Blood Of Gods

CHAPTER 43

And so history repeated itself.

Aullienna Meln, the princess of the Stonewood Dezren, walked along the twisting skywalks that formed the causeways of the city within the trees. Only this time, Carskel didn’t walk behind her, prodding her along. Instead, he was by her side, his hand in hers, a triumphant smile plastered across his face. He looked down, his eyes unabashedly taking in every inch of her.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

She did her best to force her cheeks to flush, thinking about the first time she and Kindren kissed. “Thank you, my love,” she said, speaking with her best innocent quiver while squeezing her brother’s hand. “It means a lot that you should think so.”

Carskel beamed and turned away, gazing down the jewel-lined skywalk and the group of elves that had gathered toward the center of Stonewood. “Desdima did her best work. I am glad I spared her life.”

Desdima had been Lady Audrianna’s personal tailor, one of the original thirty-two that had escaped from Dezerea and the Quellan oppression. The work Carskel referred to was the garb Aully now wore; a gown of spun satin, white as the northern snowcaps, embellished with shimmering crystals. The gown was long and flowing, the train trailing five feet behind her. The sleeves were form-fitted, the material billowing out at her wrists like a flower, and the collar clung tight to her neck all the way to the base of her jaw. The back was bare, though her naked flesh was hidden by her long, golden hair, teased and curled and pinned with roses, cornflowers, and pink silkwood blossoms. The dress was formfitting yet comfortable, a work of art that conveyed the conservative nature of the Stonewood culture while still suggesting the sensual nature of a coupling. It had been made originally for her wedding to Kindren.

Now, she detested it.

Aully groaned at his words, a sound that Carskel misinterpreted. He began to rub his thumb along Aully’s palm, causing her to shudder. Again he misinterpreted, and bent over to kiss her on the cheek as they strolled. It was all Aully could do not to turn away in disgust.

“This. . this is wonderful, sweet sister.” Carskel rose back up, a jolly hitch in his step. “Today, we announce our engagement to our people. Tonight, we feast. Tomorrow, they love me. And the day after that, we depart for Dezerea for our nuptials. It truly is an exciting time, is it not?”

“It is, my love,” she replied demurely.

He glanced down at her once more, this time appearing more somber. His eyes even began to tear up.

“You do not know how concerned I was, sweet sister. When I entered your chamber to ask of your decision, I was prepared to lash out at you. And then I saw you there, kneeling, hands clasped before you, radiant despite so much filth. . you were a sight to behold, Aullienna. And when you told me yes, when you whispered those words of love into my ear, I knew you spoke the truth. You must understand that I never wished for you to suffer so. You simply had to learn. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Only when your entrails are hanging from the skywalks like garlands. “Of course, my love,” she said. “My own foolishness dictated my punishment, nothing more.”

“I am glad to hear that.” Her brother released her hand and squeezed her shoulder, pulling her close in the process. She allowed him to do so, just as she had allowed him to embrace her after thirty days spent rotting away in her cellar prison. She performed perfectly, nurturing her malevolent brother’s pathetic need for acceptance, and then spent the following two weeks cultivating her hatred. Every bite of exquisite food she ate, all the primping and preening of oblivious handmaidens, only ripened her rage. She plotted and planned, dreaming up wicked schemes, all the while praying to Celestia for validation. The goddess’s silence was all the answer she required. Her mind was made up; her will, resolute. She would become Jimel Horlyne, the elf who Kindren said had killed one of the ancient demons all by himself. Aully had pictured herself as the statue of that great elf, reaching down from the ceiling, her face warped by both torment and triumph. By the time Carskel had come to her this morning, after Desdima had finished sewing her into the ornate gown, she’d felt primed to burn an entire nation to the ground.

The sound of clapping filled her ears the farther along the skywalk they tread. Just as before, her people hung from the other walkways, nearly three thousand Dezren gathered en masse. The cheers rose in volume as she rounded the bend, circling onto one of the lower skywalks. Rose and tulip petals were tossed into the air, fluttering down like dead butterflies. Every face she saw was filled with a reserved sort of joy. Aully began to hate every one of them. How can you not see what’s right in front of you? Most have them had lived for far longer than her fifteen years. Surely, they weren’t so blind.

