Tristam leveled his spear and kicked Lady into a charge. The cat didn’t look up until it was too late. His spear pierced its chest with a crunch of bone. The impact traveled all the way up his shoulder. The beast screamed, and battle heat rushed through Tristam’s veins, only to turn to dread when his spear broke off with a loud crack. The demon cat staggered back with Tristam’s weapon embedded in its flesh as Tristam threw his broken spear shaft aside.

Roars filled the air—the other two demon cats had noticed the fight. The largest one clamped its jaws around the injured beast to drag it away, while the other, a sleek tawny-yellow creature, advanced on Tristam. The young knight pulled on his reins, guiding Lady back and desperately hoping that reinforcements would come soon.

The beast sprang. Tristam threw himself sideways to avoid its claws as Lady screamed and bucked. He hit the ground hard, first bruising his shoulder and then cracking his head on the cobblestones. Spots swam in front of his eyes, and he scrambled out of range of Lady’s hooves. The cat sidestepped his steed and bared its teeth.

Tristam heard a shout from behind the demon cat. A rock glanced off the beast’s shoulder, and the creature turned to see its new attacker. Tristam put his hand to his head, wincing at the pain as he tried to see around the beast. A slender girl, olive-skinned and dressed in trousers and a tunic, was yelling and waving her arms. Was she crazy? He opened his mouth to command her off the street, but his voice came out as a croak. Before he could draw another breath, the girl had run around the corner with the demon cat in pursuit. Tristam staggered to his feet, trying to ignore the hammers pounding at his brain. He grabbed the rock the girl had thrown and limped after them.

There was no sign of either the girl or the cat. Had they turned down another street? He gathered himself to follow, when a man shouted in a language Tristam didn’t know. Another cat came into sight, this one pure white, with a rider on its back. The Demon Rider was a man this time, with muscular arms and long black hair that hung to his waist. There was something inhuman about the way the barbarian watched him. Was that anger in his eyes? Disdain? Tristam met his eyes, fury in his own gaze as they stared each other down. The white cat growled deep in its throat, but the Demon Rider shook his head and spoke a command. Both cat and rider turned away, and Tristam slumped against the wall. Then he looked closer at their retreating figures, and his breath hissed out in disbelief.