Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 8 of 20

The horn at the fort gate sounded once, sharp and low. Jade tucked the box with the cloak scrap into her coat and stepped out into the cold gray dawn. Raihan moved at her hip, smoke trailing from his black shoulders. The villagers were already gathered near the gate, whispering, watching the split dead tree that marked the threshold. Its lightning scar glowed faint orange in the half-light. A painted gypsy cart sat just beyond the posts, the black and white horse stamping in the frost. The stranger waited between cart and tree, hands open. He held up a long scroll, edges gold-leafed, ribbon dangling. "I came as soon as I heard," he said. "I know what hunts you." Jade did not move closer. Raihan's lip curled, but he did not growl. That told her something. The wolf would have known a shade by scent alone. Jade nodded once. "Read it from there." The man unrolled the ledger scroll against the cart's side. The calligraphy was old, the ink faded to brown. He read aloud, voice steady. "Bring the shade what it wants — the tree it came from. One long gone, but still standing tall." He looked up. "Your village has such a tree. I saw it at the gate. Lightning-struck. Dead, but upright." Jade's eyes went to the scarred trunk behind him. Her stomach tightened. Raihan stepped forward and sniffed the scroll, then the man's boots. "He does not smell hollow," the collar said for the wolf. "He smells of horse and old paper." Jade let out a slow breath. Behind her, the villagers waited on her word. She felt the weight of it — not fear of her, but trust. The harder weight. "Open the gate," she said. "He comes in. The cart stays out." Two villagers pulled the heavy beam. The stranger bowed his head and stepped through. Jade caught his sleeve as he passed. "If one word of this is a lie, Raihan will know before you finish the sentence." The man met her eyes and nodded. He believed her. That was enough for now. By the time the sun cleared the trees, the plan was set. They would bring the shade to the lightning scar tree at dusk and offer it the wood it had been torn from. Jade stood at the gate with Raihan pressed against her leg, watching the dead tree's orange cracks pulse like a slow heartbeat. The stranger was inside. The cart was outside. The choice was made. Whatever came at dusk, it would not find her guessing anymore.