They will see. When today is over, they will understand.

Carskel steered her toward the forest city’s central causeway. Ethir Ayers and Mardrik Melannin guarded the entrance to the walk, the rough elves like stone guardians staring straight ahead. Both bowed when she and Carskel passed them by, and Ethir’s mouth twitched ever so slightly when his eyes met hers. He doesn’t trust me, thought Aully.

He was right not to.

Aully’s uncle Detrick once again waited on the causeway’s central platform, dressed in a long, flowing brown robe with deep green stripes running up the sides. He held a book in his mangled right hand, appearing eager as he watched his niece and nephew approach. Aully had to refrain from scowling at her uncle. She’d come to despise him over her time in seclusion, perhaps as much as she hated her brother. Carskel was an evil, plotting bastard, but at least she knew where she stood with him. Detrick was a craven weakling with the face of a friend.

Detrick dropped to one knee when they reached the center platform, planting a kiss first on the back of Carskel’s hand, then on Aully’s. Then he stood and faced the crowd that surrounded them. He raised his hands, and the mob quieted. Aully glanced about her. She saw Desdima standing on one of the middle skywalks, along with the others that had escaped Dezerea with her, but Kindren and Lady Audrianna were nowhere to be found. She shuddered.

“Nervous?” Carskel whispered.

“Yes,” she responded. This time, she didn’t lie.

Detrick drew their attention. “We come here today,” he said, patting the book in his hand, “to celebrate a return to the values of old. It was written by Ignacious Thyne, the first of our race whom benevolent Celestia blessed with life, that the royal house was to stay united, the family line kept pure. For five hundred years we held true to those teachings, until our people strayed, thinning the royal blood. That thinning has left us weak, and we refuse to be weak any longer! Today I announce, in the spirit of Ignacious himself, the betrothal of Carskel and Aullienna Meln, whose marriage will lead our people to a great and bright future!”

The massive gathering of elves broke into soft applause. Aully could plainly see at least half of those packed onto the skywalks looked confused, a couple even disgusted. “Brother and sister?” she heard someone proclaim. “Unnatural!” It was all Aully could do not to grin.

“However,” said Detrick, ignoring the objectors, “there is a slight problem that must be overcome first. Our texts say that when a Dezren is betrothed, there are only two instances in which the promise can be broken: by death or a renouncement. Princess Aullienna has already agreed to forego her engagement to the Prince of Dezerea.” He turned to her, and she nodded, though her stomach was clenched with dread. “However, it takes two to enter a pact and two to break it. Now bring forth Kindren Thyne!”

Aullienna looked away from him to see the dullard Dukat and one of Ethir’s sentries escorting Kindren and Lady Audrianna along the adjacent skywalk. Her mother was in front, Aully’s betrothed three steps behind, and both walked with their heads held high, needing no prodding. A collective hush came over the throng of elves as Aully’s jaw clenched. Come on. You expected this. It changes nothing.

Detrick gestured for the pair to be shepherded onto the causeway. “And what betrothal is complete without a blessing?” he bellowed to the crowd. “Audrianna Meln, the former Lady of Stonewood, is here to provide it!”

That statement drew even more hesitant grumbles from the throng. Even those who had been cheering so vociferously before stopped. Aully realized that almost no one was looking at her anymore, but at her mother. A great many gawked with what could only be described as reverence.

Kindren and the Lady of Stonewood made their way down the gently swaying causeway, holding tight to the rope handrail. Kindren stared intently at Aully, as if no one else existed. He blinked three times in rapid succession. At first Aully couldn’t decide whether he was nervous or trying to send her a message, but then he nodded to her while grimacing, and she understood, right then and there, that he knew what she was about to do and approved. As if to prove his point, he held up his spoiled hand, of which only his thumb and little finger remained. Aully grimaced at the sight, then gathered herself and blinked, telling him silently that she understood.

