The Open Sky: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 3

Prologue

One month ago...

When Moriah drifted off to sleep, everything was peaceful. When she awoke a few hours later, everything was on fire.

It wasn't the smell of the smoke or the heat of the flames that tore her from her slumber, but the screams sounding from outside her tiny hut. Moriah's bed sat at the center of the small, circular structure. When her eyes opened, they were filled with the bright glow of roaring flames as they engulfed the walls surrounding her.

She sat up straight in her bed. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Each deep, panicked breath filled her lungs with thick smoke. Even amongst the crackling flames, she could still hear screaming from the other side of the walls.

"Help!" she cried out. Her voice naturally had a high pitch and coupled with her very petite build, many often mistook her for a child. At 23, she was very much an adult, though she felt as frightened as any child would be in such a situation. "Someone, help!"

The entrance to her hut was only a few feet away, but the tapestry of animal skins that covered it was long since set ablaze. Like the rest of the huts in her village, there were no windows. There was no way to look outside, and certainly no way to get there. The fire was all she could see in any direction.

Moriah dove for the floor when a loud pop sounded over her head. As she rolled across the dirt, flame-engulfed thatching crashed down from the roof onto her bed. She screamed, but even she couldn't hear it. The air in the hut was becoming impossible to breathe. She knew she was only moments away from blacking out, and then she'd slowly burn to death. The animal skin was half burned away now. She'd never get through it without suffering great injury, but it at least offered a chance at survival.

More of the roof fell to the floor as Moriah scrambled to her feet. Her footing failed her more than once in her desperate attempt to flee the burning hut. She reached for the entrance, bracing herself for the searing her flesh was about to endure. When she was only a few feet away, the flaming rug was swept aside. She saw the gleam of a sword against the glow of the flames as it hacked the skin from the ropes holding it aloft. With the barrier gone, Moriah could see a familiar man reaching out to her.

"Moriah, take my hand!"

They grasped each other by the wrist and the man pulled her from the hut. She fell to her knees outside, gasping and coughing. The ends of her long, straight hair were singed, causing small trails of smoke to circle over her head. Her pale skin was already turning red from small burns. "Terrex," she said between gasps. "Thank... the Lady."

"Are you hurt?!" Terrex asked. He was a tall, young man with very dark skin and a cleanly shaven head. His clothes were tattered and she could see blood smeared against his exposed skin.

"What's going on?!" she shrieked. It was still night, letting her know she'd not been asleep for long. There were people rushing past them, fleeing from the north in terror. All around them, huts and other small structures collapsed into the flames covering them.

"We're under attack," Terex answered. Though his words were to her, his eyes were to the north. With one hand tightly clutching his sword, he held the other in front of Moriah. He was shielding her, but she still didn't know what from.

"By whom?!" she called out. "Who is attacking?"

This time he looked at her. Reflections of orange and yellow flashed across his somber eyes. "It's not who," he said mournfully. "It's what."

A roar from the north caused both of their heads to turn. One of the flaming structures up ahead burst outward like a festival firework. Moriah shielded herself from the flying debris. When she could finally uncover her eyes again, she screamed. The creature before her was unlike anything she'd ever seen. It stood like a mountain cat, though was as large as a bear. Its hide looked like a campfire log, black as coal with glowing veins of bright embers crisscrossing it like ivy vines on the side of a tree. Smoke and fire rose off its body and its eyes looked like two small suns. The creature roared again, letting her see down into its throat. It was like staring into a forge.