Page 11 of To Steal the Sun
In the doorway, Charlotte looked back one final time at Gwen. The bear was looking at the small group of them.
“Don’t worry,” Gwen said with a faint smile. “I’ll find your Henry for you.”
Charlotte managed a return smile before Natalie pulled her out of the door.
After so long in the stuffy basement, Charlotte should have been glad for the open air and space. But she’d spent too many hours in growing fear of the strange city patrolled by giant bears. Now that she was standing in the street, she felt dangerously exposed.
At least dawn wasn’t far away. The deep black of night had given way to dark gray, and regular streetlights broke the darkness even further. Or maybe she should be regretting the presence of streetlights? Weren’t they supposed to be in hiding?
Charlotte shook her head. Subterfuge was outside her experience.
“Come on!” Natalie hissed, waving Easton and Charlotte forward. Charlotte wasn’t the only one lingering near the door of the basement—although Charlotte suspected Easton had a different reason for being reluctant to move away from the relative safety behind them.
Charlotte reminded herself who she was doing everything for: Henry. If she couldn’t even brave a dark street for him, how did she hope to snatch him from the mountain queen?
Scampering after Natalie, she caught up with the younger girl at the closest street corner. Natalie was peering around it, her other hand held up to signal for Charlotte to wait behind her.
Charlotte’s nerves thrummed as she waited, wondering what Natalie could see. It was hard to resist the instinct to push forward and see for herself.
Easton’s steadying presence arrived at her back, helping to calm her. She felt safer with someone on either side, even though she knew it was just an illusion.
Whatever Natalie saw on the other street must have satisfied her because she gestured them forward. The three crept onto the larger street in single file.
Charlotte tried to step quietly, but Natalie quickly outpaced her. Apparently the other girl was going for speed over silence. Charlotte increased her speed to match, cringing at every footfall.
When they reached the next corner, Natalie’s check was much shorter. She had barely peered around the edge before she was gesturing them forward again.
“Wait,” Charlotte whispered. “Shouldn’t we be more…” She fell silent when Natalie ignored her. Reluctantly, she put on another spurt of speed to catch the other girl instead.
“Natalie!” Easton hissed from behind Charlotte.
She wasn’t the only one confused and uncomfortable. Weren’t they supposed to be creeping through the streets unseen?
But Natalie didn’t pause again until they were on the edge of a cobbled square. This time Charlotte was able to peer over her shoulder, and she caught herself looking for the fountain that usually marked the middle of town squares. Instead of a fountain, however, this square held only the statue of an imposing woman wearing a crown. Charlotte grimaced. She supposed it made sense not to have a fountain in a place where the temperature must often be below freezing. But she would have preferred not to creep right under Queen Celandine’s eyes—even if they were just stone versions.
Natalie glanced quickly up and down the square before shrugging and striding openly across its center.
“Natalie!” Easton hissed again, with more force if not more volume.
The younger girl didn’t flinch or look back, though, so after a resigned shrug, Charlotte and Easton both hurried after her. As they crossed the open space, Charlotte flicked glances at the surrounding buildings. It wasn’t only stone eyes that watched them but also the closed shutters of too many windows to count. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself she was being fanciful—they felt like a real presence tracking the progress of the small group.
“Shouldn’t we stick to the edge?” she whispered to Natalie as she finally caught up with the other girl. They had made it more than halfway across the square, but Charlotte’s skin was crawling so badly she could barely walk straight.
“I hear something,” Easton whispered sharply, and Natalie finally responded.
Grabbing Charlotte’s sleeve, she cried, “Run!” without bothering to lower her voice. Pulling Charlotte with her, she veered sideways. Instead of making for the continuation of the main road that had appeared to be their goal, she threw them both sideways toward what looked like nothing but a deep shadow.
Charlotte barely kept herself from screaming as they careened toward the black space. At the last second, she perceived a narrow alley, its entrance blocked by an abandoned cart missing a wheel.
Natalie let go of Charlotte’s sleeve, glancing once over her shoulder to check Easton was with them. As Charlotte turned to look as well, Natalie was already leaping up the cart, cresting it in two bounds.
Behind her, Charlotte could hear the local girl hissing for her to hurry and follow, but she couldn’t turn back around. Easton was heading their way, and he had obviously taken a few beats to grasp what was happening. He was no longer alone in the square.
Behind him, two large, white figures lumbered across the open space, closing the gap with terrifying speed. Easton saw the look on her face and faltered, turning to glance behind him.
“No!” Charlotte screamed, all her fear forgotten in the panic of the moment.
Their whole plan depended on no one knowing Easton’s face. He couldn’t let himself be seen.