Her mother, however, was a different story. Audrianna waved to her people, her lips parted in a kind smile. It was her mother’s public face, similar to the one she would wear when the Lord and Lady of Stonewood held court during each Spring Festival. When she had that familiar face on, it was nearly impossible to tell how she truly felt. Cleotis had often joked that if his wife were to put on that expression for him, she would be just as likely to bludgeon him as kiss him.

Thoughts of her father caused a wrenching in Aully’s heart. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

When she opened them again, Kindren and Audrianna were standing before her, with Detrick off to the left. Her uncle sang a short refrain from his book, some nonsense about the glory of the Dezren, eternal life, and smiting enemies. He then tucked the book beneath his arm and stepped between Kindren and Audrianna.

Her uncle took Kindren’s good hand in his own. “Do you, Kindren Thyne of Dezerea, denounce your betrothal to Aullienna Meln of Stonewood? Do you release her from the ties that bind?”

Kindren lowered his head. He hesitated, but eventually his lips moved, though with the murmuring crowd, it was difficult to hear what he said. Beside Aully, Carskel tensed.

“I am sorry, but we could not hear you,” said Detrick.

“I will,” Kindren stated, loudly this time.

Detrick released his hand and proceeded to do the same to his sister-in-law. “And now, Lady Audrianna Meln of Stonewood, do you bless this coming union, with all your heart and with Celestia’s sanction?”

Carskel visibly cringed at the sound of the goddess’s name.

“Of course,” Audrianna said, turning her head from side to side. She kept her voice raised so all could hear. “Of course I do.”

Detrick smiled warmly and stepped back, which brought Aully’s anger back to the surface. Kindren continued to stare at his feet while the Lady of Stonewood waved to her admirers. Then the elegant and beautiful elf, in the briefest of moments, peered at her daughter and mouthed, Do it.

Aully’s breath came so quickly that she almost didn’t realize that Carskel had leaned back down, his chin resting on her shoulder. “Now is the time,” her brother said. “Address your people. Half of them are mine already. Once we reach Dezerea, you will be the Lady of this city. Tell them how much you love me. Tell the disbelievers that the stories they have heard aren’t true. Tell them we will bring them glory that Stonewood has never seen.”

Aully nodded and took three steps away from him. She placed both her hands on the platform’s hempen railing, gazing out at the swarm of elves. She scanned their numbers, seeing face after familiar face. She spotted Hadrik, Mella, and Lolly as well as her cousin Mariah, lingering on one of the upper skywalks. They were among those who appeared downcast, defeated. Aully closed her eyes and remembered the last time she’d stood here. She recalled how she had fought inwardly about whether she should do as Carskel told her. How she had taken a half measure by shouting out his sins instead of ending all the pain, all the torment, right then and there.

That would not happen again.

“They are waiting,” she heard Carskel say, impatience in his tone.

Aully faked a smile and raised her left hand to wave at the crowd. A smattering of cheers answered her. Her right hand she kept by her side, holding her middle three fingers out straight while bringing her thumb and little finger across her palm until they touched. The words of a spell entered the forefront of her mind, and she could feel the web pulse as the land’s magic infused her.

“For you, Celestia,” she whispered, softly as she could, and stared at the circle of bright sky amid the canopy.

“Invaders!” shrieked a loud, panicked voice. “Lord Carskel, they’re coming!”

The spell died on Aully’s lips. She whirled around and glanced up to see Davishon Hinsbrew, the Surveyor of Stonewood, slinging down from the top of one of the nearby trees. His face was a mask of panic, eyes wide and teeth grinding together.

The elf landed on the causeway, pitching the hanging walk into an exaggerated sway. Carskel stormed toward the elf, his clenched right fist inching ever closer to the khandar on his hip.

“What is the meaning of this?” he roared. His normally pale cheeks were flushed.

Davishon scampered along the causeway, pointing east. “They are coming, Lord Carskel!” he screamed. “Karak’s soldiers! They are here!”

The Surveyor’s voice was so loud that those standing on nearby skywalks heard him, and panic ensued. Elves dashed this way and that, scrambling to climb the ladders to their homes. Ethir and Mardrik barked orders to the other sentries, who snatched their bows from their backs and dashed along the walks. The din was so loud that Aully could barely hear herself think. Hands were on her then, gathering her close. She looked up. It was Kindren who held her, while Lady Audrianna began shoving them toward the other end of the hanging causeway.

