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BOOK ONE
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THE DARK TOWER
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A WOMAN ASTRIDE A WHITE STEEDDASHED THROUGH THE THICK FOREST ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT. Her grey cloak danced behind her in the wind, though she tried to keep it close to her body, not for herself but for the wrapped bundle in her arms, straining herself further as she held onto the reins. Rain and thunder, and the wild sharpness of the trees and shrubbery did not make her journey any easier, nor did they shatter her hopes or deter her will. It felt like the storm had indeed been following her. One would not be in the wrong to assume that was nothing but paranoid fantasies, but given what the woman had seen the past few years, reality seemed as fleeting as a dream.
A lonely branch sticking out in front of her tore her hood down, revealing her head of raven hair, tied and braided back in a style common to those of her station. She gasped in shock at the sudden attempted rape of the forests against her, as though he had struck a bargain with the spirit of the woods themselves for her head. She wouldn't put it past him.
She did not have long to ride when she found herself out of the dark forests and down a clearing before finally entering a riverside hamlet, one she was most familiar with. There was a small abbey on the outskirt of the town and looked a little out of place—perched on the hill thus she did not have to venture further in to get to it. The woman hastily tied her horse to the fencing outside and ran to the door of the quaint church, leading the petite hand of her little girl behind her.
With a deep breath in, she knocked on the thick, wooden doors as hard and loud as she could, competing with the chaotic cries of thunder and the rain. A slight shifting of gravel behind them had instantly stolen her attention. For a brief moment she had the urge to abandon her plans. Yet, she found there was nothing there. She'd feared that he'd found her but there was nothing save the dark skies and glistening raindrops illuminated by shaded streetlamps. She couldn't be too careful. Please, Gaius, open the damn door! …Please!
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