Page 6

W ith a groan he got to his feet and surveyed the damage. The horse was riled up, neighing and stomping its feet as it fought to break free of the toppled cart. Theo's crates were spilled in the surrounding area. A crate of enchanted camellias glowed, casting a soft light over the wreckage. Adora was gone.

"Adora?" he called out as he got to the horse. He pulled his knife off his hip and cut it free, then calmed it best he could. Please tell me the horse didn't trample her . Maybe she hit her head? "Adora!"

"Theo?" her meek voice rasped.

"I'm coming. Don't move," he called, relieved. He sheathed his knife and stuck it in his back pocket in a hurry. Theo followed her voice and found her on her knees a long walk from the cart. He could already see an angry red rash breaking out on her knees and shins from kneeling in a bed of ivy.

"Can you walk?" he asked as he approached her holding out his hands. "You can't sit in that plant. It's bad for you."

"I'm so sorry," she said, clutching him and getting to her feet. "I shouldn't have drugged you and I shouldn't have got us lost in here. I really didn't think it was real, I promise."

"What's done is done," he said, holding on to her arm as he guided her back to the cart. She sat awkwardly on the flipped cart, looking ashamed. "To be fair, I also didn't know it would be this bad. It was like how waves are stronger out at sea. Had I known, I would have done better to secure you to the cart when I realized we were stuck out here. I'm sorry you got so hurt. I was mad at you, but that didn't mean I wished for this to happen."

He noticed Adora's palm was dripping blood from an open gash. He tore a piece of his shirt and dug some crushed yarrow out of his spilled medicinal crate. Carefully, he placed the plant on the wound and wrapped it tight. "You can get a real bandage in Beaumont, but this will do for now. We'll wait and before sunrise, I'll burn a circle around us and our things so we get out of here. When the fog recedes, we won't go with it. Do me a favor and try to find some rocks nearby. We need to anchor the cart to the ground, then anchor ourselves to it. It's too damaged to ride out, so we'll take the horse and make our way to Beaumont in the morning. I'll try to find something to burn a circle before the fog comes."

She agreed, and in silence they went about their separate tasks.

Theo's crates were cracked and scattered around in the foliage. The few cattails he brought were lost along with the lantern. Great. How are we going to get out of here? He tossed one of Adora's bags to check under it for even one crushed cattail. "Don't panic. I just need to find one," he mumbled to himself to calm his nerves.

There was a rustle behind him and he whirled around, gripping his knife.

There was silence. He waited a moment, then went in the direction of the noise just to be safe. He stepped over piece of his broken crate and then he saw something that made him gasp. Sprouting out of the earth were two cattails standing high next to the broken cart.

The rustling was immediately forgotten as he cut them. Maybe we're near a lake or pond. He set both by the cart so he could get them easily when the fog came. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful.

"Theo!" Adora screamed.

He dashed over and pulled an arrow out, ready to release it. "What is it? Is something there?"

"S-sorry," she stammered. "I was looking for rocks but then I thought, I mean, look." She pointed through the trees and Theo saw exactly what had frightened her.

Out in the middle of the veil, surrounded by some rose bushes, was a man made of stone.

"What on earth?" Theo couldn't help but gasp in amazement as he approached.

The statue was in motion as if walking towards something. It had hemlock sprouting from the spider web of cracks that ran along its body. Then there were its eyes. They were literal jewels that glittered even in the dark. Theo tapped the eye with a fingertip. Whatever artist did this is amazing.

Behind the initial statue they found more stone figures of similar beauty. Some were holding lanterns that were long burnt out and others had stone bags. They all had different flowers sprouting from them—petunias, hemlocks, and begonias were among the most common.

"Adora, hold my hand," Theo said softly and she held tight without arguing.

They followed the statues until they came across a black metal gate they seemed to be leaving. Finding statues in the middle of the veil was strange enough, but what was on the other side of the gate was so bizarre it took Theo a few seconds to process what exactly he was looking at.

On the other side of the open black iron gate was winter. There was a small rolling forest of bare trees with branches topped with snow and icicles. Snowflakes fell from the sky, swirled, and blew towards them. They melted the moment they hit greenery on the other side. The cold air lightly licked Theo's cheeks and sent a shiver down his spine.

Theo stared with a mix of awe and fear. That pull in his chest he felt every time he was outside the veil returned but it was amplified. It was an ache that took his breath away, and he was defenseless to it.

As if in a trance, he crossed into the winter landscape. They walked through the naked trees coated in frost until they entered a small town.

The moonlight couldn't penetrate through the thick snow clouds, making it much darker than the rest of the veil. The buildings were dingy, and many windows were boarded closed. All the roofs were piled high with snow making them buckle under the weight. The state of the town only highlighted the bizarre and beautiful scene sprawled out in the streets. There were countless statues everywhere.

