“It isn’t right. They should be living wild, not in a park.”

But Bram is not listening. He pulls away from her, his eyes wide, his expression stricken, as he feels the weight of a terrible coldness, a dreadful dark energy, enter his body.

“My God!” he cries, struggling for air. It is as if he is being crushed from within, his lungs pressed as though in the grasp of some unseen giant, his heart constricted, unable to beat as it should.

“Oh, Bram! What is it, what’s the matter?” She gasps as Bram staggers backward, clutching at his head.

He opens his mouth to speak, to try to tell her of the fierce ringing inside his skull, of his fight to breathe, of the blackness descending upon him, but he can form no words, can make no sound.

I am dying! Dear Lord, my body surely cannot withstand …

“Bram! Listen to me. You must listen to me!”

Lilith kneels beside him as he slumps against the railings of the wolf enclosure. Behind the iron bars, the animals are suddenly awake, alert, pacing swiftly this way and that. Bram knows Lilith is talking, telling him something, but he is so very dizzy, in so much pain, it is hard to make out her words.

“It is the Dark Spirit. It is Willoughby. He caught us unawares, here, in daylight … I let down my guard. My darling, you must do what I tell you.”

“Argh!” Bram screams as a stab of pain pierces his body.

How can this be?

“I can see no one!” he gasps. “I hear no voice.”

“But I do. He is mocking me. He is … he is showing me what he is capable of. What he can do. What he will do if I refuse to give him what he wants.”

“Give him … nothing!” Bram insists through clenched teeth.

“Stay awake, my darling! He is trying to manipulate your mind. You must not fall unconscious. The stronger you fight him, the better able I will be to send him from you.”

Lilith leaps to her feet, oblivious to the anxious stares of passersby. A young man steps forward to offer his help, but she waves him away furiously, standing guard over Bram, trusting nobody. “Leave him be!” she cries. “He is not yours to inhabit. I command you, return to the Darkness where you belong and release this man from your grasp!”

The confused onlookers move back. They think Lilith is talking to them, and her words appear those of a madwoman. Bram knows different. He knows she is trying to control the Dark Spirit. He bends forward, clutching at his chest.

I will not be broken like some toy in this vicious game!

He forces himself upright, clinging to the railings. Behind him the black wolf also stands its ground, head low, hackles raised. He catches its eye as he hauls himself to his feet. Its teeth are bared and it emits a ferocious growl. It is the growl not of a hunter after its prey, but of an animal in terror.