Enter the Shadows (1st Edition) [SAMPLE]

... And so they came - 4

Every day they tested the limits of their boundaries, and every day their boundaries grew wider and wider. Lochlan could now go on runs without dragging Penny along. Not that he minded, but he had some issues he needed to deal with. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't change Penny. Even more so with the fact that he had almost killed her. Penny didn't hold it against him, but he held it against himself.

Lochlan stopped running, looking out over the cliff at the silvery green forest, which spanned miles in front of him. This was the back section of the mountain; it led to denser areas where the natives lived. The mountain was a barrier between them and the people in the city. His chest was growing tight, a sign that he was approaching the maximum distance he could be away from Penny. She would be feeling the same. Lochlan rubbed the area of his chest over his heart. He felt a stirring in his mind, a ghost of a question asked without words. He smiled. Their link was growing stronger.

He started to walk back to the house, his smile slowly fading. Shea was their last hope now. Marx had sent out a message, but there was no way to be certain that she had gotten it. All that was left was for them to hope and pray that she had.

The following night, Penny asked to go for a walk. Lochlan took her to the back section of the mountain range that overlooked native lands. She had never seen that area before, and it wasn't a regular thing for him to be there two nights in a row. As a rule, he and Marx avoided the back area of the mountain. There in the distance, they could see a lake. Surrounded by a tight circle of trees, it was hard to see in the dim lighting of the moon.
"Ever been out there?"

"No, we don't travel down into native lands. They're not so... friendly."

"What do you mean?"

"Before the vampires and werewolves came into this world, others came to this world from Lansguard." 

"If they aren't vampire or werewolf, what are they?"

"We have no idea. All we know is they can sense a werewolf or a vampire, and they don't like us very much. They weren't too pleased to find out that Marx had made the mountains his territory, but they've come to a tentative truce with him."

"There is so much I don't know," Penny said, stepping forward, not paying attention to how close she'd come to the edge. Lochlan pulled her back.

"In time. You will learn as I did."

Lochlan laced his fingers with hers. His steel against her soft. "You're worried."

"Aren't you?"

He brought her hand up to his chest. "Whatever comes, we'll handle it."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Lochlan let out a heavy sigh. "Of course, I'm worried. We have no idea if Shea even got the message, and we have no way to find her if she didn't. And I can't...  I can't change you myself."

Penny tightened her grip. "I already told you—"

"I know." Lochlan exhaled. "Doesn't make it any easier to handle."

"We knew there was a chance it wouldn't work. Shea will come. I'm sure of it."

"Well, aren't you brimming with optimism."

"Makes no sense to fear a future you might not even live to see."

He shook his head. "Marx is getting to you."

"He doesn't scowl at me as much anymore. And he really is a good teacher."

"I saw the bruises," he said, his voice tight.