Small Favors

by Erin A. Craig

  “And that’s all right with you?”

  I dragged my gaze up from the green bands. “I never said it was.”

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “So…he knows about them. About the—”

  “Dark Watchers.”

  “Dark Watchers,” he agreed unhappily. “And you obviously know about the luck.”

  I glanced at the scattered pieces that lay between us.

  “Then you must see I’ve been trying to keep you safe, from the moment we met—the four-leaf clovers, the silver horseshoe for Merry at Christmas.”

  “You knew they were out there, that they were watching us, and you didn’t say a thing!”

  He whirled away from me with a groan, swiping at a nearby tree branch. “I couldn’t! If you knew about them, what they are, you’d know to fear them, and that’s what they want. That’s what they’re drawn to. Fear and chaos.” He turned, eyes full of remorse. “I couldn’t bear that for you. Not you, so full of light and cheer. I wanted to keep that…to keep you…safe.”

  I wanted to hold on to my anger, but he slipped his hands over mine, ran his thumbs along the ridges of my knuckles. Like a bolt of cloth, I felt my indignation unspool under the weight of his beseeching stare.

  It wasn’t how I would have handled this situation, but I could see his side of it.

  I could understand his reason.

  I could forgive.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry about lying and misleading you. I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark. I’m sorry…for so many things. And I will spend the rest of my life apologizing if you want, but right now, we need to be searching for Sadie. If they went after her…”

  “Do you think they would do that?” I asked, giving voice to my darkest fear.

  “I don’t…I don’t know.” He swallowed. “But if they did, we don’t have much time.”

  I nodded.

  “Now think,” he began, and bent over to pick up the scattered pieces of luck. “Is there any spot she might have wandered off to? Somewhere she likes to play at? A creek bed or an old hollow tree?”

  “Sadie has never gone into the woods. Not that I know of. And she’d certainly never have gone past the Bells.” I glanced uneasily at the dark trees before us.

  He gripped my fingers tightly. “We’re together, Ellerie Downing. I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word.”

  But still my hands trembled as we took the first step over the boundary.

  We followed a small game trail, hollering Sadie’s name again and again. We pushed through knotted copses of saplings, young birches that would never gather enough sunlight to grow any larger. If they’d been within the protection of the Bells, they might have become kindling for the Our Ladies, but here, out in this vast and untamed wilderness, they’d waste and wane, eventually toppling over to rot and ruin.

  The farther in we traveled, the more doubts crept into my mind. Little tendrils of unease grew grasping roots, sinking their grip into my ribs until it felt like my chest would crack in two.

  “Sadie? Sadie, where are you?” I called out, shaky and desperate, hoping, praying, believing she would somehow hear me, but only my own voice ricocheted back.

  A flicker of irritation kindled in the pit of my stomach, then licked higher and higher, burning at my throat.

  Where was she?

  The farther we wandered, the more my anger grew.

  How could she have done something so thoughtless?

  She knew the Rules. She knew that the pines were dangerous.

  What had she been thinking?

  A snarl ripped from my throat, leaving me breathless and seething. I’d never felt so enraged, teetering on the verge of a fury so encompassing, it threatened to consume my very being.

  She hadn’t been thinking.

  I wanted to pull out my own hair. I wanted to scream and strike. Hurt and howl my indignities, set the world on fire so that I wasn’t the only one feeling this…

  Darkness.

  Just like Ephraim warned me of.

  It was as palpable as a shadow across the sun on a hot day. I felt its wrath like a tangible presence inside me, a separate entity forced to share too close a space. It squirmed and flexed, furiously seeking to take control. With every step I took deeper into these woods, its glowering blanket covered me, heavy and twisting and impossible to escape.

  Escape.

  I had to escape.

  “Whitaker, I think we should—”

  I stopped short.

  Somehow, suddenly, I was by myself, alone in the woods.

  I whirled around, trying to spot him.

