The day began with what Jedd called, "Warning Rain".

It was a gentle shower, nothing out of the ordinary for a warm season, but the sight disturbed Jedd and he was anxious from breakfast onward.

There were no naps or poetry. The herder and the wolf kept their eyes trained on the titans in the distance. Jedd continued to mutter under his breath, and whether it was a prayer or curse, I could not discern.

When it was time for midday meal the rain stopped, but Jedd was no less vigilant about his watch, and his focus remained on the gigantic beasts. After eating, the wolf sat at the edge of the flock, on the side closest to the threat.

"Got us an omen this morning," Jedd called to it. "Don't take your eyes away for a second."

The terrible event happened without warning. Seemingly unprovoked, one of the titans reached out and swiped at its brother, sinking a massive talon deep into the monster's flesh. The wounded one roared in answer, and when the talon lifted a waterfall of red fell from the hole left behind.

This was new.

The last time one of the titans struck another there had been no blood.

Before the first drop hit the ground, the titans began to move. Jedd warned that all it would take was the scent of blood to stir them into a frenzy, but in my innocence I hadn't realized he included their own blood in his meaning.

A whoosh of wind rushed through the plains, carrying a putrid, coppery smell with it. Now the air around Jedd and the wolf and sheep was marked. 

Jedd raised his staff to summon lightning.

Enraged, the titans fought one another, and each connected strike produced rivers of blood, until all the green at their feet was drowned. Their roaring shook the world, making it difficult for smaller beings to keep their balance. The battle continued until a single titan stood out as the weakest. Its companions descended upon it and began to eat, with no care about who they were feasting on.

No lightning had come from the sky, and the wolf turned to Jedd to ask why. The man's face had fallen into a terrible despair, his eyes fixed ahead.

"Why do you pause?!" the wolf shouted.

That's when the flood came.

Jedd had seen the wave of blood racing through the plains. Heading toward us. He knew there would be no time to outrun it. 

"Hold on to the ground!" he screamed just as a swell of red blanketed our field, covering the feet of all who stood there with thick liquid. 

A horrid, pungent odor filled the air, and the wolf tried to sneeze it from its nose. The white and brown of the sheep's wool was painted in blood, as were the faces and bodies of Jedd and the wolf.

"Back to the pen!" Jedd shouted before spitting a glob of red.

At his words the sky released a torrent of rain. It fell so quickly and with such ferocity that the drops stung the wolf's snout, while others landed in the pond at its feet and splashed blood back at its face.  

It was near impossible to lead the flock through the viscous muck, but after several attempts the frightened animals were gathered and ready to move.

Not twenty steps into wading through the ankle-deep swamp Jedd's voice cried out a warning:

"Look to your right, wolf! One's got a mind to move!"

He raised his staff as the wolf turned to the distance and found one of the titans poised to move toward us. Lightning came down upon its head and the beast swayed as if it had been slapped—

Nonetheless, it took its first step.

Its brothers roared a wicked cheer, creating such a din that the wolf howled in pain. Jedd hollered something but it was lost in the noise.

The titan traveled miles in a single movement and was now one stride away from reaching us. Another bolt hit its belly but only stunned the monster for a moment.

Time was precious.

It's in a frenzy, I realized with dread, nothing will stop it.

Had it seen the sheep and their watchers, or was it following the blood at our feet?

A crack of thunder came next and all the titans cowered. The one closest to us raised a claw, bigger than a house, to its head, and before it covered itself the wolf saw a gaping hole where an ear should have been. Now that it was closer, the details of its face and body could be seen clearly.

Countless serrated teeth jutted from its mouth in random directions. The massive orbs in its head blazed with white fire. Its skin was the color of lazurite mineral, while its long talons were a match for shining obsidian.

One more step and it will be here, the wolf thought.

Better move quick then, I answered.

Miles away, the other titans were breaking to head in different directions, no doubt ready to inflict world-ending destruction. Lightning fell from the distant sky as other herders summoned the power to combat their enemies. Jedd's faint yell reached the wolf's ears. 

"Get the sheep home, NOW!" 

With aggression it had never shown the flock, the wolf snapped its teeth and drove them forward, while Jedd sent several rounds of thunder and lightning to keep our attacker at bay.

