Nick and Alena heard the yelp from Ruckus and hurried through the woods. Alena knew every inch of the forest and ran through the brush like a gazelle; Nick stumbled along behind her, tripping over roots and rocks and catching the tree limbs that whipped back in his face as Alena let them go. Nick could hear Gunner running heavily somewhere behind him, but it was slower going for the older and heavier man, and the distance was increasing between them.

Alena got there first, checking to make sure that Acheron, Phlegethon, and Styx held the intruder safely in check—then she looked around in the darkness for Ruckus. There was no sign of the little dog. She raised her hands over her head and clapped once; nothing happened.

Now Nick stumbled into the clearing behind her, panting and pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose. He saw the man lying motionless on the ground, surrounded by the three black behemoths.

“Been there, done that,” he said under his breath.

He spotted a flashlight glowing like a firefly in the grass; he picked it up and shined it down on the man’s face. He shook his head. “And you wonder why people don’t like reporters. Alena, this is Paul Decker— he’s a reporter with WRTL.”

Decker looked up at him. “Is that you, Polchak?”

Nick pointed the flashlight at his own face. “I’ve always heard that a dog’s mouth is very clean—not anymore.”

“Get these dogs off me, will you? One of them’s biting my leg.”

“I’ve got a few questions first. Who told you about Alena?”

“That sheriff’s deputy named Elgin told me—I met him at a bar the other night.”

“How did he know?”

“He said he saw her the night you found all the graves—he said he was pulling in just as she was leaving. I guess he just put two and two together.”

“Was there anybody else around when you two were talking?”

“It was a bar. What do you think?”

“Great,” Nick said. “And how did you know to come up here?”

“How did you?”

Nick looked at Alena. “What’s the command for ‘The buffet line is now open’?”

“Okay, okay—I just asked around town. I’m a reporter, for crying out loud. I just asked, ‘Where can I find the witch?’” He pointed with his eyes. “Is that her?”

In the darkness behind Nick, Alena continued to search for Ruckus. She clapped her hands for the third time before the little dog finally came limping out of the brush. She dropped to her knees and felt the dog’s shoulders and legs.

“Uh-oh,” Nick said. “You did a big no-no.”

Alena jumped to her feet and charged forward in a fury. She twisted the flashlight out of Nick’s hand and shoved him aside, then pointed the beam in Decker’s face.