Kai was lost for the better part of the day in deep thoughts, as the normal weight of his mother's amulet comforted his neck. Every time his fingers moved to stroke it, the gentle pulse-a heartbeat, it seemed-settled him down in ways he never could have imagined. Words from Lena fell with his mind and somehow reached the forest creatures, calling emotions of hope and fear within.
By evening, he no longer could sit still. Restless, he plunged into the woods, letting his feet carry him down familiar paths and unfamiliar ones. The woods were quiet in the fading evening light, an all-soft glow. The shadows were long and dark, stretched out to stir with tugged leaves above when the breeze moved through overhead branches.
In this way, Kai started noticing while walking. This strong feeling within him, wherein the forest invited him to move ahead, the trees made soft sounds in a manner which he was unable to fathom fully, their continuous noising sounded neither noisy nor too loud for nature.
Then he heard the soft rustling sound. He froze, his hand going involuntarily to his dagger at his hip, but this time, he was not afraid. All along, he had felt that something was with him, just out of the edge of his vision. Now it was closer, as if it had been waiting for him.
"Kai," a voice-a voice that was no voice at all, rather a deep- throated vibration which seemed to echo in his very bones-whispered.
He slowly turned and peered into the dark. It seemed that the mist on the ground started to thicken, stirring as if it took form from the dark. First, he had thought it was a wolf, a huge, smooth creature with dark fur, standing in the night's darkness. But as this approached, he felt it was something. different.
Its eyes were a deep, shining gray, looking back at him; Kai felt energy wash over him like a jolt. The beautiful muscles running under the dark fur-even more than anything else, it really carried this aura of respect. The fluidity of movement almost magically gave it such that with each and every step, it moved in silence, belonging to the shadows.
The other time, he just stood and stared, awed, at the animal. Deep down, Kai knew this was no wolf; it was something ancient and special-something that held the power of the forest in its eyes.
"Are you. real?" he whispered, practically unable even to breathe.
The head cocked, shining with an odd intelligence, and said nothing, yet he knew what it was thinking-the soft caresses of sound in his mind.
You have been chosen.
The words echoed within him, welling up with a warmth and strength that had not stirred in years. Kai fisted the amulet harder, the pulse pounding out a steady beat to the unblinking gaze of the wolf.
"Chosen… for what?" he asked, his voice trembling.
But the beast did not answer him; instead, in a moment, Kai was flooded by visions in his mind: great forests, mountains touching the mist, both familiar and strange beasts that moved in darkness. He also saw himself among them, walking with powerful beings-guardians of the unseen world.
Then, the images just vanished, leaving him with one abiding sense in his brain: purpose.
Kai felt his heart race, his thoughts swirling with questions. This creature, this shadowy wolf, held answers to the mysteries of his life, to the scar that marked him, and to the strange connection he'd always felt with the forest. But as he reached out, the wolf began to dissolve, its form fading back into the mist, as if it were only a part of his imagination.
"Please, wait!" he screamed out, bailing inside.
It stopped and turned back one last time, looking at him with its silver eyes, and in them, Kai thought he saw a silent promise, a stirring of something far inside. One more moment the wolf lingered, then turned and was gone, leaving him to the dying light. Kai was now standing in the quiet of the forest, his heart pounding in his chest.
Something inside had opened up-a door that he never knew was there-and was showing the way. Whatever that was, Kai knew it no longer was possible to keep quiet: the pull of the forest, the whispers of unseen creatures were by then a part of him, a connection very real to be denied. No longer quite so alone, he walked back to his hut-the outcast, the Marked Boy among villagers as always, yet no longer burdened by the conviction that this mark of his was connected with evil malice. It linked. It had a purpose. And it called-he would have to answer it if he chose to.
That night, lying in bed, Kai could feel the wolf there with him, a dark shape hovering on the fringes of his dreams. For the first time in years, he felt a glimmer of hope. He had no idea what lay ahead, but at least he was no longer alone.