Keelie wanted to smack Scott on the back of the head. “You are such an insensitive idiot. She likes you. You took her for a walk on the beach—that’s practically a date. And then you ask about Risa.”

“Hey, I didn’t lead Laurie on. Did I, Sean?”

Sean shrugged. “You’re on your own, and so’s Laurie, except she’s going to get lost in the woods.”

Keelie looked out into the darkness. “We need to go after her. We can’t let her wander around the woods by herself.”

“You’re right,” Scott said. “I’ll go.” He held up the rose quartz.

“You can’t go alone. You’ll end up lost or worse,” Sean said. “I’ll come too.”

The Grove … the voice in Keelie’s head reminded her of the dangers out there. A shiver shot down her back. “No time to lose.” She headed toward the Grove.

Sean started after her. “Do you think Risa and your grandmother will be all right here?” He glanced back toward the treetop village.

“They’re both asleep.” Scott jogged beside them. “I’ll grab some flashlights out of the truck. Laurie couldn’t have gone far.”

Keelie hoped he was right. She called on the tree spirts, but there was no answer. Puzzled, she called again, cautiously opening herself to the redwoods. Lancing pain made her reel.

Sean caught her. “What’s wrong?”

“My head,” she gasped, and suddenly the hot needle of agony was gone, replaced by cool green. Her vision was blurry. She thought she could see a yarnlike thread of warm green overlaid in the air, heading into the forest. It pulsed weakly, like a low-watt bulb, but Keelie felt a rush of love from the redwoods toward the source. The thread looped around the trees, fading as it went deeper in the woods.

“What about me?” Scott asked. “I think we should all stick together. These woods are beautiful during the day, but at night, they’re spooky. I swear sometimes I see ghosts walking around, and it’s really terrifying deeper in the forest.”

A thick mist was rolling in from the sea. Sean and Keelie stuck close together, with Scott following behind. She could hardly see him.

“Laurie, where are you? I’m an idiot!” Scott shouted.

Sean touched his pointed ears and looked pained. “You don’t have to scream.”

Keelie reached out to Bella Matera. I need to find my friend, a human girl. She’s lost here.

There was no answer.

She saw the shape of the trees floating in the mist, silently watching them. Maybe they couldn’t hear Keelie when they took on spirit form. The last thing she wanted to do was open herself magically to the trees. She didn’t want Bloodroot in her head. But what if Laurie was in danger? Keelie dropped her magical barriers again.

Ancient Ones, I need your help. Can you hear me?

Silence. But at least the pain didn’t return.

Sean stopped suddenly, and Keelie bumped into him. He bent down, then turned to silently give her Laurie’s gray hoodie.

Keelie’s heart sank. It was no help to know she’d been right. Laurie was in danger.

“She was wearing that.” Scott’s voice trembled. He turned to shout her name again, but Keelie grabbed his arm.

“Don’t. Maybe we don’t need to let anyone know we’re here.” Keelie saw Sean nod at her words. He was taking this very seriously.

“What about Laurie? She needs to know we’re looking for her.” Scott took a few steps toward the foggy hill, then anxiously returned.

“Two people went through here.” Sean was crouched by a broken fern, pointing toward the ground.

Two people. Someone had Laurie.

A voice rang out in Keelie’s mind. Beware, Tree Shepherdess.

Keelie grabbed Sean’s sleeve. He put an arm around her waist.

“Beware of what?” she asked aloud, her voice echoing against the wall of mist. Again, there was only silence in the forest.

“It’s that voice again. It keeps saying ‘Beware, tree shepherdess.’ Beware of what?”

I will show you.

Pain blossomed in her head as Keelie began seeing a scene. It was as if she was watching through someone else’s eyes. Her hands were wrinkled and spotted with dark circles. She leaned on a staff carved from a redwood branch. Her legs ached. Her back hurt when she moved, yet she loved walking among the Ancients.

She was deep in the forest and stood before a tall tree with dark red roots almost the color of blood. Bloodroot. He pushed his face out of the trunk, and his eyes were green, bright green. Good day, Shepherd.

“G’day, Bloodroot. May you grow many rings today.”

