Darling, There Are Wolves in the Woods

by Lydia Russell

  “Are we lost?”

  He tilted his head, listening. “I don’t know where we are, hush a moment.”

  I waited for him to find his bearings, glancing down at my side, lifting the cloth slightly so red bloomed over my fingers.

  “Keep pressing against it!” he snapped, then softened as he took in my wide-eyed look. “It’s this way. Hold on.”

  He started to run again, not hesitating on which turns to make, which of the identical pathway to take, and if perhaps I wasn’t in so much pain, I would have marvelled at it.

  A boom reverberated around the Eerie, shaking its foundations, causing Laphaniel to skid to a halt. Another boom sounded, tearing up the night, then another and another and another. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

  It rattled the skies, louder than the crash of thunder, then it stilled. I heard Laphaniel swear above me, the curse the only sound against the sudden quiet. Then there was the sounding of drums, wild and primal. Feral.

  “What is it?” I whispered.

  “The Witch Queen,” Laphaniel whispered. “She’s calling the covens.”

  “I think now would be a good time to slip away then…” I trailed off, loss of blood creating a sudden weariness that threatened to swallow me.

  “Stay awake,” he hissed, “Keep your eyes open! We need to leave quick…I’m going to steal a horse.”

  “That seems like a really stupid idea,” I muttered, forcing my eyes to stay open. “We’ll be spotted.”

  “Not while the covens are distracted, but if they descend into a revel, I won’t be able to get you out.”

  “But…”

  “Shh!” His hand came up tight against my mouth and he slipped back against one of the tents, just as an enormous shadow loomed overhead. It swooped down, its pale underbelly brushing against the pitched roofs. Great wings stretched wide, sending everything in its path crashing down as it beat them gracefully to the beating of drums. Its head hung low, nostrils flaring as it scented the grass, its scales shining a perfect midnight.

  The rider held her hands to the sky, head bent back in a cry of ecstasy, dripping red painted across her stunning face, her mess of black hair trailing back along with her tattered cloak. A scream tore from her throat and the beast rose upwards with a screech of its own. Laphaniel darted to the side, narrowly missing the razor-sharp talons hooked on its wing tips.

  It shredded the tent like tissue paper.

  “We’re leaving. Now.”

  Laphaniel kept stealing glances up at the sky, even though they had quietened. Even the drums had died down, and a tense, bated silence slipped over the Eerie. With the witches’ attention focused elsewhere, he walked right up to one of the massive black horses that roamed the pathways. He reached a hand out, and its ears flicked back, eyeing the two of us with distrust.

  “Safe passage from the Eerie in exchange for your freedom,” Laphaniel murmured, his voice low and quiet. The horse snorted, stomping at the ground.

  “A pint of blood.”

  The horse took a step forward, obsidian eyes flashing.

  “Two.” Laphaniel glanced around, his voice growing frantic.

  Great hooves pounded the ground, tearing up chunks of earth.

  “Three?” he asked, and the beast threw its head back, letting out a low whinny that was too loud against the quiet of the Eerie. “You’ll have to collect payment when we’ve reached a safe place, understand?”

  It lunged at Laphaniel, a furious hiss slipping from its mouth, revealing pointed teeth. Laphaniel spun with me still in his arms, wincing as teeth scraped along his shoulder.

  “I can’t ride if I’m barely conscious, can I?” he snapped. “I’ll pay when we’re away from here. It’s safer for everyone.”

  For too long, the horse did nothing but stare, but then without a sound it lowered itself to the ground, its eyes never leaving us. Laphaniel helped me on, keeping an arm around me as he climbed on behind.

  “Three pints of blood is a crazy amount to lose,” I said, reaching to clutch a handful of the beast’s mane, hoping it didn’t mind.

  “We’ll camp somewhere for the night, I’ll be fine,” Laphaniel replied. “Just worry about yourself for now. The Night-Mare will take us as far away as we can get, Night-Mares are fast. Just stay awake, okay?”

