Cover

Title Page

Dedication

For Jeff Sampson, without whom this book
never would have come to be.

Chapter One

Evin blinked once, then squinted. The afternoon sun glared bright white. He raised a hand and shielded his eyes.

Tree bark bit through his trousers. Keeping his eyes shielded, he looked down between his dangling feet. Yellow grass and gnarled roots burst from the ground beneath him—far, far beneath him.

A wave of dizziness hit him. He struggled to remember exactly why he had decided to climb up into the tree.

Twigs crunched. Evin looked down again to see a boy creeping around the tree’s trunk, gripping a wooden sword.

The boy’s name flashed in Evin’s mind.

Jorick.

Then it all came flooding back. Of course. He was playing a game—a game of ambush—with his friend Jorick. The two boys did it all the time. But this time was different. This time he had to win.

Grinning, Evin adjusted himself as quietly as he could. He reached to his side and found a carved wooden dagger attached to his belt. He waited and watched as Jorick looked left and right behind the tree trunks. Jorick didn’t think to look up—he never did.

Jorick took a step forward, then another. One more step and he was positioned right where Evin wanted him.

“Aaaaaargh!” Evin screamed a war cry so loud that Jorick leaped straight up. Evin landed on Jorick’s back and they tumbled into the yellow grass.

Evin twisted Jorick’s arm and swung his leg around his friend’s waist, pinning him down. Jorick lay facedown in the dirt.

“Cheater.” Jorick lifted his head and spit. He squirmed against Evin’s tight grip. “You have to give me another chance.”

“No,” Evin said. “I won fair and square, so tonight we’re going on our adventure. Got it?”

Jorick stopped worming around. His back rose and fell rapidly, lifting Evin up and down and up and down. Though Evin couldn’t see his friend’s face, he knew it was twisted into a scowl.

“All right,” Jorick grunted. “I give up. I’ll go.”

Evin loosened his grip and started to stand. “Good. I don’t know why you even argued against it the first place. It’s all we ever talk about.”

And it was.

For as long as Evin could remember, he dreamed of leaving his village of Hesiod to travel the countryside, have grand adventures, and become a real hero like the ones he read about.

Yesterday, Evin decided he wasn’t going to dream about it anymore. He was going to leave, leave for real.