The Silver Knight Read Online Free Page B

Everard dashed a rain of holy water over him and the blood-fiend.
    The monster curled up, shaking uncontrollably. It split the air with such piercing howls that the echo set the church bells humming in response. Sufyan watched it twist as if it would break itself apart, waiting for his chance to cut off its head. He managed to contain his disgust as the fiend seemed to disintegrate in front of him, and yet still it lived.
    “Kill it!” Everard cried.
    Sufyan glanced over at him and saw an expression of agonized anticipation on the knight's face. Skin paler than a lily, eyes black in the half-light, he looked like Azrael, the beautiful Angel of Death. Sufyan knew Everard must long for this victory more than he did, and cried, “Help me. Let's destroy it together.”
    Everard paused only to dip his sword into the holy water before he advanced on the fallen blood-fiend. The creature tried to drag itself away. Sufyan lifted one scimitar at the same time as Everard raised his sword.
    The fiend cringed, whining in terror.
    Sufyan and Everard brought their blades arcing down simultaneously upon the monster. The sword points met, clashing so hard that sparks flew, and then both weapons slammed onto the stone pavement.
    The blood-fiend had vanished.
    Sufyan looked up, furious. The monster crouched a short distance away, its jaw hanging open as if it was laughing at him. How had it moved so fast? He couldn't believe it had escaped them so easily. With a growl, he ran forward and chopped at its horrible grinning visage. The fiend ducked and slipped away, bounding out of the church door into the graveyard.
    “Follow it!” Everard brushed past, his gaze wild. “Quickly, it may lead us to its resting place!”
    They hurried outside, dashing clear of the porch in case the fiend lay in wait for them upon its roof, and then they stood back to back, circling slowly through the cemetery with its simple markers of wood and stone.
    The sky had darkened now into full night. Above them, the stars shone and a half-moon glowed bright. A chill breeze moved through the yews and elms, setting the branches creaking. Sufyan was glad of Everard at his back. He could feel the press of the knight's mail shirt through his surcoat and tunic. Although he'd learned to fight alone, Everard's presence reassured him.
    “Where did it go?” Sufyan whispered.
    Everard turned his head. “I don't know.”
    They both jumped when an unearthly shriek came from the woods. When the noise was followed by a short yapping sound, Everard relaxed. “A screech owl.” He shuddered briefly and moved closer.
    Sufyan's attention wandered. He wanted nothing more than to turn and take the silver knight in his arms and protect him from the blood-fiend. Not that he'd done a particularly good job of it so far, but he hadn't expected the fiend to be quite so repellent, nor so strong. But now he knew what it looked like, its methods of attack and defense, Sufyan felt confident he could capture and destroy the monster the next time it showed its ugly face.
    He heard a slithering sound from behind a gravestone. “There!” he cried and leapt at the mass of darkness that moved into sight. Everard followed him, and together they chased the blood-fiend back from the church door, across the length of the cemetery, and into the lychgate. There it withdrew into the rafters of the wooden roof and hissed at them, taking a swipe with its long, ragged fingernails every time they got too close.
    “Now what?” Everard retreated to a safe distance and eyed the fiend warily.
    “We burn the lychgate,” Sufyan said. “Revenants cannot survive fire.”
    “Burn the lychgate? But what will the villagers say?”
    “'Thank you,’ I should think.” Sufyan gave him a quick smile. “You keep it there. I'll go back into the church and see if any of the lamps are still alight.”
    “Very well.” Everard's mouth trembled, but he held his sword steady.
    Sufyan hesitated. “No. You go to the