Page 204 of Eldritch
“Good. I don’t want your lips anywhere near me.” Wrapping Dravien’s arm around his neck, Kazhimyr helped him step away from the tree, and the three men stumbled back through the forest, toward the horses.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
MAEVYTH
Tingles danced over the back of my hand, and I opened my eyes to see the glove glowing and pulsing, a strange vibration in my nails. Low and menacing sounds of chuffing and hissing drew my attention to the crumbled section of the wall, where Zevander crouched, studying something below us. Behind me, Father, Aleysia and Corwin all lay curled like cats around the fire, their mouths gaping with snores.
I carefully rose to my feet, and on quiet tiptoes went to stand beside Zevander, where the focus of his attention became clear.
Below us, Raivox hopped and flapped his wings, hissing at the ground.
“He’s been doing this for a while now.” Zevander spoke low, never taking his eyes off the Corvugon. “He senses something.”
Faint and rising pulses across my hand intensified in some strange pattern, as if it were trying to communicate.
“Should we leave?” I whispered
“I’ve been mulling that question for the last hour. Without rest tonight, everyone will be exhausted come daylight and we’ll lose time. But his behavior concerns me.”
“I’ve certainly never seen him do this before. He almost seems afraid.”
“Yet, he doesn’t want to leave. Perhaps protecting you from something.”
The thought of that troubled me.
“They’re coming,” a quiet voice said from behind, and I turned around to see the little girl from earlier standing in the corner. “They’restarving.”
“Who?” I asked, and in my periphery, Zevander turned, watching me.
Even from where she stood, she seemed to hear me, as she answered, “Vyrmish.”
“What are they?”
“The flesh eaters. Sacton warned they would come. The demons in the ground. And they did. The ground shook. And the beasts rose from below.”
She turned, and where her back should’ve been gaped a grisly wound of raw, macerated flesh. Her spine dangled free, attached only at the base of her skull. Whatever had ravaged her had left behind little meat on her bones.
Cold tremors surged through me, my heart pounding a rhythm of fear, as I stared at her horrific injuries. “Zevander.” My voice was too quiet, strained by the tightening of my throat. “We have to go. Now.” I spun around. “Everyone, wake up!” I screamed. “We have to go! Now!”
All three of them startled awake, their hasty jerking movements sending a plume of embers into the air.
“It’s too late. They smell you now,” the girl said from behind.
A seismic growl rippled through the air, and the ground split beneath Raivox, sending a tremble that shook the church’s fragile foundation.
Raivox roared and shot upward, hovering in the sky above us.
Around eighty yards off, the ground shifted, and a screeching sound erupted as the dirt and vegetation seemed to cave in on itself. The layer of snow melted away in a perfect circle that stretched at least forty meters wide.
“What is it!” Aleysia called from behind. “What’s happening?”
I stared across the sloping hill, the ground visible only by the faint moonlight. “I don’t know!”
Beneath the erupting clamor rose frantic neighing and squeals from below.
“The horses! I have to set them free!” Corwin scrambled to his feet.
“Corwin, wait!” I screamed, but he was already running toward the staircase.
