Sienna Blackwood's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Sienna followed the tracks away from the cabin, her blade still drawn. The three circled prints didn't stop at the tree line. They continued in a straight path through the undergrowth, heading east. Toward Baleigna. Her scar flared hot beneath her shirt, the familiar burn spreading across her ribs. The tracks led her to the old watch tower that marked the town's edge. Lanterns flickered in the upper windows, casting light into the fog that pressed against its base. The beast's prints circled it once, then veered away south, disappearing into the gray. Sienna climbed the rickety steps and found the watch position empty, a spilled cup still dripping onto the floor. The scar burned hotter. She looked down at the prints from above and saw what she'd missed on the ground — they didn't lead to the tower by accident. They led past it. The beast wasn't hunting the guard. It was showing her it knew where the defenses were. It was mapping the town's weak points, testing responses, learning who would run and who would stand. She gripped the railing until her knuckles went white. The beast wasn't just intelligent. It was preparing for something bigger. And now she knew it had already started. She descended and moved to the tall pole that stood fifty paces from the tower. Bells and chimes hung from its crossbeams, meant to sound when fog moved too close. Sienna grabbed the rope and rang them hard, the noise cutting through the gray. Within minutes, figures appeared from the direction of town — guards moving toward the sound. She pointed to the prints, to the circled tower, to the path leading toward the poor quarter. They saw what she saw. The beast had scouted their defenses and found them lacking. When the guards asked what to do, Sienna told them to double the watch and light every lantern between here and the square. She couldn't kill the beast tonight, but she could deny it the darkness it needed. The creature had made its move. Now she'd made hers. And for the first time since her squad died, she wasn't just reacting. She was setting the terms.