Page 24 of Furever Bound (Hollow Oak Mates #7)
SERA
T he elementary school sat at Hollow Oak's eastern edge, a charming brick building surrounded by playground equipment that looked entirely normal until Sera noticed the iron wind chimes hanging from every tree and the carved symbols worked into what appeared to be decorative fence posts.
Even the town's most innocent spaces carried supernatural protections, she realized, though they hadn't been enough to prevent Grimjaw's unprecedented daylight manifestation.
"There," Maddox pointed toward the far side of the playground where a massive shadow moved between the swings with deliberate purpose. "It's not hunting randomly—it's investigating the area systematically."
Sera studied the creature through binoculars Emmett had provided, noting details that made her blood run cold with recognition.
Grimjaw appeared more solid than during their previous encounter, its form no longer shifting between shadow and substance but maintaining consistent physical presence that suggested alarming increases in manifestation power.
"The children," she said, spotting movement through the school's windows where small faces pressed against glass with curiosity rather than fear. "They can see it, but they're not afraid."
"Children often perceive supernatural entities differently than adults," Callum explained from his position behind a maintenance shed, where he monitored the creature's movement through tactical equipment. "Their natural acceptance sometimes provides protection that adult skepticism destroys."
"Or it makes them ideal targets for entities that feed on innocence," Maeve countered grimly, checking her crossbow with practiced efficiency. "We can't assume Grimjaw's traditional behavior patterns apply when it's operating outside established manifestation parameters."
The debate about protective versus predatory interpretations of the creature's presence near children made Sera's stomach clench with guilt. Her viral content had created this situation, put innocent people at risk, forced an entire community to mobilize against threats they'd never faced before.
"I can feel it," she said quietly, the admission drawing sharp attention from everyone within earshot. "Not just awareness that it's there—actual connection to what it's thinking, what it wants."
"What is it thinking?" Maddox asked, cutting through group discussion to focus on intelligence that could inform their tactical response.
Sera closed her eyes and reached toward the strange resonance she'd first noticed the night Grimjaw stalked the inn, allowing her developing psychic sensitivity to engage with manifestation energy that felt familiar and alien in equal measure.
"Confusion," she said slowly, processing impressions that came as feeling rather than words. "It's drawn to the children's energy, but not for traditional bone-collecting reasons. They represent something it doesn't understand—innocence without fear, acceptance without submission."
"Meaning?" Emmett pressed with the tactical focus of someone planning defensive strategies.
"Meaning it's not hunting them," she realized with relief that made her voice stronger. "It's studying them. Trying to understand why they don't react with the terror that usually feeds its manifestation."
"That's... actually promising," Maddox said with surprise. "If Grimjaw is capable of curiosity rather than just predatory instinct, it suggests higher cognitive function than traditional bone collectors display."
"Higher cognitive function that could make narrative restructuring possible," Varric observed, having arrived with Council backup that included several supernatural residents Sera didn't recognize. "Entities that can think can potentially be reasoned with."
"Or entities that can think can become exponentially more dangerous when they decide reasoning isn't productive," Bram countered with his characteristic pessimism.
Through the binoculars, Sera watched Grimjaw approach the school building with movements that seemed exploratory rather than aggressive.
The creature's attention focused on the windows where children continued watching with fascination rather than fear, and something about its posture suggested genuine puzzlement rather than predatory assessment.
"It's never encountered humans who aren't afraid of it," she said, understanding flowing through their psychic connection. "Every manifestation in historical records involved communities that already feared the bone collector legend. These children don't have that cultural conditioning."
"Because we've done a good job keeping modern Hollow Oak children from being traumatized by folklore that might manifest," Miriam said with maternal satisfaction. "The protective approach may have inadvertently created the exact conditions needed for peaceful first contact."
"Peaceful first contact with a creature whose traditional purpose involves collecting human bones," Maeve said with practical skepticism. "Let's not get overly optimistic about entities whose nature revolves around hunting isolated individuals."
But even as she spoke, Grimjaw moved away from the school building with what appeared to be deliberate restraint, its massive form dissolving into shadow before vanishing entirely. The manifestation had encountered potential prey and chosen to retreat rather than attack.
"It left," Sera breathed, amazement cutting through her anxiety. "It actually chose not to harm them."
"Which confirms that your psychic connection provides accurate intelligence about its thought processes," Maddox said, his scholarly excitement warring with protective concern about her direct mental link to a dangerous entity.
"But it also raises questions about why the manifestation is evolving beyond traditional behavioral patterns. "
"Maybe because I'm evolving beyond traditional catalyst patterns," Sera suggested, processing possibilities that felt both hopeful and terrifying.
"My abilities are developing in response to community acceptance and supernatural energy exposure.
Maybe Grimjaw is developing in response to encountering humans who don't automatically fear it. "
"Co-evolution," Varric mused with the kind of academic interest that suggested he was cataloguing information for future reference. "Manifestation and catalyst adapting to each other rather than following predetermined folklore scripts."
"Which means we're in uncharted territory regarding both threat assessment and resolution strategies," Emmett observed with tactical pragmatism that brought them back to immediate practical concerns.
As the assembled defenders began discussing modified patrol schedules and enhanced protective measures for the school, Sera found herself studying the empty playground where Grimjaw had demonstrated capability for choice rather than just instinctive behavior.
"Maddox," she said quietly, "what if narrative restructuring isn't about forcing change on the manifestation? What if it's about offering it alternatives and letting it choose transformation rather than destruction?"
The possibility that cooperation might prove more effective than confrontation felt revolutionary in ways that challenged everything the community understood about folklore manifestation management, but it also felt intuitively correct in ways her developing abilities recognized as truth.
"That would require direct communication with an entity whose nature remains fundamentally alien," he replied with careful academic consideration. "The risk to you personally would be unknown."
"But the potential benefit to everyone would be revolutionary," she countered, meeting his protective concern with determined problem-solving. "If we can establish genuine dialogue instead of just defensive containment, we might be able to resolve this without casualties on either side."
The idea that Grimjaw might be capable of negotiation rather than just conquest represented hope that none of them had dared consider before, but it also meant placing Sera directly in contact with forces that could destroy her if her developing abilities proved insufficient for the challenge.