“Move!” Audrianna shouted. “Come now, one foot in front of the other. Quickly!”

They shuffled along the causeway, and that’s when the first of the humans appeared. They burst from the forest, their horses kicking up clumps of damp earth as they galloped. The soldiers wore armor painted black, with bits of silver, and Aully could see the red sigil of Karak’s roaring lion on their breastplates. They passed beneath the hanging platform, which hung only a few short feet from the tops of their helmed heads, but didn’t stop. They simply kept on going, leaning over in their saddles, disappearing into the trees on the other side of the clearing.

“Kill them!” Aully heard Carskel cry out. “Kill them all!”

Arrows rained down from above, and Aully shrieked. Kindren stopped lugging her along and instead tossed her onto the causeway’s wooden planks, then fell on top of her, shielding her with his body. He used his left hand to snatch Lady Audrianna by the hem of her dress and tug her down as well. There they huddled, swaying, as soldiers passed below them. The soldiers screamed. Arrows flew.

One of the soldiers yanked back on the reins, spinning his horse around. He flipped up his helm, revealing a youthful face with crystal blue eyes and strands of hair that were so silver they were almost white. Aully remembered seeing a man like that once, the one who had dueled with Ceredon Sinistel during her and Kindren’s betrothal, though in her panic she couldn’t remember the man’s name.

“We aren’t your enemy!” the man bellowed in the human’s common tongue. He pointed a mailed first toward the direction from which he’d come. “There is death coming, huge with horns and hooves! You must-”

Arrows zipped past him. One struck his horse in the flank and one clinked off his armored shoulder. “Fuck this,” the soldier swore, veering his horse back around and galloping into the forest.

“What are you doing? Get off my betrothed!”

It was Carskel’s voice. Aully shoved aside Kindren’s arm to see her brother stalking down the causeway toward them, khandar in hand. “No!” Aully shouted as he reached down and grabbed Kindren by the back of his tunic. Kindren’s eyes widened in surprise, locking with Aully’s before he was forcibly lifted off her. Kindren was then cast aside, tumbling to his rear on the slatted walk. Though Kindren was the same height as Carskel, her brother had a great advantage in both age and strength.

Carskel raised his khandar, appearing ready to hack Kindren to bits. Aully scampered to her knees and lifted both her hands. The magic within her rekindled, and she uttered the words in short, sharp bursts. A small ball of flame formed inches in front of her palms, and she sent it flying. The spinning fireball struck Carskel in the back, setting his white frock aflame. He yelped and lurched away, beating at the flames with his free hand.

Aully glanced to the side, where Lady Audrianna was kneeling. “Mother,” she said, somehow calm despite the chaos. “Help Kindren. Get him off the causeway.”

“You are coming with me!” Audrianna pleaded.

Aully shook her head. “No, Mother,” she said. “I can handle this myself.”

A hard, determined look came over her mother’s face, and Lady Audrianna sharply nodded. She ran, hunched over, across the walk, until she collided with Kindren, who was halfway to standing. Her mother and betrothed both toppled over the side of the causeway, falling down among the charging soldiers below. Aully felt a sharp needle of panic plunge into her gut, but she did her best to ignore it. She had to trust that her mother knew what she was doing.

Aully reached down within herself, said more words of magic, and traced a line across her gown with a scorching hot finger. When she was finished she stood up, the billowing part of the dress falling away along with the train, smoking where it’d been singed. Then she stepped confidently toward her bastard brother, arms outstretched. Electricity sparked between her fingers, even as the arrows came down. Carskel finished batting down the flames, which had burned away a large portion of his frock. It dangled in two pieces from his back.

She stopped ten feet away from him. “Brother!” she shouted.

