He thought of Chief Blackwater and the settlers who hid in these woods. Wayne was no expert on Goblin history, but he knew that Blackwater claimed all of Goblin was bad land. As the key banged against his chest, he thought of Blackwater, Son of Blackwater, Farraline and Carroll, and the Original 60 settlers. He thought of the owls and the witch and all the stories young Gobliners learn before they’re old enough to know better.

He gripped the key through the parka.

Running, hiding, he felt suddenly as if it was his duty to keep the key hidden. That Goblin was nothing without its ghosts. That to return the thing to city hall would somehow be returning the entire soul of the city itself.

Wayne continued. Deeper.

The rain came through the web of treetops in volumes. The slow burning in his legs was getting to be too much. He was talking to the key now, but it didn’t sound like talking. Half words and mumbles obscuring the snapping of twigs that somehow continued behind him.

I’m not letting them have it, he thought. As if somehow the key and Molly were one. Both the spirit of Goblin.

Another snapping stick behind him. Was it the same officer? Many officers?

His eyes hurt from focusing on the darkness. The muscles in his neck tensed. It was as if he were rebuilding The Hedges, experiencing the unbearable effort once again.

The woods seemed to close in on him. The trails got tighter. More branches, too many branches, reached for him as he passed. They cut into his parka sleeves and drew blood from his arms.

One even cut the pocket at his chest and Wayne caught the key without looking as it fell.

The key to the city.

The spirit of Goblin.

Wayne was in deep.

23

You’re like a den mother, Margot told herself. You’re leading a bunch of Girl Scouts on a nature walk through a very interesting wood.

She knew the story of the North Woods. Every kid in Goblin did. She knew about the whispering witch who could make your heart explode. She knew about the indigenous chief driven mad. And yet the thing she was most afraid of was with her already.

You told them you could find him, she told herself calmly. So…pretend to find him.

She couldn’t bring herself to turn around, to look at the Goblin Police in the North Woods. Instead she led silently.

They need you, she reminded herself. But for how long?

She made decisions quickly, giving the appearance that she knew where she was going. And the pride of solving The Hedges carried her.

But the North Woods had no finish line. No stationary key behind glass. Wayne Sherman must have been moving, too.

She thought of him, Wayne, as he was when she bought her ticket.

How scared he must be.

There was no denying the fact that this was all her fault. She’d started the whole thing. She’d—