The Halo Of Vakh (BOOK 1)

VINAKHTRA!

Sapphire's eyes flew open the moment she heard a door close down the hallway. She had always been a heavy sleeper; the only occasions she had been alert with her eyes closed were the times she spent hunting in the woods. Recent events had taken their toll and turned every light footstep, every caress of breath into a raging alarm bell that made her sleep restless. She sat up as she heard footsteps and her hand went under her pillow, pale fingers wrapping tightly around the hilt of the dagger she hid beneath the stuffed cloth.

She frowned when she heard the creak of the front door and then the light sound as it closed. She slowly allowed her legs to swing to the ground. Balancing herself on the table she got up, putting the bulk of her weight onto her uninjured leg. As fast as she could, she took off the black travelling cloak that had once belonged to her father (Fia had helped her move from her room to that of her parents while James took shelter in Uncle Cepheus' room.). She threw the cloak around her shoulders, and dragging her leg behind her she took hold of her bow, quivers and Irontooth.

The cold air that nipped at her skin made her shiver and she chastised herself as she realised all she wore was her green shift and a cloak. Huffing, she pulled the cloak close to herself and looked at the retreating figure of James on the street. She would take her mare. She would never keep up with wherever the older man was going on foot. She made her way through the snow, dragging a deep scratch in the soft ground as she went. After saddling the mare and letting the saddle bags hang at the sides she started to push the stepladder towards Aurora. Aurora settled on the ground and Sapphire raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Clever girl," she said, stroking the mare's white sheen as Aurora got up. Taking the reins she guided them towards the street.

James had disappeared and Sapphire frowned in annoyance. She knew the man was headed towards the forest and a flutter of unease bloomed in her stomach. When she had questioned him earlier that morning about the parchment he had been studying, he had studiously avoided her questions and all she had understood was the fact that he knew the whereabouts of the soldier camp. However, until that moment she had not considered the man foolish enough to head into the maw of death.

It was the first time she had left her home ever since she had returned from the forest and now that she moved through the place, she could not see even a glimmer of the lively village Kapok had once been. Most of the torches remained cold, bringing about the darkness that fell upon the hamlet. The snow remained an eerie vermillion hue from the continuous red flashes that came from the heavens above. For a strange moment, it seemed the world was on fire.

The lively noises that had once covered the landscape had been driven out by the haunting silence of impending doom. It wasn't late at night, only two or three hours before midnight. Yet, the usual chatter and laughs that permeated the air as the families sat for dinner in their kitchens and the sounds of the Nightwalkers lighting torches and telling young lads to return to their homes, did not come. Even the occasional moos and grunts of cows were missing. Sapphire knew that the villagers who remained had taken refuge in their houses. Not a single man roamed the streets.

She shivered. A tree branch brushed her cheek and she looked around startled. All through her musings Aurora had managed to get them into the forest. She squinted. She could see someone moving in front of her and pulled the reins lightly. The mare slowed. A flash of light came from the sky and she distinguished James' brown coat. She hadn't known how tense her figure had been until the moment she relaxed. Twice, she thought about making her presence known then twisted out of the notion at the last moment. They went deeper till the air became cool and moist under the thick shade of the trees. And then Jamaes stopped. She heard a sigh escape his lips as he turned around. She had nowhere to hide and thus remained settled defiantly atop her mare.