The Gorge. Midday.
The creature dropped from the wall like a spider.
It was fast—faster than anything that size should be. Its limbs unfolded as it fell, too many joints bending in wrong directions, and it landed on William's horse with a sound like meat hitting stone.
The horse screamed. Its legs buckled. William was thrown clear, hitting the ground hard, his sword skidding from his hand.
The creature stood over the dying horse, its head swiveling, its too many eyes scanning.
William lay on his back, stunned, his breath knocked from his lungs. He could see the thing above him—its gray, mottled skin stretched tight over bones that were too sharp, too angular. Its limbs were too long, its torso too short. Its head was narrow, triangular, with clusters of small, black, wet eyes where its nose should have been. Its mouth was a vertical slit that split open horizontally, revealing rows of needle-thin teeth.
It hissed.
William couldn't move.
---
Aldric was there.
He didn't remember dismounting. He didn't remember drawing his sword. He was just there, between William and the creature, his leg screaming, his arm shaking, his sword raised.
The creature's head turned toward him. Its eyes—too many of them—fixed on his face.
Aldric swung.
The blade caught the creature across the chest—a shallow cut, barely drawing blood. But it was enough. The creature hissed again, recoiled, scrambled up the wall.
Aldric stood over William, breathing hard, his leg threatening to give out. "Get up."
William stared at him.
"Get up!"
William scrambled for his sword. Found it. Got to his feet.
The creature was on the wall above them, clinging to the rock like it was made of nothing. Its limbs were splayed, its body pressed flat against the stone. It was watching them. Learning.
"It's not going to come down again," Aldric said. "Not while we're both standing."
William's hands were shaking. "What do we do?"
"Stay together. Watch the walls."
---
Grog was already moving.
The creature had come from above, which meant it could attack from any direction. He scanned the walls, the shadows, the places where something could hide.
Lira was beside him, her bow raised, an arrow nocked. "I can't get a clear shot. It's too high."
"Wait for it to come down."
"What if it doesn't?"
Grog looked at the creature on the wall. It was still watching. Still waiting. Still learning.
"Then we wait."
---
The horses were panicking.
Gwen had her hands full, trying to keep them from bolting. Mirena was beside her, her staff raised, a shield forming around the animals.
"Keep them calm," Mirena said. "If they run, we're on foot."
Gwen nodded, her jaw tight, her hands steady on the reins. She had never done this before—never been in a fight, never faced something that wanted to kill her. But she was here. She was doing it.
The horses quieted. Slightly.
---
The creature moved along the wall.
It was fast, its limbs folding and unfolding, its body flowing over the rock like water. It circled them, watching, waiting.
Lira tracked it with her bow, but it was too fast, too erratic. "It's herding us," she said.
Grog frowned. "Where?"
She pointed with her chin. "Toward the narrow part of the gorge. Where the walls are steepest."
Grog looked. She was right. The gorge narrowed ahead, the walls closing in, the shadows deepening. It was the kind of place where they could be trapped.
"It knows this place," he said. "Better than we do."
William moved to stand beside him. "Then we don't go where it wants us to go."
Grog nodded. "We go back."
---
They tried to move back the way they came.
The creature was faster.
It dropped from the wall again, landing behind them, blocking the path. Its claws scraped the stone. Its eyes fixed on them.
Lira shot. The arrow sank into its shoulder.
The creature hissed—a sound like steam escaping from a cracked pipe—but it didn't retreat. It lunged.
Grog met it.
His sword caught its claws, deflected them, drove it back. The creature was strong—stronger than it looked—but Grog was stronger. The berserker stirred in his blood. The red crept at the edges of his vision.
Not yet, he told it. Not yet.
The creature broke off, scrambled up the wall again. It was wounded now, blood seeping from its shoulder, but it was still watching. Still waiting.
"We can't go back," Lira said. "It won't let us."
Grog looked at the narrow path ahead. "Then we go forward."
---
They moved deeper into the gorge.
The walls were steeper here, the passage narrower, the shadows deeper. The horses were nervous, their steps hesitant, their eyes rolling. Gwen kept them moving, her voice low and steady.
William stayed close to Aldric, his sword raised, his eyes on the walls above. "It's going to attack again."
Aldric nodded. His leg was screaming, his arm was shaking, but his voice was steady. "When it does, don't try to block. Dodge. Let it overcommit. Then we hit it together."
William looked at him. "Together?"
"Together."
---
The attack came from ahead.
The creature dropped from the wall in front of them, blocking the path. Its claws raked the air. Its mouth opened, that vertical slit splitting horizontally, needle teeth gleaming.
Lira shot. Another arrow sank into its chest.
The creature lunged.
Aldric dodged. Its claws passed inches from his face. He swung, carving a gash across its flank.
William was there, his sword driving into its side. The blade sank deep. The creature screamed—a sound that echoed off the walls, that made the horses rear, that made Gwen's hands slip on the reins.
Grog was there, his sword finding the creature's throat. Not deep—a shallow cut, barely drawing blood. But it was enough.
The creature scrambled back, up the wall, out of reach.
It was wounded now. Bleeding from a dozen places. But it was still watching. Still waiting.
"It's learning," Mirena said. "Every time we hurt it, it learns."
Grog looked at the creature on the wall. Its eyes—too many of them—were fixed on Aldric.
"It's not learning from us," he said. "It's learning from him."
---
The gorge opened ahead.
The walls fell back, the path widened, the shadows lifted. They were through.
Grog scanned the area—boulders, trees, a stream. Defensible. Visible. The creature couldn't attack them here without being seen.
"We make camp here," he said. "We rest. We tend our wounds. Then we figure out how to kill this thing."
William looked back at the gorge. The creature was still there, on the wall, watching.
"It's not going to let us rest," he said.
Grog shook his head. "It's not going to attack us here. It's too smart for that."
William looked at Aldric. His leg was bleeding, his face was pale, his hands were shaking. But he was still standing.
"Together," William said.
Aldric met his eyes. "Together."