Darkness Sleeping by Jen Pretty

Author:Jen Pretty [Pretty, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781999040444
Publisher: Jen Pretty
Published: 2019-09-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The whole city became a confusing whirl of people and horses. Some were riding out of town heading west, and others were running into buildings or grabbing children and making a run for it.

I turned and untied Copper and Midnight, dragging them around behind a shop and into a small shack that housed chickens. They flapped and squawked as I dragged the horses in and shut the door. The horses were anxious among the panicky birds, but after a few moments all the animals settled and the sounds from outside the wood walls reached my ears.

Men were yelling in a language I didn't recognize. I peeked out through the slats to find tall men with light blond hair like Paxton's storming through the city. They lit buildings on fire and ran through people with swords. One man came around the corner near my coop. He was shirtless and had a scar on his chest like Paxton's. I fell back from the wall and held my breath. Had Paxton been a Saxon? How was that possible? He spoke the same language as me and he wasn't a barbarian like these men.

I sat still for a long minute listening to the screams and cries before moving back to the wall and peeking out. The man was gone, but the whole city was filling with smoke and the screams were getting further away. I wasn't sure how long to wait before making a run for it, but I felt frozen to the spot.

I stayed crouched in the corner of the chicken coop until the smoke outside was so thick I couldn't see anything. When I finally rose, I turned to look at the horses. They were standing anxiously, ears flipping forward and back as if they could hear something I couldn't.

"What is it?" I whispered to Copper. I ran my hand down his neck. "Can we get out of here?"

He shook his head, and I wanted to take that as a sign I should stay put, but I knew the grass roof of the coop would catch on fire soon and it would burn fast once it caught. So, I took a few steadying breaths and turned Copper towards the door.

I slid it open and peeked out. Thick smoke was like a wall in front of me. I turned back to Copper. "You have to get me out of here," I whispered close to his flicking ear. "Oh God, help me."

I climbed onto Copper's back and a word flowed through my mind. The one I had read early in the day. It was 'Forjfrorrmng.' The word that meant leave or go away. I held the word in my mind as Copper moved into the thick smoke, Midnight trailing behind us.

So far, the words had been useful and this premonition, though foreign, seemed to be helping me. I had no idea if it was something to do with the book or magic, but it was coming easier to me now and I wanted to trust it.

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