Dark Blood
an excerpt

Nyx took a deep breath of the morning air. There were few expeditions she enjoyed so much as the queen’s occasional trips out of the city, to her hunting lodge on the plain. Here there wasn’t the noise and bustle; here, there were open skies and nothing for miles and miles except grass and trees.
Though she’d forgone her usual silk for a more practical but very soft linen, it remained her usual shade of black. After wearing grays and browns in the children’s home for her entire life, colors, even muted ones, seemed garish. She always dreamed, though, of wearing red, because it seemed so frivolous and extravagant.
Nyx took another deep breath of the morning air, still heavy with dew, and glanced at the queen. She seemed as exuberant as Nyx to be away from the city and castle. Despite her evident delight, she sat serenely on her horse, waiting.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the tracker emerged from the wood, already tousled although he’d only gone to seek out tracks.
“Well?” the queen asked.
“I found several boar track, Your Majesty,” he replied. “And there were some sizeable wild hogs unless I’m far mistaken.”
Nyx could barely contain her bright smile. Boar hunts had ot be her favorite, although they were likely among the most dangerous.
“Excellent,” the queen replied. “Lord Jochem, are we equipped for a boar hunt?”
The large man, a lord of foreign birth, gave a nod of assent. “We are prepared for whatever type of hunt pleases Your Majesty,” he answered. His voice was deep and gravelly, a voice befitting a man of his size. Everything about lord Jochem was dark, from his hair to his skin and eyes. His skin was the color of rich earth; next to him, fair skinned Nyx looked like she was carved out of marble.
“Then prepare to boar hunt,” Queen Eimar said.
Boar spears were passed around. Iron leg guards were strapped into place to protect from the boars’ tusks. Nyx wound her long braid up around her head and pinned it into a bun to protect it from being snagged and pulled by the trees when they entered the woods. Once her hair was properly pinned up, she accepted a spear from lord Jochem, who at the same time offered her a private smile. She ignored it utterly as she adjusted her grip on the spear and hooked it on her stirrup to make it easier to carry.
“Tonight, we feast on boar,” the queen cried. She spurred her horse toward the forest, and the hunt officially started.
They panned out upon entering the wood, watching for fresh tracks. Nyx expected none this shallowly into the forest, and so she watched only out of duty instead of keen interest. The other advisors and even the queen herself were much the same.
“Lady Nyx, if you think it would be sporting, do you think you could illuminate tracks for us?” Queen Eimar asked respectfully from thirty paces away.
“If Your Majesty commands,” she answered, “but only to locate tracks. I would think that it would be most unfair to the beast if we tracked it magically.”
“You have my whole hearted agreement, Lady Nyx,” Queen Eimar answered.
Bracing her spear with one hand, she hooked her reins over the pommel of her saddle and removed her wand. Brandishing it over her head, she cried, “Epidexi!”
Boar tracks became as plain as day, and the freshest were leading directly into the forest heart. Judging by the tracks, it was a large boar.
“They go east,” Queen Eimar pronounced.
Nyx murmured the counter-spell and slipped her wand away again. Though the hunting party remained spread out, they headed in the direction of the freshest tracks. Without the aid of magic, they were visible only if one knew they were there.
Though a warm breeze stirred to dry away the morning damp, chills rose on the back of Nyx’s neck. She shivered them away, then refocused her attention on tracking the boar. But the chill came again, unaided by even a warm breeze. She glanced around the woods were still dappled with sunshine that forced itself through the leaves. There was no reason for her to be chilled.
She ignored the feeling and continued with her part of the tracking. Slowly, as the tracks became more apparent, the riders moved in closer together but still they kept a distance of ten paces between them, far enough to spear the boar should it try to run between them but not so near that they were in danger from each other’s spears.
Soon they came upon an old resting spot, the leaves and ground disturbed from the boar’s rutting to find a comfortable spot. The nest was fresh, perhaps from that very morning, though now abandoned.
“We’re probably getting close now,” lord Jochem said. Though he kept his voice quiet, it traveled easily to each rider. “Be ready.”
Spears were lowered from stirrups and were made ready. Nyx could feel the exhilarating slow pound of her heart as tension began to mount. Here was the exciting part; the discovery and the chase. With luck, they’d have roasted boar for supper that night and Nyx wouldn’t have to employ any of her healing spells.
The tension continued to mount as they continued to ride. Finally, they began to hear the boar moving about. Though it was alarmed, it wasn’t possible to tell whether or not the boar knew they were there. Silent glances were exchanged all about. Surround the boar, ten paces between riders, the kill goes to the one nearest the boar’s escape route.
Slowly the hunters spanned out until they surrounded the boar and there were fifty paces between the riders. With all stealth, they began to move in.
The boar was in view. Nyx could see it snuffling and running back and forth in a small circuit. It knew it was in danger and it was ready to flee, but it didn’t know which direction. Soon the beast would turn dangerous.
She gathered her reins more securely in her left hand and adjusted her grip on the spear with her right. Steady now, she thought. She waited for the boar, but it was still trying to pick the best route. Lord Pavlos glanced at her, then edged his horse closer to the other side so that the boar would sense an opening.
Sense it, the boar did. It started loping toward the gap. Nyx raised her spear to throw at the boar.
Her horse screamed. The boar screeched. And Nyx found herself in the dirt. Tusks were digging into her back and another set into her shoulder. She tried to get her wand but the pain was all-consuming and she could see nothing. There was a woman’s scream, then a guttural cry. The boar screeched an eerie death cry and Nyx’s world went black.