Free Thorns by Kate Avery Ellison Page A

Watchers… Usually we were more careful. But it happened, and every time it did our smiles grew a little thinner and we drew our cloaks a little tighter.
    “Two Fishers and a Farther soldier. The men were out after dark bringing in extra fish for the soldiers, and the Farther soldier was overseeing their work so they wouldn’t take any for themselves.”
    Fishers. They usually kept to themselves, living at the edges of the village or in the forest, preferring to spend most of their time along the black waters of the river or on the ice that covered the lake. Like any forest-traveling Frost dweller, they knew the risks and shouldn’t have lost their lives, but thanks to the Farthers… I couldn’t speak at first, I was so incensed. Then another thought washed over me. If I hadn’t insisted Adam stay the night, he might be missing, too. I felt ill. “And their families…?”
    “They’ve organized search parties, but everyone knows they aren’t going to find anything,” Ann continued in a hushed voice. “So people are already gathering with the families to mourn. They’ve even moved quota to tomorrow, because everyone has been in such turmoil and half the men are searching the woods.”
    Nobody held on to hope long when it came to those who went missing in the forest. If the Watchers didn’t kill them, the cold would. A night of exposure was all it took in our harsh world.
    I scanned the streets around us. White-faced people whispered in doorways and hurried past with their cloaks pulled tight around their shoulders. The soldiers on the corner were smoking, and the ends of the cigs glowed like tiny fires.
    “What have the soldiers done about it? Officer Raine? Aren’t they supposed to be protecting us?” Derision dripped from my voice.
    She took a deep breath. “He’s furious, of course. He’s insinuating that the whole thing might be our fault.”
    “Our fault?” I demanded. “He can thank himself for stirring up the Watchers. How does he think he can pin this on us?”
    “Well,” she said, “let me show you.”
    I followed her across the street to quota yard, where she stopped before the gate and pointed. My mouth fell open.
    An angry torrent of painted words streaked across the far wall like a splatter of gore.
    This is what happens when you try to conquer the Frost.
    And
    Farthers beware…the monsters like the taste of your blood.
    And
    Don’t go out after dark, Mayor.
    The ugly sentiments made my stomach curl and my hands shake. People were dead. The Frost was dangerous. But this…this disgusted me. And they mentioned the Mayor… I looked at Ann. She was wide-eyed, white-faced, absorbing it with me.
    “Have you heard of the group calling itself the Blackcoats?” she whispered.
    My stomach dropped like a stone. Did I dare tell her they’d tried to recruit me against her? “I…I’ve heard of them.”
    “They’re a group who say they oppose the Farther occupation—violently if they have to. They hate my father. And apparently, they’ve taken this incident as an opportunity to threaten Raine.”
    “And your father.” I stared hard at the letters again, the way the paint dripped like black blood, the way the R in Mayor smeared sideways against the stone, as if the vandal scrawling it had been interrupted and forced to flee.
    She grabbed my arm and tugged me gently away from the yard and its bold-faced defacement. “I’ll be all right. It’s Raine we should be worried about, not these vandals.”
    I tugged at the scarf around my neck as my blood boiled with anger. Was Leon insane, making such a bold and stupid gesture? He might as well have spit in Raine’s face. “Are you sure?”
    “I’m sure.” She scanned the streets, chewing at her lip. She seemed uneasy despite her reassuring words. “Let’s go to my house—our cook made too much food last night. I thought you could make use of the leftovers.”
    My cheeks burned, but I was not too proud to refuse charity when we needed