Excerpt: Autumn Rising

The cloaked figure didn’t even glance behind her, instead setting off at a run. Annon followed the figure through the twisting streets of the inner city as they chased each other deeper and deeper into Sarise. Finally, Annon rounded a corner and looked into an alley, intent on cornering the offender, only to realize that she had disappeared. Annon sighed in frustration, panting as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and ran her fingers through her unruly sweaty hair.

“Sheesh…” muttered Annon in between pants, her voice echoing throughout the deserted alley, “That girl can run…”

She looked around, debating with herself whether to look for the girl or not. Annon knew exactly where she was. She had been born and raised in Sarise, and had lived in this district a few times when she and Garrel were really out of their luck. That girl didn’t look like the kind of person who had business here, so she probably wasn’t familiar with this city. She was probably lost…and she still owed Annon an apology. There wouldn’t be any problem with looking around to make sure she wasn’t in any sort of trouble, after all. The Guard’s Headquarters weren’t too far away. She could still make her delivery before day’s end.

Annon took hold of the cart again, pushing it through the deserted streets as she looked around. She had been walking for about ten minutes when she realized that something was off. She had lived in this district before. It was never quiet. And yet, now, it seemed practically deserted. She couldn’t think of anything that would cause the people that lived here to leave—except, perhaps, a mass eviction by the Crown, but she would have heard of something like that on the streets if it happened. The air felt different as well, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. It was almost as if she was in a different world—in a dream. She turned around, looking down the street behind her. She wondered for a moment if she should turn around.

The sound of a foot splashing in a puddle of water drew Annon’s attention away from the road behind her and back to the road in front of her. She shook her head, forcing back the sudden, irrational fear that overtook her as she pressed forward, following the sound. Annon went down a damp alleyway, stopping at the mouth of it and hiding in the shadows as she peered out in front of her, hearing the sound of a cloak rustling.

The cloaked girl was backed up against a nearby wall. Annon nearly gasped upon seeing her face. She was young…so much younger than Annon would have expected. She looked even younger than her, and Annon had only recently reached her fourteenth year. Another figure advanced on her. This one was in a hooded black cloak so that she couldn’t see his face. He was holding his hand out towards her, an unearthly violet glow around his hand. Annon shivered, turning pale at the sight of his hand. There was something…unnatural about it that made her skin crawl.

‘Magic…?’ she thought.

She had heard stories about magic before, although even Annon Yorhern knew enough to know that magic didn’t exist in this day and age. In the past, when her namesake, Annon the Lesser, had lived, perhaps, but now? Not likely. Still, there seemed to be no other explanation for what she was witnessing. She watched, holding her breath as the man took another step closer to the girl. Now that Annon could see her, she looked pale, as if she too was afraid, although she kept her mouth set in a firm line as she glared at the threatening figure.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” said the figure. His tone seemed to be a mixture of venom and honey, and Annon could only imagine the sneer he had on his face as he watched the girl in front of him. Neither of the two seemed to be aware that she was there. “Tell me what you know, and I’ll leave.”

His offer was met only by stony silence. Annon tensed, pressing herself further against the wall. She felt almost as if they could see her. She wanted to turn around and run and never look back, but she found herself frozen in place. She couldn’t look away. She didn’t know what was happening, but a part of her wished that the girl would just tell him what he wanted to know so that he could leave and she could forget about this. One thought echoed in her mind as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

‘…I shouldn’t be here…’

“No?” asked the man, “Are you sure?”

Silence again. Annon mentally cursed the girl for being so defiant. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t turn her back on this. She didn’t know how she would feel the next day, knowing that the girl had been seriously hurt…or worse, while she ran away…even though she didn’t know what she could do in this situation. She just couldn’t bring herself to turn her back. She watched, her breath catching in her throat as the man advanced.

Then…he lunged.