by Susan Ee
Cinder wandered along the outer edge of the darkening woods, remembering what it used to be like to have a home with someone to welcome her.
Chapter 12
The moon rose over the trees, full and bright. Mist hung over the forest, slithering this way and that. Cinder had always thought the full moon beautiful until now. But all it meant to her now was fear.
Her breath came out in a fog even though it didn’t seem that cold yet. Soon it would be, though.
The dogs were howling already even though it was far from midnight. The wraith horses could be heard, their neighing echoing through the night, ethereal and ghostly. They didn’t sound like ordinary horses any more than they looked like them.
She ran along the outskirts of the town. She had nowhere to go and no one to go to. She couldn’t risk going to Silver’s cottage. If she was caught harboring a runaway girl of the hunt, who knew what the Dark King would do to her? He’d skinned people alive for far less.
She had meant to run and hide, just like Silver had told her to. But instead, she was running blindly at night, under the full moon, looking for a place to hide. She might as well be part of the hunt the way things were going.
Across the field, she saw a barn. It was unusual to have animals so close to the forest, for the forest creatures were known to hunt easy prey. She guessed the barn was empty like so many farms edging the forest. Most of those had been built before the war, before the darker beasts came crawling out of the woods when the Dark King took over.
She sprinted under the moonlight across the field, feeling like a mouse running out in the open under a hawk-filled sky.
It seemed like forever before she finally reached it. She leaned against the barn door, panting. This looked like a good place to hide for the night. It was quiet and secluded.
The barn doors were padlocked, though, with a rusty old lock. She caught her breath enough to grab a rock and break open the doors.
Inside, a smoky horse with a flaming mane reared up at her. Its skin was decaying, sloughing off in places so that Cinder could catch glimpses of the slick muscles beneath its coat.
A wraith horse.
Its screams sounded tortured as its hooves pawed the air in front of her, barely missing her. Cinder backed up as fast as she could, letting the barn doors swing open.
The wraith horse nodded its head as if nodding at her. Then it galloped through the doors and out into the field.
The smoke around it shifted and floated as the horse ran into the forest.
Cinder opened her mouth to call out to it, to tell it not to go into the forest, but it was too late. She couldn’t make noise and bring attention to herself, not if she wanted to live out the night.
The stories were true. Wraith horses looked as terrifying as people said. No wonder the nobles hid them from the peasants. Cinder hoped the bad-luck part of the stories wasn’t as true. She’d already had enough bad luck tonight.
She climbed into the barn and closed the doors. Some noble was going to be very upset when he found out that his wraith horse was gone. Why anyone would want one in the first place was beyond her. She thought it terrifying. No display of the Dark King’s favor was worth that.
She climbed up to the hayloft just in case the wraith horse had a mind to come back. With all this hay in the barn, it was a miracle that the whole place didn’t burn with that horse running amuck.
Cinder sat in among the hay and looked out of the open window toward the forest. She curled into a ball, wondering when they would come and find her.
Strange lights lit up the forest. Green and gold and blue. Here and gone.
Strange sounds too. Some were from the wraith horses, she knew. Others were unnatural snarling and howling. But other noises, she couldn’t begin to guess. Many things were out under the moon tonight. And they were all congregating in the forest.
She sat there in the dark for a long time, expecting to not live to see the sunrise. But somehow, exhaustion overtook her and sleep crept in.
She slumped along the hay bundles, eyelids weighing heavily. Her breathing slowed, and she slipped into a deep sleep.
Cinder dreamt she was flying. Not in a contraption and not like a bird. She was like smoke and fire. In the shape of…a horse?
Her hooves pawed the air as she climbed higher above the forest. She had no wings that she could feel. She just lifted higher by the wind the way smoke would be lifted high.
Below her, little men on their little horses raced through the woods. They were hunting. They had dogs that barked and growled, pulling on their leashes.
Then the dog keeper let his animals loose.
The dogs seemed to get larger as they leapt forward. Cinder realized they weren’t dogs at all. They were more wolflike and deadlier. In her dream, they turned into a pack of wolfkin as they raced ahead, chasing prey.
A girl ran ahead of them, almost screaming in her panic. She had no chance of outrunning them and there was nowhere for her to hide.
The wolfkin were on her in an instant.
Each beast was bigger than the girl. There was a dozen of them, all pouncing on the poor thing as she fell.
After that, there was nothing but screams and growls as the writhing pack of wolfkin boiled over the girl.
The hunters came then. When they saw the wolfkin on the girl, they kept a respectful distance. They were afraid of the feeding frenzy, but they took bets on how long the screams would last. They drank wine from their leather flasks and complained about the cold beneath their furred coats.
When the wolfkin were done, they looked up with blood on their muzzles.
They looked right at Cinder, who was still floating above them with her smoky hooves and fiery mane.
The wolfkin began snarling and growling at her. Then they began to run toward her.
