Soul Bound

Chapter 9

All Eva could do was stare wide-eyed, jaw slackening. She watched in disbelief as black pillars of smoke rose up, vanishing into the dark night's sky. Orange tendrils danced on the far side of town, darting through crops and the meadow. The scene unfolding before her felt far away, dreamlike. The faint screams coming from the streets were muffled by the pounding in her ears.

Brar was on fire. Her home was on fire! Where was everybody? Why was nobody stopping this??

Eva's boots kicked up dirt as she ran to the centre of the village. In her panic, she didn't waste time on taking in her surroundings; she ran straight to the well and filled a bucket. She didn't stop to think about why nobody else was doing the same. Their entire livelihood was going up in flames and she'd stop it no matter the cost. She had to.

She was so focused on the well, the precious water inside, she didn't notice a figure barrelling towards her. As they collided into her, they gripped her shoulders fiercely.

"Eva! What are you doing!?"

She peered up at Caid, seeing the true terror skewed across his face. His sword hung from his hip, shimmering from the firelight sweeping through their crops. He pushed her aside, standing in front of her, and drew his sword.

"Find your family, Eva, and run."

Slowly, stiffly, she turned her head to follow his stricken gaze. With Arkon's vision, she could see the forms outlined in red. Soldiers. Too many to fight. They ran through the crops, heading straight for the village.

She tried to swallow, but her throat was bone dry.

"Caid..." Words wouldn't form on her lips. The shock of an attack on her village grinded her mind to a complete halt. The screams of her fellow villagers as the soldiers went from one home to another, tearing the women out by their hair, rooted her in place. Bile rose up in her throat, choking the air out of her lungs.

Cain threw his hand back into her chest, shoving her the other way, towards her home. "Run Eva."

Stubborn, she planted her feet. "But, Cain-"

"I said run! These are King Sylus' men. Take your family and find your dragon."

A jolt raced down her spine. Her eyes snapped to the soldiers again, to the red serpent emblem welded to the black metal chest plates. King Sylus' sigil.

No... No. This can't be happening...

The chaos around her grew deafening. Fire roaring. Metal cleaving through flesh. Screams. Gods, the screams.

"Go, Eva!"

Tears sprang in her eyes, torn between her duty to her family and her duty as a hunter of Brar. She wasn't a coward. She would die defending them if she had to.

"Run!" Arkon's booming voice inside her head was like a slap to the face. His soul poured into her and commanded her into action. "I will find you!"

She lurched into a run, tears streaming down her face with every step she took.

Heart soaring, she barged through the front door, screaming frantically for her family. She hadn't stopped to think that they might be caught up in the fray outside.

Gods, she prayed like never before that they were home.

"Mom! Dad!" Her voice was hoarse, yet she had barely screamed.

"Eva!" Emily called from the top of the stairs. She hurried down, with Erika in her arms. Her father was right behind them. "We're going to the caves. We can hide there."