Page 3 of A Dawn Of Blood

She doesn’t say anything, she just lets out a disgruntled yet endeared grunt.

I take another deep breath and turn back to Lorcan and Raven, my eyes scanning their clothes. Raven is back in the one she wore before we landed in the nineteenth century, and myself and Lorcan are wearing the clothes I had the royal tailor make for us before we left for the twenty-first century.

Content with how well we’ll fit in, I summon all my determination and pull my hood on. “We’d have to sneak in, you know, for obvious reasons. But once we’re inside,” I say as I pat the inside pocket on my jacket, “I’m sure I could trade some of the gold for a motel room or something.”

They both nod. For a moment, I turn to stare at the darkening clouds looming over Troyes, then start leading the trek down. I’m still devastated, but I’m holding onto that flicker of hope in me, tightly, and I’m starting work on growing it into a flame.

Chapter 2

“Here,” Raven says as she slows to a stop and gestures at what looks like an ordinary slope amongst the trees.

We’re in the forest surrounding the town, its walls looming over our heads. “That’s the entrance?” I ask.

She nods, the clear confidence in the movement removing the last trace of doubt in my mind. She’s used her echolocation powers to identify a web of underground tunnels that will lead us straight into the city.

“Alright,” I say with determination. “I believe that’s a sound enough plan.”

I turn to Lorcan, wordlessly asking for his opinion. He gives a nod, looking as confident as I feel.

As soon as Raven and I step back, he turns to the slope, his tattoos glowing. He slams his fists together and the soil covering the entrance crumbles into itself, revealing the mouth leading into the tunnel.

I take a moment to peer inside, then turn around and give a nod.

Lorcan moves to lead the way, but I stop him. We’ve agreed I won’t be using my powers unless we’re in mortal danger, but the two of them aremyresponsibility. So I take it on myself to be the first to enter.

It makes me breathe a sigh of relief, when I see the tunnel is empty, no signs of it having been used.

Looking over my shoulder, I smile and motion for the two of them to follow.

As soon as they do, I turn back ahead and start walking.

It’s almost midnight and we don’t know exactly where the tunnel will lead us, but we do know we’ll find ourselves in a building inside the town.

Once we’re there, we’ll have avoided the guards at the entrance and won’t be in danger of having to identify ourselves to anyone. We’ll be able to find a place to stay, get information on the current state of things and spend some time working on the next move.

Confident in the plan, I keep going, following the winding of the tunnel until this sound coming from the direction of the entrance makes me stop midstep.

The next thing I know, the sounds of Lorcan and Raven’s footsteps have died down and I hear them talking to some strange man.

My heart starting to race, I spin around to rush towards them, when Raven’s voice booms inside my head.

“No, Anna,” she urges me, the alarm in her voice making me grab onto the wall to my left with bated breath. “They’re Baldur’s,” she tells me, “please, go, we’ll talk ourselves out of this and meet you at the other entrance.”

The guards.

Fucking hell. Gritting my teeth, I take a moment to think, but Raven couldn’t be more right.

Without me, worst case scenario, they’re just two people breaking a law no one really cares about.

With me, they’re the people helping the Aurora hide from Baldur.

So I stop hesitating. I spin around and break into a sprint, heading straight for the end of the tunnel.

Chapter 3

Panting, I push the trap door open and hoist myself up into a dark, empty room. Standing straight, I take a moment to look around.

“Dust, lard, frankincense,” my wolf recites as she sniffs at the air, straining her ears. “And no sounds whatsoever. This is most definitely an abandoned monastery.”

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