Page 36 of The Mirror of Beasts

The hours ambled slowly by, keeping time with the slow, hibernating pulse of the village. The floor was hard, but there was a fire in the hearth and a roof over our heads, and after years of being made to sleep outdoors with Nash, I would always be grateful for that.

At one point, well after the fire had turned to embers, the pub’s door unlocked, scraped open, and locked again as the Bonecutter set off on her “errand.”

There would be an assortment of protective wards hidden around the building—maybe even scattered through the entire village. We were safer here than almost anywhere else in the world.

I lay on my back, staring up at the wooden rafters. Neve had been out within seconds, snoring softly—one of those lucky people who could sleep anywhere, under nearly any condition. After a while, I gave in to the urge to look across the room, where Emrys still had his back to us, truly asleep.

And, somewhere between breaths, a dream slipped past my lowered guard and stole through the murky edges of sleep.

The forest tore itself free from the dark mist ahead of me, the thin bodies of the trees edged with moonlight. My bare feet padded forward on the damp earth and I relished the feel of my weight sinking into it, grounding me. Mud and flecks of leaves spattered against my skin and the white satin gown that swirled around my feet.

The world breathed around me, alive. Unseen life watched from the trees. I felt tiny heartbeats as surely as the cold brush of mist against my cheek. The darkness that lay just beyond the edge of sight stalked forward through the ferns and roots like spilled ink.

My steps hurried forward.

The path opened into a clearing and revealed the creature waiting for me. It was as white as the starlight, as the mist. The unicorn’s eyes were dark pools as it watched me approach, its horn pearlescent against the night air.

I reached out a hand to stroke its shimmering mane, but it turned away, inviting me to follow.

I knew where we were going then, even before the lake came into view.

The small island at the center of it was partly hidden by the shifting whorls of mist, but I could still make out the barrow. The burial mound of the High Priestesses covered in a blanket of pristine white flowers.

A disorienting calmness overtook me at the sight of it, as if nothing had ever happened here to warrant the flicker of dread in my heart.

The unicorn stopped at the edge of the lake; the water glittered with the reflection of the sky, as though it had stolen the stars and trapped them just below its dark glass surface.

I knelt in the muddy shallows, letting cold water wash up around my knees, turning my dress translucent.

I leaned forward over the water slowly, no longer in control of my body.

My face stared back at me, my eyes wide with terror. I reached up, touching my face in confusion, and my reflection began to scream, to shout something I couldn’t hear, couldn’t read upon my own lips.

In the distance, through the trees furiously shedding their leaves, a blue-white light billowed up toward the sky.

Protect her, the wind begged in my ears, protect her, protect her—

The water roiled, bubbling furiously as if something was surfacing. A hot, sharp pain ripped down my forearm.

Blood covered my gown, dripping into the water and the dirt. My skin fell away in strips, revealing the pure silver bone beneath it.

I gasped, but no sound passed my lips. A bloodcurdling scream split the night. I scrambled back from the water, colliding with something hot and reeking—the unicorn.

Its body was splayed out over the ground, its belly ripped open, viscera spilling out onto the earth. It rotted away before my eyes, the skin crumbling to dust, the muscle withering, its eyes hollowing. And from beneath it, brown vines rose, winding through the exposed bones and braiding back together until something began to take shape there.

A face.

It opened its mouth of thorn teeth and howled.

I jolted awake, momentarily disoriented by the firelight and the blur of my surroundings. I pressed a hand to my pounding heart and tried to catch my breath. My shirt was drenched with sweat, but my face and hands were icy to the touch.

A second piercing howl tore through the silence.

A dream, I pleaded as much as thought. I’m still asleep.

I might have been able to believe that if Olwen hadn’t reached out to touch my shoulder. The pressure of her fingers grounded me fully in the moment and whatever horror it was about to show us.

Caitriona and Emrys were already at the window, pushing the curtains aside to search the night-cloaked street.

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