CHAPTER 14

**Maxine Pov**

It had grown darker, and I was working my way back home, my mind knotted with all that happened out in the woods earlier. The dark streets were little comfort, and the chill of the air only seemed to intensify this eerie feeling that clung to me. I could hardly believe what I had seen, what I had barely escaped from.

My mind was on rerun with the scenario, but a dark figure just filled my line of vision, the overwhelming feeling of being in grave danger, and then… Alph. He showed up at just the right time, but why was he there? The question just gnawed at me, but I couldn't piece together some sort of meaning.

I stood at the front door and hesitated. It seemed I was a different person than the one who had left this house that morning. I opened the door, took a deep breath, and stepped inside into the dark hallway. The house was quiet, holding its breath, so to say. No signs of anybody—no Alph, no Mother, nor the maid.

Relief washed over me, yet it was short-lived. The m