Carskel spun around, still hunkered down, khandar held at the ready. His eyes widened when he saw her. Aully thrust her hands forward and shouted the words, and lightning shot from her fingertips, arcing across the span between them and striking Carskel square in the chest. The elf fell flat on his back, the khandar bouncing away from him as his body shuddered violently. The electricity continued to course through him. Aully took one step toward him, then two, not letting up. Smoke rose from Carskel’s chest, and she could smell burning flesh. When she saw his eyes roll into the back of his head, she drew her hands back to her sides. The lightning ceased to crackle. Carskel fell still.

She snatched up the fallen khandar and knelt beside her brother, the would-be ruler of the Stonewood Dezren. He appeared dead, though his chest rose and fell. Aully crept along his side until she reached his shoulders. She placed the cutting edge of the khandar against his neck.

Carskel’s eyes snapped open, and amazingly, he grinned. Aully started in surprise, her moment of hesitation giving her brother the opportunity to shove the blade away from his neck. Stars then exploded in Aully’s vision as his fist connected with her cheek. She dropped the weapon and fell away from him, grasping at the side of her face. It was on fire. Her eyes watered, blurring her vision.

Still the arrows rained down, and the soldiers galloped.

“You have injured me,” Carskel said, almost playfully. “That will not do.”

The elf stepped toward her, bending over and picking up the khandar just as she’d done a moment before. His hand reached out and grabbed a handful of hair. Pain spiked in Aully’s scalp as he dragged her along the causeway. “You won’t do that again, sweet sister. Consider your precious Kindren’s life forfeited, as well as-”

Carskel doubled over, a wad of phlegm ejecting from his mouth. His grip on Aully’s hair loosened, and she pulled free from him, scurrying away on her hands and knees before turning back around. What she saw, she couldn’t quite understand. A shadowy elf was now on the causeway, his fists pummeling her bastard brother, knocking him from one hempen rail to the other. Carskel’s head snapped back; he doubled over when struck in the gut; he fell to the side when battered on the ear. Finally, the shadowy elf grabbed Carskel by the back of his breeches and tipped him over the rail. Aully’s brother disappeared from sight. The shadowy elf then turned to her, and for the first time she saw his face. Aully’s jaw dropped open.

“Ceredon,” she said.

Ceredon grabbed her hand and held it tight.

“Run.”

Above them, the forest city of Stonewood exploded in a shower of wooden shards.

“Run,” said Ceredon. His knuckles were bleeding from striking the elf that had been attacking Aully, and his entire body was sore from untold days trying to lead the demon Darakken away from Stonewood, a plan that he realized was doomed to fail from the start.

Aully just stood there, gaping at him. No time for this. The massive beast that was Darakken burst forth, demolishing trees and homes, forcing his hand. He snatched up Aully by the waist and lifted her, leaping over the side of the rope bridge just as it collapsed.

Behind him, Dezren elves screamed and wood shattered. Rising above it all was the demon’s trumpeting howl.

He landed on the hard-packed earth and held Aully tightly to his chest, shielding her from harm as they rolled. When they stopped, he hastily got back on his feet and glanced up at the huge, raging beast. The thing was clawing at Stonewood’s tall trees with its lizardlike claws, deeply scoring the bark and using its horns to pry into the still intact domiciles. Its spiked tail lashed from side to side, impaling an unfortunate soldier through the chest; the horse he rode galloped off riderless. The demon then plunged its snout into a treetop home, its horns collapsing the side of the structure. Its jaws snapped shut, and when its head withdrew, it had a female elf trapped in its maw. Blood poured from the poor elf’s mouth even as she beat at the beast’s scaly hide, pulverizing her own fists on its scales. Darakken tensed, its jaw trembling, and with a loud crack the elf split in two. Her upper torso and legs plummeted to the earth while the demon gulped down her midsection. From inside the ruined domicile, children shrieked. Ceredon’s stomach churned.

He turned away from the morbid display, only to see that Aully was still staring. “Do not look,” he coaxed, gently touching her cheek to avert her head.

“Lolly,” she said with a whimper, her eyes bulging. “Hadrik, Mella. . ”

“Do not think of them. Just run.”

