Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 6 of 20

Raihan stiffened before the gate guards called out. His ears pricked toward the road, and the smoke at his shoulders thickened. Jade followed his gaze. A man stumbled through the fort gate, one arm bleeding, the other clutching a torn strip of dark cloth. He fell beside the well, and the villagers rushed to spread a red checkered blanket beneath him. "The hooded one," he gasped. "It tore through us." Jade knelt and took the burned scrap from his hand. The cloth still smelled of smoke. Beyond the fort walls, she could see what was left of his caravan — a painted wooden cart tipped sideways, its black and white horse cut loose and trembling in the grass. The villagers watched her, waiting. Their faith was a thin thread, and it pulled tight in her chest. "Show me," Jade said. Raihan led her out the gate at a steady trot. Terra stayed behind to guard the wounded man. The scorched cart sat alone in the open field, its door swinging. Jade laid the torn cloth on the ground. Raihan lowered his nose to it, then lifted his head. "He is here," the collar spoke. "Already." The air thickened. A hooded shape rose from the cart's long shadow, robes drifting, bone-thin fingers spread wide. It pointed straight at Raihan. "That wolf is not normal," it hissed. "Give him to me. Now." Jade stepped between them. "He chose me," she said. "You don't get to choose for him." Raihan's snarl became a wave of purple smoke that rolled across the grass. The hooded figure lunged, claws raking, and Jade threw up a barrier of stone from the soil. The claws struck and shattered. The figure shrieked, recoiled, and tried to fold into its own shadow — but Raihan bit down on the trailing edge of the cloak. A long strip tore free in his teeth as the creature vanished. Jade walked back through the gate with the torn cloak strip held high. The wounded man lived. The villagers saw it, and saw her. She had not caught the figure — it had slipped away again. But it had bled cloth this time, and it had been afraid. She set the scrap on the blanket beside the traveler and met the mayor's eyes. "It wants my wolf," she said quietly. "Which means it will come back."