And creatures.
So many creatures.
I froze as the closest ones caught sight of me. Hideously malformed with boils coating the massive surface of their shoulders, the hulking monsters rose to their feet and sniffed with their large, flat noses pointed in my direction.
“Human?” one rumbled, lifting one of its many arms.
Maintaining a calm mask I didn’t feel, I withdrew. The moment the monsters were out of sight, I pivoted and ran.
A loud crash sounded from behind me. Dishes shattered. Feet pounded against stone.
I was going to die.
CHAPTERTHREE
I didn’t slowwhen the light faded and darkness swallowed me whole. With my hand on the wall and my bare feet slamming against the stone with stinging force, I ran as fast as I could. Air wheezed in and out of my already burning lungs, but the sound wasn’t enough to drown out the growing noise behind me.
“My treasure,” a voice said in the darkness ahead.
Silently swearing, I lurched to a stop and pressed my face into the nearest wall. My pulse thundered in time with the stampede of monsters chasing me. Gasping and shuddering, I waited.
This couldn’t be the end of me. Would anyone even know? Was there anyone left to care? Maybe Eliana would. Possibly the handful of other humans. That was it. Few would mourn me. My family was dead. Killed by the children of the gods. Creatures. Monsters, like the ones closing in.
“No, no, no. No fear. No fear.” The crazy guy let out a rage-filled yell. “Speak your wish, and I will grant it.”
In that moment as the dim light grew in brightness, I would have begged him if I had a voice. The spell that robbed me of it was the only thing that saved me from making an enormous mistake.
“No words,” he muttered. “Not real. Not real. Look at her shiver. Smell her fear. The pain. A game. I hate games. No, I love them.”
He let out another frustrated yell that faded as he moved toward the horde.
“Wait!”
The rumble of footsteps quieted. From the corner of my eye, I observed numerous pairs of two-toed feet.
“You help?” one asked.
I couldn’t be sure if it was the same one or not.
“More time. More time. To give chase now is a waste. Not real.”
One set of feet lumbered closer, and something sniffed near me.
“Smell real.”
The well of my fear instantly ran dry. It wasn’t because I was unafraid or numb to what was happening. Rather, I embraced it. Accepted it. Fear wouldn’t help me. It was a useless emotion. How many times had my uncle told me that?
Forcing my breathing into submission, I focused on becoming the picture of a calm human.
“That skin. Look at that skin. I want it.” The crazy-man gave a distraught groan. “I need it.”
“You help?” another voice asked, echoed by another and yet another.
“Silence!”
Knowing that the reanimated man was keeping them at bay, I sidestepped away from the horde.
“Stay,” a monster said in a deep whine.
