Into the Realm

Prologue

The lone howl of a wolf could be heard for miles in the inky blackness of the forest. The night was clear, a full moon and several stars were seen in the heavens above, and the air was crisp and cool. A glimpse of bright red fabric flashed in the moonlight. Footsteps ran silently on the fallen leaves and the quick pant of a girl struggling for breath could be heard in the maddening silence of the forest. The girl miscalculated a tree branch and hit her head on a low-hanging limb; it added to the collection of bruises she had been given over time by various ferocious plant life. The girl looked up as she entered the part of the forest that offered less light for her to see by. She quickened her pace when she heard the howl of the wolf again, closer this time. It was hard to travel on foot in such darkness, but luckily the girl in the red hood had traveled in these woods many times before. She knew the forest like the back of her hand.

The wolf wasn't letting up. It bounded closer to her. She knew it only wanted one thing: her blood.

Move quickly, she thought to herself. Make no sound. He will hear you and he will get you, and then you will be dead.

She moved faster than she did before; the blood pounded in her ears and it made it hard to remember to make her footfalls be quiet. She could hear the wolf's heated breath as she pushed herself to go even faster. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and made her other senses become hyperactive. Her long skirt got caught on a thorn bush and it slowed her down for a second as she yanked it free before she continued on. She heard a snarl in the trees behind her and, before she flung herself behind an oak, she untied her red hood from around her neck and threw it in the branches across the way. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest, like it was going to get up and leave her. Her fingers nimbly grabbed the bow off her back and her fingers wrapped themselves around a slender arrow. She knocked the arrow in its place and waited.

The sound of a dog snuffling along the tree trunks was heard. A low growl came from the throat of her pursuer and she peered out from behind the tree she was hiding behind. A shaggy black shape in the dark growled at the sight of her red cape fluttering in the soft wind. With a gulp she noticed that with the small wind that just blew her scent would be tossed in its direction. The growl grew louder as the wind died down and gigantic ears turned this way and that in the dark. The girl stepped back with caution and a twig snapped under the weight of her boot. She realized her grave mistake as she moved the bow in position. Her left eye closed in concentration and she let go of the arrow just as the beast turned to jump in her direction. With a loud thwack the arrow hit the tree where the wolf's head would have been just seconds before.

"Oi, you almost hit me that time!"

The girl opened her eye to see an indignant wolf glowering at her and lowered her weapon. "Maybe next time you shouldn't jump that high," she retorted and stepped into the patch of light offered by the moon. A shock of icy grey eyes glared at him as the girl checked the damage of the thorn bush on her skirt. Luckily it was only the hem that was attacked; Cinder could mend that for her in seconds. She let go of the brown skirt and it settled over her petticoat nicely. The girl slung the bow on her back and held her hand out. "My cloak?"

The Wolf scoffed. "Not without a 'please.'" The girl gave him a dangerous look and he stood on his hind legs and got the red cape down from the high branches. "Here," he said with a mouthful of fabric. The girl took it from him with a soft word of thanks and began to fasten it around her neck.

The Wolf nodded his head at the cape, "You know, that was a good idea. It threw me off for a second; I thought you had scrambled up a tree again. They should call you Green Riding Hood because you hide in the green foliage so much to escape from enemies." He chuckled to himself, pleased with his joke.