With Malera following after him, he ran back to the village as fast as he could. In front of him he could see fires burning inside the village, with the sound of people running and screaming and the smell of burnt flesh. Darting between the houses, occasionally stopping to slash at the villagers running away, Kendrolgo could see the figures of Daemonises chasing after their prey.
The air rushed into his chest and burned as if it were on fire. Kendrolgo pumped his legs and ran as fast as he could. Images of his family being attacked by those monsters, flashed through his mind. Please let them be alright, was all he thought as he reached the village. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his mother, who was the only person connected to him, through blood, in this entire world. Looking behind him, Kendrolgo made sure that Malera was still behind him. He didn’t want her near him, but being in the forest might not have been a safe option either, for her.
Running past the side of his house, Kendrolgo quickly glanced at the windows looking to see if anyone was inside. Furniture was toppled over and when he reached the front door, the wood was shattered just barely hanging from the hinges. Ducking his head into the house there was a lack of blood, which hopefully meant that his family was still alive. He hoped that his house was far enough from the main part of the village that his family was able to get away.
A sudden roar behind them made Kendrolgo look back, and see a Daemonis rushing toward them. “Get behind me!” He yelled out maneuvering himself in front of Malera. Quickly looking around, he tried to find anything to use as a weapon, but all he found was part of a door lying on the ground. He quickly picked up the fragment and braced his arm behind it. Using the fragment as a shield, Kendrolgo readied for the creature as its clawed hand swiped at the make-shift shield. The force of the impact shattered the fragment and propelled him back, knocking himself and Marela into the house. Taking most of the blow, he flew into the house while Malera was spun off into the living area. Kendrolgo continued to fly past Malera, before he crashed into the kitchen furniture. The house they were in was an open layout design, so he gathered quite a bit of momentum before stopping.
The breadth was knocked out of him and left him gasping for air. Looking around trying to keep himself from fainting, he saw the Daemonis and its hulking frame trying to fit through the doorway. Briefly the creature got stuck trying to fit its shoulder through, though that wouldn’t stop him for long. While the monster was trying get at them, Kendrolgo tried to get to his feet pulling himself up using the overturn table. Hobbling over to the kitchen, he opened one of the drawers and pulled out a cooking knife. “Malera!” he shouted at her hoping she was still alive. The Daemonis was reaching in the house, his arm trying to get her while ripping portions of the entrance.
“Get away from her! I swear if you touch her I’ll kill you!” He screamed at the beast, holding the knife.
The Daemonis broke through and extending one of its claws, in a slow drawn out manner like some executioner, the creature and raised its arm. Kendrolgo saw Malera stirring, as she began to regain consciousness. Like before, everything seemed to slow down but this time it was different. His vision started to shift, and when he looked at the Daemonis, he could somehow see the structure of the monster’s build. The way the monster was vulnerable, and how it was able to react, seemed to be laid bare to his eyes.
“Get away from her!” Kendrolgo yelled running toward the creature.
“AAHHH! Kenny help me!” Malera called out to him, after regaining full consciousness, and reflexively she lifted up her hand, trying to ward off the Daemonis’s claws.
Launching at it, Kendrolgo raised the blade and buried into the monster’s side. The legs of the Daemonis appeared to crumble away beneath it. Howling in pain, it tried to swipe at him but he pulled out the blade swiftly as he had seen the Lady of Grace did, earlier. Turning his body and planting a foot on the beast’s forearm, he used it and used the force to propel himself back. Flipping himself and dodging the attack, he landed a couple of feet away from where he was. Without one of its legs, the Daemonis toppled over, exposing himself. He plunged the knife into the base of the creature’s head, and instantly the beast shattered and turned to dust. Finishing off the creature, Kendrolgo dropped his knife, and collapsed onto his back.
He laid on his back for a couple of minutes, trying to catch his breath and get himself under control. A part of him thought that this was all a dream and he would wake up back in the forest. Deciding to get up, Kendrolgo dusted off the remains of the monster and was tackled by Malera’s embrace. She buried her head into his chest crying and repeatedly calling out his name. Holding her and telling her everything was fine, he scanned the burning buildings for any more of those creatures in the immediate area.
In the distance near the Wayward Traveler, he could see the two Ladies of Grace fighting off the remaining Daemonises. With deft swiftness, they dispatched the creatures and one by one they turned to stone statues. Looking at the statues, Kendrolgo noticed that they didn’t crumble or even shatter like the one he had killed.
