Chapter 3 Left to Die

Mira's POV

Once more came the cry of death.

This time it was closer and louder.

My legs shook beneath me as I attempted to stand. Silver veins lit my skin like soft fire, then faded, and my hands glowed dimly once more. The agony from earlier came rushing back into my chest like a wave. I remained up, though, gritting my teeth.

The old man drew a long blade from under his cloak and hurried to the entrance of the cave. He spoke without glancing at me.

"They left you here to die," he remarked. "But death had a change of heart."

A second howl responded to the first. My back ached. That one wasn't even a wolf in its entirety. It was contorted. Empty. Hateful.

"What are those items?" Breathing heavily, I asked.

"Nothing," he answered. "Wolves... destroyed by evil magic." cursed. A wolf goes insane if they allow retaliation to fester too deeply. They transform into something irreparable.

My stomach turned over. "Are they trying to find me?"

The elderly man then turned to face me. He had keen eyes. "No. They're trying to kill you. And it makes no difference to them how many they rip through to locate it.

I balled my hands into fists. I spoke in a low voice.

"Allow them to arrive."

A faint grin appeared on his lips. "Not just yet, Fireblood." You don't know how to burn.

Just outside, a loud crack split the air of the cave like a tree breaking in two.

Both of us froze.

Then there was the scraping of stone by claws.

One, two. And more.

They were ascending.

The elderly man handed me a tiny pouch after reaching into a sack by the fire. Dust from ashroot. Massage it into your arms. It will temporarily dull the pain.

I didn't ask him any questions. I covered my skin with the coarse powder after pouring it into my hands. After a quick sting, the pain subsided to a low throb.

He gave me another look. "Remain behind me. Run east if I fall.

"I am not running," I uttered, my teeth clenched.

He didn't dispute.

Near the cave mouth, the shadows grew darker. Just beyond the light came the sound of a snarl.

Then I caught sight of them.

Two wolves appeared, big and gnarled, their eyes blazing like coals. Their mouths foamed, their fur was patchy, and their bones were too sharp. Their scent was not that of wolves. They had a rotten smell.

One gave a low growl and advanced.

The elderly man took a position. "Go back, damned people. It is not your wolf.

The animal made a lunge.

He moved quickly, slicing the thing's neck with his blade. It sprayed the stones with black blood. However, the other one remained unflinching. It bounded past him-in my direction.

I had no time to reflect.

I held up my hands.

The silver light burst out of my hands.

A wind-like pulse threw the creature back against the wall in midair. It thumped to the ground and remained motionless.

I gasped. I had trembling hands.

That's what I had done.

I had no idea how to do it.

With a look of surprise in his eyes, the elderly man turned. "All right, then."

However, a deeper growl rumbled from outside before we could exchange words again.

With his blade up, he took a step back toward the entrance.

There were five, six, maybe more glowing eyes.

The temperature dropped.

He remarked, "They're after your spark now."

I muttered, "I thought you said I wasn't ready."

"You aren't," he stated somberly. "But they don't give a damn."

One of the animals entered the light.

larger than the others.

Its eyes were silver, but its fur was midnight black. similar to mine.

It spoke after giving me a direct look.

Not with words.

in my mind.

"Mira, you ought to have remained dead."

"Mira, you ought to have remained dead."

Like icy fog, the words slithered inside my head.

I stumbled back and almost fell. I stared at the black wolf with silver eyes as my back struck the cave wall. It had a grin-like curl to its lips, but it wasn't one. It was unkind. As if it knew things about me that I was unaware of.

"Have you heard it?" My voice trembled as I asked the elderly man.

He took a while to respond. He was staring at the beast. "Just you," he stated. "That one-it's a genetic trait."

My heart twisted. "What is meant by that?"

He slightly lowered his blade. It indicates that you were the target of this one. made out of your suffering. It came from your death.

With its gaze fixed on me, the black wolf took a single stride forward. For a moment, I believed I caught a glimpse of someone else's hate-twisted face as its fur shimmered oddly in the firelight.

"Who are you?" I muttered.

Anger, betrayal, and hunger were the emotions that hit me in the chest instead of a sound. It desired retribution. It desired me.

The silver light flickered under my skin once more as I clenched my fists. It seemed too small in the cave. Too near. I was having trouble breathing.

"You're not real," I uttered. "You simply are a cursed thing."

The wolf chuckled. My skull echoed with the sound.

It told me, "I am what your love created." "What your passing evoked. I am the aspect of you that he ruined.

Then it lunged before I could get away.

The elderly man's blade sliced across its shoulder, blocking it in midair. It hissed and retreated, but it didn't scream. However, more cursed wolves snarled and snapped as they poured in behind it.

"We are unable to contain them," he yelled.

I frantically looked around. The back of the cave, a narrow tunnel that curved into darkness, was the only exit.

I said, "We run."

"No," he yelled. "You take off. You're not prepared to battle this. Not just yet.

His eyes were fierce as he turned. The Moon root Tree is located. In the middle of the forest. Your blood will reveal the truth there.

"How about you?" I sobbed.

He didn't respond.

Rather, he raised his blade and faced the wolves once more.

Then I took off running.

I didn't stop even though the tunnel cut my feet and scraped my arms. My heart thumped hard against my chest. I heard stone cracking, metal clashing, and snarls behind me.

Then there was silence.

Too quiet.

Halfway through the tunnel, I froze.

Ahead of me, something moved.

Not quickly. Not too loud.

A shadow. Awaiting.

Through the darkness, a faint murmur made its way to my ears.

"Mira, you can't escape yourself."

A darker presence-a whisper in the darkness that knows her name... and wears her voice-blocks Mira's path as she flees the cursed wolves through a small tunnel.