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Prologue

Writer's picture: Crystal CrawfordCrystal Crawford

Updated: Jun 29, 2022


Lurian Stillwater scurried along the dark road. A shiver passed through him, he pulled the hood of his cloak closer around his face. “Do you feel that, Mardegan?”

Mardegan poked his whiskered face out of the collar of Lurian’s tunic and hiccupped, then burrowed back inside Lurian’s clothes.

“Yes, you’re right,” Lurian mumbled. He glanced up. The large moon above was pale and splotchy, like a dried-out sponge. The surrounding sky hung darker than usual, as if a thick blanket had been spread over it.

Lurian took a shaky breath. The night was moving, dark shapes shifting across the stars. He looked down the road. Up ahead were the glowing smudges of lanterns lit in windows—the last, dying lights of a city preparing for sleep.

Mardegan let out a little squeak, then scurried up to poke his nose out from Lurian’s collar.

“I know, Mardegan,” Lurian whispered. “I know.”

Lurian hurried on. Guards holding spears stood on either side of the city gates; one of them held a knife in his other hand.

“Your business?” the knife-holder asked.

“Research,” Lurian answered.

The guard’s hand shifted on his knife and he narrowed his eyes. “What kind of research?”

“The important kind,” Lurian snapped. “Now let me in. We’re wasting time, and time is a finite resource.” He glanced up, his eyes tracking the shifting darkness above the city. “Never good to waste it,” he added in a murmur. He looked back to the guard. “I must get inside. Immediately.”

The guard stepped forward. “Who authorized this research? We are under strict orders to—“

The gates swung open and a man rushed out, hurrying to the guard who held the knife. He whispered something in the guard’s ear. The guard’s eyes widened.

The guard turned back to Lurian and bowed stiffly. “My apologies, Master Lurian. I did not recognize you. Enter at once, of course.”

Lurian stared at the guard for a moment, confused. “You didn’t—did I not tell you my name? How silly of me! No wonder you wouldn’t let me in. But thank you, yes, I’ll go inside now. No time to waste!”

He hurried into the city, the man who’d opened the gates walking beside him.

The gates closed behind them.

“The shopkeeper here will assist you with finding whatever you need,” the man said, gesturing to a building just off the main path. He tilted his head in a small bow. “Good luck, Master Lurian.” He scurried away.

“People here are strange, don’t you think?” Lurian whispered.

Mardegan hiccupped.

“Well, let’s hurry; no time to waste.” He shoved open the shop door and stepped inside.

“Can I help you?” the shopkeeper asked, looking up, then gasped. “Master Lurian, you’ve arrived! They told me to expect you. I’m at your service. How can I aid your efforts?”

Lurian glanced around the shop. This wasn’t what he needed; it was a supply store, with housewares and tools and rope hanging from the walls on hooks. He spun back to the shopkeeper. “Where is your—“

A scream split the air.

Lurian and the shopkeeper both rushed to the door, but the shopkeeper reached it first. He pulled it open, leaned out, then shoved it shut and spun back toward Lurian.

“Stay here!” he shouted. “Get behind the counter and wait for me to return!”

He grabbed a large hammer from the wall and rushed out into the street, slamming the door behind him.

“That was discourteous,” Lurian huffed. He swung the door open and glanced out.

People rushed from the houses and shops in every direction, pouring toward the front of the city. The night had taken on a strange glow and a fog had moved in, cloaking the streets. Dark shapes swooped above the city, shadows over the fog.

Lurian stepped out into the street, his mind cataloging details, struggling to make sense of them.

More screams slashed the air, and a mob of people rushed the gates.

Lurian jumped between two buildings to avoid being trampled. His new vantage point gave him a clear view of a street leading to the water that edged the far end of the city. Reflections danced across the water, a strange ballet of glowing lights.

Lurian glanced back toward the gates. As the mob reached them, something crashed down outside, making the ground tremble.

“Run!” a guard shouted. “Get a—“

His shout cut off in a gurgled shriek.

The people let out a chorus of screams and ran back the other direction.

Something thumped behind Lurian and he spun in time to see the building across the street flattened by a dark shadow.

“What in the name—“ Lurian whispered.

Mardegan scurried out, squeaking his concern.

“We can’t,” Lurian answered, “we have to find—“

The shopkeeper rushed by again. “Get inside, you fool! Run!” He pulled at Lurian’s tunic, trying to drag him back to the shop.

“No, I can’t, I have to...” Lurian muttered, but his eyes were on the water ahead, his shocked brain finally making sense of what he was seeing as the buildings at the dock exploded with roaring light.

Not light. Flames.

Not fog. Smoke.

And the things in the sky were far worse than shadows.

Mardegan panicked, racing out onto Lurian’s shoulder and leaping to the street. He darted back to the shop.

“Mardegan!” Lurian shouted, racing after him.

“Get inside!” The shopkeeper crashed into Lurian in the street and grabbed him by the arm. “Hide!”

Lurian ran inside.

“Finally!” the shopkeeper grunted, then rushed out and slammed the door shut. “Get behind the counter and hide, you fool!” he yelled through the door.

“Mardegan?” Lurian called out. “Mardegan, are you in here?” He ducked behind the counter, his eyes scanning for Mardegan. He wasn’t there. “Mardegan! Mardegan, are you here?”

The shopkeeper shouted again through the door. “Hush up and hide! If they see you, you’ll be—“

The shopkeeper’s speech cut short.

“Sir?” Lurian called out to the door, peeking his head up over the counter. “Are you still there? I’m coming back out, if you please. I need to—“

“You fool! Hush u—“ the man’s speech severed with a shout of alarm.

“That didn’t sound good,” Lurian murmured.

Something slammed into the shop’s door.

“Sir?” Lurian called again. “Are you—“

The building collapsed on top of him.

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Chapter 1

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