Authors: Calista Fox
“Who says I allowed her to take it? She had Tanner swear her
in while I was gone.”
Morgan shot him a confused look. “You didn’t have to approve
the registry.”
With a jerk of his head and a sardonic tone, Darien said,
“As if that would stop her.”
His general was silent as they passed over the narrow bridge
in single-file formation before doubling up again. “Forgive me for asking, but
how will you justify marrying a demon slayer?”
Darien sighed. “That does complicate matters.”
By a lot.
“She wasn’t a slayer when I proposed.”
A snort from Morgan was followed by, “As if that would stop
you
.”
“No, I didn’t intend to rescind the proposal. But I could
have used more time to work out the semantics. Now I’m relying on the fact that
she’s part demon to help smooth the waters with my alliance.”
He was resigned to an inevitability he hadn’t previously
considered. “Her being a slayer certainly gives her more weight than when she
was merely human. The demi-demon aspect will work in her favor as well. And our
union will prove we’re both serious about maintaining peace.”
That was a very reasonable stance to take, he decided. One
that would validate the choice he’d made when he’d selected his queen.
They climbed the hill to the castle and dispersed, each
having strategic tasks to implement.
Unfortunately, Darien’s optimism about marrying Jade waned
as he gave the scenario more thought. He could not dismiss Morgan’s statements
and found himself wondering if he really could pull off the impossible.
* * * * *
Jade spent the majority of the day making the rounds in the
village, popping into shops to listen to her neighbors’ fears regarding the
invading renegade demon force and the king’s army surrounding the perimeter of
their small community.
She attempted to calm the anxiety of her friends, but there
was more to the deep-seated concern than the threat of attack. She’d created
upheaval and turmoil with her announcement that she intended to marry the Demon
King, but she was diplomatic in placating everyone and actually very good at
soothing frayed nerves. To an extent, anyway.
Her last stop was the tavern, where she sat with the
regulars and assured them the king’s army would deal swiftly with the
renegades, now that their whereabouts had been narrowed down.
Michael asked, “What if the rogue demons break through one
of the barricades?”
“Then Tanner and I will have to protect the villagers. In
fact, it would be a good idea for everyone to remain in the general area, in
their shops and here, tomorrow and the next day. So no one’s wandering about,
making a target of themselves.”
The severity of the predicament did not escape anyone. Jade
imagined this was the sort of tension and terror Lisette and the elders had
experienced each time a demon war had erupted, decades ago.
The waiting, she decided, was the hardest part. Having no
idea what happened outside the border of Ryleigh and not being directly
involved in the conflict created as much consternation as the threat against
the people she’d sworn to protect.
So when Tanner strutted in with a purposeful gait, she
jumped from her chair and met him in front of the fireplace.
“Something happened, I can see it in your eyes,” she said,
though he was clearly trying to keep a reserved visage.
“Bring your swords,” he said in a quiet voice.
She collected both, and her jacket. They left the tavern,
but someone followed them. She whirled around and found Michael hot on their
heels.
“Whatever it is,” he said, “you can probably use another
sword.”
“You don’t have a sword,” she reminded him.
Tanner handed over one of his. “Do you know how to use it?”
“Of course. Not as well as either of you, but I can manage.”
“Absolutely not!” Jade was horror-stricken at the suggestion
Michael intended to join them.
“Jade,” Tanner said, his tone dark and ominous. “We need
him.”
With that, the other slayer turned sharply and mounted his horse.
Jade bristled, but Michael clearly wasn’t going anywhere.
“Fine,” she said against her better judgment. “Ride with me
and do as I say.” He scowled at her, but she didn’t hedge. “That’s the deal, or
you might as well walk back to the tavern.”
They followed Tanner to the west woods but slowed a quarter
mile before the forest ended and opened to a flat clearing. Snow fell lightly,
though not enough to obscure the visibility. Through the trees, Jade saw the
commotion beyond the woods and her heart lodged in her throat.
