Chapter 1

Fluttering gracelessly from one precarious mossy limb to the next, Raven followed the Walking Man. Earlier, she'd been on watch when he'd emerged from the hidden lair, much like a bear after awakening from hibernation. After sniffing the air around himself like a predator, he'd nodded, reached back inside to grab a bag, slung it over his shoulder, and began his walk.

Raven's larger wings made flying in the thick stands of trees bothersome. But she was intent on keeping the nasty human in her sights. The time was now. There would be no more hiding. No more secret graves. No more secret deaths. Not in Raven's woods.

A breeze left over by the windstorm gusted through the deep undergrowth, strong enough to make the emerging fronds of the sword and lady ferns nod back and forth as if they too accepted the decision. They were resolute. It had been agreed upon. Things had been set in motion.

Monsters took many forms, too many to imagine them all. Some monsters took no effort to identify and were easy to steer clear of. Others appeared harmless at first, second, even third glances. Those were the most appalling ones.

As if life in the forest here wasn't complicated enough already.

Things couldn't stop now. The actors had been called upon to play their part. Everyone was finally in place. Where they needed to be.

Even so, Raven stayed vigilant, making sure the process didn't grind to a halt. Again. Far too often, humans could not be trusted to stick to the plan, to not be distracted by shiny objects, no matter how important their part was.

This secret was not theirs to keep.

The man continued walking, following a lesser-known trail that had been in use by forest dwellers far longer than Raven's memory. Occasionally, he checked back over his shoulder, but he didn't see Raven over his head. He thought he'd outsmarted everyone, including Raven.

This arrogance would be his downfall.

Eventually the monster came to a man-made trail and began following it. The path was a wide, violent slash of a thing that burrowed through the trees and shrubs with no regard for what had been there before people arrived. It didn't belong. The forest tried to reclaim it but the humans returned year after year, removing barriers and treefall, equally determined to keep it open for their use.

As she flew, Raven heard the sparkling, laughing creek that ran alongside the path. Many winters, it flooded its banks, rising high enough to wash the trail away. But, again, the humans always returned and put it back once the waters subsided.

The Walking Man began to move faster, making his way down the steep mountainside with sure, strong strides. Not as fast and agile as he'd been before Raven was born, but quick enough and still strong. Raven kept him within sight, fluttering and gliding along after him. A flock of witless goldfinches startled—all flapping wings and flashes of color—scared by the man when he rounded a corner. The trees began to thin out, making it much easier to follow him.

He was an arrogant monster of a human, full of his own self-importance. Long ago, he'd stopped paying attention when Raven followed him, assuming the glittering gifts he'd left meant Raven was his beast.

Raven was no one's creature.

Through the cottonwood and birch trees along the edge of the forest, Raven could now see the structure that a great many of the younger, very loud humans spent time in. Sometimes, Raven made friends with these humans. In the past, the man had lurked close by, watching them and waiting, but he was not their friend.

This day he prowled in the opposite direction, still keeping to the shadows. Dressed as he was, he was almost invisible, indistinguishable if the observer didn't know to look for him.

Raven wasn't sure of his intent, not until she saw the lone human girl walk the trail between the school and the neighborhood. Raven had seen this human before; she often had four-legged creatures with her, ones that were loud and nosey. Today she was alone, her head moving to a beat only she could hear.

This was not part of the plan. Alarmed, Raven burst out from the woods, cawing loudly, but the girl did not hear her panicked warnings. Certain the warning was not for him, the monster ignored Raven entirely and kept moving, determined to catch his prey. Within seconds, he was almost close enough to strike.

Someone else did hear Raven's call. Tall and thin, with a beaky nose that Raven appreciated, the Package Man paused to tuck what he was holding into his bag before hastening around the corner to see what the ruckus was about. Raven liked him. Sometimes he left her sparkly things—gifts that Raven knew were given freely out of friendship, not attempts to buy her favor—and she'd kept them safely tucked away in her nest.

The Walking Man was mere strides away from the girl. Almost close enough to touch. To snatch. To make her disappear forever like the others.

It had to stop.

"You!" the second man called out sharply. "You there, what are you doing?"

The girl kept walking, oblivious to the danger behind her.

The Walking Man had heard though. He turned his head to stare at the other man, who hesitated when he should've run. Before Raven could react, the monster moved in and struck. The kind Package Man had no chance; he fell to the ground in a heap of parcels and envelopes and didn't move again.

Raven hastened back to the protection of the cedar and Douglas fir trees. The girl was gone now, having disappeared into a structure, safe for the moment. From her perch, Raven watched the Walking Man.

Cursing, he dragged the man into the darkest shadow along the street where, Raven supposed, the body wouldn't be found for a time. She would make sure it was found much sooner than the monster planned. Muttering anger at being interrupted, the Walking Man glared at the small, human dwellings in a line before turning back toward The Deep.

Foiled for the time being.

While Raven lingered, gathering her thoughts, a large, black vehicle turned onto the street. It drove slowly as if, perhaps, the driver was lost. When the car pulled to a stop almost directly across from Raven's perch, she made a snap decision.

The driver was looking at something.

Someone needed to find the Package Man.

Acting much faster than the forest would want—perhaps even impetuously—Raven darted out from the trees and directly into the side of the vehicle.

The resounding thump of her body had the driver glancing out the window. Righting herself, Raven tottered away like a bird drunk on fall blackberries and toward where the kind man lay, then flew up onto a nearby limb. Behind her, she heard the car door open and footsteps on the pavement. She looked down at the Package Man.

Moments later, the driver exclaimed, "Oh my god."