  His hand had been firmly within mine. I could still feel the phantom brush of it against my skin.

  “Whitaker?” I tried, feeling foolish. Where could he have gone?

  Turning in a broad circle, I tried discerning which direction would take me back toward Amity Falls. But the path was gone. The forest surrounded me, unwavering and deep. It would not give me up so easily. Clouds passed over the sun, creating a false night and making it impossible to straighten my bearings.

  I picked a direction and continued on, determined to break free of the oppressing trees. Though I knew it wasn’t possible, they seemed to be creeping in closer, squeezing me in a claustrophobic embrace. At the far edge of my vision, something moved through the trees. Squinting, I could almost make out a darker shape lingering there.

  “Just an animal. Just a deer,” I whispered.

  But it didn’t move like an animal. It was too wispy, too insubstantial. It slid about with a fluid grace, even seeming to swoop into the air. It darted out in front of me, then shot into the canopy. I glanced up, trying to keep track of its assent, and screamed.

  Large eyes peered down at me, black and unblinking.

  I could just make out the pale face of a barn owl. It was the largest one I’d ever seen. Twelve talons wrapped around its perch, far longer and more deadly than any owl had a right to possess.

  Even creatures of the air weren’t immune to the Dark Watchers’ contamination.

  A bit of lacerated meat dangled from its forked and bloody beak, the last remnants of a vole or rabbit supper, no doubt. His head turned suddenly, his large eyes peering into the darkness, and his meal landed at my feet. When I looked up again, the owl was gone.

  A strange warble sounded, snapping my attention back to the pines. “Is…is anyone out there?” I raised my voice far more than I was comfortable with. “Sadie? Whitaker?”

  A noise drew my attention farther toward the direction I was heading. It was soft and could have easily been a pinecone falling to the forest floor. Or it might have been…

  I heard it again.

  And again.

  And again in a familiar regularity.

  Footsteps.

  “Whitaker? Is that you?”

  Though I could see absolutely nothing but trees before me, I knew without question that something was headed this way.

  Before it could catch me, I turned and raced deeper into the pines.

  I struggled through twisting briar patches, the thorns sinking into my sleeves, trying in vain to hold me back, but I couldn’t stop. The clouds parted, and a sharp ray of sun burst through the canopy, beaming directly into my eyes. For a moment, I saw nothing but blinding white light. As my vision returned, degree by painstaking degree, glowing dots danced before everything I saw.

  Or were they eyes?

  A set of dots, impossibly bright and low to the ground, stayed stationary, refusing to move as the other sun spots did.

  The mutated wolves.

  Sam’s monsters.

  Ephraim’s Dark Watchers.

  I couldn’t make out the figure’s shape, just the eyes, silver and hypnotic, enticing and entreating me to come to t
hem. I felt pulled forward even as my mind rebelled against my feet’s treachery.

  And then suddenly the eyes were moving, directly toward me, and it didn’t matter what creature they belonged to. I bolted away, leaping over tree roots poking from the ground like gnarled hands, reaching for me and seeking to do harm.

  I could hear the creature’s breath, panting with bloodlust, eager to rip and tear. It spurred me on, on when I wanted to stop, when my legs were on fire and every gulp of air seemed tinged with acid and the coppery taste of blood.

  I kept running, panic choking my throat, burning a stitch into my side, until I spied a break in the trees, a clearing ahead, and then him.

  Whitaker.

  He was there.

  I’d found him!

  “Ellerie?” he shouted out, searching for me. I raced across the clearing as he turned, and I pressed myself into his safety.

  Without hesitation, his arms opened and closed around me, holding me close, stilling my ragged gasps. His palms were warm at the side of my neck, and his fingers curved into my mess of a braid. His chin rested on the top of my head, and I could feel his heartbeat pulsing in the hollow of his throat.

