The Valley Below the Ridge. Early Morning.
The company descended into the valley as the sun cleared the ridge.
The light was thin, pale, barely reaching the valley floor. Shadows pooled between the boulders, gathered under the trees, clung to the stream's edge. The air was cold, still, the kind of cold that seeped into your bones and stayed there.
Lira led the way, her bow in her hand, her eyes on the ground. The tracks were clear here—the same uneven gait, the same long toes, the same deep claws. But they were strange, wrong in ways she couldn't name. The creature walked like nothing she had ever tracked.
"It's circling," she said quietly. "Not going anywhere. Just... moving."
Grog rode beside her, his eyes on the trees. "Looking for something?"
She shook her head. "Watching. Learning."
Behind them, William rode with his hand on his sword, his back straight, his eyes scanning the valley. He had been quiet since the argument, since the night, since the thing had circled their camp. He was thinking. Planning. Waiting.
Every few minutes, his eyes drifted to Aldric.
Aldric rode beside Gwen, his leg propped, his face pale. He had pushed himself too hard yesterday, and he was paying for it. But he didn't complain. He didn't ask for help. He just rode.
William watched him. The way Aldric held himself, the way his jaw tightened against the pain, the way his hands stayed steady on the reins even when his leg was screaming. He had always admired that about the man who had taught him to fight—the steadiness, the calm, the refusal to show weakness.
He looked away.
---
They found the first sign an hour into the valley.
A tree, marked with claw marks. Deep, higher than any animal could reach. The bark was shredded, splintered, the wood beneath pale and raw. Lira dismounted, touched the marks with her fingers.
"Fresh," she said. "Yesterday. Maybe last night."
Grog dismounted beside her. "It's marking its territory."
"Or it's sending a message."
William rode up beside them, his eyes on the claw marks. "What kind of message?"
Lira shook her head. "I don't know."
Aldric rode up behind William, his horse slowing to a stop. He looked at the marks, at the shredded bark, at the height of the gashes. His face was pale, but his eyes were steady.
"It's big," he said. "Bigger than the one in the pass."
William looked at Aldric. His leg was propped, his cane tied to his saddle, his face drawn with exhaustion. But he was still here. Still riding. Still fighting.
"How's your leg?" William asked.
Aldric met his eyes. "It's fine."
"You're lying."
Aldric almost smiled. Almost. "I know."
William looked at him for a moment longer. Then he nodded. "We'll find this thing. We'll kill it. Then you can rest."
Aldric said nothing. But something in his face softened.
---
The stream cut through the center of the valley, shallow and slow, its banks thick with mud. The tracks led to the water's edge, then stopped.
Lira knelt beside them. "It went into the water."
Grog looked at the stream, the trees beyond, the shadows gathering under the branches. "Can you track it on the other side?"
She stood, scanned the far bank. "Maybe. But it'll take time."
William's horse shifted beneath him. "We don't have time."
"We have time." Aldric's voice was quiet. "We have time to do this right."
William looked at him. There it was again—the steadiness, the calm, the refusal to panic. He wanted to be like that. He had been trying to be like that. But something in him kept pushing, kept rushing, kept wanting to move faster than was wise.
"You always say that," William said.
Aldric met his eyes. "Because it's always true."
William held his gaze for a moment. Then he looked away. "Fine. We do it your way."
---
They crossed the stream.
The water was cold, shallow, barely reaching the horses' knees. The mud on the far bank was soft, sucking at their hooves. Lira found the tracks again—faint, fading, but there.
The forest on this side of the stream was different. The trees were older, their trunks thicker, their branches twisted. The light barely reached the ground. The air was cold, still, the kind of cold that made you want to whisper.
Grog rode beside Lira, his eyes on the trees. "How far behind are we?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. The tracks are cold in some places, warm in others. It's circling back. Watching us."
William rode up beside them, his hand on his sword. "It's playing with us."
Grog nodded. "It's learning."
William looked back at Aldric. He was riding with Gwen, his face pale, his leg propped. He was hurting. William could see it. But he wasn't stopping.
