Prologue
“Almost there,” Cress whispered to the three kids sheltering behind him.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Treya consoled them. Her reddish-gold hair fell around her shoulders and her affection for the two was evident. Her brave words didn’t match her trembling shoulders. The other two were similarly shaky.
“Hush,” Cress hissed impatiently. The grouchy satyr led them through the eerily quiet woods, the silence disrupted only by the occasional snap of a twig as they trudged their way through the brush.
As Castiel stumbled on a tree root a roar sounded behind the group.
"Cas!" Alexis half whispered, half shrieked, pulling Cas close to the group.
Before any of them could move, a monster emerged from the trees. It was a massive, shaggy animal, something between a bear and a wolf. It let out a deafening bark, sending saliva flying onto the kids.
“Stay close to me!” Cress bundled the three kids around him and started running. The three kids’ little legs worked triple time to keep up with him, but it wasn’t going to be enough.
“There!” The satyr gathered the kids in his arms and the four of them tumbled through the edge of the woods, landing at the edge of a valley.
The slobbering beast behind them came to an abrupt stop. It paced, snarling, but didn’t leave the trees.
All three of the children scrambled toward their protector. Cress wrapped his arms around them, watching the firelight further into the valley. He carefully removed a set of panpipes from around his neck and blew several soft notes.
Moments later, a group of people appeared, carrying torches and an assortment of weapons. The beast in the woods caught sight of the gleaming metal and snarled one final time before retreating into the darkness.
“All three?” A tall, shadowy figure like a man on horseback asked.
“Yes,” Cress replied.
One of the kids looked up at the man, who was really no man at all, but a centaur. “Where are we?”
The centaur bent over onto his knees, a kindly smile lighting up his face.
“Home.”