The ragtag assembly and the black banner blowing in the
breeze told her the demons gathered were not from Darien’s alliance.
As her pulse raged, she heard riders approach from behind.
She drew her sword as she jerked on the reins and faced the newcomers. She
recognized them from the recent patrols, though they’d always been on the other
side of the border.
“We’ve violated code by cutting through the forest,” one of
them said, “but it was the fastest way to get here.”
“How’d you know the fire wraith’s army had congregated?” she
asked.
“The king sent scouts as soon as he returned to the castle.
One from this area headed back to alert him the rogues have arrived ahead of
schedule. The others found us. Additional scouts are searching the remainder of
the outskirts.”
His gaze shifted from Jade to the army in the clearing and
then back. “I estimate fifty or sixty here. That means there are other
garrisons about to appear in varying locations outside the boundaries of the
village.”
“And the king’s men aren’t in place yet.” A bone-chilling
sensation gripped her.
The demon said, “They’re on their way now. And the general’s
men should be doubling back soon.”
“Soon is not going to help us,” Tanner cut in.
Of course, Darien’s warning for the slayers to stay in the
village and leave the fighting to his troops flashed in her mind. But she and
Tanner were already on the scene and they were the only available defenders at
the moment.
Why oh why had she let Michael come along? She could scream
from her own idiocy.
The second demon said, “We can’t allow the rogue force to
enter the forest. We’ll lose the wraiths and the village will be under siege
within minutes.”
Jade felt sick to her stomach. She’d promised her neighbors
no harm would come to them. But how the hell were the five of them going to
stop the invasion?
Thinking quickly, she said, “We have to stall them until the
king’s army arrives.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Tanner asked.
“Sadly, I have an idea.” Glancing over her shoulder, she
told Michael, “Get down and stay back. Keep behind us, Michael, do you
understand?”
“Yeah, I hear you.” He hopped to the ground and took a few
steps away from them. Jade moved forward.
Tanner stayed positioned where he was and the two demons
flanked Jade as she passed the last line of trees and entered the snow-covered
meadow, which was about to become a battlefield.
The fire wraith, sans flames at the moment, rode toward her,
along with what she assumed to be his second-in-command. They stopped ten or so
feet shy of Jade and her new compatriots.
“Vampire,” the demon on her left muttered in warning.
The presumed general and vampire spoke for the wraith. “Five
against fifty is hardly worthy of our time.”
She hitched her chin and said, “The king’s men will come.”
“Will they?” the vampire demanded. “And how will they know
we’re here in this spot, when we have a half-dozen other battalions about to
surround your village?”
“The king has scouts,” she countered. “I have faith in his
ability to locate all of your factions.”
“Then you’ll be disappointed to know that the scout in this
area is dead. He never made it back to the castle to alert the king.”
She swallowed down a lump of horror, but then remembered the
patrolman beside her had said there’d been other scouts to witness the rogues’
gathering. No doubt one of them had reported back to the castle. She sent up a
silent prayer that was the case.
Hoping to buy more time, she said, “If the five of us pose
such little challenge, feel free to wait for the king’s army to join us. Otherwise,
if you’re confident you’ll have a swift victory over our small group, know that
two are demons and three are slayers.” A fib, but who on her side was going to
call her bluff when it came to Michael? “Oh and one of the slayers is also
half-demon.”
For their part, the two demons beside her didn’t react to
her statement. But she knew they had to be curious, as were Tanner and Michael,
most likely.
“Needless to say,” she continued in a haughty tone, hoping
to somehow keep the conversation going so the rogues didn’t attack for a while
longer, “we’re our own force with which to be reckoned. That’s why there’s only
five of us.”
The general and his leader considered this as their steeds
grew restless, pawing at the drift they stood in. She wondered if the demons
were able to converse telepathically, because they seemed to be deep in
thought.
Finally, the general said, “A shifter on our side maimed one
of your slayers. I don’t see him present.”
