Sam Childs and Syd were standing at the gates of Oakwood-on-Sea trying to keep an eye on any strangers entering the town but found this increasingly arduous, not to mention boring. There had been a couple of false alarms but after questioning turned out to be nothing more than late revellers returning from a party out of town. They were just about to call it a day and go home when Syd nudged his fellow Warden in the ribs, none too gently.

“What the?”

“Over there, Chief, just going into the Gateway Hotel.”

“Come on, we need to check.”

Two Wardens who had been thoroughly tired and  bored suddenly sprang into action and dashed towards the hotel. 

“Syd, you take the back door, I’ll go in the front. Don’t challenge, just observe, got that?” Sam was well aware of Syd's slight stature which wouldn’t be much use if rough stuff broke out, as willing  as Syd was. Once in the building Sam made straight for the reception desk which, unfortunately, had no one in attendance. Not good.

“Hello, hello, anybody there?” He shouted.

“Did someone call?” Came a voice, heavy with disinterest. A corpulent languid figure almost rolled into view from behind a curtain that was draped over a doorway behind the reception desk.

“Vince, where did they go and did they sign in?”

“Steady on there Sam, slow down. What are you talking about, where did who go?”

It was clear to Sam that he was going to get nowhere with the proprietor and so made straight for the rear of the building where he found Syd, ready to pounce. 

“No sign, Syd?”

“Not a sniff. If’n they came in they are still in and we’d better get some back up and search.” 

“No time for that, Syd. You follow close behind me and we’ll have a look see, okay?”

“Got yuh Chief.”

Ignoring the protests, lame as they were from Vince, the two Wardens searched through the hotel, which didn’t take long as it wasn’t exactly large, no more than a dozen rooms. Everyone who occupied a room thoroughly checked out as bona fide guests who had been there some days already. 

“The roof?”

“Come on Syd, I should have thought of that sooner.”

The light was beginning to fade as they reached the roof and began their search of the area. Nothing up there but an old bucket, a broken handled broom, Water Tank and other bits and pieces left by whoever had been working on the building. Then something caught Sam’s eye. Evidence of someone having moved through some of the detritus recently, leaving a faint passage across the roof to the far side. The hotel was a stand alone building but had another property three feet away, ideal, thought Sam for a getaway. This must have been their route, he thought. He now had a headache in the form of unknowns in his patch. No numbers, no description, nothing.

“Come on Syd, back to the Station and inform the others. Things have just gotten a bit interesting. I’ll inform the little lady, oh, she’s away. Ah well, we need to be doubly alert from now on. We’ll make a systematic sweep through the town starting tomorrow.”

“Er, Chief, a systematic sweep? There’s only four of us. You’re not back in the big city now.”

“We shall do the best we can. That’s all we can do. Okay?”

“Got yuh.”

Ginny Blyth visited Llyn Gwyn on her way back to Oakwood and in doing so confirmed her fears. THEY had been there, which meant They had successfully tracked Whitey’s progress thus far. But how much more did They know?

“Cooey, anybody home?” 

“Miss Ginny, do come in, the Chief will be pleased to see you.”

“Oh, problems, Syd?”

“Yes and no,” Said Sam, entering the room.

“Care to explain, Sam?”

“We have had some excitement here, Miss,” Sam went on to relate the incident of the strangers and the hotel and their subsequent disappearance. “We’ve searched the town, as best we can, being limited to just four of us and come up with nothing.”

“Well Sam, They have already been to the island. I checked on my way here and there were definite signs of the place having been disturbed. I’d laid various items in strategic places that should anyone visit they would leave evidence of their presence. So there’s no doubt, they’ve been there. The question is, did they pick up any trace of the trail from there on?” Ginny sat down and was silent for a few minutes, everyone else joined her in the infectious thought mode until . . .

“Sam, where did you lose their trail, can you take me to it?”

“Of course, miss but it’ll be well cold by now.”

“Nevertheless, take me, please.”

“Now?”

“Is there a better time?” 

“Right you are, to the hotel it is then. Syd can look after the shop, Rock-son-of-Hud and Archid can join us. Let’s go.”

