Chaos Storm (The Flight of the Griffin Book 2) by C.M. Gray

and forced it open with a thump from the heel of his hand. Yells and groans accompanied by sounds of a struggle floated up through the misty night. Next to him a bright glow globe appeared to light the night then floated swiftly down towards the sounds, the mist and darkness parting around it. Mahra stood beside him moving her hands to guide the glimmering light. Pardigan opened another window and gave her a questioning look.
    She shrugged, 'Loras taught me a few tricks, glow globes are really quite easy,' she glanced back towards the sounds and wrinkled her nose, 'Whatever's down there smells awful.'
    They peered into the dim street for something to be revealed, and didn't have to wait long. As the globe approached the sounds, it revealed several soldiers vainly attempting to stop a huge shaggy creature, wrapped in animal skins, from pulling sacks out of a warehouse. They watched as it shuffled in and out of the building dragging sacks into a pile in the mud. It didn't seem to be aware of the soldiers' efforts to stop it. The glowing light floated closer and the creature glanced up, a huge smile creasing the craggy face. 'Pretty thing,' it gurgled in a deep wet voice.
    'It's a howler, and a very happy one by the look of him,' observed Quint with a grin. 'I've never seen one before, have you?'
    Pardigan shook his head, and Mahra murmured, 'No, and it spoke, I had no idea they could talk.' They all looked on, entranced by the huge simple looking creature.
    The howler towered above the men around it. One long hairy arm reached up to try and swat the glow globe while the other remained hanging loosely at its side almost touching the ground. It gazed up happily at the glowing ball as the soldiers tried ineffectually to move it. Evidently, the creature really stank. The soldiers were dashing in to jab at it and then moving hurriedly back covering their mouths and noses.
    It let out a strange cooing noise and rose up on its huge feet to swat again at the light. Lank stringy hair framed a fleshy almost human face that was creased in a simple smile. Finally, realising it wasn't going to touch the globe, it wiped its nose on the back of its hand, pulling a huge stream of snot away in the process, and chuckled up at the ball, taking one last half-hearted swipe before lumbering back into the warehouse in search of more loot.
    'It's like a big baby!' exclaimed Pardigan as the howler came back out carrying another sack. It continued to ignore its attackers while occasionally swatting a spear away that got too close.
    It had stopped and was scratching its head pondering the growing pile of stolen goods when out of the misty darkness and into the pool of light, strode a tall hooded figure dressed in black from head to foot, his swirling cloak billowing behind him. Without breaking step, the stranger moved through the soldiers, reached out and gently touched the howler on its forehead in passing, and then continued on as the huge beast slowly collapsed to the floor without a sound. Looking up at the window of the Inn, the hooded form pointed a gnarled finger at the three friends. All three quickly ducked down expecting an attack, but it was only the icy fingers of fear that reached them. The spectral shape drifted on until he the mist slowly swallowed him, once again leaving no clue to his passing. As one, they turned from the window and rushed down the stairs and out into the night, only to be stopped by a guard.
    'There's nothing to see here young'ens, go back to your beds,' he tried to push them back towards the Inn but they stood firm and he soon gave up trying. Two soldiers were replacing the sacks in the warehouse while another attempted to prod the glow globe with his spear.
    A soldier crouched over the dead howler with a scarf covering his mouth, inspecting it for any sign of the attack. He stood up shaking his head, confusion evident on his face. He walked away and they got their first clear look at the howler's face, still caught in