AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My gaze swept over the simple cot with a blanket and a small table with a pitcher of pale-pink liquid. A cup sat upturned beside it. Striding over, I sniffed the liquid, and my brow creased when I detected a faint floral smell. I knew most of the forest flowers back on the island, but I couldn’t place the scent.Nice try, monster assholes. You can keep your poison, thank you.
Ignoring the pitcher, I turned my attention to the narrow door at the back of the room. Pulling my dagger from my thigh, I held it up. I couldn’t be sure what was behind there, and I wanted to be ready. Cautiously, I swung the door open, and light flooded the small space at the movement.
I peered into the washroom, and my shoulders relaxed when I saw no one else was in there.Thank the goddess.Lowering my blade, I slid it back into the sheath strapped to my thigh.At least the monsters aren’t treating us completely like animals.There wasn’t a bath, but there was at least somewhere I could relieve myself.
Going back into the main room, I started running my hands over the cool, rocky walls. I wasn’t the first person to use the room. Scratches carved the stone, and faint splatters of blood appeared around the space. I tried not to think about what had caused the blood or who it had come from.
When I had finished my inspection of the walls, I turned my attention to the cot, first checking under the blanket and then kneeling to check underneath the frame.Nothing.I tried to contain my disappointment. Had I really been foolish enough to think I might find another weapon or a hidden tunnel?
The sound of steps outside my room had me jumping back to my feet. Before I’d had a chance to remove my dagger, black smoke curled under the crack of the door and reached toward me like clawed fingers. I slapped a hand over my mouth and nose, but the smoke wrapped around my face, and then I was pulled into darkness.
Crouchinglowbehindthetree, I suppressed a giggle. The old crone, Chief Shaasi, had almost seen me poking my head out of the shadows, but when she spotted nothing unusual, she let out a huff and turned her attention away from my location.I’ll be in so much trouble if she catches me, I thought excitedly.
I waited a moment then dared to peek from behind the tree again. A long line of villagers stretched across the clearing, and I marveled at their pretty clothes, the silky white sparkling in the moonlight as if they were daughters of the Goddess, Falia. They’d been out there since sunset, and I still hadn’t seen any monsters. I grinned, my smile so wide my cheeks hurt. The others were going to be so jealous when I told them I’d seen a monster.
“Rainie, you shouldn’t be out here!” a girl’s voice hissed behind me almost making me jump.
I turned to see Cara watching me, concern pulling at her hazel eyes. Her sleek mousey-brown hair was tousled from sleep, and goose bumps prickled on her skin, her white nightgown doing nothing to protect against the cold night air.
“I won’t be long,” I whispered. I’d thought I’d been quiet when I’d left her sleeping in our shared bed and crept out of the window. She must have woken after I was gone. “I just want to see if they’re real. Did you know Elder Hinter said some of them have wings?”
Cara yanked on the back of my flimsy nightgown. “It’s forbidden. We need to get back to the cottage. Father will—”
“They’ll never see me,” I pleaded, cutting her off. “Please, Cara, I just want a quick look.” I gave her my puppy-dog eyes, though I doubted they would have their full effect in the shadows.
She sighed heavily. “It’s too dangerous, Rainie,” she said, sticking her hands under my armpits and pulling, forcing me to stand. “The Katakin will be here soon. We have to go.”
“I just want to see—” I protested as I wriggled out of her grip. My weight wasn’t balanced properly, and I tripped, snapping a branch from the tree as I fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
A bloodcurdling howl pierced the air, and my heart jumped to my throat as I realized what I’d done. “Is this an ambush?” a deep voice bellowed from the clearing, and I heard the zing of steel.
Cara gasped, and I turned back to her. My eyes widened with horror as I saw her rooted to the spot, away from the cover of the tree and bathed in the moonlight. I must have pushed her back when I’d tripped. Her terrified gaze connected with mine.
“Who’s this skulking in the trees, your little spy?”
I couldn’t see who was speaking, but the rasp of his voice made my body quake with fear.
“No, no, of course not.” Chief Shaasi spoke this time. “You know children. It can be hard to get them to follow the rules. Step out of the trees, girl.”
Cara’s body shook as she took a step toward the clearing. I was still sprawled on my stomach, only just obscured by the tree, and I tried to reach out and grab her other ankle.
“Stay hidden. They haven’t seen you yet,” she whispered, her voice so soft I could barely hear it.
Tears pricked at my eyes. “You’re only sixteen. They can’t take you.”
She swallowed thickly. “Whatever happens, you keep your eyes shut and don’t move, all right?”
“But—”
“Promise me.”
My bottom lip trembled, but I nodded.
“Now, girl!” Chief Shaasi snapped, and Cara startled and stepped into the clearing.
I couldn’t move. Fear gripped me, and I struggled to breathe. Struggled to think. I didn’t hear what they were saying. I kept waiting, thinking Cara would eventually walk back to me, but she never came. By the time I was able to move again and looked out from behind the tree, a group of villagers were already shuffling toward the mouth of Procus, shepherded by massive, hooded figures.
Tears ran down my cheeks when I spotted Cara in her nightgown at the front of the group. And then she had stepped through into the cave mouth, a hooded figure pushing her forward with a gray hand on her back.