They had no difficulty gaining access to the hotel roof, in fact anyone could gain access. Sam made a mental note to challenge Vince, the proprietor at a later date about the total lack of any sort of security about the place. On the roof Ginny didn’t need any help in locating the spot where earlier the Wardens had found evidence of activity. She looked closely at the spot before moving straight to the point where Sam reckoned the suspects had leaped from the hotel to the adjacent building, something she emulated without a second thought. Naturally the three Wardens took this to be a challenge and duly copied her action, catching up with her by a raised wooden structure designed for access to and from the building.

“Does anyone know what this building is.?” She asked.

“As far as we know it’s an unused store house, once used by the hotel but not in the last few years.”

“Could they have known about this beforehand, do you think?” This was an open question directed at the group rather than one individual.

“Unless they were here before we started checking newcomers I don’t see how.” Sam didn’t like these kinds of puzzles, questions with no logical answer. Without doubt his most hated cases, no clues though there was a motive and that was a start.

“Well, there’s nothing for it but to follow their trail. Stick with me, boys, and whatever you see from now on, keep to yourselves, okay?” 

“Whatever you say, miss.” Mumbled Archid from under his cowl. One of his rare utterings. But he’s a good lad. a good lad.

“One more thing, are you all armed?”

“To the teeth.” Archid muttered.

The four of them set off, Ginny in the lead, Rock-son-of-Hud bringing up the rear. She led them on a winding route through the town, sometimes doubling back on themselves in a manner that Sam recognised as a false trail laying exercise often employed by felons he’d had to deal with back in his city days. What was really surprising was how, every so often, Ginny would get down on all fours and appear to sniff, or that’s what it looked like. Nobody spoke, they just followed as instructed until they came to the marketplace beyond which, down an alley stood the drinking place of ‘the roughies.’  These were the less reputable citizens of the town, drifters, seasonal workers, odd-jobbers and the like. Often referred to as ‘The Colourful Palace.’ One thing it wasn't, however, was a palace. It had seen better days even before it was built, such was its reputation.

“That, my friends, is where the trail is leading to. And it’s still quite strong.”

Nobody questioned her statement but all stood staring at the alley ahead of them. It was dimly lit giving the appearance of being ashamed of its own existence. Each sensed foreboding.

“I think you’ll find what we are looking for in there.”

“Right,” said Sam. “You had better stay here while we investigate.”

Ginny nodded obediently and stepped back.

There were three ways of entering the premises. The front door, a side door and the back.

“Rock-son-of-Hud, if you take the side door I will go in from the front, Archid, if you position yourself…”

“I know.”

“Of course you do. Right then, let’s go and stay sharp.” 

As he entered, slowly, letting his eyes adjust themselves to the poor light inside he noted that the place was quite busy. All the undesirables of the area were there. The air, such as it was, thick with smoke. One could almost cut it with a knife. It was rough alright, If there were any rats around they would be on crutches. The whole place gave the impression of an accident that nobody cared about. He placed himself against the wall by the door from where he had a good view of the room and it was just the one room. He noticed his lieutenant enter by the side door, positioning himself as he had done, affording him a good view. After a minute, he signalled Sam, indicating likely suspects sitting at an upturned barrel which was serving as a table. There were four of them, huddled together in quite animated conversation. In fact, thought Sam, they couldn’t have drawn more attention to themselves if they had waved a flag. This set off alarm bells in his head because they were obviously inexperienced and poorly led which in his book made them more dangerous due to their unpredictability. Both he and Rock-son-of-Hud hadn’t moved more than a couple of steps towards them when one of the four looked up and nudged the one next to him. They were spooked. What was going to happen would happen very soon and very quickly. And it did. They proved to be a little more savvy than Sam had given them credit for as they ignored the obvious routes of exit and bolted for the stairs. They were fast, too fast for the Wardens who followed in close pursuit. Before the roof there was a huge area plainly used for storage. This was not a place one would stay overnight in unless one was into barns in a big way. The stairs from the ground floor became a ladder at this stage, going one way, to the roof. The open hatch above indicated the route their quarry had taken. 

