17

Night had fallen upon the land of Athena quicker today. People who remained around the villages locked themselves in knowing what was to come. Rumours had spread about the night quicker than anything they had seen.

Mothers had sent their children into secret tunnels hidden around villages, with the males rushing around to put on armour and find weapons. Something bad was coming and they could feel it. The days of the riders had finally vanished and all had now lost hope. It had been over a year now since the attack on the kingdom, and no one had hope.

As the moon began to rise in the night sky, loud growls and chanting seemed to come from the woods. Those creatures of the night the riders had been able to keep locked away in the forest, now had free reign as the red moon began to make its way higher into the sky.

Walking towards the stone table, Anna gripped the knife tighter in her hand. Lying on the table with nothing on, Markus' pale blue form lay still. All life had ceased when Ab