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The howl of a hound splits the silence, the otherworldly sound chilling me to the bone. We spin to face the woods as the black dog races out, its eyes glowing with hellish intent.
“Shit!” Marc raises his shotgun, aiming at the beast.
As soon as it gets close enough, he shoots salt and lead at it, wounding the creature.
Dark blood sprays the ground, and where it touches, fire erupts upward, forming a gate. Despite the flames, an icy breeze sweeps over us, and I squint against the brightness as shadows form at its center.
“What do we do?” Marc swings the barrel of his gun toward the flaming ring with uncertainty. “Do I shoot it?”
Before he can try, the black dog rushes at us again, and Marc redirects his shotgun. As he fights back the beast, the shadowed shapes solidify, and the cloaked horsemen ride into the human plane.
A riderless horse stands at the front, with six dark riders fanning out behind it, deep cowls pulled low over their faces.
As one, the hoods turn in our direction, and dread pushes through me, my legs trembling with the need to run like a rabbit before the hounds.
The Wild Hunt, come to collect the lives of sinners.
We’re out of our depths, facing forces far beyond our understanding. Fear coils in my gut, but I push it down. We have people to protect from the world of horrors standing in front of us.
“Why aren’t they moving?” Sharpe whispers, his gaze glued to the dark figures.
“They look like they’re waiting,” Darius says.
A stir goes through the riders, and the weight of their regard shifts past us.
We turn to look as a small figure steps around the side of the Conservatory building, and a cry of denial bursts from me as Star walks toward the Wild Hunt. Her black hair floats behind in a breeze of its own, her purple eyes blazing and unblinking, as if in a trance and unaware of the danger surrounding her.
“Star, no!” I sprint forward, but the black dog is already there, snapping its jaws at me with a vicious snarl, driving me back.
Marc shoots salt and lead at it again, blasting a hole through its center, and the spray of black blood blazes across the ground, a ring of fire erupting to separate us from Star and the Wild Hunt.
“No!” I scream. “You can’t take her!”
One of the ghostly horsemen turns to look at us, and his voice shrieks out like the caw of carrion birds. “A child will lead the hunt.”
“Then let me go with her!” I demand, desperation clawing at my insides. If I can just get close to Star, I can somehow save her from this fate.
The horseman stares at me, the weight of judgment turning my legs to ice. “Only the heart of a warrior can pass through the ring of fire.”
The freezing chill of the flames numb my face as I take a determined step forward, bracing myself for the burn. I’ll do anything to protect one of my kids.
“Flint, no!” Pen yanks me back by my arm, shoving me toward Darius.
His powerful arms encircle me in an iron grip, holding me tight.
“Let me go!” I scream, struggling against him. “I have to save her!”
“Stop, Flint!” Darius growls, refusing to release me. “You’d just be killing yourself.”
“Pen!” I plead, desperation filling my voice. “I need to go with her!”
Ignoring me, she turns to Sharpe, resolve in her golden eyes. “Figure out a different way to end this than the one I see.”
My stomach drops. “What does that mean?”
Not meeting my eyes, Pen strides toward the flaming ring, her ash-blond hair dancing in the frigid air.
“No!” I buck within Darius’s hold, too shocked to use my magic against him. “Pen! Don’t you dare hurt her!”
