The Metaphorical Key Book I- Call of the Raven

Chapter XIII

  They road far from the river and the forest, and eventually reached a large field. At the very end of the field was a tiny house. It was probably an older building, judging by the fading pearl-like colour and the stone roof. A ways past the house, Aiden could just make out the lights of Harean, but sleep dragged at his eyelids and threatened to pull him off Nitika, and so he raised his head and spoke, his voice slow and groggy.

"Should we stop here for the night or something? I'm super tired 'n I jus' wanna go t' bed."

His voice slurred more and more with every word, and his head drooped down.
"Don't fall asleep on your house. Yeah, we'll just tether them there," Curtis pointed towards a small copse of trees to their left.

"Once they're tethered, we can sleep for a bit, just to regain our energy, then we'll keep going to Harean, 'kay?"

Aiden nodded, relieved that Curtis had agreed to stop and rest, even just for a little bit.

Pollux, as the ginger teen had pulled several all-nighters doing research on various things, volunteered to take the first watch and tether the horses to the copse of trees.

With a relieved sigh, Aiden slumped down into the dirt.

Just as his eyes were closing, he heard Pollux whistle, a high pitched, wailing noise - the signal that something was wrong.

Aiden cursed, less out of fear and more because all he wanted to do was sleep, and rose to his feet.

Standing before them was a woman, her pale faced basked in the light of the lantern, which bounced off her silvery grey eyes and her pale brown hair.

"Why are you out so late?" The woman asked. Instead of waiting for an answer, she asked another question. "Are you running away?"

Curtis crossed his arms and glared daggers at the woman.
"You're asking a lot of questions."
"I have asked two. And they are quite simple ones."

Curtis grumbled, shuffling his feet.

It was Dulcie who spoke next.
"We don't have to tell you anything."

The woman with the lantern just laughed.
"Ah. Running away, then? Very well. However, there are dangers in these fields. May I invite you to sleep at my home? It is much safer, and you look hungry. I have some good food for you children."

The group glanced at eachother out of the corners of their eyes, and Pollux shrugged.

I suppose it couldn't hurt?

The group made their way towards the little house at the far end of the field, and as sleep dragged once more at Aiden's eyelids, he started to wish they'd declined the woman's offer. If there were dangerous things in the fields, whoever was on watch would alert them. Besides, they weren't even sleeping for long, and the idea of leaving their horses in the supposedly dangerous fields didn't sit right with Aiden.

But he figured that if he had to walk any more than he already had, he'd pass out, and so he gratefully slumped down into the chair the woman offered him while she grabbed food out of her pantry.

She spilled out a pile of crackers and granola bars onto the table.
"I'm vey sorry, I believe I have eaten the food I planned to give you. How silly of me. Anyways, I'll have one of my servants bring you some drinks. You can all sleep in the living room."

She clapped her hands, and in strode her servant.

Aiden's breath caught in his throat.

In walked another one of the beasts from the river.

Aiden began to tremble, and Dulcie dropped the granola bar she was eating.

"One of your servants attacked us!" Dulcie snarled, and the woman suddenly leapt to her feet, lurching across the room and clutching onto Aiden's shirt collar.

"Is it you?!" She bellowed, and Aiden could smell her breath.
"I-I don't know what you mean."

Aiden gasped as she lifted up his shirt collar, tilting his chin into the air and forcing him to stand on his toes.
"Is. It. You?"
"I swear, I swear, I don't know what you're-"

Just as she was about to lift Aiden higher into the air, a knife shot through her chest, and she doubled over, her blood spilling onto the floor like water from a shattered glass.

Pollux stood behind her, his now bloody knife still clutched in his hand.

With a choked sob from the singer teen and shaky breaths from all of them, the group headed outside to their horses.

They'd rather be half conscious once they reached a Harean inn than be anywhere near that other servant and the body in the kitchen.