The Verum Trilogy - Survivor

Prologue

A haunting melody was lost in the wind as flames licked up the walls of a city, smoke engulfing the land so thickly the stars seemed to wink out one by one. Ash-laden snow drifted from the sky, blanketing the frozen ground in a soft layer of grey. A single child walked away from the silent city; her cheeks smeared with soot. Her pale eyes were red and swollen, a stark contrast against the brown of her skin.

Her song went unanswered, harmonized only by the popping of cedar and the sharp hiss of burning debris meeting snow. She reached the hills where the cedar forest stretched endlessly into the horizon, her blackened shoes completely soaked through. Numbness spread through her feet as she began to climb. It might have been minutes or hours, the smothering darkness of smoke concealing the passage of time, but at some point, her legs simply refused to carry her any farther and her knees buckled. For the first time, her song faltered.

She forced herself to stand, shaking uncontrollably, and took a step. Then another. She fell again and did not rise. An icy numbness spread through her hands, her shallow gasps crystallizing in the frozen air. She tried to call for help, but the snow seemed to leech the energy right from her lungs.

Who are you?

The strange voice sounded close, but when she opened her eyes, an empty forest with the promise of death stared back.

"Wh-who's th-th-there?" she whispered around the chatter of her teeth. There was no answer. Exhausted, she hugged her hands close to her chest.

Where is your family?

Her eyes snapped open, but this time, words failed her completely. The cold had sapped her of everything but her very breath.

Gone, her thoughts whispered, a single tear slipping down her cheek. I'm alone.

There was a melancholy silence, and something warm nudged her neck.

Me too, human child, the voice whispered, heartbreakingly sad. Me too.