Prologue

Cool earth against his feet. The sun touched him in patches, dappling the forest floor as he stepped between the tree trunks. Soft ferns brushed against him in gentle greeting. Their waving fronds covered the ground as far as he could see, choking out any other green competition.

He paused to take his bearings, turning his face into the breeze that slid between the forest giants. A wash of smells cascaded over him while the wind ruffled his hair. Smiling, he inhaled deeply, filling his chest. Baby plants, sprouted to life in the early spring warmth, provided a light green note. Crisp pine and fragrant cedar blended with the oily, musky scent of elk and deer to form a vibrant perfume. Below all the rest hovered the sticky, cloying odor of plants and animals returning to the earth from which they sprang.

The breeze also told him home was that-a-way. He sighed in contentment, closing his eyes in the gust’s rough caress. The currents of air brought a new but not unfamiliar scent.

Rain. Clouds boiled in from the ocean hidden to the west, racing to obscure the sun. Although still high in the sky, its warmth and light began to fade, so he lengthened his stride into a ground-devouring lope. Even protected as he was from the elements, he had no desire to spend more time than he had to in a downpour.

As his muscles settled into the rhythm of his pace, his mind was freed to contemplate the woods he passed through. His heart squeezed as he considered the forest’s beauty and the dangers that threatened the rare treasure hidden within these green mountains. It was the sacred task of the en-malat to protect the Glade of the Lady Moon. Up until now, the task had been a light one.

Exertion kept him warm as the temperature dropped, and he didn’t really mind when a light spray brushed against his nose. Then, drops started to hit with increasing force and regularity. He checked the skies. They were black and heavy, hiding the peaks of nearby mountains.

This was a bigger storm than he’d originally thought, so he increased the tempo of his trot to an outright run. Flashing through the forest brought on a familiar, fierce joy that the pouring rain could not dampen, and he rode the emotion like a cresting wave. He’d never felt as alive as he did here in this place.

How the forest changed her moods! When he’d started out that morning, the day bid fair with a classic blue sky and puffy white clouds. The forest had been warm and welcoming, holding out her arms and beckoning him to go and play within her trees and meadows. Calling birds had scolded his passage, and he frequently heard the startled stamp and thud of unseen creatures racing from him as if their lives depended on it.

Now, the increasing wind howled through the boughs of the trees towering over him. They sighed and creaked, rubbing against one another as they swayed. A thick shower of needles rained down, and he tossed his head to throw them off.

The sharp, tangy scent of the strobing lightning arrived with the booming roll of thunder, shaking the ground beneath him seconds later. He loved Nature in all her moods—soft, sweet, sometimes harsh─but when the elements clashed as they did now, and survival was paramount, it electrified him.

No birds sang out now, and no beast broke cover; all were hunkered down in as much safety as they could manage. The breaking storm brought its own wild energies that added an atmosphere of chaos and possibility.

This place he cherished was threatened with more than the gale, for he recognized a deeper peril that did not come from the atmosphere. The trees whipping in the wind and the dirt beneath his feet cried out in warning, but so far his seeking and searching had yielded only unsatisfactory hints. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he knew what he had to do.

Slowing and pausing, he focused and reached mentally with his magic, his rawllane, and wove the wild energies of the storm into the fabric of his spell, giving it added strength and speed. Crafting a message, a plea, and a promise, he sent his words winging across the Veil and into the Other to reach Her ears and prayed She would answer.

I will do my utmost to preserve this land and the Glade, but Lady, I require aid. I know not what we face, and yet it freezes my marrow. That I will stand to the end against whatever comes, you know well, but I also know in my heart I would be throwing my life away, leaving all I hold dear unprotected. Do not let Your sacred place be destroyed by evil, I beseech you!

It proved difficult to see in the early darkness beneath the tossing canopy, with all colors washed out in the gray, uncertain light. Deep shadows obscured the path, and all scents were drowned in the downpour. He wondered if he’d missed some crucial marking of his way.

In answer to his thoughts, lightning burst the heavens open and thunder gonged, making his ears ring. The brilliant flash illuminated the path for him to see he’d nearly reached the end of the trail.

With the light and sound display came an answer to gladden his heart and warm his soaking body as a wild and powerful certainty pounded through him.

A few more strides brought him to the waiting SUV, and soon he was comfortable in dry clothes and heading back to Seattle.

****

Excerpt from The Vidette, dated May 1st, 2018:

Two hikers reported seeing a large wolf or dog-like animal while hiking northeast of Grisdale. Attempts to photograph the animal were unsuccessful, even though Bob and Tina Greyson of Denver, Colorado, claim to be experienced backpackers and wildlife photographers. Says Bob Greyson:

“I’ve seen wolves in Yellowstone, and I’m telling you, that was one <expletive deleted> huge wolf! Not a dog, not a coyote. A wolf.”

Mr. and Mrs. Greyson remain convinced, but records show that the wolf has been extinct on the Olympic Peninsula since 1930.

Officer Jeff Cootz with Park Services informed us: “There is no way they could have seen a wolf where they were hiking; had to be just a big dog that got loose. The only wolves in Washington are on the other side of the Sound. A timber wolf out here, in the Olympics? Impossible.”