Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1)

  Copyright © 2014 Melanie Rodriguez

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1499717245

  ISBN 13: 9781499717242

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2014909908

  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

  North Charleston, South Carolina

  For my mother, Agie, the believer behind the dreamer.

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  Epilogue

  etrayal.

  The word repeated in the mind of the warrior woman fleeing her pursuers within the Woodland Realm, the forest of the elves. A chill wind pricked her pale-skinned face; sweat-soaked brown hair stuck to her forehead and neck, her violet eyes wide with terror.

  The woman did not dare to glance over her shoulders; she could sense the others trailing her. If she was caught, she would be forced to fight back. Had the circumstances been different, the idea of a clash wouldn’t have distressed her so; as it was, she had more important priorities to consider.

  She clutched a bundled blanket close to her chest as she ran. Spotting a cliff up ahead, her nerves flared. Tightening her grasp on the bundle, she hesitated a moment before she sprinted forward and leaped off the cliff’s edge. In midair, she cursed her overcompensation as she knew she wouldn’t get the desired landing. She angled her body and roughly landed on the side of her back.

  From the way her clothes suddenly clung to her body, the woman knew she was bleeding. She could smell it as well. She swore under her breath, as she knew her pursuers would be able to also. She felt her eyelids grow heavy, and they involuntarily closed.

  Muffled cries tore through the bundle, snapping the woman out of her momentary slip of consciousness. Frantic, the woman unfolded the blanket and sighed in relief once she realized all was well. The little face that stared at her from the bundle, unharmed, stopped its cries.

  “I will keep you safe, my love,” the woman promised, her voice wavering despite the comforting coos. “I will die before I ever let those bastards harm you. I swear it.”

  illow damn you. Willow damn all those bastards to Avilyne’s hell!” I wanted to stop crying, but found I cried even more the harder I tried. I didn’t want to see those two leave. If I watched them go, then I’d have no choice but to accept that I would be utterly alone in a world where I already didn’t belong.

  Why did there have to be so much fighting in this world? So much hate? Why couldn’t they just send someone else into battle to settle the damned matters?

  “Artemis!” a familiar voice yelled.

  His.

  I shook and then buried my head in my knees to muffle the sound of my sobs. Maybe he would miss me if he didn’t hear where I was.

  As light as they were, I could hear the footsteps. When it was silent, I knew he had found me.

  Willow be damned.

  I heard a soft sigh and felt gentle caresses along my back. I was running out of mental curses.

  “Artemis.” The same voice spoke, almost a whisper.

  Biting my lip, I finally moved my head and gazed into his warm green eyes; the face that watched my own was lightly tanned, framed by dark blond hair that hung loosely along broad, war-molded shoulders.

  To the world of Arrygn, he was the famed Shadow of Ellewynth, a soldier to be feared. To me, he was just Shadow the elf, my dearest friend.

  “You found me.”

  “You’ve never been good at hiding from me,” he said with a heavy sigh.

  “You can’t leave.” I felt another tear slide down to my chin. “You can’t.”

  Shadow looked away, guilty. “I wish I did not have to.”

  “Avilyne’s hell, wish harder then!” I snapped. “While you’re at it, wish for Talisa to stay too! Wish for this stupid war to end!”

  Shadow frowned as he sat down beside me. “Artemis, you and I both know that Talisa and I have a duty to the realm and her people.” He grasped my hand and gave it a light squeeze. “I have no choice. I am a soldier of Ellewynth, first and foremost. The elves stationed in Fieros Mountains require my presence on the battlefield now. The faster an end can be reached, the sooner Talisa and I can return.”

  “Shadow…don’t you know what this means?” I asked. “The elves will no doubt torture me more than they already have. All because I’m…I’m different.”

  “I have faith in my kind,” he stressed. “You will find a friend.”

  I shook my head. “Unlikely.”

  Shadow caressed my back once more. “I promise, Artemis. I will return to Ellewynth as soon as my service ends.”

  “Don’t you understand that you could be gone for years?” I cried. “Goddesses, you’re fighting dragons!”

  “I’ve fought in numerous wars Artemis, and I’ve fought dragons before,” Shadow reminded me. “It’s just another nuisance to take care of.” He stood while he took my other hand and raised me up. “I will return. I swear it.”

  I sighed and fumbled with the ring on my left hand. Taking it off, I gazed at it. It had two birds carved within the silver band, and a small garnet was set in the center. Talisa had given it to me in my tenth year; she called it the “Gift of Peace.”

  Noting the look of confusion on Shadow’s face, I held it out for him to take. He did so.

  “I-I want it back, elf,” I explained, while trying to hold back more tears. “It will protect you out there. Until you come back.”

  “I’ll miss you too, my dear.” Shadow softly smiled, and held the ring in a firm grip. “I promise to return this to you.”

  I awoke to the sound of the bells ringing deep within the city; they sang with a range of high peals, the very ones that called for the people of Ellewynth to venture out for celebration. I jumped from the bed and ran to the window; in the distance I watched the elves of the Woodland Realm flood the main square, rejoicing with glee and dancing with one another in bliss. It could only mean one thing—the soldiers that left eight years ago had finally returned home.

