“Yes, Commander.” Fitch stole a curious glance at the sisters as he approached, making Eira tense.
We’re little more than mythical creatures to these boys, Eira thought. She knew of the nickname “the weird sisters” that passed the lips of the younger ranks of Conatus along with stories of their exploits in battle before they’d joined the Circle. Though the name wasn’t meant to be cruel, Eira felt pangs at the aloofness that had grown between herself and the people she led.
When Mercer reined his horse alongside Lukasz, he too gaped at Eira and Cian before turning his attention to the commander.
“The sisters have informed us that the horses won’t tolerate whatever magics have been at work in this place,” Lukasz told the men. “You’ll remain here with the horses. Sound the horn if you’re set upon.”
Fitch was already dismounting; he seemed happy enough to stay behind, while disappointment was written across Mercer’s face.
“Yes, sir,” Mercer said, though his shoulders slumped a bit.
Lukasz stood up in his stirrups, calling to the Guard: “We’ll continue on foot.”
While Fitch and Mercer rounded up the horses, Lukasz led the rest of the company into the forest. Cian and Eira flanked the commander.
“Was it this quiet when you were here?” Lukasz asked Eira.
“Yes,” she answered. The sound of the knights’ chain mail and the clank of their weapons against armor was shocking amid the heavy silence.
Nothing had changed since their visit. Wildlife hadn’t returned to the forest. Not even a breeze stirred the leaves of the trees.
When they reached the village meadow, Lukasz raised his hand, bringing the company to a halt.
“Three groups,” he ordered. “I’ll lead the first group with Eira and Cian in a sweep of the village itself. Sorcha and Kael, pick your men and take point for the second and third groups. Sorcha, take the planting and grazing fields. Kael, head into the forest that borders the village on the east. At the first sign of trouble—or any evidence of what’s happened to the villagers—sound your horn.”
Lukasz nodded to the sisters. With weapons drawn they moved into the village. Like the silent forest, the village appeared exactly as Eira and Cian had found it. Everything abandoned. No signs of life. The only change Eira noted was that the fires had finally died, leaving gray ash in their wake.
The trio emerged from the first hut and Lukasz heaved out a long breath. “All the houses were empty like this one?”
“They were,” Cian said. “Every one of them.”
“Let’s make a quick job of this, then,” Lukasz said. “If nothing has changed, I doubt we’ll find anything here. We should separate to continue the search and rendezvous at the far end of the village. We’re likely better off searching the forest with Kael’s team.”
“I agree,” Cian said, moving off to the next thatch-roofed hovel.
Eira glanced at Lukasz. “Do you still think a warlock responsible for this?”
“I fear I don’t want to know what could do this,” Lukasz murmured. He left Eira standing beside the hut.
She hesitated, caught in the question couched in his words. She believed she knew exactly what had done this, though she didn’t know how or why.
A lesson.
Uneasy, Eira gripped her sword tightly and passed by the houses Cian and Lukasz searched. She opened the door to another hut, finding exactly what she’d expected. A dead fire. Bread that had gained spots of blue-green mold since she’d last seen it. There was nothing to see. Nothing to learn from this place.
Eira started to turn, but something stopped her. A flicker in her vision. Movement. Keeping her sword low, Eira pivoted, her back to the open door. Her gaze roamed the small space. Nothing was moving. Dim light filtered into the house, barely piercing the shadows. Eira frowned and then choked on her breath when one of the shadows moved.
She could barely make out its shape. It hung in the corner, camouflaged by the darkness of the house. She knew it was watching her. And when it moved again, she knew it was aware she’d seen it. It moved again and she became certain the shadow creature had wanted her to see it.
A wraith. One of Bosque’s minions. The very thing that had filled her dreams with cruel, wonderful laughter as it tormented Abbot Crichton.
Eira kept her eyes on the wraith. Now that her sight had adjusted to the low light, she could clearly make out its shape, a billowing cloud of smoke. Her pulse jumped in her throat, but the wraith didn’t approach her. It remained in the corner.
Slowly Eira backed out of the house into the light of day. Her heart thudded against her ribs as she closed the door, waiting. Nothing happened. The wraith didn’t emerge, didn’t follow.
Had it been there the first time? With Eira not knowing that such creatures existed, had it floated in silence in the corner of the house, escaping notice?
A disgusted grunt made Eira start.
“I thought we’d find something this time,” Cian said as she walked up to her sister, shaking her head. “But it’s all the same.”
Eira stood frozen while Cian surveyed the silent houses.
“I can’t bear this,” Cian said. “Will you finish searching the village with Lukasz? I want to get into the forest.”
“Of course,” Eira answered stiffly.
Two quiet voices were whispering to Eira. One urged her to tell Cian that something was horribly wrong. That they’d missed a vital clue because they hadn’t known how to see it. But the second voice compelled Eira to keep her secret, at least until she knew more about why Bosque’s wraiths were here.
“Thank you,” Cian said. She peered at Eira. “Are you all right?”
Eira nodded, still feeling every heartbeat like a hammer in her chest.
Cian laid her hand on Eira’s shoulder. “The emptiness. The silence. I know how horrible it is. We will make this right. I promise.”
Eira forced a smile and Cian went to tell Lukasz that she was forsaking her search of the village to join Kael’s team in the forest.
Suspicion pooled in Eira’s mind as she opened the door of the next house. With only slight variation, rotting leeks on a table instead of moldy bread, this home was a twin to the last. Eira forced herself to draw deep breaths as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. Remaining near the door, she searched the corners of the room with her gaze until she found it. Tucked in the eaves like smoke that hadn’t escaped through the chimney was another wraith.