2.

Bastian is the first one to react. He leaves no room for discussion, dashing through the castle doors and leaving only dust behind him. Eric curses and drags a hand down his face, then looks at me.

"Go and make sure Cassia has everyone on lockdown." Before I blink, he's gone. A split-second later, I'm out the doors after him. He's exactly where I expected, ruffling through the weapons in the bunker by the side of the castle. I kneel down next to him and reach for a weapon—a crossbow.

"You can't disappear for a month then come back and boss me around," I say.

"It was stupid of me to think you might've gotten less stupid in the past month," he says, taking daggers for himself. "Let's go. Stay behind me."

A chill trickles down my spine as we move through the village. I grip the crossbow in my hands, relaxing at the smooth feel of the wood. Aliyah thought I'd do better with bows than knives, and though it took a painful few days to hit the target board, she was right. I don't have the physical strength to win knife fights, and somehow, the thought of killing is easier when you don't have to look into the eyes of your victim. That way, you can pretend you're not a murderer.

I shake off the nerves as Eric and I blur into the trees, the eerie silence welcoming us. We dodge the sticks and leaves on the ground, heading up the hill towards the east training grounds when another scream echoes through the trees, scaring the birds from their nests. Eric starts to run.

The forest passes in a blur. It's a struggle to keep up with him. I've gotten fitter, stronger, but three months of training can't beat 26 years. Eric moves with the speed and stealth of a panther and I'm like a stumbling cub in his wake. We halt atop the hill, ducking behind a boulder, the silver slither of the moon smiling down at us. Below, on the training field, a cluster of children huddle together, guarded by two wolves who stand facing the forest inches away. I step closer to Eric, heart hammering in my chest. "What do you see?"

His red eyes glow. "There are three that I can see, but I can sense more. They're staying in the trees."

"Why aren't they attacking?"

Eric's jaw clenches. "I don't know."

Beneath his skin, his bones slither. A sickening crack fills the air. I avert my eyes and swallow the nausea as his bones break and shift. Fur brushes against my arm seconds later, Eric next to me with eyes human but body completely animal. "Stay here." His voice fills my head, low and gravelly. "You'll have a better vantage point."

I crouch lower and lift my crossbow. "Be careful."

Eric creeps down the hill with grace, joining Aliyah and Bastian guarding the children. He stands slightly ahead of them, head held high as he fearlessly faces the shadows in the forest.

"What do you want?" Eric's voice thunders through our minds. In response, the hollower steps out of the tree line. He wears no shirt, chest scarred and red. I lift my arrow and keep it pointed at his chest, tension building in my shoulders as he steps toward Eric.

There's something about the way he moves that makes me pause. He stands in front of three wolves who could easily overpower him, and yet, he does not look afraid. Hollowers used to hide from the night—but he stands proud beneath the silver light of the moon.

"We've been travelling for days," he says, two hollowers stepping out to join him. "It's quite convenient that we walked right into a feast."

Eric growls in warning. But the hollower darts to the kids anyway, a knife in his hand. Within seconds, Eric's launching towards the hollower as the other two charge at Aliyah and Bastian. It's a blur of wolves and bodies that I can't differentiate. Eric throws the hollower off him and towards the tree, the body limp. He turns, tall and proud, stalking towards the other two, back turned so he doesn't see what I can.

"Eric, look out!" I scream.

He half turns, but he's too late. The hollower that lay limp merely seconds before lodges its dagger into Eric's back. He roars. I rise to my feet and shoot the arrow. It lands right in the hollowers chest as I stumble down the hill towards them. The hollower stumbles backwards, eyes on me. I hold my breath, expecting the stab of the kill to overtake my body, the trickling of guilt as fear flickers through his eyes. But the hollower doesn't look afraid.

"Nice shot," he croaks. He wraps a hand around the arrow in his chest, his skin seeping with blood. "A shame it didn't work."

And right before our eyes, he pulls the arrow from his chest and throws it to the side. The blood flow pouring from the hole stops as the skin slowly heals over. My blood runs cold. He should have died.

"Not so confident now, are you, creatures?" He laughs.

Beside me, Eric, Aliyah and Bastian have all frozen, in shock. We knew this was a possibility for months, but to see it right in front of us conjures feelings I can't pull apart. Nobody moves or breathes. The hollowers got Elias, they had all they needed to complete the sacrifice, but this is the first sign that it worked.

The hollowers are immortal. Elias is still out there. Hope and fear war in my mind.

"Go." Eric's voice fills my head. "Take the kids with Bastian and go. Get them to safety. Aliyah and I will hold them off."

I eye him warily. His stab wound must not have been silver, as it's healing over. When he launches himself at the hollower again, I spin around and move to the children. They stare wide-eyed as Bastian shouts orders through their heads before looking at me. A silent message passes between us. Run.

I grab the hand of the boy closest to me and pull him up the hill, Bastian bringing up the rear. Growls and hisses scream around us, but we don't look back as we clamber up the hill in desperation for the safety of the castle. Atop the hill, we halt to an immediate stop. There are more of them, standing like soldiers along the ridge. I rip my hand from the child's and position it on my bow. Behind us, Bastian is busy fighting another hollower off, leaving me alone with the kids. Panic floods my body. I don't know what to do.

The hollowers surround us, their grins sinister as we stumble backwards. I have no defence. My weapon is useless and none of the kids can shift.

"Please," I say, a last attempt, "they're just kids."

The hollowers say nothing. The kids huddle closer to me as if I can somehow protect them. But we're surrounded, there is no escape. The woman steps closer, her hair braided into two pigtails. Her eyes brush from my head to my toe, the look chilling me more than the icy night air. "It's been a while since we've had any creatures."

"Why are you doing this?"I ask. "You're immortal. You don't need to hollow people anymore."

She laughs, the sound like a mocking song. "Why do you set up a trap for rats?"

"Because they're pests," another chimes in. "And the world would be better without them."

My heart skips a beat. They close in and I release an arrow. It hits her stomach, but it only serves to make her angrier. She picks up her speed and reaches for the child to my left. He screams, wrapping his arms around my limbs in an attempt to save himself. I stumble backwards, mind racing as I pull my thoughts apart in an attempt of finding a viable plan, some way not to die. But an unfamiliar horn echoes throughout the forest, sending the birds into a paranoid flight and freezing every single hollower around us. They're inches away from getting us, but they peel backwards, disappearing into the shadow of the trees as if they were never there at all.

I gain my footing, fingers quivering as the trees shake with their departure. A hand gross my wrist, Bastian, now in human form with scratches all over his face. "What happened? Why are they leaving?"

"I-I don't know."

Aliyah and Eric reach us at the same time a figure appears in the treeline. I shudder backwards, grabbing the hand of the girl next to me and allowing Eric to step in front. We wait in anticipation as the moonlight reveals a man walking towards us. I've never seen him before—he seems to be as tall as the trees, skin as pale as the moonlight grinning down at him. In his hand, a shell-like object spiralled at the end. He stops a few feet away, blue eyes glowing electrically.

"Eric." His voice is low, mesmerising. "It's nice to see you, old friend."

And then Bastian passes out and crumble to the ground in front of me.

~

DISCUSSION:

1. How do you feel about the hollowers now being immortal?

2. Who do you think this new man is? To be trusted?

3. What do you think might happen next?