Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 14

I jolt awake on my back and stare up at a dark sky that is stretched out above me. There are more stars in the sky than I've ever seen before as I lie there for a long moment and gaze up in awe, the faint, cloudy traceries of the Milky Way laid out like a tapestry. There's a chorus of crickets chirping, along with frogs croaking and I can guess that I may be in a marshy area judging by the soft ground under me.

A sudden shout catches me off guard and I roll over so I'm on my stomach.

Tall grass and cattails surround me, making it impossible for me to see much of what's past the curtain of foliage. I can scarcely see a flicker of fire as I pick out the shapes of individual torches being carried by several people.

"She's out here, I saw her run in this direction," one person, a woman says in a low voice as a dog follows her, the dog having the flickering skin of a familiar as it trots beside her.

"Did you find her daughters?" a man asks, his familiar being that of an owl, which is perched on his shoulder.

"Nay, I think she may have sent them out in a carriage heading west, we'll find 'em," the woman assures the man.

"Hush now, she'll hear us," says the man leading the trio as the torches flicker out and they disappear from view.

I freeze and breathe lightly as I hear their footsteps treading closer, but I can't see them at all.

Can they hear me? Are they going to find me?

I shudder at the thought and there's a sudden rustling sound beside me among the pond weeds that startles me. Bright green eyes peer out of them from several feet away to reveal a face that is illuminated in the light of the half-moon above us. The eyes look right through me, unseeing as they search the darkness.

There's a baying howl as a dog begins to bark, its paws slapping the muddy ground as it springs from the weeds suddenly, its teeth flashing in the dark as it lunges for the person crouched next to me.

The person screams as they're bowled over and the dog latches onto their arm as they try to fight the dog off, but to no avail.

I flinch as the person is suddenly bathed in blue light, like several lights have been turned on at once as I crouch in the shadows. The three people from before step forward with balls of blue light glowing in their hands as the dog lets go of the struggling person.

Hunched in the center of a patch of grass is a woman of breathtaking beauty who looks strangely familiar to me. Her long, light-colored hair falls down her back in a tangled braid as mud and sticks clot her hair, making her look desperate. She's wearing a simple, red and brown dress, the petticoats stained with mud as I notice that the fabric is torn in some places. The woman glares up at the others, a challenge flickering in her eyes that makes her look unbeatable.

"Surprised that you can't control my familiar, yeah?" the woman with the dog familiar sneers as she looks down at the woman sitting on the ground.

"I am not untrustworthy, I did not side with the British-," the woman on the ground begins to say.

"Silence!" the woman among the trio snaps.

A heavy silence falls over us, even the crickets and the frogs fall silent as the woman's angry voice hangs over us. The woman steps forward then, a knife in her hand. She places the tip of it against the soft spot of the familiar woman's throat and I draw in a soft breath as I fear for the worst.