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  Cora had only seen them from a distance, and that was close enough. Despite her brave heart and fearless edge, she knew they were unbreakable opponents. Not a single weapon forged in her finery could match their power.

  They didn’t even carry weapons.

  She could only assume they were mages, possessing great magical power that couldn’t be matched with a blunt ax or a crossbow. Their defenses were deep inside their brains, and the fact that no one was certain what their powers were made them all the more frightening.

  Dorian pulled Cora inside the home he shared with his family. “You’ll stay here tonight.”

  She didn’t want to burden him with her presence. The house was small, and they already had three boys to look after. She was another mouth to feed, another person to occupy a bed. “I’ll be fine above the shop.” She’d taken up residence in the small space. It had a bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It wasn’t much, but it was more than enough for her.

  “No.” Dorian locked the front door and hooked his broadsword to his hip. “No one knows why they’re here or what they want. We stick together.” Dorian never showed fear, but it was clear he was worried about the safety of his family. “Lie low. Keep the shop closed tomorrow.”

  “That’s our business.” She tried to keep the hysteria out of her voice. Without income, they would have no way of buying meat from the butcher or getting eggs from the farmlands. “It has to stay open.”

  “Nothing is worth our lives, Cora.” His brown eyes bored into hers, somehow convincing her with just a look. He had the unnatural ability to manipulate her with simple concern. “Stay inside and be quiet. End of story.”

  A day had come and gone, but the Shamans were still in town. Without leaving the house, Cora knew they were there just from the heavy feeling in the air. Fear was around every corner. The springtime joys had quickly dissipated the second the Shamans arrived.

  Dorian walked through the front door with meat and potatoes. “This should hold us over for a while.”

  Cora immediately moved to him. “What are people saying?” She followed him all the way to the kitchen and watched him salt and prepare the meat. Warning was in her heart that something devastating would happen now that the Shamans had arrived. What did they want? Or, whom did they want?

  Dorian rested both hands on the counter. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Cora found that hard to believe.

  “No one’s talking,” Dorian said as he worked with the meat. “Everyone’s lips are sealed. All I can gather is they are questioning people about something.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “The Shamans must have made a good threat to keep everyone from talking. Whatever it is they are interested in, it must be important.”

  Very.

  Dorian covered the meat and let it sit on the counter. “Don’t worry, Cora. If we can’t figure out why they’re here, then that’s probably a good thing. The less we know, the better.”

  “Are they interrogating everyone?”

  “That I don’t know,” Dorian said. “Hopefully, they’ll get what they want and leave.”

  “Yeah…hopefully.”

  Dorian sent her a look of encouragement before he gripped her by the shoulder and gave her an affectionate squeeze. “We’re a tough gang, Cora. We always make it through.”

  Several days had come and gone, but the Shamans still hadn’t left. They weren’t always seen, but their presence was felt. The darkness that accompanied them everywhere seemed to follow them like a heavy cloud.

  Cora was bored out of her mind.

  Dorian told her to stay inside and forget about the shop, but when she wasn’t doing something with her hands, she went a little crazy. She’d just finished a new crossbow, but she hadn’t had the opportunity to even test it.

  She needed to get out.

  Dorian was helping his brother in the fields, and everyone else was in their bedrooms. If she slipped out then returned later, no one would notice. And if the Shamans came to the shop, she would simply hide upstairs.

  After she made up her mind, she left the house then walked down the dirt road. The village was completely empty. No one was coming or going. The usual buoyant atmosphere was absent, as if it never existed at all. All the doors were locked, and the curtains were drawn over the windows.

  It was a ghost town.

  Cora was halfway to the shop when she heard a blood-curdling scream. It made her bones tense. Her heart went from a steady and slow rhythm to an explosive pace. That scream echoed in her ears, and she couldn’t shake it off. It wasn’t the sound of kids playing together in the dirt. It was a shout of absolute terror.

  Cora turned down the alleyway between the butcher’s shop and the wax emporium. All she had was a short blade hanging from her hip. With the Shamans’ presence, it would be smart to keep walking, but Cora couldn’t ignore what she heard.

  Someone needed help.

  When she reached the end of the buildings, she turned left and spotted Tommy, the butcher’s eight-year-old son, hunched against the back wall. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was cowering over in fright.

  A Shaman was there.

  He was leaning over the child, making weird movements with his fingertips. He was wafting something toward him, the air or a specific smell. The scene looked too eerie. A smart person would have turned and run.

  Cora pulled out her dagger and prepared to attack. “Stop whatever the hell you’re doing, Shaman.”

  A high-pitched scream erupted from inside the dark hood. The creature immediately turned to Cora, his fingers still outstretched. His face couldn’t be seen inside the hood. It was just a sea of black. The creature was unnaturally still while he watched her. Then, he crooked his head to the left.

  And that sent chills up her spine.

  A low hiss erupted from inside the hood, formidable even though it lacked any words.

  “Tommy, run.” Cora refused to take her eyes off the Shaman. To do so was instant death.