They leapt up, tearing at her heels. She knew they’d bite into her haunches at any moment.
She fled as fast as she could. But it was not fast enough.
The pack of wolfkin caught up and tore into her, their faces wrinkled with their teeth bared as they ran alongside her.
Cinder was getting tired. She couldn’t last much longer.
But she was angry. So angry.
The fury burned through her so fiercely that flames flared from her eyes. She had to get to the witch. A witch who could trap a fairy in the body of a rotting horse could free her as well.
Cinder kicked and bucked against the wolfkin. Several of them caught fire, but others bit and tore her haunches. She and the beasts came crashing down onto the ground.
And the pack of wolfkin leapt onto her.
Chapter 13
Cinder woke to the morning light hitting her face. She bolted upright, looking around at the hay bales. No one had disturbed her all night.
The hunt was over.
By the angle of the light coming in through the window, it looked like it was already past midmorning. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept this late. Her bones and muscles ached as if she’d been running all night. The nightmares had plagued her for hours.
Outside the window, there was smoke spiraling up from the forest. The woods were always wet in the morning from the nighttime mist, so there was no worry of it all going up in flames. Still, it did not bode well.
She did her best to get the straw out of her hair and the sleep out of her eyes as she left the barn.
It was a long walk back into town. Along the way, she saw no one. It wasn’t market day, so it was no surprise that the merchants weren’t on the road, but townsfolk usually got up and took to the road at dawn.
The town streets had an eerie feel. The windows were all shuttered and barred shut. There were no children playing, no chickens loose on the cobblestones. The town was silent except for some commotion that seemed to be happening on the far side that she couldn’t see.
The few people she did see scurried about with their heads down. None of them would make eye contact with her and sped up as they pas
sed by.
Cinder looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, but could come to no conclusions. Curiosity pulled her through the windy streets of Midnight toward the sound of the commotion.
When she got to the poorest section of town, she wished she hadn’t come.
The king’s guards were dragging people out of the houses. They picked one or two out of each house they visited, but they seemed to randomly select the houses.
Their families cried and begged. A few attacked the guards, trying to grab their children away from them, but those parents were beaten.
One man was stabbed and left bleeding on the dirt road as the guards tossed his daughter into a cage on a cart full of caged people.
Cinder clenched her fists so hard that she dug her nails into her palm until the pain of it brought her back to herself. What was going on?
The hunt had just happened. Why were they collecting people already? And this time, it was against the wills of the families. These were not people being sold for the hunt.
She made herself turn and walk away. She could do nothing to help anyone here. Now, Cinder was like the other townspeople—silent and in shock.
Instead of heading to her stepmother’s house, she found herself walking to Silver’s cottage. Other than the crying and screaming in the poor section, the rest of the town was as still as a graveyard. By the time she reached Silver’s cottage, she felt drained.
She knocked on the door.
Silence.
“Silver, are you there?”
Cinder knew Silver must be home since her horse and cart were still there. Her flowers were strewn everywhere as usual.
“It’s me. Cinder.”
More silence.
With a bad feeling in her stomach, Cinder pushed the door. It opened easily.
Inside, Silver sat in her rocking chair. She stared out the window with blank eyes.
“Silver?” Cinder approached slowly, the way she would with a wild cat. “Are you all right?”
Silver looked at her. When she recognized Cinder, her eyes shimmered with tears.
Cinder knelt by her side. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“They took Ruby.”
“Who did?” But she knew even as she asked.
“The soldiers came this morning. They went to random houses and dragged out people.”
Cinder tried to take it all in but couldn’t. “Why? What are they doing with them?”
“They’re keeping them locked up until the next hunt, partly out of anger, I think. They also know that after last night, there would be very few who would willingly send their people out there. It’s always been horrible, but at least most of the hunted came back alive. Now, the risks are too great. Only murderers and maniacs would let their families and servants be hunted in the forest now.”
Cinder sat back on her haunches. “What happened last night?” Her words were barely a whisper.
Silver gave Cinder a look that was a mix of pity and anger. “The hunt went out of control and the hunters turned…savage.”
As an afterthought, she said, “Either that, or the wild fairies are back with a vengeance.”
The only ones who still worried over the Wild Wars were the elders who had lived through it. The hunters were far more of an immediate concern for Cinder.
“What do you mean the hunters turned savage?”
“The king invoked dark magic to win the war. The more he used that power, the more dependent he became on it, and the more twisted it made him. It touched all of his commanders and close noblemen. Each year, they become more rotted inside. The darkness eats away at them, demanding more, always hungry.”
Cinder had heard this before. They sang of it in childhood songs to the little ones.
“The hunt was just one of the baser ways to let off steam. Everyone turned a blind eye to it because it kept the worst of the Dark King’s men under control. They could play civilized if they got to let loose their darker side.”
