The Moonlit Curse

Ch 12: All For a Bar of Soap

They traveled the rest of the way in silence. That same uncomfortable silence that she loathed.

August took them to the edge of town before kicking his horse into a light canter off the road through a field of heavy snow. Scout followed the path the stallion made without any encouragement from Kiya. They slowed again as they entered the forest but kept up a steady pace, the stallion expertly weaving between the trees as if they'd done this a hundred times. There didn't appear to be any distinct road or path through the winding forest, and Kiya kept a close eye on every recognizable landmark in case she needed to find her way back alone.

No, she didn't trust that August would guide her back. She was still mostly convinced that he and the rest of the town was fucking with her, and she damn well didn't appreciate it. Not to mention that she didn't trust him not to bring up the whole werewolf thing again. He'd already made one indirect comment referring to Scout's odd behavior. What was really stopping him from bringing it up again, anyway?

The silver pendant felt heavy around her neck but did little to comfort her this time. All her life she'd worn the stupid thing and barely noticed it. She didn't like having a constant reminder of her doubts and flaws.

Half an hour later, the trees began to thin, and then a few minutes after that, they were clear of the woods and standing at the edge of a small lake frozen and snowed over. The waterline had been marked by a wooden sign and several other posts deliberately placed so no one would accidentally fall through ice into the freezing depths. A small house and barn had been built between the lake and steep hill behind it.

Even under all the snow, Kiya could tell that the hill had been cut and carved into to create large flat steps all the way up to the top. A line of trees void of leaves took up the entire space every three steps, while only one or two trees were scattered around the rest.

It was an impressive display of engineering and design around the mountainous terrain. She'd seen a few smaller terrace farms while traveling, but none that had to work around such imposing terrain.

Turning her head to say as much, her mouth went dry when she saw the look on August's face. He wasn't looking over the farm like he'd seen it a thousand times before, or in pride like he worked the land himself... he looked sad. He gave her a sideways glance, and then, without saying a word, urged his horse towards the house.

The closer they got, the more Kiya felt that something wasn't quite right about this place and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. The snow around the house and barn was untouched and level, with no signs of tracks from humans or animals from before or after the heavy storm. Not exactly what she would expect from a farm, even if they didn't have crops to tend to. "What is this place?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"The Whittemore farm," August answered simply, dismounting and hitching his horse to the nearby post. "The Whittemore family has been here almost as long as Hadyn's."

Before Kiya could ask what they were doing there, he swung the supplies over his shoulder and started wading through the snow towards the front door. So, she followed with the supplies Scout had been carrying, and was surprised when, instead of knocking, August opened the door and walked inside. "Mister Whittemore," he called. "Are you home?"

"Who's that?!" a man with wild eyes and even wilder grey hair came storming out of another room with an old wooden bat raised over his head. "I swear, if you kids came here to chase my goats, I'll... Oh, August, it's you."

"Hello, Mister Whittemore. Sorry for dropping in so suddenly."

"No, no, no, son, not at all. Oh, and I see you brought a guest as well?"