by T. J. Quinn
“I know, and I’ve tried to convince them of that, but there’s no use.”
“Only a small group of women were willing to fight, after all, they only abduct young women, but their families don’t let them out at the first sign of danger,” Rhiannon added. “My father included.”
“Believe me, I do understand their need to protect their loved ones, but it’s time to do more,” he stated, in a firm tone.
“There are a few men that I’m sure would want to help you,” Gwendolyn told him. “Men that have lost everyone, their wives, their sons, and daughters, they will want to join you in this battle.”
“Can you contact them? I want to go after the demons as soon as possible,” he asked.
“Yes, of course, but no one knows where they hide,” Gwendolyn explained.
“Then, we’ll have to wait for their next attack, and I’ll follow them.”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Rhiannon said, with a faint smile. She planned to be among those that would help him. She was tired of watching how the demons decimated her people and doing nothing.
“Mama!” The painful moan came from the couch, and they turned to look at Joshua. “They took away my mom,” he cried out, as he ran into Kael’s arms. “You have to find her Kael, please,” he begged.
Kael picked him in his arms and comforted the small child as best as he could. “I’ll do my best, little man, I promise you.”
“You’re the only one that can, I know,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Kael’s muscular neck.
“I’ll do all I can to bring her back to you, I promise,” he assured the sobbing child. “But right now, I need you to be strong. Will you?” The child nodded, and he smiled. “Good. Go with Rhiannon, she will give you some food and a something to drink, alright?” He handed the child to Rhiannon and waited until they left the room to turn to look at Gwendolyn. “Bring those men to me, it’s time we start preparing ourselves for the demons’ attack.”
The old woman nodded, grabbed her shawl, and she left the house immediately.
Kael followed Rhiannon into the kitchen and watched her as she fed the young boy.
“You must be hungry too. Why don’t you take a seat while I prepare some food for you?” she asked, with a smile.
“I’m alright,”
“I never said you weren’t. But I’m sure you haven’t had a proper meal ever since I left the mountains.” She pulled a chair and waited for him to take a seat. “I’ll have a breakfast worthy of gods in just a few minutes.”
He smiled and took a seat next to Joshua, who was already eating some kind of porridge. “Thank you, that would be nice of you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Half an hour later, they were clearing the kitchen after they had finished their meal. Joshua had returned to the main room to play with some old toys Gwendolyn kept there.
He was still very sad about his mother, but apparently, he was feeling a lot more calm, especially after Kael had promised him to rescue his mother.
“I’ll go with you,” she warned him when they were alone in the kitchen.
“Where to?” he asked, a bit confused.
“When you decide it’s time to attack the demons,” she replied in a firm tone.
“No, that’s out of the question. It’s too dangerous,” he rejected her idea, in a curt tone.
“No, it’s not. I’ve seen what you can do, and I know you’ll be able to fight most of them. Nonetheless, you’ll need some backup, and that’s why you asked grandma to gather all the men she can,” she explained.
“Yes, that’s right. But that’s no place for you,” he insisted.
“Why? Because I’m a woman?” she asked, furious.
“No, that doesn’t have anything to do with it. Many females of my species are fierce warriors. But your people don’t seem to train their women the way my people do,” he explained.
“Well, yes, you’re right about that. But I’m the exception. My father was very disappointed when I, his first child, was born a girl. My mother suffered too much giving birth to me, and she wasn’t able to have any other children,” she told him, in a stern tone. She had dealt with those facts all her life, but they still hurt. “I grew up trying to be the boy my father wanted. It never worked, but I’m well trained. In fact, I’m better than most men in this village,” she assured him.
“In what aspects?” he asked, with a smile. He knew Rhiannon was an exceptional woman and her words only confirmed it.
“Well, with the sword and with the bow and arrows. Since fire seems to be the demon’s weakness, the sword won’t help us much, but the arrows, yes. We can use them lit on fire to get rid of those bastards.”
He nodded. “That’s a good idea. Your weapons are very primitive, compared to the ones I’m used to, but in this case, my body will be my best weapon. Your arrows on fire will be of great help.”
“Yes, you hadn't told me you could shift like that,” she said, with intrigue in her tone.
He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. “I didn’t know I could. I only realized I was on fire when I lost track of the demons and landed,” he explained.
“That’s strange. None of your people can do that?” she asked, puzzled.
“No, not as far as I know. Apparently, the shifting is fueled by anger, but I guess it will be a matter of time until I master it and conjure it each time I need it.”
“It’s quite amazing. You turned into a fantastic creature, I have never seen anything like that,” she told him, resting her forehead on his chest.
He pushed her chin up, needing to see her eyes. “I’m a drogon,” he explained. “Were you scared?”
She shook her head, with no doubt. “No, not at all. I knew it was you, there was no reason for me to be afraid,” she assured him.
He kissed her forehead, and then her lips. “Thank you for trusting in me.”
