They Mostly Come Out At Night Read Online Free Page B

damn it. Take the prince and flee."
    The warning came too late as a dark, hulking mass of fur and fangs leapt from the foliage, disembowelling the guard captain with a single swipe.
    Adahy had never seen a Wolf up close before. The creature's body was roughly humanoid, but it seemed disproportionately muscular, with every sinew of gristle standing out and flexing on the thin leather of its belly. The rest of the creature was covered in dark, thick fur which sprouted from it like legs from a spider. Adahy faced the harbinger of his death with a detached curiosity, all at once wanting to take in as much information about this nightmarish figure, but also keenly aware of his impending and violent demise.
    As the captain's body slowly fell, steam rising from his freed warm innards, Adahy peered into the face of the beast, grey eyes and dark fangs reflecting the now-menacing moonlight. It flexed its fingers and lowered its gaze to regard Adahy, emitting a grunting laugh. It knew who Adahy was.
    The prince closed his eyes, waiting for the end.
    A boyish scream pierced Adahy’s serenity. He opened his eyes to the sight of Maedoc falling to the ground, having intercepted a killing blow that was meant for the prince. A thud to his right signified the arrival of a second Wolf who began to tear apart the remainder of the guard. The first creature moved closer, its lethal grin betraying the pleasure that it took in stalking the young prince.
    Magpie Spirit, give me the strength to die with fight in my heart, Adahy prayed, yet he remained rooted to the spot. A spreading warmth in his undergarments alerted him to the fact that he had just soiled himself. He was going to die a coward.
    And then the Magpie King was there. Adahy's father was just a man, but in the dark with his feathered cloak swirling about him, he seemed like a giant. In each hand he wielded two giant black iron sickles, a single one too heavy for Adahy to hold aloft for any length of time. His key distinguishing feature, however, was the mask that he wore to cover his face. The decorative iron helm protruded forward and down, mimicking the beak of a Magpie, and was connected to the king’s cloak by a matching mane of black and white Magpie feathers. When he wore it Adahy’s father stopped being human and took on the mantle of his ancestors, pledged to protect the Corvae and the forest.
    The Wolf moved too slowly, and in a graceful dance the Magpie King breezed past it, moving to intercept the second while the first Wolf's torso slid into two halves. The last remaining guardsmen had managed to keep the final Wolf at bay with their spears and the sacrifice of two of their number. In a smooth movement, the King reached his sickle forward and opened the beast up.
    Then the Magpie King was at his son's side. "Are you hurt?" The uncanny utterance of those tender words from such an imposing figure was ignored due to how welcome they were.
    "Father," Adahy began, and then to his shame he embraced the Magpie King and sobbed openly.
    "My lord…" This spluttered address came from Maedoc, who miraculously had survived the Wolf's blow, but his torn face would never recover.
    "Quick boy," the Magpie King commanded, "see to my son. There will be more on their way, and our numbers are much depleted."
    Maedoc looked briefly at his master in shock at being asked to continue his duties with half of his face hanging off, but with a muttered, "Yes sire," he thrust himself under the shoulder of a still-sobbing Adahy and limped his way in the direction of the Eyrie.
    "What happened here?" Adahy could hear his father query in the direction of Celso's corpse.
    "Mouse wouldn't shut up, led the Wolves right to us," came the reply.
    "What a shame," the Magpie King's gravelled tones continued, "that the Wolves took him first."
    A pregnant pause was followed by the remaining guardsmen's affirmations, but Adahy was already miles away. He was a coward, and he would have died a coward tonight. Even