HUNTED SOULS

~ Chapter 1 ~

Branches snapped underfoot as Saph sprinted wildly through the trees, eyes wide as a hunted rabbit in the dusk. Her breath came out in gasps as she fought to move her bare feet through the brush, desperately clutching a growing red splotch on her tunic. The wound threatened to slow her down but she rushed on, eyes frantically scanning the long evening shadows of the unfamiliar woods. Where could she hide?

A telltale whistle through the air came behind her, and Saph dodged her head abruptly to miss the lethal dagger that flew past. They were almost upon her.

Leaping over gnarled tree roots, Saph dashed towards the sound of rushing water. The patter of quick footsteps on the forest floor behind her grew audible as her pursuers sped towards her, but not before she caught sight of a deeply flowing river. She could buy some time there.

Stifling a groan from the pain in her ribs, she suddenly pivoted and slid down a ravine of loose dirt and branches towards the river. Her feet squelched in the wet mud as she ran into the water with a splash and hastily submerged herself beneath it.

The water was cold and rough, throwing her dark hair about her as she swam downstream away from her attackers much faster than before. But the darkness and blur of the rapids exhausted her, and she'd have to come up for air soon enough. Stray daggers flew through the waters around her as she fled.

Lungs screaming for air, Saph risked a brief resurfacing and immediately spotted a small riverbank on the opposite side she'd entered, covered decently with brush and a large fallen oak tree. The skies were darker now, so this was her only chance. Slipping back underneath the water, she pushed hard with her legs against a passing boulder towards the other side. Grasping for life at the wet bank, she pulled herself up as quickly as she could and scurried underneath the oak tree, choking out water.

Shivering in silence, she kept quiet as she breathed through her nose, heart hammering in her chest. There were no sounds of pursuit, not yet. They'd find their way to her soon.

But not before she did away with their upper hand.

Looking around, she spied a particularly sharp looking rock and snatched it with freezing red fingers. Taking her other bloodied hand off her ribs, she turned it over to see the small red stone embedded within it. The stone glowed eerily. It had been there as long as she could remember, ever since they'd captured her.

The skin surrounding the stone had blackened over time, with dark spider-like tendrils that crawled up her arm and neck, reaching for her heart. They'd told her if she removed it, she would die. But she'd die here anyway if they kept using it to track her, to control her.

There was no time to think.

Placing her left hand in the dirt and gripping the rock tightly in her right, Saph took a deep breath and brought it down swiftly. Gritting her teeth, she dug the rock into her flesh to get underneath the damned stone. She willed herself to pry it out, but the magic within it pulsed against her, warning her.

Fuck you. Kill me if you must.