Arin's POV
My heart was sliced like a knife by the child's scream. Before anyone else could move, I was already sprinting in the direction of the sound. I sprinted between the trees, following the frightened cries, and my feet struck the forest floor hard.
Jaxon yelled behind me, "Arin, wait!" but I was unable to stop. I sensed the missing child's fear through the Unity bond. One of the hybrid children was a young boy named River — half werewolf, half witch. He was just seven years old.
Something made my blood freeze when I exploded into a clearing. River was imprisoned in what appeared to be a cage of black smoke by a creature composed entirely of shadow. The red eyes of the shapeless shadow thing stared at the boy as if he were a delicious snack.
I summoned my Unity power and yelled, "Let him go!"
However, the shadow creature simply laughed when it was struck by the golden energy.
