“Ethan-”
My sentence was cut short as he drove the horse forward. In Wetherdon my Shire was a gentle giant, never running or moving faster than he had to outside his paddock, but this was a war horse. Its feet were wide and covered with fur, built for tough terrain and swampy ground, while its legs were thin but muscular and they propelled it forward like lightning. After almost being thrown off from the initial force of the horse’s speed, I grabbed at Ethan’s middle, clinging on for dear life. Though I kept whatever distance I could spare, he was warm beneath my fingers and I felt the strong, steady beat of his heart. His laugher boomed above the sound of the horse’s pounding hooves and I couldn’t help the smile that caught on my lips. I pressed my forehead into his back, drinking the sound of him up, and we rode toward the sun.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
COLOURS FLEW PAST us and mixed together in a blended symphony. Branches broke over our arms and dirt kicked back behind us as the hours rolled past, and finally I felt our pace slow enough to lift my head up. We rode underneath the charred frame of an old gate and stopped in the centre of what I could only assume was a village clearing. The ground was scattered with old beams and bits of broken stone walls. Shreds of ancient fabric fluttered gently in the ghostly remains of empty windows, but apart from that nothing moved.
“How long has this been-?” I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Though much of the world had been reclaimed by climbing vines, long grass and young trees, I could still see the blackened scars that remained on the buildings. The glass had decayed and shattered like brittle bone, and the glistening edges of its shards stuck out of the ground in years of compacted dirt. Ethan slipped off his horse carefully and helped me down with more grace than I’d have managed alone.
“Where are we?” My legs wobbled as I stumbled toward the remnants of a wall and Ethan caught me. I chuckled nervously. “Sorry, I’ve never travelled like that before.”
“You’ve been missing out.” He half-smiled and helped me over to the stones. “This place is a rotten memory of one of our greatest tragedies.”
Something crashed in the foliage beside us and Ric emerged from a cluster of bushes, brushing leaves from his hair. “A tragedy for many different reasons, that is.”
We were quiet for a moment, listening to the wildlife surrounding us. As soon as we’d ridden through the gates it was as though a chain shroud had been thrown across Ethan’s shoulders, weighing him down. Once Ric joined us, I could see the place held terrible memories for the both of them.
“Why bring me here at all if it causes you so much pain?”
“We come here every so often – whenever we feel like we’re getting too comfortable – to remind ourselves of what we fight for and what we risk our lives to prevent,” Ric said, perching beside me. “You’re right. We’re not like you, and this place is entirely different to your home, but I guess you’ve figured that out already.” He nudged me with his shoulder.
“In Wetherdon you have wolves and bears, maybe a woodcat or two,” Ethan interjected, “but here we have monsters. The sorts that are smart enough and evolved enough to make themselves seem harmless. Not all of them, mind you.”
“If this place is so dangerous, why live here at all?” I asked.
“Because we’re dangerous too,” Ethan said. His tone made my blood turn cold. “It’s our home, and where things like us belong.”
“Oh don’t be like that. You love it here.” Ric pushed him.
“I don’t understand though. Surely even if we’re…wherever we are, I’d have seen or heard of more people like me.”
“A while ago you asked us why you couldn’t leave, can you guess why?” I shook my head and Ethan continued. “People like you – Gnathians – can’t cross the borders surrounding Vremia. That includes those who already live here.”
“So, they get turned away?” I asked, not quite understanding.
“They die,” Ric said bluntly.
“Our barriers only allow creatures like us through unharmed. We were surprised when it let us take you through, though Willow thought it may have been because you were so close to death. We were never sure it would work,” Ethan said. “Our dilemma after that, of course, was once you’d made it across the barrier we had no idea how we’d get you back over when your health started improving.”
“We were going to do a test run before you woke up…then we gathered news of Stephan’s movements. Unfortunately he hadn’t written you off as dead or gone. You’d made an impression on him and, not to scare you, Ava, with the way you are at the moment that’s a death sentence.”
I must have looked as confused as I felt because Ethan elaborated further. “You’ve become a very valuable target. Whatever happened between you and Stephan that night has fuelled his obsession.”
“We’ve never seen this level of desperation before – not for decades, Gehn, maybe centuries.” Ric rubbed his eyes.
“Ever since we brought you here his movements have been disturbing, to say the least. He’s gathering more supporters. Either that or he’s been hiding his true numbers all this time.” Ethan looked sick. “I don’t know which option is worse.”
“Wait,” Ric said, holding his hand up. “Why would Stephan hide that from me? I ran alongside them for a while.”
“Maybe he’d realised eventually that you weren’t really true to his cause,” Ethan said, disturbed by his own realisation.
“Son of a bitch,” Ric said quietly as the idea sank in. “That son of a bitch. How is he always one step ahead of us?”
“He was one step ahead of us once,” Ethan looked at me, “but now we have something that he wants. So far as we know he doesn’t know our location, and we’ll be sure to keep it that way.” Ethan grasped Ric’s arm. “Let him think he’s bested us for a while longer. He isn’t the only one with eyes and ears everywhere.”
Ric shook his head and pulled his arm away. “With each passing month his eyes and ears begin to outnumber ours. Will it really take much to persuade those on our side to join his instead?” Ric spat. “Stephan doesn’t play fair. You know that.” He stalked away, back to the thick treeline where he disappeared.
I watched him leave, debating whether to go after him, but it wasn’t my place. I didn’t know the horrors he’d endured under Stephan’s thumb. An evening with the beasts had been more than enough for ten lifetimes, but how long had Ric endured it? What terrible, unspeakable things had they made him do?
“Don’t worry. He’ll be back,” Ethan said reassuringly. “He’s much stronger than all of us, you know.”
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“His kind – every now and then they’ll shed a skin full of their regrets and suffering and afterwards be absolutely fine, or at least seem it.”
“His kind?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Ric is a Skinwalker.”