  The horse rose with a fluid grace, rearing up with a cry of its own and with the thundering roar of drums behind us, we flew through the Eerie as if we had wings.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  I lay on the cold ground, sharp stones digging into my back as I stared at the dripping rocks above me. The small cave we stumbled across was cold and damp, but far enough away from the Eerie that all I could hear was the faint echo of drums. The wild beat sped up in tempo, a frenzied song filled with chaos and discord. I knew the revel had begun. We had managed to get out by the skin of our teeth.

  Sick and dizzy, I watched Laphaniel as he placed candle stubs around the nooks in the cave walls, banishing back some of the darkness with a subtle flick of his fingers. My hand was sticky with the blood seeping through the cloth at my side, the wound stiff and sore.

  “I’m going to clean and stitch this,” he said, crouching beside me, reaching into his pack to pull out the bottle of green wine he had swapped for a lock of hair. “This is going to sting.”

  He poured the liquid over my side, and I gritted my teeth as it burned. “Would you save me some of that? I could do with a drink.”

  He passed the bottle to me with a wry smile, and I took a large swallow, grimacing at the sour taste. With quick hands, he washed the blood away, drawing a needle and thread from a leather pouch tucked into the pack.

  “Well, at least the hobgoblin was good at guessing what supplies we might need,” he said, stroking the hair back from my face as I stared at the needle in horror. With a flick, flame danced at his fingertips, as he held the needle over it until the end burned red.

  “If you poke me with that, I’m going to be sick,” I said, turning away.

  “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut as he deftly sewed me back together, biting my lip every time he slid the needle into my skin, cringing as he pulled it tight. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, and for the few minutes it took him to finish, he didn’t stop talking to me. He told me the compasses at Aurelius’ house were made to map the entire world of Faerie, that they were worth more than an entire dragon’s hoard. That merchants had set off to find the end of the world and had never come back, because the world had no end.

  “How do you know they didn’t just fall off?” I asked, accepting his help to sit up, my breath catching as the world tilted slightly.

  “Maybe one day, I’ll take a look myself and find out,” he replied, keeping an arm around me. “Are you okay?”

  “Just shaky, I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile. He wasn’t convinced and very gently guided my head between my legs, ordering me to take deep breaths. I did as I was told, simply because I didn’t want to faint on him.

  “Eat something,” Laphaniel said, handing me a couple of the sugary biscuits Aurelius had packed for us.

  “You’re going to need some of these soon,” I told him, resting my head back against the cave wall, my breathing steadier, my hands less shaky. I ate one of the biscuits and immediately felt better, I bit into another and the light-headedness faded. “What is the horse going to do with three pints of blood?”

  “Drink it.”

  “Oh.”

  “She’s called Angmar by the way,” he said, and I blinked in surprise.

  “Since when can you talk to animals?”

  He laughed, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair from my face, before hesitating and pulling away. “She might have told you, if you listened. You once thought the wind couldn’t sing, or the trees couldn’t dance. The Night-Mare is taking us as far as she dares, no doubt trying to get as far away from the Eerie as possible.”

  I shifted against the rock, draw
ing my knees up to my chest as I peered out of the cave, at the massive black horse tossing her head with displeasure, no doubt impatient at waiting for her meal. Her inky mane flew around her sleek shoulders like a living shadow, her eyes unfathomable and hungry.

  “Why didn’t she just leave?” I asked, breaking away from the Night-Mare’s penetrating stare.

  “The witches enchant them, so they can’t, not until they’re sold off,” Laphaniel answered, unscrewing the lid off a jar of familiar smelling wax, coating my newly stitched wound with the herby gunk. “Night-Mares are incredibly proud creatures though and will never undersell themselves beneath what they believe they are worth, even if it means losing their freedom.”

  “That’s really foolish…”

  “Shh, she’ll hear you,” Laphaniel said, tentatively lifting the edge of my battered shirt, which looked as if it were being held together by dirt and blood. “May I take a look?”

