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What the hell was that?
Boo stopped walking and growled, the black hair standing up along his back.
Two yellow eyes were staring back from the depths of the Tunnel.
Link was smart enough to know a Dark Caster’s eyes when he saw them. Especially after he had spent the better part of a year in love with one. But this wasn’t Ridley. All he could think about was Sarafine. He wasn’t sure he had enough Incubus juice to face off against her. Boo growled again.
The figure stepped closer. It wasn’t Sarafine.
He could see it now, but he had no idea who or what it was.
As Link’s eyes settled on the smooth grayish-black skin, a part of him knew he was looking at a man, or what used to be one. Aside from the unnatural skin color and a head so bald it looked like it belonged in those alien photos, the facial features were completely human. Except for the enormous yellow eyes—crazed and primal—like a rabid animal.
It was watching him, its eyes widening with anticipation as Link’s widened with fear. The figure stepped out of the black mouth of the Tunnel, where it had been lingering, and for a second Link was sure it was a man. He was wearing ratty black pants that were too short, as if he’d outgrown them a long time ago, and nothing else. Shirtless and barefoot, his body was the same sickening shade of bruised black as his face.
But that’s where the physical similarities between this thing and a man ended. As it extended its hand, reaching toward him, Link saw a web of skin that stretched from the bottom of its arm down to the creature’s waist, like a deformed wing. It looked like something out of one of Link’s comic books, but he couldn’t turn the page and make it disappear.
He jumped back, banging into the wall next to him. He smelled the blood as it ran down his arm.
The creature’s head jerked up. “Where is the boy going?”
A chill ran down the back of Link’s neck.
The voice had a creepy quality that was always a sign someone was on the way to a padded cell, in the movies. It sounded like the thing was talking to someone right next to it, but there was no one there. At least Link hoped so.
“I—I was just leavin’, man. Me and my dog,” Link stammered. “Sorry to bother you.”
“The boy wanders away from home, and what does he see?” The voice rose and fell in the singsong rhythm of a terrifying and twisted nursery rhyme.
Link wasn’t planning to stick around and find out. He started to back up, and the creature reached out its broken and bent fingers, exposing tears in the winglike web of dark skin extending from its body.
It bared its teeth in a demented smile while singing the disturbing rhyme. “The monster in the mirror waiting to kill me…”
For a second, the thing stared at him as if it had presented a riddle for Link to solve and it was waiting for an answer. Link didn’t have one.
The smile twisted into a sneer and, without warning, the thing lunged at him.
Boo charged forward, but the creature caught the dog in the air as he jumped, knocking him against the exposed stone wall. Boo yelped, and Link felt his hands curve into fists.
Grayish-black fingers reached for Link, and his instinct took over. He lurched forward, and in a split second his hand was around the creature’s throat. The movement happened so fast that it surprised them both, and Link almost forgot to tighten his grip.
The thing lashed out, clawing at Link. “The boy is too far from home.” The voice was strained, a hiss more than anything else. A hand caught the side of Link’s face, broken nails sinking into his skin.
“Don’t touch me, you freak!” Link threw the mutated thing backward, and it flew at least ten feet, skidding across the dirt. Until then, Link hadn’t realized how strong he was.
He watched the dark figure rise.
A smile spread across Link’s face. That thing wasn’t the only creature in the game. There was a Linkubus there, too.
Boo was back on his feet, stalking across the Tunnel floor and snarling.
Link held out his hand. He wondered if Macon was watching through the Caster dog’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Boo. I’ve got this.”
The yellow eyes locked on Link, and he watched as the man-that-wasn’t-a-man surged forward like he was running in slow motion. Link pulled the garden sheers from the waistband of his jeans and waited.
The creature sprang, throwing itself on top on Link.
He felt the blades make contact and saw the creature’s eyes widen.
