Travellers

Prologue

Night had fallen rather quickly, taking with it the last rays of light, plunging the world into darkness. She could see nothing around her as she ran blindly through the woods, clutching a small baby tightly bundled in a soft rug. Not even the moon and stars were permitted to show their existence, as they were hidden behind a thick blanket of cloud.

She could hear the pounding of footsteps behind her, slowly gaining on her with every step. She could feel her energy rapidly draining out of her body, and she knew that it wouldn't be long before she gave out completely. She glanced down tenderly at the baby in her arms. No! She couldn't give up. She knew that her life was already forfeit, but she couldn't let her baby be resigned to the same fate. If she got caught, she knew that her child would be shown no mercy - despite the fact that it was a helpless infant. Her captor would fear how powerful the child would be when it grew up.

The pounding behind her grew louder, signalling just how close capture was. She summoned up the remaining energy her body possessed, and channeled all of her focus onto the the infant in her arms. She felt the familiar swirl of energy and power flow through her body and surround her daughter. As she felt the power surrounding the baby build up, she leant down and placed a gentle kiss onto the infant's forehead.

"I love you," she whispered, and then the baby disappeared.

"No!" Hands grabbed her from behind and roughly spun her around to face a tall, big-built man with a hard, menacing expression. His dark eyes glared at her as he shook her angrily. "Where's the baby? Where did you send her?"

She met the eyes of her captor without fear, already resigned to her fate. "Some place you'll never find her."

His large hand met her face in a stinging slap that was so forceful it knocked her to the ground. Her hand flew up to her sore cheek, but she refused to show him how frightened she was. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her quiver with fear.

"If you tell me where you sent her I'll make her death quick and painless, but if you don't the whole world will hear her screams of pain," he threatened darkly.

She stared at him, defiance clearly screaming from her eyes. "It won't matter because you'll never find her," she retorted, a hint of a challenge in her words. It probably wasn't very wise to provoke him, but she knew she was going to die anyway. What else was there to lose?

There was a fire in his eyes as they narrowed dangerously at his old lover, and he slowly bent down so that his face was level with hers.

"I'm not going to kill you now. At least not yet. I know that's what you were hoping for. Instead, I'm going to make your life a living hell until you tell me what I want to know. I won't let you die, not without giving me the information I seek." He leant closer so that she would feel the full effect of his words. "Welcome to your own personal hell!" He roughly grabbed a handful of her messy, black hair and yanked her to her feet, smiling with vindictive pleasure as he heard her cry of pain. Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the darkness towards his castle, his fortress, where any chance of escape would be hopeless.