirts of town. The route would bring them to the rear of the hospital, allowing them to get within less than a hundred yards of it without being seen.

However, the closer they got to town, the more paths they came across. There were hiking trails and footpaths that led to fishing holes and hunting grounds, and all manner of shortcuts that led from one house to another. All of them had to be avoided lest they risk being seen through the trees by someone out getting some firewood.

But no plan is perfect.

And that was why Tora felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the words cut through the trees.

“You there!” someone shouted. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Tora skidded to a stop and took up a position behind the branches of a large spruce tree. Argus joined her a moment later, kneeling down and curling the body of Angelina close in to his chest.

“Who’s there?” the voice said.

Tora said nothing in response, thankful that whoever was out there hadn’t seen them yet.