A Visitor?

"What the heck..." Azrael mumbled.

He felt a jumble of confusion and fear knotting in his stomach. That roar, no doubt about it, echoed from the castle.

It wasn't some wild creature; he could tell the difference between a beast's howl and a human scream. This was unmistakably human, and it sent shivers down his spine.

Azrael stood there, torn between fear and an unquenchable curiosity.

"Hey! Can anyone hear me?"

He called out, his voice bouncing off the castle walls. He waited, but there was no response, just an unsettling silence.

As minutes stretched into hours, Azrael kept shouting into the void, his calls becoming more desperate with each passing moment.

But the castle remained stubbornly silent, and only when he glanced up and noticed the moon had shifted significantly did he realize just how much time had slipped away unnoticed.

No one turned up, like the whole ritual and drumming session had just vanished.