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departure frightened her in ways she couldn’t understand. “The creature still lives. You cannot leave yet.”

    “Only two of my men will be leaving. They have another assignment.” He stood and held out his hand for her. “Now come tell me what happened the day the creature came.”

    She didn’t hesitate a moment in placing her hand in his. His hand was warm and strong as it enfolded hers. She told herself it was just because he chose her over Theresa, but it was more than that. If she didn’t watch herself, she could find herself becoming besotted with him for the simple fact he paid her attention.

    But she had to remember the real reason he was with her was because she was here the day the creature had come, not Theresa.

    “What were you doing?” he asked when they were once again standing beside the burnt earth.

    She pointed to the stone over his shoulder. “I was sitting there.”

    “Doing what?” Cole asked.

    “I come here for solitude,” she said after a moment. She hadn’t wanted to admit she came to escape her sister.

    Hugh stepped closer to her. “Then what?”

    “The sky became black as if night had fallen in the middle of the day.” She looked up at the sky. “I looked up at the clouds and then the earth began to shake. It knocked me off the stone, and it began to lightening so fiercely that I knew I would be struck.”

    She stopped and wrapped her arms around her as she gazed at the burnt earth.
    “When the lightening stopped, I heard the most awful, bone chilling scream. When I looked up, it was to see the creature flying towards the castle.”

    “And that is all that happened?” Hugh asked.

    She nodded. “After that I ran toward Sasha and raced to the castle. Since then we’ve been plagued by the creature every night.”

    “How many has it killed?” Val asked.

    “So many that I have lost count. The castle and village used to be full of people, but they soon ran for their lives. The ones that stayed have been picked off, one by one, every night.”

    “I find it odd that in a month it hasn’t destroyed everything,” Gabriel said as he put his foot on one of the fallen stones.

    She looked from Gabriel to Hugh. “What?”

    “The creature’s mission is to kill off everyone in your village,” Hugh explained.
    “Whoever is controlling it is keeping it from killing too much at once.” Gabriel turned and looked at the castle in the distance. “The question is why.
    The creature could have killed everyone in a week’s time.”

    “By the saints,” she whispered and slumped onto a stone.

    “Then ‘tis time we put a stop to it,” Hugh said and gently touched her hand.

    Hope blossomed in her heart. She raised her gaze to him. “Do you have a plan?”

    “I always have a plan.”

Chapter Four
    Hugh looked over his men once they were inside his chamber. They hadn’t been separated since their first assignment, and he wasn’t happy about this. But he also didn’t have a choice. Mankind depended upon them, whether they realized it or not.

    “Any of you wish to volunteer?” he asked.

    All five of them stared at him and waited. It was just as he expected. None of them wanted to go, but they all knew someone had to. It would be up to him to make the decision.

    The role as leader of The Shields had come upon him without him even wanting it. The decisions he made would affect them all for the rest of their lives, however long that might be. Truthfully, he didn’t want to send any of them. He should be the one that went, but as soon as that thought entered his mind it was replaced with the thought of Mina.

    He gazed at his men again and took a deep breath. “Roderick, you and Val will take Aimery’s new orders,” he said. And as he anticipated, neither man disobeyed him.

    “Aye,” they replied.

    His chamber suddenly seemed too small. He longed to stretch his legs and walk around without carrying weapons hidden in his clothes or wondering when the next