Page 42 of Seer

Once we were among the trees, our way forward wasn’t as difficult as I’d feared. We were able to pass between the trunks, and there wasn’t a great deal of ground vegetation. It took us fifteen minutes to reach the cemetery wall, and we were only about twenty feet from the bright orange tie-down strap.

“Damn, Cal, that was some excellent navigation!” Edgar said.

Cal flushed and mumbled, “Thanks.” I caught a flash of pleasure and embarrassment through our connection. Oh, shit.

“Look.” Edgar had walked over to the tie-down strap and was pointing at the ground a few feet into the trees. A bright green reusable water bottle lay there.

And that was it. No other clues.

Cal said, “Why aren’t we seeing any blood?”

Edgar and I shrugged.

We fanned out into the trees from the water bottle but didn’t find any evidence of a struggle.

“If he’d changed into his imp form, he’d be small enough not to break any branches as he ran,” I said.

Cal sighed. “And if the monster was in fog form, it for sure wouldn’t leave any traces.”

Edgar looked at him sharply. “You think the fog is a form for the creature, and not some sort of camouflage?”

Cal nodded. “It’s my working theory. We can discuss it on the way home.” He picked up the green bottle and asked, “Are there any psychics who can touch things and see what happened to them?”

Edgar said, “Readers? There was one in the original families. Ithink he lived in Idaho. Not sure if he’s still alive, but we can check.”

Nodding, Cal took his backpack off his shoulder and tucked the bottle into a side pocket. He brushed some leaves off the fabric before swinging it over his shoulder again.

We didn’t speak on the way back to the car. My mind was a swirl of worry over the monster, grief and shock over Thomas’ death, and panic over the unintentional connection with Cal.

Dusk was falling as we got back into the SUV. As he pulled out onto the main road, Edgar said, “I need dinner first for the energy, but later I can try to trigger a vision. Having visited the area where the death occurred should be enough to enable me to focus on the fog monster.”

Cal stared at him. “That’s right. Greg said you can have a vision when you want to.”

Edgar smiled and held up his left hand to show off his wedding ring. “Once you’re bonded, you’ll be able to do it too.”

“Oh,” Cal said faintly. I couldn’t quite identify the uncomfortable emotion that flashed through our connection.

Edgar changed the subject. “Cal, you said you had theories about the fog monster?”

“I do.” Cal unlocked his phone. “Assuming Stephen King’sThe Mistis still fiction, and vampires aren’t real....” He looked between me and Edgar with a raised eyebrow. We shook our heads.

He shrugged. “Otherwise I couldn’t find much. There’s something called—and I’m butchering the Gaelic—féth fíada, which is a mist or fog used by ancient Celtic gods to conceal themselves. But I’m not sure why an ancient Celtic god wouldappear randomly in present-day Texas and go after Wonders.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem likely,” I said.

“There’s a creature called aborda, which could be more promising. It’s an Italian legend that seems to have mostly been a tale to scare children into behaving. Thebordais a kind of hideous witch who comes out in the fog, and she kills anyone who meets her.”

“How do we fight one?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I couldn’t find any stories where people even met one. It’s more of a bogeyman tale. But I’ll do some more googling tonight.”

I nodded. “I’ll try as well.”

Cal said, “It’d help a lot if you’d give me access to your Discord server. I really want to document any recent Wonders who passed away to see if the deaths are related. The fog monster has to have come from somewhere.”

I frowned. “Asking that sort of thing in the general server would just create more panic among the Wonders. I’ll ask the other DMs though.”

Cal huffed, but said, “Fine. I’ll text you a list of questions.”