Page 1 of Chasing the Night

Chapter One

In the Beginning

Chalice

Many swords were unsheathed. Those not buried in the fallen lay glinting beneath the morning sun. It was a sight I was used to. I had to be. There was seldom a trip to town that didn’t involve bodies of some sort. Crucified, impaled, or simply discarded. To linger around them often drew questions, something I couldn’t afford.

The bridge was low and long. Sometimes, when the wind was harsh, the water would be blown across the walkway. Those were the worst trips home, I recalled, instinctively curling my toes against the memory of wet stockings.

Large stone cliffs shot up on the other side of the bridge creating a T shaped intersection that forced those entering to choose between the docks or the many lower district rental homes that paved the way toward the center of the city.

I took a deep breath and nodded politely to a passing soldier. His partner side-stepped and politely waved me toward a clear path.

“Lady,” he politely greeted.

I forced a smile and took a quick glance at his brown eyes before he passed me. They were polite, but it didn’t stop the hammering in my chest. I’d spent my life hiding from and lying to the lawmen.

Once I crossed the bridge, I veered right toward the rentals. They were nice. Much better than my tent outside of town. Each square structure had a window on either side and doors on both ends. It was so interesting to look at, until I realized they were a matter of necessity rather than architectural fashion.

A loud piercing noise froze me in my spot. It was the same horn I had heard a hundred times from the forest. The war horn.

Chaos exploded around me. It sounded like a herd of animals had been unleashed behind me. Men sprang full speed through the rentals and toward the bridge.

This was real. It was happening. Fuck.

The men met the invaders late. They were already spilling from the bridge. I whirled one way and the next, unsure of where exactly to hide. Women and children screamed and stampeded past me. Families flew into their homes, only to burst out the back doors.

Arrows zipped through the air landing with powerful thumps against the doors and roofs of houses. One slammed into the wall next to me. I sprang forward, uncertain of my own path.

All that mattered was the next breath and the one after that. I drew air so deeply my head hurt and followed the masses. Everyone seemed to be pushing toward the gates separating the low village from the city’s epicenter. Shoulders slammed into mine, casting me from side to side. Every time I misstepped or slid, I was certain I would be crushed beneath the frantic crowd around me.

I closed my eyes and let the sway from the sea of flesh carry me through the gates. When it abruptly dispersed on the other side, I was left sprawling into a cobblestone clearing.

Suddenly, my wrinkled, mildly disheveled appearance fit right in.

I had never been inside the gate before. Mother was never bold enough to press that far into their world with me. Our business had always been dockside. To the right of the gate, lay four residential square houses in rows of two each—much like the ones on the outside—except these were flat-roofed. Warriors, if that was what one called them, were pacing the rooftops with bows in hand. Women stood with them, balancing bags of arrows and torches.

I thought my eyes would leap from my face. These crazy fuckers were prepared to burn their own shit before they gave it up. I turned and shakily backed away from them. People were hurrying in the opposite direction, so I followed suit.

The inner section was almost identical to the lower layer, with a cliff wall twice as high defining its backside. The left of the gate exploded into a business section. Merchants scrambled to shut their windows and bar the doors. My thoughts raced.

Where the fuck was I going to hide if they’re locking everything up?

I came to a sharp corner and could see the opposite end of the mountain edge. Fuck! I turned, chest heaving and visibly panicked.

“Fated Few,” I cursed on a whisper, staring up at the massive entrance to the mountain. The rock had been carved into a giant glistening skull. It was grotesque and glorious all at once. The mouth was stretched open as if the thing were screaming. Steps had been fashioned so that people could enter beneath the carved fanged teeth that jutted from the roof of the entrance.

I’d never seen anything so hideously beautiful. In the middle of the most terrifying moment of my life, it was as if the world had frozen for that one epiphany, only to snatch it away before I could realize what it had been.

“Come on, girl. You’re gonna catch your death out here!” a chipper high-strung voice urged.

It belonged to a slender blond woman with vibrant blue eyes. In the middle of the madness, she took my hand and led me with ease through the masses who seemed to have parted for us. Some even apologized for their garments brushing against her.

“Lady Reverie,” the two words whispered fervently through the crowd. The sound spread like wildfire until the only thing left in front of us was a rock balcony.

I wasn’t sure how close to the edge I wanted to venture. I could still feel the hundreds of limbs brushing against my own and the pressure of half a city at my back, even if it no longer existed. I doubted I would ever forget that feeling, but Lady Reverie bid me forward, and it seemed fate itself drew me toward her.

“We are inside the mountain… inside-inside?” I was sure that we were, but I had also been sure such tales were fantasy—until that very moment.