“Enough!” Sylous roared, turning. He glared at Eli, who hadn’t moved. I wondered why he wasn’t defending himself. Was Sylous more powerful than him? All the peace I’d felt earlier had been replaced by a familiar fear that felt crippling.

“I warned you,” Sylous bit off. “I warned you all.” He was looking at Eli but speaking to us. “Didn’t I tell you that the Fury would come as light? Didn’t I make it clear that it would be your greatest test?”

“Yes,” Rose said. “You did.”

“And yet here he stands, twisting your minds with his lies.” Sylous stepped past Eli, walked to the edge of the crowd, and turned to us with icy certainty. He raised his hands to either side and looked at us all. “You would like to see? So be it.”

A beat of silence engulfed us. I heard them before I saw them, a terrifying whine that grew into shrieks and guttural roars. I knew they were the same Fury I’d seen from the hilltop, and I spun in panic, hands at my ears, expecting them to rush in from the perimeter.

But they were already upon us, swarming, hundreds of the wraiths, screaming with pitiful wails that made my bones shrivel.

Even as I stared in horror, I realized what the others surely did not—the Fury hadn’t come from outside the perimeter; they had always been in the town, only hidden from our view.

Long bony fingers with sharp nails lashed out. Faceless creatures of the most terrifying imagination, screaming at every soul in Haven Valley, came to life in form. Sharp fangs and white eyes cloaked in hoods revealed our deepest fears.

The sound was so loud and the sudden commotion so violent that I hardly noticed the screams of those around me. In a wild panic, men and women were running in every direction, but the wraiths were with them each step. Some were rushing for cover, others were grabbing loved ones and shoving others out of the way. Some fell to their knees and began to beg God for mercy. A few brave souls were fighting back, but the more they fought, the more Fury there were to fight. It was as if they had emerged from within us as much as from the air surrounding us.

I stood frozen for a few seconds, and then I was turning and running for my life. I made it two steps before realizing that the Fury were erupting around me as quickly as they had around the others. There could be no escape from the fears we carried.

I spun back and saw Eli standing in the midst of the chaos, undisturbed. I rushed for him, grabbed his arm, and fell to my knees before him. “Save us!” I cried. Surely he could, with the power I had seen him use.