Ashes

by Lauralana Dunne

  They had come a long way since their flight the previous evening. She had traveled farther than she ever had before. Unfortunately for them, Phoenix hadn’t realized the vastness of the land beyond the fields. She had always travelled in the other direction.

  “Alrigh’ then. C’mon,” she said softly to the donkey. Phoenix flicked the reins and directed Muler to cross the water that marked the edge of Avondale’s lands.

  She had played a gamble coming this way. She was counting on Speaker Thomas to look for her in the other direction - if he looked for her at all - towards Avondale Proper. She doubted he cared what became of her, but his pride would make him angry enough to want to punish her. She hoped he’d assume she had gone somewhere familiar. She also hoped that he’d assume that she would have wasted a night of travel by sleeping.

  The road leading from the bridge was well-trodden. It was easy to see where they were going in the dimming light, but Phoenix could feel a sense of unease as the little donkey’s pace put the bend of the river behind them.

  The darkening trees on either side of them cast a foreboding gloom over the roadway.

  Phoenix found herself starting in her saddle as small movements from the bracken caught her eye.

  This was where the Darkened Wood spilled from the mountain ridge into the little valley. She frowned at the thick trees that crossed her path. They used to be a smudge in the distance but now they intersected with the road, their new growth spreading to choke out the original forest.

  Phoenix knew that Angoria was controlled by whoever sat on the throne. As a child, Marla had taught her that King Benedict took care of the Land for them, this was why they sent tithes every year as thanks for the harvest and the ability to provide for their families. Phoenix was confused as to how sitting on a chair in some castle had helped Avondale to grow anything. Still, every year they praised the King and sent a portion of their work in thanks for another harvest.

  The harvest this year was big, but many of the crops had failed. And now… She was surprised that no one had sounded an alarm about the Wood. Stories were constantly told about the evil that lurked in the trees; of travelers that went missing along this stretch of road even when the treeline still hugged the horizon. There was never any clear indication as to what the danger was. The monster usually changed from telling to telling, the familiar stories escalating with each retelling. Still, even seasoned hunters steered clear of the Darkened Wood whenever possible.

  “It’s pro’lly jus’ bears, anyhow,” Phoenix muttered to herself as they approached the treeline. Muler flicked his ears back and gave a grumble, but continued forward at his steady pace.

  The weather began to worsen. The intensity of the rain increased and the wind rose in response. The falling water whipped at her and Phoenix pinched her hood closed across her face, shifting the fabric so that just enough of a gap was left to see through.

  A low howl carried on the wind. Phoenix felt a whisper of fear skitter down her spine. She looked around carefully but couldn’t see anything moving around her. She ignored it, telling herself that it was just the moaning of the wind pushing through the trees. Regardless, she knew that they were running out of options. Soon they would have no choice but to try and find shelter within the forest.

  “Or maybe jus’ really big hares,” she added without humor, her smile dying before it reached her lips. She made the sign against evil in front of her chest.

  Darkness began to descend, and with it came a drop in temperature. The wind whipped at the pair, slicing through the cold of Phoenix’s wet skin and breathing a chill into her bones. She pulled her cloak around her torso tightly, but the sodden material did little to help. “Oh, Muler,” she pressed her forehead against the back of the donkey’s neck. A wave of panic washed over her. “Wha’ ‘ave I gotten us into?”

  More than anything she longed to be warm in a bed, or standing by the big hearth in one of the kitchens eating a bowl of soup. “I shoulda jus’ went wit’ th’ stupid goats...”

  A gust of wind threw the words back into her mouth. More howling began off in the distance, far into the forest on her right. Gripping the reins, she peered in the direction of the sound. The trees were nothing but a dark blur beside her.

  Squinting against the rain, she was just able to see a large shadow stretch across their path. She studied it intently. A wall? She clicked her tongue at Muler. “Almos’ there, boy.” Even if no one would give them shelter for the evening, they could sneak into a barn and leave before the town awoke. Then she could look for work in the morning. That way, if Speaker Thomas came to look for her, he wouldn’t be able to force her to return.

