“Hey.” Halek pointed suddenly. “Is that a town?”
I peered through the skeletal trunks. The shadows were starting to grow long, as Namaia had begun to sink over the horizon, and the forest looked even eerier in the gray twilight. But between the trees, I spotted the outline of a structure. As we got closer, it solidified into the strangest house I had ever seen.
It was made of wood. Not stone or clay or sandstone, like all the structures I’d ever seen, but actual wooden planks. The walls were decayed and full of holes, but I could see the grain of wood in every individual board. A set of crumbling wooden stairs led up to a front porch that was mostly rotted away. The roof, or what remained of it, was tall and steep, coming to an angled point far overhead.
Gazing past the odd house, I spotted more of the same kindof structure, scattered in ramshackle rows throughout the trees. As I stared at them, I made out the remains of a town, skeletal buildings lining crumbling, overgrown roads. An ominous feeling stole over me, and I gazed around, wondering why I felt so uneasy. A moment later, I realized there were no statues. At least, none that I could see.
“Wooden houses,” Halek remarked, studying the structures from atop Rhyne’s back. The rock beetle was investigating one of the broken railings that had fallen from the porch, and after a moment, took a bite out of the post. It crumbled to dust in the beetle’s jaws, and Rhyne snorted, shaking his head.
“There are stories that the ancient people used to build their towns using wood,” Halek went on, as Rhyne turned away from the post in distaste. “Hard to imagine now, but I guess if this whole place used to be full of trees, it would make sense.”
“Homes made out of wood seem impractical,” Kysa remarked. “Very prone to catching fire, I’d imagine.”
“Not a lot of danger from fire back then,” Raithe said. “This valley was supposedly very lush and green before the cataclysm.” He gazed into the forest, as if he could see what the valley had been like... before, then he shook his head. “It’s getting late. The spirits will be out soon. We should look for a place to make camp.”
I nodded, turned Ratuk away, and then noticed the statue behind us on the path.
I startled once again, causing Ratuk to snort and toss his head in annoyance. The statue stood beside a skeletal tree at the edge of the path into town. I had no idea how I hadn’t seen itbefore; it was literally out in the open. It wasn’t posed like the other statues we’d seen; in various stages of running away. This one stood motionless with its arms at its sides, staring at the ground with its head bowed. If it had been a real flesh-and-blood person, seeing it like that would have set off all my alarm bells. As it was, it was still disturbing. What had the person been doing there? Why had they been standing motionless when the townspeople around them were fleeing for their lives?
“Weaver’s mercy,” Halek remarked, one hand going to his chest. “When did that statue get there? I must be going blind—I didn’t even see it until now.”
I shivered. Something about the statue seemed... familiar. I urged Ratuk closer, but the rock beetle huffed and shook his head, not moving from his spot. I gave him the command again, a little firmer this time, but the rock beetle ignored it.
I blinked. This was the first time Ratuk had refused an order. Maybe he hadn’t completely accepted me as his new rider after all. Or maybe he was hungry. If Rhyne got too hungry, he became extraordinarily stubborn until he was fed, according to Kysa.
“Are you having trouble with your mount, rider?” Kysa asked, frowning.
“I don’t know.” Sliding out of the saddle, I came around to the beetle’s head. “Ratuk, what’s going on? Are you hungry?”
Ratuk huffed and bumped me with his head, not seeming angry or upset at all. I patted his nose. “He seems fine,” I told the insect rider. “I guess he just had a stubborn moment. I’ll feed you soon, Ratuk, I promise.” I gave him a final pat, then took a few steps back and turned toward the statue.
It was staring at me.
A chill crept up my spine. A moment before, that worn, featureless face had been gazing at the ground, I was sure of it. And in the split second before my mind could register that fact, I realized two things. One, I recognized the figure: It was the first statue we had seen, the blacksmith girl in the leather apron. And two, I had caught glimpses of it before, in the trees or among the other statues; I just hadn’t realized what it was. It felt familiar... because I had subconsciously recognized it ever since that first encounter in the woods. I had seen it following us, stalking us, and hadn’t realized it until now.
All this flashed through my head in an instant, and I heard Raithe draw in a sharp breath as he realized it, too. “Sparrow,” he said, his voice low and tense, “come away from it now.”
In horrifying silence, the statue turned its head at the sound of his voice, sending a cold lance of fear straight through my chest. It took two steps forward, moving with a jerky, almost insect-like gait, its movements sporadic and unnatural. Slowly, it rotated its eyeless, featureless head back around... and then charged right at me.
Ten
I gave a yelp of pure terror, throwing myself backward as the statue lunged. Its single stony arm swiped at me, the fingers missing my face by inches. Pulling my dagger, I slashed desperately as it kept coming. The blade screeched as it raked across the smooth, eyeless face, leaving behind a thin white scar but nothing else. Unhindered, the statue grabbed for me; I dodged, feeling stone fingers catch my hood as I scrambled away. It was shockingly fast for a thing made of solid rock. I slashed at it again, cutting the side of its head as it swung at me, and it didn’t even pause as stone fingers curled around my arm.
Instantly, the pressure was unbearable, like my arm was caught in a stonemason’s vise, squeezing with bone-cracking strength. The statue dragged me close, the crushing grip bringing tears of pain to my eyes. Thankfully, it only had one arm. The stump of its other limb raised toward my neck, as if to grab my throat with fingers it no longer had.
With a screech and a burst of sparks, Raithe’s sword clattered off the statue’s arm, sending a vibrating jolt of pain up my shoulder. The statue whirled toward the kahjai but didn’t let me go. My wrist bones ground together under the relentless grip, and I cried out, expecting my arm to snap in the next second.
And then Ratuk plowed into the statue with a bellow, his four-foot horn crashing into the statue’s chest. The impact sounded like two boulders smashing together. The statue was flung backward, the pressure on my arm releasing, the front of its chest caved in. I collapsed, cradling my wrist, as the rock beetle shook his head and charged again. His horn caught the statue as it was struggling to rise and flung it high into the air. It plummeted onto the roof of one of the houses, smashing through the boards in a cloud of splinters and dust.
Silence settled over the town once more. I waited, holding my breath, listening for the shuffle of feet, for the crash of planks as the statue came through the house and attacked us again. Except for the settling of a couple boards, nothing moved. The air was still.
“Sparrow.” Raithe knelt beside me, eyes shadowed with concern as he reached out. Gentle fingers took my wrist and brushed back my sleeve. Beneath the cloth, I could see the bright red marks where the stone fingers had gripped my arm, each one like a brand across my wrist. Looking at them made it hurt even more than it already did.
Raithe’s lips tightened. Very slowly, his fingers moved down my arm, probing, squeezing. I gritted my teeth against the pain and turned my head away, trying not to gasp.
“I’m sorry,” Raithe murmured, finally easing up on the bruises. He still held my arm but was careful not to put any pressure against the skin. “I know it hurts, but can you move your fingers and wrist?”
I tried, flexing my hand and moving my wrist in a circle. The motions sent stabs of pain through my arm, but my joints seemed to be functioning normally. Raithe nodded and relaxed.
