"Are we going?" Edith asked again impatiently.

  What would happen if I revealed the fact that I couldn't detect the Squid? Not from the get-go, at least. My added value to the expedition was my ability to guide them to the monster that only I observed. An ability, as I had just discovered, I didn't actually possess.

  Was it because of the distance? The fog? My lacking familiarity with the beast? Was I using the compass wrong?

  The possibilities for the reasons for my failure buzzed in my mind.

  I concentrated on Edith and activated another one of the arrows, and it jerked to point at her faster than I could blink.

  I had to come to a decision. Fast.

  "That way," I waved in the direction I saw it last. It had been weeks, but I knew the river flowed south of the city, and I had come from upriver. We had hours to walk there. I hoped I could get a hold of it once we were closer.

  "Southwest," Edith yelled. "Let's get moving, people."

  We moved out on a neighboring road to the one I walked on the day of the arrival, crossing the city in a more direct line to our destination. I would've felt more confident making a beeline to the river first and following its course, but I had to work with what I was given.

  The city was deserted. It always was to some degree, but there was always a possibility that just behind the corner awaited a fearsome ghoul waiting to sink its teeth into you. Or maybe an apartment to the side of the street was haunted by a shade. Not to forget the cannibals and hunters hunting for their respective prey.

  No more. The city was undoubtedly deserted now, the last bastions of survivors split between the plaza and the outgoing expedition.

  It felt like the city knew this too. The streets were enveloped in dense mist, and by the time we reached the city walls, we were utterly blanketed in the thick of it.

  The fog has started to take over parts of the city. It wasn't good, but thankfully a large number of participants meant that we had plenty of observers, some of whom even deigned to use their magical Sight to pierce the encroaching blankness.

  A bubble of clear space flowed around us, slightly stretching forward in the direction of our movement.

  We made good time to the city gates, which were missing, undoubtedly ruined by time as anything else in the city.

  Edith stopped us there, briefly making sure that we didn't lose anyone.

  This was it. Stepping out of the city felt like committing to the plan. A crossing of the Rubicon, wherever it would bring us. At the end of the day, would we be back at the plaza celebrating our victory? Eaten? Or maybe crashed by the impossibly big foe? Or would we be lost, unable to find our way back?

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  Resolutely, I was the first to step forward, and the rest followed. We still had hours to trek if the Squid was anywhere near its old place, so I decided to dig for more information.

  "The compass," I turned to Edith, who took her place at the vanguard beside me. "You said it needs a concrete mental image to find anything? So how did the white robes use it to look for new ghouls?"

  Edith hummed along.

  "I think it's able to find stuff that's similar enough," she shrugged. "Heard having a piece of something helps a lot, and they were using ghoul parts to help them with that, though who knows? Nobody's exactly forthcoming about this stuff. Cagey bunch."

  That last part was probably directed at me, but I ignored it.

  "So if there are any more Squids, we could use it to find them? Even if we didn't see them first?" I asked.

  "Could be," she replied. "Don't use up all the charges before we're finished with this one, though. You can play with your new toy when we don't need it no more."

  Our trek continued, the stress and readiness fleeting us to the point that people were talking a mile and treating it like a field trip.

  I couldn't blame them. It was impossible to remain alert for hours on end without knowing how long it would take.

  First, we came up on the river to our left and followed it. Then I tried to be consistent and check the compass every half an hour or so.

  No luck.

  The arrows didn't budge once, and I started running low on them.

  Maybe I could repeat the enchantment if the intent woven into the spell was as simple as "Point me in the direction of my target."

  But I didn't know if that would work, and now was not the best time to experiment with it, not when it would raise uncomfortable questions.

  When only two arrows remained, I decided that I had enough. It was now or never.

  "Step back," I commanded. "I'm going to lure it in now."

  Edit reacted immediately, ordering everyone into their planned positions and readying the hooks. Kenny brought his battle wand into the open. It shone with overwhelming intensity—every little symbol on the round stone's surface radiating power.

  I really hoped it would work. If the thing was hidden by some sort of ability or hibernating, or if it was just far enough and that was interfering with the compass, making it move toward us could make it detectable. It could be just enough for me to finally be able to nail it with the compass.

  It had to work.

  A clearing around me formed in a matter of seconds. Edith nodded at me, and I got to work.

  I placed the glass bottle on the damp ground, concentrated on the image of the Squid, and activated the instrument.

  Unlike the arrows of the compass, which burned through the invested energy quickly to create the needed effect, the vial was more akin to the residual effects of my mask. It released the charge slower, in a more measured manner.

  Waves of energy continuously wafted through the air.

  I retreated back to the main group and stood next to Kenny, waiting, cautiously looking around. Most were looking expectantly at the river, while I knew the enemy could attack from an unexpected direction.

  Kenny was anxiously mumbling something, trembling with nervous energy. Everyone around me was anxious to one degree or another.

  I was, too, but for a different reason.

  Finally, the power of the vial was running dry, burning out of charge. Each consecutive wave came markedly weaker than its previous manifestations.

  I used the compass one more time—nothing. Again.

  Damn it.

  I broke rank and ran to the vial. Alarmed cries at my back, I raised it above my head and bought my will and energy crashing on it.

  A worm. A big fat juicy worm. Come here, you stupid Squid. If you don't eat this tasty worm, it's gonna get away.

  Like a mantra, I repeated the thought as I empowered the lure. It shone brighter, feeding greedily on my power instead of the previously invested crumbs.

  Come on, Squid. Come and get it.

  The vial's original spell was wholly depleted, the luring call held by my power alone.

  That's when I thought I felt something. Like my thoughts were not spoken into the void, another mind peered back at me, listening in.

  I hastily brought up the compass and activated it one last time. The arrow spun around wildly.

  Finally, action.

  "It's here!" I yelled, dropping the lure and running back to Kenny's side.

  I wasn't even halfway there when the previously tranquil river violently rippled, and the giant squid monster exploded out of it, its massive body seemingly impossible to have fit within the shallows it had sprung up from.