  I nodded, and he pulled it up over my back as I leant forward. I winced as he sucked in a breath.

  “That bad?”

  “These are really going to scar,” he breathed, more to himself than to me. “You’ve got black bruises all down your back.”

  His fingers trailed over my shoulder and down my spine, rubbing salve against the wounds I couldn’t see, and could no longer really feel. I tensed at his touch, the feel of his hand over my bare skin, the way it lingered over the welts. I heard his breath catch, then he slid my shirt back down and rose to his feet.

  “I won’t be long,” he murmured, making towards Angmar, who bowed her head slightly at him, waiting. “Try to get some rest.”

  I dozed on the cold ground, my mind too full to truly fall asleep. Too full of aches and pains, with the ever-present fear of darkness, and of course of Laphaniel, who constantly haunted my dreams.

  Cold and hungry, I opened my eyes, my hand coming up to rest against the blanket covering me. I sat up, lifting my head from the pack that had been placed carefully beneath my head in a makeshift pillow. A fire crackled just outside, giving off barely enough heat to ward off the chill. The candles still wavered within the rock face, banishing away much of the dark.

  Laphaniel rested against the other side of the cave, his head on his knees, a half-nibbled biscuit lying beside his feet. I got up, keeping the blanket tight around my shoulders, and wandered close to him. Sitting down beside him, I noticed the bite mark on his wrist, a raised circle of puncture marks that had already bruised his skin. I took his hand in mine to take a closer look, and he jumped.

  “Did I wake you?” I asked, as he folded his fingers over mine, squeezing gently before letting go.

  “No, I wasn’t sleeping,” he said, shaking his head before wincing. “She was quite hungry.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Hmmm,” he murmured, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you going to faint?” I teased, and he snorted.

  “No.”

  “Throw up? I gave blood once because mum made me. I threw up on the nurse and then fainted, I never went back. Do you want me to stop talking?”

  He was quiet for a moment, head resting on the rock, eyes closed. “No, I like it.”

  “When I talk nonsense to you?”

  He smiled, a tired quirk of his lips. “I just like it when you talk. I like the sound of your voice, I like the stories you tell.”

  “Laphaniel?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Can I sleep here?” I asked, and he drew me close without a word. He fell asleep long before I did, fingers sliding against my back as his head lolled forwards. I lay with my head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, telling myself it was okay, that I could be happy, smiling as I started to believe it. Even the feel of his clothes on my skin had become a comfort I craved, his scent something that could evoke a smile, his warmth a security I never found anywhere else.

  I fell asleep somewhere near dawn, the blackness of night just beginning to lift as I closed my eyes. The sun had barely risen when I opened them again, finding myself too restless to sleep, too filled with all the things I wanted to say and do. Too filled with everything. Uncurling myself from Laphaniel, I wandered to the mouth of the cave, where the Night-Mare fixed me with a knowing stare and it felt as if she were mocking me.

  Leaning against the cool rock, I stared out into the early morning, at the hint of frost that sparkled on the lush mounds that surrounded us. Crisp leaves scattered the ground, curling up as the chill began to seep in, pushing the warmth further and further back. It was a bitter reminder that spring was far behind us, and the months I had lost would never be mine again.

  I didn’t hear him walk up and he startled me, breaking me away from my thoughts as he passed me a bowl filled with dry fruit.

  “How much further?” I asked, popping an apricot into my mouth.

  “Another day’s ride,” Laphaniel said, standing beside me to watch as the double sunrise crawled higher. “Maybe two, depends if we run into more trouble.”

  I rubbed my arms, stepping closer to the fire to keep warm, absently throwing more sticks into the flames, making it hiss. “I know you don’t understand why I’m doing this, why I need to, but I just wanted to say thank you for agreeing to help me.”

  He nodded, taking a bite of an apple and swallowing. “Just promise me that when we get there you will keep your mouth shut and your temper in check."

  I opened my mouth to argue, but quickly closed it again at the look he shot me. "I promise."

