Flames And Starlight

Chapter 1

I crouched down in the foreign world, careful not to break even a twig beneath my feet. The smell of oak trees were a safety that reminded me of home even so far away. The night sky above me made me feel calm despite the thundering of my heart.

I always got this way when in the hunt. No matter how many times I hunted, it would always feel like the first. And I would never get tired of it. Of the rush. I lived for those moments when the world was at complete peace and my prey was mere feet away.

I wouldn't kill the creature just yet. I wanted to observe its mannerisms and traits unprovoked before I attacked and brought it home to study it further. Hastily, I sketched its frightening frame in my notebook. The moonlight casted shadows across the page but I could see well enough to sketch a semi-accurate silhouette.

It's skin was as dark as the night around us. It's silhouette was human and it would have looked so if it wasn't for the black scales that covered its entire body head to toe. I traced its shape on the paper, careful to keep my breathing steady so I wouldn't spook it away.

I noticed the long black talons on its hands and wrote the note down.

—Definitely a predator

I'll have to stay mindful of that. I had my bow and arrow rested on the fallen tree I hid behind, a sword at my hip, and at least three daggers hidden on my body. If I remembered anything from my uncles while training, it was that you can never be armed with too many weapons.

I peered over the massive log once more and the creature had been joined by two more of its kind. I continued to draw, my eyes occasionally glancing at the creatures before returning to my notebook.

I wonder what I'll call these creatures. Such ugly things. It always amazed me how different worlds can have such vastly different creatures than mine. I wonder what world I was in this time? I've never been here before which only makes it that much more exciting. One more adventure.

A twig snapped behind me and within a heartbeat, I replaced my notebook and pencil with a bow and arrow nocked and ready to fire. My steady breaths filled the air and my finger ached to let the arrow loose at the subtlest of movements.

"Sam?" I screamed and dropped the bow to my side, returning the arrow to the quiver strapped across my back. "What the rutting hell are you doing here!"

With a quick glance over my shoulder, I watched as the creatures ran away. So much for my research.

My younger brother smiled despite my anger, his excitement for being here obvious. "Oh, Sam," I said sadly, my fingers pinching the crook of my nose where I could already feel a headache brewing. "You are going to get us both in so much trouble."

"I wanted to come along. You always go by yourself and I'm bored at home." He sat down and leaned against the log. I joined him there.

"You are safe at home, Sam. That's all that matters. You are too young to jump between worlds."

He was beginning to make me regret ever showing him how to create a portal. Though in my defense, he blackmailed me.

He ran a hand through his sloppy blonde hair and huffed in frustration. "I'm almost sixteen."

"The rule is sixteen. Not one day earlier." He frowned and I patted him on the shoulder with a sad smile.

I love my brother dearly. We were inseparable at times. At each other's throats at other times. But at the end of the day, he was my best friend. It pained me to remember how I felt when I was his age. Too old to be a child but too young to be an adult.