It looked like Ben had been heading across the parking lot away from the temple when he’d crossed paths with the dog. He was staring at it like he’d never seen one before. Maybe he hadn’t. For all Tony knew, Arra’s world didn’t have dogs. Or, he amended, remembering his dream, dogs just hadn’t been a part of the shadow’s short life.

Too much to hope for that, even distracted by the dog, Ben wouldn’t see them approach. They were still more than ten feet away when he turned, stared at Tony in confusion, then at Arra in fear. “You!”

Tony half expected to see the shadow surge out of him like it had out of Alan Wu but shadow-Ben smiled, winked, and ran toward an extended family piling kids into a minivan. He careened through them like an out of control billiard ball. A child screamed. Men and women yelled in two languages. Strong fingers grabbed the stranger and threw him away from the van.

Leaping out at the end of her leash, the dog kept barking.

Ben hit the ground and stayed there.

“It’s left him!” Arra announced, panting a little as they quickened their pace.

“And gone where?”

In answer, one of the preteen boys raced away from his family and charged into a clump of older kids. More shouting. And a moment later, another body on the ground. The remaining teenagers scattered.

Men and older boys were running toward the parking lot.

Tony stopped at the edge of the asphalt. “Is that kid . . . ?”

“Dead?” Fingers closed around his arm as Arra leaned on him, catching her breath. “No, but if that shadow keeps moving through this crowd, I guarantee it’s going to hit someone who can’t handle it.”

“Like Alan?”

“Exactly like.”

“Where is it now?”

“I don’t know!

Someone did.

Twisting free, Tony sprinted toward the old man with the dog, tripped over the leash, and ripped it free of a tiring grip.

The dog took off across the parking lot.

“Shania!”

“I’ll get her!” Tony leaped to his feet and followed, ignoring the deserved string of expletives flung after him. Sorry about your dog, mister. Trying to save the world here!

It seemed the shadow was still in one of the teenage boys. Great. They’d had a chance of pulling this off as long as it was in Ben, but the Sikh community was very protective of their own and Tony could only see this ending badly.

Still barking wildly, the dog slammed into a running teenager, flinging the boy into the outstretched arms of a middle-aged woman. She screamed as he sank into her embrace. He jerked, then stiffened and slid bonelessly to the ground.

Shania sailed over the boy and landed on the woman, making contact with all four paws. Ringed fingers stopped snapping teeth an inch from flesh.

This time Tony saw the shadow move.