I cleaned up the mess as best I could, prepared our drinks and
hurriedly returned to the living room.
“Well?” I asked, as I handed Mary her coffee, “What have I
missed? That thunder can't have been a coincidence. Frightened the
life out of me, so it did.”
“A message from the Forest,” my wife replied, that smug told
you so twinkle in her eye. She shuffled forward in her seat, her
excitement releasing itself through the fidgets. “Raven's back on
the team,” she said proudly, “Now we're waiting.”
“Is that true?” I asked Oak a I took my seat. He nodded dourly.
“Waiting for what?”
“For Raven's return,” he replied, “Or at least another message,
or further instruction from the Forest.”
