CHAPTER 2
1109 Words
Raven winced, her body shuddering as she pulled out the arrow from her chest.
The wound slowly closed, giving her a clear view of the mark which was still red and glowing.
She placed her hand over chest, her eyebrows furrowing in complete confusion. Why in the world was she not dead? She clearly felt the arrow go through her heart.
She couldn’t bring herself to worry about the glowing mark or the fact that she was still alive at that moment because there were bigger issues at hand.
Her family. She needed to know if they were safe.
There was no sign of the boy with the mismatched eyes or the man who attacked her earlier. She wasted no time crawling out of the wardrobe, her hands trembling slightly.
Her footsteps echoed loudly as she made her way to the parlor and once she arrived, her heart instantly sank in her chest as a horrid gasp escaped her lips.
“No,” She whispered, her eyes taking in the ghastly sight in front of her.
The entire room was a mess and all of her family lay lifeless on the ground and in the pool of their own blood.
Her parents. Grandparents. Uncles and aunts. They were all dead. Murdered in cold blood.
“Lark,” Raven whispered, her eyes streaming with tears when they landed on her sister’s unmoving body beneath the table.
She crashed to the ground, crawling towards her sister’s body as her heart sank further and further down her chest.
“No, please. Lark. Wake up, Lark,” Raven sobbed, cradling her sister’s limp body to her chest with her tiny hands.
“Don’t leave me. Wake up.” She whimpered, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. She was terrified out of her mind.
She was all alone. There was no one alive. There was no one left. She sobbed till she had no tears left to cry.
When she finally stopped crying, she slowly stood to her feet, a dazed expression on her face.
She had no idea what to do next, but she was terrified that the bad people could come back and if they found her here, they would try to kill her like they did earlier.
She instantly rushed into the house, grabbed some bread, water and coins and after looking at her family one last time with tears in her eyes, she dashed out of the house.
***
Three days of walking left Raven’s feet bloody and her stomach empty.
She had finished the last of her bread and the few coins in her bag would not last long.
She had left her home of Moonshroud and now she found herself in Bloodmere, a city that was far away from her home.
Bloodmere was nothing like Moonshroud.
Where her home had been filled with trees and beauty, Bloodmere was filled with narrow alleys and darkness with the smell of unwashed bodies and rotting food permeating the air.
Raven pulled her cloak tighter as she tried to blend in with the crowd. Everyone looked hungry and desperate, which meant she fit right in.
She had managed to buy a small loaf of bread with her remaining coins, but as she turned the quieter street to eat, three older boys stepped out of the shadows.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” One of them growled, his wide grin showing his teeth in the darkness
Raven jumped out of fright, clutching her bread tightly as her entire body trembled. “I’m not looking for trouble.”
“But trouble found you anyway,” Another boy chipped in, his smile predatory as he cracked his knuckles. “Hand over whatever you’ve got and we might let you walk away.”
Raven instantly hid the dry bread behind her with trembling hands. She couldn’t give this bread up. This was the last food she had.
“I don’t have anything.” She lied through her teeth.
The first boy lunged forward, grabbing her bag. Raven tried to hold on, but he was stronger. Her few belongings scattered across the dirty ground.
“Please,” Raven whispered, her eyes glistening with tears. “That’s all I have.”
“Should have thought of that before coming to our territory.” He growled, raising his fist.
Raven closed her eyes, waiting for a blow which never came. Instead of pain, she heard a sickening thud.
When she opened her eyes, the boy was on the ground, clutching his nose, blood streaming between his fingers.
Behind him stood another boy, maybe a year older than Raven with dark hair and bright blue eyes.
“Three against one? That’s not very nice.” He said and for someone so young, he was awfully calm and confident.
The remaining two boys looked between their fallen friend and the newcomer.
“This isn’t your fight, Kaden.” One of them growled and if Raven wasn’t so observant, she would have missed the fear in his eyes.
“I’m making it my fight,” The boy named Kaden replied, his blue eyes cold as stone. “Leave the girl alone.”
“You can’t protect everyone on these streets.” The fallen boy answered, managing to get up on his feet, clutching his nose which might have been broken.
Raven did not feel an ounce of pity for him. He totally deserved it.
“Not everyone. But I can protect her.”
The boys must have decided Kaden wasn’t worth the trouble because they instantly shot Raven hard glares before disappearing straight into the darkness.
Kaden finally turned to Raven and to her surprise, he squatted and began helping her collect her scattered belongings on the ground.
“You’re new here,” He commented. “Got anywhere to go?” He asked, handing her the bag.
Raven studied Kaden for a second. She knew next to nothing about him and she wasn’t sure if she should say anything.
After mulling it over for a few seconds, she simply shrugged. She didn’t see any harm in it. He did save her life.
“No.” She answered, still eyeing him warily.
Kaden’s blue eyes were intense on hers and even though she was nervous, for some reason, she felt no fear.
“You’re running from something. Or someone.”
Raven’s hand instinctively moved to her chest where the mark lay hidden beneath her clothes.
“What makes you think that?” She asked defensively.
“Because I recognize that look. I have been wearing it for three years.” Kaden answered, a grave look lurking deep within his eyes.
- Writer
