"If I knew you were going to be so much trouble, I should have just made off with the boy," Nistan mumbled, looking at me.

As we sat against the cold stone walls in the kitchen, Pricel's shadow, Lord Nistan paced in front of us.

The kitchen was big and dark and the ashes strewn across the floor near the giant alcove where the fire seems to be set gave the air a sour, metallic smell.

I nudged Ivian who was slumped on the wall beside me, but she was still unconscious.

The muffled rhythmic rain suddenly turned into a hard roar as the door beside us opened and man stepped in from outside.

"Nasty rain out'ere." The man spoke while pulling down his hood.

I squinted and looked away as a few drops of water hit me. But not before I saw the man's crooked nose. It was a face I had seen before.

"Where are the boy and the horses?" Nistan hissed.

"In the stables. Right back there."

The world flipped upside down as Nistan picked me and Ivian up.

"We're leaving now," he barked.

The roar of the rain got louder again and then we were in it, a sheet of it soaked me through as I heard the door thud behind us.

I felt so helpless and weak.

Could I do nothing as Ivian and I were just taken away?

The cold rain stopped hitting me and I smelled the horses and their shit. It was a different smell in the damp, heavier.

Two of them just stood there in front of us, saddled with hemp ropes trailing on the floor behind.

Behind the horses, was the second corpse I saw this night.

It was the other man, the dumb one, that had been there in front of Saul with the crooked nosed man.

Three holes in his abdomen still dribbled blood from where he was stabbed with a pitchfork. The hay beneath him was turned a splotchy black mess in the darkness.

I don't know why the crooked nosed man was digging Aian's grave, but it seems Saul hadn't had quite so poor judgement as to hire him in the manor.

But for what reason then would he be here? And why were he and Nistan trying to kidnap me?

"Hold it," Nistan said, and he handed me to the other man.

All I could see and smell was his sleeve, with an almost perfectly circular tear right above his elbow.

He just stood there, holding me to his chest until Nistan grabbed me again from higher up.

The horse took a step forward and then back again as Nistan steadied himself in the saddle and tied a strap around me.

Then he gave it a kick and we were back in the wind and water, the horse moving not too quickly, perhaps to make sure there was no noise.

I saw the manor and the road backwards, everything on Nistan's right. We weren't going towards the road that led away from the manor. Instead, we were going towards the woods behind the yard.

If it weren't so dark and rainy, we might have seen wherever it was that Mr. Barker lived, since it was down the path into the fields behind the manor where Mr. Barker appeared in the mornings to which we rode.

As it was, we met no one, and after a good stretch of riding were enveloped by the trees.

The forests were a blessing, seeing as the rain stopped trickling over my eyes and the horses had to be slowed to avoid tripping. I also figured that trails would be left more clearly for any search parties that might be sent out on the morrow.

The rain, the horse's hooves and Nistan's breathing made a loud silence during the journey. There was never any talking, though sometimes Nistan raised his hands to signal the crooked nosed man where to take his horse.

The trees and the dark seemed to be endless. I wondered as I sat there if Ivian was awake, still helpless under the curses cast upon us.

Piuwit

Nistan whistled, coming to a stop.

Making a few hand gestures at his accomplice, he then dismounted and pressed me to him as he dismounted.

I felt the makeshift sling, still tied around me dig a bit into my bottom as Nistan started walking.

I felt my face get pushed up to hard, wet leather of his chest as he crouched to look at something.

I couldn't see what he was so interested in, but behind him, I saw Ivian's hair, falling down from where she was tied face down over his horse.

The crooked nosed fellow caught my gaze and twirled his knife, at me, putting it back in the sheath right after.

His horse had another boy slung over it, like Ivian.

I think it was Pricel.

"Shit."

Nistan mumbled, almost inaudibly, and for a moment, I hoped that there was someone coming for us.

Then he got up and turned, his boots squelching through the forest floor again.

The half eaten corpse he had been looking at came into my sight.

Not the corpse of a man, but of an elk, majestic antlers pushed into the mud, its side ripped open in a bloody spectacle.

I felt tears cloud my eyes, as the death and blood reminded me of Grita.

