Ally said nothing. She had not spoken more than a dozen words in the last five hours. Liam wondered what horrors the young child had seen.
He could well guess.
He looked up at the horizon. The Tower filled the sky, its arched black windows like eyes into an endless void. Statues of gargoyles, imps, demons, angels, griffins, devils, dragons, and countless other creatures stood on its parapets and flying buttresses. Liam could not shake the feeling that they watched him.
He shuddered and looked away. Lithon was a small child, but his weight dug into Liam’s shoulders and back. He wiped more sweat from his brow with trembling fingers.
He was an old man. An old man, and an exhausted one. How much longer would his strength last?
“Almost there,” he repeated, more to himself than Ally.
Ally said nothing.
He saw a vast arched opening, a hundred feet tall, at the base of the Tower. A broad flight of black granite stairs led up to the door. Liam and Ally started up the steps, Liam's worn boots clicking against the cold stone. Ally’s bare feet made not a whisper of sound.
“Once inside, we’ll stop for some food and water,” said Liam. “We can rest a bit, and then…”
A piercing wail rose from the grim plains. Liam turned, his Sacred Blades flashing into his hands. Another howling wail rose up, followed by three more.
“What in the name of the gods is that?” said Liam.
Ally looked at him. “The ghouls.”
It was almost full dark. A faint green radiance shone from the windows and the parapets of the Tower. Another hideous wail pierced the night. Liam glimpsed dark shapes writhing at the base of the steps.
Ally blinked. “I think we should run.”
Liam whirled and tore up the steps to the great door, Ally keeping pace besides him. Liam risked a glance over his shoulder. Dark shapes loped their way up the stairs. In the dim light, he could not make out details, but what he saw chilled him.