“We have to help them!” Malera exclaimed, interrupting his chain of thought bringing him back to the present.
Looking back at her, and nodded in agreement. “Make sure to stay behind me.” He whispered to her. The knife he used was no longer useful, with the way it was blackened and slightly charred. He didn’t know why it looked like that, though maybe it was due to what happened with the monster turning to dust. Going back to the kitchen, he grabbed another knife and the two of them ran into the fray.
This time Kendrolgo seemed to be able to repeat whatever fighting ability he possessed. Tapping into his new ability was easier, and he could manifest it faster. Near the entrance to one of the burning buildings was little Degra, a village girl he knew briefly, and her mother, being attacked by a Daemonis. Degra’s mother was being covering her while the beast prepared to execute them both. In a matter of second, Kendrolgo saw a weak-point on the monster’s back and lunged toward it stabbing the creature. Once again the creature burst into dust instantly, and without looking at the two he moved on. In the background, he could hear Malera comforting them before following after him.
Occasionally Kendrolgo would kill off a beast that came near, in a quick fashion. In front of him, the two Ladies of Grace stood back to back surrounded by unmoving statues. Looking up they saw Kendrolgo walking up to them.
“What are monsters doing in the village?!” He demanded at the Ladies motioning with his arm, at the burning wreck that used to be the village. The bodies of villagers were scattered amongst the debris, their bodies twisted and slashed. “I thought you were supposed to protect us against monsters!” Tears streamed down his face, from seeing all the carnage and being unable to protect all of them. Just because they treated him badly didn’t mean that they deserved to die.
Looking at him through their masks, the two ladies stood silent in front of him. Their stance conveyed indifference and apathy that boiled Kendrolgo’s blood. “Say something!” Kendrolgo screamed, his fists shaking in frustration.
“Do not place your own lack in ability onto us.” The Lady that talked to him in the forest replied. Calmly the two of them cleaned of their various blades, covered in the black ink of daemonis blood. Their garments were just as white as when they first arrived, without a trace of blood on them. “Why do you care about people who ostracized you from their village anyways? Were you not in the forest again trying to get away when all this was happening? Now that something has happened you try to pretend that you care?”
Standing still and listening to the Lady, he knew that everything that she said rang true. Instead of being in the village, Kendrolgo had gone to the forest to be away from everyone. Voices of the villagers called out to him, the sound of babies and children crying out for their dead mothers. Screaming into the sky, he let out all his frustration and guilt pour out of him.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
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Watching the boy scream in agony, Jamelia felt the same frustration of not being able to protect this once peaceful village. Quietly she whispered a prayer, to guide the souls of the dead to the Lord Grace. She hoped that they would find peace in the next world in the presence of the Lord.
“Lady Jamelia, the temple needs to know about this attack.” Amela urged, the mask preventing others from overhearing their conversation.
Turning her gaze away from the boy, Jamelia looked at Amela and stated, “The temple can wait.”
“But Lady Jamelia…” she pleaded.
“I have finished speaking, on this matter.” Jamelia commanded cutting Amela off. “How many of the villagers are still alive”
Looking around the village, Amela made a quick mental calculation while they battled the Daemonises. “There are only nine of the villagers still alive from the original forty.” She estimated.
Jamelia played out the entire event through her mind, trying to figure out what had happened. They had gone over to talk with the parents of the girl they had found potential with. At first the parents were against the idea of their daughter joining the Order, but after they had explained all that would be offered to the girl they conceded to the decision. Being a part of the Order was an experience unparalleled in all the Kingdoms, and a golden opportunity.
With the attack on the village, they would need to head to the temple sooner. The problem was what to do with the boy Kendrolgo, who was obviously beginning to show signs of his heritage. Getting him to the Temple was urgent, but they couldn’t afford to endanger a new follower.
“Kenny!” A voice shouted out to the boy. The girl, who was the new potential, ran up to Kendrolgo and embraced him, telling him that everything was okay and it wasn’t his fault. Seeing them together made her realize that she may not have a choice in the matter. All she could do was pray that events didn’t get out of control.
“Get everything ready for our departure. We will be leaving shortly.” Jamelia informed Amela.
Nodding her head, Amela quickly went off to the Inn to gather their supplies and take them to the stable, where their horses were.
