Moon-Kissed (Within the Darkness #1) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,3
so months ago, they’d sent out a large, handpicked group of warriors to search for the Sacred Library. No one knew if it had survived the plague of darkness or had been consumed by it like everything else.
“It doesn’t look like anyone is alive down there,” Amo stated through the mask she wore, her hair covered by the heavy cloak. Our cloaks concealed our identities and protected against the long winter that had started a decade ago on the Badlands border.
“Someone’s alive down there,” I announced, countering her statement. “The torches burn for only a few hours before depleting the oil. Someone lit them recently.”
A loud squeal cut through the air, piercing the night. Turning, I saw Amo hold out her gloved wrist for Scout, the owl she’d trained from an owlet, to land. He was a beautiful, white snow owl with large wings that flapped, creating a soft wind around us as it settled on her arm. Amo clucked her tongue and held out her other hand as Scout dropped the husk into her hand. Passing his bounty off to me, Amo withdrew his treat before allowing him to crawl onto her shoulder to devour the morsel of meat.
My heart clenched as I brought the husk to my nose, recoiling from the scent before peering out over the town. Amo’s throat bobbed, and she turned, locking her gaze with mine. Her head shook slowly before she tried for words, failing. I handed her back the husk to confirm what I’d smelled on the victim’s dried flesh.
“Days or maybe a week since they lived,” Amo said vehemently, her grief turning to rage. “You won’t find anything living down there. Not anyone from the town, at least. Whoever is down there, they’re either immune to the darkness or one of our people pillaging through the dead’s coffers.”
“We’re going through the village either way.” My spine tingled as if eyes were on us, watching. Unease flitted through me, yet I ignored it. “We can’t spare the time to go around the mountains, not and make it to the next town in time to meet up with the others. We need to know what they found. Once we enter the village, if we encounter anyone, we will dismount and sneak around anything present since the horses won’t be able to move quicker than our blades. Plan for an ambush; hope it isn’t one,” I stated, moving back to mount my horse, Chivalry.
The ride down the cliffside was slow and treacherously steep. We didn’t dare enter through the main entrance into the town, knowing whoever was there, watched it for travelers. Under cover of darkness and the cloaks we wore, no one would be able to discern who or what we were. The sliver of the moon offered little magic to fuel our power, which meant if we faced off against an ambush, our skills and training would be used instead of the moon’s magic.
Inside the village, we moved silently along the sides of the houses. After a few nerve-racking moments, we turned onto the main street, and a husk blew across our path. I swallowed down the bile that burned the back of my throat again. No sound met our ears as we paused, looking through the shadows with our enhanced vision to ferret out any hidden enemies.
No one spoke as we started forward. The horses’ hooves’ over the cobblestone was the only noise heard in a once-bustling village filled with life. The shop windows were covered in dust, a telltale sign the inhabitants hadn’t been alive in more than a week. No stench of death or rotten bodies met my nose. Nor did any coppery tang of blood fill the air, which was a telling sign of a battle. Nothingness was here, which caused my throat to tighten from the loss of life within the village.
The touch of darkness was absolute death to those not immune to its murderous grasp. It consumed everything but skin, leaving only a leathery scrap of flesh behind. Books sat abandoned on a bench where a small leather husk remained stuck beneath it, as if the victim had been holding them when caught by the icy claws and sucked dry.
A door opened ahead of us, and the horses stopped. Slowly, they stepped back with a click of our tongues against our teeth. The subtle scent of male wafted heavily in the air, tingling in my nose, and I sat still without breathing.