Excerpt: The Eastern Gate

The Eastern Gate was an imposing landmark. It had not been breeched since it had been built several hundred years earlier. Both physical and magical in nature, it was all that protected humanity and Faeriekind from the denizens trapped behind the gate. It had been there so long that humans had all but forgotten about the evil that lie waiting on the other side. The creatures were thought to be only a myth.
On one section of the gate was a door, dozens of feet high. The lock was halfway up the door, but even if someone could reach it, no mortal knew where the key was hidden. It should have been near impossible to open, yet open it did.
For hours, the door stood ajar with no sign of life or unlife. Then, a snout cautiously poked out and sniffed the free air. Reason told the creature that it could be a trick. No one on his side could have opened it, and no one on the other side would want to. A feral grin crossed his muzzle. The master would be pleased. Then again, maybe the gate would close by the time his master got back here, and he would be punished. If he left, the whole world waited to hide him from the overlord’s cruel whims.
The werewolf considered his options. He was itching to leave this place. The wind shifted, and he caught a scent. Bloodlust overruled his other thoughts. He howled to let others of his kind know, and then ran from the world he knew in search of blood.