Page 33 of The Silent Mountain
Favian scans the room, his eyebrows furrow, and, for the first time since I met him, he looks terrifying. “Lend me your power, Favia,” he huffs before his eyes glow in a chilly golden color. It all happens so fast. Before I can even process what’s going on, he dashes towards the balcony door and reaches out his hand. He grabs something invisible, pulling it back.
He tosses the invisible creature back into the room, then kicks the balcony door shut before tugging the blanket out of Stefan’s hands. The fire has stopped, but it’s still fuming.
Favian ignores the throat-aching fumes and waves the blanket towards the room, increasing the fumes. “Reveal yourself,” Favian and Favia demand, their voices merging.
I blink through the fog and smoke, my eyes slowly getting used to it. Through the settling smoke, I can see a creature, small and hairy and with a gnome’s face, being pressed into the corner of the room, growling and hissing.
“Unbelievable,” Cassie gapes.
I step closer, my eyes pinned to the creature. “What is this?” I mutter.
eleven
The Mare
*ALANA*
Tomysurprise,it’sCassie regaining her voice first, almost looking excited when she eyes the creature. “It’s amare,” she exclaims. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen one. I read about it in one of my books.”
“Details, Cassie,” Stefan says, impatience laced in his voice. “Quickly!”
He is smart to hurry her, because Favian looks furious. I step closer to put my hand on his arm, hoping that our proximity will smooth his anger slightly.
“A mare is a lesser monster, more like an evil spirit,” Cassie hurries to explain. “It… it… jumps on people’s chests when they sleep and brings nightmares.”
I clasp my chest, feeling grossed out all of a sudden that something was creeping on me in my sleep. “And why is it doing that?” I want to know.
“It sucks its victim’s life energy,” Cassie chirps. When Stefan shoots her a warning glare, she lowers her eyes. “I mean, obviously, that’s not a good thing. It isn’t common in this realm,” she continues. “That’s why we usually don’t see any mares.”
“Can it talk?” Favian asks.
“No, it’s a lesser entity,” Cassie says.
“Why Alana?” he demands to know.
“I don’t know,” Cassie says. “It might be because she is a wolf, as Sir Stefan guessed.”
“I don’t believe it,” Favian says shortly. “It was specifically seeking Alana out, even following her to my chambers. If it’s a creature haunting werewolves in particular, it would have moved on to the next pack, just below the mountains, with plenty of victims. Did any of your books mention it?”
“No,” Cassie admits.
“Favian is right,” I agree. “Me being a werewolf might have been a factor, but we can’t tell for sure.”
“What type of creature is it?” Barbara wants to know. “Good, chaotic… evil? Does it know what it’s doing?”
“They are malicious and dangerous,” Cassie says. “If successful, they usually suck out someone’s life force completely. They feed on their victims. Alana’s nightmares and her body’s reaction to them were due to it feeding off her.”
I feel sick all of a sudden. “I think,” I mutter. “I need some fresh air.”
Favian looks like he wants to accompany me, but to my relief, Barbara steps in. “Allow me, King Favian.”
He looks at me, and when I nod, he turns to Barbara. “Thank you, Barbara.” He turns back to the creature. “We can’t keep it running around. But I don’t want to kill it either, it might still prove useful to us.”
“I agree,” Stefan says.
“Me too,” Cassie mutters. “Can I keep it?!”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Favian groans. “But it’s actually best if you do keep it.”
