The robed stranger was unaffected by Madeline’s threat. He approached her completely unarmed, as if to test her resolve.
Standing before Madeline, he opened his arms, almost welcomingly. His long red sleeves hung loosely from his skinny limbs.
“I cannot die, brave girl. Not in this game, anyway,” he breathed softly, with an air of resignation.
“Who are you? And why are you following us? What the hell do you want?” Madeline asked all her questions at once.
In response, the mysterious stranger pulled back his hood with his skinny fingers. Madeline could swear she saw his bones sticking out from underneath his shrivelled skin. She was unprepared for what was under that hood.
The stranger had the most grotesque face Madeline had ever seen. It made Isabella so scared that she hid behind
