CHAPTER 8: THE STRANGER’S WARNING

The howl faded, but its echo remained trapped between the trees.

I stood frozen with the obsidian stone in my palm.

The stranger did not move.

He was tall, dressed in a dark cloak that reached his boots. A hood covered most of his face, but I could see the sharp line of his jaw and the pale scar running from his left cheek to his chin.

His eyes stayed fixed on the mark on my wrist.

“You finally came,” he repeated.

I tightened my fingers around the stone. “Who are you?”

He tilted his head slightly.

“That is the first question you ask?”

“What else should I ask?”

“Why you were called here.”

The answer sent a chill through me.

“I wasn't called.”

The stranger glanced at the stone. “You touched it.”

“I found it.”

“No.” His voice dropped. “It found you.”

A cold breeze moved through the trees. The branches rubbed together above us, sounding almost like whispers.

I took a step back.

“You are afraid,” he said.

“Anyone with sense would be.”

Something unreadable crossed his face.

“Then you have more sense than the people who sent you into the world without telling you what you are.”

My stomach tightened.

“What does that mean?”

He looked towards Blackwood.

“Does Cassian know you are here?”

The mention of his name made my heart jump.

“How do you know Cassian?”

“I know the name.”

“That isn't what I asked.”

“You ask too many questions for someone who hasn't learned how dangerous answers can be.”

I lowered the stone.

“Then stop speaking in riddles.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“Good. Anger will keep you alive longer than fear.”

A branch snapped behind me.

I spun around.

Nothing.

But then I heard it.

Footsteps.

Several of them.

The stranger's expression hardened.

“Give me the stone.”

“Why?”

“Because they can track it.”

“Who?”

“The ones who followed your blood.”

My skin prickled.

The footsteps grew louder.

The stranger reached for my hand.

I pulled away. “Don't touch me.”

His eyes dropped to my glowing mark.

“You have already been touched.”

“What?”

“By the Hollow.”

The word struck through me.

“You know what this is?”

“I know what it remembers.”

“Then tell me!”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“Not here.”

A sharp whistle cut through the trees.

Three masked figures emerged from the mist.

Each carried a silver blade.

They didn't hesitate.

All three attacked at once.

One rushed the stranger from the front while the other two moved around him, their blades flashing from different directions.

The stranger blocked one strike, ducked beneath another and twisted away from the third.

Steel clashed.

The sound rang through the forest.

I stumbled backwards.

One hunter broke away from the fight and came straight for me.

I turned to run, but he caught my cloak and dragged me back.

I crashed against a tree.

He raised his silver blade.

I lifted my arm.

The mark burned.

A violent pulse of heat struck the hunter and sent him stumbling backwards.

The stone trembled in my palm.

I stared at it in horror.

“What are you?” the hunter hissed.

I didn't know.

The stranger was still fighting the other two hunters.

They attacked together, forcing him backwards.

One blade cut across his arm.

Blood soaked his sleeve.

My stomach dropped.

For a second, I couldn't hear anything except the pounding of my own heart.

He was bleeding.

And somehow, seeing that frightened me more than the hunters surrounding us.

My fingers tightened around the stone.

“No…”

My breath came too fast. My chest felt tight, and my hands began to shake.

The stone suddenly became scorching hot.

The mark flared.

The ground shook beneath my feet.

I gasped and stumbled backwards.

Trees rattled around us.

The hunters lost their balance.

The stranger looked directly at me.

“Control your fear!”

“I don't know how!”

Another tremor tore through the ground.

My knees weakened.

I wanted to run, but my legs felt trapped beneath me. Every breath came out short and uneven, and the harder I tried to calm myself, the faster my heart seemed to beat.

The stone pulsed against my palm.

I could feel its heat travelling up my arm and into my chest.

The hunter nearest me recovered and lunged again.

Fear took over.

I ran.

A blade sliced through the air beside my shoulder.

I ducked and sprinted between the trees, branches whipping across my face. My ankle screamed with every step, but I didn't stop.

Behind me, I heard snarls and pounding footsteps.

“Catch her!”

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I glanced back.

One of the masked hunters was gaining on me.

I pushed harder.

The forest blurred around me. Roots caught my feet, and I nearly fell, but I grabbed a branch and kept moving.

Then a hand closed around my wrist.

I screamed.

The hunter yanked me backwards.

Before he could raise his blade, something flashed through the darkness.

The stranger's knife struck his hand.

He released me with a curse.

I stumbled forward.

The stranger seized my arm.

“Run!”

I stared at him, barely able to breathe.

“Why are you helping me?”

“I'm not.”

He looked past me as the other hunters emerged through the trees.

“I'm making sure they don't get you first.”

Another howl ripped through the forest.

The stranger's grip tightened.

“Go!”

I ran.

This time, I didn't look back.

Branches scratched my arms as I followed the narrow path between the trees. My lungs burned, and every breath felt sharp in my chest.

Then the howl came again.

It was closer.

Much closer.

The stranger's voice followed from behind me.

“Whatever you hear,” he said, “do not answer it.”