Page 1 of The Cruel Dawn
Part I
INFERNO
In shadowed woods, where danger loomed,
Our village razed, our lives consumed.
But then you came with blazing light,
A beacon strong dispelling might.
Celestial, your power bright,
Always our star in darkest night,
With gratitude, our voices raise
In song and praise, we sing your ways.
Your mighty sword and fiery hand,
You shielded us, our Divine Grand.
In trials long, you led us through
With strength and grace, your love so true.
We are so small, we are so meek.
We need your strength, your love we seek.
We bow our heads, we bend our knee.
We still our hearts and honor thee.
Divine Lady, Divine Grand,
Against our foes you make a stand.
Lady of Life, Lady of Might,
Always our star in darkest night.
–A Song of Praise, Author Unknown
1
One day, I will wake up to a kiss instead of a kill. I will stretch and sing instead of crouching and growling. Maybe tomorrow will be that day because today, right now, an otherworldly being with the shrewd blue eyes of a man, the cupped ears of a man, and the sharp teeth, short fur, and claws of a bear roars at me.
“You have no business here.”The creature sounds like he chews rocks and picks his teeth with burned splinters.
I slowly reach for my back scabbard and pull out one of my two swords, the one with the wine-colored handle etched with moths. The one with the blade as black as night.Fury.A gift from the blacksmith.
My heart wants to think about that blacksmith and figure out how I feel about him. Do I love him? Do I hate him? I don’t know, and I don’t have time for any of that right now. At this moment, all I care about is how this fucking incredible sword that he forged must save me from this rock-chewing, splinter-gnawing asshole thundering toward me from the canyons.
I push up from my knees into a crouch. I’m not ready to fight the foul-smelling threat bearing down on me, but I have to be.
“Get out of my desert,”he snarls.
