From Light to Dark - By Irene L. Pynn Page 0,3

Had he somehow fallen into that land of evil?

Was this girl evil, too?

He smelled a sour scent, like ointment, and something cool and wet rubbed into one of the gashes in his leg. It tingled, and the pain in that spot vanished.

"Yes," she said. Then she tapped his chest and ran her fingers along his broken ribs. "You're so badly hurt. The fall from the tree didn't do all of this to you. Did someone attack you?"

"My people. In Light World," he muttered.

The girl gasped. Her fingers retracted.

For a moment, Eref thought she had slipped away. He couldn't hear anything. Then she spoke again, her voice a few inches farther back.

"I wondered...but I couldn't believe. You're really from the cursed place?"

Eref coughed, and something in his chest gave a painful spasm. "There's no curse on Light World. Unless you count the curse of ignorance."

The girl didn't move or make a sound for several seconds. Finally, she said, "You aren't safe here. These wounds are nothing compared to what Dark People will do if they find you. Come on, drag yourself over here and lie down. I'll move you soon."

Her hand guided Eref to something that felt like an enormous leaf. He collapsed onto it.

"What's your name?"

"Eref. Who are you?"

"Caer."

"And this is really Dark World? What do you mean, what they'll do when they find me? Will they..." He hesitated, somehow not wanting to insult her. She seemed gentle, and she had already helped him so much. "They told us your people are... cannibals and madmen."

Caer sniffed indignantly and brought her silky hands back to Eref's wounds.

"What nonsense. Here we live in the protective shade of the gods. We have to destroy any beams of light that come from above. That's because Light World is cursed - everything is so bright there that your skin melts right off your body, and you go blind in an instant."

He chuckled at this and immediately noticed that the pain in his side had lessened. Her ointment soothed his flesh. Eref took a deep breath, and the aching in his chest subsided, too. It felt as though his ribs were already mending inside him.

"What is this stuff you're putting on me?"

"For your chest? Opaque Cuminaline," she said. "It grows in some of the bushes here."

He'd heard of powerful gems, like the Moonstone, but never healing plants. Still, it seemed to be working. Who could this girl be? She seemed so young. Could she be one of Dark World's healers? "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," she said. "Eighteen soon."

"Me, too."

"How did you get here?"

"I fell," he said. "That's all I know."

"What happened to you? Did the Light World curse break your bones?"

Eref laughed again. "You've got that all wrong."

Caer's fingers hesitated for a second over his heart before she continued. "But you said your own people tried to kill you."

"It's complicated," he said. He tried to imagine how she might react to learning that he was a criminal.

"Well, whatever happened, you're here now." Her fingers left his body. "Your wounds are healed."

Eref heard her stand up. He tried to stand with her but wobbled and fell back down with a light thud.

Caer bent over and touched his shoulders. Again those strands of silk brushed his skin. Her hands felt so gentle. He wondered what she looked like.

"No, you can't stand yet," she said. "The lotion stole your energy and used it to heal you. All you can do is sleep."

She was right. At that moment, exhaustion covered him like a blanket.

He tried to speak, but Caer said, "Shhhh. We'll talk when you wake up. Rest now. Shhhh. Rest."

Caer's lulling voice, her mossy cloak, the soft ground, and the impenetrable darkness enfolded him, coaxing him to sleep. Eref let his mind clear and his head fall back.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

In the distance he heard a rhythmic drumming, like the sound of footsteps. A sluggish feeling of fear broke through his lethargy, but his strength had faded completely.

"Caer, is someone coming?"

"Shhhh."
Chapter Two
Dark

Eref woke up to a darkness so complete he felt he had been buried alive. He stretched his eyelids open several times and instinctively gasped for breath.

"Eref, I'm here. Are you all right?"

He jumped at the sound of the voice. When he moved, he realized that he had been clothed in a mossy shirt and pants. It took him several moments to remember what had happened.

The lights. The End. The stoning. The fall. The crash. The girl.

"Caer?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm right next to you."

"What happened? Where am I?"

"My