Silver hugged herself, looking like an old woman for the first time.
“What happened last night?”
“It was a slaughter.”
Cinder took in a deep breath. “How many?”
Silver shook her head. “The rumors grew all morning. No one knows yet. Very few are talking about how many girls may have been killed. They’re mostly talking about the hunters who were killed last night.”
Silver looked at Cinder. “Was it you? Did you have anything to do with it? They say it started with someone attacking the commander.”
Fear crept up Cinder’s spine. Her throwing that rock had gotten mixed up with the slaughter.
“The hunters deserved that fate,” Silver said in a harsh voice. “But the girls certainly didn’t. There won’t be many of us left if they keep this up.”
“They’re going to keep them imprisoned until the next hunt?”
Silver nodded. Then she stood up with a hard look in her eyes.
“Where are they keeping Ruby?” asked Cinder.
“They took her to the castle. The captives will be under guard at all times. They will be fed and untouched until the hunt. The last thing they want is half-dead people fainting from hunger and abuse at the start of the hunt. No, they’ll take care of them the way they’d take care of prized boars.”
“What are we going to do?”
Silver visibly steeled herself. “We’re going to train until we can’t anymore. Then, when the moon is full, we’re going into the forest and taking our girl back.”
Chapter 14
Silver and Cinder trained day and night. Cinder’s muscles trembled at the harsh treatment. She fell into bed at night like a dead soldier and got up before dawn.
Silver began paying Cinder’s stepmother with gold coins that were used before the fall of the old kingdom. Helene didn’t even bother to come see Cinder or ask any questions about what she was doing at Silver’s cottage. She seemed happy to trade her stepdaughter for coin.
Cinder was constantly sore and exhausted but also very grateful to Silver. They practiced climbing trees and shooting arrows from behind branches. Silver had her leaping off branches and landing on horses. They sparred with hands and feet as well as with knives.
Silver was surprisingly agile. She complained at night about her aches and pains and how she was too old for this kind of nonsense. But Cinder could see how her eyes sparked with fierce determination and maybe even enjoyment when she jabbed with her knife and silently glided over the forest ground.
Cinder, although decades younger, felt clumsy and awkward compared to the older woman. But Silver seemed surprised at the speed of her learning.
“You’re fast.” Silver nodded her approval. “And smart. That’s good. It wouldn’t do to have my granddaughter’s rescuer be slow and dumb.”
She unexpectedly whipped out her fist at Cinder.
Cinder ducked and kicked at Silver’s stomach. The older woman simply moved like a willow in the wind and let Cinder’s foot kick by.
The month flew by and the full moon came quicker than Cinder thought possible. Silver kept reminding her that two months was nothing when it came to learning the infinitely complex world of soldiering. But Cinder felt so much more prepared than she had before.
On the day of the full moon, they rested, trying to build up energy for the long night ahead. But even Silver had problems resting. Neither of them could sleep, and Silver kept touching the daisies that she had said had always been her granddaughter’s favorite.
The moon rose heavy and full over the misty night.
Wolfkin howled into the sky as wraith horses whinnied. Cinder never caught sight of a wraith horse, but she did see silhouettes of the wolfkin. They were a special breed of wolves that the Dark King favored. Some whispered that they were only seen on the full moon, and the rest of the time, they were human prisoners in the king’s dungeons.
Villagers gathered around the hunters. Their breaths puffed around them in the frigid air
. It smelled of horses and pine.
No one was pretending anymore. Everyone talked out in the open about the hunt. This time, it would be a spectator sport as well as a participatory one.
For the first time, some of the families of the kidnapped victims were on horses as well. These were families who never would have sold their children and family members to the hunt. A few had spent their last coins to buy a horse to try to rescue their people.
The Dark King allowed anyone to participate in the hunt, but no one could ride into the forest until the official time. Everyone jostled each other, nerves zipping through the crowd.
Silver and Cinder were on foot, as were most of the villagers who were going to go into the forest. This was not without its dangers, as the hunters would not limit themselves to the released captives of the hunt. Anyone on foot was fair game, and everyone going into the forest knew that.
Several of the hunters carried bows and arrows as well as swords. Many had what looked like armed guards around them. Cinder didn’t remember that from before. She wasn’t sure if that was meant for their self-defense or if it was part of the newly fashionable sport.
A group of hunters laughed in front of her. They were finely dressed in gold and silver thread. One of them turned to look at the rabble of commoners behind them.
“Taking the quarry early may have been the best idea his majesty has had in years,” he said. “Look at all the free sport we’ll be getting as a bonus.”
The others turned and looked as well. When they did, their horses moved so that Cinder could see three young men sitting at the head of the group. Well, one was more of a man, while the other two looked more like older boys still. They were unusually young to be hunters, but there was no mistaking their rich garments.
“The audacity of the commoners,” said one of the hunters. “They truly imagine stealing our quarry away from us?”