The anguished screams of adults, as if they were skinned alive, and the joyous laughs of children made Auriel think the worst.
'A fiend again?' He thought and concentrated on his senses.
But what he heard made him doubt his ear. The laugh of children was still the same but he felt that the screams of adults were a bit fake. He felt like the adults too were laughing but inside not outside.
'Hmm, it is a trap I guess. I won't take a risk while I am already close to the village.' Auriel thought and he closed Elise's mouth with his hand. The blind girl too had heard it with her improved senses caused by being Awakened and blind, which made her let out a small voice of concern and fear.
Then he began to ride the horse full speed towards the direction that was pointed by a sign, indicating there was a village.
