Another Excerpt from Ravynwyng Chronicles Volume 1: The Beginning

Ravyn shivered as she hurried past the group of Shadows in the Court of Passage. One Shadow, larger than the others, appeared to watch her, its black eyes narrowed. Cara flew over and landed on her companion’s shoulder. ‘Why are you here?’

‘I don’t know. Something drew me here. The ring is throbbing.’

‘See if you can use it to locate the problem,’ Cara advised.

Ravyn stopped near the black stone arch, and concentrated on the ring. An urge to head left flooded her mind, and she began walking. ‘Is there any way I can get a message to Lady Raven to ask her about the ring?’

“No. She appears to you when she wants to or is desperately needed.’ The bird rubbed her head against Ravyn’s cheek. ‘I know this is new and confusing, Ravyn.’

Beyond a cluster of columns, Ravyn spotted the Shade of a young man standing alone. A silver glow surrounding him was visible, but growing fainter with each passing minute. He looked up, eyes pleading. ‘Please help me. I don’t want to become a Shadow.’

Ravyn gasped. It was his body they found in Hines. Unbidden words filled her mind and the ring’s glow brightened. “By the spirit of Lady Raven, I free you from the hold of the Shadows. Go to your rest.” The glow from the ring surrounded the young man, and a peaceful smile crossed his face. He bowed and made his way to the arch leading to the world of the dead.

Exhaustion swept over her, along with a feeling of peace and rightness. ‘That was strange. I felt something pull away from me and pass into the ring. Right after that the glow increased.’ She shook her head.

‘Come on, we had better get back to the arch leading to the world of the living, before any Shadows investigate what happened just now.’

Ravyn retraced her steps, and entered the white stone arch with Cara on her shoulder.

Ravyn awakened and sat up, looking around the bedroom. The glow from the night light failed to dispel the dark shadows in the corners. A brief movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention to the darkest area. For a moment Ravyn thought a pair of red glowing eyes watched her, before disappearing. The clock on Jennie’s nightstand showed four twenty-two in the morning. I better go write this up. After that I’m going back to sleep. It’s too damn early to be up. She eased out from under Jennie’s arm and made her way to the office. It didn’t take Ravyn long to write down the dream> She made a stop in the bathroom before returning to bed.

As she crept under the blanket, Jennie half-woke and snuggled against Ravyn. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Had to go to the bathroom. Go back to sleep, love. Too early to get up.” She put her arms around Jennie and returned to sleep.