Page 4 of Property of Mako
Sniffling, I shook my head and got to work. The first thing I noticed was that her sketchbook peeking from her open backpack. Why would she have left her sketchbook and her bag? She was especially protective and careful with her drawings. She rarely showed them to anyone, though she was supremely talented.
Her phone had been in the ditch, so I’m assuming she had taken it with her. Yet she was a teenager, they were connected to their phones like umbilical cords. So why was it in the ditch? My chest clenched because I knew that was bad. So bad.
Other than that, there was nothing remarkable. In fact, I couldn’t see that any of her clothing was missing. Then again, I didn’t know everything that girl had.
None of it made any sense.
Running a shaking hand through my tangled curls that had fallen over my head, I fought those damn tears again. Instead, I redid my messy bun and left the house. Lily rarely went anywhere anymore, but I needed to talk to her few friends to see if she’d said anything to them.
As I turned to the door, I paused. A glint caught my eye. Slowly, I approached Lily’s nightstand. Sitting on the worn wood was the necklace I had given her.
She never took it off.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and picked hers up. The cool metal chain slid through my fingers like liquid. Why would she leave this behind?
In what was left of the day, I asked questions. Knocked on doors. Called every friend, ex, classmate, and teacher Lily had ever mentioned. They all said the same thing.
“I don’t know. She was quiet lately.”
“Said she felt watched.”
“Wouldn’t let me give her a ride home anymore.”
Then came the rumors I would hear whispered as I entered the diner for a late lunch.
Lily ran away.
Lily was doing those things again.
Lily met a guy online and ran off with him.
I was exhausted and the day was barely half over.
When the sun began to go down, I had to admit defeat for the day. I still had horses to feed and water. Stalls to clean. I hadn’t worked a single one of them.
Shoulders sagging, I headed home, and in a daze, I did my chores.
It was full dark before I shuffled inside.
The house was eerily silent as I stood at the window staring out into the dark. A shiver skated down my spine like cold fingers. My gaze narrowed as it swept over the yard and out into the shadows that led to the swamps. When the overwhelming, sinister feeling of being watched hit me, I jerked the curtains closed. It stirred the scent of dust and time.
I found myself wandering quickly through the house, closing curtains I wasn’t sure I’d ever closed since moving in. Something was happening. Something bad.
And if no one was going to help me figure it out, I’d damn well do it myself.
When I literally could not keep my eyes open, I got ready for bed. Before climbing between the crisp sheets, I peeked outside once more.
That night, the stars were clear. Still. Brightly watching. Like they were waiting for something to happen.
Or someone to wake up.
Chapter 2
Wolves at the Edge of the Map
Lyra
Every single day, I looked. Nothing changed. The cops wouldn’t fucking help. They’d already written her off as a runaway. With each day that passed, I grew less sure of finding Lily.
