Cloud Piercer

Nine

Shifters. There are three of them, brown coats blending in with the forest. The one at the front has his mouth wrapped around an arm. My heart clutches in my chest as my eyes scan the body laid across the ground. Dark hair, bloodied clothes—the same yellow shirt he wore the night he was taken.

"Samu."

I reach for my dagger, unsheathing it and slashing towards the shifters. I couldn't defend myself that night. I couldn't help Samu. I watched them take him through the crack in the door, listened to his cries as he was dragged away, begging for my help. I did nothing.

The first shifter leaps towards me. I duck to the side, avoiding its advances, launching myself towards the second and burying my dagger in the fur of its neck. It yelps, thrashing its body as I cling onto its neck. with a twist I'm thrown off.

Samu wails. The shifter holding him captive starts to drag him away just as the other I stabbed sinks its teeth into my leg. I let out an agonising cry, pain shooting up my limb. But my eyes are on Samu, being dragged into the thick cloud.

"No!"

I launch my dagger right into the stomach of the shifter. It growls, eyes flashing towards mine, narrowed. But it doesn't attack me as I lie on the forest floor bleeding from my leg. It goes for Samu instead, tearing its teeth into his chest.

I watch as the life seeps from his body and he slumps against the earth. No more cries, no more begging. His body is still. The scream that escapes my chest puts the thunder to shame. They're pulled into the cloud, it swirls around me until it's all I see, my scream shattering through the air.

I lie against the ground, breathless, staring up at the dark sky. Soon, the mist is all that surrounds me.

***

My bones ache, chest heavy. I try to peel my eyes open. A soft voice murmurs something, reaching into the void of empty space. Sun warms my skin, filtering in through a window. The ceiling above me has wooden ridges running along it. My bedroom. Casimir's cabin.

"Freya?" Cadence hangs over me. Unshed tears fill her wide blue eyes. "You're awake."

I try to speak but the words come out croaky. Cadence leans over, grabbing a cup and handing it to me. I bring it to my lips, the water soothing my burning throat.

"Thanks," I whisper, trying to sit up.

I'm in bed, wearing one of my white night gowns, the sheets pulled to my chin. Cadence sits in the armchair beside the bed, Casimir's mattress still on the floor behind her.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Morning, nearly midday."

"Morning?" The last thing I remember is being in Killian's cabin, the storm, going into the thick cloud. It was mid-afternoon, then. "I've been out all night?"

"Freya, you've been out for nearly 48 hours."

"What?" The sheets fall to my waist as I sit up, a dizzying wave washing over me.

"Careful, there. Do you want some food? Water?"

"What happened, Cadence?"

She nibbles the edge of her lip. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I—" My head hurts as I try to remember. "I was looking for Casimir," I say. "I-I thought I saw..." My father. Samu. It had felt so real. I can see it now, against the backs of my eyelids. It was real in that moment. But now in the daylight, I know it couldn't have been.

My father is dead. Samu is gone.

I look at Cadence, the concern in her eyes, and stop talking. She'd think I was crazy. I sound crazy.

"I went into the forest and then... then nothing," I say. "What happened?"

"I was with Jakob when the storm started," she says. "We took shelter at school, on the edge of the forest. It was wild. I've never seen a storm like that before." I nod in agreement, remembering the way the cloud stretched from the forest and destroyed that sign. "Everything was okay, we were watching that fog in the forest, talking about the wind, and then... then we heard you."

"Me?"

"It was the worst thing I've ever heard, Frey." She lowers her voice. "Your scream was... it was like something from a nightmare. So loud it echoed all the way to us at the school. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the shifters in the mountains heard it. Everyone ran into the street. There were people everywhere, even though it was pouring. The fog started to clear from the forest, but before anyone could go in Killian came out with you in his arms."

"Killian?" I whisper. She nods.

I remember being in his cabin, the thumping of my heart as he stood so close, the smell of pine, what he said about Casimir and secrets. I remember him trying to stop me from going out; I remember him calling my name just before I walked into the trees.

"Your body was completely limp, and you were covered in blood. He was covered in blood, your blood." She reaches forward and draws the sheet back, uncovering my legs. A white bandage wrapped around the right one. "Your leg looked like it had been hacked into. I-I thought you were dead."

I stare at the bandage. It looks like it's been changed recently, wrapped tightly from my ankle halfway to my knee. My memory flashes, the shifter sinking its teeth into my leg, right where the bandage is.

Before I can say anything else, a door opens out in the main room. Cadence stands, turning to face the door frame just as Casimir appears, his satchel over his shoulder. His eyes shoot to me on the bed, widening when he realises I'm sitting up. He drops the satchel and comes to my side.

"You're awake."

I scan his face, in search of any injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?"

"I-I was looking for you," I say. "The storm came from the direction of the fields. I was scared something might've happened to you."

"So you ran headfirst into it?" He shakes his head. "You're smarter than that."

"I wasn't thinking straight."

"Clearly." He leans forward, unconcerned of my injuries and wrapping his arms around me, burying me in his chest. "I've never been so scared in my life. When I heard your scream, I thought..." he trails off shakily. "You can't do that to me ever again."

I hold him to me, squeezing my eyes shut and breathing in the familiar scent. It fills me with a feeling I can't describe. When I thought he was in danger, nothing else mattered. But he's alive, here.

"Is everyone else okay?" I ask, pulling away.

"The storm rocked the village pretty bad," Cadence says, "there's lots of damage."

"But nobody else is hurt?" I ask again. They exchange looks. "What happened?"

"It's Jyro," Casimir says eventually, his voice grave. "He was missing. I've been at the search party all morning. He was found two hours ago."

"Is he okay?"

"No." He looks away, down at the ground. "We found all his clothing on the shore of the lake. He was at the bottom of it, stomach full of rocks." He looks back at me, something burning in his eyes.

"He's dead."