William turned back to the trail. "Then we learn faster."
---
They found the second kill at midday.
Another animal—a wild boar, its body torn open, its legs twisted. The ground around it was scorched, the same black earth they had seen at the tree. But the body was warm. The blood was still wet.
Lira knelt beside it. "Fresh. Hours ago. Maybe less."
William dismounted, his sword in his hand. "It's close."
Grog scanned the trees, the shadows, the places where something could hide. "Too close."
Mirena dismounted, knelt beside the body, touched the scorched earth. "There's residue here. The same as the tree. The same as the clearing." She looked up at Grog. "Whatever came through left something behind. A mark. A trace."
Grog looked at the trees. "Can you track it?"
She shook her head. "Not the creature. But the residue—it lingers. I can feel it." She stood, pointed deeper into the valley. "That way."
William looked at Aldric. He had dismounted, was standing on his good leg, his cane in his hand. His face was pale, his jaw tight, but his eyes were steady.
"You should stay here," William said. "With the horses. Rest your leg."
Aldric shook his head. "I'm coming."
William stared at him. "You can barely stand."
"I can stand." Aldric met his eyes. "I can fight."
William wanted to argue. He wanted to tell Aldric to stay, to rest, to let them handle it. But he saw the look in Aldric's eyes—the same look he had seen in the pass, in the clearing, in the moment when the beast had almost killed them all.
"Fine," William said. "But you stay behind me."
Aldric almost smiled. "That's not how it works."
"It is today."
---
The valley narrowed.
The trees pressed closer, the boulders grew larger, the stream became a series of shallow pools. The light was dim, the air was cold, the silence was absolute.
Lira moved ahead, her bow in her hand, her eyes on the ground. The tracks were clearer here—the uneven gait, the long toes, the deep claws. The creature was close. She could feel it.
Grog rode beside her, his hand on his sword. "How far?"
"Ahead. In the gorge."
He looked at the valley ahead. The walls were steep, the passage narrow, the shadows deep. It was the kind of place where things waited.
"It could be a trap," he said.
William rode up beside them. "We don't have a choice."
"We always have a choice," Aldric said. He had ridden up behind them, his face pale, his leg propped. "We could go around. Take the high ground. Flank it."
William shook his head. "It'll see us coming. It'll run. We'll lose it."
"If it's a trap, we'll lose more than that."
William looked at Aldric. The guilt was still there, somewhere in his chest. Guilt about Edward, about his brother who wasn't here, about the things he had left unsaid. But there was something else now. Something that felt like trust.
"Then we go in together," William said. "And we watch each other's backs."
Aldric met his eyes. "Together."
---
They rode into the gorge.
The walls were steep, the passage narrow, the shadows deep. Lira led, her bow in her hand, her eyes on the walls above. The creature could be anywhere. On the ground, on the walls, above them.
Grog rode beside her, his hand on his sword. "How far?"
"Ahead. Close."
The horses were nervous, their ears flat, their steps hesitant. They could smell it. They could feel it.
William rode with his sword drawn, his eyes on the walls. He could feel it too. The weight of something watching.
Aldric rode behind him, his leg propped, his face pale. He was hurting. But he was here.
Gwen rode beside Aldric, her hand on her sword, her eyes on the walls. She had never been in a place like this—so still, so silent, so wrong.
Mirena brought up the rear, her staff in her hand, her eyes on the walls above. She could feel the residue here, thick and heavy, pressing against her skin.
"It's close," she said. "Very close."
---
Lira saw it first.
A flicker of movement, high on the wall to their left. She raised her bow, but it was gone before she could shoot.
"It's above us," she said. "On the wall."
Grog looked up. The walls were steep, the rock rough, but there was something there. A shape. A shadow. Watching.
"Stay together," he said. "Keep moving."
They rode deeper into the gorge.
William looked back at Aldric. His face was pale, his hands steady, his eyes on the walls above. He was scared. William could see it. But he was still here.
William turned back to the trail.
"Together," he said under his breath.
The attack came from above.