Page 57 of Lady's Steed

Avera shrugged. “I don’t know. She didn’t say much about it other than I needed to come.”

“I wonder if your mother’s death is linked to it.” Josslyn flipped back a few pages and pointed. “Look at the date for the first entry mentioning the mist.”

“It began the day after she died,” Avera murmured.

“Perhaps you can stop it?” Josslyn didn’t sound convinced.

“I highly doubt my presence will do anything. And surely if it did, Mother would have told me to come immediately. She wouldn’t have wanted people to suffer.”

“We don’t know that they suffered. Just because they’re missing doesn’t mean they came to harm.”

“People don’t willingly or abruptly leave their families without word. What else does the journal say?”

Josslyn’s lips moved silently and her face turned even paler before she continued. “‘Father gathered those that remained, so few and yet so many. Only we weren’t allowed to leave. As we began to march down the road, the mist came suddenly, and this time we saw it. Saw it rolling down the spire in a wave of gray-white. Everyone screamed and ran. Some into the nearest houses. Others right into that dense fog. It was terrifying because not only did they simply disappear, but Gertie, who bolted, hollering into it suddenly went silent. Father dragged me and Brother back to the house. He’s forbidden us to leave. I’ve never seen him so frightened.’” Josslyn glanced at Avera. “The writing for the next passage is shaky. ‘The mist is back, and I hear the singing. I don’t know how I missed it before, it’s so loud. It has no words, and yet I can understand. The singer wants me to go outside. A good thing Father tethered Brother, because he tried to leave.’” Josslyn paused and cleared her throat before lowly saying, “The last entry is the one stating they would die that night.”Josslyn shut the book. “Well, that was enlightening and not at the same time. At least we know to stay away from the fog.”

“What I don’t understand is, if they knew that, then why are all the homes empty? Why were some of the doors left open as if they walked willingly into it? It almost seems like the fog lured them and made them forget all else.”

“I don’t know if we’ll ever find out.” Josslyn placed the book on the bed. “I think perhaps we should holler for Gustav.”

Turned out they didn’t have to. When they went downstairs, he walked in, arms full of clothes plus an earthen jug. “Success!” he crowed.

“Shut the door,” Josslyn exclaimed.

“Why? It’s not like it’s cold outside.”

Josslyn pointed. “Because the mist is coming.”

Probably the most innocuous and ominous thing Avera had ever heard spoken.

Chapter 14

“Anyone careto explain why we’re scared of some fog?” Gustav asked as Avera slammed the door shut and Josslyn jammed a rolled dining cloth into the crack between threshold and floor.

“We found a diary that says people started disappearing when the mist appeared.” Josslyn quickly summarized.

The reply raised Gustav’s brows. “I doubt we’ll get lost in it while inside this house.”

“Not lost. From what we read, folks were being drawn into it and then never seen again. It’s what emptied the town,” Avera explained.

“The diary also mentioned singing coming from the mist,” Josslyn added.

“It started the night of my mother’s death, which may just be a coincidence.” Avera paused as a thought hit her. “I wonder if something similar happened when the previous king died, and Mother took over as queen.”

“Not that I heard of. Seems like people going missing in large numbers would be something that would have gotten noticed.” Gustav dumped the armload of clothes he’d scrounged on a table.

“No one seems to realize Herder’s Respite has been wiped out,” Josslyn interjected.

“Because few people come this way. The sheep they raise are usually run to market. There is more traffic out of Respite than in, meaning it would take a bit of time for anyone to report on it,” Gustav explained.

Avera glanced at the door. “The horses. Will they be safe in the barn?”

“Guess we’ll find out in the morning when this fog dissipates, because I, for one, am not going to check.” Josslyn hugged herself.

“If you’re worried about the mist, then you might want us to find another room.” Gustav pointed to the window. “Seems like it’s seeping in.”

Josslyn snapped her fingers. “What about the cellar?”

The suggestion brought a grimace to Avera. “Not sure I like the idea of being underground.”