  He said nothing for a moment, his shoulders tense, not looking at me. I tossed a handful of raisins into my mouth, not really enjoying them, feeling the weight of unsaid words heavy in the air.

  “Are you going to talk to me?” I asked. “Or are you going to go all moody and silent on me?”

  "Will you be willing to find a replacement?" he enquired, tossing his barely touched apple into the bushes.

  "What?"

  "For Niven," Laphaniel said, and I went cold. "We still need a queen, and if Luthien agrees to free Niven, we still need someone to take her place. Whose child will it be next?"

  I hadn't even given it a thought...saving Niven had always been my goal. I never thought of the price I might have to pay. Could I really swap her for another girl? Someone else's daughter...sister? My hands trembled at the thought; a sickness creeping against my stomach as I fervently shook my head. I couldn't...wouldn't force that on someone else.

  "I'll find someone," Laphaniel said softly, finally turning to face me. “Forget I said anything.”

  "No."

  "I've done it before. You won't even need to know who it is."

  "No!"

  "Perhaps an orphan? Someone no one will miss."

  "I said no. I will not force that misery on someone else, do you understand?" I snapped, horrified at the ease in which he was willing to snatch up someone else's child.

  "I understand, Teya," he said. "I have done it for years and you cannot imagine the guilt that eats at me. Do you not wonder why I am not with my court? Why I live out here away from them? I cannot stand the screaming; even when they stop, they haunt my dreams...even Niven." He took a breath, and my heart ached for him. "If you choose to go to Luthien and strike a deal, I will find Niven’s replacement. I will not put that on you, you have suffered enough."

  I hadn’t given too much thought as to why he lived alone with only Lily for company. I remembered the night Niven had been taken as if it were yesterday, the dancing and the magic...he had taken her with a smile. Was it forced? A mask to hide the remorse beneath? I could only hope so.

  "I could take her place."

  He turned to me in one graceful move, the little candles dotted around the cave suddenly snuffing out. The fire dimmed and spluttered. I could sense the swirl of Glamour creep around my body, lifting against my hair, causing the bowls and cups on the ground to rattle. Barely contained rage washed against me as Laphaniel snarled, all colour gone from his eyes.


  "You'll take her place?" he said, and I winced. "You'll take her place?"

  His fury made the cave sway as I reached for the rock to steady myself. “Laphaniel, stop."

  "You think I am going to take you to Luthien, so you can hand yourself over? That you mean so little to me? After what I have told you, you want me to put you in that castle?"

  "I just..."

  "Are you completely insane?" A deep guttural snarl escaped his throat. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

  I stood up, wiping at the sudden wetness beneath my nose as it began to bleed, though he didn't notice. "Laphaniel..."

  "Sit down."

  I sat with a bump, glowering up at him, my head pounding. "Will you calm down? You’re hurting me."

  "I don't have to take you anywhere," he said, the words soft and quiet, a wonderful lullaby. I closed my eyes and heard him exhale. The fury surrounding me died down, and the ache in my head subsided. "I could still make you stay."

  “I would never forgive you.”

  He dragged a hand through his hair, his breath coming out in a shaking gasp. "I will not make you live in your nightmares, Teya."

  “You can’t control everything I do!” I snapped, standing up to grab his shoulder, forcing him to look at me. “You don’t get to do that when you lose your temper, do you understand? You need to talk to me, like a normal person.”

  He blew an exasperated breath through his teeth. “You don’t listen to a word I say.”

  “I have been listening,” I said, closing the gap between us. “To everything, but I am never going to just obey you, Laphaniel. By now you should know that. I don’t think you’d want me to either, right? I’m not going to offer myself up to Luthien, I promise. We’ll think of something.”

  He tensed, his eyes still so, so black. “You’ll think of something, will you? Or will I have to? You are going in blind, Teya. You’re just human…”

  “Just human?”

  “Breakable.” He hissed the word, gesturing to the wound at my side, his hand coming over my wrist, fingers lingering over the newly mended bone.