Casey yelped, and Twig bolted out of bed and to the window, heart pounding. Not again!
Bam!
The last time Twig had wakened to banging in the night, it had been Dagger and the wild herd, on the verge of breaking through the stable doors to get at Wonder. But this was more of a tapping, and it was closer. Outside the window, night hung heavy over the ranch, the sky lightened only by the mist. Anyone could be out there. Anything.
Bam, bam.
“It’s a knock,” Twig realized with relief. Just someone knocking.
“Ben!” both the girls said at once.
They bounded to the door, Casey clutching her battered old doll to her chest. Twig threw the bedroom door open. All along the hallway, bedroom doors opened and girls called out anxiously.
Mr. Murley was already at the front door, hair standing on end, shotgun in hand. Mrs. Murley gathered the other girls in the entryway and tried to hold them back, just in case. Casey’s arms shook as she squished the cloth body of her doll. Its heavily lashed eyelids rattled open and shut.
“What if it’s not Ben? What if someone else came from Terracornus?” Casey said.
Twig waited for someone to say that was impossible, but no one did—not skeptical Regina, not practical Taylor, not upbeat Janessa, who was always ready to reassure. Ben was keeping secrets about Terracornus; they all knew it. What did they really know about Terracornus or its people? Would someone come after Ben? Could they?
Twig recalled the first time Ben had led her through the terrifyingly thick ring of mist in the center of the island, then through another circle, this one formed by hemlock trees whose branches swept to the forest floor. They guarded the ancient passage tree, a red cedar whose trunk held a hidden door that led to Terracornus. Ben wore a key to that door around his neck, and so did Merrill. “I’m not the only one with a key,” Ben had told her. Who else had a key besides him and Merrill?
Twig ducked around the others so she could slide the locks open, while Mr. Murley kept the shotgun trained on the door. She opened it a crack.
Ben stood there, gasping. He flung the door against the wall before Twig had a chance to let him in. “It’s Indy. He’s gone. He’s just—gone!”
“Is he dead?” Casey said.
“No!” Ben said too firmly. “He’s disappeared. He won’t answer when I call. I cannot find him anywhere.”
Mr. Murley said, “Come inside, Ben, and we’ll figure this out.”
Ben grabbed Twig’s arm. “You have to come. You have to help me.”
“Definitely.” Twig reached for her all-weather shell.
“Wonder will know where Indy went. She’s his daughter and part of his herd. She’ll follow his scent and find him,” Ben said.
“Whoa.” Mrs. Murley tucked her mussed-up brown hair behind her ear. Her face was creased with sleep and concern. “Ben, why don’t you come in first and tell us everything?”
Twig pulled her jacket the rest of the way on and reached for her boots. “We don’t have time. We have to find Indy!”
But Mrs. Murley pulled Ben in.
Twig carried her boots as she followed everyone to the living room.
Ben paced in front of the couch, cape and boots still on, ready to jump into action in an instant.
“Ben,” Mr. Murley said, “is Merrill here on the island?”
“No, he’s not here. I was in the hollow, sound asleep. I thought I heard Indy neigh. I got up and looked outside, and he wasn’t there. He always stays there under his favorite tree at night. Guarding me. Protecting me. He never leaves.”
Twig leaned on the arm of the couch beside him. “Something’s wrong.” A hardness settled in her gut. “We’re wasting time here. Let’s go get Wonder and find him.”
“Hold on,” Mr. Murley said. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“But I’m a herder!” Twig said. “A unicorn is in danger. I have to go.”
Mrs. Murley slipped an arm around Twig. “And we took on the responsibility of protecting you. Of course you’re worried about Indy. It is strange. But the herd has been doing so well. Do you really think they’re a danger to Indy?”
They all stilled, listened. The night was perfectly calm. Not a howl or a cry. Just the misty breeze ruffling the cedars.
“No,” Ben conceded.
“It’s quiet out there,” Mandy pointed out. “Not like before, when they were all crazy.”
Janessa gave Mandy a sharp poke.
Mrs. Murley said, “You can sleep here tonight, Ben, and we’ll all go in the morning.”
It was all Twig could do to hold back her protest. Ben looked like he was about to explode.
“I’ll get the blankets.” Janessa bounced off to the linen closet.
Mr. Murley ran a hand over his rumpled hair. “Indy’s made for the woods. He knows how to handle himself on this island.”
“And he knows not to leave his post!” Ben said. “He wouldn’t just wander away.”
“Maybe he heard or smelled something unusual and went to investigate,” Taylor said. “Animals can be curious just like we are.”
Ben shook his head, too angry now to speak. But Twig had a plan. If only she could talk to Ben alone.
Janessa plopped an armful of blankets onto the couch. Ben just stood there, arms crossed, brooding. The sleeves of the barn jacket Mrs. Murley had given him were smeared with sap, and bits of lichen stuck to it. Clearly he knew nothing about dealing with parents. Twig tried to catch his eye to send him a signal to cooperate, but his gaze was fixed on the floor-to-ceiling windows, as though looking hard enough would make Indy appear, gleaming silver-white, through the darkness.