Jamelia watched Amela walk off to gather their belonging. Luckily for them, both the Inn and stable were barely damaged from the attack. Almost all the villagers were in the center of the village, getting ready for the Spring Festival when the attack took place. As the sun set and the bonfires were lit, the villagers danced and began the celebrating arrival of spring. The laughter and sounds of music slowly began to be replaced by screams. Like a flood, daemonises swarmed in and began slaughtering everything in their paths. Quickly both she and Amela ran to battle with the beasts, trying to protect the villagers. With so many beasts, they needed to fight them off together since individually they were weaker than the monsters. The training that they received was mainly based on agility and precision, instead of with pure power.
Later watching Kendrolgo, she saw how easily he destroyed a daemonis. For them, whenever they killed of a daemonis the creature turned into a stature. With their specially created weapons getting the blade out in time was possible. With the boy’s method the blade material was irrelevant, though a better quality blade would likely last longer. Seeing the blade in the kid’s hand, she noticed that it was slightly damaged and wondered if it was from his power or from the creature. The way that the creature turned to dust was unusual, and probably never seen before. Demons are truly frightening creatures if they are so easily able to kill daemonises.
“Lady Jamelia, everything is ready for us.” Amela announced, interrupting her thoughts.
Giving Amela a nod, Jamelia walked over to Kendrolgo and the girl. Seeing her walk over, they looked up and looked, startled when she spoke. “Get ready, we will be leaving soon.” She told them.
“What are you talking about?” Kendrolgo asked confused by this sudden statement. “Why should I leave? I need to see if my family is safe.”
“Regardless of whether or not your family is safe, you need to come with us.”
“Why is he not allowed to check?!” Marela exclaimed equally confused. “It wouldn’t take that much time and they could still be alive!”
Putting her face close to his, Jamelia simple stated “do you wish to continue putting the remaining survivors in jeopardy?”
“What are you talking about?! Why would I be putting this village in jeopardy by looking for my family?” He asked.
“I will answer your question but we need to leave now!” Jamelia shocked herself by raising her voice. Even though she was not accustomed to yelling out commands, the current situation demanded it.
Jamelia could see in his eyes that he understood the urgency. On some level, Kendrolgo probably felt what she had said was the truth. Without a word, he nodded he head and began walking toward the stable.
“When I said ‘we need to leave’ I also meant you.” She said to the girl Malera.
Kendrolgo spun around looking at her, his mouth agape. “What do you mean she needs to come?” He demanded at her.
“Just like I said, now hurry up and get ready to go.” Not waiting for an answer, she walked to the stable with Amela following after her.
“Are you sure we should force them to travel, without letting them see if their families are alright, my lady?” Amela asked her, concern in her voice.
She understood where Amela was coming from, but the situation was dire. The attack from the daemonises was not a random act. The whole event went against everything that they knew about a daemonis’s behavior pattern. Normally they kept to themselves and rarely attacked travelers, but never did they attack a village full of people. The only time daemonises attacked in a group was back during the War of Light and Dark. Just thinking about such an idea was frightening. Who would have enough power to control them? A whole list of questions went through her mind, with each one scarier than the last.
“Lady Jamelia, the two of them are ready for us to go.” Amela informed her. While Jamelia was thinking about everything that happened, Amela was helping both of the kids with the horses and gear.
Looking over she could see the two of them getting onto their horses. Their faces looked troubled, questions flying through their minds. Understanding their frustrations, she wished that she could answer all their questions but even she didn’t know everything. There were a lot of things that she did know, but those she needed to withhold. The girl would eventually learn the answers to her questions, but with the half-demon there were still questions about his blood. With him, she would need to get authorization in order to reveal anything major that she knew.
“Let us head out now.” Jamelia told all of them, digging her heels into the horse and galloping off into the night.
Behind her, she could hear the rest of them following her, the sound of the hooves mixing with the sound of the houses burning. The burning and destroyed houses flew past her, the wind whipping through her white cloak, with the smell of blood mixed in.
Kendrolgo’s came up next to her, his skill on a horse being apparent. Turning his head he called out to her, “why are we going so fast!” His voice was barely able to cut through the wind.
Ignoring his voice, Jamelia continued to push through. The risk of biting one’s tongue is greater at these speeds. Though she understood his impatience, he didn’t completely understand the current situation. Getting out of the village was the easy part. The nearest town that was linked to the Temple was Telenka, a half lunar cycle away. Until they reach Telenka, the risk of running into daemonises were high. Journeying to the town will require both speed and cunning on their part.
Looking ahead, the shadows in front of them were just as ominous as the eyes of the boy, the way they appeared to burn right through the night.