Page 81 of Cursed By the Dawn

“This is what a Corrupt looks like now?” Erebus asked, utterly disturbed. “They look no different than the demons haunting the Dream Realm.”

I shuddered, stepping around the Corrupt as its thick blood leakedacross the wooden floor. I wanted to vomit. “They didn’t used to look like this. Five years ago, they looked a lot more human.”

I tried not to think of my family.

Of Eden, blood crusted underneath her cracked fingernails.

Of Father, dark lines webbing from his eyes to his beard.

Of Mother, her strong face contorted by bloodthirsty fury.

Of myself, with the markings of Corruption now onmyneck.

If what the gatekeepers said was true, the local Corrupt were supposed to be locked away in holding cells, awaiting their journey to Istralla. But now they were free. And judging by the sounds of chaos echoing through the inn, there were many of them.

Another scream rang out, this one from the hallway. A child’s scream.

I didn’t think; I just moved.

Pushing past Erebus, I ran out, sword raised. The hallway was bathed in flickering orange light, air thick with oily smoke and the stench of blood. A man lay sprawled near the stairs, his throat torn open, crimson pooling beneath him. At the far end of the hall, a woman clutched a small boy to her chest, backing away from another Corrupt. It stalked toward her on all fours, its head tilted at an unnatural angle, saliva dripping from its mouth.

“Esmer!” Erebus barked, but I was already sprinting.

The woman screamed as the Corrupt pounced. I wouldn’t make it. I quickly threw a dagger, aiming as best I could. The blade spun clumsily through the air, but it sank into the creature’s shoulder, tearing through its flesh. It hissed, jerking back with a furious howl. And then it poised itself as if to strike again.

Oh, no you don’t.

I lunged, putting myself between the Corrupt and the woman with her child.

“Run!” I shouted, motioning at the stairs.

“Th-there’s nowhere to run,” the woman cried, retreating toward the other end of the hallway. “Th-they’re everywhere.”

The Corrupt turned its empty gaze on me, and a shiver ran down my spine. Its movements were jerky, inhuman, like a marionette controlled by unseen strings. It lunged forward, raking its claws over the floorboards as it licked its lips, almost grinning at me as it widened its jaws.

As it aimed for my throat.

Erebus exploded across the hallway, slamming into the Corrupt with the force of ten men. The Corrupt thrashed as Erebus pinned it against the wall with his bare hands, screeching and then gurgling as its head was severed. Blood spewed from the stump atop its shoulders, splattering onto Erebus’s boots. With a sound of disgust, Erebus dropped the body.

Erebus whirled on me, expression furious. “I told you to stay behind me,” he snapped, plunging his sword into the creature’s chest for good measure.

“And let a mother and child die?” I shot back.

The woman’s nose was tucked into her child’s curly hair. The little boy—perhaps only three or four years old—was holding on just as tightly. “Th-thank you for saving us,” she sobbed. “We’ll find a way out. Please help the others. It’s h-horrible downstairs.”

I peered down the stairs and immediately wished I hadn’t.

Maker, itwashorrible.

Smoke billowed up from the first floor as flames licked at the walls. The innkeeper’s voice cut through the din, barking orders as he tried to usher people outside. But the Corrupt were everywhere—gray, twisted shapes lunging at anything that moved. One of them had an old man pinned against the bar, its claws digging into his shoulder as he struggled. Another tore into a middle-aged woman, her cries of pain fading into unintelligible moans.

“We can’t save them all,” Erebus noted grimly, surveying the chaos below.

“But we can save as many as we can,” I said, gripping his arm.

“I know.” He put his hand over mine, giving it a quick squeeze. “To the end, Shadow Weaver.”

We moved as one, winding through the chaos, striking down the Corrupt wherever we could. Erebus’s sword found flesh again and again, blade slick with blood that smelled of rot. I tried to stay out of the way, but it was impossiblenotto act. There were too many Corrupt, too many injured, dead, or dying people. I nearly tripped over a bearded man at my feet. He was alive, barely, and trying to crawl toward the exit.