Chapter 60
As Michael and Quade watched the compound and scouted the area that night, they found more peculiar tracks of chimeras. Strange animal noises, some guttural, some howls, and some high-pitched shrieks made it difficult to relax, let alone sleep. Michael kept watch while Quade slept for four hours, and then they reversed roles. He wondered, however, if he dared sleep.
He shut his eyes and hoped for rest, hoped to stop his mind from racing. A sweet perfume slowly filled his senses. The same scent of peonies that had risen up from Lady Hsieh’s tomb.
He opened his eyes. She knelt beside him.
“You will find a copse of pines to the east. Go to them, Michael,” she whispered. He sat up and reached for her, but she was gone.
Quade sat about twenty feet away, his back to the supposed