  Renewed hope flowed through her. “We can do it!” she said, patting the back of Muler’s neck. “Jus’ a little further...”

  The wall began to take shape. It stretched the width of the path and beyond, disappearing into the forest on either side of it. At this pace it wouldn’t take too long to get there...

  The howling started up again, closer this time. Louder. A thunderous rumbling accompanying each one that reached her. Phoenix was still unable to see anything out of place, but she could feel the hairs along her neck stand on end. “Wha’ was-”

  Muler brayed with alarm and slipped in the mud. Grabbing the saddle knob, Phoenix managed to remain in her seat as the donkey slid to a halt.

  “Woah! Okay, boy. It’s okay. Almos’ there, now.” She stroked his neck as they stood a moment in the path to rest. “Jus’ a little further.”

  The rumbling came closer, and Phoenix was unable to dismiss it as thunder any longer. The trees around them shook, and a lone bird of prey screamed a challenge to the unseen offender. Whatever it was, it was moving fast.

  “C’mon,” she called above the wind. She turned Muler’s lead and nudged her heel into his side. “Let’s go!”

  She could hear it now, the sound of multiple footfalls quickly coming towards them. It put her in mind of the dogs the Lodge men used when hunting game for the farm.

  Muler picked up his pace without hesitation. The donkey’s ears flicked back and forth towards the strange noises around them. Whatever was causing them was following the pair intently.

  The wall loomed ahead of them. Slowly the shape solidified out of the shadows, and Phoenix welcomed the thought of being safe and dry inside of it.

  The darkness was near complete. She found it hard to make out the edge of the road from the trees, how close the two sat next to one another. She wanted to get to the town before they completely intersected, but she was unable to tell where they merged.

  A chilling howl prickled the hair along her arms. It was much closer, and Phoenix finally had to admit that it wasn’t the wind. Another howl, then another, joined with the first. Wolves. A whole pack of them by the sound of it. They were hunting, and they had picked up a scent.

  They were hunting her.

  Muler kick-jumped and shot ahead a few paces. He slipped again in the mud but still did not falter. He ran as fast as he could along the path.

  “Woah! Careful!” The last thing she wanted was for them to slip and fall out here in the dark. Muler, however, was spooked and there was no way to reason with him.

  She could hear the pack easily above the weather, moving with the wind. The heavy footfalls sounded like thunder as they broke twigs and knocked against branches in their haste to reach their prey. Short yips of excitement skittered out from in between the trees. Phoenix gritted her teeth and clutched the reins tightly. The wall was getting closer.

  “Help!” she called towards the town, hoping that someone on guard would hear her above the storm and open the gate. “Someone! Please, help! Oh, let us in,” she wailed.

  Phoenix used her arm to dash the water from her eyes. The storm was in full force. She could no longer tell the trees from the sky anymore, whether or not branches or empty air cushioned the space above her head. Despair welled up in her throat and she berated herself as she choked down a sob, angry that she let her fooli
sh pride get them into this situation.

  Muler squealed and stopped running, all but sitting down in an attempt to slow himself in time. Phoenix screamed with fright and was thrown against him. They slid for a moment, Phoenix clinging to his neck, almost turning in a complete circle before coming to a stop.

  Her body frozen with fear, Phoenix took several deep breaths before she peered around Muler’s neck to see what had panicked him.

  In their path was a fallen tree, the width of its massive trunk stretched so high above them that, when Phoenix craned her head backwards, she was unable to see where it ended. It was easily ten times the size of any of the surrounding trees. It’s bark was a sickly green, and it showed no sign of the brittle paleness which was evident in dead trees. Looking at the trunk caused Phoenix’s stomach to clench. It was out of place. It was wrong. And it exuded such a sense of wrongness that Phoenix didn’t stop Muler as he began to back down the path.

  The enormity of the situation overcame her, and the last strands of Phoenix’s resolve broke.

