Page 26 of The Huntsman's Heart
Have I been going in circles this whole time?
“Show yourself!” I challenge the creature, but again there’s no reply.
I step back, stumbling on a loose rock, and there’s a growl from the darkness. That’s all the warning I get before a huge wolf leaps at me, gnashing jaws and snapping sharp teeth at me.
I yelp, twisting to run, only to see a second, bigger than the last, as tall at its shoulder as I am at the top of my head. Vicious, growling, jaws dripping with saliva.
It lunges at me. Instinctively, I jab the knife toward it, but the lunge is a trick. It snaps its jaws and darts away, and I’m only just in time to scramble away from the first wolf. I try again to thrust with the knife, but the creature dodges it easily, leaping away to leave room for its companion to attack again.
Each snap is closer to my flesh, and they gradually drive me back. All the while I’m left wondering what they want. Are they going to attack me? Do I dare to run?
Finally, unable to bear the tension any longer, I decide to make a run for it. I swing the blade wildly in the air, trying to buy some time, then I turn and bolt down an incline with the wolves on my heels.
It’s no good. They are enormous. Even a normally sized wolf could outrun me, but these giants bite at my ankles easily as they trot alongside me.
Sobbing, I come to an abrupt stop. I slide a little on the leaf litter and land heavily on my side.
That’s all it takes. With a roar, the wolves are on me. I jab my knife upwards violently. I meet wet flesh and blood splatters down my arm.
At the same time, sharp teeth sink into my leg.
I scream.
The wolf twists its head from side to side, worrying at me, throwing my body backward and forward. I lose my grip on the knife. My fingers, wet with blood, slide away, and I cry out.
A second set of teeth sinks into my shoulder.
Then pain blinds me and the world goes dark.
I wake with a searing pain in my legs and a deep ache in my chest. The giant wolves are nowhere to be seen.
I try to sit, but I cannot. Dried blood covers me. It’s sticky, and the crust breaks when I lift my head to look down at myself. My clothes are a bloody ruin. Horrifyingly, my legs hang from my body at an unnatural angle, and when I try to move them I see they are partially gnawed, hanging from threads of flesh that looks withered and gray.
The world spins, and my head drops back to the forest floor with a thunk. Bile fills my mouth, and I have to turn my head and spit into the dirt to rid myself of it.
I should be dead.
Then I remember—I am dead. Will I stay this way now? Am I preserved forever in this torment? Choking down a sob, I try to think.
I need help. Or someone to end this misery. The gargoyles promised to help me. They warned me not to leave, but I wouldn’t listen.
With an enormous effort, I stretch out my hand and grasp a handful of earth, hauling myself forward though my legs scream in protest.
Hand over hand I drag myself in this way, stubbornly refusing to give in. What choice do I have? There’s only one way to end this torment. Either another monster finds me and does it, or I make it back to the castle ruins and beg my friends.
I struggle on until the world blacks out again.
Alaric
I pull the strap on Tharrok’s saddlebag to tighten it, and he snorts in annoyance. He’s a wily one. I know he tricks the stable hand by holding his breath as the saddle goes on so it ends up going on loose. He won’t fool me.
The sky is overcast, gray clouds sitting heavily on the horizon. The mood in Thornvale is somber in the wake of the king’s funeral. The queen has decreed that the customary mourning period of a week be shortened to three days to allow the farmers to go back to work. That three days should have ended yesterday, but as I ride into town, many people are still dressed in black.
The clatter of hooves on the cobblestones draws my attention to two castle guards in their bright red uniforms. “Your attention, by order of the queen!”
The second guard blows on a horn, making a terrible racket until people gather around.
“Her Majesty orders you to return to work.”
