Whatever strange magical violence had forged a path from this contained world and into another still hung there, echoes held in the land and remembered in the air. He wished he could read the signs and understand those echoes. He wished so much that he could replicate the fairy’s power and open the doorway one more time. But he was only a human being. In this world, he was a little less than nothing.

As he stood to leave the site of the vanished doorway, he spied something from the corner of his eye. A shape moved in the shadow of trees, then grew still again when he turned to look. It was large, too big to be one of the smaller mammals that the Fold supported. Somewhere beneath those trees, a Kin was watching him.

He stared, glancing left and right in case he could catch that movement again. Leaves fluttered on the trees, stirred by a gentle breeze. Nothing else moved.

“Come on out,” Vince said. Whatever was there, he would be less afraid if it was ready to reveal itself. He’d seen a lot in his short life. He much preferred to confront dangers head-on than to have them haunting him, unseen and ready to pounce.

Nothing emerged.

He started back along the river, staying close to the bank where a path was slowly being worn into the landscape. He was partly responsible, but he also saw footprints there he did not recognise, especially after one of the regular afternoon storms.

He glanced back every few seconds, but there was nothing behind him. Neither was there anything ahead. Yet still he felt eyes upon him, the attention of some inhuman thing that set his skin afire with dreadful anticipation.

Vince had often wondered whether some of the Kin trapped here with him might eventually see him as food, much like Grace saw them. Could he fight off Dastion if he chose to attack? Or Fer, if it came at him in the guise of a bear? He thought not. He doubted he’d even be able to run very far.

He walked faster, then started running. One thing he’d noticed since being here was that his fitness had improved. There was no alcohol, no processed foods or refined sugars. He walked miles every day. He ran sometimes, too, enjoying the sense of freedom it gave him.

He heard nothing matching his footsteps, so he sped up and veered away from the river. The forest swallowed him up. As far as he was aware nothing lived nearby. Some birds were startled from bushes to his left, though he didn’t know whether they’d been frightened by him or something else.

Switching to the right, he ducked down and glanced back.

The creature paused, looking around in confusion. Then he locked eyes with Vince.