  “No,” she moaned. Defeated, she surrendered to her sobbing and buried her head in her hands. There never was a wall. There was no town. They had run blindly instead of looking for safety and now they were trapped.

  The sound of snarling made her jerk her head to her right. Phoenix could see shapes forming among the trees: shapes that wove easily through the forest, moving like shadows with the wind. The countless, impossibly large silhouettes ran towards them on four legs, their eyes glowing red in the darkness. Phoenix felt a cold stab of fear in her belly as those eyes grew larger the closer they came.

  Muler lurched to the left. Veering off the path, he crashed through the underbrush and into the trees.

  Phoenix kept a hand in front of her face to shield it from branches. Normally, she would have been afraid of going into the Darkened Wood, but she felt only a grim determination the deeper they went. They had no choice. In here death was a possibility, but out in the open it was a certainty.

  Phoenix could hear the pack yip and howl with excitement behind them. Slumping forward, she wrapped her arms around Muler’s stout neck and buried her face in his bristly mane. “I’m so sorry, boy. I shoulda took’ Samuel’s offer...”

  Muler’s pace did not falter so she gave him his head. Phoenix clung to him while trying to hide her face from the back-snapping boughs.

  It was calmer in the forest. The rain fell less frequently among the branches, and the strength of the wind was buffered by the trees. The snapping of twigs behind them became louder as the predators grew closer. Muler continued on at the same speed, moving with purpose ahead of the pack. The trees gave the little animal no trouble in the darkness.

  To Phoenix’s astonishment, the forest melted away into a grassy clearing. Rain fell evenly around them but the area remained untouched by the wind.

  She straightened with surprise in her saddle.

  At the edge of the meadow a large rocky hill rose out of the ground, its top camouflaged by the moss and weeds that had reclaimed the surfaces closest to the sun. Her mind raced, jumping in panic between thoughts so quickly that she nearly missed it: there was a pull in her stomach that reverberated in her bones when she looked at the rocky outcropping. She didn’t know why, but she needed to go there.

  Muler nickered and made his way unerringly towards it.

  Growling reverberated all around them. Phoenix gasped as the great, glowing red eyes watched their every move. She could barely make out the outline of the bodies that they belonged to, but she could tell from their height that they were almost as tall as her.

  Savage snarls, more than she could count, joined them as the rest of the pack flanked their sides. And yet, for some reason, they did not step onto the grass. The wolves chose to remain in the trees, running back and forth along the edge in excitement. They howled their displeasure with a chilling note.

  Muler flicked his ears back but his canter did not falter as he approached the rocky hill. Just as Phoenix thought he was about to collide with it, Muler squeezed them through a split in the rock’s face and the vicious sounds of the animals behind them died away.

  Darkness enveloped them. Phoenix’s head brushed the roof of the tunnel, but there was not enough room for her to dismount. The rock walls seemed to press against them as they continued but, despite the unpleasantness of the feeling, it was still preferable to what prowled around outside waiting for them.

  The pathway was small but manageable and the noise from Muler’s hooves made empty echoes against the walls.

  “Well,” she murmured, feeling at a loss. “Now wha’?”

  The darkness lifted the further down they went. Shadows took shape in the cramped tunnel and, eventually, Phoenix could make out the widening outline of the rock ceiling above her. She straightened her back with a groan, grateful that she no longer had to fear hitting her head against the stone.

  The tunnel curved out of sight up ahead. Whatever was lighting it was brightest beyond the bend. The soft glow reached towards them, making her painfully aware of how cold the dark felt around her. They crept along the tunnel and around the corner.

  They entered a large underground cave. Carefully, she dismounted and stood there for a moment. Enjoying the feeling of being able to stand on her own feet, she rubbed the stiffness from her legs as she stared at the scene before them.

  Muler flicked his ears forward and gave an eager snort. He rolled an eye to look at her, as if to ask what they were waiting for, and pawed at the ground.

