Read Online Red Queen by Christina Henry - Free Book Online Page B

at all with the sun gone. She realized the night was not entirely black, that there were differing qualities of darkness that made monsters loom where once had been only forest.
    She squinted, not certain that the goblin was there after all. Perhaps it was only her imagination, and the crooking of a tree branch, for it wasn’t before them now.
    Hatcher was muttering beneath his breath as he stalked, asingle phrase repeated over and over that grew louder with every step. Alice leaned closer to hear.
    â€œThe night is alive and so am I,” he said, and his voice came from somewhere that was not his throat, but deep in his belly. “The night is alive and so am I. The night is alive and so am I.”
    Alice felt chill all over at the sound of that voice.
I can’t lose him,
she thought.
Hatcher, stay with me.
    She reached for him, not knowing what she would do, not knowing the words to keep him with her, to keep him human.
    And then the night was alive.
    All around were the sounds of trees expanding against their bark, the flexing of branches, the brushing of leaves against one another. A hissing sound rose, the singing of a thousand snakes. Far behind them was the crashing of something huge, something moving through the wood with dangerous intent. A wolf howled, and then another, and another.
    Alice stared around, unsure which threat was most dire. Were the trees about to snatch her from the ground? Would a wolf pack descend on them and tear them to pieces? Or would the goblin arrive to finish its business?
    Then a wolf howled very close to her ear. She turned slowly, full of dread, expecting the glint of yellow eyes and sharp white fangs. The only eyes she saw were grey ones, full of blood and mischief, and teeth bared in a murderer’s smile.
    â€œThe night is alive, Alice,” Hatcher said. “And so am I.”
    She felt a thrill of fear, a fear that surprised her. First, she’dbeen in a heightened state since the goblin appeared. She didn’t think she could be more scared, but there she was. And second—well, Hatcher had never frightened her before. Not directly. Alice was secure in her certainty that he would never hurt her. Or at least, she had been secure.
    Now he looked like the wolf she’d imagined him to be, a wolf once trapped and now free.
    â€œThe night is alive, Alice,” he repeated, and he drew his face close to her still one.
    She did not move, barely daring to breathe. Her body was still but her mind was moving rapidly through a series of horrifying images, things that might happen to her if Hatcher snapped. Things that involved leaving her on the forest floor in many small and bloodied pieces.
    He would regret it tomorrow; of that she was certain. But whatever happened would be done, and Alice would not be there to reprimand him.
    The huge crashing thing continued in their direction. Alice heard it approaching, brush and branches giving way before it, the rush of small creatures as they squealed away from its tread. It would crush them in a moment, and it wouldn’t matter if Hatcher had gone mad—or, rather, madder than he was before.
    Hatcher seemed not to hear the giant thing. He was listening to something else, something that spoke only to him.
    Alice saw movement out of the corner of her eye as the forest broke in pieces before the marauding creature. Several small animals with long tails ran over her feet. It amazed her that evenin this moment, when she was fairly certain that she would either have her throat cut or be squashed by a giant, she could think how much she hated rats, and shudder inwardly at the feeling of their tails dragging over the toes of her boots.
    Then Hatcher leaned into her face, bit her nose—but gently, very gently—and ran away into the woods.
    Alice wanted to be astonished (
he left me
) but the giant monster was upon her, and now she needed to run too.
    She couldn’t possibly follow Hatcher. The darkness had