As yet untitled....

Prologue

The night air sang with a million sounds. It was heavy with the rich symphony of wild-life that always appealed to Krista. She took a deep breath that was let out with a sigh. Of all the nights to be stuck at home, she thought morosely to herself. She could smell the rich fertile scents of the world around her. The trees heavy with multi-colored leaves gave off the fragrant smell that only summer brings. She could see an occasional creature of the night fly by in the light from the warded torch. She placed her hands lightly on the smooth warm wood of the railing that surrounded her high perch and sighed again.

She faintly heard the bangs and clatters that meant her younger sister Shellia was inside protesting her captivity as only the young can. At least she wasn’t the only one stuck inside on such a beautiful night. It was warm, but not too warm. It was just enough to ward off a chill when the light wind brushed through the trees that were their home.

With a third sigh Krista turned to the torch and extinguished it with a wave of her hand and a jingle of her bracelets. She dreaded the night ahead of dealing with a thwarted preteen in their mothers absence. Knowing she couldn’t delay any longer she turned and entered through the spelled entrance of their tree house. Home sweet home, she thought wryly to herself.

Her sister was by the tubs washing the dishes as if it was a form of corporeal punishment rather than the daily chore it was. Looking between them you could see the family resemblance in their blond curly hair and their blue-grey eyes were similar in shape. Stress, puberty, and possibly genetics had worked to fill out Krista’s form to very generous curves. Shellia still retained the slim hips and figure Krista sorely missed having.

Huffing and groaning Shellia finished washing and drying the last of the dishes from the evening meal and returned them to their appropriate spots on the wooden shelves. With neither a word nor glance in Krista’s direction she turned and went straight to the bedroom that they once shared before the disappearance of their mother. With a sigh of resignation Krista went around the snug little bower and extinguished all the lights. It was almost a relief to put this day to rest.

Task accomplished she turned in the opposite direction from the one taken by her sister to go to her room. The one her mother used to occupy. Though many moons had passed since she failed to come home her scent and presence still lingered as though a constant reminder of a chapter not yet closed in their lives. Krista pulled back the soft covers still faintly smelling of her mother and welcomed oblivion.

****

Not quite far enough away, cloaked in the encroaching night someone was watching them with interest. Sharp glinting eyes took in every aspect of the night and all the townsfolk as they settled for the night. Eyes enhanced with only the slightest magical aid allowed him to focus on what he needed to see and see it clearly from an undetectable distance.

Settling down deeper into the surrounding foliage to wait there wasn’t a single sound to give away that all was not as it seemed.