Wolf Child - Lìfa-saga Book 1

IX.

Lìfa saw the flames around rising high to paint the sky, some so close that she felt the heat burning her skin, and the thick smoke in the air was almost choking her. She heard the violent roar of the collapsing buildings and the desperate screams from all around. She ran as fast as she could, she was so out of breath that her lungs were burning, and all her muscles were sore and weak from the fight before. She felt like the harder she tried, the slower she became. The world spun and rushed around her at high speed, while she barely moved a centimeter.

But she couldn't stop. She had to run.

And like many times before, she was late.

She saw the man piercing through Einar's chest. She saw the orange reflection of the flames shining on the blade, and the red rose spreading on the fabric around where it entered the body.

She saw her father hitting the ground and bleeding out again. She knelt beside him holding his hand in hers, with hot tears running down her face, and her heartbroken to a million pieces again.

"Lìfa... you'll live, no matter what."

Everything started to spin around, and the world around her slowly faded away, while a force was pulling her down into the darkness. She tried to hold onto her father, not letting him go, but she wasn't strong enough. Einar's fingers slipped out of hers, and the darkness swallowed Lìfa.

The next moment she found herself in the middle of a dark forest. The pine trees rose high above her, shutting all rays of light out. She felt alone, broken, and numb from the pain, not willing to stand up or move. She curled up on the cold ground, hugging herself, and cried. She gave up on everything and wanted to hide and disappear forever. She felt the darkness slowly crawling towards her, tangling its vines around her legs, arms, finally consuming her whole body. Its grip became stronger around her with every breath she took, slowly squeezing life out of her.

Suddenly she heard a sharp cry from the deep of the woods. The voice came from the distance, yet it was strong. It made the vines of desperation and sorrow to run back to where they came from, letting Lìfa breath again. Still crying she stood up and took a few uncertain steps into the direction of the mysterious voice. Something told her to follow it.

It was hard to see in the dark of the forest, and her pain was almost unbearable, but something kept pulling her closer and closer to the voice echoing in the woods. The bushes and branches around the path scratched her skin, and tore into the flesh, leaving red trails all over her arms and face, but she didn't care. She kept on walking.

After what felt like an eternity in that dark and cold labyrinth, she reached an opening, with something small placed in the middle. As she carefully approached it, she found out that it was the source of the crying she heard all along. A small baby with unmatched eyes, left in the woods. In her surprise, Lìfa even forgot about her grief and sorrow for a second. As she was about to reach down, and lift the child from the ground, it suddenly disappeared and turned into green mist. At the same time, she noticed movement on the other end of the clearing. She cautiously stepped back and took up defending position.

A tall person emerged from the shadows, and lazily leaned against a tree. He folded his arms, and in a careless manner, he cocked his head to the side. His hair was copper red, and his amber eyes were burning with madness inside. He seemed to be dangerous, unpredictable, yet very calm. It was almost impossible to read anything from his face. It was completely still and emotionless. For a moment they were just staring at each other, and Lìfa stood the sharp, searching gaze of the strange man. Finally, his lips curved into a mischievous grin, showing off his white teeth: