Chapter 2: Kaden

Kaden

How strange. 

The coordinates I was given took me to the middle of f*****g nowhere. All there is is this giant cliff that plummets to the sea and nothing beyond that. Behind me are acres of empty fields and the endless forest from where I just came from. I should’ve known that tip was a load of s**t. That barkeeper owes me my money back. Whoever put it in his head that there’s this priceless lost treasure at the end of the world that’s worth more than a thief could even fathom�"was delusional as f**k. I spent the last of what money I had on supplies for this venture, and it's all run out. I’m so screwed. If I ever see that asshat again, it’ll be hell to pay.

I spot a pebble on the ground, and I center all of my troubles and tribulations on it and kick it so hard it flies off the cliff. 

I play back through the old man’s instructions in my head. 

‘Follow my directions very carefully, boy,’ he said, ‘here’s a special compass that will guide you to what you seek.’ 

Maybe I missed something? Maybe the map is wrong. I paid a hefty price for this piece of parchment, so I doubt they’d sell me a faulty map. Maybe the barkeeper has lost his marbles and sent me on a wild goose chase for the hell of it and pocketed the money that I shouldn’t have given him in the first place.

Jobs have been slim these days, and I was desperate. How pathetic. 

I clench onto the compass, the bronze metal cool in my hand, its thin chain wrapped around my neck. I hear a crack. S**t, I must've gripped it too tightly. 

A week of traveling just to end up back where I started. Empty-handed and thirsting for a real challenge. 

I yank the chain off my neck and step closer toward the edge. “What a worthless piece of junk,” I raise my arm, readying to toss the compass down into the crashing waves and jagged rocks. But something stops me in my tracks. In the corner of my eye, I see the needle begin spinning sporadically. Faster and faster, the arrow spins as if it had a mind of its own. It's like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The crack in the glass wouldn't have caused it to go haywire, right? 

“What the hell?” My brows furrow as I gaze at this strange anomaly in the palm of my hand. 

I look over my shoulder when Max lets out an irritated squeal. Her hooves stomp on the ground with a raised head and flared nostrils as she pulls her ears back in alert. Something has her rattled. She senses it, too. A change in the wind, the fog thicker and heavier. My attention snaps back to the compass when it abruptly stops spinning. 

“Huh?” 

The thing must be broken because, according to my basic compass reading, whichever end of the needle points toward the sun is South. But right now, it's pointing North, facing the opposite direction of where the sun is setting. This isn't right.

I doubt it's telling me to end it all here and now and jump off the cliff. Anyways, It’s not like it has this magical property to enchant you to commit suicide. However, that does sound like something Ms. Langston would gladly tell me to do if I was still under her ‘care’ at the prison slash orphanage.

Aside from reminiscing about my childhood trauma, magic has been banned in the kingdom for decades now anyway. Even though I’m on the far outskirts of its borders, the citizens of Solaryis would never risk their lives for breaking the law. The consequences of committing such a crime are far too great. The King and Queen made sure of that. 

Hell, I would know. 

But something is tugging at me, tempting me to climb down and see if there is any possibility that something is there. F**k it. It’s not like I’ll fall to my death or anything. What’s the point of living if you don’t constantly put your life at risk every now and then? I am known as the daredevil amongst my friends back in the village. I mean, I would be if I had any friends. 

“Max, if I’m not back in two hours, go get help,” I rummage through my satchel and grab a pickaxe and rope. 

Now that I think of it, it's a bit odd that the barkeeper knew precisely what I’d need for my journey and that the exact things were at the merchant's shop he sent me to. That's not suspicious at all.

“I know you can’t understand me because you’re a horse, but I’m counting on you girl.” She bobs her head up and down like she actually understood me, her midnight black mane blowing in her face. I give Max a quick scratch on the jaw, then make sure my knives are where they should be. 

I carefully find my footing and lodge the pickaxe into the rock, beginning my descent down into uncharted territory. 

This better be f*****g worth it.