Serafina and the Black Cloak

Braeden and Serafina weather the night in the carriage. Braeden tends to the horses with the carriage’s supply of water and hay. Then they lock themselves inside with Gidean and sit close together, sharing a seat for warmth. Braeden asks about living in the basement, and Serafina explains Pa’s role in keeping Biltmore’s mechanics running. She asks Braeden to keep her secret, and he swears secrecy. Serafina tells him that she thinks the Man in the Black Cloak is “one of the gentlemen at Biltmore […] His satin cloak, his shoes, the way he walks, the way he talks. There’s something about him…like he thinks he’s better than everyone else…” (112).

Serafina recalls how Pa told her that Mr. Vanderbilt spent his inheritance on a mansion in the wilderness of North Carolina where rich and powerful people could visit. She also recalls how Braeden arrived, orphaned after losing his parents and siblings—all eight family members—to a house fire. He survived only because Gidean woke and pulled him from the house. His uncle brought the four black horses from Braeden’s home to Biltmore for Braeden—the same horses currently tethered to the carriage. Braeden drifts to sleep as rain begins, but Serafina is wide awake, excited by the day’s events and intending to keep a lookout overnight for the Man in the Black Cloak.

Serafina hears the approach of carriages in the morning. She wakes Braeden then runs into the woods. She hides effectively but is able to see and hear their approach. Mr. Vanderbilt is there along with Mr. Thorne, Mr. Bendel, Mr. Brahms, and a team of other helpers. Mr. Crankshod is there as well, having led the party to the carriage. He claims that he fended off the group of bandits that attacked them, chased them into the woods, separated from Braeden, and returned to Biltmore for help. Serafina is even more suspicious of Mr. Crankshod after these lies, especially when he threatens to hurt Gidean with the ax to still Gidean’s barks and growls at him. Mr. Thorne stops him from hurting the dog. Braeden thanks him. Braeden tries to tell his uncle there was only one attacker, a man in a black cloak who took Nolan: “Nolan just vanished” (120).

Mr. Vanderbilt plans to send the team to search the woods for Nolan; Mr. Bendel goes with them. Mr. Vanderbilt sees Braeden eyeing the woods nervously and tells him that he is old enough to bravely fight bandits: “You’ve got to take charge of yourself. Be a man” (123). Braeden does not talk about Serafina or her Pa. Mr. Thorne offers to drive the carriage led by Braeden’s horses back because Crankshod will drive Mr. Vanderbilt and Braeden. Mr. Bendel comments on Mr. Thorne’s ability to drive a wagon, an odd skill for a gentleman to possess. Serafina watches them drive away.

Now alone in the middle of the forest, 11 miles from Biltmore, Serafina begins walking. She plans to try to find the abandoned village for clues. She walks in the roadway, thinking about Pa rescuing her as a baby. Soon she comes to a three-way split in the road; two paths look equally worn and either might lead back to Biltmore. The third is clearly long abandoned. She can’t see beyond its first turn. Serafina chooses this one and continues on.

Serafina walks over the rough terrain of the old roadway until she faces another fork. She thinks she hears distant voices or children calling somewhere ahead, so she takes the path closer to the sounds. The forest thickens and only turns more treacherous. At one point she falls, and her hand touches a carcass of something deer-sized, though the head is gone, and she cannot quite identify it. Suddenly a group of ravens swoops about her head, scaring her; she realizes their calls were the “voices” she heard. She runs and ends up stumbling over a flat stone surface; it is the graveyard. One of the creepy epitaphs reads, “Here lies blood, and let it lie, / Speechless still and never cry” (135). It reminds Serafina of the rumors that this cemetery is known for the dead rising from their graves and wandering about: “There were tall tales that the mountain folk no longer used this cemetery because burying your loved one here didn’t necessarily guarantee that they would stay” (137).

She reads many inscriptions, including that of two nine-year-old sisters buried close together. She also sees a worn sign, near dozens of white crosses, that tells of an entire Civil War company who inexplicably died in the night. Soon she finds a sunny clearing that is free of the strange mist that covers the rest of the cemetery. In this clearing is a lovely statue of an angel holding a real sword with a pedestal inscription promoting courage in the “battles we dare to fight” (139). A moving shape at the edge of the clearing catches her eye and she goes still, afraid.

The movement turns out to be a mountain lion cub—two, in fact. They are friendly and want to play, and soon Serafina is joyously romping with them in the sunny clearing. Suddenly Serafina senses something else near and sees that “she’d made a terrible, terrible error in judgment” (143). The angry, protective lioness mother charges and attacks her. Serafina fights back with all her strength and runs away. She runs so fast that when she finally stops, she is “completely and utterly lost” (145).

Serafina walks, taking account of her wounds. She has scratches and bite marks from the lioness but is not severely wounded. She comes to a rocky ledge along a steep slope of the mountainside. It begins to rain. Serafina hates getting wet in the rain; she tries in vain to keep dry under pine branches. As the rainwater runs down the hillside, she realizes if she follows the path of the water, a stream might eventually run into the French Broad River, which goes through the Biltmore grounds. She tries descending the steep hill but falls and slides most of the way down, bashing into underbrush and tree trunks along the way. Pride wounded, she walks until she finds a waterway leading to a larger river, but she does not know if it is the French Broad. Though she tries to hurry, it gets dark. Serafina finds a rough shelter between the roots of a tree and watches a wolf approach. He sees her but crosses the river, spooked by something he hears behind him. Serafina suddenly senses some large creature making its way through the forest.