This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Quaraun looked around. It was still early morning. The sun was not quite up. The stained glass windows sent erry shadows across the room. ZooLock was asleep at his feet. Morning had arrived and the storm had left. Chickadee and Titmouse were singing in the pine trees. There was a fresh, musty wet smell to the air. The smell of fresh rain in a mossy forest.


    Quaraun got up and went to the door to look outside. Though the rain had stopped, everything was drenched through. Tree branches hung low, water dripping from them. Dark puddles stood in places all around. The rich black earth was mushy and boggy, waterlogged from the heavy torrents of rain that had kept the Elf and his companions trapped in this church, now for three days.


    "Take GhoulSpawn with you and go back the way you came," a female voice said. "Leave ZooLock behind. Take the half-Elf away from here."


    Quaraun was suddenly alert, his foot long ears perked up high over his head instead of drooped backward as they normally were. With his ears twitching and listening like a scared rabbit, he looked all around for the source of the voice. His sight was not nearly as keen as his hearing though and he could see no one.


    "Don''t let him go back to that village. They''re gonna kill him. He''s too innocent. He doesn''t know who they are. He doesn''t know what they have planned. What they''re gonna do. Take him with you. Don''t let him go back to that place. Now that you have him go back the way you came. Don''t keep following this path."


    "Who''s there?" Quaraun asked.


    The sound of Quaraun''s voice woke Unicorn.


    "Who ya talkin'' too?"


    “I heard something.”


    “I can see that,” Unicorn said. “Ya sexy little ears is gone erect.”


    “Someone was talking to me.”


    Quaraun was looking all around, scanning the trees for signs of life. His body was tense and alert, ready to run at the slightest sound.


    Unicorn kicked ZooLock.


    "What?"


    The Thullid jumped up ready to attack, then relaxed when he remembered where he was. The commotion woke up GhoulSpawn, who sleepily sat up and tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten here.


    "What for did you kick me?" ZooLock demanded.


    "Our Elf busy being terrified bunny having nervous breakdown again."


    "What? Oh."


    ZooLock looked over and saw the panicked look on Quaraun''s face and the stiffness of his tall alert ears.


    GhoulSpawn had never seen Quaraun like this before so wasn''t sure what was going on. He sat on the bed of furs and watched as Quaraun began trembling in sheer terror. Unicorn and ZooLock both went to the door beside Quaraun and looked around with him, but neither of them saw anything, partly due to the fact that Unicorn was nearly blind while ZooLock was a nocturnal, underground dwelling beast who was blinded by sunlight and could see nothing in the day time.


    Quaraun continued looking around then gasped and fell back away from the door. There it was. Right in front of him. The black cat was watching them again. This time it was right there. Inches in front of him. It''s green-yellow eyes gleaming at him.


    “Look at that,” Quaraun pointed to the cat, but when he did the cat lept up and ran into the bushes.


    “Look at what?”


    Unicorn looked to see where Quaraun was pointing. There was nothing there.


    “A black cat, with a jeweled collar.”


    "Ya seeing cats again."


    "Kats?" GhoulSpawn asked. "You see Kats?"


    Unicorn went back to the fur bed and plopped himself down beside the half-Elf.


    "Him been seen cats all over the place for the past week or so."


    "Where?"


    "Every where. Every where we go. We turn ''round and there him go gibbering about cats talking to him and following him..."


    "Are they following him too?" GhoulSpawn''s eyes widened in terror.


    "Aye."


    "They''re everywhere!" GhoulSpawn gasped.


    "Eh?"


    "I can''t get away from them," GhoulSpawn said, now sounding as scared as Quaraun.


    The half-Elf began trembling in fear and started crewing on his nails, and twisting his yellow hair nervously around his fingers, while his gold flecked eyes darted fearfully around the room.


    "Ya what?"


    "They''ve been following me for weeks."


    Unicorn leaned back, looking at GhoulSpawn, then turned to ZooLock.


    "What it with Elves being scared of cats? This one doing it too."


    ZooLock toddled over to get a closer look at GhoulSpawn.


    "What do the cats look like?"


    "There''s a black one. Wearing lots of green jewelry. And a white one. With purple wings. And another black one. And a grey one. With tuffted ears. And an orange one. With long fur. And a flat face. And they talk. They won''t stop talking to me. They show up every where I go. I thought I was going mad. No one else sees them. No one will believe me. The other half-Elves laugh at me. They say I''m crazy. They''ve started calling me GhoulSpawn the Crazed. I don''t know what''s real and what isn''t any more."


    "Those are the same ones I''ve seen," Quaraun said, coming back into the room and sitting on the floor beside GhoulSpawn. "We should leave while the rain has stopped


    Quaraun ordered Unicorn to pack their things and the Phooka quickly obeyed.


    "Travel with us," Quaraun said to GhoulSpawn.


    "I can''t."


    "Why not?"


    "HellBorne needs me..."


    "HellBorne? You mentioned him before. Who is he?"


    "He''s an old man. Ancient. Can''t get around good any more. He''s got a withered arm. Been that way since birth. It''s like there''s no arm there are all. Just skin over bone and the bones are like too short. It looks like he has one arm. He needs help doing things and now that he''s old, just getting around."


    "Have you known him long?"


    "No. My father knew him before I was born. I only met him a about two months ago. He''s a half Elf and he takes in half Elves. There''s a lot of half Elves there. It''s kind of a half-Elf community."


    "So you have a place to go?"


    "Yeah."


    "And you''re not alone?"


    "No."


    "Are you happy there?"


    "I.... Uhm ... Not really. They''re the ones killing the sheep."


    "You''re hiding the sheep from HellBoorne?"


    "Yeah."


    "Are you in trouble?"


    "Kind of. And I will be even more now."


    "More now?" Why what do you mean?"


    "I''ve been gone three days."


    "Do you not have freedom to come and go as you choose?"


    GhoulSpawn looked away and didn''t answer.


    "Tell me about HellBorne. Who is he? What does he want with you?"


    "He calls himself the Summoner of Darkness. Darkness is coming and we have to be ready."


    "Meaning?"


    "He''s gathering up Thullids. A lot of them. Some type of cult. A lot of priests. Like him." GhoulSpawn pointed to ZooLock. "They''re all gathering in the next village from here. If you keep going done that road you was on, you''ll come to it. They''re getting ready for something. Don''t know what. They''ve been gathering up sheep to sacrifice to some ancient Elder God."


    "Elder God? A Thullid Elder God?"


    Quaraun looked over at ZooLock.