Kaybree Versus the Angels

by Harrison Paul

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Whispers from the Forest

  I couldn't sleep that night. This time, instead of coughing peasants, the commotion came from the chatter of the animals outside my window. "It's coming," said the raven, cawing as it flew by.

  "Out of the shadows," said the rat, scurrying by the door.

  "Death," hissed a snake. "Death, death, death . . ."

  "Something's coming," chirped the crickets. "Something's coming."

  "Hunt it down!" howled the wolves, one after another. "Destroy it!"

  They continued like that all night, until their voices became a torrent of sound in my head. It was deafening. I ended up staying most of the night in the halls, pacing the empty corridors and trying to rest on the floor.

  I asked Signy about it during riding class in the stables. "Animals sense things that humans have forgotten," Signy said as I brushed her fur. I'd sent Mira and Will to get oats to feed her, so we could have some time to talk. "Even tamed animals like us or your hunting dogs can become so accustomed to city life that we ignore what instinct whispers to us."

  "What kinds of things?" I asked.

  "Danger, mostly," she said, taking a sip of water from the trough. "They can sense when something is about to happen. They are also more attuned to the energies of the Angels. The Angels are the rulers of the forest, after all."

  I hung the brush up on the wooden peg. "Rulers of the forest," I said, frowning in thought. "Is that where they came from? Like how we came from Byrjun Island?"

  Signy flared her nostrils. "Who knows? It's always been this way. Humans live in caves of stone and brick, Angels live among the trees and beasts. Perhaps that's why the forest became impassable to you fifteen years ago. When the Angels turned against you, so did the animals." She turned to look at Mira and Will as they returned. "They're coming back. You sure you don't want to tell them?"

  "One surprise at a time," I said. "When they saw me fight that Angel in the tower, I thought their eyes would pop. I'll tell them eventually."

  Signy nudged my hand and I rubbed her nose. "Angels seem to like Vormund tower," she said.

  "Why do you say that?" I asked.

  "That's where the first Angel was headed. It would have made it if you hadn't transformed."

  "But what are they looking for?" I asked, mostly to myself.

  "Probably whatever the animals are upset about," Signy said. "Whatever is causing these dark energies."

  Will and Mira arrived and poured some oats for Signy. Will stayed as far away from her as he could, and Mira smirked at him. "Thanks," I told them.

  "Don't know why you insist on hanging around this one," Will said, crossing his arms.

  I stroked Signy's face again. "She likes me," I said.

  "Your mother might have it written down," Signy said. My ears perked up, and I gave her an inquiring look. "If the Angels want something that's important, Lady Andreya probably has a record of it. Whatever it is."

  I thought of my father's journal. I needed to continue reading to the end. Besides, it was fun to watch my father fall in love. That he fell in love with my mother kind of spoiled it, but I tried not to think about that.

  "So what did Lord Valkegaard tell you?" Will said, leaning on the rangir stall. "Was he off visiting his secret mistress on the edge of the forest?"

  "No," I said, too quickly. Mira arched an eyebrow, and I cleared my throat. "He and my mother went to check out a lead that the border patrol gave them. They didn't say if they found anything." He wasn't the type. Galen was noble, in the true sense of the word. A gentleman, what every knight dreamed he could be.

  "Don't fall for Galen Valkegaard," Signy said. My face burned, though I knew that none of the others could understand. "Many women chase him, but they never catch him. I'm not sure there's anything to catch." I stroked Signy's fur and gave her a searching look. "I don't want you to be disappointed. He's absorbed in his work, Kaybree. I'm sure the only reason he spends time with you is because it's part of his mission to defend humanity."

  He'd used those exact words yesterday. Did he only talk to me because I was a Witch? Maybe. But what if I shared his ideals? The only reason those other girls had failed was because they couldn't understand his grand ideas like I could. I only wished he would tell me what he and my mother were trying to accomplish.

  "What do you think?" Mira asked me. I realized that she and Will had kept talking.

  I smiled, embarrassed. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

  "I was asking if you thought we should go to the Bard Song right at noon tomorrow," she said. "That's when the first bards start, and we want to get good seats."

  "Yeah, sounds great," I said.

  Will gestured with his hands in front of my face. "But they're serving royal cured goat's cheese at the same time," he said. "We don't want to miss out on the cheese! Come on, were you totally spacing when I said how awesome it was?"

  "Kind of," I said. "Sorry."

  "I know, I know. Thinking about Lord Galen makes you spacey."

  "That's not it," I said, even though it was. I hadn't realized it before, but I did think about him a lot. The arch of his nose, the vibrant sea green of his eyes, the way his hair waved in the breeze. I hung on his every word when he had that gleam in his eyes, whenever he talked about fighting the Angels or inventing machines or teaching people how to read. He had such amazing ideas that I couldn't help but think about him.

  "Well, you decide tomorrow morning," he said. "We'll meet up at breakfast and then go to the festival from there." He grinned. "I'm so excited for the bards! And the cheese, and the sled races, and the Sagas. This Midwinter is going to be incredible!"

  Yes, of course it would. Except that there was a killer Angel roaming the sagekeep grounds—and reading us the Sagas. I stroked Signy's fur again, wondering just how memorable this Midwinter would be.