The Lost Heir [Book 1]

★★★ Prologue ★★★

Song Setting: Deadly Shadow (Royal Blood Remix) | Lightshapers

"I won't ask you again." It hissed sharply. A strained screeching tore through the damp air, and the she-cat huddled up against the wall, trembling involuntarily. It waited, deadly silent, watching every frosty breath that clouded the air; but the she-cat only drew back, ears pinned and tail lashing in panicked determination. There was a rustle, almost like the scales of some vile creature sliding against each other, and the she-cat froze. Through the inescapable darkness, she knew it was staring at her, though its eyes gave off no living light.

The she-cat drew herself up, shakily opening her muzzle to speak. "T-tell me how to stop it. Tell me how... and... and I'll tell you what you n-need to know." She could only hear her own breathing. Another wave of fuzzy silence flooded the darkness, interrupted only by the cat's steady inhaling and exhaling. "Just tell me how!" She was the only one breathing.

The piercing gaze suddenly left her, and the she-cat's heart skipped a beat, blood running with ice. "She is of no more use." It muttered, voice warped like a drowning creature.

"No!" The cat exclaimed, leaping to her paws and whirling around, tripping as she stumbled about in the darkness. Flustered hisses echoed about the chamber, and her paws felt heavy with dread. "Please, no. There - there is something."

A quiet, ominous shadow flickered out of the corner of her eye, and the blood-curdling stare returned. "Speak."

The she-cat swallowed. "There... a prophecy was revealed to me... three nights ago," There was no answer, and so she sat down on the cold stone, flexing her claws numbly while goosebumps travelled down her spine. After a moment, she seemed to recall, and began reciting something of a poem.

"The seventh dawn,

the swallowed sun,

the last one towards the light;

the frozen fire,

the compulsive liar,

the wanderer of the night.

The falter of a single stride

to fall on shattered ice,

the wind that cries an endless song

the last unending fight.

The blood beneath a broken heart

the star that marks the end,

the journey to the faceless stone

where flames will rise again."

A painfully distant drip of water echoed about the chamber, but the she-cat's fur was already standing on end. She suddenly realized she could make out the dim outline of some looming thing in the corner, and her ears hugged against her skull as she backed away towards the wall. A warping hiss rushed past her ears, the she-cat recoiled at the sound, and there was a distant fluttering noise. "Doubtful," It responded in a monotone droll, the last note lingering in the stale air.

"It's true," She snapped defensively, "All of it's true, and it's all you're going to get!"

"Your wordss..." It trailed off as it began to develop a lisp, and it was a moment before it began to speak again, "Hold no meaning. You speak a senseless limerick."