Axel Timberson's Arc

Chapter 2 of 6

The storm passed by dawn. Axel opened the shed doors to a wet, gray land. Aldric limped out behind him and pointed at the ground. "You can't build here yet," he said. "This land hides things. Sinkholes. Old wells. Beasts. Build blind and you bury your inn before it stands." Axel wanted to raise walls today. But he trusted the old man's warning, so he set out to learn the land before he cut the first foundation. They walked the site's edge. Aldric showed him a patch of grass too green, too soft. He kicked it, and the earth caved into a black hole. "Dead well," he said. "That's one. There are more." Axel marked it with a stake. He understood now. One wrong footing and his cabin would swallow itself. By midday they reached a gray brick tower choked with moss. Aldric stopped short. "We turn back," he said. "That's her ground." Before Axel could ask, the pointed door swung open. A woman stepped out. Black hair, green eyes, a long cloak. She held a staff topped with a red stone. The stone flickered, then died. "You're loud," she said. "Both of you." Aldric backed away. Axel held his ground. "I'm building an inn," he said. "South of here. I need to know the dangers." The woman studied him. "Morgan," she said. Nothing more. Her eyes went to the stone on her staff. She struck it against the door. It gave one dull spark, then nothing. She said a low word. Still nothing. Her jaw tightened. "It won't wake," Axel said. "I didn't ask you." She turned the staff over, checking the setting. "Twelve pages of mistakes. This is the thirteenth." Axel saw an opening. "You know this land. I know timber and fire. Tell me the dangers on my site, and I'll owe you." Morgan's eyes narrowed. "Owe me what." "Wood. Labor. A dry roof when the next storm hits." She was quiet. Then a howl rose from the tree line. Another answered. Axel turned. Wolves slid out of the pines, lean and gray, moving as one body. Their ears pricked toward the three of them. Aldric grabbed Axel's arm. "Run," he hissed. Morgan lifted her staff. She spoke fast. The red stone glowed, then failed. The lead wolf lowered its head and crept closer. She swore under her breath. "It won't hold them," she said. "It won't do anything." Axel grabbed a fallen branch and swung. The wolves circled, cutting off the path to the shed. He backed toward the tower door, pulling Aldric with him. Morgan followed, staff useless in her hand. Axel shoved the three of them inside and slammed the pointed door. Claws raked the wood. He stood in the dark, breathing hard. He had come to learn the land's dangers. Now the dangers had him trapped, in a witch's tower, with a broken staff between them and a pack that would not leave.