Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 2 of 20

Jade had barely settled on the bench when a shriek tore through the square. A small blue-furred dog burst between the stalls, eyes wide and shimmering, legs blurring as it blinked from one spot to the next. Villagers scattered. A child froze in its path. Jade was on her feet before she thought. Raihan launched from her side, smoke trailing his black coat. A sharp-eyed coyote slipped from the alley behind her — Justice, ears pricked, already reading the shape of the panic. Then Jade saw the cause. A hooded figure drifted across the cobbles, robes torn like wet ash, bone-thin fingers gripping a rusted wire kennel. The cage door hung open. The blink dog flickered, terrified, snapping toward the child as it tried to vanish again. Jade pulled a smooth gray stone from her satchel and threw it hard at the ground between the child and the dog. It cracked open with a hum, and a ring of pale light spread across the stones. The blink dog hit the ring and stopped, shaking, unable to jump through. Raihan circled wide, smoke pouring thick, and put himself between the hooded figure and its prize. Justice darted low, herding the trembling dog away from the cage. The hooded figure lunged with the kennel raised. Jade stepped in and drove her shoulder against the rusted bars. The cage tumbled from those bony hands and clattered across the square. The hooded figure hissed and drew back into its own shadow, gone between one breath and the next. The blink dog pressed its head into Justice's flank, then blinked once more — into Jade's arms. Villagers stared, silent. This time, a few of them nodded. Jade held the small creature close and felt the door of the inn, somewhere behind her, no longer quite so shut.