Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Thirteen: Curfew

A murderous and savage intent welled up within me; I had killed one before, so why couldn't I do it again? It had taken Reia from me! They all deserved to die!

Almost blindly, my feet began to move, my heart pounding and my mouth dry. Each thud of my heart I mentally prepared myself to kill. Kill. Kill.

A part of me tried to reason. I was always the calculated mover; I would wait, and bide my time, rather than rush and regret.

Maybe there are more.

Where did it come from?

Why is it here?

Is this why nobody is outside?

Questions began to pop, uncontrollably, into my mind. Furiously I tried to push them away, wanting to do something, prove to Fabian and Scarlett that I wasn't a hopeless girl. I was entering down the same street as the monster when I heard the beating of hooves, and I jumped, scarpering fast. To my dismay, the monster turned, and spotted me— but I had already dashed away, into a side alley, and was breathing heavily.

The alley was dark, and I was terrified once more. The wind furled around me, trying to defend me, but I was crushing from the weight of the last alley I had gone down, only to have faced the monster that was following me now.

Had I not learnt to stay away from dark alleyways?

Pressed against the wall, I tried to edge back into the street, but I paused as I saw who was heading down the street. Riding on a great white horse, wearing a dark red cloak, silver hair steaming handsomely, was Fabian, and behind him, a group of three men followed on horseback.

I flinched, my nose edging beyond the alley walls just enough for me to watch the ensuing scene.

'My Lord!' one of the men behind him was addressing him in a pleading voice. 'As your Commanding Officer, I strongly suggest we return. If we are caught after curfew—'

'You may return, Elgar,' Fabian said shortly, his voice resigned, 'but I will not stop searching. She could die alone at night.'

'So could you, my Lord,' the second rider spoke, and this was a woman's voice. Her voice was low and steady, but behind her helmet, I could make nothing of her head except a short brown ponytail. Next to her, the Commanding Officer called Elgar, a young man with pale yellow hair, was nodding his assent. He had lifted his visor to stare hard at Fabian, as if to betray the honesty of his emotions.

'Lady Scarlett is not searching for her,' the female rider volleyed, but Fabian ignored her. The third rider spoke up. The man's voice was old and wizened, but he raised a trembling finger.

'Look down there!' he said warningly, 'Something that is no Angel approaches. My Lord, we must go now­ – without your power, we cannot take one of the King's Demons on.'

Fabian faltered, glancing backwards at the shape slowly approaching them. It appeared blind, and more haggard than the last monster I had seen; smaller, and bonier, it moved on all fours towards the group by sniffing along the ground. Its teeth, protruding through its gums, were too sharp and large to fit within its small mouth, and instead jutted out, so that it appeared as if it was wearing a horrible grin. Its eyes were shut, and mauled; judging by it using its senses, it was blind, as I had thought. But its remaining senses were sharp.

And it was fast honing in on Fabian's group.

Fabian hissed.

'I never told her—' he protested, but to my great surprise, his commanding officer threw out his hand, cuffing him under his ear. Fabian's eyes rolled and he dropped forwards onto his horse, which bayed in protest.

'Easy, easy!' the officer breathed, as he gently calmed the horse. The lady rider steered both her horse and Fabian's, whilst the officer lifted Fabian nimbly onto his own horse. The whole process took less than thirty seconds, but the monster had begun to run, confident that it had caught wind of its prey. Trying not to scream out, I watched as it ran, on all fours, with its limbs uncoordinated but fast, and snarling all the way. The horses screamed, and the riders desperately tried to wheel them around as the monster gained upon them.

I clenched my teeth and cast the comforting wind around me away. It rushed towards the monster, throwing it off its legs and sending it skidding across the cobblestones, letting out a howl of frustration that sent the horses into action. Before I could turn, I saw that the Commanding Officer, still clutching the unconscious Fabian, had noticed the wind, and was glancing at Fabian in confusion. But his horse was turning, and soon he and the two other riders were galloping away at full speed.

I, too, turned and fled down the alleyway, desperate to hide from the monster that was picking up its feet. The wind still gripped it as I ran, losing sight of it in the minutes that passed as I raced through the backstreets. Here, it was easier to see which establishments were still open; inns and taverns played music, and inside the houses, people were happily living their lives, unaware of the danger outside.

Taking the idea that they were safe because they were inside, I rounded upon the next back door I found cracked open. It was a stable next to an inn, and I was hit by the smell of horse and manure once I was inside. But it was nothing compared to the relief I felt as I bolted the door shut and slid down it, breathing hard. I thought, for a tiny moment, that the wind had left me; but as I paused, it skittered the straw that covered the floor of the stable, and made the only horse there sneeze.

I stood up gingerly, dusting off my butt. The front door to the stable was shut, and I had no desire to open it. Lanterns burned in their brackets, filling the room with light and warmth. I crossed the cramped room to where an old horse, leisurely chewing, blinked at me, and gave a snort. Respectfully I patted it gently, before examining what was next to it.

A traveller's wagon, perfect for a runaway like myself, was next to the horse. It was made of wood, with rusting iron wheels that my appraising eye could have fixed up. There were no windows, just room for a coachman to sit up front with the horse pulling it, and carry his wares in the back.

Too exhausted to care, I pulled open the wagon doors to find large crates, empty. I frowned at them, until it dawned on me that this wagon was used to pick up supplies for the inn. Figuring that this might be my only chance, I shut the doors, and hauled myself into one of the large crates. For a few moments, I lay, curled and cramped, at the bottom, eyeing the stray patch of light that was sneaking in through the cracks in the wood. Then, with a sigh, I pulled the lid of the crate back over, and darkness shut all around.

A/N: Thank you again for all your votes and reads so far, but I am still relying on you for your continued support! Vote, vote, vote please....and I am still dying to hear your comments!

Dedication to magicolebooks because her comments kept me giggling throughout, check out her book It ends With Shadow, entering the Wattys this year and deserves an award!!

Larissa xx