In that brief moment's respite, Luke threw his available attribute points from the level up into Vitality, bringing it up to 14. Things were bleak. Health and resilience would be more helpful than a little more mana. The skill point would have to wait.

  Six true to life knights in full plated armor and closed helms, showing neither eyes nor mouths, stormed out into the clearing atop their mounts. As soon as they cleared the tree line, they lowered the lances they carried and continued, skewering Flesh Howlers with an almost carefree air, like the monsters were so far beneath them they didn’t even need to take notice. Once their lances broke, they drew swords to lean down and hack at the Flesh Howlers.

  The knights thundered up to the group and circled them in a protective circle, keeping the monsters at bay, slaying the Flesh Howlers with precise slashes and stabs. None of them said a word at first, but soon hands came reaching down.

  "Come with us! Hoist the lass up in front of me! We shall save you from this nightmare!"

  The group exchanged a glance.

  "My friends! We are rescued!" Mateo shouted.

  "I can't inspect them!" Luke shouted. "Why can't I inspect them?"

  "I don't like this," Hannah said, pulling away an arm from a Flesh Howler that got a little too close before a knight killed it with a simple stab.

  Colt took Penny into his arms. "Penny'll die if we stay!"

  Mateo hobbled over and squeezed Luke's shoulder. "The choice is death or hope!"

  "Fine," Luke grunted.

  Colt and Mateo helped get Penny on the horse. Then they, too, were pulled up behind riders. Luke frowned, looked up at the one offering him a hand as more and more Flesh Howlers swarmed the clearing. They screamed and howled, nipping at the horses' legs and flanks.

  Hannah succumbed to group pressure and accepted a hand, and soon she was up in the saddle as well.

  The knight, reaching down for Luke, was having some trouble holding the horse still. "Lad! Make haste!"

  "Ray!" Luke shouted, but still, there was no reply.

  Luke took the gauntleted hand and found himself picked up with ease. He slung a leg over the horse just as it made a small hop and lashed out with a hind leg, its hoof crunching into the skull of a Flesh Howler, killing it. With that, the group was off, sitting behind the armored strangers as they rode back into the forest, ignoring the monsters in pursuit.

  "Who are you?" Luke shouted, the whinnying of horses, growls from Flesh Howlers, and the crashing through the underbrush made it difficult to hear. Branches whipped at his face, forcing him down and close to the plate armored back of the knight in front of him.

  As the Flesh Howlers disappeared behind them, Luke scanned the surrounding forest and frowned. "Where are the others?!" he shouted. When he got no reply, he slammed the back of his fist against the metal of the knight's back. "Where are they?!"

  "Lad! It is imperative we confuse the man-wolf beasts! Dividing their attention is a well-known strategy! Do not worry yourself, you shall see your companions again soon!"

  It was an explanation filled with logic, but Luke couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. "Where did you come from? Who are you?"

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  "Do not worry yourself!"

  "Why were there six of you?" Luke asked.

  "You shall see your companions again soon!"

  Since his rescuer would not cooperate, what little trust Luke held for the knight evaporated. He used Threads of Mana. The thread flowed through the metal without being hindered, then into the man's back. A weight dropped into Luke's stomach as he found what he feared. The thing in there was no man.

  It was no true man beneath that shell of metal. The shape of a man, yes, with limbs, a head, torso, and everything else you'd expect. But it was not from one person. Threads of Mana showed him slight differences in the makeup of each limb. And if that hadn't been enough, the meta-heart was a twisted thing, bent and cracked. They'd been fooled. Luke would not let that stand.

  Another Thread of Mana snaked its way in through the side of the creature in front of him on the horse, bypassing his physical protections with ease, going in to wrap itself around the meta-heart. He used Needle of Life on the first thread, then squeezed and hacked, cutting at the core of this monster that defied inspection. He sliced away, sawing at the thick, main mana channel going away from the meta-heart, like the mana equivalent of the aorta, severing it.

  The knight let out a low grunt as it died and dropped the horse's reins, falling backwards, its weight threatening to throw Luke off the horse. Like he'd done several times before, Luke took the corpse into his inventory, armor and all.

  Luke leaned forward and pressed himself to the horse's back, grabbing for the reins, getting hold of them. Only then was he able to shuffle into the saddle and get his feet into the stirrups. He'd ridden once or twice before when they visited a farm one summer, but those had been docile creatures used to tourists. This was a powerful mount fit for a knight, a war horse, or galloping demon, more like. It did not heed his command when he pulled on the reins, trying to make it stop. The thing just kept going, its hooves thundering on the path.

  Again, Luke used Threads of Mana and again found that he'd been deceived. It was no horse. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. Beneath the horse's coat and skin, flesh writhed, churning with every stride. Luke gritted his teeth, fighting against his urge to kill the thing carrying him right away, like he'd done with the knight. But he paused, thinking better of it. It was carrying him somewhere, like it knew where to go.

  Horses were intelligent animals and knew how to get back to their stables. Perhaps something of that lived on in this monster. If he killed it, he'd be on foot with no idea where to go. So instead, he held back and allowed himself to be taken to wherever this monster was carrying him, hoping that the rest of his group would be there too. He didn't want to think about the alternative.

  Going at a full gallop, they reached the edge of the forest only a few minutes later. Grasslands spread out before them, lit by the two moons in the sky. The first hint of dawn showed in the sky, a slice of deep purple on the otherwise dark background. In the distance, he saw the silhouettes of mountains and far off to his left, the forest continued.

  He shouted for his friends, seeing no signs of them. No reply came.

  The horse-beast set off, following the hill-covered landscape away from the forest, a sea of grassland spreading out before them. In the distance, a light appeared, small and flickering, but undeniable against a dark backdrop of night. Luke stared ahead. Soon, he could make out the rooftops of houses. Another village. Larger than the one by the church, this one didn't have that abandoned, run-down quality about it. That was obvious as he approached, and the horse slowed down. The buildings were better kept, thatch rooftops intact, and no blotches of dried blood or other signs of struggle.

  Luke saw no people, though, just the flickering of torchlight on the largest building on the opposite side of a square in the middle of the village. The sky had turned from purple to pink, some light reaching down. If he didn’t know better, he’d think people were sleeping in the clusters of homes around him. But Luke didn’t think they were.

  If there were anyone alive in this village, they would be in that house with the torch. The horse walked up toward it, its hooves striking the stone-set ground. They crossed the square until reaching its center, where a wooden stage waited for them. It looked new, but was empty.

  The horse walked up to it and stopped. Luke looked down. Its flesh writhed beneath its skin, faster and faster. He jumped off just in time before it came apart, sloughing to the ground, its skin ripping open to reveal mounds of flesh, glistening, wet. A putrid smell rose as it writhed and slithered under the stage.

  Luke shuddered, took a step back, then another, and another, until he created enough distance between himself and that thing. Only then did he turn to face the building he’d kept his focus on for so long.

  "This is it," he muttered.

  He strode toward it, hoping that he'd find his friends inside.