As they raised their heads above the hatchway their eyes, again having to adjust to a different level of light, were confronted by a surprising and frightening sight for standing in front of them, like statues, were the miscreants they were chasing, as if frozen to the spot. They had found themselves in what would be coined as ‘a rock and a hard place.’ Facing them was the most terrifyingly vicious looking giant lupine, Silver White making a dramatic contrast to the dark of the night, fangs a good forearms length long, and eyes that seemed to be on fire. It was standing between the would be escapees and their escape route and it was snarling in a most welcome manner. From that moment on everything happened at a speed hard to follow, being over almost as quickly as it had begun.

The four suspects knew they could not be taken captive and so decided to fight their way out. They split their forces, two turned to Sam and Rock-son-of-Hud while the other two faced the beast before them. All four were fairly quickly dispatched. Their bodies then turned into smoke and disappeared. 

Archid burst through the hatchway, knives at the ready only to find his fellow Wardens just standing there looking at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces. 

“What gives?” He uttered. “I saw a big beast leap from the roof to the building across the way?”  

“I’m not right certain, to be honest, lad.” His mind was busy in his usual Chief Warden manner, analysing, putting two and two together and the picture he was getting was a confusing one. He must have a chat with the little lady at some point. For now, it was back to the Station and a cuppa. Ginny was waiting for them looking all concerned and began pumping them with questions about what had just happened. 

Ginny was rummaging about in her ‘box of many tricks’ as she called it when there was a knock at the door.

“Come on in Sam,” She called. “What can I do for you, tea, coffee?”

“Nothing, thank you kindly. I just wanted a bit of a word with you, private like. It's a bit awkward.”

“Whatever’s the matter Sam, what’s troubling you?”

“The other night, the night of the chase…”

“Y-e-s-?”

“I couldn’t get it out of my mind. We all saw it, couldn’t miss it”

“The White Beast, is that it?”

“You got it in one.”

“Sit yourself down and I’ll pour you a drink and tell you all about it. I’ve been meaning to say something from the start but the opportunity never came up.”

Sam sipped his drink. It wasn’t tea or coffee but he just knew it was something he needed.

“I am not what or who you think I am, well I am but, oh this is difficult. A very long time ago there were a number of specially gifted individuals who fell foul of their respective Guardians and Elders and, as a result, were banished. They eventually found one another and decided to try to make amends by helping humans whenever they could.”

Sam sat staring at her holding out an empty glass, which she filled before continuing.

“I am what is known by some as a Shapechanger. One of these shapes you and your lads saw on that night. I am sorry Sam, I can see I’ve shocked you.”

Sam sat looking at her, not saying a word.

“Say something Sam, if only to castigate me for my deception, I deserve it.”

“I knew there was something but didn’t know what. All these strange happenings, bodies disappearing in a puff of smoke and you were sniffing for their scent the other night, weren’t you?”

She hung her head, ashamed of deceiving someone she greatly respected. “Yes, Sam, I was.”

“Well that’s alright then.”

“It is?” She said in great surprise.

“Why yes. For a time I was beginning to think it was me and I was losing it and should retire for good.”

“Oh no, Sam, you can’t retire. We, the community, need you more than ever now. Dark clouds are gathering further North and will eventually affect us here.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I can’t go into detail yet because I simply don’t have them but me and my kind are preparing for it.” 

“Your kind? Am I permitted to know who or what are the ones to whom you refer to as ‘your kind?’

“Oh Sam, I cannot but, I would ask you to get in touch with Madam Gwen of Windy Ho, she will be able to tell you more.”

“Your Aunt?” 

“Yes, well, she is and isn’t my aunt. Oh dear, please contact her, I can’t tell you anything more, I took an oath.”

Sam looked at her. She was in some distress now and he was beginning to feel sorry for her.

“Ginny, er, can I still call you that?”

“Please, please do.”

“Thank you for being so candid with me and I am sorry to have caused you any distress, It’s just that I have been so confused of late and not used to it but now you have cleared so much up. I respect you for sticking to your oath but I will go and see your aunt, er, Madam Gwen, if you don’t mind.”

“Thank you Sam. And Sam?”

“Yes?”

“You can tell your boys if you wish, about me, I mean.”