  With a sigh, Phoenix led him into the hollow, her eyes barely believing what she was seeing.

  A small fire crackled in the center of the alcove. A thin metal pot hung from a spit over the flames next to several blankets that were arranged on the ground, creating what she assumed to be a make-shift sleeping space.

  The ragged desperation that had gnawed at her disappeared. The instinct that had pulled her into the cave switched to a feeling of safety in the cheery light.

  A pale mare stood by the wall of the cave, watching them as she chewed her feed.

  Phoenix had never seen such a fine horse in her life. The mare was small, but well-fed and obviously well cared for. The mud had been brushed from her long legs and her coat shone. She remained calm in the presence of the unknown pair that had entered without warning, watching them lazily without pausing her eating.

  The hairs prickled on the back of Phoenix’s neck. Slowly, she turned to see a man with a bushy beard staring at her in astonishment.

  He looked to have about forty years to his age. He was dressed for travel, and he had the weary look about him of someone who had just spent several days in a saddle. His face was dirty and his hair was unkempt, but the curious eyes that studied her were crystal clear in the flickering light.

  He stood at the entrance to the cave, blocking them from the only way out.

  “Hello,” he said, simply.

  CHAPTER 3

  He was a tall presence in the cave. His dark hair was long and unkempt, secured away from his face by a strip of dark leather that did little to tidy his appearance. His bushy beard obscured most of his face, but there was no mistaking the glint of intelligence in his gaze as he appraised her. His posture held a dignity that was not reflected in his baggy attire. His nondescript clothing hid his form much like his hair hid his face, and Phoenix couldn’t help but think that he looked as though he were trying to hide in plain sight.

  The strange man wasn’t threatening - just dirty and wet, much as she was. Phoenix became keenly aware, however, that she had no way to defend herself.

  “Hello,” he repeated. He seemed just as surprised as she was. His dark sapphire eyes peered at her brightly.

  “S-sorry,” Phoenix took a step back. “I didn’ know you... tha’ anyone was ‘ere.” Phoenix moved so that Muler was between herself and the man. She clutched his reins tightly, prepared to drag him back outside somehow if they needed to make a break for it.

  “That’s
all right. Anywhere is fair game when you’re traveling on the road.” He smiled with a shrug and gestured to the fire. “Would you like to dry yourself? It’s awfully wet out there.”

  He moved to the opposite end of the fire in slow movements, putting it and Muler between himself and Phoenix.

  He seemed completely at ease with her being there, showing only curiosity instead of apprehension. She realized with a start that his careful movements were for her benefit and not his.

  “I’m Malcourt,” he offered.

  The name clanged through her. Its familiarity pulled at her but, try as she might, Phoenix was unable to put her finger on why. His accent proved that he wasn’t from around here. Still, in the strange circumstances of her surroundings, the security of the cave and the openness of his expression made her relax.

  She realized he was waiting for her to respond. “Marie,” Phoenix replied, deciding at the last moment to give a false name.

  Malcourt smiled, and Phoenix thought it seemed sincere enough. “A pleasure. Would you like some soup? I was about to sup, and I’ve discovered that I have too much for just one person… And, between you and me,” his tone turned conspiring, “I don’t think Powder here is going to be much of a help.” He used his thumb to direct Phoenix’s attention to the pale mare resting by the back wall. Powder, for her part, completely ignored everything around her except for her food.

  Phoenix nodded despite herself. Haltingly, so as not to show how badly she was shaking, she sat on the packed earth across from the man. She stretched her rain-swollen fingers towards the heat of the fire, feeling grateful for the warmth that began to energize her body.

  “So, my dear,” Malcourt said, ladling some soup into a tin cup. He set it and a chunk of bread on the ground next to her before withdrawing to the opposite side of the fire. “What are you doing out so late on an evening such as this? Especially in these parts? Oh! Careful. The soup is hot.” He added the last part as Phoenix, overcome by the rumbling in her belly, used the heel of the bread to scoop up as much of the food as was possible into her open mouth.