Ravenna Nightblade's Arc

Chapter 1 of 8

Ravenna Nightblade had not slept in three days, because someone was hunting her for her blood. She was the last heir of a fallen gothic empire, and whoever now held her ancestors' throne wanted the true line dead. She crouched in a cold ravine, her great sword laid across her knees. Above her, the dark wolf that had guarded her family's menagerie lifted its head. It smelled the trackers before she did. Ravenna stood. She would not run again. Three days of fleeing had bought her nothing but sore legs and hunger. If the hunters wanted her, she would meet them where the ground favored her. She sent the wolf into the trees to circle wide. Then she waited with her back to a stone wall, sword ready. The first hunter stepped into the ravine alone. A red-haired woman in fur-trimmed leathers, bow half-drawn, green eyes fixed on Ravenna. She was young, and her hands were not steady. The arrow pointed at Ravenna's chest, then drifted low. "You've tracked me for miles," Ravenna said. "Loose it, or lower it. Don't stand there shaking." "They pay me to bring your head," the hunter said. "They didn't tell me you'd look me in the eye." "What's your name?" "Scarlett." She swallowed. "Scarlett Thornwood." A branch cracked behind Scarlett. Two more hunters pushed into the ravine, blades out, expecting an easy kill. They saw their comrade with her bow lowered and shouted at her to shoot. Scarlett turned her head toward them. Her jaw tightened. The wolf hit the first man from the dark trees. He went down screaming. The second hunter charged Ravenna. She met him with the great sword and drove him back against the stone. He was strong, but he fought like a man paid by the day. She turned his blade aside and struck him down. Scarlett still had not fired. She stood between Ravenna and escape, arrow nocked, aimed at nothing. "Now," Ravenna said, breathing hard. "Kill me and collect your gold. Or choose better." Scarlett looked at the two fallen men. She looked at the wolf, then at Ravenna's steady blade. Slowly, she lowered the bow and slid the arrow back into her quiver. "They'll send more," Scarlett said. "I know their master's roads. I know where the pay comes from. I could show you." She lifted her chin. "If you don't gut me first." Ravenna held her gaze a long moment. She had trusted no one for years. But this hunter had put down her bow when killing would have been simple. "Walk beside me, not behind," Ravenna said. She wiped her sword clean and sheathed it. "You just made an enemy of the one who sits on my throne." Scarlett fell into step. The wolf trotted between them. Behind them lay two dead hunters and a message the false ruler would understand. The last heir was done running.