Thrown to the Wolves (The Faith in Peril Trilogy) by Holly Newcastle Read Free Book Online

Anna.
    He swung the bucket jauntily, while clutching the stick he had found. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
    “The woods have never been thoroughly explored,” I said, stepping around a large, rock. “Dat and David hunt here, but they tie ribbons to the trees to find their way back.”
    “That would’ve been a smart thing to do,” said Anna. She walked behind Jacob, crunching leaves beneath her feet.
    My sister appeared mostly in shadow now. “I can hardly see you.” How would we find our way to the path in the dark? “Molly?” The dog had disappeared as well, having gone off ahead, oblivious to the fact that we followed. “Where did she go?”
    “There, I think.” Anna pointed. “Molly!”
    “That animal is poorly trained.” A fresh wave of panic raced through me. “Molly!” The dog was nearly two in age, and Dat hadn’t had the time to work with her yet, although he had brought her hunting on more than one occasion. “Molly!”
    “It’s really dark now,” commented Jacob.
    Something caught my foot, and I tripped, falling to the ground, where I landed on my hands and knees. “Ouch!” I hastened to my feet, feeling wetness prick the back of my eyes, as tears of frustration threatened. “I can’t believe this!”
    “Are you hurt?” asked Anna, who stood by my side.
    “No, I’m not hurt!” I sounded decidedly cross. “I just want to find that path.”
    “We will. All we need to do is keep in this direction. Molly!” she shouted. “Come here, girl!”
    “I’m going to complain heartily to Dat about her. She doesn’t come on command and she’s out of control.”
    “I can’t see anything,” said Jacob. “It’s too dark.”
    A feeling of dread settled into my bones. “If we can’t find our way out, we’ll have to sleep here tonight.” This idea terrified me, because I could not even imagine what it would entail. I had never slept in the woods before.
    “Are there bears?” asked Anna.
    “I suppose so. Why not? It’s the woods after all.” I stumbled again, not being able to see what I trod on. “Oh, drat!”
    “I hate bears,” said Jacob.
    “You should’ve thought about that before you ran off, you little scamp!”
    “You mustn’t blame him. He’s been in these woods often enough. We all have. We should remain calm. There’s no reason to be alarmed.”
    I scowled at her, but she could not see me. “No, of course not. It’s simply a matter of calmly walking back the way we came. Nothing could be easier.” Sarcasm clung to those words. It was now pitch black, without even the benefit of the moon over our heads, since it had not yet risen completely. There was no light, my feet tripping over every rock and branch in the way. “I’m sure the house is just over there.” I felt a tug on my sleeve. “What?” It was my sister.
    “Why won’t the dog come back?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Let’s stop for a moment and call Molly. We shouldn’t go on like this, not knowing where we’re going.”
    “We turned around and came back the way we came.”
    “Maybe, but who can say for sure? Jacob?” asked Anna.
    “Yes?”
    “Where are you?”
    “Here.”
    “Stop for a moment. You’re not allowed to go off on your own, do you hear me? When we tell you to stop, you must. This is important. If we’re separated now, we’ll never find one another.”
    “I’m right here.”
    “Good.”
    “You girls are such worrywarts.”
    Anna had taken over for the moment, and I wondered what she planned? “What now?”
    “We call the dog, all of us, as loudly as we can. Then we listen for her.”
    This seemed entirely reasonable. “All right. Who starts?”
    “I will,” said Anna. “MOLLY!” She whistled then. “Now, let’s listen. Do you hear anything? Anything at all?” We were quiet for a moment, with the sounds of crickets filling our ears. Nothing else stirred. “All right. Let’s do that again.”
    “I’ll call her. MOLLY!” I wasn’t as proficient at