damnation down and finish it off.”

Ian was helped to his feet by Landis, but he yelped in pain the moment the groundskeeper touched his shoulder. “It’s out of its socket, I’m afraid,” said Landis. “Ian, we’re going to have to pop it back into place, and it’s going to hurt something terrible.”

Ian felt dizzy. His head was pounding; his shoulder screamed in pain; and his knees felt ready to give way at any moment. “It’s all right, Landis,” he said wearily. “If it will stop the pain once it’s back in place, it’s worth it.”

As Ian was helped down the stairs by Landis, he heard Carl behind him say, “I’m fine, my lord, truly. Just a few scrapes is all.”

Once they reached the second floor, Ian let out a gasp as he looked at the hallway littered with debris. It was as if a great cyclone had been let loose within the walls of the keep and had vented its rage in every corner. Nothing was left untouched.

He and Landis picked their way slowly through the rubble until the groundskeeper found him a chair that had been toppled but had survived the wreckage. Ian sat down carefully and the groundskeeper came around to squat down behind him. “Turn your head away,” he said gently over Ian’s shoulder. “It’s better if you don’t know it’s coming.”

Ian turned his head to the side, bracing himself as best he could while Landis gripped his arm and the top of his shoulder firmly. The next second Landis jerked his arm up and back with a terrific yank. Ian heard a loud snap an instant before a searing pain rippled along his arm, shoulder, and neck and he blacked out.

THE HUNT

I an awoke to a flurry of noise and activity. He was lying flat on his back, nearly level with the floor, and when he turned his head, the first thing he saw was Theo hovering by his side, her face still pale and her eyes large and vivid green. “About time you woke up,” she said softly, forcing a smile. “We were beginning to think you were faking it to get out of the business of cleaning up.”

Ian sat up with a wince and looked around, blinking confusedly at the litter of wreckage surrounding him. It took him a moment to realize that he was on the main floor of the keep, in the parlor room, lying on a mattress with no bed frame underneath. His arm was tightly bound to his chest with a thick layer of gauze.

“Landis says you shouldn’t use that arm for the next few days. He also said you’d be very sore.”

Ian nodded dully and continued to look around. “This place is a mess,” he said as he watched children scurry around him, picking up the debris as best they could. Alarmed, he asked Theo, “Is anyone else hurt?”

“Carl has a few scratches. Other than that, everyone is fine. The beast never made it to the door of the west tower.”

Ian rubbed his forehead. He had a splitting headache to add to his other aches and pains. “Thank goodness,” he said.

“The earl is out with the new schoolmasters,” Theo continued. “They’re hunting the beast. Madam Dimbleby and Madam Scargill are doing their best to salvage what they can, but almost everything’s been destroyed.”

“Where’s Landis?”

“He’s standing guard at the front door, and two of the earl’s men have taken up posts with hunting rifles at the other two entrances. There was brief talk of evacuating the keep, but the adults agreed that until the beast is slain, it would be too dangerous to move us all in the dark. Most of the little ones have been safely tucked away upstairs, which only leaves a few of us down here. The earl feels quite confident that we’ll all be safe in here until first light.”

Just then, Carl appeared with a steaming cup of tea in his hands. “Here you go, mate,” he said as he approached. “I managed to find the kettle, and this one teacup survived in the wreckage.”

Ian smiled at the lad offering him the cup. He’d never had someone call him “mate” before, and found that he was suddenly very fond of Carl. “Thanks,” he said warmly, taking the cup. After sipping the hot liquid carefully, he glanced at the other boy. “You all right?” he asked him.

“Yes,” Carl said brightly. “A few bruises, but nothing like what’s happened to you.”

“You saved my life,” Ian said, forming a