“Your Majesty,” the court physician bows low.
He’s one of the low-level creatures bound to serve me until my bargain is complete.
I turn to him and scowl. “What?”
“Sire, I trust you will remain in the castle for a few more days before venturing into the human realm?”
“Silence,” I hiss.
The creature cowers away with his head bowed and his tail between his legs. He’s an improvement from the last physician I had to decapitate.
As my anger cools, and the markings across my immortal body darken from red to black, I rise from the throne, walk through the rubble, and into the palace’s overgrown gardens.
Moonlight shines down on the circle of tall mushrooms that will transport me to her abode.
It’s time to reclaim my wife.
Traveling through realms is nearly as treacherous as Alienor’s heart. Faerie rings are only as powerful as their weakest mushroom. One damaged cap or broken stem and the poor soul using the circle could disintegrate into tiny spores.
Only the strength of the bargain stops that from happening. But time is running out. Each passing day brings me closer to losing my humanity.
What’s left of it.
A few more jumps later, I reach the human realm with barely enough magic to hold my form, let alone return.
“Damnation,” I say through a sigh. “Now, I am stuck in this accursed realm.”
Trees and bushes surrounding me provide cover as I sway on my feet, but the notice of humans is never a concern.
The markings on my skin expand with a surge of pain that forces me onto my hands and knees. Groaning, I twitch as wiry hair sprouts through my skin. My bones crack, my limbs lengthen and twist, and the warmth of my blood seeps into the ether.
When my transformation is complete, I stalk forward on four legs, my claws clicking against fallen twigs.
Better.
To the humans, I’m a large hound with sinister eyes. I go by many names—Black Shuck, Church Grim, Freybug, Padfoot, and the Hound of the Baskervilles. At one point, they even called me the Barghest.
I huff a laugh.
The Barghest is the creature who gave me immortality in exchange for my heart and soul.
What they see is a specter of the creature who gave me the magic to stay alive all those centuries.
Foolish humans. Those who try to name me don’t stay alive for long. Any creature crossing my path becomes my prey. If I don’t eat their bodies, I consume their terror, leaving nothing but an empty shell.
Hunger gnaws through my insides, and the magic thrumming through my veins screams with the need to feed.
I keep to the shadows, replenishing my magic on the fear that clings to the darkness. Sliding from person to person, tree to tree, and alongside tall walls, I reach the little cottage where she resides.
There’s no resistance as I enter Alienor’s current hiding place. This is a good sign. It tells me that my attacks on the barriers protecting her have weakened. I pause in the shadows, waiting for the setting sun to lengthen, before sliding beneath her bed and finally releasing my form.
The shadows in this enclosure will nourish me until I can gather the strength to strike.
ChapterThree
ALIENOR
For the next few mornings, I awaken disappointed to find the room intact. It’s almost like the Boogie Man knows I’m onto him, but it’s only a question of time before he returns.