As the pink fingers of dawn striated the sky, I came across a well-worn trail and thanked my lucky stars. It was packed higher than the surrounding area and sloped to drain. I stepped onto the path and followed it out of sight of the water until I reached a campground. Already I breathed easier. I gestured for Dell to hang back while I investigated.

Hunting wasn’t my thing. Fae didn’t need guns or permits. Their teeth and claws worked just fine. But I was pretty sure humans were allowed to hunt in certain tracts of national forests, which Charybdis frequented, and I had no clue if I should expect armed campers or not based on the season. Wolves weren’t on the menu for humans, I didn’t think, but I wasn’t about to take a chance on Dell getting hurt in case they mistook her “tame” behavior as sickness.

Picnic benches cozied up to simple black grills cemented into the ground on thick metal posts. A gleaming RV had claimed one slot in the modest lot marked with six parking spaces. A battered truck with a ratty camper shell occupied another. At the far end a boxy red subcompact car took up a space beside a simple dome tent pitched in the spot next to it.

A teenager with sleep-matted hair bulldozed me. “Have you seen a young girl?” Her fingers dug into my forearms. Delicate magic tickled my skin. Her classification popped into my head. Sylph. “This high? Brown hair? No? Did you see anyone in the water?”

Dread sent my stomach crashing into my toes, and I proceeded carefully. “Did you lose someone?”

“No. I didn’t lose her.” She blinked rapidly. “She knows we’re leaving this morning. She probably went to the lake to look for her stupid fish.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Her mask is here. She never goes anywhere without it.”

I kept my voice level. “Her fish?”

“My sister caught a brim yesterday. It was her first catch. When she saw the hook in its mouth…” The girl heaved a long-suffering sigh. “She wanted to release it, but I’m not great with getting them off the hook. Its cheek tore. She begged me to let her keep it. She wanted to take it to a vet. The fish was hurt, and I didn’t want to deal with tears if it died, so I tossed it back before she could stop me. She’s been trying to find it again to check on it. I had to pull her out of the water last night.”

“I need you to take a deep breath, okay? I’m here to help, but I have to ask you a few questions. Did you hear anything strange last night?” The pitiful cries of an animal in distress… “Did you see anything unusual?”