The Silver Arrow (29 page)

Jayden was jostled along as he
tried to find out what was going on, but the noise around him was
so loud, he couldn’t completely make out what the people were
saying, except for a few words such as “under attack,”” monsters”
and “invasion.”

In the midst of the chaos, the
town guards arrived. They were on horseback, making their way
through the crowd, which was heading in the opposite direction.
People moved out of the way, but they didn’t stop.

Fixed on their destination, the
guards rode without breaking stride. Just before they were
completely out of sight, something was tossed into the air. It
landed in the middle of the street with a bang, drawing everyone’s
attention close to the area including Jayden who was horrified by
what he saw.

What had been tossed in the air
was a guard with part of his body and horse missing. A loud howl
that followed a second later seemed to mute everything, including
the uproar that followed.

Shock held Jayden in place,
while the crowds ran for safety. That was when he saw them: beasts
that were half human cutting through the crowd like weeds, with
parts flying at every wave of their massive weapons. As they made
their way in his direction, a man appeared out of thin air, dressed
in black and red.

His eyes were fixed on Jayden,
who began to run as fast as his legs would take him, trying to get
away. The faster he ran, the closer the figure seemed to get. It
was like trying to run away from the sun.

“
Do not run from me, child,”
the figure said in a voice that curled like a viper. Jayden stopped
running, realizing it was of no use. Exasperated, he turned to face
the figure.

“
What do you want with me?”
he asked, trying to hide the terror in his voice.

“
Does it matter?” said the
voice, which was that of a man. “My master knows you, peasant, and
believes you are somehow different from the rest of these maggots.”
His tone did not hide his disdain for Jayden and the people being
slain around him.

“
You have been given a
chance to prove yourself worthy in his service. If you do, your
reward shall be infinite and you shall rule the earth till time
itself ends. I will not tell you the alternative, but you must
choose.”

“
If choosing this path you
say involves destroying innocent lives, then no!”

“
Innocent lives, you say.”
The man laughed hollowly. “You call crushing insects underfoot like
them lives! If this is your choice, then you will die with the rest
of this filth.”

He stretched out his hand in
front of him. The red ring on his finger flared and he began to
squeeze.

Jayden dropped to his knees,
struggling for air, and shook himself out of his sleep.

He was breathing hard as he sat
bare-chested on the edge of his bed. It was only a dream, he
thought. Or was it?

He placed his right hand on his
neck just to make sure.

“It was only a dream,” he
muttered, reassuring himself. He reached out subconsciously to
touch something underneath his shirt, but it wasn’t there;
realizing it, he looked out the only window in his room. It was
still dark outside. He pulled on his gloves to cover his hands
before putting on his shirt and boots. He walked out of his room,
down the old wooden stairs that creaked under his feet as he tried
to step out quietly. The bar was empty of people as he walked past
it and unlatched the front door.

Standing alone at the entrance of the inn, he looked to the right
and left of the street; it was quit. He looked up into the heavens;
one of the stars seemed to flash a little brighter. He again looked
at both ends of the street before going back inside, closing the
door behind him. Tomorrow he would need to move again.