TW: Fighting, weaponry, gore
The monster struck at midnight. Tigris almost didn't hear it at first. She stood in front of the knights, the cool summer night soothing the thin sheen of sweat that had formed over her forehead.
"Be ready. Witnesses said the beast struck at midnight exactly." Tigris warned them. Aodh stood at the back of the gathered group of knights, directing the ones at the back to complete the phalanx formation. Tigris placed her helmet over her head, moving to the front of the formation. In the back of her mind, she could see the mess of gore and blood that had coated the courtyard that very morning.
The hilts of the knights' spears thumped against the ground, confirmation of their readiness. Tigris swallowed, settling into the calm before the battle. Deep in the castle, bells tolled, warning of the dawning of midnight.
"Ready!" Tigris bellowed, "Be on your guard!"
The knights spread themselves out among the square, eyes scanning the distance.
Tigris waited, spear lofted.
The air went still as midnight fell upon them, bells clanging.
One, two. Tigris counted the tolling, her mind going silent. She scanned the sky with a hunter's precision, her muscles tensing.
Three, four. The stars twinkled, starlight beaming down on her face.
Five, six. The air was too still. The knights near her shifted, gripping their weapons uncomfortably.
Seven, eight. There was a flash of movement at the edge of her vision. It wasn't near the castle or by the forest.
Nine, ten. There was something in the stars.
A shiver ran down her spine.
"On me!" Tigris yelled. The knights converged.
Eleven, twelve.
A heartbeat passed as the bells went silent. A stirring of the air was all the warning she got before the beast struck.
A blur dove at them, descending from the heavens in a blur of shifting darkness. Tigris registered a hissing noise as the creature rushed past, barely visible. It snarled and roared, diving for the knights on her left.
As one, the knights raised their sharpened spears.
"Attack!" Tigris ordered, and the spears thrust forward. By all means, the creature should have impaled itself on the extended spears of the men on her left. The sharpened weapons should have pierced the beast's heart with ease.
Instead, the men went flying back with loud cries of surprise. Tigris sucked in a surprised breath as the creature, utterly unharmed, paused over the men pinned beneath its claws. The starlight seemed to warp and bend around it, revealing its hideous form.
The monster was large, as tall as two people stacked atop one another. It curled back, revealing scaly obsidian flesh that glimmered in the moonlight dangerously. Tigris dragged her eyes up from the rattling tail to its hideous face. Its pitch black eyes gleamed intently, intelligently even, tempered with animalistic rage. Its rubbery lips twisted into a leery smile, revealing thick fangs that dripped with ink. The worst part, however, was the snakes.
The vipers melded to the creature's skull, writhing and pulsating in a round mass. They seemed to protrude from its scaly head, hissing and leaning closer to the prey. Venom hissed and dripped from their fanged mouths, sizzling against the cobblestones.
One of the men pinned under the creature's claws shifted, eyes wide with terror. He thrusted his sword towards the monster's chest, straight for its heart.
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The Way We Fall
Fantasy(Inspired by the hit BBC show Merlin) One thousand years have passed since humanity fell. From its ashes, the Faultless Kingdom rose. For many centuries, it was prosperous. Then the king enacted a new law: inkblood is a crime punishable by death. Ro...
