Darkness pressed in first.
Then sound.
A heartbeat.
Not his own.
Too loud.
Too close.
Ralf's eyes snapped open.
The world assualted him.
Every scent in the room layered over another - wood polish, snow melting against boots downstairs, old smoke from the fireplace... and beneath it all-
Blood.
Hot.
Pulsing.
Alive.
His throat burned as if he had swallowed fire.
He shot upright in the bed, gasping.
The cabin bedroom swam into focus. Moonlight slipped between the curtains. The sheets beneath him were torn. The wood of the headboard splintered under his grip.
Memory returned in shards.
The mountain.
The Original.
Caison's screaming.
His neck snapping.
Caison.
Ralf's head whipped toward the door just as it opened.
Caison stepped inside.
Alive.
Whole.
