Mike stared at the woman in shock before he slowly shook his head. “No, not a real one anyway,” he tersely replied.

She tilted her head and frowned at him. “What other kind of witch is there?” she asked.

“Marina, that’s what you said your name is, right? Would you please tell me what in the hell is going on?” Mike demanded.

“I will, but not here,” she replied, taking a step toward him. “It is dangerous to be out in the open like this. One of the Sea Witch’s creatures might still be around.” She looked up at the sky again before looking back at him. “It will also be dark soon. We need to find a safe place for the night before the sun sets.”

“The sun sets? It was morning just a few minutes ago back… where I’m from,” Mike replied, waving his hand behind him.

He looked back down the empty beach again. He was trying to ignore the fact that the ocean was now almost the same color as the woman’s eyes. It should have been blue, green, or almost black but not purple. Whoever heard of a purple ocean?!

He swung his head back toward her when he felt the touch of her hand on his arm. Marina gazed up at him with an intense look. Her face was tight with determination.

“What is your name?” she asked.

“What? Oh, yeah, sorry. My name is Mike Hallbrook,” Mike replied. “Are your eyes really that color?”

A startled chuckle escaped her. She blinked and nodded her head. Mike caught the amused smile on her lips before it faded. She stared up at him with wide, serious eyes.

“Mike Hallbrook, I promise to tell you everything I know once we are safe. Please, trust me for now,” she said in a quiet voice.

Mike hesitated. He couldn’t help but look back at the spot where that thing had been just minutes earlier. It had been unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He gave a brief nod.

“I’ll follow you for now, but I expect you to explain everything the second we stop wherever you think is a safe place,” he bit out.

“Agreed,” she said.

Mike watched her walk away. His gaze ran over her slender, almost boyish figure. Not boyish—waif-like, he thought as he began to follow her across the rocky beach to the tree line.

“Traitor,” Mike muttered under his breath when Charlie trotted ahead of him to walk beside the woman.

Mike glanced around, noting and storing details even as his mind replayed what happened. A quick look over his shoulder back the way they had come showed massive cliffs rising out of the water, almost twice the height of those back home. Their sheer size reminded him of the cliffs he had seen at Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande in Texas. He paused at the entrance to the forest and stared up at the sky. The distinctive shape of two moons could be seen, one closer to the planet than the other, but definitely two moons.

“Mike, come. It will be dark in less than an hour,” Marina called in a quiet voice.

“I’m coming,” he said, turning back around and pushing the loose vines out of his way. “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m coming.”

* * *

The scene from the beach earlier played like a broken record in Mike’s head as he followed Marina and Charlie. Each step seemed to increase the number of questions he had and emphasize the strangeness of the situation.

He gritted his teeth in frustration. More than once, Marina stopped and held up her hand. He could tell she was listening to the sounds around them before she started forward again.

Farther down the trail, they came to a spot where a limb the size of his thigh lay twisted and broken. Marina ran her hand over the broken area. Mike knew his mouth had dropped open when the ravaged pieces twisted and formed a knot.

“What did you do?” he asked, curious.

Marina shrugged and continued moving down the path. “My strongest gift of magic is with the trees and plants. Mr. Tree helped slow down the Hellhound as best he could. In doing so, he was damaged. Such damage, if not taken care of, can open a tree to predators that feed on the open wounds. Most of the time, nature must take its course, and the tree will survive and heal. Damage done by Magna’s evil will fester, and the trees will die unless they are healed. I do what I can to protect them,” Marina stated. “There is a tree not far from here where we can find shelter for the night. Darkness comes quickly, and we must hurry.”

Mike silently nodded in acknowledgment. Following her in silence, he couldn’t help but notice that she moved with grace. He blinked several times wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him because she stepped so lightly it almost looked as if she were floating above the ground.

Her hair was a dark mahogany while her eyes were a dark purple. Something told him both were natural, especially after her reaction earlier when he asked about her eyes.

She was dressed in a long black sweater that stopped mid-thigh. She wore black leggings and black boots that reached her knees. He swallowed and watched Charlie duck under a log. It was obvious the pup had taken a liking to the woman.

‘Marina’ he silently corrected himself. Daughter of Ariness and Cornelia from the Village of Raines. Don’t forget she’s a witch, of course, dumbass!

He was still trying to get it through his head that she had shot magic arrows into a creature straight out of a horror film. The arrows had glowed before disappearing inside the beast. Then the whole thing had turned to ash. He wasn’t even going to think about the fact that the bow could talk or the way she made the tree do that weird knot thing.

