Blaine Bridger's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Night fell as Blaine left the town behind. The pug trotted ahead, its flame-colored fur burning brighter than ever. The pendant's magic poured through the little dog, throwing orange light across the open ground. Blaine could see his own shadow stretching long behind him. Anyone watching from a mile off would see them too. A huge skull-shaped boulder rose from the dirt ahead, its stone eyes catching the pug's glow and burning red. This was the edge. The badlands began here. Blaine crouched behind the skull rock and tried to think. The sword on his back caught the light and threw bright flickers across the stone. Even his blade betrayed him now. The land beyond opened into a deep ravine, steep walls on both sides and a thin stream at the bottom. No trees. No brush. Nothing to hide behind. The pug's light bounced off the pale rock walls and lit the whole gap like a lantern. Blaine swore under his breath. He could not walk that path glowing like a torch. He knelt and pulled the pendant from under his shirt. The pug whined and pressed against his leg. Blaine wrapped the pendant tight in a strip of cloth from his pack, then tucked it deep into a crack in the skull rock. The glow on the pug faded to a soft ember. The sword dimmed too. Blaine breathed again. But the magic was gone now, left behind at the threshold. He had traded power for cover. Blaine lifted the pug, stepped into the dark ravine, and started down toward the warlord's land with nothing but his blade and his nerve.