The chasm to the left of the castle made for an excellent vantage point on an extremely dangerous level. At least that’s what Andreas thought as he and Sophia made their way carefully across the steep edge overlooking the canyon below. Edric and Ezekiel took the other side, to see if they could find a secret way into the castle from there.

But they weren’t going to knock on the door and ask for entry. Not with the possibility that they would end up on the business end of a pike and hung out to be the next warning on the castle’s pathway. Oh no. They were going to sneak in and see if they couldn’t find out what was really going on behind the wall and maybe get an answer to the location of the heirs.

They made excellent time getting to the castle. Now, the real fun began. Getting in.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. A prickling sensation covered his skin. And a rush of adrenaline coursed through Andreas, and he pushed Sophia into a chasm along the rockface.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyebrows knitted together.

But he couldn’t respond. He was in full instinct mode.

The vexsnare had found them, and the magic in Andreas’s blood boiled with dread.

He pushed Sophia farther into the chasm as the creature drew near, sniffing and shuffling below them.

Sophia gasped and whispered, “It’s the vexsnare, isn’t it?”

Andreas met her gaze and with a frown, slowly nodded.

She nodded once and they both leaned over to peek at the creature hunting Andreas, both on edge and tense. The horrifying wolf-headed creature walked on all fours. The snakes covering its mane slithered and hissed. The creature’s eyes glowed lava red as it sniffed at the rock wall directly below them and mumbled to itself in the common tongue.

That shocked Andreas as he had no idea those creatures could talk. The monsters were mysterious to wraiths, and all he knew was that his kind was a vexsnare’s favorite meal.

They watched as another creature that looked similar to Sophia’s yakshi, but more deer-like and not as big or green, approached from around a bend. Sophia clutched Andreas’s arm as they watched the vexsnare snort and turn its head in the direction of the unsuspecting prey.

The vexsnare lunged, moving quickly and stealthily. By the time the yakshi look-alike knew what was coming after it, there was nowhere to run. It made a high-pitched, guttural sound as the vexsnare snapped its neck with massive jaws and sharp teeth, pulling out a large chunk of stringy meat. Blood spurted from the wound as the poor creature fell limp on the ground.

Andreas couldn’t watch anymore. In mere moments, that would be his fate if he didn’t figure out a way to kill that creature.

He couldn’t shift. That would draw the vexsnare even faster, making him an easy target. Staying in his human form would make it harder for him to be tracked, but that didn’t ease his anxiety. It was worse than what he was originally led to believe. The creature was much larger than the stories told him. The creature was a true force to reckon with, and he would probably need his entire brotherhood to help take it down.

Fighting this creature on the ledge of a cliff wasn’t ideal, either.

“Two delicate morsels come my way,” the creature mumbled and sniffed around.

Andreas wondered who else’s scent this creature could have picked up. He knew he was one, but never considered who the other was.

“We need to regroup,” he whispered.

Sophia nodded, and they carefully made their way back to the others, leaving the vexsnare to its meal and whatever other devices that suited it without them being involved.