Prologue

The sky was a gray blanket of clouds, resisting the sun 's persistent rays and darkening the land below. I crouched carefully, holding my breath. The grass rustled as the mouse scurried away. I got up and sighed. "No luck hunting?" Crow, my brother, grinned as he stepped out from the bushes and undergrowth behind. I shook my head resentfully. "Let's go find Mom and Dad. They said they were hunting, too. Maybe we could share tonight." I padded back in the direction of our den, feeling the burnished orange maple leaves crunch between my paws. Crow was beside me, weaving in and out through the brambles and thorns. He hopped from on side to another. Not long after, I spotted the scent of vole. I motioned for Crow to stop. Dropping into the usual hunting stance, I creeped slowly towards it. I leaned back on my haunches, and sprang forward, pouncing on it. I quickly finished it off, feeling blood trickle onto my tongue. "Nice catch, sis!" Crow grinned. I nodded a thanks, my mouth full. We continued towards our den. Soon, we reached the stream. I crossed it, balancing precariously on the stones. My brother preferred to swim across, splashing water everywhere. When we reached the other side, I headed towards the somewhat conspicuous willow tree, the only one in a forest of firs and pines. I nosed a few roots aside at its base, slipping silently through it into a small cave formed by its roots and an old den. We never knew whether it was a fox or badger den, for the scent has washed away a long time ago. I dropped the vole on the pretty empty fresh-kill pile, with nothing else but a mouse and a blackbird, which indicated Mom and Dad had returned, but left. "Where did they go? It's almost moonrise, and the forests aren't safe at night..." Crow muttered, voicing out my thoughts. "I don't know... Perhaps we could eat first?" I suggested. "We can share the vole.. I don't eat much, anyway." "Yeah, good idea. I'm starving!" He flopped down on his usual spot, covered in vines that stretched down from the wall behind him. I pushed some vines together for myself, settling down beside him. We ate, but soon it was time to sleep. I fussed about worriedly, sitting in my nest made of moss and vines. I fell asleep not long after, my dreams haunted with darkness.

Our parents never came back.

~End of Prologue

Chapter one
Raven prodded the water of the silvery lake, sending ripples across its mirror-like surface. Her eyes were fixed on the mountains behind the lake. Crow came and sat down beside her. "Are you fishing or thinking? If you are trying to fish, you're doing a bad job." Raven ignored him. Crow groaned dramatically. "Sis, I thought you promised not to ignore meeeeeee!" The last letters floated on the waters, bouncing off its surface. Raven continued to zone out, paying no heed to her brother. "Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis. Sis." Each word was accompanied with a poke from Crow. Raven got up abruptly and batted Crow on the face with sheathed claws, glaring at him. He rolled over onto his back. "I'm deeeaaaaadddddd. Hear my painful last-" His moaning was cut off by Raven, who promptly jabbed the breath out of him. "Bro, stop it. By the name of Varathajr, just shut up, will you?" "Fine, fine. Anyway, were you thinking of the Land Beyond the Mountains? Dad used to tell us scary tales of that place." "Yeah... I wonder if mom and dad went there. It's been four moons since they-" Crow shook his head. "Let's not talk about it. It's the first half moon of spring, and I think I found a patch of catnip. It smells so good, but I thought I'd come find you first, in case it's some kind of poisonous deadly plant thing... But if it isn't, we can collect some." Raven nodded, mouth watering in anticipation. Every first half-moon of spring and fall, they would have a feast, since prey was good at the time. "Sounds good... Did you catch anything? I'm starving." Crow grinned and bounded away. Raven chased after him, paws landing on the mossy forest floor. When he skidded to a halt, she stopped too late and crashed into him, sending both of them tumbling into a bush. Raven got up and shook leaves from her pelt. "Aargh, pffft." She muttered, spitting out a mouthful of soil. "Crow, where are you?" She called. There was no response. The forest swayed eerily, keeping a vow of silence. She got out of the bush, looking around. The sun was setting, giving the forest a red glow. There was a heavy mist surrounding her, the only clear path was behind, to the lake. She panicked. "Crow! Stop scaring me, you fleabag!" Raven ran forward blindly, exhaling in relief when she spotted her brother's gray pelt between the trees. "What in the name of the Shades were you-" She was cut off when Crow stepped out partially from the mist, grinning strangely, his eyes turning a reddish hue.