  “Where did you go?” he murmured, tightening his embrace. “You were right beside me, and then—”

  I wanted to stay there, buried away in the security of his chest, but I forced myself to look over my shoulder. “We have to run.”

  “From what?”

  The creature should have burst into the clearing by now. It had not been far behind me.

  But there was nothing. No monster. No silver eyes. Just weak sunlight illuminating the tree break, slipping behind the mountains as twilight stole over the land.

  “It was…it was right there.”

  “A Dark Watcher?”

  “I don’t know.” I took deep breaths, my sternum aching. “It must have been. It was so fast.”

  He traced his fingers down my braid appraisingly. “Are you all right? Where were you?”

  “Me?” I blinked. “You were the one who left.”

  Whitaker shook his head. “I’ve been here all along. I heard something behind us, and then you were just…gone.”

  I glanced around the clearing, noting its peculiarities. It did seem familiar. Had I really just run in an enormous circle, and ended up right where I’d started?

  “How is that possible?”

  Behind us came a snap. A twig breaking.

  “It’s back.” I shuddered. I could almost see its unnatural shadows prowling low in the undergrowth.

  Whitaker shifted, keeping himself between me and the thing.

  “Who’s there?” he shouted, his voice booming with power. He puffed his chest and threw his arms out, making himself look as formidable as possible, like he was facing down a bear. “Who’s there?”

  Pine needles quivered as a shape rustled through them.

  But it was not a monster that emerged from the wood’s grasp.

  It was something much smaller.

  A flash of calico.

  Blond braids.

  “Sadie!” I exclaimed, racing forward to catch my little sister as she swooned out of consciousness.

  “Ellerie?” Sadie’s eyes fluttered open and stared blearily at the ceiling as they struggled to focus. “Where am I?”

  “It’s all right,” I promised, stroking the soft curve of her cheek. On the other side of her, Merry snuggled close. “We’re home. You’re out of the pines. You’re safe.”

  She tried pushing herself from the bed but fell back into the mattress, pressing a hand to her head. “I don’t feel very good.”

  “You gave everyone quite a fright.” Matthias Dodson watched from the doorway of the loft. The Elders and Parson Briard had been at the farm since our return, along with Dr. Ambrose. He’d treated Sadie’s injuries—mostly light scratches, but one along her arm had been deep enough to warrant stitches.

  “How did I get here? We were at the picnic, and then…” She trailed off. “I don’t…I don’t remember….Could I have some water, please?”

  I sprang into motion, pouring a glass from the pitcher at the washbasin.

  Merry helped shift Sadie into a more comfortable position before holding the cup to her lips. “Ellerie and Whitaker found you.”

  “You found us, actually,” I said. “We brought you back.”

  It had been a hellish journey. Whitaker had carried Sadie’s prostrate form over his shoulder while I’d navigated us around boulders and brambles, feeling everything with my hands. Though Sadie had remained mostly unconscious, her sleep had occasionally been punctuated by panicked nightmares so strong that she’d kick and lash out, striking Whitaker.

  I wasn’t sure if it was our collection of luck or my whispered prayers for protection, but the Dark Watchers had stayed away while we’d stumbled through the pines. Once, I thought I saw the telltale glimmer of their silver eyes high above us, but it had only been starlight tangled through the trees. Twilight had come and gone while we were in the darkened forest.

  Just as I had begun to fear that we were staggering about in circles, an orange glow had grown through the forest, warming the night and showing us the path home.

  The Our Ladies had been lit.

  We’d gone toward them, drawn to their flickering flames. I understood now why our town’s founders had built the towering structures as protection against the dark creatures of the woods. Seen through the maze of trees, the burning beacons were terrifying.

  By the time we’d broken free of the pines, falling into the arms of Amity Falls, I’d been sobbing with relief.

  “Do you remember anything?” Leland asked Sadie now. “Anything from the woods?”

  “No. I was playing with Trinity and Abigail, and then…” She blinked. “I’m so tired.”