“I want to be there with you, I want to help you get rid of these demons. I’m sure I can help you,” she asked him.
“Very well, but I want you to promise me you will be careful at all times and that you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I have no desire of dying, Kael, or even being captured by those creatures, believe me,” she assured him.
“Why do you think they only abduct women?”
“We suspect they use them to reproduce themselves. They only abduct young, fertile women.”
“Yes, that could be the reason.”
They heard some noise outside the cabin and Rhiannon crossed the kitchen to look out of the window. “Grandma is back. She brought at least a dozen of men,” she told him, with a pleased smile.
“Good, let’s see how they will react to my presence.”
“Go easy on them. We don’t want them to think you’re a demon,” she asked them.
“Let’s hope they are smarter than that.”
They left the house, and a sudden silence fell amongst the men assembled in front of the cabin.
“This is Kael, he is the man I was telling you about,” Gwendolyn explained, crossing the patio to stand next to Kael and Rhiannon.
“He’s not one of us,” one of the men shouted from the small crowd.
“You’re right, I’m not one of you. And this wasn’t my fight until the demons messed with those I made my people ever since I got here,” Kael explained, stepping forward.
It was apparent most men were overwhelmed by Kael’s size and appearance.
“How do we know you’re not one of them?” another man shouted.
“Have you ever been able to talk to one of the demons, John?” Rhiannon asked, in a scornful tone. “I know he’s different, but if you take a good look at him, you’ll know he’s quite different from the beasts that have been raiding our villages for years.”
“I understand your fears, but there is no time for that. If you’re joining this fight, you’ll have to trust me. Otherwise you’ll endanger your friends,” Kael pointed out. “
We don’t have much time to train or to even plan an attack, so much of what we’ll do will be based on trust. If you don’t think you can trust me, then you shouldn’t be here.”
“You’re asking too much of us,” John protested again.
“Hard times require hard decisions, John, you should know that by now,” Rhiannon told him, with a cold tone. “Kael has a weapon able to turn the demons into ash, this is our moment to finally vanquish them. We can’t let our fears get in the way with that.”
The men nodded.
“We’ve discovered that the best way to destroy the demons is with fire. Your weapons are very primitive, but Rhiannon suggested the bow and arrows, lighting these with fire,” Kael continued. “If anyone else has any other idea, I would be more than pleased to hear about them.”
There was some mumbling amongst the men.
“A few months ago, a merchant brought me something we might be able to use against them,” Jonas, one of the men, said. “It’s used to create a show of lights in the sky, but I’m sure we could change it and turn it into a firebomb.”
“Can you bring it to me?” Kael asked, curious.
“Yes, of course. I’ll need some help though.” Two men volunteered, and they left the cabin to go get it.
“Where can we train with the arrows?” Kael asked the other men.
“There’s a field not far from here we could use,” John suggested. “It used to be filled with animals, but now we can’t have them out in the open.”
“Perfect. Which of you have your own bow and arrows?” Kael asked, and all of the men present showed him their weapons. “Very well. Do any of you have an idea where the demons hide during the day? It mustn’t be far since they aren’t that fast flying.”
No one knew. They had never dared to try to follow the demons.
A bit disappointed, Kael asked John to guide them to the training field, and soon he was able to get a good idea of every man’s potential. Like she had told him, Rhiannon proved to be one of the best with the bow and he was more than happy to have her at his side. He still worried about her safety, but he also understood her need to help in this fight.
By the time Jonas returned, Kael had organized the small group of men. He showed him the small brown paper packages, with a long stick coming out of it and for a moment Kael doubted that would be of use.
“Can you show me how they work?” he asked the man.
“Of course. Follow it with your eyes.” The man lit a small wick at the bottom of the package, and it flew away, exploding a few moments later with a loud blast. “The merchant called it a firework. I asked him to show me how to do them, and he did. I’ve made a few.”
“Yes, this can be used. You would need to be very close to the demon so you wouldn’t miss the target, but I believe it’s doable,” Kael said with a pleased smile. “Perhaps, we could make the wick smaller and the cane shorter so they would explode faster.”
“Yes, I believe so. It would make them a bit more dangerous, but I’m sure I could still launch them,” Jonas agreed.
“Thank you, I’ll trust you with that.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon training attacks and how to face the demons. It wasn’t up until the night that Kael showed them what else he could do.
“By now, I believe you trust me a bit more, so I’ll show you my weapon and the way I’ve fought these demons,” he told the men gathered around him.
Chapter Seventeen
Slowly, he shifted into his full drogon form. Some of the men stepped back, others let out a small cry of surprise, but none ran away. Kael supposed that was a good thing.
“I’m a drogon, and I’m a fire creature,” he explained, blowing fire towards one of the dummies they had used for practice, bursting it into flames. “I can do a lot more, but you’ll see that on the battlefield. Just be sure I would never hurt you or your families. My mission here was never for that.”
