Wendigo Wars by Dulcinea Norton-Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

nature.”
    “So what do we do when we get to Bucharest?”
    “Just wait I guess, and be ready to fight. He has sent them one message already. His next move can’t be far behind.”
    “Should we find somewhere to rest for the night? We’ll need to start setting up camp in a couple of hours.”
    “Let’s get through the hills first. We’ll stop in Cornu Luncii. Most of the buildings are gone there but we should be able to find something sheltered and easy to defend.”
    Seb nodded. “Race you,” he shouted.
    Mathilde forced her bad mood out and grinned. There was not much time in their life for foolish things but the rare moments that they did get to act like stupid children always cheered Mathilde up. She spurred her horse on and tried to catch up to Seb who had bought himself a head start. It didn’t take long for Mathilde to catch up. She was a far lighter passenger than Seb with his excessive bulk. They raced neck and neck, hollering to each other with the confidence they could briefly have courtesy of flat open space with no hiding places for hungry wendigo.
    Soon the ghost town of Cornu Luncii came into sight. It had long been abandoned by its residents who had moved to the Bucharest settlement two generations ago. Seb slowed, his horse exhausted from the race, and Mathilde took the opportunity to speed up, galloping towards the village far ahead of Seb and pulling up fifty metres from the first building. She dismounted and grinned at Seb as he slowly caught up. Mathilde’s normally white skin shone pink from the cold air and the fun of the race. Seb grinned as he reached her and dismounted.
    “Yeah yeah I let you win,” he joked as he led his horse towards her.
    They stood and stared at the borders of Cornu Luncii for a moment. There were still quite a few buildings but very few of them were still standing. Most had half crumbled walls and rotten away roofs.
    “Looks safe enough. Look there are birds.” Seb gestured up above the buildings where black specks darted and soared in the sky, coming down to land in broken chimneys before shooting up again.
    “Yeah, probably no wendigo then. Still let’s go slow and keep our eyes open. We’ll head for the centre and look for a good shelter for the night,” said Mathilde giving the reigns she held a shake to spur her horse into movement.
    As they walked the noise of Mathilde and Seb’s steps on the untouched, hardened snow crunched and were absorbed by the closely sited buildings. They weaved through the grey stone landscape taking care to watch the dark gaping doorways and windows of the houses for signs of movement. A decaying door creaked and Mathilde saw a flash of movement. Seb’s hand flew to his axe and Mathilde’s to her crossbow. Mathilde burst into relieved laughter when she saw that the intruder was just a large snow hare but she did not still her hand. She pulled her crossbow to her eye and shot one perfectly targeted arrow which stopped the hare dead in its tracks.
    “Hot dinner tonight,” she said, smiling at Seb. Seb grinned back.
    With the promise of food and now sure that the town held no nefarious beasts they quickened their step and looked more actively for a place to stay. It didn’t take them long to find it  - an almost fully intact cottage; no window shutters or glass but a good roof and door and the chimney still standing upright with no signs of birds to hint at nests blocking the exit for smoke. It only took a moment of gentle pushing for Seb to ease the swollen door from its position to allow them entry. Once inside they were happy to see that the furniture, though covered in mildew, was relatively useable and the fireplace was clear. They set about finding furniture dry enough to use as firewood and covering the chairs with what dry blankets they could find in the drawers. Before long Mathilde and Seb were sitting by the fire with hot milk, from Seb’s travel bag, and with the hare roasting on the fire. The comforting meaty