  “We should let her rest,” Dr. Ambrose said.

  “Yes,” Ephraim agreed. “There’s much to talk about—perhaps we should go downstairs and let her sleep.”

  “Don’t leave me alone!” Sadie cried, her eyes flashing wide open.

  “I’ll stay with you,” Merry promised.

  “And Ellerie?” she pleaded, grabbing at my hand as if to pin me in place.

  “I’ll check on you soon, all right?” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and ushered the men downstairs.

  Before joining everyone in the sitting room, I poked my head out onto the porch, where Whitaker had collapsed in an exhausted stupor. He’d propped his feet along the railing, and his mouth hung slightly open, his eyelids fluttering in dreams.

  My fingertips danced above his hands and I wondered if I ought to wake him. He needed to hear everything Ephraim was about to say, but I couldn’t bear to disturb his peace. I wished I could join him, pressed against his side, deep in dreams of a happier future, instead of being in the current present.

  “Ellerie?” Thomas said, standing in the doorway with uncertainty. “Father wants to get started.”

  He wasn’t trying to conceal his accent any longer.

  Reluctantly I trailed after him.

  “Where’s Dr. Ambrose?” I asked, stepping into the sitting room.

  Dining table chairs crowded the area, brought in to create enough seating for the three Elders, the parson, Thomas, and me. Ephraim stood in front of the fireplace, nervously adjusting his spectacles.

  “Gone already,” said Parson Briard. “With Rebecca’s…confinement period so near, he thought it best to check on her since he was already out by the farm.”

  There was an empty chair next to him, but I hesitated at the threshold, my hands restless. “Can I get anyone something to drink? Water or…water?”

  “Dear girl, we ought to be tending to you, after your harrowing ordeal,” Leland said, gesturing to the seat. “Are you all right?”

  “Now th
at Sadie is back, yes.”

  “Sit, Ellerie. Please,” Ephraim requested, offering me a pained smile. He cleared his throat, acknowledging the others. “I’m afraid Thomas and I have something to confess.” He furrowed his brow. “Quite a lot of somethings, actually.”

  Matthias frowned. “Why are you talking like that, Ezra?”

  “See, that’s just the thing…I’m not Ezra. I’m not a Downing. And as much as I’d love to lay claim to such a set of nieces, Ellerie and her sisters are not related to me.”

  “I knew it!” Leland exclaimed. He turned to Matthias, cuffing him across the shoulder. “I told you something was wrong with them!”

  Ephraim fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve. “Thomas is my son; that much is true. But we’re the Fairhopes. My name is ‘Ephraim.’ ”

  “We belong to the Brotherhood of the Light.” Thomas sprang to his feet, unable to remain still.

  The Elders exchanged glances with one another.

  Ephraim’s gaze shifted about the room, taking their reactions in. “An old order of scientists. Researchers. Archivists. We investigate the things of myth and legend, lore and folktales.”

  “Creatures,” Thomas interjected.

  “Monsters,” Ephraim clarified. “Things of darkness and ill desire. We find them and we bring them into the light.” He cleared his throat once again. “Thomas and I were sent to America to track down a certain sect of them—the Dark Watchers. One of our society’s founders first encountered them centuries ago. He studied them for years, learning their habits, their rhythms, but when it came time to eradicate them, they fled on a ship sailing for the colonies. They’ve been causing chaos here ever since.”

  “What—what are they?” Matthias asked.

  “At first glance, they look no different from you or me—human, mostly. But they can move with unmatched speed and dexterity. They can blend into their surroundings so thoroughly, you’d never notice one, even as it stands beside you. And their eyes, of course.”

  Leland’s own were enormous. “What about their eyes?”

  “Dark Watchers are voyeurs, delighting in the creation of discord wherever they go, so that they may…watch. They have powerfully strong eyes, able to see the smallest details from great distances, able to hunt and watch their prey, even in the dark of night. They shine silver.”