She was only at the manor to take care of me since we were short of hands. And the same for that stablehand.

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Was this elk too chased by a creature like Nistan, helpless to do anything as it was eaten then abandoned to a slow death filled with pain?

I felt a rush of air as Nistan swung back onto his horse.

"There was no sign of predators or scavengers. It was at least a day old." Nistan finally spoke something. "But prey with teeth marks don't just get abandoned in the middle of the forest."

"Yer think it's shriekers?" The crooked nosed man responded, incredulous.

"Likely." Nistan responded again. "Ride near the ruins, at least we'll have somewhere to run if they show."

"Let's kill the woman and baby, they're just gonna' slow us down," the other man said and I thought of his dagger that he was so eager to show.

"Shut up and get back on your horse. Men are more dangerous than shriekers; they remember their prey."

"What difference dosit make, huh? We've done and taken 'em already." The crooked nosed man was getting more agitated as he tried to decide my fate.

"A big difference. We're just delivery boys, bringing the hostages in. If you put a knife to their throats, it will be you they want. Stop asking questions and get back on your horse unless you want us to become shrieker bait."

Again, the horses were stumbling through the forest's dips and hills.

I felt sick, wet, scared and tired as I was jolted by every other step of the horse below us.

But I was also more alert after hearing the name of the monster from Ivian's stories of winter.

As much as I hated these men who took us from the manor, Nistan was keeping Ivian alive.

There was nothing I could do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a grey light began to mix into the darkness under the trees, I heard from my body a ragged whining breath. Nistan's curse of silence lost its potency.

Tikitik, tititkit

My teeth were chattering badly too. During the hours of riding, I had become freezing cold.

Don't let them hurt Ivian, I repeated in my mind. Don't get caught by the shriekers. I repeated again.

I had to keep my focus. Even if there was nothing I could think of doing.

"Aaah!" A shriek pierced the silence, "Nistan! Help, Nistan!"

It was Pricel, now awake and unsilenced on the horse beside us.

"Shush brat," the crooked nosed man said, while Nistan reined in his horse.

"Silence."

It was just a simple word, but Nistan's voice was hard and final. He threw a piece of leather to the crooked nosed man on the horse stopped beside us.

"Nistan?" as the man got down from in front of him, Pricel asked, recognizing his shadow's voice.

Even now, he couldn't see much of anything, slung across the horse as he was.

But he did see the man grab his head and start trying to force the leather strap in his mouth.

"No, get off me!" He shouted. "Nistan! Why? Take me ba-ghn ahng!!"

"Stupid brat," the crooked nosed man said, tying the leather strap off behind his head.

Groans and whines kept coming out of him, even after Nistan told him "shut up, or you'll bring the shriekers down on us."

But Nistan didn't relent, he just kicked his feet into the horse's haunches and we were moving again.

At one point, Nistan asked

"You still alive there? You're so quiet." Nistan asked, flicking me hard on the knee. "Try not to die on me, I already have enough of a headache on my hands."

As if I could care less about your stupid headache. I hope it gets so bad you fall off your horse.

But the gasp of pain I heard soon after wasn't from Nistan but Ivian.

It seems she had been awake for awhile too, but was being quiet, unlike my cousin. The horse had stepped further down than usual, maybe tripped up by a branch or log.

We kept riding through the woods until we were suddenly back in the rain.

The edge of the protective canopy receded behind Nistan's back.

The field we came out into seemed a bit weird. The grass covering the ground was yellow instead of the usual green.

Shriiiii

A cry pierced the clearing, like an animal in pain.

The horses didn't need much spurring, despite the rain. Fortunately, the ground was relatively flat and uncluttered, unlike the forest floor.

Soon, the flock of birds was upon us. There were at least 5 different birds, in countless numbers.

"Hundred shriekers, and they're all birds. This isn't good!" a cry came from the other horse.

"Just get into the closest cave. We can hold them off at the entrance there."

I huddled into Nistan, trying not to let the rain and cold overwhelm me.

As the screeching got right on top of us, I started to taste blood. It was not my own, but from the red tinted water flowing down from Nistan's hair.

"Milord, they're all o'er me. We're not gonna make it," the crooked nose cried.

