Book 5: It Was Always Me

Maddy

Wind whispers over us. Little flakes of silver ice bite into my cheeks despite the fact that it’s summer. Nothing here feels right. The long dead grass sways in a vicious breeze, the air so chilled it stings. The sky is pitch black and moonless, like the night came and refused to ease its grip on the world.

There’s magic in the air, and not the good kind.

The scent of death reaches my nose and causes me to shudder. Ella watches me, her eyes nearly black in the darkness. She pulls the tiniest bag I’ve ever seen out of her pocket, something so small she can hold it in the palm of her hand, and sets it on the ground at her feet. She starts removing her clothes. “Undress, Maddy. We need to get going. We’re not alone out here.”

As if in answer, howling reaches us on the wind. I bristle and start unclasping my belt. What will we do with our clothes? Carry them in our mouths?

I halt my progress, my shirt pulled up over my belly, as I wat