Page 57 of Lion's Share
He supposed he should be glad that he understood anything at all.
Danger. Hunt. Protect the light-bringer.
“Sidney,” Ben said, and the griffin’s huge feathered head dipped once in acknowledgment. “The shadow stalker is hunting her specifically. We need to find it before it strikes again.”
Already hunting. Not alone.
That comment stopped Ben cold. “Not alone? You mean there are more shadow stalkers?”
Images flashed through his mind — darker patches moving through the forest, creatures of living shadow that fed on magic and left only cold emptiness behind. But underneath the griffin’s thoughts, Ben sensed something else.
Fear.
Coming through. Portal unstable. More will follow unless —
The griffin’s mental contact cut off abruptly as the sound of voices echoed through the trees. Human voices, speaking in the clipped, professional tones of people conducting official business.
“ — readings are definitely stronger in this sector. Dr. Rosenthal wants us to set up the monitoring station here.”
“Copy that. But I’m telling you, something’s not right about this place. My EMF meter’s going crazy.”
Ben dropped to a crouch behind a fallen log, and the griffin melted back into the shadows with surprising stealth for something so large. Through the trees, Ben could see the lights of the DAPI team’s equipment — two agents in dark tactical gear, setting up what looked like a sophisticated monitoring station complete with satellite dishes and multiple screens.
They were less than a hundred yards from one of the portal sites.
Must move them away, the griffin’s voice echoed in Ben’s mind. Shadow-eaters drawn to their metal-thoughts.
Ben wasn’t entirely sure what “metal-thoughts” meant, but he got the general idea. The DAPI team’s electronic equipment was somehow attracting the shadow stalkers, which meant Sidney was right — they needed to draw the federal agents away from the most sensitive areas before someone got killed.
A plan began to form in his mind — probably not a good one, but better than sitting here doing nothing while disaster unfolded around them.
“Can you make some noise?” Ben asked the griffin, still in the same quiet, steady tone he’d been using throughout their conversation. “Something to get their attention but not close enough to actually hurt them?”
The griffin’s dark eyes gleamed with what Ben could have sworn was amusement. Diversion. Yes.
The creature launched itself into the air with a powerful beat of its wings, disappearing into the canopy above. Ben counted to twenty, then began moving carefully through the underbrush, trying to position himself where he could observe the DAPI agents without being seen.
A moment later, a roar echoed through the forest from the opposite direction — the same sound they’d heard from Sidney’s house, but louder and more sustained. It was followed by the crash of falling branches and what sounded like a large animal blundering through the undergrowth.
The two agents immediately stopped what they were doing and reached for their radios.
“Base, this is Team Three. We’ve got some kind of large animal activity approximately two hundred feet northeast of our position.”
Dr. Rosenthal’s voice crackled back through the radio. “What kind of animal activity?”
“Unknown. Big, though. Really big. And it doesn’t sound like anything native to this area.”
There was a pause, and Ben could practically hear Dr. Rosenthal’s mind working through the implications.
“Pack up your equipment and investigate, but maintain a safe distance. Document everything. Do not engage.”
“Copy that.”
Ben watched as the two agents quickly broke down their monitoring station and headed off in the direction of the griffin’s distraction. Once they were out of sight, he emerged from his hiding spot and jogged toward the portal clearing, hoping to put some distance between himself and the DAPI team before they realized they’d been led on a wild goose chase.
Twenty minutes later, he was out of the forest and walking down the narrow lane that led to Nancy Petterson’s property and his rented casita. Although he wasn’t about to pat himself on the back or anything, he still couldn’t help being pleased that the diversion seemed to have worked. He and Sidney had already decided that it would be best for him to head for home and simply act as if he’d been out for an evening stroll, so that was why he’d come here rather than going directly to her house to give a report as to what had just happened in the woods.
In fact, his phone pinged inside his pocket right then, and he pulled it out at once, figuring she had probably gotten impatient and was reaching out to make sure he was okay.
