Despite the hurry I was in, I couldn’t help but pause mid-air and stare.

In the center of the field was a horde of griffins. There must’ve been at least fifty, and they appeared much larger and more ferocious than the one I’d seen earlier. Perhaps the latter had been a baby.

The chains that bound these griffins must’ve been strong to withstand their strength. Then again, there were a lot of strange things about this place—technology that I simply couldn’t fathom. Like how they could trap all those supernatural creatures behind glass in the courtyard. It made me wonder if a witch was helping them.

As much as my mind buzzed with questions, I tore my eyes away from the griffins and continued toward the ocean.

I still wasn’t sure how I would find my way back to The Shade once I reached the shore. The thought had occurred to me that perhaps the hunters might themselves return to The Shade and resume their mysterious watch over the island. I was not sure what exactly they had been doing observing the island even after our witches had put a stop to their motion sensor technology. Whatever it was, after the incident with the dragons, somehow I doubted that they would be heading back there in a hurry.

My other option would be to find an airport and board a plane bound for Hawaii. Once I reached there, I would have a better chance of locating The Shade. But I did not know where the nearest airport was, or how long it would take me to find it. For now, heading to the ocean seemed like my best bet.

At least I possessed supernatural speed. That was the only advantage I had in this situation.

Arriving at the shore, I touched down on a beach and moved toward the water’s edge. I stared out over the expanse of water, trying to get even the slightest bearing. It wasn’t a question of if I would get lost; it was a question of when, and for how long.

Grimacing, I was about to lift myself back into the air when my attention was drawn to the sound of scampering behind me. I turned in time to see a giant Great Dane bounding toward me, his owner walking about twenty feet behind him. As he headed excitedly for the waves, the right side of his body brushed through me, and… I felt the strangest sensation.

Warmth.

Heat.

I could feel the dog’s body as he drifted through me. Others had passed through me before—humans and supernaturals alike—and indeed, I’d caused myself to pass through others, like in the case of Jeramiah after I had discovered his plan to hand my parents over to the hunters. But my encounter with this dog was the first time I had ever felt another being’s physical body. The feeling had me stunned, mesmerized for a few moments. I’d almost forgotten what the sensation of warmth felt like. I had touched River in dreams, but they were just that—dreams. They weren’t real or tangible like the wave of heat sweeping through me caused by the Great Dane.

I was in almost a daze as I stared at the dog, who had reached the edge of the water and was barking loudly to his owner.

I approached the mutt and moved through him deliberately. Again, I felt the heat, the physicality of his body. I bent down, thought overtaking me. What does this mean? I needed to continue on my way, but I couldn’t help but feel that I’d just made some kind of breakthrough. What exactly, I still didn’t know…

I wonder…

An idea sparked in me. I moved toward the animal again. This time, as he stopped jumping about and stood still, sniffing the sand, I stepped through him and stayed there, in his halo of heat. After a few seconds had passed, I suddenly felt an odd suction. As I remained rooted to my spot, I found my ethereal form sinking against—no, down into— the huge dog. As I sank, the heat of its body enveloped me and then my vision became shrouded with blackness… but it was for only a few moments. When the heat of the dog’s body fully consumed my spirit, my vision returned.

Only, it was not my vision.

I was seeing through the eyes of the dog.

River

The sight of the scar lining my abdomen caused something to snap in me.

I’m not going to take this anymore. I’m not going to allow them to do this to me!

I didn’t know how I would defend myself, and I didn’t want to think about what the consequences of that defense would be, but I swore to myself that the next person who tried to touch me would sorely regret it.

Glancing around the empty ward one last time, I grabbed hold of the curtain again and drew it closed around my bed. Then I settled myself on the mattress, placing the blanket over me and repositioning my pillows. I closed my eyes. I didn’t know how long it would take for somebody to come and check on me, but I did know that I ought to appear asleep when they arrived. I still had to figure out my game plan, but I felt that it could only work to my advantage if they still thought me to be lost in slumber. So I waited, my eyes clamped tightly shut. I focused on easing my breathing to a slow, steady rate. As I tried to formulate a plan, I glanced at the clock by my bedside every now and then to see how much time was passing. It was early evening now, so it seemed that at least a day had passed since they had operated on me.

As the night progressed, so did my impatience. I began to fidget, the wait becoming agonizing. I had already gone over in my mind a hundred times all the possible things that I could do to try to fight back and escape, but there was only so much I could plan in advance. I just had to wait for someone to come and then play things by ear.

Finally, doors glided open and then closed again. Then the familiar heels clacked against the floor, accompanied by wheels rolling across the floor. I froze, adrenaline beginning to course through my veins.