The Wandering Lost

Prologue

    Heavy footsteps thundered after him but he could barely hear them over the sound of his own ragged panting. Cold mountain air sliced through his lungs like knives, each breath reminding him of the blades that had carved the gaping wounds still fresh upon his face. Blood continued to ooze down his chin, and the collar of his tunic was warm and wet, the blood staining it not entirely his own.

    A few stray tears slid down his uninjured cheek as distant screams echoed in his head. Why? Why had Noeh kept this from him? All this time...everything they'd been through together...he hadn't known him at all. Anger and confusion fogged his already shrouded senses as he stumbled towards the stables, somehow managing to guide himself from memory.

    As he approached the building, he strained his ears for any sign of his pursuers closing in. Their footsteps had fallen behind but they hadn't broken off. He reached the stables and rammed his shoulder into the massive double doors, breaking through the wooden plank he knew would be bolting the doors from the inside.

    Startled horses immediately began snorting and stamping their hooves. He pinpointed the nearest one and raced to the stall while blowing a shrill whistle. More shuffling came from the back of the barn before a dog's nails clicked against the stone walkway running between the rows of stalls.

    Muffled shouts came from outside and he whistled again, then swung onto his chosen mount. There wasn't time to try to tack the horse. The halter and rope already attached to it would have to suffice for reins. He wound the rope tightly around his palm, then whistled a third time.

    A low whine came from beneath him and he cautiously leaned over the horse's side, lowering one arm to snatch up the dog around her middle. She went limp the moment she was in his grasp and he laid the dog across his lap, keeping his free arm tight around her to prevent her from falling off.

    The footsteps and voices had almost reached the stable now. Gathering every ounce of his courage that remained, he squeezed the horse's sides with his legs and urged it onward. He didn't give himself a chance to hesitate and spurred the horse to a gallop the moment they cleared the stable doors.

    Enraged shouts chased after them, but it would take time for them to follow. He'd bought himself a head start. One that he would desperately need, as he now had to somehow navigate his way through the mountains alone.

    As soon as he was at a safe enough distance to slow his pace, he tore a strip of fabric from his undershirt and wrapped it around the injured half of his face, tying it securely behind his head. His throat bobbed as his fingers brushed the ends of the bloody wounds and he again saw the hand of the Dragon's Fang slashing through his friend's throat.

    Noeh had lied to him all along, yet now, the source of his friend's betrayal, the mission he'd been tasked with, fell to him. Someone had to deliver the warning to Valencia, and he was the only one who could.