Thorns by Kate Avery Ellison

I put away the food Ann had given me and returned to the main room. I smoothed my face into a mask of careful indifference and told them about the missing men.
    They didn’t say much—what was there to say? People died here. It was what happened.
    We did not speak much as we worked, and the crackle of the fire on the hearth punctuated the silence.
    Finally, my brother cleared his throat. “How is Everiss Dyer’s family coping with the arrest of their father? Did you see them in town?”
    “I didn’t ask. I’ll be sure to ask Ann when I go back tomorrow. I have to take the quota.”
    His gaze lingered on my face, as if he were looking for something else behind my eyes. I blinked and glanced away. I had no plans to tell them about the note. Those threatening words had been intended for me, and me only. The Blackcoats had no quarrel with Jonn and Ivy, and they were already worried enough about Raine and the Farthers.
    A pang of terror struck me. Had Ivy gone to do the chores earlier? Had she seen the note?
    I scrutinized them both as they returned to their work. Ivy’s face seemed clear of duplicity, and I knew how bad my sister was at hiding her feelings, so I was reassured.
    She muttered to herself as she twisted the thread with her thumb and forefinger, oblivious to me.
    “Any other news from the village?” Jonn asked.
    I thought about the way Ann’s eyes shifted from mine these days, the scratch on her cheek. I thought of the words painted on the quota wall, the brewing animosity between the villagers, and the things Raine had shouted.
    But all these things would only make them worry.
    “No,” I said.
     
    ~
     
    I lay in bed while the snow fell outside and the house creaked and settled in its sockets around me. I traced Gabe’s bracelet with my fingers and thought about the missing Fishers. My mind kept playing back the night we’d taken Gabe to the gate. The guttural growl from the shadows. The jaws that came out of nowhere. The red stain left on the snow.
    And now I was supposed to venture out into the darkness to meet Adam?
    I tried to sleep, but every time I shut my eyes I saw red on the snow.
    The hours trickled by like melting icicles, and my thoughts chased in circles. My parents. Gabe. I tried to think about them, but the memories of their faces eluded me. Panic flooded my veins, and I focused on breathing slowly. I did not care for them any less if I couldn’t remember the colors of their eyes, I told myself.
    But the sick feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away.
    I had to go to meet Adam. It was a test, he’d said. A test of cleverness, a test of mettle, a test of bravery. He wanted to see if I had what it took. It wasn’t a matter of safety. The Watchers would be gone by then.
    Wouldn’t they?
    In that window of time between night and day, no one really knew.
    I lifted one damp hand to brush strands of hair from my eyes. My fingers trembled, and I stared at them in the near-blackness a moment. Sitting up, I reached for my bureau drawer. My hands found the cuff Adam had given me, and I slipped it onto my wrist. Instantly I felt safer.
    Shutting my eyes, I didn’t open them again until dawn.
     
     

EIGHT
     
     
    I CREPT DOWN the stairs from my bedroom slowly, stepping around all the places I knew would squeak. I paused a moment and listened in the darkness for any sound to indicate my siblings had heard my descent and awoken, but all was still. The familiar hush of fallen snow wrapped the house in a thick silence and muffled all sound from outside. Inside, the darkness breathed with the faint creaks and groans of boards settling against the cold, and I could hear the wheezing sound of my sister snoring.
    Otherwise, all was quiet.
    I tiptoed on, pausing at the door to wrestle into my boots and wrap my cloak around my shoulders. I tied a string of snow blossoms around my neck, gathered up the lantern, and drew open the front door. A blast of chilly wind rushed over my cheeks and stole my