CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SIX – THE DRUID MAKES THE SAVE

"Shhh...shhhh, my love," Karina wheezed, rocking her and pressing trembling lips to her downy curls. "It's alright...we're alright, see? Mama's here, baby girl..." The endearments and gentle rocking seemed to do little to soothe the colicky tantrum gripping Becky. But at least her hoarse cries dialed back from their piercing shrieks as some small measure of the panic bled out of her tiny frame. Forcing herself to draw a series of calming breaths, Karina instinctively pressed her back harder against the reassuring solidity of the tree at her back. Only then did she dare the furtive glances that swept their seemingly unbroken solitude in all directions. No sounds of pursuit drifted through the early morning stillness, save the ever-present twittering of awakening birdsong. It was almost...peaceful, really, if not for the lingering phantoms of the slaughter she'd fled still fresh in her mind's eye. John...oh God, John. Was he...could he possibly....? The thought stilled the very beat