Laeriel was standing upright in the creek. Her eyes were locked with those of her stubborn little sister, staring back at her defiantly. But Laeriel kept her gaze friendly, inviting, with a hint of worry. Finally Janey’s stare broke and her countenance turned softer. “All right…” she whispered. But then they both heard rustling in the bushes. “Quick,” Laeriel whispered, and they gathered up their stuff, their clothes still dripping wet and hurdled over to a particularly thick growth of shrubbery. Little twigs scraped their naked skin but they kept their mouths shut as they crouched side to side between the green. After a few moments a huge black dog…

Laeriel crouched behind a large bush, peering past it, bow strung tight, aiming at a black crow that was ruffling its feathers. She had to make the shot; even though a bird this size would barely make a meal for two people. Food had been scarce lately. The small family that had taken them in this time didn’t have much. They had been weary of the two girls on their doorstep, asking for a place to stay for a while because they had nowhere else to go. Laeriel and Janey moved to a different home almost every two years, so as she had promised her mom before she died. It…

Hudson viewed the landscape from atop his rasping brown mare. The green hill they used as a vista stretched out underneath him and his master. Around them birds were chirping, flowers boomed and the morning sun gave the day the feeling of freshness. It was almost as if nature was pretending nothing was wrong, by making the contrast with what lied ahead, so great. They had been riding for almost a week straight. Pressing on, urging their horses almost beyond their limits. Hudson looked over to his master, Tarium. The huge man stared stone-faced at Hollow Bridge village. Most of the time there was absolutely no way of telling what the…

Blood. That is never a good word to start a story with, at least, not a story worth telling… However… blood was what she saw. Blood was what appeared to be everywhere. Blood dripped from the curtains, the bed, the dressers. Blood flowed in slow and small rivers from the master bedroom into the hallway. Dried blood stained the walls, fresh blood poured from the bodies spread throughout the house and red seemed to be the only colour left in the world when Laeriel hurried up the stairs towards her baby sister’s bedroom. Janey sat on the floor, a huge pool of red surrounding her tiny body, as she looked…