THE SHADOW BETWEEN US

The package arrived on a Tuesday, addressed to both of them at the house they now fully shared. No return address, but the postmark showed it had originated in a small town in coastal Oregon—one of the locations Mason had identified as showing patterns similar to Blackwood Lake.

They opened it together that evening, spreading the contents across the dining table they'd restored from her father's original furniture. Inside were newspaper clippings, historical documents, and a handwritten letter from the town's librarian explaining that three children had gone missing near their local lake over the past year, all after reporting identical nightmares.

"It's happening again," Mason said quietly, examining a photograph of the lake in question—eerily similar to Blackwood in its isolated beauty and troubled history.

"Yes," Cora agreed, scanning the letter. "But this time, someone recognized the pattern early. Someone reached out for help before decades passed and more lives were lost."

They looked at each other across the table, a silent communication passing between them—the recognition of duty balanced against hard-won wisdom about the costs of confronting darkness.

"We'll need to be careful," Mason said finally. "Strategic. Learn everything we can before we even consider direct intervention."

"And we come home between investigation trips," Cora added, reinforcing their agreement. "This doesn't become our whole lives."

"Never," he promised. "What we have here—" he gestured to encompass their home, their relationship, the life they'd built together, "—this is the foundation. Everything else comes second."

Satisfied with their mutual understanding, they began sorting through the materials, applying the knowledge they'd gained at such great cost to this new situation. Together, they would find a way to help these children, this town—not through sacrifice this time, but through the wisdom that came from surviving shadow and emerging into light.

Outside their window, Blackwood Lake reflected the setting sun, peaceful and ordinary in the evening glow. Within its depths, no entity stirred, no consciousness reached out through dreams, no ancient hunger waited to be fed.

Some battles, once won, stayed won.

Some promises, once kept, released you to make new ones.

Some shadows, once faced, gave way to lasting light.

THE END