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Lily flung open the front door in irritation. She stepped out and the noise grew louder. The source of the ruckus was Jonas and her boys gathered around Drew. They were furious, all shouting at the same time. Matt was ripping into Nate for sleeping with her, Drew was yelling at Jonas about lying. Jonas was yelling at Drew for killing Sarah. The twins were hollering at all of them, demanding to know who’d eaten Bill and Ben.
“Oh, for goodness sake. Stop shouting,” she yelled.
“They’ve been at it for hours. I’m surprised they didn’t wake you sooner.”
Lily looked at her mother sitting in front of her easel on the tiny patch of grass they laughingly called a front garden.
“Well they need to stop,” Lily snapped.
“You won’t be able to stop them until it’s too late.”
“Too late? For what? Some peace around here so I can sleep?” Lily shook her head, folded her arms, and glared at them.
“You didn’t listen. You’ve always been such a good girl. I never had any problems with you, Lilith. Not until we came here, and he found you.”
“He always knew where I was.” Lily crossed to look at the canvas. “What are you doing?” She raised her eyebrows at the large swashes of black her mother was painting over a portrait of a woman. She moved closer and realised it was her on the canvas. “Why are you painting over me?”
“I’m hiding you, darling. If I hide you, they can’t find you.”
“Ah, well that makes sense.” Lily dropped a kiss on her mother’s head. “Thank you.”
Another noise joined the shouting, like a hunting horn blown repeatedly. A pack of hounds were running towards the village, huntsmen on horses not far behind. They reached the village and the lead huntsman lifted his arm straight up and the riders came to a halt.
Her heart went out to the poor fox they were running down. Maybe the twins could help to hide it. She looked over at them and her heart leapt into her throat. They weren’t hunting an animal; they were hunting her boys.
“Run!” She screamed at them. “Run, please, run!”
They made no response continuing to argue and shout.
“Run!” she shrieked, terror racing through her. “The hunt! The hunt is coming for you. Run!”
“It’s too late, Lilith,” her mother said. “You can’t out run the hunt. You didn’t listen and now we’re going to die.”
“No! I won’t let you kill them. I won’t!” Lily tried to open the gate, but it was stuck.
A single huntsman detached himself from the others and came trotting forwards on the largest horse she’d ever seen. The rider’s lower face was covered with a black scarf, his hair covered by a riding hat low enough to cast his eyes into shade. But it was the horse that sent her stumbling back from the gate. Flames flickered in its eye sockets, smoke poured from its nostrils and mouth. Every step it took, the road beneath its hooves melted into sticky, black tar. It neighed, revealing metal points for teeth and a black tongue.
“Nigro notanda lapillo.”
The words were echoed around her, in her head, in her heart. Thick, black words that poisoned every breath she took.
“You’ve been marked with a black pebble. It’s Latin, y’know.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
“You’ve been found guilty, Lily. Black pebble for guilt, white for acquittal. Don’t they teach you anything in school these days?”
“Est poena mortis.” The huntsman turned the horse to the middle of the road.
“What? Mortis, like mortal? Mum, what does it mean?” she cried out.
“Penalty is death.”
Horrified, she saw another mounted huntsman detached himself from the group, draw a sword from his side, and canter towards the boys.
“No!” She was out of time, unable to help them.
The huntsman lifted the sword high and brought it down in a wide arc as he rode past them. Bile rose up her throat, and she vomited as their decapitated bodies fell to the ground.
Screams ripped from her throat as she stumbled towards her mother.
“I told you, it’s too late. You’re next.” Her mother sank to her knees as she spoke. The huntsman stood behind her, holding aloft a sword.
“Mortem.”
“Death,” her mother rasped and fell forwards onto the ground, her head no longer attached to her body.
“Mortem.”
Time slowed as he stepped over her mother’s body. Sunlight glinted on his sword, its edge dripping crimson blood. He swung it high and warmth spread down her legs as the sword descended, slicing fire into her neck.
— ***—
“WAKE UP!”
Lily jerked awake, frantically feeling around her neck. Josh’s face came into view above her. Relief crashed through her, and she sat up, flinging her arms around his neck. “Oh god, you’re alive!”
“You were dreaming.” Jake spoke beside her, and she dragged him into her as well.
“Oh god, you were dead, you were all killed.” She buried her head into Josh’s chest, tears coursing down her cheeks, soaking into his hoodie.
“No one’s dead, Lily, it was just a dream,” Josh reassured her, stroking her back.
“It was so real.”
“All the worst ones are,” Jake replied, rubbing her back.
“If you talk about it you won’t dream it again,” Josh prompted her.
She took a deep breath and told them every detail, she left nothing out, including the bite of the sword on her neck.
“I was petrified, I’ve never been so scared, not even at Matt’s that time. I knew I was going to die. I’d watched you die, Mum die, and I was next. I saw the sword coming down on me and—” She curled her hands into fists, her fingernails biting in to her palms, trying to rid herself of the images in her head.
“Dream? That was a soul-destroying nightmare,” Jake muttered.
“Was it a dream?” Josh looked between her and Jake. “Was it a dream or a vision?”
“You’re suggesting there’s beheadings in our future?” Jake pulled a face.
“You think it was a vision?” Lily shook Josh’s arm to get his attention. “Seriously? We need to...I don’t know. What do we do?” Panic flooded her, swiftly followed by fear.
“We don’t panic,” Josh said. “We need to get back to the others and tell them.”
“And Jonas? Drew? Do we tell them?” she asked as they got up.
“We talk to Nate and Matt first and make a decision together.” Jake took her hands, pulling her up and into his arms. “It’ll be okay.”
“I hope so,” she whispered. “I can’t lose you, any of you.”
Josh moved in behind her and wrapped his arms around her, cocooning her between them. “It’s probably nothing more than a nightmare.”
“A lot has gone on today. Bugger, a lot has gone on for weeks now. We gave you cheese sandwiches and then you fell asleep. It could be a combination of lots of things built up and confused into a nightmare.” Jake kissed the top of her head.
She clung to them, the horror still crouched at the back of her mind, and she prayed he was right.