Each one was unique. Some were walking, some were entering and leaving the doorways. Some were posed as if mid-conversation. Unlike the statues outside the gate, all the foliage growing out of their cracks was dead and withered. Snow settled on their heads, shoulders, and crooks of their elbows.

A lump formed in Theo's throat. Seeing these statues left out in the winter landscape felt sinister like an empty boat drifting through the sea or belongings left scattered in the road.

He leaned close to a man who was waving up at an abandoned shop window and saw that his eyes were flawless sapphires. These must be priceless.

Theo tried to think of a benign reason why someone would leave such beautiful statues in a desolate place, but he couldn't fathom any logical answer.

"We've seen enough. I think we should go." His voice trembled from the cold. He was dressed for spring, not a quiet winter's night, and his thin shirt was definitely not enough. "Obviously something strange happened here."

"We'll go in a moment. Let's grab some of the jewels." Adora pulled away from his grip and leaned into the face of another statue. "This one has emeralds. Give me your knife so I can pry them out."

"I don't want anything from here. We shouldn't have come here. Besides, these belong to someone."

"Who? The stone shop owners? This place is clearly abandoned." With a grunt, she shoved one over. A crash rang out into the silent night as the statue burst into thousands of little pieces.

"Why would you do that?" The grey stone stood out on the white and Theo felt sick. "How could you destroy something so beautiful?"

"You're too sentimental." She scowled, crouching down and moving rocks around to find the jewels. "You wouldn't give me your knife, so you didn't leave me much choice. Here, I only did it so I could give one for my fiancé and one to you."

"For me?"

"Yes, as an apology."

"I don't want that. I don't want anything from..." The low crunch of snow under boots made him go quiet. All the oil lampposts around the city ignited, one by one, in bright orange flames.

"Intruders!" a deep voice called in the distance.

"Run!" He snatched Adora's hand and dragged her back toward the gate as fast as he could. They slipped on ice under the packed snow as they rushed up the hill back toward the warm floral part of the veil. Just as the gate came back into view, Adora was ripped away from him. A second later, someone yanked him back, roughly sending him crashing into the deep snow.

Guards, whose faces were hidden in cloaks made of thick dark furs, descended. They stole his bow and arrow and roughly escorted the two of them all the way back to the city where they were dropped at the feet of a man whose face was also obscured. While everyone else wore dark furs, the man looking down on them was dressed in luxurious white and grey.

"Did you take all their weaponry?" he asked coldly. Once they assured him they had, he stepped forward. "You are trespassing in my lands."

"We didn't mean to," Adora stammered quickly, "We just—"

"Which one of you destroyed her?" he asked coldly.

Theo's eyes drifted to the rubble on the ground. A group of hooded figures were kneeling next to the rubble and collecting the pieces with careful hands . He said her, not it. Maybe they're sacred? "We're sorry. We shouldn't have come here, and we shouldn't have touched anything. We knocked the woman over by mistake. Right, Adora?" She nodded quickly. "See? So please just give back my bow and let us go."

The man scowled and snapped his fingers. The guards came over and dug in Theo and Adora's pockets. They quickly found the jewels tucked in her dress.

"You have committed a great crime," the man in white said sneering. "As punishment, you will stay here as my ward."

"What?" she shrieked as the mysterious leader gripped her arm. Blood trickled from her hand as he tugged her to her feet. "Let me go! I thought it was abandoned."

"I don't care what you thought." He waved at Theo dismissively. "Toss him back. No reason to keep two humans around."

Two guards approached him, and Theo panicked. " Wait!" He tore away and stopped in front of the leader. "Take me in her place!"

"Why would I do that?" he asked, still holding Adora firmly.

"She is her family's only daughter. I'm one of three," Theo said, gesturing to Adora who was sobbing at this point. "Take me in her place."

"How sweet," the leader said in a bored tone. He shoved Adora away from him and motioned for Theo to come. "Fine. Toss her back and get me chains for our new ward."

Relieved, Theo let out a shaky breath. He didn't want to be a prisoner, but he couldn't say he simply lost Adora. Her family would take the money back. Even if they wouldn't, he couldn't in good conscious leave this terrified young girl near the same age as his own sisters. "Can I hug her goodbye?"

"Be quick." He waved a leather hand as he waited for his orders to be met.

"Theo, I don't want you to do this. You should go and get help," Adora said, shaking as he held her.

"No more tears. You have to be brave right now," he said, softly holding her. Her trembling reminded him of Coralie having a panic attack, and he did his best to be encouraging. "You're going to go back, burn a circle using my cattails, and stay there till sunrise. That's all you have to do. Then you're going to Beaumont on your own. Make sure your mother keeps her word and gives the gold to my sisters and tell my sisters I'll keep my promise. They'll know what it means. You can do this. You're hardheaded but you are a clever girl."

"Enough. Time to go," the leader said, ripping Theo away. He snapped shackles on his wrists. "The rest of you, toss the girl back, collect the damage, and then you're dismissed. I can handle the new ward alone."