Aully nodded, but she still appeared too frightened to move. It was chaos all around them, with both elves and human soldiers storming across the clearing, trying to get away from the giant, ravenous beast. Not all of them fled mindlessly, however. A few of the soldiers paused to allow stranded elves to climb onto their horse with them. One of those was a woman dressed all in black, a beautiful creature, for a human, whom Ceredon recognized. He’d seen her when he raced past the human caravan on his way into the forest. The woman looked determined, but not overly frightened, impressive given what she faced. She rode off, followed closely by an odd-looking man wearing a bright green cloak. Then he too was gone.

It was time Ceredon followed suit.

He grabbed Aully’s hand and began to run, but the young Dezren princess fought against him. “No!” she shouted.

“We have to go, Aullienna!” he yelled back at her. The demon continued to feast on elves in the treetops.

“No, we have to find Mother, we have to find Kindren!” Aully exclaimed. “I won’t leave without him!”

Ceredon nodded, fighting off the urge to throw her over his shoulder and scamper off. She seemed to have shaken off her paralysis, and though her flesh was still pale as the sky on a cold winter’s day, there was a determination in her eyes that he couldn’t deny. He hadn’t come all this way to protect just her; he knew he couldn’t turn his back on the others.

He took her hand, and together they ran toward the center of the clearing, where the remnants of the hanging bridge now lay ruined. Human soldiers still charged through the clearing, looks of pure terror on those faces not covered with helms. They flashed by on either side of Ceredon and Aully, so close that wind whipped through Ceredon’s hair. There were bodies littering the ground, and horses trampled them. In their terror, a couple of the soldiers blindly ran down the fleeing Dezren, crushing them beneath heavy hooves. Bones snapped. Blood flew into the air and seeped into the soil. It was pandemonium.

“There!” Aully shouted.

Ceredon followed her gaze, and finally he spotted Kindren and Lady Audrianna, holding one another while they limped across the frenzied clearing. A man on horseback veered too close to them, clipping Lady Audrianna in the process. The Lady of Stonewood was tossed aside, falling on top of Kindren. They lay there shouting while another soldier passed by, missing them by mere inches.

“Come!” Ceredon shouted. He grasped Aully and took off.

He swerved through the turmoil, his feet moving with a survival instinct all their own. The gap between him and the huddling pair was crossed in seconds, and Ceredon and Aully both reached down, helping them to their feet, then shuffling them toward the tree line. Aully bathed Kindren in kisses, and the young prince reciprocated her affections, oblivious to the horror going on around them. Tears cascaded down both their cheeks.

Another riderless horse came hurtling toward them. Ceredon shoved the three frightened elves away and dashed for it, reaching at the reins. He snared them, though just barely. With the reins firm in his grip, he dug his heels into the ground. The horse’s momentum yanked him off his feet, but it had obviously been well trained. At the pulling of the reins, the beast slowed and then stopped, shuffling nervously in place.

Ceredon stood up, his knees shredded from being dragged across the stony earth. “Aully, Kindren, now!” he shouted, bringing the two young elves running. Ceredon helped them into the saddle, Kindren in front and Aully behind. “Now go. Follow the soldiers.”

“But Mother!” yelled Aully.

“I will care for your mother. Now go!”

He whacked the horse on its flank as hard as he could, and the beast took off, disappearing with its precious cargo into the surrounding forest. Ceredon quickly made his way back to Audrianna.

“Come now, Lady Meln,” Ceredon said to her. “Take my hand.” The dazed woman’s fingers wrapped around his palm and he lifted her. She clung to him as if her life depended on it. He began to trudge forward as fast as he could, Audrianna quivering in his arms. When he glanced behind him, he saw that Darakken had finished its treetop feast. The demon crashed down to earth, shaking the ground beneath Ceredon’s feet. Its blazing red eyes stared hungrily at the fleeing elves. Its trumpeting howl sounded once more, and the beast lurched forward.

Lady Audrianna screamed in Ceredon’s arms, her body quivering like jelly. He lugged her into the shelter of the forest, the demon closing in from behind. It batted aside trees with its tusks, its hoofed rear legs tearing through the underbrush. He could almost feel the evil creature’s rank breath on his back. All around him dashed Dezren elves and human soldiers, forming a bulging line as they fled from the beast.

