astonished bowmen. Some found the sense to dive aside, but the creature grabbed a man in each arm and swung them both high into the air above its head and then back down into the ground with a spine-chilling snap of bones, its mouth wide open all the while with its horrid teeth laid bare.
One of Orrell’s men darted in to hack at it with his sword but its head rolled around, spying him. Just as quickly, one of its legs flashed out and grabbed him with its finger-like toes. It pulled him in and threw its face down upon him, burying the man impossibly in its mouth. It then raised its head again and, with a rattling gulp and a shake of its belly, Orrell’s man was gone. There was no hint as to the soldier’s existence, except his sword lying on the bare earth.
The man who had been down the well had found his feet and he ran for the gates, past other guards from outside, who were running in because of all the noise. Attracted by the attention, the creature dropped the two broken bodies and in three strides it was away from the group and had the fleeing man in its hand. It took only a snap of its neck and he was gone, vanished into its mouth as a chicken pecks up grain.
‘Cast your spells!’ Lomar said beside him, slapping Samuel on the arm as if to wake him, while Orrell and his men chased after the thing. They were slicing and hacking at it with their swords from all sides, but the creature avoided their strikes with lightning speed, retaliating with its arms, picking up the men one by one. Bodies flew against the keep walls with a terrible crunch of bones, or were picked up and shaken violently, breaking their backs and necks and ribs. The corpses were then thrown back at Orrell and his remaining men so that they had to avoid their own shattered comrades. When their swords did manage to meet the creature’s flesh, the blades bounced off as if striking the hardest of leathers.
‘Nothing works!’ Master Glim cried out. ‘I cannot harm it!’
Spells were flying from all the mages, but the creature was similarly unaffected. Samuel shook away the fear and made his own, trying to bind the creature’s limbs. The spell had formed true, yet the demon thing continued to dash the men to pieces around it. It should have been held stiff by his spell. He should easily be able to seize a creature of its size, but his weaves slid through it as if it did not exist.
‘Get back!’ the mage, Tailor, cried. He had levitated the wooden stable roof over and with a final effort, sent it crashing upon the beast. Some of the men, Orrell included, caught the motion in the corner of their eyes and dived aside. Others were showered with the splinters and debris as the roof slammed into the creature and cracked in half.
They scuttled back as the monster slowly pushed the roof aside and clambered unsteadily back onto its spindly legs. Bodies littered the ground all around and it surveyed the scene around itself calmly. Its face was devoid of emotion, yet it seemed to be searching for the source of its discomfort with its great unblinking eyes. It spied Tailor and a low, rumbling noise emanated from deep within its belly.
Tailor sensed his peril with wide eyes and turned to run, but the creature bound past Orrell’s men as they hacked at it, and it had him by the leg.
Samuel could see spells pummelling the creature from the Erics and Lomar and Master Glim, but the thing was undaunted as it tore the robes from Tailor’s body before dropping him into its gaping mouth to disappear into the depths of its stomach. It was barely twice the height of a man, and the impossibilities of its acts were perplexing. There was not enough space in its whole body to fit the men it had already swallowed, yet somehow, it had-and only wanted more.
Captain Orrell and the remainder of his men had gathered together. Samuel and the magicians stood in a similar cluster, discussing the situation. The creature looked between them, twisting its pale limbs around itself and rubbing its belly as if in anticipation of its imminent meals. It reminded Samuel of a huge, hideous old man with demonic distorted features.
‘I think we now know what happened to the people here,’ Eric mentioned.
Spying the still-bound, still-gagged body of Sebastian, the creature started leisurely towards him. In all the commotion, Sebastian had managed to wriggle some distance away and now, seeing the creature closing on him, he began wriggling frantically.
‘I’ve tried everything,’ Goodfellow said. ‘It seems impervious to sword and spell.’
‘But not physical blows,’ Master Glim noted. ‘That rooftop knocked it down for a moment. We need something similar…something larger,’ and he eyed the walls around him.
‘Let me try something first,’ Samuel said. He was not enraged as in the past, but he put his mind to summoning as much power as he could handle-he could feel the magic rushing into him, both terrible and sweet. The others stood back, sensing his summoning, but not knowing what to expect.
Pushing a terrible torrent of energy between his hands, Samuel willed all the magic he could muster through his trembling body. The others took a further step back as his spell began to hiss and spit in his hands. Sparks arced between his fingers, snapping and flashing from finger to finger with azure brilliance. All at once, Samuel felt he was on the verge of losing control, his muscles trembled to contain the growing spell between his palms, and so he released it with a shout of exertion, throwing his hands out towards the creature at the very last instant. The spell flew like an unholy comet, warping the air with its vigour and heat and trailing tendrils of lightning behind it. It struck the creature as it was dangling Sebastian above its gaping maw. There was a flash and a boom and Samuel fell, his legs buckling, as the earth rocked back and forth. The others also stumbled around him as they struggled to remain afoot.
A cloud of dust fell all around them. A building across the courtyard was half demolished, lying in ruins across the ground with one of the creature’s long legs jutting out from underneath. Sebastian’s lifeless body was hanging from the second floor, charred and blackened.
‘What was that?’ Goodfellow asked in disbelief, dusting himself off.
‘Just something I’ve been thinking about,’ Samuel replied groggily. His head already felt giddy and his muscles weak from the toll the spell had taken on him. He had used too much power and his debt had been accrued.
The creature stirred beneath the ruins and began dragging itself from the rubble, groaning loudly from its belly.
‘Can you manage another one?’ Lomar asked.
Samuel shook his head and almost fell over. Master Glim held onto him with both arms.
‘Then I think we’re in trouble,’ Goodfellow stated as the thing stood and took an unsteady step.
It suddenly bound hissing towards them on its long legs and Master Glim threw Samuel aside as it landed amongst them. Samuel found his senses and rolled back to his feet, feeling something slap at his legs. He was thrown onto his face once more, sending pain through his neck as it bent at a right angle. With blurred vision, he could see the monster standing over him. Then, the shadow of something large flashed overhead and the creature disappeared with it. A great boom followed and echoed from all around.
‘Get him out of here,’ someone called as the ground still shook.
Something gripped Samuel’s hand and began dragging him across the hard earth.
‘Get up!’ Goodfellow cried to him. He stopped pulling long enough for Samuel to find his feet and they both staggered into the building where Sebastian had hidden before. Goodfellow pushed him up the stairs and they went up into the attic to hide.
Samuel’s heart was racing in his chest as they sat in the near darkness. Shouts could still be heard from outside. ‘What is that thing?’ he said after a few moments.
‘I don’t know,’ Goodfellow returned. His spectacles were missing from his face. ‘I just hope they can stop it. It took your spell and then Lomar threw a piece of that building into it and it still kept going.’
‘They must have summoned it from some hell,’ Samuel said.
‘I don’t believe in any kind of hell,’ Goodfellow stated plainly. ‘There’s no such place.’
‘Until now, I didn’t believe in devils, but there’s one just outside-or something like it.’
‘What are we going to do, Samuel? We can’t wait here until it decides to come for us.’
‘I know. Let’s help the others kill it.’
‘Are you well enough?’
‘I have to be,’ Samuel replied. ‘At least now I’m starting to see straight.’
‘I can’t,’ Goodfellow replied, waving his hand before his squinting vision. ‘Actually, I can still see as long as it doesn’t get too close, but then, I don’t
‘I’ve got an idea!’ Samuel suddenly said. He leapt to his feet and began down the ladder. ‘Follow me!’
Treading carefully downstairs, Samuel was relieved to find that Master Glim and Lomar were waiting there, peering out the door and into the courtyard.
