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The troll jerked its ugly head in my direction, its yellow eyes widening as it took in my enormous spectral form. Most ordinary humans couldn't see me, but trolls were old magical Creatures with the ability to perceive spirits, and this one could clearly see me well enough.

Good! Now if only I could frighten the damned thing into running away before it realized that I was nothing but a ghost.

I rushed towards it, making myself appear even larger and more terrifying. The troll gave a startled grunt and took a step backwards, its enormous hands curling into fists.

"BACK, YOU STINKING BRUTE!" I roared, wishing I could Shift to my Gryphon form to defend my territory. "BACK INTO THE FOREST WHERE YOU BELONG!"

The troll hesitated, looking from me to Celeste and then back again. I could practically see its tiny brain struggling to decide whether it ought to attack or run away. Unfortunately, it was still much too close to Celeste, and I knew I had to get her out of danger before the creature made up its mind.

"CELESTE!" I shouted, turning my attention to her. "GO, WOMAN—GO IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE! GET BACK INSIDE THE BUBBLE!"

She looked up at me then, and I saw the terror in her beautiful green eyes. Her face had gone white and her mouth was trembling, but at least she seemed to understand what I was telling her.

"RUN!" I roared. "RUN BACK TO THE BUBBLE! NOW!"

At last, she moved.

She turned and ran towards the shimmering barrier as fast as her bare feet could carry her, still clutching that ridiculous telephone in one hand. I kept myself between her and the troll, roaring and threatening the creature with all the fury I could muster.

The troll made a low, uncertain sound and shuffled backwards a few steps. But I could see that its fear was already beginning to fade. The brute was starting to realize that I wasn't actually attacking it, and I knew it wouldn't be long before it called my bluff.

And if that happened…well, I didn't want to think about what would happen.

"GO!" I shouted again, though Celeste was already running as fast as she could.

She reached the shimmering wall and practically threw herself through it, stumbling as she emerged on the other side. For one horrible moment, I thought she was going to fall, but she managed to catch herself and keep moving.

Thank the Ancients!

The moment she was through, the troll seemed to realize that its prey was escaping. It let out an enormous roar of frustration and lunged forward, its massive arms outstretched.

I tried to block its path, though I knew perfectly well that I couldn't actually stop it. The creature rushed straight through my spectral form, and I felt a horrible sensation of cold emptiness as its enormous body passed through mine.

Before it could reach Celeste, it slammed into the protective bubble.

There was a brilliant flash of golden light, followed by a sound like thunder, and the troll was thrown backwards onto the road. It landed with an enormous thud that shook the ground beneath it, sending dead leaves and bits of gravel flying in every direction.

I felt a surge of protective triumph. Ha! The protective barrier was still doing its job.

Unfortunately, the troll wasn't quite ready to give up.

It scrambled back to its feet and charged at the bubble again, roaring with rage. This time it stopped just short of the shimmering wall and began pounding on it with its enormous fists. Each blow sent ripples of golden light spreading across the surface, but the barrier held firm.

Celeste had backed away from it and was standing several yards inside the bubble, staring at the raging creature with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was trembling so violently that I could see it even from where I was floating, and the sight made something inside me ache.

Damn it all! The foolish woman had nearly gotten herself killed! But she was safe now. That was all that mattered. I needed to let her know that.

I allowed my spectral form to shrink back to its normal size and hurried through the shimmering barrier to join her. The troll was still roaring and pounding on the other side, but I paid it little attention now. As long as the protective bubble held, it couldn't hurt us.

"Celeste!" I called, drifting towards her. "Are you all right? Did that filthy brute touch you?"

She turned towards me, and the look on her face made my anger falter. Her green eyes were filled with tears, and her lower lip was trembling as she tried to answer me.

"I…I…" she stammered, looking back over her shoulder at the troll. "Oh my God, Garrik! What was that thing?"

For once, I didn't have the heart to give her a lecture about wandering outside the protective bubble. Not yet, anyway. She looked so frightened and miserable that all I wanted to do was comfort her.

Without thinking, I reached for her and put one arm around her shoulders, drawing her against my chest. And to my astonishment, I felt her.