Free Bait This! (A 300 Moons Book) by Tasha Black

flying overhead, circling and then fluttering back under the trees to strut and pace on the branches of the trees ahead of her.
    The truth hit her in the head like a two by four.
    This was the demon. This was the bird that had flown away from the black bear. The demon had changed hosts, as she had known it would.
    It seemed pretty adept at using the bird’s form compared with the bear. But a bird would take very little energy to control, so it had likely been a bird before.
    Hedda followed it, hoping it wasn’t as aware of her as she was of it.
    If she tracked it long enough, it would have to go back to its source. The source would tell Hedda everything she needed to know about the threat. Maybe it would even be something she could take out on her own.
    She allowed herself to picture the joy on her sisters’ faces when she told them that her persistence had paid off and she had ensured that the portal was truly safe.
    This was her shot at redemption.
    She wasn’t going to screw it up.

20
    D eep inside the brown bear , Derek managed to stop screaming.
    Once he took the time to notice, the world through the bear’s senses was riveting. The woods, which had been no more than a dark moist backdrop, had turned into a tapestry of life. Scents of animals, plant life and the sparkling water of the creek below swirled before him like colors: rich black soil, green pine needles, crystal blue water and through it all, the seductive drumbeat of Hedda’s heart.
    When he calmed, he also noticed that the bear was hungry, but that he was unwilling to let that drumbeat grow softer in his ears.
    This realization unexpectedly endeared the creature to Derek. Though he knew it was just a mating instinct, from the inside he saw that it had the flavor of protection and deep affection as well.
    The brown bear climbed the mountain easily, though Derek could feel him tiring.
    When they reached the top of the ridge, the smells of the abandoned town below rose to meet them.
    The bear paused, confused. His body was exhausted, he was hungry.
    Derek reached out tentatively, trying to make a mental connection.
    I’ll handle it, you rest. You can have another turn soon.
    The bear turned the offer over in their mind. Then the big body sighed.
    But it wasn’t a sigh.
    Derek was suddenly standing on the hillside in his own naked body.
    The wind buffeted him and his own belly growled.
    Hurriedly, he scrambled down the mountain, afraid he would lose his tenuous idea of where Hedda was.
    At first it was easy to know where to go because he could see down the mountain from above. But by the time he was back into the trees, it was harder. He tried to head in the same direction, straight downward. But as he dodged around fallen trees and ditches he began to lose his sense of direction and could only hold onto the idea of moving downhill.
    The bear snored in his head, for the first time unable to help him with a scrap of enhanced sound or scent.
    Derek fought back panic.
    Just breathe.
    Darcy’s voice in his head.
    He’d heard his foster sister like that before, a long time ago.
    The scent of pine in the forest and his own disorientation tumbled him back into the memory.
    Derek had always loved playing in between the apple trees on the Harkness Farms. They were short and gnarled little things, perfect for growing apples to eat.
    In spite of their twists and hulk-like shapes, the apple trees were planted in perfect rows. You could go far, far from the farmhouse, pretending you were the captain of the ogre army - your monsters lined up to attack the enemy at your command. Or you could pull a comic book out of your jacket and curl up under a tree to read. Either of these activities could give you privacy from the kids and the animals on the farm.
    But when you were lonely, or Mom rang the old dinner bell, you could easily find your way home again by following the row.
    The only problem was harvest time.
    Every fall, the families of Tarker’s Hollow came. They