Maya began to step through the opening in the wall, but Elion suddenly reached out and caught her delicate shoulder.
"Wait," he said. "There are monsters hiding inside."
Everyone stopped, the wonder vanishing from their expressions as hands moved toward weapons.
Maya followed his gaze, then stepped back beside Nora while Cole and Mayumi moved to cover their sides.
"How many?" she asked quietly.
"Several. Behind the pillars, and near the tower." Elion drew Kurogoroshi as he noticed a dark shape moving beneath one of the arches. "They already know we're here."
A rumbling growl rolled through the courtyard, so deep that it seemed as though it came from the stones themselves.
A pair of amber eyes opened in the shadow of a fallen pillar, followed by another pair farther to the left.
The first wolf stepped into the sunlight, revealing a muscular body covered in coarse, black fur.
