trailer: Quinn Callahan, 16, doesn't belong in Mallowridge. She's a transplant - moved in after her mom married a local man she barely knows. He's polite. Too polite. So is the rest of the town. There's no Wi-Fi after dark. Everyone locks their doors at the same hour. The school doesn't talk about the kids who go missing in the woods - only that "they weren't respectful." The town doesn't search. It /waits/. One day, Quinn finds an animal skull nailed to a tree with her name carved beneath it. The same day, she begins hearing music in the forest - flute-like, low and sad. The wind carries voices. And no one will talk about the old stone alter hidden near the cliffs. Or the festival coming soon: the Silence. Locals whisper about "The Warden of Silence" - a spirit, a guardian, a sacrifice. No one agrees on what it is. But everyone agrees it's /hungry/. And this year, it's Quinn's turn. sneak peak: Quinn woke with a start, like her brain had tripped an alarm before her body knew why. It was dark - too dark. Not the usual kind of dark, but the kind that pressed in and made her heart race for no good reason. She didn't move. Just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying not to breathe too loudly. Something felt... weird. Off. Like someone had been in the room and left just before she opened her eyes. Or maybe they were still here. Hiding. That was ridiculous. Obviously. She glanced at the corner of the room. There was a shape there. Maybe a coat. Maybe not. Her stomach flipped. In the corner, shadow swelled. It was no longer absence, but shape. Not seen, exactly. Felt. A wrongness curling in the edge of her vision. She told herself it was nothing. Just her brain being stupid. But she didn't stop staring.
amazing cover by @NappyFromPrettyBl0od