A blur of movement almost caught my leg, but I pulled it away and almost fell off Nistan's chest.

"Haiyah! Haiyah!"

Instead of slowing down, the horse was speeding up at Nistan's encouragement, dashing ahead as I was caught between Nistan's lowered chest and the running horse.

In the cramped percussion, I wasn't able to get back up or focus on anything else.

Then, the galloping stopped and Nistan put me on the ground where I just curled up, lying there, trying to dispel the dizziness.

"... lly, Tilly, can you hear me, Tilly?"

Ivian was crying out to me from somewhere.

"Tilly?"

I opened my eyes to the horses' hooves, just inches beside me.

My arms screamed at me with pins and needles as I uncurled them. It had been so long in the cold. But I methodically worked some blood back into them and crawled towards Ivian, bent painfully over the horse.

"Tilly, thank the spirits you're alright."

Thank what spirits. Maybe if I didn't have to protect you, I'd end my own life right now, just to spare me the pain.

"Ivian..."

I mumbled. Even with my dizzy head, I knew what I had to do. The first thing was to take care of this fucker Nistan who had killed Grita and messed with us all.

And then... I'd figure what comes after when it came. The first step was hard enough.

"Lord Sivis will be here to save us right away. Just please hang in there Tilly."

Ivian seemed to think father would be able to do something.

I doubted that.

As I collected my senses, I saw that we were in a dark cave. Creepers falling from an unseen ceiling and a stony ridge in the earth where the horses had stopped were all I could see clearly.

Sounds of curses and fighting came from the rectangle of light into the outer world, where two men were trying to keep out the birds.

Pricel was moaning again, now that he noticed we were stopped.

Maybe he thought Ivian could do something, seeing as he was tied facing away.

"Ivian, all tied, like you..." I panted out. Maybe he'd shut up.

I'm not sure how the kidnappers warded off those angry birds, but soon, they were walking towards us, sabers still unsheathed.

"I told her it was too late in the season!" Nistan shouted, overcome with some indignation. "I shouldn't have accepted this."

"Yeah, yeah, and you should not'a brought me along either. Stupid shrieker birds. Just kill the fat lot of 'em birds, then there won't be no flying shriekers."

"Look at this moaning brat. I can't believe I had to wipe his bum for the past 2 years just for this mess up."

A moment of silence followed before the crooked nosed quietly asked, "... you wiped his bum... milord?"

"Not literally you fool. But I may as well have, sitting around, smiling and yeahing as he played around."

Pricel had gone dead silent. I wonder what I would feel like if Ivian said something like that. She actually did wipe my... let's not get off topic.

"And now this mess. They're just an heir to a disgraced lord and a fucking ipocond. Why do stuck up nobles get so worked up over their honour from years ago."

"Beggin' yer pardon, milord, yer a noble too..."

"In name only, man. 4th son of a cond from his commoner whore. I ran away from that shit hole when they started telling me I should be grateful for being bossed and bullied around."

It seems Nistan had gotten chatty after the escape and battle.

"We should have just stabbed this wench back at the manor and been done with it," he said, and to my horror, accentuated his point by flinging Ivian off the horse and to the ground.

Cheerily taking the example, crooked nosed made to do the same with Pricel but only got chewed out again,

"Not the boy. We need him hale in Ibbergreen."

"Right..." crooked nose responded less eagerly.

"Are you sure we'll be fine in 'ere?" the crooked nosed man asked, finally taking a look at his surroundings instead of leering at me. "This place freaks me out."

His voice echoed dimly in the darker reaches of the giant cave.

"We'll just be here for a moment to rest and eat. Or do you prefer to stay out in the rain with the birds?"

"Err, no."

"Good, then shut up and eat. We leave when we're done."

Perhaps as adrenaline wore off or they started chewing their rations, the men grew less talkative. If ever I would be able to do something, it was now.

I had to protect Ivian, but how?

All the ideas that floated up from some other part of me involved wrestling or fighting or running, nothing I could do with this miniature body of mine.

Maybe if I could just grab that knife at Nistan's waist.

No one would expect a baby to stab them. How would I grab it anyways?