• Chapter 1


    Walking through the soft, new grasses, fingering the coin I picked up earlier, I laughed aloud at the sign ahead of me. Hanging to a tree a tattered piece of paper read, “Cash Reward Given to Any Individual Who Brings Word of the Hidden Evil Known as the ‘Shadow Roses.’ They Must be Stopped” Ah, so she was scared. I threw my head back and laughed, not caring who-if anybody-heard me.
    Touching the cold metal of the coin nestled in my pocket, I heard a scream. My keen ears picked up the sound of metal hitting bone. I ran, throwing care to the wind, speeding towards the commotion. I jolted to a stop feet away from an armor-clad guard leaning over a small juvenile, beating him. The guard had his bulk on his side. However, the boy had his small size to his advantage. He wriggled free of the guard, kicking him blindly in the stomach. I saw the moon glint off his midnight eyes, realizing he was blind. I let out a laugh at the guard’s stupidity. The boy’s mouth opened, but I shushed him silently. He had good hearing; one of the benefits of blindness, another sense is heightened by the bad sense’s loss.
    I rushed into the fight, throwing my mask and hood back, swinging out with the brass knuckle on my hand, hitting the guard square in the jaw. Blood spurted from his nose, his jaw hanging limply as he screamed in pain. I pushed the small boy aside; he was about my size, a bit bigger. I was small for my appearance age, but very mature. Blood sprayed my face; I did not bother to wipe it off. I leapt on his back, grabbing hold of his neck. His arm muscles would not let him get to me. I grabbed a handful of hair to steady myself. I grabbed a hold of his chin with my free hand.
    I slammed his head down on his collarbone, he yelled again as the crack of a bone sounded. My dagger slid out from my sleeve, a careless mistake. The guard tried to grab at it, but I swung from his back to his arm, pinning it to his other side with force. He yelled as a muscle tore in his stretched limb. I rushed to the side where I was stretching his arm. I grabbed the arm, yanking it down; he fell towards me, yelling. I slammed a handful of dirt down his throat. He made a gargled sound in his throat, throwing it up along with blood. I darted away from it. Leaping to his stomach, I folded his legs underneath him.
    I laid heavy tree limbs over the now unconscious guard, bruised and bloodied. His once shining armor was dull with blood and dirt, his clothes ripped, his eyes blood-shot. I reached into my coat, removing a length of rope. I hauled the bulky man to the nearest tree, not bothering to fix his legs. I tied the rope around the tree and his neck. His torso was tied, then his legs. Once he was securely bound to the strong tree, I kicked it with all my might, seeing if it was sturdy. If it could handle me, the guard would not be moving any time soon. It held. I shoved cloth in his mouth, bounding it too with duct tape.
    I heard shallow breaths, remembering the boy. He was huddled behind a tree close to the one where I tied the guard. I strolled over to him, his head shot up, hearing my faint whistling. I had not even broken a sweat. I slipped the brass knuckles off my hand into my pocket. I replaced the dagger into the holder fastened to my forearm. I wiped the blood off my face with my charcoal sleeve. I stood in front of the boy, pulling him onto his feet.
    “Why was he beating you, what have you done?” I asked, my words laced with the slightest Russian accent.
    “Nothing! I bumped into him and he attacked me! I didn’t even mean to!” the boy hollered, his arms thrown up in exasperation.
    “You don’t like being blind. I can tell. Would you rather see?” I asked, I still had not pulled down my mask or hood yet. It did not matter, he could not see.
    “Yeah, I hate it. Everyone says, ‘Hey! Look at that!’ Or, ‘Oh, isn’t that pretty?’ but I can never answer them. And brail is hard to understand. But there’s nothing to do about it. So, whatever, I guess.” he shrugged, dismissing his answer.
    “What’s your name? And I can heal your blindness.”:
    “Andrew. Will it hurt?’
    “No. Do you have a sister?”
    “Yes, what’s your name?”
    “Not now.”
    “Later?’
    “Yes.” I brushed away hair that had fallen into his eyes. He shivered.
    “Your skin is cold!”
    “Yes, and yours is warm. Big whoop.”
    “How old are you?”
    I had to lie. “Eleven, hold still.” I pressed my fingers to his temples, concentrating hard. Blue flames erupted from my fingers, licking his face. His eyes widened, his bottom lip quivered. “Don’t be scared.” I breathed, the flames engulfing his eyes. They quickly dispersed, taking the black in his eyes with them. This was only temporary. My talking shifted my focus. It also exhausted me further. I collapsed before Andrew could say anything.



    I woke up in a bright blue room, the lights stinging my eyes. Andrew was leaning over me, a girl at his side. Their black hair was flopping over their faces, they were staring at me as if I was a science project. Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes were blackening again. They held only a little color. I jerked myself up and away fro them. I didn’t know this girl.
    “What?” she yelled, sliding backwards with a great effort not to touch me. I guess she thought my skin was cold, too.
    I stood my ground, my hand sliding to my pocket. “Who are you?” I snarled, my teeth clenched.
    “I’m his sister!” she yelled, jerking her thumb towards Andrew. “I’m May!”
    “Dinner!” a male voice called, I turned back to May.
    “Nice to met you and all, but, alas, food is on the table.” with that, I grabbed Andrew and strode out of the pastel room.