Knight Rider (DISCONTINUED)

Prologue

          * * Dedicated to my amazing and gorgeous friend in and out of Wattpad, Kirsten, who was the first person to ever read this story, and the one who gave me the confidence to upload it here. I love you, kitty!

          * * The image on the right was the second cover to ever be created for this book. My older readers will remember the original draft of this story, which got over 6000 reads! I hope this rewrite will surpass that!

Prologue:

The night was harmonious.

The vast field of stars stretched beyond the horizon, continuing their everlasting journey into space and into the unknown. They shined and twinkled in contrast to the Cimmerian shade, creating a florescent luminosity that was unexplored yet serene. The stream that ran alongside the young woman’s bare feet connected in a frothy cascade to the quiescent ocean waters. It reflected the full moon with a certain glow that matched her azure eyes.

He held her pale hands delicately in his own, and caressed her smooth skin with his forefinger and thumb. Their gaze never divided from one another as a time passed by. Water from the small river splashed lightly against their skin, droplets forming into humble puddles and seeping into the tiny cracks and cavities within the rocky surface.

An infringing sound of sharpened claws flexing against the cool ground signaled that their time together was nearing its end. Weight shifted and cracked along the rocks. And keen amaranthine eyes, equivalent in luster to the overhanging stars, met with his own. A crystal-clear voice pooled into his mind just like the crisp, flowing river. It spoke in remorse, "Are you ready?"

He sighed deeply with a quick nod, letting the effeminate hands he held drop wearily. She briskly rebounded, embracing him, lovingly and securely holding him in her warm arms, burying her teary face into his shoulder. A few moments went by before he returned the hug, pulling their bodies even closer together.

Between frangible sobs, she wept, “You don’t have to go.”

Realizing her unbearable pain and anguish, he closed his conscious-stricken eyes to the black void of inner thought. He sought a comfort, but his emotions careened from his control, and, like her, his eyes erratically filled with tears. He conversed slowly while running his fingers through her straight raven hair, “I am not leaving for me. I am leaving for the sake of my people. This could be a turning point in the great wars that shadow us.”

She looked back up to him. The whites of her eyes were marginally tinted with red. “You are leaving the safety of your allies,” she disputed, “What happens if you are caught?”

Brushing her bangs away from her eyes, he grinned broadly through the moment’s dispiritedness. “They won’t catch me. I will be too quick for them.”

“What if you are hurt, though? You can’t go through this alone!”

“I won’t be alone. You know that,” he reminisced while an enticing hymn spread through the air. A slightly cool breeze carried the song by way of the surrounding trees. It swirled around the companions as well, heavy with the prevailing scents of the earth. Before she could theorize further, he spoke again, “I need to leave now. I am counting on your undercover support. But you must not tell any of the others where I am going.”

“You have my word,” she promised, her full lips pulled into a half-smile.

“That includes my father,” he added with skepticism. “His relationship with Messiah is painful, and interference could get us both killed. I just can’t risk putting him in danger.”

She simply nodded in response and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She took two steps back, unwinding her arms from around him, yet withholding a clasp on one of his hands. Their fingers intertwined, locked with a familiar warmness. With his free palm, he secured his sword on his belt and took in the scenery around him. His chest constricted tightly with the thought of leaving home, even for a short time.

The snap of unsheathed, heavy wing beats echoed through the area, and the subconscious voice resonated again. "Dawn approaches us now. We must go!"

“This is it,” he proclaimed in a whisper. His grip loosened, and eventually let off.

“You will be back,” she assured.

“I will,” he declared. “And I’ll fight hard every day to make sure I can come back home to my fellow Riders, and to you.”

“Then I will see you soon.”

He advanced over to the towering city walls, placing a hand gently upon the polished stone bricks that protected his people as he concentrated on the mental instruction. "We will fly north along the forested shore, then move eastward behind the border of Baisilia. From there, we can only hope we are prepared for what we encounter."

“I will come back, Navaeh. I promise.”