Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

Seconds ticked by like hours when a grunt finally sounded off towards the East and I was off again, imagining the stews I could make, the meals. Mark would eat so much, he’d finally plump up.

I slowed sometime later and slid behind a tree. I pulled an arrow out and nocked it, centering myself before hopping from one tree to the other until I finally stopped, the sound of struggle clear as day.

The chill of the wind was almost painful now, biting at my hands, slithering under my hood,around my neck. The goosebumps spread across my stomach, sliding down between my thighs, reverberating up between my legs, straight into my soul.

My stomach warmed as I momentarily closed my eyes, allowing myself to sit in this fear and excitement. From prey to hunter in a matter of seconds. Perhaps they were still hunting me. Many of them could climb, some could fly, but nothing in this world, not even the deadliest of them, would stop me from getting this meat.

Another grunt sounded, followed by the sound of a tree cracking.

I wasn’t sure what a struggling deer sounded like, but perhaps a demon had already found it. That was fine, so long as it didn’t pierce the flesh before I got there. If it did, I would only need to cut carefully around it. I was sure I could save enough meat to be worth it.

Even a bite of meat would be worth it.

I lifted my bow, drawing the string back, and leaned around the trunk to get a peek at what I would bring home for the family.

Mom would finally be proud of me I was sure of it.

There were several demons surrounding it. Verlacs. Their talons and saliva were poisonous, so I wouldn’t be able to get anything for the hide, but that was fine.

These demons were more dog-like, the size of a large, non-magical wolf. They had sharpened ears, long whip-like tails, talons like a vulture. They were vicious and relentless. Once they had their sights set on something, they would hunt them until they died.

Maybe they chose to hunt me today too, another pack. Maybe that’s why I still felt this relentless feeling in thepit of my stomach, warming my soul.

I swung my arrow over, trying to find the deer. I couldn’t see it. Not even a flash of brown fur. Maybe the books were wrong, maybe they had different colored…

I paused and straightened, lowering the arrow an inch, my face twisting in confusion. Not a deer. That was…it was a man.

My breath caught as sparks from the verlac strike filled the air, lighting up his clothes long enough for me to realize that they weren’t clothes but armor.

Dragon armor. Colored black just like the…just like the Dragon Riders used to wear. The Nephilim. That armor was proof of the dragons the riders were bound to. This was impossible.

I lowered my weapon, watching him swing his sword, slicing through the closest one.

A guttural noise filled the woods, the other verlacs roaring in rage.

My heart slammed as I watched them, unable to move, to react.

A Nephilim? Alive? No. No way, that was impossible. They died over 1,000 years ago, if they were still alive, there would be mention of them.Someonewould have mentioned them.

The male slammed his sword into the skull of another, tainting his silver blade in black blood.

He was killing my fucking demons.

I snarled through my teeth and carefully ran to another tree closer to where this was happening. This was stupid. This was soincrediblyreckless, I knew Ket would hate me ifhe were here.

But the demons respected me and at this point, they had to have known I was here.

I inhaled deeply and straightened, my mother’s voice taunting me.

“That’s right, go get yourself killed. You deserve this.”

The verlacs deserved to live.

And part of me was curious about the male.

I centered myself and with a racing heart and steady hands, I stepped out from behind that tree and slowly made my way towards the group, arrow pointed directly at the male.

The remaining five verlacs froze, twisting around, ears perked.