Page 52 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

Edgar gaped at me; he was halfway finished, but stopped and asked, “Cale, where are you going?”

“Gil has been out all day and no one’s bothered to tell me,” I responded.

“And what do you think you’re gonna do about it?” He continued shoveling.

Saying nothing more, I trudged through the snow he hadn’t gotten to until I reached the gate. I curled my fingers around the cold bars and looked out into the trees of Ashwood. It was dark inside, and the blood-red leaves, though unnerving, looked lovely against the falling snow. If I wasn’t in a dangerous realm of monsters, I’d cherish such a place and walk through it daily.

Edgar didn’t seem bothered by me standing there, and he shoveled on as if I wasn’t there at all.

The sky grew darker with each minute that ticked by, and all I could do was stare into that forest. Something in my bones didn’t feel right. Turning, I asked Edgar, “Was it the Shade? Did it come back?”

Edgar wedged the shovel into the snow and leaned on it. “Possibly.”

I stared at him, and when his eyes dropped, I knew.

“Cale, your cloak,” Mary said, coming down the path with my cloak over her arm. “You’ll freeze out here.”

“And what about Gil?” I asked her, taking it and wrapping it around me. I pulled my hood up and looked back out. “If it was that Shade, what if the same thing has happened to him that happened to Royce?”

“He’ll come back, Cale.” Edgar sighed. “He always does.”

Still, I couldn’t help but turn back. Something gripped me, panic maybe, and I had the sudden urge to call out for him. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yelled, “Gil!”

Mary grabbed me and yanked me back. “Cale, stop it! You could draw monsters to us!” She pulled on me, but I wouldn’t budge from the gate, and I called out for him again.

Now the others began to pour out from the manor. Annie rushed up to me, pulled me around, and slapped my face.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she exclaimed.

“Gil is out there,” I said, refraining from holding my stinging cheek.

“And so are dangerous beasts who would love nothing more than to eat us alive!” She came close to my face, and I saw the ice in her eyes. “I saw you come out here, and I let you linger, but open your mouth again, and I just might throw you out there with him.”

“Back away,” Royce said, coming between us. “Let’s think about this before we do any more yelling.” He glared at me.

Eugenia came up to me, her bow strung over her shoulder. “Listen, Cale,” she said, “this happens more often than you’d think. I report something to Gil, he goes out and investigates. If he finds something, he’s gone for a long time. He’ll be back. I promise.”

“Yeah, no matter what happens, I’d say that man’s invincible,” Edgar cut in. “He’s faced a lot. Besides, if he died, we’d all know it.”

I furrowed my brows and waited for an explanation, but Eugenia elbowed him in the ribs, and he looked down.

I narrowed my eyes. “There’s something you all know that you’re not telling me.”

Natalie coughed and exchanged a look with Edgar, pulling her night robe tight around her.

“It’s the Shade,” Royce said. “Whatever it did to me, it made me sick. It came around again this morning. I reckon Gil has chased it off or killed it, and if he has, know that he’ll be back.”

Annie took his arm and shook her head. Then she glared at me. “None of us wanted to worry you. We know how close you’ve gotten to him lately.”

Mary took my hand. “Cale, please. Gil will be okay, really. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Someone snickered nearby, and I looked over to see Natalie smiling behind her hand. She muttered and walked away.

“He’ll be all right.” Royce gave my arm a pat before taking Annie by the shoulders and leading her back inside.

Her sharp eyes found mine. “No more yelling,” she hissed.

As they all went inside, Mary and Eugenia lingered. “I want to stay here a while longer,” I told them. “I won’t go outside the wall like I did before, and I won’t yell anymore. I promise. But I just . . . want to stay here at the gate.”

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