  “No…” The carnal voice came out almost as a whisper. He turned back to the child and resumed whatever foul thing he was up to. His fingers started to work the air again, and he resumed his attempt to suck the life out of Tommy.

  Anger exploded inside Cora’s heart, and she lunged forward with her blade at the ready. Without thinking twice about it, she stabbed her blade deep into his side and was repulsed to feel how soft it was. It wasn’t hard with muscle and bone. In fact, it felt like there was nothing there at all.

  The Shaman turned quicker than the eye could follow, and without touching her, he threw up his open palm and sent her high into the air and across the dirt ten feet away.

  She crashed hard onto the ground, immediately making her body ache from the collision. She knew she couldn’t stay down, no matter how much it hurt. If she didn’t get up, she would die.

  Cora rose to her feet then pulled out the small dagger she kept in her boot. She took a defensive stance and eyed the Shaman without blinking. Now the creature adopted his own defensive stance like he was about to charge her.

  That’s when she noticed Tommy was gone. He must have run off during the fight.

  Thank goodness.

  Cora knew she couldn’t outmatch this thing—whatever the hell it was. Her only option was to run. Even though her dagger was special, the first one she ever made, she grabbed it by the hilt and threw it as hard as she could, penetrating him right where the eye should be. The hilt extended past his hood, embedded into whatever flesh the fiend was composed of.

  The Shaman shrieked and reached for the dagger.

  And that was when Cora ran like hell.

  Four

  “Where the hell were you?” Dorian gripped her by both shoulders and shook her as though that would make her answer faster. “Why do you always disobey me? Is it out of principle?”

  She was still catching her breath after running as fast as possible. “Actually, yes. But that’s beside the point.”

  “Why are you covered in sweat and dust?” He looked down at her filthy shirt and pants. “Rolling around with the pigs?”

  She didn’t have time for their regular banter. “I stabbed a Shaman in the side and again in the eye. Now I’m running for my life.”

  Dorian’s hands slowly lowered from her shoulders, and the paleness that swept over his face was remarkably similar to the whiteness of the moon on a clear night. “You did what now?”

  “I stabbed a Shaman. Not sure how I got away.”

  Now that he realized she’d said what she truly meant to say, his pot started to boil. “You went looking for trouble?”

  “No.” Although, that sounded like something she would do. “I was walking to the shop when I heard a boy screaming. When I went to investigate, the Shaman was leaning over the boy and doing something strange…sucking out his life or something.”

  Dorian’s hand moved up his cheek and into his hair. He fisted it uncontrollably, trying to hold on to his last drop of sanity. She’d just announced his death sentence, and he wasn’t handling it well.

  “The Shaman was doing some kind of dangerous magic. That boy would have died if I hadn’t intervened.”

  “Then you should have let him die.” He lowered his hand to his side and stared at her with the coldest expression she’d ever seen. It was practically winter in his eyes.

  “How can you say that?” Dorian was compassionate and strong. He took her in when he didn’t have to. Everyone else turned away at the thought of raising an infant little girl, but he took on the challenge.

  “When it comes down to you or someone else, always choose you.” He viewed the situation in black and white, but if he had been there, he would have seen the episode i
n full color. Despite what he said, Dorian would have helped the boy if he’d witnessed the same thing Cora did. “You’ve just put a bounty on your head.”

  “I know…”

  He stepped away and rubbed his temple. “Did you kill him?”

  Cora couldn’t help but release a sarcastic laugh. “I wish.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before he traces you back here. We’ll deny being close to you, but we can’t hide you. You need to leave.”

  Now that Cora saw the fear in his eyes, she loathed herself. Dorian feared for his own family, his three sons and his wife. Cora was the reason they were in jeopardy. “Where should I go?”

  “Into the wild. You know the terrain, and you’re skilled with a bow. Hide out for a while until the coast is clear.”

  “How long?”

  “Until I come get you.”

  “But how will you find me?”

  Dorian crossed his arms over his chest and considered the question. “Remember when I taught you the way of the bow? Do you remember where that was?”

  She would never forget it. She had been young at the time, but that didn’t make it any less clear in her mind’s eye. Dorian gave her all the skills she needed to provide for herself. Without him, she would have had to resort to much more drastic measures. He was the closest thing she’d ever had to a father. “Yes.”

  “That’s where we’ll meet.”

  “Okay.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, finally feeling the fear wash over her skin. She wasn’t afraid of what might happen to her. Death wasn’t something she feared. But she feared losing the only people who gave a damn about her.

  Dorian retrieved weapons from the back of the house and handed them over. “You have enough arrows for hunting and defense. And here’s your other dagger and short blade.”

  She took everything with weak hands and an even heavier heart.

  “Take the back exit out of the village. And don’t look back.” Dorian guided her to the rear of the house, where the door was located. He held it open and looked at her one more time.

  Would this be the last time they ever saw each other? Was this the end?

  Dorian grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Cora, you’re a smart girl. Everything will be alright.”

