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CHAPTER 1
Death draws near as darkness bleeds across the Sidus town. It crawls between the derelict buildings below me, in the small alleyways in between, and casts its shadows along the high wall that surrounds the entire kingdom of Findias.
My eyes scan the town below as the Sidus move about quickly, making their way home before the Caligo guards start their nightly patrol.
The Caligo’s ability to wield shadows is what most likely gave them their position as the kingdom’s guard. A position that allows them too much power over the Sidus. And even though the Sidus have their own abilities to cast light, it does not stand a chance against the Caligo guards and their abilities.
I glance over at the high wall of the kingdom and the Caligo guards who walk along it. Beyond the wall beside the Sidus town stands the dark forest, a thick expanse of wild woodland and the monstrous creatures that now reside there.
Creatures that should not exist.
The entire kingdom is a huge island that is surrounded by a sea as black as the darkest night. Nothing should be able to pass through it, not only because of the treacherous darkwaters that bring about death but also because of the shield. A huge translucent barrier that was erected centuries before I was born and stands behind the high wall, keeping all those in the kingdom safe.
The last few years, it has grown to an inky, shadowed darkness at its base, tainting its very existence. But the only ones to suffer are the Sidus, whereas the Caligo sit high in the mountains near the palace.
As the shield gets higher, it curves similar to a dome and is almost translucent, matching the color of the sky with nothing but the rain and sun from the heavens above getting in or out.
There is no way to pass through it. No way out of this cage we all live in. Even the Caligo’s ability to move through the void of shadows and travel to another place is blocked by it.
It keeps us caged and closed off from the rest of the world. But even with its growing tainted base, it has always protected us from the dark forest and anything beyond it.
Or at least… that is what it used to do.
The cold, hard rooftop beneath me digs into my knees as I silently wait, watching for that wisp of shadows that is sure to materialize soon. A warm breeze flutters by me, slightly lifting my dark hooded cloak from my face, revealing a stray strand of long blonde hair. I quickly pull it back in place, concealing myself, as my eyes continue to watch the spot at the edge of the Sidus town near the wall.
Not many visit this spot anymore. Not where the now darkened forest bleeds its taint up and along the wall, with wild overgrown black forestry now seeping inward. The tall, twisted black trees lean forward, breaking it open and growing through the thick stone and outward into a huge shroud of dark thorny bushes.
The shield’s tainted base grows month by month, but as no harm is befalling the Caligo, it is only seen as something harmless.
The Sidus have not been so fortunate. Not with the tainted shield and its darkness, nor the threat that is now killing them.
Nothing should be able to make it past the shield, even with its dark taint. But what is more mysterious is that the weakening shield is never in the same spot. The creatures have been showing up in different places all over the edges of the Sidus town where the wall is at its weakest. It is a mystery we have yet to solve.
The Caligo guards constantly miss the threat that is right in front of them.
But I can no longer sit around and watch as these creatures bring death upon their arrival. If my mother knew I was secretly joining their fight, she would be furious. But the small group of Sidus that tries to protect the entire town is not enough.
Two nights, both with too many lives lost. Tonight will not be their third. I will make sure of it.
I know it is only a matter of time before they show up again. I just need to wait and watch.
Around me, sound from the busy kingdom disappears. I slow my heart rate, solely focusing on the edge of the wall where the large patch of seeping dark forest sits. A couple of minutes pass before I feel a pull beside a cluster of shadowed trees.
Good. The dark trees and shrouded bushes will give me cover for what I’m about to do.
I zero in on the spot. Waiting and watching for what I know will arrive.
There.
Wisps of dark smoke start to cluster together, trying to form. Then another and another.
Closing my eyes, I call upon my own darkness and pull myself into the abyss of the void. A rush of cool ice enters my blood as I pass through it and emerge just as the tall, thick bodies of three dark creatures form.
Not giving them another second, I unhook my daggers from my side and head for the nearest one to my left. Just as its black arm forms, I slice my dagger down it, cutting it right off. It hits the ground, slowly turning to shadows before disappearing completely. The injured creature does not make a sound or act wounded. It is as if it does not feel or understand pain.
Whipping around, I slam my other dagger into the second dark creature’s chest. Twisting, I spin back, narrowly avoiding a claw to the face from the third.
Though I have harmed them, the killing blow needs to be to their head. Even if I have to effectively remove it with my blade. But until the shadows fully form there, I won’t be able to act.