I did not come this far for nothing! In the seemingly endless days since Darakken had resurrected itself, he had spied on the beast as it learned to be alive once more, constantly trying to lure it away from Stonewood until finally, the day before, it had turned around and started headlong for the forest. If I had simply come here as I’d planned, we could be far away by now.

Too late for regrets now, he knew. So he just kept putting one foot in front of the other and prayed Lady Audrianna wouldn’t stumble and fall. If that were to happen, they would end up food for the demon.

Somehow the Lady of Stonewood kept her footing as they tramped over vines and roots. Even when they slipped on a thatch of slick leaves, all it cost them was a momentary stumble. The demon continued to track them somewhere off to the right, the sound of its feet striking the forest floor like a constant, raucous drumbeat. Trees broke and splintered. Ceredon’s arms grew weary and his legs, numb. Breath was hard to come by. Lady Audrianna suffered the same way; she’d stopped her screaming and now simply wheezed.

He glanced to the side and saw Darakken’s slick, scaly hide flash between the foliage, much too close. The thing then lurched to the left, colliding with a thick elm. The roots tore free from the ground and the tree toppled over. Ceredon squeezed Lady Audrianna and forced his feet to move faster, running diagonally, knocking over a fleeing soldier in the process. The tree landed behind them with a whoosh, crushing the soldier and a group of unfortunate elves. His mind was awash with both fear and confusion. Darakken was acting oddly, running alongside them like a shepherd’s dog, threatening, but not attacking, as if penning them in.

When he finally exited the thick wood, running at full speed, Ceredon discovered that’s exactly what the evil thing was doing.

Darakken had forced the fleeing masses to the southwest, where Stonewood Forest pressed up against the Corinth River. A two hundred yard stretch of flat, rocky grassland spread out before him, leading to a sheer cliff that dropped to the mouth of the river below. To the south was a line of thick trees that abutted the cliff; to the north, a slender patch of land with an upward slope. Those who fled had been hemmed in, trapped between the forest and the river. A large contingent of panicked elves attempted fleeing along the slender northern corridor, but Darakken burst through the trees, snapping a few of them up in its jaws. Other elves fell off the cliff screaming.

Then the demon disappeared back into the forest.

Ceredon took a deep breath, squeezed Lady Audrianna, and set his feet in motion once more. He hurried to the edge of the cliff, where at least two thousand elves and soldiers lurked, looking around as if they didn’t know what to do next. Those on horses galloped back and forth across the center of the clearing as if their options might change each time they swiveled around.

“Aully, Kindren!” he shouted as he swerved around the horsemen.

“Here!” Aully’s voice hollered back. The sprite emerged from the throng, dragging Kindren behind her. Kindren held the leads of the horse they’d ridden, struggling to make the beast match his strides. Ceredon rushed up to them and released Lady Audrianna.

“Let the horse go, Kindren. Then all of you get back,” he said. “And don’t fall.”

He didn’t wait for a reply, instead hastening along the mass of panicked elves and humans. He spotted the familiar, beautiful woman he’d seen earlier, still sitting astride her horse, her wavy dark hair like onyx threads. She appeared supernaturally calm, her shoulders thrown back while she squinted toward the forest, tracing the demon’s movements behind the trees.

“You!” Ceredon shouted when he drew near.

The woman glanced down at him and stared. On one side of her was a young soldier with a forked blond beard, and the odd, redheaded man in the bright green robe was on the other.

Ceredon stopped running and bent over, hands on his knees, as he panted. “Do you lead the soldiers?” he asked in the human tongue.

“I do,” she replied.

“We haven’t much time. Gather your men. Horsemen on the flanks, foot soldiers in the middle. Anyone else of use, have them line up in front of the cliff. We’ll assault the demon with all we have.”

The woman nodded. No argument, no questions. A human with a solid head on her shoulders. Ceredon opened his mouth to say more, but he was silenced by the shattering of trees on the far edge of the forest. The demon emerged howling.

Whatever meager plans they had made would have to do.

The Darakken had come to feast.