Hey Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Special thanks to Hollie my beta reader, for all her help. Sorry about the lack of updates I had writers block and then suffered a family tragedy. So with that in mind I'm dedicating this chapter to my Dad, who was always feeding me more idea's in the hope I would write him a novel.

Hope you all enjoy the new chapter and let me know what you think, R/R.

Chapter 4.

Smoke. The air was thick with it, great swirling plumes of black cast charcoal silhouettes against orange and scarlet flames.

“Hurry we must get to the children, we can not let the Dark Sight take them!”

The strangled cries of an infant reached her ears. She turned, scanning the smoky room for a clue to the whereabouts of the child. A small cot of oak sat in the corner not far from the window.

A chorus of howling filled the air, mingling with the suffocating black smog.

Pamishna sat silently, his wings folded along his body as he watched the Nymph woman sleep. Her body was tense and her eyes flickered beneath closed lids as she dreamt. He would watch for signs of distress, and if her dreams became fearful, he would wake her.

A lone howl rose into the darkening sky, mournful and unanswered. Tilting his head the faerie listened, allowing his sharp ears to pin point the direction of the wolf. Behind them, back towards the river, where he’d found Alanna. Turning to look back at the sleeping figure nestled in the protective embrace of the oak, he gave a nod. She could afford to sleep a while longer.

She had to get away; they mustn’t be allowed to catch her. Running as fast as she could, Alanna raced through the trees, her feet skipping over and around stones, roots and fallen branches. She wasn’t even sure why she was running, or how she had ended up in the wood. She just knew that she had to get away, that she couldn’t get caught.

Bursting out of the tree line, Alanna slid to a halt on the rain soaked ground causing the mud to squelch between her toes.

Struggling to catch her breath, she listened as fresh rain began to pelt the ground and soak through the woollen fabric of her dress like icy fingers.

Now that she was stood still, Alanna realised she wasn’t wearing her cloak, which bought a wave of unease rippling through her. She could no longer conceal herself from the eyes of her enemy.

Alanna woke with a slight jump, her face lined with confusion before she blinked with frown. “Always the same one,” she murmured.

Pamishna glanced at her, before turning his attention back in the direction of the river. They were being followed.

“We need to get moving, we can’t afford to linger.”

Alanna nodded, tentatively curling her toes to test the severity of her injuries. A gentle tingling sensation filled her feet, spreading towards her lower legs before developing into a deep burning pain.

A low hiss slipped through her teeth as she waited for the pain to subside. “My feet are going to slow us down,” she said.

The Faerie warrior looked at her wounds and gave a nod, “Then be thankful I have been blessed with these,” he said, spreading his rainbow coloured wings. “We must head for Val Asteria in the mountains.”

Alanna felt her stomach tighten with sudden fear. Val Asteria was the fabled haven of faerie-kind. No-one but the faerie race could find the location of it. That wasn’t what worried her though. If they went into the mountains, her connection with the trees would weaken and she would be vulnerable against attack. There was a strong possibility that she wouldn’t be able to summon enough power to defend herself. Surely Pamishna knew this. Her magic was that of the Nymphs, bound the life force of Elisten; to the trees, the animals and the rivers. In the mountains there was nothing but rock and she wasn’t attuned to the solid element enough to manipulate it to her needs. Not like a true Elemental. There was no true life force in rock and ice.

Perhaps that’s what he wanted, for all she knew he could be waiting for her to be helpless, away from the forest’s protection. At the moment even though she couldn’t walk, she could still kill and wound any enemy that tried to attack her.

With her death or capture the Dark Sight invasion would be complete and any threat to they domination would be gone.

Watching the Faerie Warrior, Alanna gave a slow nod, her eyes blank, camouflaging her doubts. She could do nothing more now than wait and see if her suspicions were justified. If they were, she could always kill him before her connection with the forest became too weak…

The wolf Marcane trotted along the edge of the tree line. He halted and stared, unblinking into the darkening trees; her scent was still strong. The half moon peeked out from behind a cloud as he shifted back into his human form. The forests’ shadow hid a half smile; the wolf was his most comfortable shape. Marcane felt a certain kinship with the beast, for both were loners. He was capable of other animal transformations when the need arose, but for common shifting he was a wolf. Just as his father and brother had been.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew his attention from the trees as his companions came into view. He gave a light snort, they were about as quiet as a pack of stampeding boars.

“Hal,” Marcane greeted with a slight incline of his dark head.

The large bearded man clapped a heavy hand on the shifters shoulder.

“Quite the little fighter our Nymph,” he mused, casting a curious eye over the carnage.

“She’s still close,” Marcane offered, turning his attention back to the shadowy trees.

Hal frowned, “Why would she still be in the area? Surely she must know there’s too great a risk of more Dark Sight arriving.”

Another burly man stepped up beside them, his dark gaze following Marcane’s into the forest. “Perhaps,” he began gruffly, his armour creaking as he moved, “The girl is wounded, not many could face a beast such as that alone.”

Marcane tilted his head thoughtfully in an almost owlish fashion before he stooped down low to the ground. “I think Sheridan might be right.” He spoke softly, before shifting form into a small black bird and flittering into the trees.