In her vision, Keelie walked deeper in the forest, leaving Bloodroot behind. Her bones ached with each step, and she felt as old as the forest. Yet the trees, far older than she, were tall and strong. Their minds sharp and their wisdom deep, like their roots in the Earth. Her time had come.

Soon, Keelie was deep in the forest, deeper than where the rangers, the protectors, dwelled. There, growing underneath the canopy, were the misty forms of small trees. Bella Matera watched over her treelings protectively. There was strong magic in this forest. The little ones were the future, and they would have to be protected. Keelie didn’t know if she had the strength left to do so. She needed help.

She felt herself being whooshed back into her body.

Sean grabbed her hand and steadied her. “Are you okay?”

She flexed her knees. They didn’t ache. Her back was strong and young. “I was inside someone else’s body. I think maybe the Redwood Tree Shepherd’s body. I felt so old, so helpless.”

“Did you guys hear that?” Scott’s face was turned toward the Grove of Ancients. “It sounded like a girl.”

“Stick close to me. We’re all hearing things,” Sean said. “This mist is very strange. I’m glad we don’t have this in the Dread Forest.”

“Me, too.”

Somewhere near her right, she heard a small meow. “Sean, did you hear Knot?”

“Maybe I did.”

He shone the flashlight in the mist, but the light reflected back at them.

A voice spoke softly to their left. “If you keep walking that way, you’re going to fall off the cliff.”

Sean stopped. He pointed the flashlight toward the voice. “Who said that? Are the trees talking to me?”

“I know he’s pretty, I know he’s chivalrous, but he’s missing some smarts, isn’t he?”

Keelie knew that voice. “Sean, lower your flashlight. It’s Coyote.”

He did, and Coyote stepped out of the fog, his eyes glinting mischievously.

“Troublemaker,” Sean said. “Have you seen Laurie, the human girl?”

“Glad to see you, too. So your Laurie is gone?” Coyote lifted his nose high. “The forest is filled with players tonight.”

“What do you mean, ‘players’? If you know where she is, you’d better tell us.” Keelie tried to read his expression, but she wasn’t used to reading canine expressions. Or maybe Knot just made his intentions clearer.

“We’ve lost Scott,” Sean’s quiet voice interrupted. His flashlight beam bounced off the mist. No Scott.

“They’re safe for now,” Coyote said. “But as you say, they too could take a tumble into the ocean. The cold ocean on a dark night, a high cliff, a shoreline piled with sharp rocks.” The coyote shivered. “It has all the elements of a drama. Likely even a tragedy.”

“Quit Spielberg-Shakespearing on me. Did you see Scott leave?” Keelie demanded.

Coyote sighed. “Follow me.” He looked back at Sean. “Shine the light on my tail. I spent all day grooming it, but I’m afraid I missed some tangles.”

“It looks great,” Keelie said through her teeth. “Can you move it? We need to find Scott and Laurie.”

They trudged through the undergrowth, following Coyote’s illuminated tail. Keelie hung onto Sean’s arm in the dark fog.

Scott’s voice rang eerily through the fog. “Laurie, Sean, Keelie?” Sometimes it sounded as if he were right next to her. Then as if he was far off.

But there was no sound of Laurie. Nothing. Keelie was worried for her friend. Laurie had lived through the Wildewood incident, when they’d been chased by rampaging trees, but what if she encountered Tavyn, with Bloodroot along for the ride?

They forged ahead, and she was glad she wasn’t alone this time. She had Sean and Coyote, although she still wasn’t sure about Coyote. She wondered about the little meow she’d heard. Was Knot out here with them?

Coyote stopped. “Someone other than your friends and Tavyn is wandering the woods tonight. This place is like Los Angeles. I thought people came up here for rest and relaxation.”

“Yeah, well, you’re hiking a forest in the middle of the night with a tree shepherd, what did you expect? For us, the trees are a crowd.” Keelie shivered. It was getting colder. She put on Laurie’s hoodie, wondering if her friend was freezing under a tree.

“At least we’re not dealing with goblins.” Coyote’s ears twitched nervously.

Sean whirled around. “Goblins? Don’t even speak of it. They’re supposed to all be dead.”

“Dead, oh no. They’re real, and they’re thriving in the urban areas,” Coyote said.

