Chapter 10: The Blackwood Warrior

The Hollow Ones advanced without fear.

Without hesitation.

Without emotion.

They moved through the forest like shadows given form.

Each step seemed unnatural.

Too smooth.

Too silent.

As though the creatures belonged somewhere outside reality.

Elena stood frozen for a moment.

The clearing suddenly felt much smaller.

The trees seemed closer.

The sky darker.

The air colder.

King Alaric stepped forward, his sword glowing faintly crimson.

The Hollow Ones stopped.

Not because they feared him.

Because they recognized him.

A hollow voice echoed through the forest.

Still protecting them, brother?

Alaric's eyes narrowed.

Still hiding behind servants, Kael?

Laughter drifted through the trees.

Cold.

Ancient.

Cruel.

The Hollow Ones resumed their advance.

This time faster.

Rowan immediately moved in front of Elena.

Stay behind me.

That seems to be your favorite sentence.

Because you keep needing to hear it.

Before Elena could respond, the first Hollow One attacked.

It moved with terrifying speed.

One second it stood twenty feet away.

The next it was already among the guards.

Steel flashed.

A soldier raised his shield.

The Hollow One punched through it.

Not around it.

Through it.

Wood shattered.

Metal bent.

The guard flew backward.

Elena stared in disbelief.

What are these things?

Lyra lifted her silver staff.

Bad news.

Magic exploded outward.

Silver light filled the clearing.

Several Hollow Ones were thrown backward.

The ground cracked beneath them.

For a moment Elena thought the attack had worked.

Then the creatures stood again.

Completely unharmed.

That's very bad news.

Rowan agreed.

The battle erupted around them.

Guards engaged the creatures.

Steel met darkness.

Magic illuminated the forest.

Yet the Hollow Ones continued advancing.

Relentless.

Patient.

Unstoppable.

One creature lunged toward Elena.

Its black eyes reflected nothing.

No anger.

No hatred.

No humanity.

Only emptiness.

Rowan intercepted it instantly.

His sword struck the creature across the chest.

A normal opponent would have died.

The Hollow One barely slowed.

It swung at Rowan.

He ducked.

Counterattacked.

Spun.

Moved.

Fought with astonishing precision.

Elena had seen skilled fighters before.

This was different.

Rowan fought like someone who had spent years surviving impossible battles.

Eventually he drove the creature backward.

Only for three more to emerge from the trees.

That's unfair.

Elena muttered.

The forest suddenly shook.

A roar echoed across the clearing.

Every combatant froze.

Even the Hollow Ones paused.

The sound came again.

Louder.

Closer.

Something enormous moved through the trees.

Branches snapped.

Entire trunks cracked.

The ground trembled.

Then the creature appeared.

A massive shadowhound.

Larger than any Elena had seen before.

Its shoulders stood higher than a horse.

Its black fur shimmered like smoke.

Its eyes burned crimson.

The beast stepped into the clearing.

The Hollow Ones immediately turned toward it.

One attacked.

The shadowhound tore it apart.

Literally.

The creature's jaws closed around the Hollow One.

Dark fragments exploded outward.

Silence followed.

Everyone stared.

Even Rowan looked surprised.

That's new.

The beast roared again.

Then charged.

Chaos followed.

The shadowhound smashed through the Hollow Ones.

Claws.

Teeth.

Raw power.

For the first time since the battle began, the creatures were losing ground.

The mysterious voice echoed again.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Alaric's expression hardened.

Show yourself, Kael.

Not yet.

The voice sounded amused.

Soon.

But not today.

The Hollow Ones suddenly stopped fighting.

All of them.

As one.

Then they stepped backward.

Retreating.

Returning to the forest.

The surviving guards watched cautiously.

No one pursued.

No one was foolish enough.

Within moments the creatures vanished.

Only broken trees and scattered bodies remained.

The battle was over.

At least for now.

The enormous shadowhound remained.

Standing in the center of the clearing.

Watching.

Waiting.

Rowan slowly lowered his sword.

The beast looked directly at him.

Then at Elena.

Something changed in its expression.

Recognition.

The realization startled her.

It knew her.

Or at least knew something about her.

The shadowhound approached.

Every guard tensed.

The beast ignored them.

It stopped directly in front of Elena.

Close enough for her to see strange markings beneath its fur.

Ancient symbols.

Runes.

The same symbols she had seen beneath the castle.

Lyra stepped closer.

Impossible.

What?

Elena asked.

This isn't an ordinary shadowhound.

The mage's eyes widened slightly.

It's one of the king's guardians.

Alaric immediately looked at the beast.

That can't be.

Why not?

Rowan asked.

Because they all died centuries ago.

Silence followed.

The beast lowered its head.

Then something even stranger happened.

The runes along its body began glowing.

Crimson light spread across its fur.

A symbol appeared on the ground beneath it.

A circle.

A crown.

A map.

Elena recognized the design instantly.

The ancient map.

The same map that had brought her into the kingdom.

The symbol glowed brighter.

Then a single image appeared within the light.

A mountain.

Tall.

Snow-covered.

Ancient.

At its summit stood a tower.

Black stone.

Broken windows.

A ruined crown carved above its entrance.

The image lasted only seconds.

Then vanished.

The clearing returned.

The glowing runes faded.

The shadowhound stepped back.

Everyone remained silent.

Eventually Lyra spoke.

That was a vision.

Alaric nodded slowly.

Yes.

Rowan frowned.

Of what?

The king stared toward the distant mountains.

A place I hoped never to see again.

That answer concerned Elena immediately.

The mountain.

What is it?

Alaric remained silent for several moments.

Then he finally answered.

Blackwood Tower.

Rowan's expression changed instantly.

The name clearly meant something.

Something important.

Something dangerous.

The king looked toward him.

Your family's ancestral fortress.

Elena turned toward Rowan.

Wait.

Blackwood?

As in Rowan Blackwood?

The warrior sighed.

Unfortunately.

Lyra looked toward the mountains.

No one has entered Blackwood Tower for centuries.

Exactly.

Alaric's voice was grim.

Which means if the guardian showed us that place, something is waiting there.

The shadowhound released one final growl.

Then turned toward the forest.

Within seconds it disappeared between the trees.

Gone.

Like a ghost.

Leaving only questions behind.

Elena looked toward Rowan.

You don't seem happy about this.

Because I'm not.

Why?

The warrior stared at the distant mountains.

Because every Blackwood story ends badly.

Thunder rolled across the horizon.

Far away, hidden among snow-covered peaks, an ancient tower waited.

And whatever secrets it contained had just become impossible to ignore.