The Lost & The Wicked by Penn Cassidy

Author:Penn Cassidy [Cassidy , Penn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

Kyre

I stood on ground level, staring at a clearing full of beasts. There were too many to count—bears, wildcats, elhorns, and some that I didn’t have a name for. There were scaled lizard-like creatures that walked on hind legs, as well as a few winged ones with fur, feathers, talons, and a little too much intelligence in their eyes for my comfort.

Cadoc watched me with a smug smirk as he unfurled his wings for takeoff. He’d flown me down here right after my evening meal of more hard cheese and some unidentifiable meat that had made me want to vomit. He gestured to the shovel in my hand. “Well?”

Tightening my grip on the wooden handle, I grumbled under my breath, cursing my stupidity and naïvety once again. When I asked for some kind of task other than giving faerie princes their baths, I hadn’t expected them to point me in the direction of the steeds.

“You’re not joking,” I deadpanned, dread coursing through me. “This is going to take hours, and that's if they don’t decide to eat me first.” Some of them were already eyeing me like I was a tasty treat for them to chew on. Something told me they weren’t quite as intelligent as Zephyr. Thinking of him, my heart gave a sharp pang of longing.

Cadoc shrugged. “That’s not my problem. You’re the one who wanted some responsibility.” He strode over to the waist-high wooden fence that separated the clearing from the rest of the wood. “Steeds are the backbone of the Wild Hunt. Without them, we are nothing. They need to be cared for and looked after carefully, fed thrice daily and watered constantly.” He turned, crossing his arms over his leather covered chest. “You asked to contribute, so here you go. Your job until the moon is high overhead tonight is to make sure their needs are met.”

Some of the steeds were already watching every move I made, licking their massive tongues across their sharp teeth. Cadoc pointed out a section of the clearing to the right, where an assortment of barrels sat in a shaft of moonlight. “You’ll find everything you need in there. I’ll be back for you when you're through.” He spread his wings wide. “Try not to get eaten, they do like to play with their food.” Before I could respond, he took off up into the trees, quickly disappearing into the shadows.

Grumbling, I stood there in front of the fence that separated me from the beasts, knowing that even on the other side of it, I wasn’t safe. I supposed I could try to outrun them if they decided to make a meal of me, but then I remembered that they were the steeds of the Wild Hunt and they could catch anything.

My back gave another strange twinge as I pried one of the barrels open. I cursed, dropping the lid on the mossy ground. The pain was getting worse every day, and my spine had begun to ache all the way up into my neck and shoulders.

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