Chapter 1

Ero'then ran through the woods, breath heavy, whistling and bounding through the brush. His feet slapped the virgin undergrowth he was so used to and it was a simple matter to avoid slips and collisions that would have plagued any adult kaldorei - even his parents - who might have pursued him.

But today he was not the pursued, but the pursuer. Ero'then kept his gaze ahead, whipping around trees and dancing through the brush. He kept his eyes ahead on the still-rustling brush his quarry left behind.

Still, she was too quick. Soon the brush she was blowing through would cease its swaying before he could catch it.

"You run like a wild boar!" he yelled.

Ahead, a high giggle alerted him to her location. He took a sharp turn into a denser portion of wood, trying to twist through it and cut her off. Though exhausted, he pushed himself to a full sprint. Brambles and thorns tore at his face.

Then he came out of the thicket and saw her and she him. She screamed in surprise. He tried to find his footing, but he had come out at a small rise, and his feet pounded thin air for a moment before he tumbled down it, rolling through the dewy ferns.

"Highborne ass!" he swore, scrambling to get on his feet. He finally got back up and flung himself forward—right into her.

"Ero—" she started, just before they collided Their heads struck each other with a sickening crack and she snapped back from him with a gasp.

Light danced before him. He tried to catch her, but he lost his balance again and tumbled down the hill with her. They crashed through undergrowth and drenched themselves with dew. The world was a blur of sky, whirling plants and earth.

Finally, they rolled to a stop.

The canopy stretched above Ero'then, tittering quietly with the sound of soft rain. The storm hid the stars but lights still danced in the sky. He wasn't sure if that was the blow's effect or the storm's lightning. He shook his head. A sudden wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm him.

"Anora?" he groaned, trying to force himself to his elbows. "Anora, are you all right?"

Rain began to fall. He realized she was crying softly.

"Anora!" Though swaying a bit, he scrambled to his feet. She was just a pace away and he crawled to her through the growth.

She covered her face when he came close. "No," she sniffled, trying to push him away. "Don't look."

He pushed her arm aside and forced her to lie down. "Let me see your face," he told her, his heart in his throat. "Let me…"

Reluctantly, she let him withdraw her hand, and when he did, Ero'then had to a gasp. The cartilage of her nose was splattered across her cheeks. Her whole face was bloody, with fresh streams running out her nose like mucus in the height of fever. Her eyes were wide with soft amber twisting around her irises.

"You cheated," she said, and he wasn't sure if she was mock-pouting or actually on the verge of crying again. "It's bad, isn't it? I'm sorry. I thought you were hurt."

"It's my fault…" he muttered, half-listening. By Elune, the wound was bad. How would they explain this to the elders?

The woods were forbidden to them. Weeks ago, the elders had said it was dangerous, even though once both he and Anora had been free to roam to their hearts' content. The elders wouldn't tell them why the woods had been banned so suddenly, or why it had been banned at all. When he and Anora had asked their respective parents, they had kept their silence in respect as well.

Despite the ban, both he and Anora couldn't resist a nighttime game of chase. They'd grown up in these woods and they'd never stumbled on anything more dangerous than a saber cat. They'd never gotten hurt.

Well, not until now.

He tried to keep his panic from breaking through. Anora watched him and he watched her bleed onto the forest floor.

He must have been unsuccessful because Anora said quietly, "It's all right. We'll just say we were having a game and we ran into each other. It was an accident. We don't have to tell them we were in the woods."

They wouldn't have to tell them, Ero'then knew. There was only one reason the two of them would get up in the midst of the night, when the rest of the village was asleep. Anora wouldn't have broken her nose while sleeping. Once they saw her, they wouldn't let her out of her home for weeks as punishment, if they were lucky. All thanks to his competitiveness.

So he said, "Sit back."

"Why?"

"Just sit back," he told her. He laid her carefully on her back and shuffled through the leaves over to her head. "This won't hurt." At least, he didn't think it would.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Anora watched bemused and with growing curiosity as he swayed slightly on his knees. He opened his eyes, now a bit misty, and bent over her face. Anora resisted the urge to pull back as his breath tickled her.

He worked carefully, not exactly sure what he was doing. She lay very still, blood starting to pool in the valley between her neck and her collarbone. A soft glow began to make itself apparent, running small tendrils of light from his flitting fingers to her broken nose.

"It itches…" she started, but then trailed off. Ero'then closed his eyes again. He could feel the dew and sweat mingling on his face, and he realized he was starting to breathe with labor.

He ended with finishing touches, then exhaled deeply and fell back on his elbows. He rubbed his eyes, a wave of exhaustion overpowering him.

Anora sat up and felt her nose, now totally whole but for some dried blood. "You… healed it," she whispered, in a bit of awe. "How did you…"

A rush of triumph exhilarated Ero'then. He grinned and opened his eyes, ready to brag and allude mysteriously to his gift, which he had never shown anyone before, and which he had never tried on anyone but himself until now.

But when he looked again, his words froze in his throat. Anora looked at him uncomprehendingly. But he wasn't looking at her.

Just above her hung a canine mouth, big enough to fit five Anora's with room to spare. Jagged, scale-like fur jutted from its lips and beyond throughout the beast's blood-crusted hide. It towered over Anora, tall as a building, coal-black saliva building around the edges of its mouth.

Its tiny eyes, bright with lust, were fixed on him. Dozens of ropey lengths of skin unhurriedly detached themselves from its hide and began to dance towards him. They were like snakes slithering through the air—but instead of snake heads each had a single, cup-like mouth, all of which opened wide as they suddenly darted for his face.

Ero'then screamed.