Crescent (Book 1)

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We're surrounded by snow. It isn't different from any other day, but I can feel Saren's suspicions rising. Near the glen, a hint of the chimney of the hut is visible over the snowy cliffs. We scour the ground on our hands and knees, and I know at some point, I'll have to plant the keys if I want my endeavors to remain unknown. Ice bites into my fingers. Saren digs around in the trees to my left. Her head lifts to watch me every once in a while, the scowl on her face growing by the minute. She's less likely to skin me if she finds them herself. If I found them...

A tree branch snaps, the sound echoing through the glen. Saren's movements stall, and I sit up on my knees to look around. The trees gently stir in the wind and snow dances along the mounds scattered around us. From the hill above, I hear another sound- something like footfall. It isn't an animal.

I stand poised, ready to attack should the moment call for it, and when I glance at Saren, I find her back already pressed to a tree. She holds a finger to her mouth and motions toward the hut. The door is open, and I try to recall whether we closed it the last time we were here. We almost always do.

My heart hedges. Something dashes through the snow atop the hill, footsteps crashing loudly. Saren bounds toward another tree hidden from view, and I reach for my knives. Only, they're still hidden. More than ten feet away. Shit. I catch one glimpse of red as the creature rushes toward the birch trees behind the hut. The creature of the wood. Just like from my dreams. Blood pounds through me.

The creature darts out again, swift as an arrow, and I catch a glimpse of Saren hauling ass behind it. They disappear into the thicket of shrubs behind the cabin. Almost as if the creature is... leading her away.

The idea forms, and I dig the keys out of my pocket before I can reconsider. I toss them on the hill above me, a distance from the tracks we left getting here, before sliding towards the hollow tree stumps where we stash our blades. I leave the clothes behind, opting for the sheaths as I situate myself against the bough of a tree that might give me a vantage point. Something tells me that despite my encounters, the creature is dangerous.

I wait, calming my breath as it heaves out of me. I hone my focus into a lethal edge as I watch the tree line for movement. Stillness. I don't realize my blades are in my hand, ready to throw, until I see the creature run through the bush. Only a few yards away, getting farther, it blasts through the snow with lightning speed. If I throw now, I'll hit it. I know I will, but something stops me.

There's movement to my left again, and I know Saren is readying to take the creature down. But it casts a single glance back over its shoulder. Its eyes are endless pits of black, focused on me. Perhaps a dare, perhaps a plea. And then its red cloak dissipates into the snow.

"You could have taken that!!" Saren yells, but my eyes remain trained on the spot the creature had been. "What the hell, Brenna?"

Maybe the creature was just in the perfect place at the perfect time. Or maybe it had given me the opportunity I needed. "I didn't have a clear shot," I tell her, brushing the snow from my dress as I sheath my blades. From the corner of my eye, Saren bends down, plucking something from the ground. When she reaches me, she snatches the blades away. She knew I had the shot- that much is clear in her eyes. She merely shakes her head. "What was it doing so close to the castle?" I ask, and Saren slings one of the holsters over her shoulder, tightening the strap down into place.

"I dunno. It's never gotten this close before." I still can't get over the feeling that... maybe it was helping me. Maybe, like the witch, it's been helping me all along. "Get dressed, princess. We still have the whole day ahead of us."

I gulp down another heavy breath of air, remembering that it's probably the keys she found on the way over here. "Does that mean you found the keys?"

She slings the ring of them around her fingers before securing them in the back pocket of her fighting leathers. I know just from the look on her face that she isn't planning on going easy on me today. If anything, I'm going to pay for not taking the shot.