“The tree at the mall, he said something about gobblers. Do you think he meant goblins?” Keelie asked. She remembered reading about goblins in the Compendium. She turned to Coyote. “Are there goblins in the Redwood Forest?”

Tilting his head to the right, Coyote grinned at her. “Maybe yes. Maybe no.”

“None of your games. A simple yes or no.” Keelie was impatient.

“It’s a little bit more complicated than that.” Coyote sat down. “Would you like my suggestion?”

“Tell us what you know about the goblins.” Sean sounded fierce. He reached out and grabbed Coyote by the scruff of his neck.

Whoa. Sean was usually calm and in charge. Keelie gestured for him to calm down. She wasn’t sure if Coyote could be hurt, but a normal coyote would have been squealing and snarling long before now.

“Let him go, Sean.”

“We can’t let him get away with these outrageous comments, Keelie.” Sean glared down at the coyote, who whined and tried to look pitiful. “If the goblins have come up from underground, humans are in extreme danger. The elves have long feared that the goblins would one day return. Lord Elianard thinks that humans make it easy for them, and if they return, more powerful, more able to wield magic—they would soon rule the Earth, above and below ground, over humans, over elves, and over the fae.”

Keelie thought that Lord Elianard was always quick to blame humans for everything, but the haughty elf was the most venerated Lore Master of the North American elven clans.

Coyote nodded. “Goblins hate the Shining Ones, even more than they hate elves.”

Cold fear sliced through Keelie. She’d never heard about a goblin threat.

“We need to think this through,” she said. “Right now, we’re in an ancient forest, lost in the fog, trying to find two people. That has to be our priority. We’ll figure out this goblin-threat stuff later.”

“So, tell your boyfriend to let me go.” Coyote lifted his upper lip and showed teeth to Sean. Sean lifted Coyote by the scruff, paws dangling, off the ground.

Keelie stepped close, exasperated. She had to try to maintain control over the situation. “Everybody stay calm. Coyote, answer our question—are there goblins here? Then Sean will let you go. And then you’re going to help us find Laurie and Scott.”

Coyote’s tail went all limp and he lifted a shoulder in a twisted shrug. “Okay.”

Keelie figured this was an example of having to be dominant. She was the Coyote Whisperer. Maybe it would work on Knot—she could try to be the Freaky Fairy Kitty Whisperer.

Coyote’s words brought her back with a snap. “What I know is … there once was a goblin here, but he didn’t leave this forest. I feel an essence of darkness.”

“Essence of darkness?” Keelie had never heard of that. “Like a goblin?”

“If something with dark magic dies—if an evil creature dies—then its essence might remain, corrupting the place of its death.”

“It’s like a curse, isn’t it?” Keelie said. Her voice lowered. “A goblin curse.” It had to be connected to this forest’s weirdness, but she didn’t have time to sit and think it through.

“Yes.” Coyote wriggled in Sean’s arms. “Now tell him to put me down.”

“Not yet.” Her eyes met Sean’s, and as if they had a psychic connection, he lifted Coyote a few more inches off the ground.

The fairy creature howled, his voice echoing through the forest. “Not fair.”

“Where are Laurie and Scott?” Keelie demanded.

“Put me down and I’ll help you find them.”

“And you’re going to stick close to me, Coyote, because you know a whole lot more than you’re telling.”

The coyote grinned, which was unfortunate, because it showed off his teeth, long and sharp. Sean lowered him to the forest floor. He yipped and leaped as if he’d fooled them. Sean’s hand clamped back down on his neck.

Keelie smiled grimly and did her best impersonation of her grandmother’s stern voice. “Behave.”

Coyote looked up with wet eyes, his lower lip trembling.

“And that won’t work on me.”

A woman’s voice called from far off. “Knot, my love where are you? Oh, darling, don’t leave me. I don’t think my heart can take it.”

Sean looked over at Keelie. “That’s Risa. What is she doing in the forest?”

“She’s searching for Knot.” Keelie was going to kick Risa on the butt.

“And Knot is following Tavyn. What are you going to do, Keelie?” Coyote asked. “Go after Laurie, help Risa?” He laughed again. “And do you know where your grandmother is?”

Her heart sank as she realized that she had no way of knowing how to find her grandmother if she too, was lost in the Redwood Forest.