Wynn leaped up and scrambled away, expecting Hob to change into another snake, but he just cocked his head as he looked at her. “Hob was Hob. Hob is Hob. I am Hob.” He grinned, baring his sharp teeth. He clapped his hands together. “I know! Look!” He pulled his little sack off his shoulder and opened it. “I liked your strap-bag. I made one! So Hob could carry this.” He reached into the tiny sack and drew out an old cork that had once been a part of a small honey bottle. It had been a gift that Elric had given the little creature when they first came through the Silver Gate.
“Hob!” Wynn cried, and rushed forward. The creature tried to leap away, but Wynn grabbed him and gave him a big hug. “I’m so happy to see you again.”
“Happy?” He braced his furry arms against her as he cocked his head to the side. His large ears twisted sideways. “No one is happy to see Hob.” His voice dropped a pitch and he frowned. “Elvsies don’t share their fruit. They chase Hob and try to catch him in their nasty traps. Darkling creatures try to eat him.”
Wynn hugged him again. “I am so, so happy. You are my friend.”
“Friend?” Hob’s large eyes grew round and shiny. “Hob is a friend?”
Wynn smiled at him. Slowly Hob wrapped his long fuzzy arms around Wynn’s neck and hugged her back. He sighed, and his long tail whipped from side to side.
“Yes, my friend.” Wynn gently let go of him.
He climbed up on her shoulder and patted her head. “I am happy too. You are a nice Otherworld child. My friend. With nice things to give Hob the way friends do.” He touched the silver band in her hair. She pushed his hand away.
“That’s not yours, it’s mine.” She scowled at him.
He just smiled and tucked his precious cork back into his little sack. “What are you doing? It is far here in the Nightfell Woods, and very, very dangerous in this place. Nasty beasties will eat you, elvsies will catch you in cages, or worse things will come.”
Wynn looked around the clearing. It was hard to believe there was a sun at all in this place. She shivered. “I’m lost.”
“Then we must take you back.” Hob bounced up and down, his tail whipping wildly behind him. “Because Hob is very nice. He is a very good friend. And the fairies will like him now and let him stay in the safe place where the bugs are so tasty.” Hob bounded through the trees. Mildred trotted after him.
Wynn followed as fast as she could. The sticks and leaves poked the bottom of her bare foot. It was scratched and it hurt. Still she smiled. She didn’t care if her foot hurt. She would be back soon. Hob would take her to the right place to go.
Then she remembered the shield. She stopped in her tracks. Hob glanced back at her. “I can’t go through,” she said.
Hob sat back on his long furry feet. He rubbed his chin. “Didn’t think of that. You don’t have fairy magic.” He thought some more. Then he bounced up so high, he flipped. “I know a way, a secret place. There is a crack. The fairies have not found it. They did not fix it. It has been there a long time, yes. But only little creatures like Hob can fit through. I will go and find the boy Otherworld child. I can bring him to you. Follow me!”
They changed directions and marched through the trees. Now that she had a friend, things didn’t seem so scary anymore. The trees were bigger here. The bark was very black. The leaves were heavy, too. But for a little bit, Wynn felt like she was walking through the woods back home. Those woods were very nice.
Wynn hummed a tune and marched along after her guide.
Hob stopped. Lifting his nose high in the air, he sniffed. Then his ear slowly twisted one way as his other ear turned a different way. He went very still.
Mildred ran over and perched on Wynn’s foot again. Wynn lifted her and stroked her back. “What is wrong?” Wynn asked. The cold feeling came back in her body. She shivered as each space between the trees looked dark and deep to her.
Hob’s amber eyes flashed. “Hob can smell it, yes. A reaper nearby. Very stinky,” he said, his ears pressed low on his head.
“What is a reaper?” Wynn asked. She knew it was something scary. Raven said something about them.
Hob looked at her with huge eyes as he shook all over. “Grendel sends the reapers in the woods to do his nasty hunting. They catch creatures and bring them back to their master. Then the Grendel sucks the spirit out of them until they disappear.” He whipped his head up and looked behind them. “Run.” He hopped quickly down the path. “Run!”
Wynn grabbed Mildred and held her tight to her chest. The hen squawked. Wynn ran. She tried to run fast. Hob bounded ahead of her. With his bouncy legs he sprang over twisted roots and sharp rocks. Wynn had one shoe. Her bare foot hurt. The bushes caught her dress and ripped it. The skirt trailed under her foot. She stepped on it, and the jerk of the snag nearly made her fall onto Mildred.
She had to keep running. It was hard to run while she held Mildred, but she didn’t want to let go. She had to keep Mildred safe. She had to get back home.
“Run, Wynn-friend!” Hob shouted, his tail whipping behind him. “Run fast. The shield is near.”
A howl slid through the darkness. Wynn gasped as she turned to look behind her. It sounded so close. Hob jumped over to her and
