Brendyn Michael Forlorn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 5

Brendyn Forlorn pushed through the brush at a hard walk, looking for a place he could stay longer than a season. The pouch at his hip began to itch against his palm. He had stitched dried moss into it years ago, and it always warmed when something hunted him. He kept moving. He had outwalked this feeling before, and he wanted, just once, to arrive somewhere whole. A branch snapped behind him. He turned and saw yellow eyes inside a tangle of red briars grown into a living mask. The wolf stepped from the brush, claws split wide on the stone. Brendyn ran. The ground dropped into a narrow ravine, and the stone walls pressed close on both sides. The wolf liked it here. He could hear its claws ticking the rock, closer with every breath. Then he saw it ahead — a wooden tower rising above the ravine mouth, a bell swinging from its top beam. He sprinted for the ladder. The wolf lunged. Teeth tore his calf. He kicked back, caught the rungs, and climbed. He rang the bell until his arms shook. Below, the wolf paced and would not leave. Above, a door in the tower platform opened, and someone he did not know looked down at him and waited for him to speak.