Heroes of Light and Dark: Book 1: Evil Rises

Chapter 1 ( Shade )

Shade shivered and hugged her legs as a cold winter breeze blew into the cave she was hiding in, Lumian guards had been searching for escaped Tenebrassians all night. She rubbed a wound on her forehead where she'd suffered a scratch, it'd done little more than cause her a moment of pain, but the clear memory it brought back would haunt her. All around her, she could see bodies, Lumian soldiers attacking Tenebrassians left and right, and all because of one little fight between two Tenebrassians. It'd been easy for her to escape during the distraction, but if she was found- She pushed the thought away; she had to focus on hiding.

She shivered again and squinted her eyes. She could barely see anything in the dim light.

Shade turned her head towards the entrance of the cave when she heard voices and saw a dim light, there were Lumian soldiers coming. She quickly squeezed herself into a narrow pathway in the cave wall and listened.

"Clear," said a feminine voice, Shade was a bit surprised, female soldiers were often sent to guard the castle in Lumia, not to guard the borders of Tenebrass.

"Are you sure about that, Taika?" asked a masculine voice.

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Taika.

"Are you sure you're-" began the masculine voice again.

"Yes, I'm sure, now shut it!" she hissed as Shade heard a sound that she assumed to be Taika slapping the person she was with.

"Ow! Okay, chill..." Shade heard him mutter back.

Shade listened as the soldiers walked away and the dim light faded. She had to be sure they were gone. She couldn't bear to get caught in an escape attempt again, never again. She rubbed the bottom half of her right leg; it was wooden, literally.

When she was sure that they were gone, she came out from her uncomfortable hiding place and looked around the cave, it was where she'd be staying for the night, or possibly a few days, it was impossible to tell how long the guards would be searching. Shade shivered again. The cave most definitely wasn't warm. Jagged stalactites and icicles looked down upon the sharp edges in the cave wall and multiple stalagmites, some of which connected with the stalactites that looked down upon them, decorated the cave. She shivered again and looked at the dull gray walls of the cave, it certainly wasn't very nice-looking, but she'd have to get used to it.

She walked over to the bag she'd set down and opened it, it was full of things that she'd managed to steal. She rummaged through it and pulled out a soft blanket (Which was clearly stolen from Lumian guards.), a Hunted cloak, a few knives, a few daggers, one Lumian sword, and a watermelon. She grabbed the daggers and put them inside her boot, as well as the knives. She set down the Lumian sword in her hiding spot, as well as the Hunted cloak, and put the watermelon in front of them. And, with that done, Shade grabbed the blanket, wrapped it around her and laid down on the hard, cold cave floor, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Shade yawned and rubbed her eyes as she woke up. The morning had come faster than she'd expected. Seeing no point in waiting around, she grabbed the cloak and put it on. When she made it into Lumia, it'd help her walk around without raising as much suspicion as her dark hair, eyes, and nails usually would, because it was a cloak that was meant to be used as protection and a sign that you were being hunted by something evil and didn't want to be recognized( It concealed the face if the person inside. ). Which was kind of stupid, if you really thought about it.

Shade threw on the cloak, put the blanket, sword, and watermelon back in the bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. She stepped out of the cave and into the snow, she shivered and started walking, she despised the cold. She looked up at the evergreen trees that were covered in fluffy, white snow, and was baffled. She didn't know how any plant could survive the winters in Lumia and Tenebrass!