Chapter 14 · The Voice in the Rocks

"Don't." Amy was already crouched at the pit's edge, one hand reaching into the dark.

I caught her wrist and hauled her back. She twisted hard enough to nearly tear free.

"He's down there!"

"Who?"

"Bo. I heard him calling me."

I stepped in front of her and looked down.

The pit dropped fifteen feet, maybe more. Jagged rock lined the walls. Splintered timber jutted from the black water below.

A body floated face-down.

One arm bent the wrong way. The coat was ripped open, dark blood streaking the back.

Amy tried to pull around me. "Bo!"

"No."

"I heard him!"

"Then the thing you heard wasn't Bo."

I pointed down. "Look at the coat. The hair. He's older and bigger. Gray hair, too."

Her breath hitched. She stared at the body, then wrapped both arms around herself.

"But he said my name."

"Something said your name. That's different."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know."

The answer came out sharper than I meant it to. I didn't have time to soften it.

The blood trail beside the pit held my attention. It didn't lead into the water. It ran past the rocks, west, with fresh human boot prints beside it.