I gritted my teeth and stumbled to the rain-streaked window.
“What do you see?”
“It’s hard to make out in the dark.” I squinted, cupping my hands around my eyes to see better through the glass. As my vision adjusted, dark figures drew into focus. Men with torches tore across the bailey as though the walls had been breached. Except, the main gate was still closed.
Metal tolled, and a metallic scream pierced the night. Torchlight flickered over an impossible sight. One of the soldiers battled an oddly shaped creature, its frame blackened and wiry. Its movements were jerky, yet swift enough that the soldier struggled to defend himself.
The man’s blade flashed, but the creature darted past it. Daggered fingertips raked across the guard’s jugular, and he collapsed, choking on his own blood.
My heart slammed into my ribs, pounding a frantic beat. “That’s not possible.”
“What? What is it?” Penelope shrilled.
Before I could answer, the monster dove upon the dying man. Its mouth cracked open, unhinging wider than any mortal’s. Lightning flashed, illuminating a gruesome maw of serrated teeth. Jaws snapped, ripping off a chunk of the man’s flesh.
Horror locked me in place, turning my blood to ice. Shock failed to shelter my mind from the disturbing image before me.
Next to the wounded soldier, the ground roiled and rumbled, chunks of debris rising and tumbling away. From the torn soil, a skeletal body clawed its way free. Red eyes glowed in the hollow sockets of its skull. Rotted skin clung to its bones.
It eyed its brethren and the fallen victim, then dropped beside them. The creatures tore into the steaming corpse.
“Flesh eaters.” The words whispered through numb lips. The vision outside the window was the stuff of nightmares made real.
“What? What did you say?” Penelope’s voice quavered.
Lightning lit up the sky, and my eyes widened while my pupils shriveled. On a rise beyond the gates, a rider loomed astride a skeletal steed. Rusted armor adorned his master’s frame, his emaciated body more corpse than man. As I stared, his head swiveled, and glowing crimson eyes speared me in place, lodging my breath in my lungs.
Surely, he couldn’t see me. Surely…
He tilted his head back. Strange clacking noises emerged from his throat.
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
It was a mix between the rattle of a serpent’s tail and the scrape of clawing insects. The sound raked my eardrums, making my teeth ache.
In the bailey, the creatures ceased their attacks. Dark, monstrous heads swiveled toward me, soulless red eyes lifting—staring right at me.
Their skeletal jaws unhinged. Horrible noises emerged from their gnarled mouths.
They answered their leader in kind.Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, lurching back. Shallow breaths puffed past my fingers.
The floor quaked beneath us again, driving a muffled squawk from Penelope.
“Tell me. What did you see?” Her bottom lip trembled.
I stared back at her, words frozen on my tongue.
“I order you to tell me!”
There were no words to describe what I’d seen. No words she’d believe.
I stormed to the dressing table, extending my hand to Penelope. “Come, my lady. The manor is under attack. We need to hide.”
She backed deeper beneath her shelter. “No way. I’m not listening to the advice of a slave. We must stay right here. My guards are the finest in the land. They will protect me.”
Not even the mightiest of warriors could defeat such creatures. And given the way they’d focused on Penelope’s bedroom window, I feared they were headed right for us.