  “I’m so sorry…” She couldn’t finish the words because the remorse killed her. “I’m sorry for putting you in this position.”

  He didn’t give in to the sadness, nor did he show any fear. “Sweetheart.”

  Cora’s eyes watered slightly at the affectionate name. He hardly ever called her that, maybe three times in the span of her entire life.

  “You know me. I always take care of the people I love. Right now, you just need to worry about yourself. Do you understand me?”

  She nodded.

  “Cora.” He stared at her hard, forcing her to speak. He taught her long ago that simple nods and shrugs weren’t real answers. Only the spoken word meant something.

  “I do.”

  He kissed her forehead, the scruff from his jaw rubbing against her skin, and then pulled away slowly. “Until we meet again.” Affection was in his eyes, a fatherly love.

  Cora didn’t give in to the emotion because it would break her. She’d never had to say goodbye before, and now she realized just how hard it was. “Until we meet again.”

  The village of Vax was located in a brush valley. The soil was perfect for farming, and the distant mountains acted as the perfect scenery. Just a league away from the village was a stream that supplied clean water in the summer and winter. It was peaceful, hidden away from the rest of Anastille. It was all Cora had ever known, with the exception of visiting nearby villages for metal ores. But those were several days away by the crow’s flight, so she only traveled once in a great while.

  She hiked away from the trail and headed to the crags near the river. It was important to stay hidden from unfriendly eyes, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the Shamans realized she’d left Vax. They would search for her endlessly, and when they found her, they would slaughter her with some terrible magic.

  She ended the thought and kept going.

  Dorian and his family were left behind, and she hoped no ill would come to them because of her foolishness. When she’d stabbed the Shaman, she’d aimed to kill. When her blade felt nothing but smoothness, that was when she panicked. They definitely weren’t human.

  They were something else entirely.

  Now, she had a bounty on her head. A part of her considered surrendering just to end the situation. If she had to do it to save Dorian and the others, she wouldn’t hesitate.

  She’d slit her own throat.

  How much did she expect to accomplish out there past the grapevine? Would she really be able to evade them? How long would she stay out there? What if Dorian never came? What if—

  Come to me.

  Cora tumbled to the ground as her skull felt as if it had caved in. Agony washed over her entire body. It was as if hot coals had been dumped on her head, and no matter how she moved, she couldn’t escape the burn. An invisible rope had wound around her neck and controlled her effortlessly. The words had no physical form, but they overpowered her. She gripped her skull as she lay on the grass, unable to think or stand.

  Come to me.

  Just as before, it ripped her skull in two. The voice echoed endlessly in her brain, causing an aftershock of static. The sound wasn’t audible, but it was so strong it practically made her deaf.

  Then an image came into her mind, a picture of the dead white tree near the ancient boulders. Everyone in Vax knew about the tree because of its history. It was the only tree in the entire world that thrived in the winter and went dead in the summer and spring. And the fruit it yielded was the sweetest.

  Shit, I’m coming.

  She thought the words to herself, unsure if she could communicate with the voice in the same way.

  Hurry.

  If you shut the hell up, I can.

  The voice finally fell silent.

  After the pressure left her brain, she slowly rose to her feet and wiped away the blades of grass. A ladybug was on her shoe, and she gently flicked it off. As soon as the voice was gone, she felt better. It was like nothing had happened at all. Fortunately, she was in a field of flowers. If she’d been near a cliffside, she probably would have tipped over and fallen to her death.

  Cora hiked through the field and headed to the winter tree. She was obeying a voice without knowing to whom it belonged, but she didn’t see any alternative. If it had the power to communicate with her like that, it probably had other powers.

  Was it the Shamans?

  She stopped dead in her tracks at the thought.

  She pulled out her bow and fit an arrow to the string. It probably wouldn’t pierce their soft flesh, but it might be enough to take out another eye. If they found her this quickly, then she had no chance of escape to begin with. They may bring her to death, but she could do everything possible to take them with her.

  Her bow was aimed the entire way, prepared for whatever fight she was about to face. Distantly, she felt comforted by the possibility of the Shamans.

  If they were there, then they weren’t torturing Dorian.

  She made it over the slight rise then approached the white tree from behind a boulder. She pulled an extra arrow onto the string for added impact. It wasn’t smart to waste an arrow that way, but she suspected she wouldn’t need the rest anyway.

  Cora grounded herself and took a few breaths before she stood upright and pointed her bow to kill. Her fingers held on to the arrow and the string, feeling the tension shoot completely up her arm. Her shoulder no longer ached from the strain like it did when she’d first trained with the bow.

  She searched for the hooded Shamans, the fiends that didn’t seem to originate from this world. The black leather that covered their bodies gave them the definition of humans, the same biceps in the arms and the same muscles in the legs. But she knew there was something completely different under the apparel.

  Cora scanned the clearing, her eyes glancing over the winter tree, and landed on something she hadn’t been expecting whatsoever. Instead of seeing the Shamans, she saw something much more terrifying.