Page 1 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

Prologue

Larissa

Running for her life, Larissa’s feet pounded the barren earth as she straddled two worlds, their forces pressuring to cleave her in half. Branches snared at her clothes, threatening to entrap her as he neared. Her sharp ears pricked at his footfalls against the damp soil, their heavy thuds creating crevices in her hearing.

“I know you’re out there, little witch.” His lisp mumbled his words, and a flash of black loomed within the shadows. Darker than the night. Darker than death. Broken by glowing green rivers that caused her stomach to roil.

Crack.

She froze.

She shouldn’t be here. Her pulse slowed as her skin heated, the barrier she straddled a cool glisten against her legs, enveloping her body in its protection. Invisible to humans, but to Larissa, it appeared as a shimmering diamond layer that’d been dropped from the heavens. A wall so tall not even the gods could strike it down.

“I can smell you,” the hunter leered from the dark. “Do you know what you smell like?”

Larissa swallowed her snarl, clutching her cloak to hide her glaring auburn hair. Damn Igniso and his infamous fiery hair. She was a beacon in this barren wasteland. To her left, obscured by the barrier, was her homeland. Just a couple feet over and she’d be safe, hidden behind the wall that repelled all.

Temptation ensnared Larissa, coaxing her, whispering to her that, in three little steps, she could return home. The hunter never able to find her again.

But she would never be safe again. Not anymore.

Witches were going missing. And she would find out why. Against the Great Mother’s wishes, Larissa had fled her coven, following clues towards her sisters’ disappearances. And it had led her here to the barrier . . . and this wretched male hunting her.

“You smell sweet and ripe. Ready for the taking, for me to ruin.” His footsteps neared but she couldn’t see him. Shadows swarmed the dead, broken trees, and beyond the rotted forest loomed the rocky wasteland leading to the black pit the humans called Ironwharf Outpost.

Shafts of moonlight faded as they filtered through the blanket of the night. Larissa thumbed the weapon in her holster, a flicker of heat connecting her to its switch. She crouched, one foot still connected to the precious barrier, and peered into the fathomless darkness. Even with her heightened perception, she couldn’t see further than her milky-white, freckled hands.

“There’s something in your scent that gives you away, little witch.” His lisp curled, growing stronger. Larissa suppressed her shudder as the heat enveloping her skin threatened to combust. Tiny beads of burning sweat trickled down her neck, soaking into her brown leather jerkin.

“You smell like fire.” His voice appeared behind her, followed by a mangled hand of flesh reaching round, breaking the darkness apart.

Larissa rolled, flinging her hand at the assailant. Embers licked up her fingers, flying through the air and—

They sputtered out.

Her jaw slackened as the masked male laughed, his eyes barely visible through the slit of his helmet. She spun on her heel, darting into the thick of the forest, away from the barrier.

She had to protect her sisters. She had to keep the humans away from her home.

Forgive me, Great Mother. Light my way, Igniso.

“Elemental on the run!” a new voice cried out.

Multitudes of footsteps chased Larissa, the symphony of a hunt swarming her. Her pulse quickened, and she opened the door to her well of power, allowing the heat to singe her skin, turning her pale complexion into soot-stained, charred flesh.

Flames smothered her feet and twirled between her fingers as she decided to burn this rotten place to the ground. The roar of fire filled her ears like a sweet melody, raging along with her thundering heart. Each step, the earth rumbled along with her, pushing her forward into the blackened heart of the enemy.

“Fire! Contain her!”

Husky shouts echoed in a ring as she stumbled into a small rocky clearing. By Igniso’s wrath, she was trapped. Larissa spun, but was met with a prison of twisted roots and burning bark. A chuckle emanated from the forest and her hand whipped to her holster once again. The metal presence attached to her hip steadied her nerves.

“Your magic won’t work on us.” The hunter emerged from the shadows. He towered over her, his shoulders broad, and all packaged inside the hideous armour that threatened to blind her senses. It was ungodly. The shards of malachite running through it were purely decorative, but something underneath the glistening green permeated her magic, taunting it, smothering it.

“You have broken the Shannara Accord Treaty.” Larissa lifted her chin, her fingers curling over her weapon. “You have started a war with my coven.”

“Oh, we’re looking forward to it.” His marred hands grasped the hood of her dark cloak, wrenching it down. “Come on out, lads. We found ourselves a prize.”

Seven armoured males stepped into the clearing, all hidden behind their masks of black and green. Her magically-infused fire raged behind them, the flames dancing around their invisible protection. Larissa’s lip curled as she tried to force her magic to burn them all to cinders, but it bounced back. Her veins pulsed as her endurance waned, alighting with an age-old pain causing her to hiss.