little,” he admitted. “Mostly I’d just like to get out of here.”

“I agree,” said Perry. “My lord, might we proceed?”

“Yes, of course,” said the earl. “Come, gentlemen, this way.” The earl led everyone out of the cavern and into the last of the tunnels. This time Ian walked in the middle of the group, which made him feel more secure than being on point. The wind picked up considerably. It was a cold and bitter blast of air and it moaned forlornly along the walls as it whipped past the group.

As they marched, the tunnel widened into a low cave that faced the Strait of Dover directly. “We’re on the face of the cliffs,” said the earl, raising his voice above the wind while they all lined up beside him. Ian looked over the cave’s edge to the swirling water far below. The horizon had turned a mean, dark gray and thick clouds covered the skyline.

“I can see why a beast like her would choose that cavern as a whelping ground,” said Perry, raising his own voice above the sounds of wind and surf. “Back there, her litter was protected from the wind and she still had close access to the outside for hunting.” He pointed to a narrow path along the edge of the cliff that seemed to lead straight up to the top bluff.

Ian gulped as he thought about how many trips he and Theo had taken near the edge of these cliffs in the past few weeks, and how on any one of those trips the beast could have easily snatched them without anyone ever finding a trace.

“It’s amazing to me that we’ve had this enormous beast in our own village for so long, and no one has noticed it until now,” said the earl. “Surely, some of the local farmers must have talked about a sheep or two missing?”

Ciaran perked up at that. “You know, Hastings,” he said to the earl, “I have had a few complaints from my herders. They said that they’ve noticed a few of the sheep missing from their morning head counts in the past fortnight with-out a trace—but my men thought for sure we had a problem with poachers, not some giant hellhound.”

“How far away are your herds, sir?” Perry asked Ciaran.

“About five kilometers west of here,” Ciaran replied.

“Then we know how long she’s been in the area,” said Perry. “At least a fortnight.”

“But where did she come from?” asked Ian, puzzled. “And why hasn’t anyone seen her or her mate until now? I mean, a giant dangerous animal like that is likely to draw some attention.”

No one had answers for him, but the earl did say, “I’ve seen this sometimes in Africa, Ian. A lone female will get close to whelping her litter and set off to a place she thinks will be safe from her jealous mate. Male lions sometimes eat their own young. Perhaps it’s the same with these ghastly creatures.”

Ian could only hope that the earl was right and the mate to the she-beast was somewhere far, far away.

“Still, my lord, the lad has a point,” said Alfred. “She had to come from somewhere, and surely she could not have traveled the countryside without at least someone taking note.”

“If I didn’t think it impossible, I would say that this isn’t the she-beast’s first visit to our village,” said Ciaran.

“Excuse me, sir?” said Ian. He had no idea what Ciaran was referring to.

Ciaran and the earl exchanged looks that Ian couldn’t read. “Remember that report about the missing rider and his horse?” the earl’s friend said. “That was in our own backyard, Hastings.”

“I’m sorry, but what report are you referring to, sir?” asked Perry, and Ian was grateful that someone else was just as confused as he was.

Ciaran explained. “Eight years ago a report was filed with the Dover inspector by old widow Thompson, who lives just outside the village. According to her, one morning after a terrible storm, she found a horse in her backyard, fully saddled but missing its rider. The horse appeared to have been through a terrible trauma and needed sedation merely to remove the saddle. As I recall there was a deep gash on its hindquarters that appeared to have been made by a large set of claws, and it was a nasty wound at that, according to my veterinarian, who tended the steed. He told me that if he didn’t know it was impossible, he would have concluded that the horse had