“You’re not in charge, child,” he said through clenched teeth.
“This here is my rightful inheritance,” I answered with a sweeping gesture. “ ’Twas the curse of my father that claimed this land in the first place.”
The Darkling clambered to his feet, stood two hands taller than me and twice as wide. With a hastily whispered enchantment, I matched his size in an instant.
“And what if I were to claim it for myself, right now?” he asked, a challenge in his tone. The others around us had stopped feeding and were watching the banter, yellow eyes glowing in the dark.
“Then you’d have to fight me for it.” Hands on my hips, I grew even taller, stronger. The moon was shining favor on me, adding muscle to my flesh, sturdy weight to my bones. This was no mere skin I had taken on, this was magic of the strongest kind.
Moon magic.
“And if you happen to defeat me—though your chances be slim at best,” I said with a confident laugh, “then you’ll have to fight our werebeast as well.”
Samwise towered over both of us then, snarling, leaning toward the Darkling, drool dripping from his glittering teeth. In an instant, he had transformed himself from a dog that meandered through the field to a massive monster with claw-studded paws and glowing silver eyes. A low growl was building in his throat; it reverberated down into his chest and shook the ground beneath us all.
My adversary lowered his head with reluctance. “So be it, then. Take the girl. And the land. ’Tis not mine and I never wanted it.” With a dramatic gesture, he unfurled his wings and gave a sturdy flap that lifted him off the ground. Then he flew away, over the trees and into the black distance.
Meanwhile the rest of his clan studied me with narrowed eyes, murmuring as I hefted the sleeping child over a shoulder and carried her a safe distance away, then awakened her. I could feel the tension all around us, sensed the helplessness of the few adults still awake who cowered and watched from the edges of the field, unable to enter or to help any of their children, knowing that they could easily become the next meal.
If this wild flock wasn’t satiated soon, it might never be.
Chapter 85
Whispered Enchantment
Maddie:
I crouched on the ground, weary, limbs aching, fighting the brief whispered enchantment that continued to circle throughout the enclosure. Tucker and I were at the edge of the wood, trapped inside a transparent, smoky blue dome—some sort of magic. Already he had slipped to the snow-crusted grass, eyes closed, his breathing deep and steady. Meanwhile, I fought the compelling urge to sleep, forced myself back onto my feet, pretended that I had a deadline, that I had to finish one more thing before I could succumb.
With every step the ground called, sweet and melodious. Like a feather bed lined with velvet pillows, it beckoned. One knee gave in and I sank to a kneeling position.
No.
I glanced back at Tucker, tucked between fronds and ferns, the moon causing his skin to glitter like diamonds in the snow. So beautiful. Like he was carved out of ice—a flesh-and-blood sculpture brought to decorate this Darkling garden.
It would be so easy to give in. To curl beside him, wrap him in my arms and float away into ever-sweet dreams. Instead, I pulled myself back up, studied our surroundings, tried to remember what had happened and how we got here. I rubbed my eyes. Ignored Thane’s ever-present chant that tickled and teased.
Sleep, my love. Just close your eyes.
Help. Somebody, somewhere, please help.
I could feel myself drifting into a strange land, somewhere between sleep and something much darker. The spell surrounded me, a fragrance like a meadow of wildflowers. I stared through to the outside, but it was like looking through a murky haze. In the distance, dark winged creatures swooped down from the heavens like fallen angels, grabbing people and dragging them off.
Feasting.
Chapter 86
A Black Shadow
Maddie:
Woven as delicate as strands of invisible hair, the barrier glittered and sparked whenever new captives tumbled inside. The wall curved in a wide arc around us; it almost glistened in the moonlight, taller than the trees. I studied the enclosure, ran a finger over the strange material.
It was a cage.
I slammed my fists against the wall, sent a percussive shower of sparks bouncing all around me.
“Help! We can’t get out!”
But no one on the other side could hear or see me.
That was when a black shadow flew closer.
Thane.
I cringed when he stared in at me, when he grinned. Then, with a rough toss and another flurry of poetic words, two more children tumbled through the wall to join the crowd of sleeping captives that now littered the ground. As soon as they were inside, they collapsed on the snow-covered grass, asleep. Thane flew off, disappearing in the distance, nothing more than a blur of dark wings.