That was a dream, insisted the tiny voice within me.
I turned the page, trying to read the notes scrawled along the edges of the drawings. “The…Dark Watchers?” Ephraim didn’t move a muscle, but the look on his face told me I’d translated it correctly. “What are they?”
“Creatures that look like you and me—most of the time—but they can assume other forms when needed. They’re fast. They’re cunning. Their very presence in an area can change the world around them. Morphing it, altering it. Things that should be pure and good become twisted and wrong.”
“The stag,” I said, remembering the misshapen creature the McNally boys had killed. “It had too many horns, too many hooves.”
“Exactly.” He took my hand, pressing it between his, his face worried and earnest. “Thomas and I…we belong to the Brotherhood of the Light. Those lanterns are our sigil. For centuries, the Brotherhood has sought to hold back the darkness of the world with knowledge. We study these creatures—and others—to learn how to stop them.”
“Stop them? From what?”
“Destroying this town,” Thomas said softly.
Ephraim peered through his glasses, squinting as if a smudge bothered him. To his credit, he left them on. “Dark Watchers thrive on discord. They’ve often been linked to terrible events around the world. For many years it was thought they could sense a tragedy before it occurred and were drawn to it—like ships to a beacon.”
“But now?” I pressed.
“We think they actually instigate the events leading up to the disasters.”
“Instigate?” Merry echoed. “How?”
“When they first arrive, Dark Watchers ingratiate themselves into the life of their new town, watching, learning all they can, to set up…well…a game for themselves. It always starts small, with little harmless pranks. You might have a hairbrush go missing, tools found in a different place than you left them.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds so childish.” I held up the sketch skeptically. “These creatures are really out there moving things around in houses?”
Thomas shook his head. “No. No. They don’t do anything. They have others carry out the acts. People in town.”
I shook my head. It made no sense. “Why would anyone go along with that?”
“It’s all part of a trade. The person gets something they want, something they desire, and the Dark Watchers have a new pawn.”
“I don’t see the fun in it for them.”
“The pranks are efficiently designed. Frustrations build. Accusations are cast upon innocent people. Disagreements turn to arguments. Arguments into fights. And soon the whole village is tearing at the seams.”
“Why would anyone want to watch that?” Merry asked.
Ezra—Ephraim—shook his head helplessly. “It’s just their nature.”
I closed the journal, eager to get rid of the disquieting pictures. “What are we to do?”
“We are doing nothing,” Ephraim said. “Thomas and I are keeping a close watch on the town. This is the first time we’ve been able to watch one of their games unfold. We’ve always been a step or two behind, always coming across the aftermath. To see them in action, at work…this could prove very useful for the Brotherhood.”
“And you’re going to stop them,” Merry supplied, filling in what he hadn’t said. “Right?”
There was a sliver of hesitation before he answered. “Yes, of course.”
My sister and I shared a worried look.
“How?” Merry asked. “You’ve never even seen them before, but you—”
“That’s true, but—”
“I have,” I said. “I thought it was a dream, but I’m starting to worry it was a great deal more than that.”
Ephraim frowned. “What do you mean? Who did you see?”
“It was a woman, dressed all in white. She had long dark hair and horrible silvery eyes. And her hands—”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “The Queen.”
“Queen?” Merry repeated.
“They’re a hive, of sorts. Just like your bees. They take their orders from one head, doing everything they can to serve the good of their group.” He turned back to me. “You must tell me exactly what happened.”
I recounted the dream, backtracking to explain who Cyrus had been, what he’d claimed to have seen before his Judgment. I told them of the times when I’d seen the wisp of white walking through the fields, lighting an Our Lady. I even confessed my fears that I’d had something to do with the schoolhouse fire, however impossible it seemed.
Ephraim’s face was grave as I finished my tale. “You well might have. But…” He took off his glasses and wiped at his eyes before returning them. “When you saw her, before this dream, did she ever speak to you?”
I shook my head. “She was always so far away.”
He sighed. “You never spoke to her? Never struck up a trade?”
“No.”
“It…it could have been a dream, Father,” Thomas allowed. “With so many awful things going on throughout the valley, I shouldn’t wonder their sleep has been affected.”
“But the school did burn,” Ephraim insisted. “That’s an awfully large coincidence….Someone had to have lit that match.”
My stomach sloshed with guilt that I wasn’t sure I’d earned.
“We need to do more research,” he decided. “Clemency announced the social for tomorrow?”
Merry nodded.
“I propose we all attend, keeping up the Ezra Downing charade. With so many townspeople gathered together, I’m certain the Dark Watchers will be nearby. But,” he added, raising a sharp finger of warning, “neither of you should mention this to anyone outside this barn.”
I frowned, glancing out the small loft window to the chicken coop below. “We have to tell Sadie. We can’t leave her in the dark about something so—”
“That’s exactly why we need to stay silent. We can’t afford to tip our hand. The only advantage we have against these fiends is our element of surprise. They don’t know we know,” Ephraim said firmly. “We need to keep it that way. For tomorrow at least.” He looked toward Merry, then Thomas. “Shall we all swear to it?”
They nodded readily, but I remained still.