I elbow Collin in the arm.

“What? What is it?” He is instantly awake.

“I think there’s something in here, an animal.” I keep my eyes on the furry shape. It’s hard to make out its silhouette in the dark. “You see it over there?” I whisper. “It looks like a wolf or maybe a lion.” I’ve seen drawings of them in books, with golden fur and manes. They’re pretty different than the large cats in the Forsyth we call tree lions. “It might be….” I trail off, the image of the sick deer flashes into my mind. Red eyes and glowing blue veins. The bear roaring with its burned skin. They can’t be here. “Do you guys have weapons? It probably came for the food.”

“A lion? What are you talking about?”

When I point at the creature, it changes. The furry shape lengths, as if it is standing up on two legs. It moves closer and I see a human hand dart to its head. I realize my mistake when the girl takes off the hood of her golden fur cloak. A mass of curly brown hair tumbles out of the hood. I can just make out a pair of light eyes in the dark.

Collin, being a sweet kid, at least tries to mask his laughter. He is practically choking, but manages to make it sound like a cough. I can hear him muttering, “a lion,” as he chortles. I try to ignore him. The girl is carrying a burlap sack in her hand. She walks over to the kitchen, where Chief is stirring something. She hands the bag to him. Then she walks over to the aqueduct. With so little effort it almost looks like she is flying, the girl jumps into the air and catches hold of the arch. She pulls herself up to the top and runs along the aqueduct to a shallow hole in the cavern’s wall, her fur cloak flaring out behind her. I have to crane my neck, but I can see her settle into it. She pulls her cloak around her, turning into an animal once more.

“Who is that?” I ask Collin, who has regained his composure.

“Her name is Araya,” Collin says. “She’s….interesting. When she first got here she wouldn’t tell us her name, wouldn’t say two words. Only talked to Layla. I would steer clear of her if I was you.”

“Has she been here long?”

“She’s actually newer than me. But no one treats her like it. She’s tough. From the west. She was on some sort of trek when the trackers grabbed her. She ended up in the Delphast, not in the….well we don’t know exactly what happened,” he amends. I’m fairly certain he was about to say the Keep. “Layla saw her brought in from the train,” Collin says. “She was handcuffed and still managed to knock out two guards. Layla knew she would be useful and broke her out of the prison.”

“How did Layla manage that?”

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“She’s Layla,” Collin says with a shrug. “People say everyone from the west is savage, wild. I know that’s not true, but her? She’s everything you’ve heard about the flatlands.” Collin yawns loudly. “Still haven’t said a single word to her. I’m afraid she’ll hit me if I say the wrong thing.” Collin yawns again and then falls silent. When I look over at him, he’s asleep. Lucky guy. I lay back down and shut my eyes. Sleep never comes. Instead my mind is filled with strange images. Stacks of giant smooth stones, endless yellow planes of grass, hands grasping at darkness and a fast moving shape with golden fur.

When Layla does come into the cavern, I’m up and by her side in a few moments. I think it is morning, although it’s hard to tell in the dark cave. Several members of the Haunt are awake and chatting at the fire pit. When I walk past them, they fall silent and avert their eyes. Guess no one likes a newbie.

“What are we doing today?” I ask Layla. She looks at me wearily. Her eyes are heavy and she’s clearly only interested in sleep. I want to tell her that I’ve been up the whole night too. Although I’m sure whatever she’s been doing trumps lying restlessly on an itchy blanket.

“You’ll figure it out,” Layla says, yawning loudly. There is a black soot streak on her cheek.

“What about Evan?” I say, resisting the urge to reach out and wipe the soot from her face.

“He’ll wait, it will all wait. I told you that you’ve got to earn our trust. That takes time. Now go away.”

“I at least have to go above ground. I brought a horse with me. He’s in the public stables and I need to feed him.”

“What does he look like?” Layla asks.

“Tall.…”

“I’ll take care of it,” Layla says. “Now go. Explore, sleep, eat if you can. Just be elsewhere.” She sinks down the ground and pulls her black hood further over her face, effectively shutting me out. I guess she sleeps wherever she wants. I retreat back to my scratchy blanket. Collin is just starting to wake up. His face is almost as red as his hair.

“Morning,” he says softly. “Has the day started?”

“Um…” I glance around the room. The only light comes from the fire which has been burning for hours. “Maybe?”

“Is Layla back?” He asks. “She only comes back when the nights done.”

I nod. “She’s asleep over there.”

Yawning, Collin gets to his feet. “Come on then. Let’s get some breakfast.”

There is already a line behind the big iron pot. Everyone eyes me when I approach and seems to then have something very important to whisper to the kid next to them. Collin doesn’t seem to notice. He continues to prattle on about an odd dream he had. Chief looks as sick and waxy as last night. He cuts up apple slices while the girl with pierced ears ladles oatmeal into bowls. Chief places an apple slice in each bowl. By the way everyone is talking this must be a big treat. I learned my lesson last time and eat the oatmeal slowly. It’s not as good cold, but at least my stomach doesn’t hurt.

After breakfast, Collin leaves me on my own. He has guard duty, something that every member of the Haunt shares. Collin makes it clear that I can’t come with him. “You’re our guest,” he tells me. I really don’t need the reminder. The way everyone looks at me, the way they stop talking when I approach. It’s obvious that I am not one of them.