Unwanted. Unloved. Unstoppable.
Alethea Alistair has a secret. She can create ice, and has the ability to control it-something she's never known how to explain, and has made her an outcast, even in her own home.
Everything changes the day she finds...
She was woken up by a surge of bright sunlight. Squinting, she gazed upwards into the canopy of leaves above her. She had fallen asleep in Gravenneau Woods last night. She slowly raised herself off the ground and dusted off her jeans, breathing in the earthy scent. As she shook the dirt out of her hair and yawned, she got a good look at her surroundings. Why am I in the woods? She wondered. Then all the events of the previous night came flooding back to her. It then struck her for the first time in twelve years. She was an orphan. It had never really occurred to her that she was parentless. She always thought that Saif Espinoza would always be there to take care of her. Well, more or less anyway. She sighed. I guess I'm on my own now. She soon realized that she was starving. Not much of a surprise, considering the fact that she didn't eat anything yesterday. She looked around her. What am I even going to eat? she wondered. Then she laughed, she was in the woods! If there were animals living in the forest, there was sure to be food as well.
She slowly padded deeper into the woods, blessing the dirt, for it muffled the sound of her footsteps. Peering closer at the forest floor, she saw the footprints of various creatures embellished in the dirt. There were small ones, ones she expected to belong to deer and racoons, and then there were considerably larger ones, which she assumed belonged to something much, much more terrifying than tiny forest critters. She gulped. Bending downwards, she examined the tracks - they were large and hooked, leaving curved, crescent moon shapes in the undergrowth. Pushing away the tooth-shaped leaves and brambles, she saw an immense blackberry bush. It's blackberries had a deep inky sheen with dark purple highlights, and there were still drops of morning dew glistening upon them. She reached for a large, and particularly juicy looking blackberry, her mouth watering. However, the moment her hand closed around the stem, she gasped and recoiled in pain. Shoot, she thought. The thorns. That was strange, she'd always been able to pick blackberries without sustaining a prick. For a moment, she was utterly baffled, but then it hit her. She had always had a problem with her right hand. Her right hand was always prone to injuries (caused by the smallest of things) though it was her dominant hand. It always seemed as strong as steel yet as vulnerable as cotton.
By now her hand was bleeding horribly, and it was slowly becoming white, and numb. She had to get treatment fast. Wrapping her bleeding hand in her jacket, she ran deeper into the woods. As she ran, she spotted a faint rainbow shining through the trees. She ignored it. (Just your typical rainbow shining right SMACK in the middle of the forest right?) She kept on running. Hang on. A rainbow? She jogged all the way back to where she had first seen the rainbow and to her amazement, there was a small spring. Without even thinking, she dunked her hand into the frigid water, and scraped off all the dry blood. Her hand felt much better, but unless she did something quickly, it would start bleeding again. She suddenly remembered a book she had read in the local library. Something about treating injuries. Most plants found in the wilderness...Turned into Salves...Treating minor injuries...Yes! As quickly as a hare, she scampered around trying to look for any plants she found familiar from the book. Soon after stomping through a clump of ferns and dandelions, she came upon a plant with short, bright green leaves, and small white flowers. Aha!Chickweed plants!
She snatched up a handful of leaves and ripped a piece of tree bark off an oak tree. Picking up a fairly large rock, she began crushing the leaves to a pulp. Using her good hand she slathered on some of the salve, and after ripping off a part of her jacket, she wrapped her hand in the frayed maroon fabric. She looked at her hand. Not a bad job if I do say so myself she thought proudly. Despite her healing hand, she still needed food. Maybe there'll be some lollipops or an old cheese sandwich in my bag? She plunged her hand into her bag and rummaged inside it. She felt crumpled up papers, the cool glass surface of her compass and the plastic of her flashlight, but no food. Disappointed, she set her compass back in her bag. Just as she was about to stand up, she felt her fingers brush the surface of a wooden box. What? She pulled it out slowly. All she knew was that it certainly didn't belong to her. The box had the most intricate carving she'd ever seen. There were smooth and flawless curves flowing around the box, as though they were dancing. She traced her finger across the mahogany carvings until she reached the center:
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She could only make out the letters E and H the others just looked like random scribbles. Even though she couldn't make out the exact words, she felt a certain, inexplicable connection towards the box. Weird. She looked at the picture under the scrawl, it looked a lot like a lion. Or maybe even a tiger. It seemed to be some sort of predatory creature. She could've sworn that she'd seen the symbol somewhere, but she couldn't quite wrap her finger around it.
Deciding to ignore it, she opened the box. Inside she found a beautiful necklace. The box was one thing, but the necklace was a completely different thing in itself. It had a thin, golden chain and the pendant had the head of a creature similar to the one on the box. And connected to the silver head, was a large ivory fang. She was flabbergasted. The necklace wasn't like anything she had ever seen before. As she moved closer to a hole in the canopy to look at the necklace in the sunlight, she tripped on a stray rock. The necklace shattered, to reveal silver dust inside.
Then it all went black.
*** Welcome to the land of Illora! Let me know how you liked this chapter in the comments or by pressing that vote button!
Question of the day: How did you find my book? I'm curious.