What use will a barn be against that? I thought.

There was no time to argue with the herder, so the wolf followed orders as quickly as possible, and after a tiring fight the sheep were in their barn. The wolf closed the door and locked the pen gate with its teeth, then raced back to the field and found Jedd with his staff raised, screaming nonsense into the howling wind.

"That's right, monster! You'll get none of Lightning's children today!" He roared with laughter and beat his empty fist against his chest. "I've got the power here!"

The titan lifted its foot. Jedd's strange, rectangular pupils widened. Thunder clapped overhead.

"You hear that?!" Jedd called to it, "You're in the thick of it now!"

He hollered and whooped with manic glee, and the wolf was shocked by how proud the man was in the face of death. It pulled Jedd's robe with its teeth, tugging the herder back.

"We must leave!"

Jedd turned to the animal with a deranged smile.

"Think I can't take it down?" he yelled with a cackle.

He summoned a vein of lightning that struck the titan's face.

"Turn back, beast! Or taste another bolt of Lightning's fury!"

Hoping the man knew what he was doing—but not fully trusting he was in his right mind—the wolf ran back to the house, all the while growling at the river that slowed its pace. I urged it on from within.

You can make it! You're almost there—hurry!

Out of the corner of its eye, I thought I spied someone watching us. A woman in black, holding an object I could not make out. She was gone in a blink, but the sight of her raised my urgency and fear, for her presence suggested doom was inevitable.

I prayed the apparition was not real.

Jedd was close behind the wolf and arrived at the house only a moment later. Just as he closed the door to the home there was a deafening boom that shook the walls and floor.

The titan had taken a second step.

It was upon us.

The wolf curled into a ball and pressed its snout against its belly. It was madness to believe the humble shack would hold against the might of a giant.

The world went unnervingly silent, interrupted by the occasional noise of Jedd's panting. Thunder grumbled overhead. 

"It can't breach...the shield," Jedd said through gulps of air. "Lighting...blesses the homes...of His people." On wobbling legs he moved to the pit to start a fire. "The house is invisible to the titans," he explained once his breathing calmed. "Our god is wise. He provides all we need."

Inside, I was screaming. I wanted to run. I wanted to get as far away from the titan as I could. No shield, no matter how strong, could withstand a scratch from one of its claws. And no divine being could save us if the terror outside decided to set its foot upon the roof. The wood would shatter and we would be flattened with the home. 

We were going to die, I was sure of it. 

I considered asking the wolf to gather the cloak of stars and tapestry in its teeth, so that when our bones were discovered years in the future, their finder would know who I was.

What would my last thoughts be?

Was it better to die as the wolf, or should I change—

The ground trembled. Wind rattled the walls. In the barn, the sheep were wailing and the sound tore at my heart. Jedd remained outwardly calm, though his fingers continued to shake and there was a glimmer of defeat in his eyes. I feared he must be touched, lacking all good sense, or worse, resigned to die.

Blood was splattered over the walls and floor. Jedd's clothing was soaked with it, as was the wolf's fur. The odor of the field followed us, filling the room with a stench that burned the wolf's eyes.

Please, I begged the world, don't let my death be painful.

To both the wolf's and my surprise, Jedd reached over and laid his hand on the animal's head. He ruffled the fur and gave a gentle pat, the first show of affection he'd ever offered.

We won't die alone, the wolf thought to me.

There was a morbid comfort in that.

When Jedd closed his eyes and began to mumble a prayer, I joined him. I didn't know the words, so I whispered the names of my loved ones over and over.

Pa. Ma. Credence. Ambrosia.

Credence. Ambrosia. Ma. Pa.

Ma. Credence. Pa. Ambro—

A roar from above tore me from my recitation. There was a strong sucking of air that took dust from the ground and swirled it upwards. The fire in the pit waved and threatened to die.

"It's right above us," Jedd whispered with his eyes rolled to the ceiling. "The foot is raised, but where will it land?"

The clamor that followed split a long crack across the floor. The wood in the walls began to splinter. The house groaned in agony.

Suddenly I was back home, on the night Pa's demon attacked me.

The hopeless fear that overtook me when his hands clasped around my throat was the same that filled me now.

The wolf opened its mouth to howl—

Everything fell into darkness.