Page 7 of Lethal King

Maybe I wasn’t so foolish, after all.

Before that pinprick of hope can grow any brighter, though, I feel the weight of Egon’s giant body rise up behind me. Then, I feel his sharp fingers wrap around my little wrist.

“Come with me,” he starts. But we’re both slippery with sweat, and the moment he pulls me back onto my feet, I yank myself away.

Then, suddenly, I’m running.

My knees pulse with a savage heat. My thighs are cold and numb. Still, they somehow manage to carry my heavy body forward as I race past the distracted ogres at the doorway.

“Grab her!” I hear Egon shout, but his voice quickly trails off into the distance.

Yapping hounds replace his barking orders.

Turning a corner, I spot a shadow struggling to keep his beast under control as it lunges uncontrollably at something I can’t quite see.

A flash of fear bashes down my resolve as I turn and start to run the other way.

I need to get out of here. This is my chance to escape. Whatever is happening, it’s given me an opportunity.

But then I hear something that stops me dead in my tracks.

The vicious barks of that ravenous hellhound spiral into a flurry of terrified whimpers. The man who was holding it back screams, and his deep voice shatters into a high-pitched wail that’s so shrill it stings my ears.

Then, they both go quiet. Quiet enough that I can hear their blood splash against the peeling walls.

Suddenly, the burning air is filled with something more terrifying than suffocating heat.

The stench of death.

Somewhere ahead, another set of brutal barks turn into the witless whimpers of a dying animal.

My pinprick of hope fades. This new monster is no better than the others. It kills animals.

But instead of feeling fear, my mind snaps onto what I have hidden beneath my mattress upstairs.

Willow.

She’ll be devoured too.

Even as terror threatens to drag me through the floor, I find my aching knees pumping towards the staircase. But I can hardly find my way through this twisted maze, and sweat mixes in with my tears until I can barely see anymore.

When I turn the next corner, something heavy catches my foot, and I fall to the floor. But I don’t stop to check what just slowed me down, not even as I desperately crawl through a pool of crimson blood and push myself back onto my feet.

Only one thing matters.

“Willow!”

My voice cracks. My shriveled heart pounds. My lungs burn. My legs turn to lead. But when I finally see the stairs up ahead, I only run harder.

In the blink of an eye, I’m up them.

More screams crawl through the chaos below. More barks turn into terrified whines. More blood paints the peeling walls.

I ignore it all.

Finding my room, I burst inside and slam the door shut behind me.

“Willow!”