Chapter 9
Rue found Lenore standing by the side exit in the dining hall, looking nervous. Cosima was nowhere in sight, and like Ellery had mentioned, the breakfast bar was empty. Either this was incredibly poor planning, or Rhys and company had done something to seriously piss off the staff.
It wouldn’t be the first time a member of the board had mistreated staff and earned themselves a petty reaction. Izan Augustine was known for looking down on those he viewed as less than himself, that was where his son Penn had picked it up from.
Last night, Rue had seen Izan loudly scolding one of the chefs because his steak had come out cold.
He’d been able to see steam coming off the plate, but what did he know.
Maybe this was retaliation.
“Rue!” As soon as she spotted him, Lenore darted forward, grabbing onto his arm. “Thank Light. I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?” Aside from the dead bodies. He searched her face, but now that he was closer, it didn’t appear as though she was scared. Had she not heard the screams?
“I left my jacket by the bonfire last night,” she began, “and since Ellery went to check why there wasn’t any breakfast, Bowie offered to get it for me.”
“He went outside?” Rue had his hand on the doorhandle before he could stop himself, but he paused.
“I was going to go with, but the fog is creeping me out.” Lenore gave a shaky laugh. “Pathetic, right? It’s just mist.”
“There’s an animal out there,” Rue corrected. “It got one of the workers.”
“What?!” She covered her mouth. “But Bowie—”
“How long ago did he leave?”
“Five or so minutes?” She shook her head. “I don’t know for sure.”
Last night, the bonfire could be seen from the wall of windows, which meant it wasn’t too far from this exit. The bear—or whatever it’d been—was on the other side of the building…
“Let’s just wait for him,” Lenore suggested, sensing his hesitation, but Rue shook his head.
“You know how he is. He’ll take his time.”
“Okay, then let’s go—”
“You said you were scared,” Rue reminded. Besides, it didn’t make sense for them both to risk themselves. “If it’s a bear, we don’t want to be too loud and risk attracting its attention. They’re solitary animals. It should be fine so long as I’m quiet.”
“What do you want me to do then?”
Seeing Tod get attacked had been terrifying, but Rue knew how animals worked, and Cosima had insisted it was a bear. They didn’t roam in packs, and he was going to be quick about finding their friend and getting back inside. Everything should be fine.
“Go get Ryker.” Rue hated having to call upon the Black Hart, but it would be idiotic of him to go out there without any sort of backup plan.
She scrunched her nose. “Do you actually think your stepbrother is going to do anything helpful? What if he decides to be a dick again and locks you out or something?”
“He won’t.”
“Are you forgetting about how he left you in the woods yesterday?”
No, but Rue had caught the look on Ryker’s face last night at dinner when he’d walked in.
Had seen the relief there and the way his shoulders had slumped as soon as he knew Rue was safe.
That wasn’t enough to forgive him, or to say that the Black Hart regretted it, but the worry still meant something to Rue.
“Ryker isn’t the type to offload his problems,” Rue replied. “Or his revenge. He’s fine with taking out his anger on me, but he wouldn’t let anything else hurt me.”
Her expression shifted, the pity there clear. “Rue. Come on.”
“It sounds crazy.” It was crazy. “But I truly believe that. Just go get him, Lenore. We’re wasting time.”
Rue pulled open the door and stepped out before he could think better of it.
The chill hit him first, a damp, wet sensation licking at his skin.
Tendrils of mist swirled around him as he moved, eyes tracking the stone path beneath his feet to help him navigate.
He’d passed on the bonfire last night, but knew from when they’d explored during the day relatively how to get there.
The absence of sound was almost more eerie than not being able to see further than a foot in front of his face. Everything was quiet, almost as though someone had hit the mute button on a video game and forgotten to undo it.
He pinwheeled his arms, displacing the cloying white around him, and momentarily got a further look at the area he was in before the fog closed back in.
Seeing how that worked, he did it again, moving with quicker steps.
It was tempting to call out for Bowie, but there was no telling how far the bear had moved from the front of the lodge, and he decided it wasn’t worth the risk.
His clothes started to stick to him between the shoulder blades, and he tugged at the hem of his sweater. A gust of wind blew by then, seemingly helping him, and he caught sight of the large firepit ten or so feet ahead of him for a brief moment.
