Thorn — Michelle Erickson

Lanta is ten when the guards of Dura come to take her away from her family.
She wouldn't have minded that much if it weren't for the fact she was going as a sacrifice.
Something lives inside the Xion Stump with the red X on its door.
Everyone says it's a monster, but no one's ever seen it.
Today, for Lanta, the mystery will be unraveled.
For the first time in her life, she'd rather not know.