Chapter 1
The first thing I can remember is the wolves. They took me in, fed me, and cared for me. I was a girl of seven years old at the time, alone in a hostile environment that not many people came out of unharmed. The wolves kept me alive. I was soon able to understand them, as well as the other animals in the woods where we lived. The wolves told me it was called the Spine. Any information I have about the Spine and the world outside it comes from them. They are my lifeline. They are my family.
By now you must wonder how they tell me all of this information. I think I should mention that at least half of our conversations were held in our minds. They named me Kadin. I am now fifteen, and have been living among the wolves for eight years. In that time I have never seen another human. Sure, we know they come. We know the instant they set foot in our home. But I have never gotten close enough to see one. We leave them alone if they leave us alone. Until one day, that all changed.
It started while a human was hunting in our woods. It was a human who frequently entered the Spine to hunt. They were one of the few that did. It was the third night of their hunt, and they never stayed longer than three nights. That night, the peaceful noises of night were shattered by an explosion. The birds took flight, and the deer fled. Flee! Danger! Run! My pack considered themselves the guardians of the Spine. Nothing entered or left without their permission. Since we were the guardians, we had to ensure that nothing had happened.
We reached the edge of a clearing that appeared slightly scorched. I drew my daggers, ready for danger. My pack had found them long ago, and had sensed power in them, so they kept them safe. When they found me, they decided to give them to me for protection. The daggers were silver with a black hilt. On one hilt was a blue stone, and on the other was a gold stone, the color of a wolf's eyes.
The alpha male, Krion, sniffed the air. Magic. He growled. Strong magic. The kind only elves can cast. We heard a crack and whipped to face the clearing. A boy about my age, the hunter we felt enter our home a few days ago, was in the clearing with his eyes fixed on the ground. I followed his gaze and saw a large, blue, oval-shaped stone. He nudged it before jumping away. When nothing happened he picked it up, and a thin ray of moonlight landed on it, making it shine. My breath caught, it was beautiful.
My small intake of breath hadn't gone unnoticed by the boy though. He looked up, and we shrank further into the shadows. He wasn't fooled though, and looked closer. He saw the moonlight reflected by the eyes of my pack. He gasped. Seeing as our cover was lost, I stepped out of the shadows with the rest of my pack behind me. The boy's face held some fear. I motioned for my pack to stay at the edge of the clearing. Stay back, I think he is frightened by how many of us there are. Let me go to him. Siana can come with me.
Krion lowered his head in a wolf nod reluctantly. Alright. But you should be careful. He is a hunter, and hunter hunt wild things like us. And I'm your pack-father, you're my responsibility to protect like your sisters and brothers. I smiled slightly and replied, I'll be fine. I turned back to clearing where the boy was watching the exchange with an expression of fear and curiosity of equal parts. I stepped further into the clearing with Siana, my wolf-sister.