The closer he got, the better he could make out the rest of the objects, like the chairs set in a circle and the pile of unused wood on the ground. Larger things were easier to spot through the thinner areas of fog.
Rue stepped on something soft and glanced down, frowning when he saw the bundle of brown. He picked it up, worry growing when he realized it was Lenore’s jacket.
Something creaked to the left, like a tree swaying in the breeze, and he spun toward it. With a sick feeling in his gut, he watched as the fog rolled in again, slowly encasing the firepit until it was blocked from view all over again.
Had it been one of the burnt logs in the pit shifting?
Rue clutched the jacket in his right hand and debated over what to do. There was no sign of Bowie. Maybe he should call out to him after all?
He opened his mouth to do so, but another sound came, this time to his right. It was louder than the first, an obvious twig snapping under the weight of something. His eyes widened as he attempted to make out anything through the thick white, holding his breath as he listened.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he spun toward it, just barely catching sight of a large shadow.
Behind him, a chair scraped against the stone path, almost as though something was dragging it. Before he could question whether or not it was Bowie searching for the jacket, a low hiss registered in Rue’s ears.
He couldn’t place the sound, but it seemed like it was getting closer, and when he stared in its general direction long enough, he began to make out another hulking shadowy figure in the gloom.
The body was large, definitely not a person, but the fog made it impossible to get a clear look, so the proportions appeared off.
Rue’s heart raced and he slowly retreated, keeping his eyes on the shadowy thing as he tried to figure out his best course of action. Getting back inside was obviously the goal now, but did he make a run for it, or—
He backed into something on the ground and tumbled, arms flailing as he fell backward.
His head hit the ground, but he was fortunate enough to have moved onto the dirt, so the impact wasn’t terrible.
A whoosh of air escaped him, and he struggled to righten himself, eyes dropping to whatever he’d tripped over.
It was a leg. Leading up to…Nothing.
A loud gasp escaped him and he shot to his feet so quickly he almost fell a second time. Spinning on his heels, Rue took off, not bothering to be quiet now that he’d definitely given himself away to whatever was out there.
In his haste, he took the wrong turn twice, had to backtrack to find the white stone path, and prayed he was going in the correct direction. The confusion made things worse, the panic growing until it was a pounding in his ears and he was so hopped on adrenaline it was hard to think straight.
He had to find the lodge. Had to—
The hissing sound came again, from further away, but still audible.
Rue turned toward it just as two pinpoints of golden light appeared. The tiny beacons caused light waves to travel across the fog, illuminating that entire section, and suddenly, it was as though others were answering.
He watched as parts suddenly lit up, their distance depending on how much brightness he could make out.
Bears couldn’t do that…
The hiss grew louder, and then it was gaining ground, close enough to cause the air to shift and reform around it, just enough Rue made out what might have been matted black fur.
There was a snarl, and a smell, like rotting flesh stewing in a swamp, hit him in the face.
He felt the second the creature picked up speed, fear rooting him in place. A gust of hot air reached him first, followed by the gleam of teeth appearing like a phantom.
Even knowing it was too late to run, Rue tried turning, startling when something wrapped around his waist and hauled him back. Before he could process what held him, a tiny explosion went off.
The gunshot lit up the area they were in the same way the small beacons did, Rue instinctually covering his ears, eyes going wide when the sound was immediately followed by a scream.
It didn’t sound right. Didn’t sound like any animal Rue had ever heard before. The scream was both a high-pitched sound and a low bellow, both a wail and a sharp cry of agony.
“Hurry.” Ryker’s voice at his ear was all the warning Rue got before that arm still around him turned them both and took off, practically carrying him away in the process.
Rue got a hold of himself and began to run on his own, allowing them to gain speed. Blindly, he followed the Black Hart, his hand caught in Ryker’s, the feel of the man’s fingers tight around his own all that he tried to focus on as they ran.
If he stopped, he’d notice the shadows closing in. Would catch the hissing and the growls.
See the small specks of lights, positioned eerily like eyes now that he was thinking about it, glowing around them.
The side entrance appeared like a god send and Rue pushed his burning thighs to go harder.