Soul Bound

Chapter 1

The purple sky began to give way to the morning's blue hue as the sun began its ascent to the heavens. Mountains broke the warming rays, splintering throughout the valley. 

Dawn was Eva's favourite time of day. The world seemed to move slower. It was silent, half-asleep. Dew still clung to leaves and ferns; it soaked through her cotton trousers and sunk deep into her bones. The cool water was a welcoming reprieve on her legs after trekking the dense forest for hours.

It was strenuous work, sneaking from trunk to trunk, being mindful that every step had to blend in with the sounds of the forest. This close to the waterfall, an amateur would think they could make as much noise as they wanted without being detected, but the creatures of the mountain were always listening. Waiting. No one was safe. Not even the tiniest of mice hiding in their burrows. It may be beautiful--the sun glistening off the pools of water, the rainbow dancing around the cascade, the lush moss with dainty purple flowers clinging to trunks and branches all around her. But no beauty was ever free. The price on this mountain? Your life. 

Did that stop her from hunting off the path? No. The best game was here, and she wasn't about to let the bountiful quarry in this area go to waste. She had found this spot a few years back with her brother, Jacob. Of the three spots she hunted regularly, this one was the most consistent. She confidently went off the path up the mountain, knowing she would return home with food for her family. With Jacob gone now, she felt the pressure more than ever to make sure their family was fed. 

She didn't hold it against him for leaving--it was their dream to become Dragon Knights and he was lucky enough to have been recruited. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss the days when they hunted together. Her hikes were quiet, hollow, without him. It was along this very trail where they would talk about being Dragon Knights together. By this waterfall, they often peered up at the sky and wondered what the world looked like from above. Now he was somewhere up there, while she remained buried beneath the forest's canopy.

Hearing movement up ahead, she ducked behind a bush and watched a sounder of boars scuttle through the woods towards the base of the waterfall. A thick layer of foliage surrounded the pool, shielding critters from predators. 

Most of them.

Undetected, she moved for the first trap laid by a large fallen log; it had snagged a hare.

I haven't had hare for a while. Grinning, she collected it and reset the trap. She tied the hare to her shoulders then went for the next one. There was nothing in the second trap, or the third.

Pressing her lips together, she glanced at a boar grazing away from the rest of its kin. Jacob taught her not to go for game too big, otherwise its blood might attract a predator she wasn't equipped to fight. But she wasn't going to be able to feed their family with a hare. If Erika was to be big and strong like her brother and sister, she was going to need all the food Eva could provide. 

Eva drew her bowstring back and stole a steadying breath from the chilly morning air-

A shadow flew overhead, its broad wings engulfing the entire clearing. 

Eva froze. She didn't dare to breathe. The canopy was too thick for her to make out a specific shape, but she was in griffin territory and didn't want to take an unnecessary chance. 

Her muscles began to tremble under the strain of keeping the string taut. Sweat gathered on her fingertips, threatening to finish the job she had started. 

The sounder bolted. They split up, scattering into the bushes silently. 

Shit. There went her big, juicy dinner.