Charlotte and the Hunting Man by Arthur Pendryll

Charlotte has been tormented and horrified by thought of the Hunting Man roaming free in the forest near her cottage. Nonetheless, she ventures out in the night, unable to resist the call of the wind and the forest. Too late, she realizes the Hunting Man is after her, and a night of terror follows. How can she survive? How can she get back to her cabin, and how can she live a life free of the torments of the unending hunt?
This ebook contains very graphic and disturbing images. An adult should read this content carefully to determine if it is appropriate for a child in that adult’s care. 


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She realized, with a strange sense of calm, that he was either going to find her or he wasn’t. If he didn’t find her, she might make it home. Or she might die. It was a strange sense of calm, a detached way of looking at things, and she was surprised that she wasn’t in an utter panic. Ultimately, the decisions were no longer Charlotte’s, and it gave her a strange comfort. The rest of the night would be up to him, and not her; and her removal from the equation was oddly helpful. Up in the tree, the breeze was cooler and more insistent, and she realized how desperately she loved the night air, loved to be out in it. Even if he found her and nearly killed her, she knew that another night would find her in the woods if she were able.

She wondered why the Hunting Man and others like him were so insistent on preying on her. Wondered why in these woods, in particular, did they seem to find joy in this kind of a hunt? Above all, she wondered why the hell, she’d decided to do this today. Why on this particular night had she gone out knowing the dangers? There were, probably thousands of safer nights. Probably, hundreds of nights she felt a stronger desire to leave her cabin. The Hunting Man wanted her tonight. This was the night she went out; this was the one, and she was paying for it now.

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