Thrown to the Wolves (The Faith in Peril Trilogy) by Holly Newcastle Page A

as the dog danced around in front of us, oblivious to our suffering. She rubbed against me, licking my hand. “You show us the way home, girl. Let’s go home.”
    “I’m so happy!” said Anna. “We’ll be home in time for prayers after all.”
    “And hot chocolate,” said Jacob. “I’m ready to go now.” Something crunched, twigs snapping. His boots had made the sound. “Come along, girl. You be a good girl and take us home.”
    I sighed with relief, following my brother and sister, who had gone before me. “Oh, that dog! She thinks it’s all fun and games. She’s been having a marvelous time, while we’ve been worried stiff.”
    “I hope she doesn’t go too far ahead,” said Anna. “Molly!” The dog bounded back, her paws crunching leaves. “There you are. You’re staying with us now. We’re going home.”
    I could barely see my sister although she stood before me. “This has been an adventure, but I hate the woods. I only want to come here again, if Dat’s with us, and he brings a rifle.”
    “We’ll tell them all about our adventure and the dead fox,” said Jacob.
    “That wasn’t a fox,” I said. “Foxes are smaller. That was a wolf.”
    Molly bounded ahead, but returned quickly, which was a comfort. I felt better with her, knowing that her keen sense of smell would be a benefit. She would lead us home. The dog possessed boundless energy: jumping, running, and sniffing. I could hear her in the foliage nearby. We trod on through the gloom, the branches and leaves hanging over our heads, some touching my kapp . I felt certain we would emerge within moments, the lights of our farmhouse glowing in the distance, but this failed to happen, and we continued on.
    Jacob, happy to have his pet by his side, began singing again, this time, “Gott ist die Liebe”, which we all joined in on.
    We set our worries aside, feeling relieved and jovial, because Molly would lead us to safety. We continued through the forest, moving in the direction of our home, but my thoughts began to wander, images of the morning reappearing. I hadn’t told Anna that I had pressed Daniel’s flowers in a book. It would be my secret. They were far too pretty to let wilt and be trampled on by muddy boots. Those blooms would be preserved forever, flattened and lovely.
    I wasn’t as frightened now, with Molly by our side, darting back and forth, and settling in nicely. The way seemed easier with less branches underfoot to trip over. Perhaps we had finally found the path that would lead to the creek. The noise of the singing, made it impossible to hear anything else, but it did not matter. We would soon be home.
    On and on the walk went, and it felt as if we now descended, my knees adjusting to the difference. I remembered the walk to be level, with no noticeable changes in elevation. I thought to say something about this, but Anna and Jacob sang so happily. It would be a shame to disturb them with my concerns. Molly stayed with us, although she now remained exclusively by Jacob’s side. Ten minutes later, the descent began in earnest, and I was forced to say something.
    “This isn’t right.”
    “What?” asked Anna.
    “Stop!” My hands went to my hips. “We never walked uphill. Why are we going down? This isn’t the way.”
    “Oh, goodness, Rebekah, but you’re right. We’ve been going downhill for a while.”
    All the fear from a short while ago returned with a vengeance, my heart thudding wildly in my chest. “That stupid dog! She thinks we’re still on a stroll! She’s not taking us home at all. In fact, I reckon to say, she’s led us in the entirely wrong direction. We have to go back!” I turned around, seeing nothing but the outline of shadows, the dark monoliths of trees. “We have to go back the way we came.”
    “Molly, no,” breathed Anna. “Oh, this is terrible. Why did we even follow her?”
    “I don’t know. I’m going back.”
    “We’re truly lost now,” said Anna.
    “I told you we