CHAPTER 004
1395 Words
CHAPTER 004
The wind rustled through the trees and broke the suffocating silence of the night, pressing down heavy. Sweat was beading So Yeon’s forehead despite the cold and she tossed and turned in her small bed.
Sharp and sudden then; it found her, ripping through her wrist like a searing heat. With a gasp, she shot upright, clutching her arm – for the scar on her wrist burned brighter than any other time before.
“What is this….This,” she whispered in tremulous breath.
This time the glow wasn’t faint. The veins of light on her arm crawled up her arm in intricate patterns then faded like it was a living thing. Whispers filled the room; faint, indistinct whispers of voices just out of reach.
Her breath came faster. The whispers weren’t in the room, they were in her head.
She squeezed her eyes shut and muttered, “Stop.” “Stop it!”
But they didn’t. They grew louder, if anything, urgent, insistent. Images flashed in her mind: Is the forest a hand reaching to a girl crying into the ground, where a stone rests covered in strange markings?
The pull of the scar became impossible to ignore, and she stumbled out of bed, nearly tripping. It wasn’t just burning anymore, it was dragging her, pulling her somewhere she didn’t understand.
So-yeon didn’t even bother grabbing a coat. The icy wind bit at her skin and she pushed open the door, stepping into night.
The cabins were dark and still, the village quiet. Looking over her shoulder, half expecting someone to stop her, no one did. She began to walk, her bare feet crunching on the frost covered ground, the pull on her wrist growing stronger.
Before them the forest loomed, deeper, more menacing looking than it ever had. The whispers grew louder in her head and she hesitated at the edge.
She whispered to herself, “Go back.” “This is stupid.”
But her feet didn’t listen. The scar flared again and she stepped into the trees.
Tonight, the forest was alive with every noise concreted. Creaks of branches, rustle of leaves, never really seen it, but the occasional far off howl. So-yeon’s heart pounded as she walked, each step feeling like she was moving closer to something she couldn’t escape.
The trees finally opened to a small clearing. In the middle was a huge stone, with weather surface but runes chiseled into its surface, glowing with a foul light.
The whispers in her head boomed and her scar pulsed with the runes. She went to her knees, holding her head.
She shouted, her voice breaking, 'What do you want from me?'
The whispers didn’t answer. Instead a single word reverberated in her mind above all else.
“Cursed.”
Her breath hitched. “What do you mean, cursed?”
The runes on the stone about, began to flare brighter, bathed the clearing in an eerie glow. A mix of fear and awe torqued their way through her chest as she stared at them. Her fingers shook as she stretched them over the stone.
“What are you doing?”
This time, the voice wasn’t in her head. Her heart leapt into her throat as Joon won stepped into clearing, she spun round.
He had golden eyes, eyes that burned in the dim light, and his face was tight with anger. “They never listen to me. How dangerous is it to just wander off like that?”
So-yeon’s pulse ran quickly, but not from fright. “You followed me?”
He snapped, his voice low but fierce, “Of course I followed you.” “You don’t know what’s out here, what could happen to you!”
She shot back at him, her anger rising to meet his, “I didn’t ask you to follow me!” “I didn’t ask for any of this,” he said.
Joon won’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything. He looked at the stone and his face grew dark.
His voice was quieter now. “You shouldn’t be here.” “The Moonlit Bloodline’ is tied to that stone.” To your bloodline.”
Her stomach twisted. “You knew? “You knew something like this was here and you didn’t tell me?”
He said his tone tight, “It wasn’t the right time.” “You weren’t ready.”
So-yeon laughed bitterly. You didn’t trust me, you mean. You’re just another person. You’re afraid of me.”
Joon won’s sharp unyielding gaze snapped to hers. So-yeon, I’m not afraid of you. If you don’t learn to control this, I’m afraid of what will happen. That mark on your wrist isn’t a random scar, it’s a beacon. It’s only going to get worse.”
Her chest hurt, her anger and confusion swirling inside her. “Why me?” she whispered. “Why am I going through this?”
She thought he wouldn’t answer for a moment, but Joon won hesitated. He then said, “Because of what my family did.”
The words filled the air, just as it had thundered. Her breath caught, and she stared at him. “What… what are you saying?”
His jaw tight, Joon won looked away. 'The Moonlit Bloodline was massacred years ago.' My family was part of it. Your bloodline was too dangerous to exist, my father… he believed.”
She nearly fell out from under her legs. Her eyes were wide open and she stumbled back. “You… you knew?”
He said quickly, “I didn’t know it was you.” “Not until I saw the mark.”
She said, her voice shaking, “So you’re just like them.” “You’re just another person who thinks I’m a threat.”
He stepped toward her, saying, “That’s not true.” “I’m trying to protect you.”
She spat, backing away, “Protect me?” “You lied to me. You hid this from me!”
“I was trying to protect you!” he shouted, his voice bouncing against the walls of the clearing.
The air shifted before she could respond. The clearing was cold, and the whispers in her head came back but louder, more persistent.
Joon won tensed his eyes searching the shadows. “We’re not alone.”
That sent a jolt of fear through her words. She turned, her heart pounding as figures emerged from the darkness.
They weren’t wolves like the ones she had seen in the village. They were twisted of form, their eyes glowed an unnatural red.
Joon – won growled low and dangerous, “Stay behind me.”
The growls rumbling from these figures creeped closer and So-yeon froze. The scar on her wrist burned again, its light flickering faintly.
Preparing to fight, Joon – won shifted in front of her, his muscled rippling. “Don’t touch the stone again,” he said, his voice steady, even though the air was tensed.
Her body trembled, and she barely nodded.
The attackers lunged.
In an instant Joon-won shifted, his black wolf form colliding into the first of the creatures. Snarls and cracking jaws broke the clearing as the fight picked up around her.
The eyes of the glowing stone and the chaos battleled, and so did so-yeon stumbling back. The whispers in her head grew louder, more insistent, but she didn’t know what they wanted.
Its blood red eyes locked onto her, one of the attackers broke away. Its claws glinted in the spectre of the light as it charged.
The scar flared bright enough to blind her, and the heat in her wrist exploded outward, so-yeon screamed.
The clearing went silent.
So-yeon opened her eyes to see the wolf of Joon-won standing in front of her protectively, his golden eyes wide with something she thought maybe fear.
The air still vibrated with tension, but the attackers hadn’t remained.
Joon-won reversed himself into his human form, his eyes finding hers. “What just happened?”
She looked down at her wrist, the glow dimming but the the heat repeating.
She whispered, “Who were they?” ‘And why… why did they come for me?’
Joon-won didn’t answer. He looked at the stone, his face grim.
What had she just unleashed? Why did it feel like this was only the beginning?
- Writer