Hell, I’m still trying to wrap my head around that nightmare on the beach, he thought in exasperation.

Marina paused on the trail. He could see her indecision. Charlie whined and nudged her hand.

“What is it?” Mike asked.

She bit her lip. She gazed farther down the trail before turning to look at him. The flicker of uncertainty told him that there was something else going on.

“I left my brother and sister in the rocks not far from here. I told Geoff I would be back once I drew the Hellhounds away,” she admitted.

“So, what is the problem? We go get them and get to this safe spot before dark,” he replied.

She smiled and an expression of relief flickered through her unusual eyes. She nodded and continued down the path. Several minutes later they emerged out of the forest to an area covered in large boulders. Mike noticed that Marina carefully searched the area before she stepped out into the open.

He looked up into the rocks in the direction that Marina was staring. He blinked when a lean boy appeared a moment later followed by a slender young girl. From their coloring and build, he could see the resemblance to Marina.

Marina raised her hand and waved. “Come down. We must make camp before dark,” she said.

Mike watched the two younger children carefully climb down. The boy turned several times to help the girl. Mike instinctively stepped forward and reached up to help the girl down from the last boulder. He didn’t miss the look of fear that flashed through her eyes as they darted from him to Marina. He patiently waited for her to realize he meant no harm. Charlie helped by jumping up and putting his paws on the rock to reach eagerly for her hand with his long, wet tongue. The girl softly giggled when she felt Charlie’s enthusiastic greeting.

“Come, Erin,” Marina whispered reassuringly. “We must hurry.”

Mike gently lowered the girl to the ground and turned in time to see Marina pause when the boy reached out to grip her arm. The boy’s eyes were focused on Mike’s face, and he could feel the barely contained animosity.

“Who is he?” Geoff demanded.

Mike didn’t miss the slight movement of the boy’s hand. Geoff’s fingers were wrapped around the handle of a long knife sheathed at his waist. The look in his eyes must have warned the boy not to pull it out, because his hand wavered for a moment before falling to his side.

“I don’t know, but he saved my life,” Marina admitted in a quiet, hesitant voice.

The boy’s eyes widened before his gaze moved back to Mike. “Which village are you from? You look different from us,” Geoff said as a light of curiosity came into his eyes.

“No shit,” Mike muttered before he flushed when Marina’s lips twitched again. “I’m not from around here… Wherever, in the hell, ‘here’ is. Your name is Geoff, right?”

“Yes. I am Geoff, son of Ariness and Cornelia,” Geoff stated. “What are you called?”

“Mike Hallbrook—Detective Mike Hallbrook and this fur-ball is Charlie. I work for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and the Yachats Police Department in Oregon. Listen, before I go any further, I want to know what is going on. What was that… thing back on the beach? Why are you hiding, and where are we going? I think before I go any further, I deserve some answers,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

He saw Marina’s chin lift, and she gave him an impatient look before glancing up at the sky again. He could see the indecision on her face before she released the breath she was holding. There was a sense of apprehension in the stiffness of her shoulders as she gazed back at him.

“We do not have much time,” she said, stepping closer to him until she was standing in front of him. “I am not sure what happened back on the beach. I cast a spell, and you appeared. You know this is my brother, Geoff, and this is my sister, Erin. I have told you who I am. The thing back on the beach was a creature summoned through black magic by the Sea Witch. She and her minions are who we hide from. We must seek safety before darkness descends.”

“Why? Why before dark?” Mike asked in a soft tone.

Marina’s expression grew sad before she turned her face away from him. “Because, the Sea Witch created a spell that drains our powers if we try to use them after dark. Without our magic, we would be defenseless against the creatures she created. Now, will you come with us or not? We cannot delay any longer,” she explained quietly before looking up at him again.

Mike’s lips tightened at the look of determination in Marina’s eyes. He sensed that she was telling him the truth. Giving her a curt nod, he decided it was best to follow along, at least until he could figure out how to get back home. The last thing he wanted to do was meet up with more of those ‘Hellhounds’ in the middle of the night.

It was obvious he was no longer in Oregon. The question was—where was he? His gazed around at the growing darkness. Night when it should be mid-morning, the dead creature on the beach, Marina’s talking magic bow, twin moons, and now a spell that drained magic—the list was growing.

Hell, with the way things are going, all I need to do is find a yellow brick road, change Charlie’s name to Toto, and find a tornado to make this nightmare complete, he thought as he and Charlie followed behind the young girl called Erin.