Kalin shot across the inky starless sky, eyes tight with the strain of a night vision spell.

Kalin shot across the inky starless sky, eyes tight with the strain of a night vision spell. A shadow hawk wheeled on the tip of a fifteen foot wing and launched itself at her. She dipped right, dropping below the tree line and clinging to branches. A startled bird shot up, swallowed soundlessly by the gliding shadow hawk. 

Kalin waited two heartbeats before cautiously threading through the branches of the trees. It felt like an achingly long time before she made it to the edge of the forest only to be met by a sheer drop to the ocean. Across the open water was the island and the incandescent spires of its castle; waiting.

Photo by Andrzej Kryszpiniuk on Unsplash