The afternoon in Riverton Park had settled into that quiet golden stillness that sometimes arrives in early October across northern Ohio. The trees had begun to thin, the wind carried the dry scent of fallen leaves across the gravel paths, and the sun hung low enough to soften everything it touched.Most people would have noticed the peacefulness.
Rowan Hale did not.
The sounds of joggers passing by, the distant birds, even the calm voice of his mother walking beside him all faded into something distant, as though the world had slipped behind a wall of glass.
Because Rowan had stopped walking.