"Hello, sister."

Chapter Two
Raven took a step back, ears flattened, "C-Crow? I-Is that you?" Crow bared his fangs. "Of course it's me. Why don't we go home?" Raven took a step back again, terrified and unconvinced. Crow stepped forward slowly, his expression unreadable. Raven noticed his claws were unsheathed and drenched in the dark red color of blood. He raised his claws to his face, drawing a clean cut over his left cheek. Raven screamed. She turned and ran, the trees closing in around her. The mist grew heavier, until all she could see was red. She tripped over a tree root, falling flat on her snout. Terror clutched at her heart as she tried to get up, staggering to her feet. The smell of death was growing stronger. She barely registered anything until Crow's sturdily built body slammed into Raven, throwing her to the ground. "You're mine now, sis." He pointed a claw at her throat and lightly dragged at across, tearing the gray fur. Tiny drops of pain began to slice at her neck, but not enough to kill her... Yet. All he needed was to dig his claws a little further in... Suddenly, part of the weight lifted. A light gray fog was swimming through the red mist, leaving a trail of dissolving white mist that showed the night sky behind. Crow looked horrified, scrabbling at the ground in an effort to get off Raven. He ran off into the now pale red mist, and the fog quickened, clearing the red mist and most of all, Crow. Raven got up shakily, wincing in pain when she stepped on her left front paw. She limped around, looking for any sign of Crow or the red mist. The moon was raised high in the sky, shining dimly above her head. As she progressed deeper into the forest, calling out for Crow, the moon disappeared completely, leaving her standing alone in the dark forest. She tried to get back to their den as quickly as possible, signing with relief when she heard the running water. She reached the stream and slipped into the den, shivering with the cold. She tried her best to snuggle into the blanket of moss, but Raven felt no safer than she was in the forest. Beside her was cold emptiness where Crow normally slept. She pressed her paws into her ears in an effort to keep out the sinister whispering of the forest. Nevertheless, sleep soon consumed her in a blank, deadly silence.

Chapter Three
Shrill screams of despair rang throughout the forest, rendered silent by the frantic, howling winds. Raven awoke, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She felt strong and revitalized, as if the winds breathed life into her once more. She sighed in satisfaction. In this wonderful world, there was a reality where she and her brother, and their parents, were happy once more. Suddenly, the winds of the air stopped, reduced to a soft, swirling breeze. The world swam before her eyes, and for a moment, the stars seemed to spiral down towards her, their starry paws floating in the air. The dizziness abruptly stopped, the landscape flashing back into her eyes like a clear sheet. A bright light shone in front of her. Wincing at the sudden brightness, she took a tentative step forward. The light then transformed into a small ball about the size of a sparrow, which then morphed into the shape of a small kit. It stepped up to Raven and touched noses with her. She became blind for a brief moment, her sight leaving her. She could still feel the wind on her fur and the cold starlight wrapping around her body. She promptly collapsed to the ground, her legs turning to weak blobs. Several echoes reverberated around her head, echoing as if her head was a hollow cavern. She finally managed to make out the words. As soon as she could, the echoes stopped, leaving a single voice. "Find her way she shall, Through the bloodied sea of despair, O'er the mountains of ice to the west, Faceless shadows whispering taunts in her ear. Temptation forbid, Lest she make not her way through the labyrinth of black, Everything will change to darkness." She saw herself standing in a field of green, the night sky streaked with comets. It slowly turned to red, blood lapping at her paws. She looked in horror, unable to move. It rose to her belly, and then to her chest. It reached her neck. She was desperately clawing at the sea of blood, suffocating in the horrid, rotten smell. It continued rising steadily, and the more Raven struggled, the faster it rose. She soon sank beneath the surface. It was happening. She was going to die. At least she would see her family now, if they were really dead. She closed her eyes, her lungs filling with the red liquid. Almost there... almost there-