When Kalenti was first kicked to the streets, she wanted to go back. If only to have a family. She mourned them for a while. Then that hole inside her was replaced with rage. An endless burning rage.

As she searches the trees, she realizes the cloud of darkness is alive around her. The temperature drops in its presence. It moves on its own, creeping around her like a leopard. “That girl doesn’t want to be saved, my Huntress.” It speaks with the wind—the voice is barely audible, but unmistakably present. “Those screams manifest from your own mind.”

The darkness that circles her is the same presence that haunts her nightmares. Now, it is terribly real. “Free my mind, you wretched beast.” She swears she grows a little crazier each day. Here she is talking to the wind amidst a raging fire.

Beautiful silence. Kalenti is a sinner. A huntress always on the run … slowly fading from reality. The world will keep trying to break her. It will keep on failing to. Because Kalenti won’t give in that easily.

This world is full of self-interest and judgment. Even she can’t see past her own desires. Anger consumes her like the fire that rampaged this forest. It seeks revenge and seeks to inflict the pain that tears through her each day.

Desperation is a dangerous game, and Kalenti plays it like a fiddle. Her emotions rule every move she makes. Maybe one day she will find some self-control, but if no one else is trying, why should she?

“You have the spirit of a dire wolf. You are a killer. A cast away.” Wren takes a step back into the shadows. “What can I say? You challenge me. In a way no one else can.”

She stands rigid. Before she can muster up a response, he descends into the tower.

At least the bird knows when to scurry.