Free Briar Rose by Jana Oliver Page B

staggered after him, still winded. When she didn’t move fast enough, he caught her hand and pulled her along. Grimly, she knew she really had no choice but to trust the guy –
it was either go with him or become supper.
    She barely noted their surroundings as he wove them through tiny alleys, over wooden fences and through abandoned houses. From behind came the constant howls as the wolf pack continued its
hunt.
    When the noises grew distant, Briar was finally allowed to rest. She slumped up against an old building.
    ‘Those are really . . . strange . . . wolves,’ she said, finding it very hard to breathe. ‘They climb walls. They’re . . . metal. That’s not . . . right.’
    ‘They will hunt anyone on the streets, at least until daylight.’ The man pointed above her at a window set in the wall. ‘Up you go.’
    ‘In there?’
    ‘It is best we are both inside until the sun rises.’ His face was still in the shadows, so she had no way to judge his intentions.
    Her caution took hold. ‘Look, you were great, but . . . I don’t know you. I don’t know if—’
    ‘I am trustworthy? That is a puzzle, isn’t it?’ he said, his voice harder now. ‘What shall it be – the wolves you know, or the one you don’t? That is a
difficult choice, is it not?’
    In the distance, the howls rose again and Briar shivered in response. A single, high-pitched screech of agony carried through the night, following by silence.
    ‘What . . . ?’ she began.
    ‘Apparently you weren’t the only one breaking curfew tonight,’ the man observed. ‘So what will it be? Remain here and hope they don’t find you or go inside the
stable and sleep in peace?’
    ‘Why aren’t we going in the stable’s doors?’
    ‘It’s quicker this way.’
    She knew what the wolves would do to her. This guy? Not so much. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any other choice. ‘You win. I’m inside for tonight, but I’ll need a lot of
questions answered.’
    ‘I shall do my best to satisfy your curiosity,’ he said, making a cradle of his hands.
    Briar stepped up into them, then caught on to the bottom of the window sill. Pulling herself up, muscles straining, she straddled the opening and then lost her grip entirely. With a short cry
she plummeted down into a pile of something reasonably soft. It was hay, fragrant and fresh. She rolled out of the way so her rescuer could join her.
    The young man landed with considerable grace, which told her he’d done this manoeuvre a number of times. Next to him, she had all the climbing skills of a whale.
    ‘Stay there. I’ll light a candle so you do not have stumble your way through in the dark.’
    Briar lay back in the hay and tried to let her racing heart return to a normal pace. Was this part of the curse, like some giant role-playing game? If you survive the car-wreck dream, then you
move to another level, one with killer wolves?
    The yawn caught her off guard, and before she had a chance to stifle it she found her eyes drooping. She fought them, desperate to stay awake, if nothing more than to have a chance to run if
this guy got creepy. Unfortunately, the desire for rest proved stronger and Briar fell asleep for the second time that night.
    Something snuffled her hair.
    ‘Go away,’ she murmured, waving an arm. There was another snuffle, wetter now.
    As her sleepiness ebbed, she began to recall images from the night before. None of them was good. She remembered the old clock striking the hour, her parents weeping, Lily whispering something
to her. The solid impact of the car striking her over and over. And then waking in a world where there were bizarre wolves and houses made of brass.
    There was more snuffing near her right ear. Despite her pounding headache, Briar forced her eyes open and discovered something white and woolly staring back.
    She shouted, scrambling backwards in the pile of hay as the ewe bolted away, just as shocked as she was. Briar wiped something off her face – sheep