  Kiare be praised, the war with the dragons was over!

  “Thank the goddesses,” I said, as I felt the depressing weight I carried for those eight years lift. “Willow be damned for the dream, though.”

  It was when I looked away from the window that I felt the apprehension. A bundle of bloodstained clothes lay on the ground by the bed. I picked them up and caught the flash of a memory: I was running through the woods, chasing something red.

  No…it was orange. Wasn’t it?

  I smelled the dried blood and got my answer. I had hunted a fox, the animal I preferred to feed on. Avilyne’s hell.

  I hated what I was. I hated my need for something to sustain—no. I had to keep a peaceful mindset. I had to suppress the dark nature of my heritage.

  I hid the bundle for now, making a mental note to burn it all later. It wasn’t too long ago that a “slip” like this had happened last. I prayed the next episode wouldn’t happen for a prolonged period of time. That damned natu
re of mine had to have been sated…it better have.

  Running to another room, I rummaged through my clothing trunks. Scowling at my lack of “proper” elven garb, I settled on a sleeveless, light green dress with a high neckline—one of the many gifts bestowed to me by Talisa, a witch who served the Woodland Realm and a longtime vassal of the water goddess, Kiare. The thought of her returning brought a smile to my face. I missed her dearly. I’d be lying if I denied missing Shadow more though.

  My thoughts returned to the dream I had before the bells woke me. The memory of Shadow’s news, of his call to war, still haunted me. He and Talisa were the few true friends I had here in the city, let alone the realm. Who knew that the realm of your birth would make you feel like an irremovable stain on the finest fabric reserved for the nobility?

  I was raised away from the cities of the Woodland Realm. I never knew the site of my birth. My mother, Tamina, was murdered when I was still an infant. I never knew the whole story either; neither Shadow nor Talisa would tell me. The two were once close friends with Mother, and they both swore to watch over me, even before the gloomy circumstances.

  I spent the first ten years of my life with Talisa, living in her cottage far from Ellewynth, a city that was considered the heart of the Woodland Realm. At the end of that tenth year, I was relocated to Ellewynth and spent more of my time with Shadow. Talisa visited whenever she could to help ease the transition and to ensure her continuing guardianship. I hated living here. The elves quickly rejected me. They would have been more than pleased to cast me out of their borders if given the chance. If it weren’t for the Elders, I’m sure they’d have tried to kill me as well.

  All of the hatred from the elves was because I was different from them. I am a dhampir, or half-vampire in simpler terms.

  My vampiric heritage came from Mother. Full-bloods, her race was called. I wasn’t told much about my father, Gavin, other than that he was human. The only other detail I did know was that both Talisa and Shadow despised him. I didn’t know if he was still alive, and I stopped asking after a time. Angry glances and murmured curses were tiring after a while.

  Standing in front of a mirror, I stared at the face that gazed back. I was told by many that I was the spitting image of Tamina; I had her long brown hair with hints of red in the sunlight, but I had my father’s hazel eyes. Talisa told me Mother’s eyes were violet. I often tried to picture myself with her eyes instead of those I was born with.

  Taking a ribbon from my desk, I plaited my hair and twisted the ribbon to bind it. After a sigh, I felt I was presentable enough to venture outside and into the throng of elven society.

  As I slipped on a pair of soft brown leather boots, I heard a series of loud, pounding knocks from the main room below. I made my way down the stairs, and I heard a familiar grumbling from the other side of the door.

  After opening it, I stood face to face with the only other elf I could call “friend”—even if he was a stitch in my side once in a while.

  “Well, good morning, Jack,” I greeted him, while folding my arms.

  I met Jack several days after Shadow and Talisa’s departure. He was the new addition to my archery classes then, and was equally as terrible as I. It was a friendship sent from the goddesses themselves. I never appreciated the strange sense of humor of the sacred sisters.

  Like me, Jack was considered an outcast among the elves; he didn’t act like the “proper” elf, and to this day he still has little skill with the bow and arrow. Jack made it a habit of skipping weapons training to hide in the library to research spells and other “rewards” of magic, as it was the only thing of interest to him. Jack usually suffered dearly for those antics, mostly at the hands of his horrific aunt. Avilyne’s hell, she even terrified me. That old crunchy-faced, slack-jawed goat…

  Jack was also an outcast because of his appearance: where the Woodland Realm elves had differing shades of blond hair and a pair of either blue or green eyes, Jack was dark haired and had equally dark brown eyes. I was always disgusted with the politics here…if you couldn’t blend in, you were sneered at. It was no wonder the other elven realms steered clear from us.

  Jack took one glance at my dress and covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. I rolled my eyes as a snort escaped his lips.

  “Stop it.”

  “Since when do you wear dresses, Artemis?” he asked, forcing a cough to cover the chuckling. “Soleil burn me, I didn’t even think you owned one.”

