Ravenous Read Online Free Page A

scraping feet, I’m lost. I grab hold of the ledge, enough that I can pull myself up. I rest there for a moment as I will my hands and legs to stop shaking long enough for me to stand.
    I wobble to my feet and manage to pry the front door open. A loose piece of the wood snaps in half, and only then do I realize what it really is.
    Bone.
    I fling it away with a shudder, wipe my hands on my skirt, and step through the door.
    A wall of cages lines the far side of the room, which is much bigger than it appears from the outside. A stove is on the right, and another door, perhaps to a bedroom, is on the left.
    Hans—dirty, bedraggled, and wide-eyed—sits cross-legged in one of the cages. Hope blooms in my chest.
    â€œHans!” I rush toward him. He gets to his feet, but he has to hunch over when he stands. He is too tall for the cage.
    â€œGreta,” he whispers, fear marring his face. “Get away from here. She’ll return any second.”
    â€œWho?” I ask, scrambling through the contents of the nearby table for anything that might pick the lock to his cage.
    â€œThe witch.”
    Uneasiness tingles up my neck, but I ignore it. “There are no such things as witches. Not anymore.” The realm has long been drained of any magic by wizards. Witches were said to be creatures who sprang from deep in the mountains themselves, beings made from magic, like hybrids or dragons. The stories often said they were cruel, though they also said that about dragons, and the one that fought with Bryre against the wizard was kind.
    Could Hans really be held captive by a witch? I shiver. It would explain the bizarre chicken hut. And after all I’ve seen of wizards, dragons, and sea monsters, I can’t say anything is impossible.
    â€œShe has the keys. She always keeps them with her,” Hans says. I put my hands between the bars and grab his shoulders.
    â€œI will find a way to get you free, I promise.” Finally I spy something thin and sharp near the hearth, and I scoop it up.
    â€œIt won’t work,” he says. “They’re too brittle. Don’t you think I’ve tried?”
    â€œMaybe you didn’t have enough leverage from that side,” I say, then attempt to use it to pick the lock. It breaks in half, a piece of it jamming the lock.
    He shakes his head, and I stare at the object in my hand. The second I realize what it is, I hurl it to the floor.
    More bone.
    â€œWere these other cages empty when you got here?” My voice quivers, but I try not to let it show.
    â€œNo.”
    My heart flips in my chest. “What happened to them?”
    Hans’s mouth twists. “There was a little girl.” He fiddles with a button on his sleeve. “The witch cooked her in the oven when she was fat enough. She ate her.”
    I squeeze his hand. “That won’t happen to you. I’ll find a way . . .”
    â€œNo.” His voice is filled with determination. “No, Greta, you have to leave. She’ll eat you, too.”
    Fear pricks every inch of my skin. Fear for Hans, myself, and worse, that this is something I can’t fix. “She won’t eat me. I’m skin and bones.”
    â€œShe’ll boil your bones for soup,” Hans says gravely.
    â€œWhat have we here?” calls a melodic voice from the doorway.
    My blood freezes in my veins. Hans shudders in his cage. I slowly face the voice. To my shock, the speaker is not the wart-covered, shriveled mess I expect.
    Instead, she’s lovely.
    She’s as young as any maiden, or is that magic at work? Her raven hair shows no hint of gray, and nary a wrinkle mars her pristine face. She steps fully into the hut.
    â€œI said, what have we here?” She puts her hands on her hips.
    â€œI—”
    â€œRun, Greta!” Hans yells.
    The woman laughs and locks the door behind her. She smiles, and it chills me to the core. I back farther away.
    â€œSo you know my tasty