Chapter 2: Memory Lane

Traveling through Kai was no simple feat. Here we used dog sleds or snow horses to make it through the thick snow. They were taking a dog sled. Dogs were cheaper than horses and lily and grandma were unfortunately poor. It was snowy most of the year and Lily hated the cold. "Achoo!!" Lily rubbed her dripping nose across her sleeve. Her grandmother glared at her knowing that she needed to break those nasty habits and never let her husband see. Lily's grandmother, Nanita had been there for her since the deaths of her parents. Lily's eyes glazed over as she got lost in a memory.

The sun was low and Lily was ice fishing on one of the warmer nights. Even though there wasn't much snow on the ground, this season was perfect. Fish were in their mating season and active under the ice. Lily was only 6 years old at the time. "Mother!? Father!?, I'm back and I caught a big one!" Lily exclaimed with glee. She caught it on her own and she was quite proud. She pushed open the large wooden door to their cabin. Instantly the metallic scent was overwhelming. Lily gasped for air and covered her nose, when under candlelight did she see the corpses of her parents and a huge beast standing over them. His mouth was frothy with blood and saliva. A low growl escaped his jaws when he spotted Lily. Lily was speechless but anger welled up inside her. She charged the beast without even thinking and stabbed it with her fish scaling knife. "ROOOARR!!" The beast cried in pain and then crashed through the window and ran. As she watched it transform into a human shape, she knew. A nonhuman. Lily's eyes burned into the back of the silhouette as it disappeared.

Lily wiped her eyes as she heard her grandmothers voice. "Lily? "We are almost to the city!" Lily lifted her head as she saw large buildings, horse carriages and large groups of people. "Today is an auspicious day." Nanita whispered to Lily. She pushed her muscles into a fake smile and held it there for her grandmother to see.