Disclaimer: I do not own the Spirit Animal Series.

Chapter 2

"Reading is to the mind

what exercise is to the body'

-Joseph Addison

The man was dead.

Tanya stared at the corpse in her room. His last words rang in her head like a chant: "…the Conquerors have come to attack Zhong—" But it couldn't be true, right? Jano Rion was one of the safest cities in Zhong, protected by a formidable stone wall, stretching for over miles around. So what could possibly—

A sudden crash came from behind the door.

Snapping out of her daze, Tanya whirled around. The room was in a disastrous state—a broken shelf, her shattered bed, and fragments of glass scattered across the floor. For a moment, she merely stood there in shock, trying to drink it all in. Another crash; and she dashed to the door. Her hand gripped the doorknob as she yanked. It didn't budge. She tried again. But the door was jammed shut.

Growling in frustration, Tanya pressed an ear against the door. "Mom! Are you okay?" She cried, banging on the wood.

For a horrible moment, there was utter silence. Tanya felt her heart drumming in her chest as she waited. She heard her mother's soft reply. "It's them…" her mother gasped.

"Mom—"

"Tanya," her mother said, her tone changing. "Take my ring."

Frowning, Tanya watched as her mother's hand slid through the gap in the door. In her slim fingers, she held a gleaming, amethyst ring—one that was given to her by Tanya's father, if she recalled correctly. Tanya hesitated, then plucked the ring from her fingers, feeling the smooth, cold texture against her skin. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"It'll help you find—"

Something crashed down from behind the door, blocking out her shouts of alarm. "Tanya! Run!" Her mother cried. "Get to the stables! Find Sora and get out of here! Seek the Greencloaks for help!"

"But—"

"Quick!"

Hesitating, Tanya threw one last glance towards the door, where her mother's feeble, pale hand still protruded from the gap in the wall. Somehow, it looked unfamiliar without the amethyst ring on the fourth finger. It appeared…older, with more wrinkles and fragility. Tanya felt the lump rise in her throat. I'll come back for you, she tried to say, but the words were choked in her throat.

Slipping the ring onto her index finger, Tanya carried herself to the window. Grunting with the effort, Tanya heaved herself up onto the window sill. A blast of awful odour hit her nose; she fought down the urge to vomit. On the streets, the ground was strewn with the brazier-red blood. People were screaming and screeching as the city drowned in the sounds of war. War...

Ignoring the chaos, Tanya jumped off the window sill and ran.

The streets twisted and winded like an infinite labyrinth, with corpses littering the floor. The wind screamed and slashed at her face. The cold air coursed through her lungs, drying up her already parched throat. She swallowed, clenched her teeth, and willed her legs to sustain her a bit longer.

That was when an arrow whipped passed her shoulders. It missed her shoulders by a hair's breadth, quivering as it made impact with the ground. Tanya froze, staring as the arrow quivered in the concrete.

"That was a warning shot." A boy's voice warned. "Try to run and I promise you the next one won't be."

Hesitantly, Tanya craned her head upwards. A boy was standing on the roof, aiming a bow at her. He had metallic silver hair and wore a black combat clothing and a grey cloak. One that marked him as a Conqueror…

She glared up at him, eyes festering with hatred. Then, she did the most stupidest thing she could ever have done. She ran.

The adrenaline rushed through Tanya's body, urging her to keep running faster, quicker. If she failed to outrun him now, she'd never be able to run again…. The Conquerors were merciless. They had destroyed, stolen, murdered—all without a moment's hesitation. An arrow whizzed through the air, directly at her. At the last moment, Tanya veered slightly to the right and the arrow hit a wooden barrel. Her breath hitched in her throat. That was too close, she thought.

As she continued to run, a familiar wooden building emerged in the distance. Finally, Tanya reached the stables and burst inside, shutting the door behind her, just as another arrow thwacked into the wood. Inside the stables, the air was moist and warm. The aroma of fresh grass and haystack permeated the area, intermingled with the scent of excrement. The horses reared up in surprize as Tanya stalked passed them.

"Sora!" She cried out, almost desperately. But it wasn't necessary.

Almost immediately, she spotted the beautiful white horse. Sora stood out like a sore thumb among the rest of the chestnut, brown and black horses. White horses are incredibly rare, practically almost unheard of in Erdas. When Tanya approached, Sora glanced at her and gave a friendly nicker.

"We must leave," she whispered.

Tanya didn't need to tell her mount what she wanted; Sora probed the air for a moment, then turned towards the railings. In a swift movement, Tanya mounted her. It felt weird without a saddle on...she could only grip onto Sora's silky white mane as- Suddenly, the wind hit Tanya like a fist as Sora burst into a full sprint. She gave a cry of sheer amazement as they soared over the railings, landing gracefully on the other side, with hooves clattering heavily against the concrete ground.

It was truly exhilarating—the wind in her hair and blurry world as she raced past. Tanya reminisced the first time she had ever ridden a horse; Sora's strong, muscular legs carrying them forward, not following any commands from its rider but still knowing which way to run.

Through bleary eyes Tanya focused in the distance. Dusk was creeping fast over the horizon. It painted the sky in a glorious conflagration of red, orange and yellow. Gradually, the great wall surrounding the city was emerging into view. You're running away, said a voice in her mind. You are fleeing.

Tanya instinctively stroked Sora's mane. "No, I'm not," she murmured to herself.

Then, something on Sora's hind leg moved.

Tanya glanced down into a pair of primeval, violet eyes and froze. It was a cobra... From the way it cautiously slithered up Sora's leg, Tanya could feel the reptile's sharpness, agility and reflexes. The cobra had two wicked fangs that split its red mouth; and its opaque, black scales shimmered under the light, with a forked tongue that darted out of its mouth.

At that thought, Tanya closed her fingers around the hilt of her dagger. But it was too late. The cobra sank its fangs into Sora's flesh. Tanya's eyes widened in surprise as Sora reared backwards, screaming and kicking at the air. She lost her grip and fell from the horse; and collided into the ground, hard. The air rushed from her lungs and hot pain shot through her spine.

A hand gripped her wrist and yanked her backward. She cried out—more in surprise than pain. There was a low chuckle as a blade moved to her neck.

"Don't move, lassie," a rich, heavily-accented voice came from above, "Else I slit ya throat, hear me?"

Thanks for reading! I'd really love you'll leave a review! Even if it's just one word. :P Means a lot to me, thank you peeps! *Floats away*