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weather change.
    This was the ghost fog that brought a warning of death.
    They had to go.
    She pushed furiously at his chest, but his hands tightened, holding her still. “What is it?” he whispered. “Have you heard them?”
    She shook her head, swallowing panic, watching the fog grow. In the weak green light of his odd stones she could see the outline of the nearby wall. Water dripped down over carvings of lions and roses and shields. All of it looked very old.
    Maddie felt the fog rise, climbing up her legs.
    “Something has put fear into your blood. Tell me what you see.”
    She stared at the lapping gray waves. She didn’t understand this gate he had mentioned or the men he said were waiting, but she knew one thing well.
    Danger was close to them. Judging by the cold gray layer crawling over the stones around them, they were both about to die.

 
    They didn't have time for explanations.
    The gray layers grew, more dense than any Maddie had ever seen. Once late at night she had come upon a bad car accident. The driver had been thrown clear and lay in a pool of blood. Maddie had tried to help him, but the glaze of death moved into his eyes, and he took his last, gasping breath as she knelt beside him.
    The fog that lapped around him had been far less than what she saw now.
    "Listen to me. We have to go. There's no time. The fog –"
    He pulled her close, not in care or lust but only so she could hear his whisper. "What danger do you see? I sense nothing."
    "I can’t explain, but it's here. I've always been able to see it." Maddie had never told anyone about the visions that had dogged her from childhood. "You have to believe me. We are both going to die if we don't get out of here."
    "You have the sight?"
    “Don't you understand? We have to go .”
    She tried to pull free, but his hand locked like steel across her ribs. “We go nowhere. If they come, they must walk single file, in search of the gate. I will meet them here, on my ground.”
    “Okay, sure. Whatever you say.” Maddie tried to sound reassuring. The man was definitely a whacko so she would have to talk her way out of this. “You can stay. That's fine with me. But I need to go. My friends are expecting me. They’ll be wondering why I'm late,” she lied. "My husband. My children too," she said in a rush. Why not pile up a few more lies to make her case?
    His arm tightened. "You are wed?"
    "That's right."
    He nodded slowly. “Then you must forget. For your sake and for mine,” he said.
    Forget what ? But she didn’t ask the question, too desperate to escape this approaching death. “Fine. Consider it forgotten. I have a very adaptable memory, believe me.”
    “I will ensure that you forget. This is the only way.” She felt his hand move, tracing a spot at the center of her forehead.
    “Hey—”
    But the words snapped out of her mind as his fingers pressed in a slow circle. The air seemed to hum, and her vision blurred. When his fingers moved again, the touch seemed to burn deep into her memory, pulling up blurry images.
    Signal fires on cold hills.
    Stone towers.
    Pennants that snapped in an autumn wind. A line of tired horses and lonely riders.
    “But hold. Is it possible?” His voice hardened. "You have lied to me. You are not wed."
    "Of course I am."
    “No.” He ignored her struggling as his hand pressed at her forehead. "You remember the towers. You remember our oldest vows."
    " No ." But more images stirred, whispered words by candlelight in the fear of discovery. Something about him touched her memory in a way that frightened Maddie. “Who are you?" she whispered.
    His touch felt almost familiar—and his words seemed to cut through to some deep part of her mind.
    “I am the one you must forget. And you…are the one I must always remember,” he said roughly. “I find my rose and now must leave her. You are too small, too young for what would be asked of you,” he said harshly. “So forget.”
    His fingers rose, gently tracing