The loud pounding on their door, not long after Arik and Kyra had returned, surprised them all into stillness. They weren’t expecting anyone. They kept very much to themselves and discouraged visitors after Bronwyn had been taken. She had been the sociable member of the family and had encouraged interaction with their neighbours. Devlin and his father looked up in surprise from their jokes over what kind of meal Kyra would present them with, and Kyra turned from her preparations of the boar with a frown.
The pounding relented only to be replaced by an aggressive bark, “Open the door, in the name of the Guardian!” followed by increasingly violent demands for entry.
Devlin recognised the voice as Kane’s, the Guardian’s pet cat, as he thought of him, and his stomach did a queasy flip of con
