Part 1
Chapter One – Wolf
It was hot – unbearably hot. That seemed to be the only thought Alira had in mind. Summer in Veradale was unforgiving. The kind of heat that baked the earth and sucked the breath from your lungs. She took a swing from what’s left of the water in her waterskin. A trickle of sweat slid down her cheek, but she didn’t bother wiping it away. The effort would only cause her to boil faster.
At fifteen Alira was already known as one of the best shepherdesses in Veradale, entrusted with guiding the village’s flocks’ home each evening. But a sudden flood had dismantled her path, leaving her stranded on the far side of the river. For two days she wondered, her food was running low, and she wasn’t sure she’d make it home before dark.
She glanced warily towards the setting sun. It wasn’t the coming night that filled her with dread.
It was the wolves.
A pack of wolves had been trailing her since the first night, observing quietly. By day two, the pack had doubled in size. That night, she sacrificed three sheep, hoping the wolves would take the offering and leave the rest of the herd alone. They hadn’t. Every so often, Alira would catch a glimpse of grey out of the corner of her eyes. She could do nothing but urge the herd to move faster, but under the crushing heat, they could hardly move.
Just as her nerves began to fray, a distant rhythm cut through the heat haze. She froze, straining to catch the sound. A horse, maybe two. Her heart leapt. Could it be that the village sent someone to look for her? Her eyes lit up at the thought, after all, she had been gone for days.
Alira searched for her rescuers. There were two of them on horseback. Her gaze immediately found her brother, Alec. He was shouting something in the distance; his words were muffled by the winds, and his arms flailed wildly. Behind him rode the Infernalist, Cleft, his bow raised.
An arrow whistled past her, grazing her ear. A second followed, then a third. She turned, confused, just as the air filled with a low, guttural snarl.
“Run!” Alec’s voice rang in her skull, but it was already too late.
Alira felt the wolf’s fangs sank into her neck. Her feet slipped from underneath her as the wolf jerked her to the ground. The beast wrenched her like a rag; its jaws locked mercilessly onto its prey. Through the blur of pain, she caught a glimpse of the devil itself. Bloodshot eyes burned beneath a sea of ghastly white fur. Its head was twice the size of hers and its breath reeked of blood. The wolf was larger than any wolf she had ever seen, its paws spanned the size of her face.
A scream tore from her throat, the sound mangled and drowned in the gargles of her blood. She struggled for breath, but her struggles only fed the beast. Its fangs sank deeper into her neck, draining her of life. She clawed at its muzzle, fighting back with every ounce of will left within her. Fear, anguish and rage – all of it crashed through her.
In that moment she understood: the prey was never the sheep. It had always been her.
An arrow streaked through the dusk and straight into the wolf’s left eye. The beast shrieked, jaws snapping open as pain ripped through its massive frame. Alira fell to the ground, clutching her torn neck.
Before the creature could lunge again, Cleft stepped between them in one fluid motion. A sphere of flames gathered in his left hand; its ghastly glow reflected eerily in his eyes. With a sharp flick of his fingers, the flames erupted outward, engulfing the beast in a sea of fire. Its screams tore through the night, sounding disturbingly human.
Then, to Alira’s shock, the creature spoke. “I have found you!” There was excitement in his voice.
The flames hissed out as suddenly as they had come, smothered by a rush of cold wind. The creature staggered upright, its single remaining eye gleaming with unnatural intelligence. Rising onto its hind legs, it lurched forward with an awkward, dragging limp.
Cleft wasted no time. With another snap of his fingers, fire roared to life around the beast. Yet each time the flames erupted, they were smothered almost instantly, but not before searing away another layer of the creature’s skin. An anguished shriek followed each burst of fire, until finally, there was silence. The last of the creature’s flesh disintegrated into motes of shadows before dissipating into thin air.
“Shade-born magic.” Cleft muttered. “Someone sent this thing.”
Alira tried to crawl backwards; her fingers slipped in the dirt. She could feel her pulse hammering in her throat. Darkness was clouding her vision, and she could feel her consciousness slipping from her grasp.
“Alec!” The name gurgled in her throat. Her body troubled with pain as the darkness closed in. Amid the haze, she felt Alec’s hand and clung to it as if it were her only solace.
“Alec, don’t let me go.” She pleaded. “I don’t want to die.” She could hear the fear in her own voice. She was afraid, deathly afraid of what might happen next.
Alec dropped to his knees beside her; his breath hitching as he took in the blood soaking her throat. “Alira, stay with me.” His voice cracked, despite his effort to steady it. He pressed his hand against her wound, trembling. “You are not dying here, not like this.”
Cleft’s voice came from behind. “It is not over yet.”
Dozens of eyes lit up from around them. Shapes peeled from the shadows – more wolves. They advanced with their head bowed low, cackling, as if laughing. Alec’s eyes darted back and forth, panic-stricken. He unsheathed his sword with his spare hand, ready for combat.
“There’s not enough time.” Cleft muttered under his breath.
His mind raced. He searched desperately for an escape, but there were simply too many of them. The wolves were closing in from all sides, forming an unbreakable circle. Then his eyes lit up. He took a quick step towards Alec; his fingers licked the tip of his sword as it drew blood.
Alec flinched. “Cleft, what are you doing?”
Cleft ignored him. The blood on his fingers sizzling as it met with the air, reacting with the faint crackle of magic that was gathering at his command.
“We don’t have much time for caution.” Cleft whispered, voice tight with resolve.
Cleft slammed his bleeding palm into the ground, his blood burst into thin lines of light, snapping together into a sigil. A complex, spiraling rune formed beneath Alira’s body, its glow expanded outward towards the wolves. Every pair of eyes widened, their crackling was cut off mid breath, as if someone ripped the life out from them.
Alec’s grip on his sister tightened. “Cleft, what is this?”
Cleft didn’t look up. His eyes were focused on the pattern underneath Alira as the arches grew. “Something old.” He said through clenched teeth. “And something I hoped I would never have to use.”
Alec’s heart hammered. The air grew heavy, thick with a pressure that seemed to have radiated from the ground underneath him. Then all at once, the wolves collapsed with dull, thickening thuds, their bodies falling motionless against the earth.
And at that exact moment, Alira sat up, gasping for breath. Her neck was whole; no trace of blood remained. In its place, the same sigil that had formed beneath her glowed, itching into her flesh like a living mark.
Alira touched the sigil, her fingers trembling. “You – you healed me?” She questioned.
Cleft’s jaw tightened, his eyes never leaving the sigil. “Only time will tell.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaduhTrbVLs
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