Page 104 of Burning Crowns

Wren had a horrible feeling she already knew. The longer they spent in Glenlock, the more her scar ached. They were about to turn and leave when they heard a distant wail. Tor jerked his chin up, tracking the sound.

‘What the hell was that?’ said Wren.

‘Let’s find out.’

The air grew colder as they journeyed further north, leaving the lakeside for a thicket of trees that marked the town’s boundary. For a while, the only sound was the quiet patter of their steps, until something cracked under Wren’s foot.

She froze. ‘Tor.’

‘Don’t look down,’ he said, but it was too late.

In her hurry, Wren had accidentally trodden on a skull. It stared up at her now, with huge, gaping eyes. She stumbled backwards, rocked by a sudden rush of nausea. ‘That’s … oh no … that’s …’

‘A human skull.’ Tor bent down to inspect it. ‘No maggots. It must be long dead.’

Wren grimaced. ‘What the hell is it doing in the middle of the street?’ she said, just as another wail rang out. It was closer now, and it didn’t sound like a beast. It sounded like a sob. It was coming from somewhere just up ahead, where a line of trees marked the entrance to a graveyard.

‘Come on,’ said Tor, taking her hand in his and gripping his sword with the other.

When they entered the graveyard, Wren had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. All of the graves had been disturbed. Headstones lay cracked in two, grass and dirt kicked up and strewn everywhere. Even the trees bent towards the ground as if they were weeping. Nearby, a skeleton had collapsed half out of its grave, as if it was desperately trying to climb out.

Wren swore it jerked its skull to look up at her.

‘She’s taken all the dead out of Glenlock,’ she whispered, in mounting horror. ‘These graves held bodies ofpeople, Tor.’ At the sight of another skeleton crushed beneath a shattered headstone, Wren sank to her knees, willing the terror to pass. But it only grew.

And then came that sound again, only this time, it was muffled.

Tor tracked it to a nearby tree, where he came to an abrupt halt. He lowered his sword, his voice strained.

‘Wren …’ Wren stumbled after him. When she rounded the tree,she stopped just the same. There, across a small clearing, a boy no older than six sat quivering. He was clutching a sobbing little girl against his chest, begging her to be quiet. She must have been his sister.

‘It’s all right,’ said Wren, lowering her sword. ‘We’re here to help you.’

When the girl looked up at Wren, she let out a terrified scream. The boy tried to scrabble backwards, but he was already wedged against a tree. ‘Please don’t take us,’ he sobbed. ‘We don’t want to go.’

‘Hush now,’ said Wren, softly. ‘We’re not going to hurt you.’

The girl only wailed harder.

Tor came to his knees, his voice achingly gentle. ‘Have you seen this woman before?’

The boy looked at Wren, and nodded.

Wren’s heart sank. Oonagh had terrorized the town of Glenlock and scared the children into the woods. The poor things couldn’t even look at her without trembling. ‘I’m not her,’ she said, kneeling beside Tor. ‘I promise you. We just look the same, that’s all. I don’t want to scare you. I want to help you.’

The boy bit his bottom lip, looking between them.

‘I’m a soldier, see?’ Tor gestured to his Anadawn uniform. The girl looked up, her sob dying in her throat. Wren’s likeness to Oonagh might have unsettled the children, but they seemed to be comforted by Tor’s presence. ‘Tell us what you saw.’

The boy summoned his courage with a shuddering breath. ‘The witch woman came up from the river yesterday. She was like a fish first. Then she looked like …’ He glanced at Wren.

‘Like me,’ she said. ‘It’s all right.’

He went on, his words quickening. ‘There were animals, too. Mountain lions and tigers with scary red eyes and big, dripping mouths. Everyone ran away. Some went to the northern mountains. Others headed for the southern road. They took the horses and the carriages. Bonnie and I came to hide in the graveyard. But the witch woman came here, too. And then she … she …’ He pointed a trembling hand past their shoulders. ‘She took the skeletons and made them stand up. She made them go with her.’

‘Freezing hell,’ muttered Tor.

Wren fought to control her anger. ‘And you’ve been hiding here ever since?’

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