Author's notes: 4th chapter! BTW no-one has reviewed for a while... read on!

Jekhr stalked the deer, moonlight lighting up the forest around him, casting an eerie white glow across the trees. He crouched, silently calculating his next move. His son, Padraig crouched near to him, bow in hand. He would make a great warrior someday, of that Jekhr could be sure. Jekhr crept forward, motioning Padraig to stay where he was. As Jekhr moved forward he heard a twig snap somewhere to his left. The deer raised its head, sniffed the air and bounded off. "Padraig!" Jekhr whispered furiously, "what the hell did you move for?"

"I didn't!" replied Padraig's voice from behind him.

"Then what the hell was that noise?" The colour drained from Jekhr's face as a sudden horrible thought came to him. "Padraig," he whispered, "we have to move, now!"

Padraig woke with a start; his body was covered in cold sweat covered. He vaguely remembered the dream. He lay down and tried not to think about what happened that fateful night many years ago.

.

Jekhr and Padraig thundered through the undergrowth, they back to the village, adrenalin pumped through their veins they where tiring but if they stopped they were as good as dead.

Padraig couldn't get to sleep; every time he closed his eyes he replayed what had happened that night…

It was getting closer, Jekhr urged Padraig on, and they had to reach the village. Then, Jekhr tripped on a large stone. Padraig saw him fall to the ground. Seconds later the night stalker crashed through the trees nearby. It was humanoid in shape, its body rippled with strong muscle. Its arms ended in scythe-like claws. Its body was covered in tough scales, pupil-less eyes were a blood red. It seemed to smile, showing its long, white fangs. Its whole form oozed malice. It stared a Jekhr for a couple of seconds before slashing its claws across his chest. Jekhr screamed with pain. "Padraig…Padraig…sh…sh…shoot it with your bo…bow" Jekhr screamed again as the night stalker picked him up and threw him against a tree. "H…h…heeeellllp meeee!"

Padraig stood, frozen with fear. He watched as the night crawler ripped open his father's chest, spraying blood everywhere. Still Padraig didn't move. The, slowly he turned away and ran. He didn't stop running; he dropped his bow and stumbled through the trees. He could hear his father's screams behind him. He tried to block them out of his head; he saw his father's chest ripped open, blood covering the plants nearby. He ran and ran until he was well clear of the forest and the village. He could not return home now. He travelled for days without food or water, crawling across a grassy plain until he found a large boulder. He sat with his back leant against it and started to cry. Tears streamed down his face. He could have saved his father, if he had not have been so terrified. "What have I done?"

When Padraig awoke it was the early morning. He packed up quickly and headed through the cave back to the tunnel through which he had arrived. The long crawl back was harder due to the extra bulk and weight of his pack. When he reached the end of the tunnel he carefully checked that there were no other living animals nearby before hauling himself out of the hole onto the snowy plains. Padraig had already decided hat he would head for Laarick "the city in the snow". It took several days hard travel to reach Laarick and it was late evening when he reached the city. The city gates were made of thick oak, reinforced with the strongest steel. Each door was about 20 meters high and where set in a massive marble arch which was about 10 metres deep. Behind the gates there stretched out, surrounded on all side by a colossal stone wall. Around the outskirts of the city the building where little more than wooden huts, but the deeper into the city the buildings were the more magnificent they became. Padraig felt insignificant as he walked through the great archway and into the bowels of the city. Laarick was about a league across situated on top of a massive hill and surrounded by mountains. The only way into the city was through the "black rock pass". In the centre of the city was the citadel, an imposing fortress designed as a last bastion of defence and to house the current ruler of the city. Surrounding the citadel its tall towers stretched up into the sky, casting a massive shadow over the other buildings. People swarmed through the streets, shoving aside anyone in their way. Merchants bustled up to him, trying to sell him useless trinkets and rotten food.

"Padraig?" Padraig spun around and saw a massive man with a bushy black beard. "Bellephron?"

"It is you!" boomed the bearded man. He shouldered aside a group of people and stopped in front of Padraig. The two men smashed their heads together, growled fiercely at one another, looked each other up and down, then both burst into laughter. The man's booming laughter filled the street, causing people to stop and stare. "So Padraig, my friend, how are you?"

"The same and you?"

"Well, I don't want to brag, but, well, I'm now the official captain of the guard!"

"How the heck did you get a position like that?"

"I worked hard, never missed a day of work, and, ahem, got the count drunk…"

"Lucky git…" mumbled Padraig.

"Anyway you staying here long or just stopping by?"

"Well," replied Padraig "I just needed to sell some goods and get off again."

"Thought so, well there's a great new drinking hole open, you wanna come have a drink?"

"Sure," replied Padraig, "a quick drink won't hurt."

The drinking hole was full of smoke and the sounds of people laughing, and a brawl had erupted between a couple of men on a corner table, now a small crowd had formed, betting on the outcome of the fight and egging the men on. Bellephron stood up and wandered over to the bar. After a brief conversation with the barman he returned with the drinks. He handed Padraig a glass and downed his own. Padraig took a small sip and put the glass back down again. The ale was strong and had a nasty kick but was the first pint Padraig had had in days and so he gulped it down thirstily. Suddenly everything became blurred, Padraig tried to stand but his legs were too weak and he fell to the floor. In the back of his mind he could hear someone shouting his name. He saw a dark shape loom over him and tasted blood; He wondered whose it was. His head swam and everything went black…

Author's notes: SUSPENSE!