  Once upon a time, he would have been right about that.

  “I didn’t have much choice in the ‘proper’ section of my wardrobe. And I happen to like this dress!” I answered. Studying him, I noticed his hair was pulled back in haste, and his gray robes were disheveled. I groaned once I put two and two together. “You didn’t make it home last night, did you?”

  Jack laughed nervously. “Well…”

  “Oh goddesses, Jack.” I covered my face with a hand in disappointment. “Were you drunk again?”

  “No! Not this time, anyway,” he answered, while rubbing his face. “Look, that’s not why I’m here. I thought you’d maybe want to go with me to welcome back Shadow and Talisa.”

  I raised an eyebrow at first, and eventually nodded as I shut the door behind me. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

  “Artemis?”

  “What?”

  “What’s that on your hand?” Jack asked.

  He pointed to my left hand, and I saw remnants of fox blood on it. Soleil burn me…it must have rubbed off from the clothes. I didn’t need Jack’s inquiries, not now. He couldn’t talk, seeing as his drinking habits were far worse than my dhampir blackouts.

  I just needed to work on tightening the leash.

  “Nothing,” I declared as I moved my palm out of sight.

  “Are you—”

  “I said it is nothing,” I insisted as I rubbed my hand along the bottom of my boot. “Let’s go already.”

  Jack and I eventually made our way to the city square, ignoring the grumbles and curses of the elves we passed. I glanced over at Jack and scowled. He was such a mess.

  “Jack, for goddesses sake, at least fix your hair!” I scolded. “If I’m wearing a dress, the least you can do is to look proper yourself.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with slightly messy hair. It becomes me,” Jack teased. “As for your choice in wardrobe…maybe you should wear dresses more often. It makes you look normal!”

  I glared at him as he guffawed. “If I didn’t pity you, I’d cripple you where you stand.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. You’d miss my company and spur-of-the-moment visits,” he mused. Before I could snap, Jack held up a hand and pointed straight ahead. “Here come the cavalry. Smile, will you?”

  A parade of elven warriors marched from the city gates onward to the square. Some were on foot, others on horseback. Elves from the crowd ran out to those they recognized and partook in teary greetings. I tiptoed over other elves to better my view, and my stomach churned as I couldn’t find Shadow or Talisa in the crowd.

  Jack grabbed my wrist and helped me move through the crowd; I could feel his own nerves through his grip. There still weren’t any signs of Shadow and Talisa, and the stomach twists grew worse. I shook my head to be rid of the thought that they might not return at all.

  “Where are they?” I whispered.

  “They can’t be too far behind, Artemis,” Jack assured me. “You worry too much.”

  “Shadow has already made it into Ellewynth,” a voice informed us from behind, startling us both. “Just a little after dawn, if you care for specifics.”

  Jack and I swiveled around and were greeted with a grin from our former archery-mate, Lilith. She was the same age as us; her light blond hair was unbound and held a crown of white lilies, which matched her flowing white gown. Lilith blinked her bright blue eyes and smiled shyly in Jack’s direction. Jack did a terrible job hiding the excitement her presence caused.

  Lilith was another one of the very few elv
es who treated me as a person rather than a monster. It was usually done in secret, however, as her sister, Serlene, was our archery instructor and harbored great disgust for me. Lilith would always be scorned for public kindness toward me; I often felt terrible for the poor girl.

  “H-hello, Lily,” Jack greeted her, while wringing his hands nervously behind his back. “I w-would hope Serlene made her safe return as well?”

  Lilith’s smile widened a bit more, and it nearly made Jack fall over. I smiled myself; Jack had had an infatuation for her since the day the two met. I always enjoyed the thought of Serlene ripping her hair out should Jack finally gather the courage to court her younger sister.

  “She did,” Lilith answered him. “It warmed the heart knowing she made it through her four years of service in the war.”

  “Lilith, is Shadow at home or did he go elsewhere?” I interrupted, not wanting to hear more about her wretched sister.

  “Artemis, please! You don’t have to keep calling me by my proper name!” Lilith chuckled. She tapped a thin finger against her cheek. “I’m not sure if he is still at home. If it were me, I’d probably be fast asleep after all the toil and travel.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Yes, as would I.”

  “Eight years is a long time for anyone, Artemis.” Lilith put a warm hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure Shadow wants to be well rested and presentable before seeing you. A few more hours couldn’t hurt, hmm?”

  “You do realize you’re talking about Artemis, right, Lily?” Jack snorted. “Dhampir or not, she still falls prey to impatience. They have quite the relationship, you know.”

  “Oh stop it, Jack,” Lilith teased, with a light smack to his shoulder. “You would act the same way if your love went off to war.”

  Jack and I stiffened at her words. After an awkward moment of silence, Jack burst out laughing. I quickly cleared my throat.

  “I’m not in love with Shadow,” I insisted, while glaring at Jack.

  “No?” Lilith asked, blinking her sweet innocence. “Apologies then. I just assumed because you are so fond of Shadow and speak often of him that perhaps you and he—”