Episode 2
1186 Words
The masked warrior swung his sword.
"Run!" Elias roared.
Lyra threw herself aside just as the blade crashed into the wooden floor where she had been kneeling. Splinters exploded into the air.
She moved backwards, clutching the leather pouch to her chest.
The silver-masked men spread out, blocking all exits.
"Take her alive," the leader ordered.
"Alive?" one of them asked.
“The master wants to see her.”
Lyra's heart pounded in her ears.
She pulled out the hunting knife that she had strapped to her thigh. It was ridiculously tiny in comparison to their swords, but that's what she had.
The leader laughed.
"A knife?"
He walked forward slowly and confidently.
"Little human, you've been hiding in these woods too long.
The word hit her like a blow.
‘Human.’
She looked at Elias.
His face had turned pale, but his eyes burned with determination.
“You will never get her," Elias said, gasping.
The leader didn't look at him at all.
"You've failed your duty, old man."
He raised his sword again.
"Elias!" Lyra screamed.
Elias picked up the heavy wooden table next to him and pushed it with a surprising force, before the blade could drop.
The table hit two masked warriors, causing them to lose their balance.
"Go!" Elias shouted.
Lyra didn't think.
She ran.
She jumped through the broken door and vanished into the woods.
"Go after her!" the leader barked.
She heard footsteps behind her. She ran through the woods, with branches whipping against her face. Every breath burned, but she refused to slow down.
Elias's last words rang in her ears.
‘You are the last human alive.’
It couldn't be true.
She had to be dreaming.
There was another shout from behind.
"There!"
An arrow flew past her ear.
She instinctively ducked and turned left.
The forest was her house.
All the downed trees, all the secret trails, all the streams were known to her.
She had been practicing her disappearing act for years.
The men who were after her had not.
She slid beneath a low branch, then squeezed through a narrow gap between two boulders.
The passage was too tight for armored men.
Behind her came frustrated curses.
"Split up!"
“She can't go far!”
Lyra didn't stop.
She crossed the thin stream Elias always referred to as Whisper Creek.
Without hesitation, she stepped into the water and walked instead of crossing it.
It was an old trick.
Flowing water hid scent and footprints.
She remained in the stream for a few minutes before she climbed onto the other bank.
There was silence.
No shouting, no footsteps.
For the first time since the attack, she dared to breathe.
Then… the silence was broken by a howl.
Another answered.
Then another.
Her blood ran cold.
These were no ordinary wolves.
The sound was deeper.
Sharper.
Almost like human.
She turned away from the direction of the howls.
The leather pouch fell.
She looked down at it.
Whatever Elias had hidden inside...
People were willing to kill for it.
Her fingers trembled as she untied the faded cord.
Inside was a folded piece of old parchment and a silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon.
The pendant was a different kind of thing she had ever seen.
Strange symbols circled its edge.
They seemed almost alive.
She opened the parchment.
Most of the writing had faded with age.
Only a few words remained clear.
‘Find the Moon Temple.’
‘Trust no Alpha.’
‘The truth sleeps beneath stone.’
There was a loud crack nearby.
Someone had stepped on a branch.
Lyra pushed the parchment back into the pouch.
Too late.
"There!"
One of the masked warriors burst through the bushes.
Their eyes met.
He grinned under his silver mask.
" I found you."
Lyra spun and ran.
The man ran after her.
He was faster than she expected.
Within moments, he was only a few strides behind.
She grabbed a fist-sized stone from the ground and hurled it over her shoulder.
It hit his mask with a loud bang.
He stumbled.
She didn't wait to see if he recovered.
The trees began to thin.
Her stomach tightened.
She was familiar with this place. The eastern cliff was in front of them.
There was nowhere else to go.
She burst into a clearing and skidded to a stop.
The earth ended just a few feet ahead.
Beyond it stretched a steep drop into a roaring river far below.
Her heart sank.
She was trapped.
The warrior, wearing a mask came out of the trees, panting.
He drew his sword.
"You're finished."
Lyra peeped over the edge of the cliff.
The fall would almost certainly kill her.
Behind her was a trained killer.
The man came closer.
“Give me the pouch now.”
She clutched her hand tighter.
"No."
"You don't even know what it contains."
"I know it doesn't belong to you."
He sighed.
" What a pity."
He tried to attack.
Lyra dodged just in time.
The blade sliced across her sleeve, drawing a thin line of blood along her arm.
Pain flared but she ignored it.
The man attacked again.
She backed toward the cliff edge.
Loose stones rolled beneath her boots and disappeared into the gorge.
The masked warrior smiled.
"You've got nowhere to run."
Suddenly he was interrupted by a distant growl.
He froze.
Another growl answered.
This one sounded much closer.
The man's confidence vanished.
"No..."
Leaves rustled all around them.
Between the trees golden eyes appeared.
One pair.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Massive wolves stepped silently into the clearing.
Each was bigger than any natural wolf.
Their silver-gray fur shimmered beneath the afternoon light.
They were all staring at the masked warrior, not Lyra.
"Impossible." the warrior said.
One big black wolf emerged from the shadows.
He was far bigger than the rest.
A long scar ran across his muzzle.
The air itself seemed to change as he appeared.
The little wolves bowed their heads.
Not in fear, but in respect.
The black wolf was their leader.
His piercing silver eyes turned away from the masked warrior.....to Lyra.
Time seemed to stop.
When their eyes met, something strange stirred within Lyra.
She felt a rush of heat in her chest.
The crescent pendant hidden beneath her shirt pulsed against her skin.
The black wolf stiffened.
His ears flattened.
Confusion flashed across his fierce eyes.
Then came something even stranger.
Recognition.
The masked warrior saw it as well.
His face changed.
"No..."
He walked backward slowly.
"It can't be."
The black wolf roared, creating a loud noise that reverberated throughout the forest.
Every wolf around him bared its teeth.
The masked warrior turned to flee but he never made it.
The wolves attacked in unison.
Lyra was startled and backed away.
Her heel slipped over the edge of the cliff.
The ground crumbled beneath her feet.
She gasped as her body tipped into empty air.
She was falling.
And the last thing she saw before disappearing into the roaring river below...
...was the enormous black wolf launching himself after her.
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