X-Marks: Hiding Shadows

Stables

Never before had I been in a - what did she call it?

A stable, that was it.

It was bigger than expected. The indoor walls had gates on each side. Some housed horses, others had pens full of food and supplies. The floors of the stable were lined with a coarse pale grass with a smell was like wet dirt.

"We're sleeping here?" Valen said as we walked through the stable for the first time.

"No, not here," Rafi said and laughed, "You said you want to see horses, didn't you?"

Ocean inspected every corner of the stable and turned to smile at a grey speckled horse. Behind her, a dark-haired girl stepped out of a gate with a thick rope in her hand and a frown on her face.

Rafi's smile turned to its brightest.

"There you are!" she said and turned to us, "We have guests."

The dark haired girl continued to walk past.

"Ray," Rafi whined, "At least say hello."

Ray looked up, a single lock of her black hair hid her other steely eye.

Rafi dusted her hands off each other and focused back on us.

"I bet you're hungry?" she said.

With only a handful of packets of food between us left, I was sure we looked it.

"I don't' know why I asked," Rafi said and put her hands on her hips, "Let's get you inside!"

We followed Rafi up the back stairs of the stable, as Ray stood behind and tended to a black horse. Rafi turned around and took ahold black horses harness.

"Ray, why don't you take them inside," Rafi said, "I'll take care of Beleza from here."

Ray rolled her icy eyes and turned to us with an all-knowing smirk.

"Sure, thing," Ray said strolled past Rafi and to the back stairs where we still waited.

Ray skipped up the steps in front of us, and we followed behind. Our bags knocked against each other and the tight walls of the stairs. At the tops of the steps, a room of polished wood, deep red leather cushions, and gleaming silver beams greeted us.

We all stopped at once. Only Ray took bold steps into the open room.

"Is this all yours?" Mat asked with his chapped lips opened wide.

Ray stood in the middle of the room and placed a pair of keys onto a short table where red leather chairs gathered in a circle.

"No," Ray said aloof, "Dad's gone for the month."

"Where'd he go?" Ocean asked.

"Allies took him," Ray said with a grimace at their mention.

A collection of gasps sounded around our circle.

Rays eyes went wide, "No, not like that!" she said.

"Then where'd he go?" I asked.

"Chaperoning our donated horses back to Ally camps. Making sure they get there in one piece," Ray said, "Damn Allies, don't know how to care for their own horses."

It seemed everyone had their reason to hate the Allies.

Ray took a shiny green apple from a bowl on the long marble counter that floated in the center of the kitchen.

"Now, I'm stuck with my bossy sister," Ray said and took a bite out of the apple, "But, you'll get used to her."

"Bossy?" I said, "She seems pretty nice to me."

"Just you wait," Ray said, and smirked, "She has to be in charge of everything. You'll see."

"And your mom?" Mat said and took an apple for himself.

Ray went quiet. The kind of quiet we were fluent in.

Mat tucked the apple in his pocket.

"Actually," he said, "Forget that I asked."

Ray bit into her apple harder. It's water dripped down the side of her lips.

"Good," Ray said and turned to lift a hidden panel in the wall, "Welcome home."