Viscous yellow sap oozed over Kayla’s scarred ring as she stared at the wolf below her. At the moment, the wolf was unaware of her presence, but how long until it caught her scent?

Rustling sounded in the Bulrock tree branches. Kayla stiffened. The Onkron was heading closer. She wouldn’t risk moving her head to check. The wolf was too close. It would notice the movement immediately, and she would be a goner. For she was not out of biting range yet.

The Bulrock sap gushed over her fingers and dropped onto the ground. A few landed on the wolf’s fur. Its ears twitched, and the wolf stood up. Its nostrils vibrated as they latched onto her scent.

A cry of terror leapt up into her throat. She could not die this way. She had already lost her brother to this miserable quest. She could not fail him now.

“Psst, take my hand.” A small voice whispered above her.

That was a human voice, not the gnarly voice expected from an Onkron. Without thinking, Kayla whipped her head around.

The wolf jerked its head up and spotted her. A deep, guttural growl emanated from its throat, and its eyes darkened. In the ever-dimming dusk, Kayla could barely make out the silhouette of a human above her. Five fingers shot towards her, and she grasped them with all her might.

“Not too tight now,” the man grumbled. Slowly, too slow in Kayla’s opinion, he hoisted her up in the tree. Sensing its defeat, the wolf leapt in the air, lunging for Kayla’s dangling feet. Its jaws clamped shut inches away from her heel.

Safe for the moment, Kayla leaned her weary head against the Bulrock trunk, breathing in and out. In the shadows of the colossal Bulrock leaves, Kayla could barely make out her rescuer perched a few feet away, watching the wolf warily. The wolf lunged and lunged, but he could not reach the branch.

“Thank you,” Kayla muttered between breaths. She wiped her arm across her damp forehead. Suddenly, the weight of her quest began to take its toll, and her body felt like lead.

“What are you doing out here in the Dark Woods?” the man said, eyes never leaving the wolf. “Hardly anyone leaves the Macari Mountains.”

“I’m leaving this wretched place behind,” Kayla said, unable to hide the contempt in her accented voice.

The man turned towards her, his head cocked at a curious angle. “Say something again.”

An uneasy qualm filled her stomach, and she kept her mouth shut. She had no idea who he was. Out here in the Dark Woods, nothing and nobody was safe. If anything, Kevin had taught her that.

The man shrugged and turned back away. “I’m sorry. Your accent, it…” He paused for a long while. “It reminded me of someone. Someone I used to know. Very few commonfolk have retained the accent of the Upper Realm.”

Kayla grasped the tree branch to steady herself. It couldn’t possibly be…

“What are you doing out here?” she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.

“Same as you,” the man answered. “There has to be more to life than living and dying here on this cursed planet. A truth to the legend of the Jewel of Laridal. I…”

Kayla felt herself blacking out. She had no doubt in her soul, but she needed to ask one last question. “Kevin?”

The man stopped. He struck a match on the tree branch, illuminating the dismal middle world of the Bulrock tree. And the face of her brother. Kayla’s heart melted with joy, and she burst into tears.