She heard the sound then, far from the usual noises of the immense forest that surrounded the castle.Her gaze riveted upon what looked like black oil running along the ground, pouring around the trees as it advanced.Opal flew off with a distressed warble.Garnet knew of the dark magick in the kingdom, the creatures and dangers hovering beyond the environs of her safe little world.Her parents called it the Hidden.
As it reached the edge of the forest, the “oil” materialized into soldiers, coming faster than any normal humans could.She heard a grunt below her.One of their guardsmen fought a man bearing black horns and armor that resembled the beetles in the garden.Those horns stretched out like snakes and plunged through the guardsman’s chest.He dropped with a gasp.
She spun from the window, intending to run to her parents’ chamber.Footsteps pounded down the stone floor outside her room, and the door flung open.Her father was still in his dressing robe, terror on his face.“I have inadvertently brought great peril to our land.You must hide, must?—”
A clawed hand reached out and pulled him out of sight.“Leave her be!”her father’s voice echoed in the great hallway.
She ran to the doorway to help him but came up short as the kind of man-beasts she’d just watched below rushed up to block her.They bore blood on their armor, and she knew, somehow, that it was her parents’.And by the glitter in the men’s eyes, she also knew her blood would soon join it.
A scraping sound from the window behind her drew the startled gazes of the men.She dared turn to see what frightened them, these evil murderers.The sight of the creature sliding soundlessly to the floor on its clawed feet stole her breath.
A black Dragon, the size of a large horse, opened its fierce mouth and bared its fangs.It blew out not fire, as she’d read in the legends, but a black smoke that shot toward her.She would die with dignity, she thought, raising her chin.She would not cower, would not?—
The stream of smoke passed her, knocking the three men back into the hallway.Their guttural screams echoed in the stone hallway and then grew silent.
The Dragon had saved her from them.Before she could thank it, it rushed forward and grabbed her with its talons.They scratched but did not puncture her skin as the beast pulled her against the cool scales of its chest and flew out the window.
2
Despite Ruby’s exhaustion, grief and terror kept ripping her from sleep.Well before dawn, she was scouring the internet for stories about ball lightning.Turned out, ball lightningwasa mysterious phenomenon having various shapes and colors.Though it could melt metal, it passed through windows and even screens without causing a bit of damage.Most importantly, it rarely killed a human, and nowhere did she find an account of one chasing down or lancing someone.
And what about the knives that seemed to exude some kind of energy… and affected the orb?
Mon had said something about magick, not telling the police, and Rule Number One, whatever that was.So, she’d told the lieutenant about the freak bolt of lightning from the storm but omitted most of the bizarre stuff like how it tried to keep her from escaping the burning house.Not that he’d have believed her anyway.
Had Mon been rambling from shock?He’d been lucid enough to mention the envelope he’d told her to retrieve should anything ever happen to him.She figured it involved inheritance issues or business matters.Now that she thought about it, that he’d mentioned it as he suffered an agonizing death meant it was way more important.Was there a chance it survived?Doubtful, but she had to try to find it.She also needed to find theBook of the Hiddenthat Mon kept in his office.While she had treasured the stories like a chest of jewels as a child, she outgrew them in her early teens and could only remember the essence of them.If there was a chance, even a small one, that she could have something so intrinsic to her childhood, she would try.
The thought of going back to his house chilled her.What if the orb was there or the person who’d sent it?Had it chased her because she was a witness?Probably.How much did thisSin Tagknow about her?
She had searched for variations of that name, too, thinking it was a company or government agency.No luck.Maybe SINTAG was a top-secret project and the orb some super weapon.Yeah, that made sense, except… how would her uncle get involved with something like that?
She pulled on old jeans and a T-shirt, stopping short at her reflection in the mirror over her dresser.A lock of singed hair curled in tiny spirals over her bandage.She lopped off the burnt portion, which made one chunk of hair shorter than the rest, so she evened them out.
Ruby had called Nevin last night to let him know she wouldn’t be in.She’d given him the freak bolt of lightning story.
As she drove to Mon’s house, she thought about his other warning—he’d been filled with them in those last minutes.How did her grandfather fit into this?She had vague memories of awkward conversations with him, a man obviously not used to talking with children.Then waking up at Brom’s after the boating accident, a gash in her head and no memory of anything that had happened after she’d been knocked against the cabin’s doorframe.Brom broke the shocking news about her parents in a pained, soft voice.She’d bawled for three days straight, not eating or talking to anyone.
She was quickly settled into Mon’s life.Neither man would even let her go home to get her belongings.Mon told her that Brom sank into a deep depression and had to go to a mental facility, where he’d been all the years since the accident.From Ruby’s memories, it appeared that he’d pretty much gone bonkers.
Her truck rolled to a stop in front of Mon’s house.Even in the soft morning light, the house was a horror scene.A firefighter patrolled the edge of the rubble.She didn’t want to talk to anyone, but his presence was comforting.The orb had somehow slipped away, disappearing the moment the fire crew arrived.Still, she searched the surrounding vegetation for it or anything weird.
Its absence wasn’t enough to make her feel safe.But her Smith & Wesson was.She pulled it from beneath the seat of the truck.Forget vases and knives.If that thing reappeared, she was shooting it.She slid the gun into its holster, which tucked neatly into the waistband of her jeans.After making sure it wasn’t noticeable, she grabbed a couple of garbage bags and approached the ruined house.The stench of smoke and other odd smells filled the air.The firefighter met her halfway, ready to turn her back.
“I’m Ruby Salazaar.The man who… lived here was my uncle.More like my father, really.”
The firefighter’s bloodshot blue eyes made her think he’d been there all night.“I remember you from yesterday.I’m sorry for your loss.”
At least he didn’t treat her like a suspect.They had swabbed her hands, looking for accelerants or other signs of foul play.They had no idea just how foul it was.
She could only nod at his kind words, ones she was sure he uttered on the regular.“I need to see what I can salvage from his office.”
The man checked his watch.“We’re not supposed to let anyone on the scene for twenty-four hours, but it’s getting close.I’ll have to accompany you, though.”
“Great,” she answered too quickly.
She took in the house, her throat tightening and eyes stinging.She brushed away hot tears before they could slide down her cheeks.
“Be careful.”