“He’s still injured,” she told them, forcing her voice not
to waver. “Two others were sworn in. The ink’s still wet on the king’s
approval,” she added, in case they’d had any way to check the registry before
they’d arrived, “but we
are
official. And deadly.”
With the fire wraith’s army engaging them, she knew there’d
be no dispute over Michael’s involvement in the fight, even if he were to kill
a demon. She did, however, hope one didn’t get close enough to him to even
require he lift his sword.
In order to facilitate that, Jade knew she needed a solid
strategy.
Feigning nonchalance over the combat scenario—though she was
brimming with nervous energy—she said, “I’m sure you’ve surmised the odds are
significantly less in your favor now that you know there are demons prepared to
fight you.”
She glanced first at the one on her left, then the one on
her right. With a smug look she had to force beyond her fear, she said, “I’m
perfectly capable of holding my own. Now that I’ve learned your weaknesses.”
She gave the fire wraith a pointed look, for surely he’d
informed his second that she’d not been able to successfully defend herself
against his two previous attacks.
Unfortunately, Jade had not yet learned how to defeat a
wraith, fire or otherwise. She hadn’t gotten that far in her lessons with
Tanner. But no one knew that, so she continued with what her dear friend
Lisette would call a poker face.
Thinking of the villagers and the fact the five members of
her small brigade stood between the demons and her people made her sit taller
on the horse she’d borrowed from Walker, unbeknownst to him, of course.
The wraith and the general appeared lost in telepathic
thought again and Jade hoped the endless moments would continue to drag out,
because every second spent in debate had to bring Darien and his forces that
much closer. A theory she clung to, at any rate.
But the deliberation came to an abrupt halt.
His gaze sweeping over the miniscule army he faced, the
general said, “We’d waste our time in battle here, when we could advance toward
the castle.”
He yanked the reins of his horse and the animal reared. When
its hooves landed in the snow, the beast turned away from them.
Jade suddenly thought of how both Morgan and Darien were
convinced the fire wraith would never storm the castle. The force was much too
large there and the wraith had divided his army to surround the village.
Thus, the more likely scenario was that they would attack
the band of five and advance into the woods to threaten the village, which
would inevitably help their plight against the king’s men—regardless of what
the second-in-command said. She’d stake her life on the fact they thought they
could draw the king away from any faction he led, leaving him vulnerable, if
she was in danger or if her village were at risk.
In a split second, she made a decision based solely on instinct.
In her hand, she still held the sword she’d unsheathed when
the two demons beside her had arrived. As the rogue demon’s horse trotted away,
she heaved the sword, end over end, with all her might. She aimed precisely at
the spot on the demon’s back that mirrored the one Tanner had marked on the
front of their burlap-covered dummy. She knew if the sword ran him through,
she’d kill the vampire.
She held her breath as her insides seized up. To her extreme
relief, though, the blade penetrated the body and the demon slumped forward
then dropped to the ground.
The entire scene seemed to freeze, as shocked disbelief
gripped them all. Even Jade gasped at how accurate she’d been and how brazenly
she’d killed the wraith’s general.
A minute or two must have slipped by, and then the fire
wraith lit up the dusky sky in a fit of rage. His horse reared in equal fury,
causing Jade’s steed to react. The two demons beside her lurched forward on
their Arabians, coming together to protect Jade as she worked to get the horse
under control.
But the wraith surged toward the threesome, as did the first
line of his army.
Jade pulled back, but the wraith swooped in, a sword in his
left hand, since Darien had hacked off the right one during the fight at the
church.
She withdrew her second sword and swung it soundly. The
wraith’s blade clashed with hers. She’d been prepared for the jolt the impact
would cause and remained steady. Her two demon companions were instantly
immersed in a fight, and Tanner charged in to join them.
Jade fought the wraith while her agitated horse responded to
the fire blazing close to it. Finally, the animal jerked and launched Jade from
his back. She landed in a thick bank, thankfully with her sword still in hand.
Leaving his own horse, the wraith moved in with forceful blows that jarred her
to the core of her being. Yet she kept fighting.