The Owl

The Owl (from the short story collection titled Things Left In The Dark)

By M. T. Maliha and narrator Tracy Collier

Deep in the frozen expanse, a girl is being followed by something ancient—a creeping shadow wavers and waits to fuse itself directly into her skin. It wants her flesh, her breath- her soul.

Perched in the heavy canopy, a silent sentinel waits and watches. In the marrow of his hollow bones, the owl hears the rumbling whispers of the Old Ones echoing from the Norse myths of old. He knows the balance of the world. He knows the secrets of the ancient ice. And as the dark closes in, he listens to the gods declare exactly how much shadow the permafrost can bear before it breaks.