Winter’s words still linger in my mind. My spirit wolf is in trouble with the viper cat and is marked for death. The whole supernatural community knew it, and now, I do too. I needed to find her, and my best chance was to explore the lake’s shoreline for what I saw in my dream walk. The hard part was convincing Felicity she couldn’t follow me into the woods. Our day at the nature preserve was over, and we got into the car to head back to the motel.

  “Hey, Fe,” I started as the car clicked on. “I am going to go down the lake shoreline to see if I can recognize anything from the dream.”

  “Yeah, wasn’t that the plan?” Felicity looked at me suspiciously.

  “It is, but I think I need to go alone,” I said, softly.

  “You’re joking, right?” She questioned me. I shook my head. “Korinne, I can’t let you go in the woods alone without protection. A supernatural or a wild animal could kill you!”

  “I will be back before it gets dark, Fe. I won’t go into a bear’s den or taunt any other creatures into attacking me. If shit happens, follow my location on my smartwatch to get me. Call Linkin and just tell him that I got lost.” I know this won’t be enough to convince her, but I can’t let her take the risk of her getting hurt out there.

  “You’re just going to sneak out at night if I don’t let you go now. I know you. I won’t promise not to follow, but I can try to give you some time to look on your own.” Felicity says in an upset voice.

  I know I am pushing her with this, but I can’t let the person I love most risk herself for me. Felicity and her family are all I have in this world since my parents died, and I would never forgive myself if she was put at risk for something that I have to do. She isn’t supernatural. Felicity is every bit of light in my life. She got me through all the darkness before, and I will come out of this alive for her in the end. So, I need to protect her now. No matter how mad she gets at me. I drop her pouting butt off at the motel where she ensures I take the moody book with me and bear spray. We say our goodbyes, and I can see tears falling down her cheeks as I leave for the hiking trails.

  Hours later…

  The sun was beginning to go down, and I was losing hope of finding the pebble beach where my spirit wolf washed up. I remember there being this odd-shaped rock that the wolf looked at on the beach. It looked like a giraffe to me. It was about a foot long from what I remember, but it’s all hazy now. The calm waves rolled in from the lake, crashing along the rocky beach. I could see the waxing moon rising above the horizon. I should turn back. I promised Felicity that I would be back before nightfall.

  Walking a little further, I snapped some pictures with my camera of the twilight hour on the lake. Photography has been a hobby of mine since I took a few photography classes at the university. The pictures I took since coming to Minnesota were good enough to sell to stock image sites. It’s only been a couple of hundred dollars, but it was something. Most of it was landscape photos and plant life. There was so much beauty out here on the trails. I was tempted to just lay in the grass overlooking the rocky beach.

  Snap!

  No one was around on this trail.

  Crack!

  A loud, huffing breath filled the space. I moved slowly, knowing there was an animal behind me. Glancing behind me, I saw a panting lynx stalking toward me. Those brown, cat eyes stared at me fiercely. There was something familiar about those eyes. It seemed like the cat was waiting for me to speak. The moon got higher as the sun sank below the horizon.

  “Great,” I muttered under my breath. Felicity would start worrying now. I decided to just try to communicate with this cat through mindlink.

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  Can you hear me, kitty? I felt a link between us locked in place as our eyes blurred a bit.

  Kitty? Are you sure you want to call me that… The lynx sniffed at the air. What are you? You look human but smell like a wet dog.

  What? A wet dog smell…Really? Was that how I smell to everyone now? It must be a side effect of this in-between state that I am in. Just move on and find your next meal. I challenged the cat. This lynx wasn’t normal. My birthmark began heating up again as if to warn me about the creature. Was it possible this wild cat was the viper cat of my dreams?

  You just might be my meal, or better yet a plaything. The cat licked his chops, stalking closer to me.

