Path of Transformation (Book 1 in the Legends of Erosvold)

PROLOGUE

Evika's fingers turned white as she tightened her grip on the inside of her forearm. Pain burned through her extremity. She knew what came next, and she didn't want to see it, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from her limb. It started slow, with just a trickle of red-black liquid that oozed from between her fingers. Then, it gained momentum, and the trickles turned into rivers. White lights flashed at the edges of her vision, her breathing came in rasps. She thought she heard someone call her name, but the rush of blood in her ears made it impossible for her to tell.

Her body jostled, weakening her grip on her arm. With spastic movements, she tried to grip her limb again, but her fingers slipped on the blood. Her vision blurred, and the color green rushed toward her face. Unable to stop the progress, she pitched forward. The green was replaced by black.

A soft, rhythmic clicking penetrated into Evika's ears, making her aware of the darkness. She blinked—or she thought she did—attempting to clear her vision to figure out where she was. It didn't help. Darkness continued to engulf her, but the clicking gave her something to cling to. She strained to focus her hearing on the sound, hoping it would pull her back into the world. The sound grew slightly louder, then faded altogether. Panic gripped Evika's chest. Without the sound, how would she ever find her way back to where she'd been? She attempted to sit up, only to realize that she couldn't feel her body. Hopelessness and despair replaced the panic, as did the slightest hint of fear.

"She...come...okay."

A faint, choppy voice penetrated into Evika's skull, pulling her out of her misery and giving her something else to cling to.

"Not...worried about."

Another voice, another tether to a realm that wasn't a deep void.

"...not the first time...too many mistakes...liability."

A warning bell went off in Evika's brain, and she realized that clinging to these voices wasn't going to be her salvation. She had to get away from them, pretend she hadn't heard them, but where could she go? She was already lost with nothing else to strive for. If only she had access to her body; then she could turn away and escape her fate.

"I...no...want her here."

The despair that Evika had felt before engulfed her, like a thick, heavy blanket that settled over her body and threatened to suffocate her. Part of her brain wanted to scream out, to fight the decree, but the other part had resolved itself to its fate. That part turned into the darkness and reached out its arms to embrace it. Right before she slipped back under, Evika thought for sure she had felt a tear land on her cheek.

White light penetrated into Evika's eyelids. With reluctance, she squeezed her eyes tighter shut, as if that would somehow make the brightness go away. When it didn't, she attempted to roll over, only to find that action thwarted as well. Pain radiated through her body, causing an involuntary groan to escape from her lips. Surprise washed through her as she became aware that she once again had access to her body. With effort, she attempted to crack open an eye.

Whiteness flooded her vision, causing a spike of pain to stab through her head. She closed her eye once again, and the shooting pain dulled into a throbbing ache. Taking a deep breath, she counted to 10 before attempting to open her eye once again. The whiteness flooded back in, as did the pain, but after a few seconds, blurry, dark shapes materialized in her line of sight. She couldn't make out what they were, but she knew they were inanimate objects that wouldn't hurt her. At about that same time, sound entered her ears; the soft wooshing of an oxygen machine, as well as voices somewhere in the distance.

More sensations crept into her body. A cool breeze touched her left arm, a mattress cradled her body. Plastic pressed against her nose, and when she lifted her hand to find out what it was, she felt the roundness of oxygen tubing. Her vision continued to clear, and the shadows became more distinct. It didn't take long for Evika to realize that she was in a hospital room. She attempted to sit up, but her body refused to cooperate, and pain flooded through her. She laid back down with a grunt.

A soft squeak filled her ears, followed by the rolling scrape of metal beads against a metal rod. The curtain around her bed was pulled back, revealing a young woman with dark hair secured in a bun wearing purple scrubs. When her eyes met Evika's, she took an involuntary step back.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I didn't think you'd be awake." Professionalism took over at that moment, and she moved forward with a purpose. She grabbed the remote to the bed and lifted the top so that Evika sat in a more upright position.

"How are you feeling?"

Evika tried to answer, but her tongue felt too large for her mouth.

"Let me get you some water." She reached around behind the bed and grabbed a cup with a straw.

The cool water instantly relieved the swelling in Evika's tongue, but she still wasn't convinced she could talk. Not that it mattered. The nurse didn't seem to have any more questions, and instead pulled the tray from the side of the bed and moved it so that it went across Evika's midsection. She set the cup on the surface, along with the TV remote and the controller for the bed.

"Push the button if you need anything. The doctor will be in shortly to check up on you." The woman turned on her heel and closed the curtain with a metallic whoosh as she stepped out of the room.

With her vision completely clear, Evika took in her body. The blankets from the bed were pulled up to her chest, covering the thin, scratchy hospital gown that she was dressed in. Her left arm was beneath the covers, keeping time with her heartbeat. She stared at the lump her arm made beneath the blanket, wondering if she truly wanted to pull it out and survey the damage, then decided to get the moment over with.

Evika wasn't sure what she had expected to see, but before her was a bright white bandage that covered her from wrist to elbow and had been secured with surgical tape. The movement caused pain to shoot through her arm, and she laid her limb on the bed and turned away. She squeezed her eyes shut, and every ache and pain in her body became apparent. She felt the edge of the bruise that had formed on her right shoulder blade. Her knees ached from where they had slammed into the ground. Her low back was on fire from bending and contorting to counteract the lunges and advances of her opponent. Her head throbbed from the blow that knocked her enough off balance for her attacker to move in for the fateful attack.

She opened her eyes and let them fall once again onto the bandage on her arm. With slow, deliberate movements, she reached forward and touched the surface with her other hand. Her pink fingers trembled. The covering felt slick and soft beneath her fingertips. She held her breath, but when she could no longer deny her lungs oxygen, she let out a heaving sigh that was followed by streams of tears.

No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. The bandage, the nurse, the hospital room—it all pointed to one thing. She'd been banished. She'd failed. The scar that would forever adorn her arm would mark her shame. She should have seen it coming. She should have known she wasn't ready. But she hadn't had a choice. She had been expected to prove herself. She'd never get the chance to overcome this defeat.

Evika let her fingers slip from the bandage. She leaned her head back against the pillow, letting her gaze drift up to the tiled ceiling. She let the tears flow until they clouded her vision, then she squeezed her eyes shut and begged the darkness to once again overtake her.