COVENS

Chapter Three

I mean to rise earlier than everyone else, but suddenly there's morning sunlight in my eyes and I can hear a bell ringing in the distance. A raven perches on the open window. I jump, twisting in my blankets.

"Good morning. Get ready for breakfast," it croaks.

The others stir, groaning. The raven flies away. We get ready, and I drag behind the others.

"Go on, I'll meet you there," I say, waving.

Clara and Ellis look at each other.

"Okay," Clara says. Her sparrow flits around her head, tweeting happily. Ellis's crow waddles behind him, picking at insects on the ground.

Once the door shuts, I tug a small needle up from where I stuck it into my boot. I fold it in my palm.

The forest is rustling in a chill breeze. The sun shines warmly down as I tramp through thickets and around the gray birches. I haven't been in this part of the woods yet, just north of Ravenswood. I make sure to leave myself markers, and keep my eyes peeled. I search for birds in the trees, mice underfoot, anything.

I find the ground getting spongy and mossy. The trees grow more dark and twisted. Suddenly I'm in a shady grove. I spot a headstone in the middle of the grove, surrounded with bright yellow flowers and overgrown with some prickly green plants. Is that a grave? A cold breeze tickles the back of my neck. I jerk and look over my shoulder.

No one's there.

A bad feeling churns in my gut.

I start to move away, when suddenly, I spot a creature darting along the bushes on the far side of the clearing. I narrow my eyes. A blur of brown and white.

Is that a rabbit? I finger the needle in my hand.

I creep into the grove.

The trees grow overhead, twisting together like knobby brown arms. The closer I get to the grave, I can see a name scratched there. I pause, biting my lip.

Oleander Densmore

dearest son x

I frown, and move past the grave slowly, eyes darting back to the animal I saw. I prick my finger, wincing. A red bubble appears on my fingertip.

A rabbit hops out of the bushes slowly, sniffing the ground.

I creep closer, feeling like a hunter stalking a deer. The rabbit looks up. I freeze. It sees me. And bolts.

"Wait!" I call, darting after it.

It flies to the other end of the grove. We play a game for a while, chasing and evading. But no matter how hard I run, the creature is always at the other end of the grove.

"Why won't you just leave?" I pant, eyeing the rabbit. It mulls on the edge of the grass, black eyes flashing at me.

It creeps forward. I watch as it gets closer and closer to the grave. It bites a flower off and runs back again.

I raise my eyebrows. "You want the flowers?"

I walk over and pluck off a bundle of the bright yellow blossoms. The rabbit snuffles. I crouch down and hold them out to the nervous creature. It takes a good ten minutes, but eventually it creeps closer and closer to me. Then it's nibbling the flowers out of my hand, darting back and forth. I just sit there.

Once the flowers are gone, I hold out my bloodied finger. The rabbit snuffles my hand and paws at my palm. I hold my breath, and suddenly it's licking at the bright red blood. I gasp.