  I sighed, putting my camera into my side saddle bag. When my fingers brushed the book from Selene, the book began to glow and floated its way out of my bag. The glow brightened and I watched as the lynx became the viper cat called Mishipeshu. Its body became that of a black snake with a cat face and claws. Its sharpened bison horns stood tall on its head. My lungs froze as if my breath was stuck in my throat. Panic set in as my heart raced like a drum. This wasn’t what I entered the area to find, but now I am standing toe to toe with the Mishipeshu that’s hunting my spirit wolf.

  You must be a demigoddess or something since you can see me. I haven’t had the taste of a demigod in a long time. This will be a treat. The beast grinned and flicked its tongue at me.

  It stood ready to strike, and I felt helpless because the only thing between this beast and myself was a glowing book. My link with the viper cat broke as a new link with my glowing book sunk in.

  Korinne! Open the book. Grandma Jan called from the glowing leather tomb.

  My body didn’t want to move. I feared the moment I did move this beast would end, but I could back down. Not here. Felicity was waiting for me. Grabbing the book, I open it and a huge beam of light shoots out of the book, ending with a glowing pistol sitting on the book. The six-round pistol was an automatic at least, but I haven’t shot a pistol in ages. Why was Jan giving me this?

  This is a moonlight pistol. It shoots supernatural creatures only. It will take two shots to kill the beast in front of you. You only have six rounds of moonlight. Don’t waste it. Grandma Jan instructed.

  She wanted me to end this viper cat’s life although I have never hunted a day in my life. I know my life was at risk and the life of my spirit wolf. Still, I wonder if I can take this beast’s life. Somehow, I felt like the lynx was like me in some way. We both walk around in a normal form, but we have a mythical monster side to us. I had so many questions about what I was capable of doing, but I knew I couldn’t die here. Felicity was waiting for me. My spirit wolf needed me. Selene needs me. There was enough to fight for.

  Taking the gun in my hand, I cocked it like I did when my dad would take me to the range to practice shooting. ‘Keep both eyes open and on the target,’ I hear his voice whisper in my mind. I readied myself to fire but refrained from attacking the beast in front of me. It took all my control to keep from just shooting the creature outright. I knew shooting the lynx at that moment would be the coward’s way out. Mishipeshu hasn’t attacked me yet, and I should respect that.

  My eyes stared back at the cat readying to pounce with a slightly confused look on its face. It looked down at the gun in my hand with disdain. The cat’s eyes snapped back to mine with a grimace. Our link is locked back into place.

  Stay back, Mishipeshu. I warned the cat.

  Why are you here? The angry lynx questioned.

  Huh. Guess the viper cat hasn’t figured it out yet. You marked a black wolf for death. Why? Does it taste that good? My sarcasm was clear, but the lynx didn’t care about my questions or intentions.

  And if it does? What is it to you? The lynx hissed. Take my life or spare it. Make a choice. I am only doing what is necessary because ‘He’ asked. I was once a lynx fascinated by the glittery shine of the rocks in the caves near here. One day, a lost son showed up and claimed my cave for his own. I bit his leg when he tried to kick me out, which cursed me for all time. When the sun leaves the sky, I turn into the serpent panther of Lake Superior. A monster driven by an insatiable hunger to eat and destroy all who cross my path.

  So, you are trapped? I felt pity for this creature in front of me. The ‘lost son’ he mentioned was another local myth. It must be true since the viper cat stands before me, which means I am dealing with a demigod like Kalia warned.

  Cursed. Mishipeshu corrected. I am cursed for defying him. The cat studied me, digging his claws deeper into the ground. You must be the heir ‘He’ mentioned.

  Heir? I am no heir. I am only me. I stated. This viper cat wasn’t getting any more information out of me.

  The moonlight in your hands says otherwise, daughter of the moon. I will leave you to be his problem. I am only after the wolf. With that last word, the viper cat vanished into the forest. It must be after the wolf again. I didn’t hesitate to follow the beast’s trail into the thick of the forest.