The men mumbled, but none showed any rejection towards him.
“The demons don’t usually attack two nights in a row, so, I believe it’s safe to go back home and get some rest,” Rhiannon suggested.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. I would like to see you all tomorrow here, to continue with our practices,” Kael added.
The men nodded and slowly walked away.
“Do you think they will fight when the time comes?” Rhiannon asked him, still not sure of the men’s commitment to the cause.
“Yes, I believe they will. Your people want revenge, and I’m sure the only reason they haven’t acted until now is that no one thought of uniting them. By themselves, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the demons,” he explained.
“Yes, you’re probably right.” She let out a loud sigh. “I have to go home now. My father knows I’m in town and I’m sure he’s waiting for me,” she told him.
“I won’t have you in my arms?” he protested, hugging her.
“Not tonight, I’ll try to come back as soon as possible, right after he leaves for work. That should give us a couple of hours before the rest of the men arrive.”
“Yes, please, I would love that, or even better. Show me where you live, and I’ll go visit you instead. We’ll have more privacy,” he suggested, with a wicked smile.
“That’s an excellent idea.” She told him how to get to her place, and after a few passionate kisses, she went home.
Her father was waiting for her. “Why didn’t you come home as soon as you came back?” he scolded her.
“I went to say hello to grandmother and found out what happened to Esther in Somerville,” she replied, putting down the bag she had picked up at Gwendolyn’s house. “I went out looking for her son, Joshua, who had been missing ever since the attack.”
“Did you find him?” he asked, his frown even deeper.
“Yes, we did. He’s staying with grandma for now,” she replied, sighing tiredly.
“I heard mother is gathering a group of men to fight the demons. Do you know anything about this nonsense?” he asked, in a stern tone.
She should have known her father had heard about Gwendolyn’s actions. Being the village baker, he was usually well informed of everything that happened around.
“Is it really nonsense, father? How long will you and the rest of the villagers close your eyes to this situation? How many women must be abducted? How many men have to die for you to finally react?” she ranted, fed up.
“They are more powerful than us, there’s no way we can beat them,” he replied, furious.
“How can you know that if you haven’t even tried?”
Her father opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t have an answer to that question. Other than the first attacks, people hadn't fought the demons. They had been too afraid.
“They killed a lot of good men in their first attacks,” he finally muttered.
“Yes, they did, and those men took some demons down with them,” she pointed out. “It’s time we start fighting them because living in hiding doesn’t make much sense,” she added, finishing the conversation and heading to her room.
“I don’t want you a part of this, Rhiannon, do you hear me?” he shouted, as she went up the stairs.
She didn’t answer. There was no point.
But her father had other ideas. He followed her up to her room. “I want you to promise me you’ll stay away from the demons,” he demanded in a stern tone.
“I’m afraid I can’t promise you that, father,” she replied in a cold tone. “I’m tired of living this way, and I intend to do all in my power to end this situation.”
Her father stayed at her bedroom door staring at her without saying a word for a few moments. “I can’t afford to lose you too, Rhiannon,” he finally uttered.
She snorted, incredulous. “Oh, please, father. There’s no need for lies between us. We both know I was nothing more than a disappointment for you, ever since I was born. Playing the loving father is out of place, believe me,” she said, walking to her bedroom wind
ow, unwilling to face her father.
There was a thick silence in the room, and for a moment, Rhiannon thought her father had left. Hearing him just behind her, startled her.
“Why do you think that? You’re my only daughter, my most precious treasure,” he said, with hurt oozing from each word.
She turned to look at him, too surprised. “Your most precious treasure? You’ve ignored every attempt I’ve made throughout my life to gain your approval,” she ranted, her hands on her hips, her expression defiant.
“Was that what you were looking for?” he looked bewildered. “You didn’t need to gain my approval, foolish girl, you always had it. I thought you were a rebel with no cause, trying to become something you weren’t meant to be,” he explained. “Yes, I wanted a son, yes, I was disappointed when your mother wasn’t able to give me all the children I wanted, but I never stopped feeling blessed for the beautiful daughter the gods had given me,” he assured her.
She was speechless. Could it be possible she had spent her whole life misinterpreting her father? Apparently, yes.
“You have a very strange way of showing it,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, still not sure she could believe him.
Her father closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, hugging her like she could never recall him ever doing.
“I guess I’m not the most expressive man in the world,” he started saying.
“That’s an understatement!” She teased him.
“But know this, I’ve always loved you, and it would kill me to lose you to the demons. I wouldn’t survive it.”
She stepped back. “Then fight with me. We have someone on our side that we’re sure will lead us to victory. This is our chance to get rid of the demons, once and for all.”
He snorted. “What’s so special about him? Does he have magical weapons?” his father asked, not even a little bit convinced.
“Well, I wouldn’t say magical, but yes special. You have to meet him, father and I’m sure you will see what I’m talking about.”
