The Death Seer

Prologue

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The woman held her daughter close to her chest, pressing a kiss against the little girls forehead. She held the girls face tightly in her hands, brushing locks of blonde curls behind her ear.

"Death is not the end, my love." She whispered in her ear. "We will meet again in heavens garden."

The woman lifted the child into a secret compartment under the stairs, her little hands clenching onto her mother's shirt.

"Please, Mama, don't leave me in here." The girl begged. Her tears fell in torrents down her face as she begged to stay with her mother.

Outside hoof beats could be heard colliding wetly with the mud, horses nickering and metal swords unsheathing from their holsters. The mother pushed the little girl into the comparment and slammed the door shut. She rushed to the window of the little wooden cottage that they had lived in for the past eight years and peeled back the moth eaten curtains. The girls father stood proudly in front of the door, an axe held tightly in his hand.

"Begone demons." He yelled at the 10 blood-soaked riders, lifting his face into the rain to look at the first rider. "You are not welcome here."

The first rider grinned at the man in front of him. Eyes glinting red in the lightning that flashed over head, he leaned forward on top of the midnight blue stallion.

"Where is she." The rider growled, blood dripping down his chin and onto the shining steel of his armour. He lifted his obsidian black sword above his head.

The woman leapt through the door, clutching a black leather bound volume in her arms.
"I'm here."

The rider grinned, white teeth stained red. His sword arced down toward the man, the blade slicing through his neck.

"NO!" The woman yelled, dropping the book into the red brown mud. She grabbed a dagger hidden under her skirts and leapt at the rider, her ribs clashing angrily with his iron covered leg. The dagger whipped towards the riders face and gashed into his cheek. Blood poured onto her dagger and down her wrist, spattering onto her face and blending into her bright orange hair.

The rider swung the pummel of his sword into the womans head, knocking her to the ground beside her husband. He swung off his horse and loomed over her, grinning madly.

"You brought this upon yourself." He lifted the sword over his head and then let it drop into the womans stomach. She let out a wet wail of pain, clasping at the dark blade before he savagely yanked it out of her. Blood and mud ran through the ground, mixing with the rain and running down the path.

The rider picked up the book, tucking it into his riding satchel before swinging back atop his horse.

"Let the crows eat them." He resheathed his sword and led the knights away from the small cottage and the slowly dying woman.

Water pattered against her face, mixing with her tears as she stared at her husband. With the last of her strength, she began dragging herself back towards the hidden room in the house. Gasping and panting, she reached the door to the little compartment and opened it. The little girl leapt sobbing into her mother's arms.

"I'm sorry, my love," the mother cried to her daughter, tucking the girls head into her shoulder. The girl shuddered, fisting her little hands into her mother's shirt. Then, before she could say anything, the world swirled and blended into a chaotic ball of light and wind. The little girls hands were ripped from her mother as she was caught up in the bright void, toppling head over heel into the spiral of colour. Before she could cry out, she landed heavily on a layer of snow, looking up at the grey clouds above her.

"Mama!" The girl cried sitting up and looking around at the white tundra surrounding her. In the distance, two mountains reached ominously towards the sky, thunder and lightning crashing behind them. The sun already setting created harsh shadows all around the girl.

"Who are you?" The little girl jumped to her feet and swung around, her little hands clenched into fists. The stranger in front of her wore a red cloak, face hidden behind the hood. A hand was outstretched toward the little girl as if to touch her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." She whispered to the stranger who immediately withdrew her hand. A beat passed as the stranger and the little girl looked at each other before the stranger lifted her hands to her hood and pulled it down.

Jet black hair met porcelain white skin, contrasting startlingly with the blood red eyes buried deep in the womans face.

"Don't be afraid," She whispered to the girl. "I won't hurt you. "

The little girl stared at the womans face, and as she looked into her eyes felt a hollow emptiness suddenly envelope her. The little girl had lost everything, and so she was no longer afraid, could no longer feel anything at all. The stranger smiled gently.

"At least tell me your name, child."

"My name is Gwenevierre."

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I'm writing this book purely for fun, but I'm more than happy for some gentle constructive criticism about grammar, spelling, etc.

I hope you enjoy.

S.R.K💙