by Ross Turner
Nonetheless, they were better. When Marcii reached him she climbed atop his enormous lap and curled up comfortably amidst his radiating warmth, recoiling from the cold stone of the damp cave all around her.
Marcii’s strange visions had terrified her, but when she’d told Reaper of them, he seemed even more afraid than she felt, though of course, he had not shown it.
Marcii knew him well enough by now to know that he did not show his fear in such a way. But equally, it was obvious in many other ways. Marcii had not spoken of it however, for she felt too gripped by the hand of dread to raise it amidst her flurrying thoughts.
They sat together in the darkness and the night wore slowly on, surrounded by the storm and gripped by terror.
Somehow they both knew what was undoubtedly coming, and that no matter what they did it was inevitable.
At some point, through her worry and her fear, Marcii had slipped into a dreamless, fitful slumber. The comforting heat from Reaper’s body had quelled her to sleep.
As ever, he remained entirely motionless.
When she eventually roused, it was not Reaper that woke her.
Instead, it was a subtle change in the sound of the storm that stirred Marcii into wakefulness. The lighting still burst across the sky in great streaking flurries and the thunder still growled and rumbled and roared, blanketing the land below fearfully.
That wasn’t it though.
There was another sound amidst the darkness and the storm that had awakened Marcii. As she glanced up at Reaper’s face, though he had not moved, his ever limitless expressions spoke volumes of what she’d heard, for clearly he had sensed it too.
“What was that?” She whispered fearfully through the darkness of the damp cave, her voice quivering slightly, overpowered by the immense sound of the storm.
Reaper still heard her nonetheless and looked down upon Marcii caringly, though he could not hide the concern spread so evidently across his face.
He made no movement to speak, but Marcii could see quite clearly what he wanted to say. The enormous, terrifying, caring creature that was Reaper lifted her gently to stand, placing her softly on her feet and then rising to all fours himself, stooping under the ceiling of the cave.
His one hand lifted from the floor and made a small, brief signal in the darkness, telling Marcii to wait where she was.
Almost even before Marcii had nodded in response Reaper was heading towards the mouth of the cave. The storm beyond lashed harshly all around, biting at the cave entrance and threatening all who drew near, human and demon alike.
Taking a few steps across the cave so as to keep Reaper in view, Marcii watched him disappear outside into the storm, so heavy and barraging. It swallowed his vast frame effortlessly and Marcii was reminded in that instant exactly how at the mercy of Mother Nature they all were.
After a few minutes, though to the young Dougherty it felt like a lifetime, Reaper finally returned.
His face was sombre and his eyes were heavy and serious, as if he’d just confirmed all his deepest fears. Before his hand had even lifted to speak Marcii already knew what he would say. She threw herself to clutch at Reaper’s fur, holding herself close to him and shaking a little.
“What are we going to do?” She asked.
Her words quaked on her precarious breath.
She knew what the sound was that had awoken her, for by now she could hear it clearly between the cracks and rumbles of the thunder.
It was a low, resounding chant that echoed menacingly through the dark of the night, chilling and resounding against the sound of the storm in the darkness.
Reaper had no answer at first, but even so, Marcii knew they had only two choices.
They could either stay in the cave and hope they weren’t found.
Or they could leave now and try to escape, but risk facing an army on the Dreadhunt.
Either way, they had to make their decision now, for the sounds of the chants were growing ever closer, as Tyran’s troops closed in around them.
Drawing a shuddering breath, Marcii looked up to Reaper and his hands spun into motion.
The young Dougherty swallowed hard and nodded, understanding exactly what Reaper was saying.
The night they were about to face would undoubtedly be fraught with peril.
Chapter Nineteen
Reaper’s cave was well hidden and in the dark of the night it was nearly impossible to see. However, with so many troops fanning through the wilderness, driven by such hatred and longing for blood and retribution, it would have perhaps been more unlikely for them to miss it.
The forest was dense with trees looming their thick silhouettes in the night, making the search difficult for Tyran’s troops. But his people were driven and in the dead of winter plant life between the thick trunks was sparse.
Tyran’s people were committed to finding and destroying the demon and the witch that had been plaguing their town so dreadfully.
There was to be no rest until their evil ways had been put to an end, no matter how much the forest hindered them. Combing every last inch of woodland and field and ravine for miles around, their search was beyond thorough.
Leading them, just as he had promised, was the man with the scar that ran around his right eye.
He did not stop. He did not eat. He did not sleep.
He was truly relentless.
Unfortunately for Marcii and Reaper, his tenacity paid off in the end, as it eventually always will.
He stumbled upon gold, in one form or another.
As he slipped around the ominous silhouette of a thick trunk, keeping his weary eyes peeled, something caught him off guard. His foot suddenly disappeared beneath him and slipped down a trench that he had not at first seen, for it was nearly invisible in the darkness.
He caught his breath as he fell, making hardly a sound and clutching at the tree behind him so as not to fall all the way down.
“What happened!?” A voice hissed from his right, but he waved them off frantically with one hand, silently telling them to keep their mouth shut.
The owner of the voice rushed over, but, rather obediently, did not make another sound. He pulled the man with the scar to his feet and in mere seconds it seemed the entire troop was aware that they’d found something. Scurrying shadows closed in from every direction, drawn to the find.
Fear chilled the air but they felt security in numbers.
The man with the scar kept them silent, striking a few harshly across the face who dared open their mouths.
He could not afford for them to give anything else away.
Surely, if the demon was here, it would already know they had found it.
Soon enough the sloping trench that looked like the entrance to a cave was surrounded by men and women wielding pitchforks and swords and axes, all eagerly awaiting their next instruction.
All signs of fatigue faded away and their angry senses heightened, ready to satisfy the bloodlust that had been building inside of them.
It seemed at long last the time had finally come.
Inside the cave, naturally, Reaper had of course sensed their approach. He could hear them rallying outside the cave entrance and gathering the courage to swarm inside.
He indicated to Marcii with only his expression that Tyran’s army had found the cave. She shuddered with dread and swallowed nervously, making not a sound in the darkness.
It seemed their decision to stay put and try to ride out the night had not paid off. They’d taken their chances, hoping their cave would have remained unfound, and now they were trapped.
Marcii looked up at Reaper’s looming silhouette in the near pitch black.
An idea formed between them that was perhaps their only chance of escape.
Reaper’s vision was unparalleled, or at least as far as Marcii knew. Regardless, he could see all that Tyran’s men could not.
“Is there another way out?” Marcii breathed through the darkness, praying that Reaper had a plan.
But when he l
ooked down at her, even though she could barely make out his expression, she knew it didn’t hold the miraculous answers she desired.
The first echoing footsteps sounded in Marcii’s ears, closer and more terrifying than even the raging storm.
They were inside.
There was no time.
“Reaper!” Marcii hissed, the sound of it filled with horror.
He scooped her immediately up into his arms and silenced her.
Stooping down low, holding himself up on his legs alone, Reaper edged forward and back and forward and back, his mind brimming with indecision.
Marcii shuddered and Reaper felt her fear all too keenly.
He knew there was nothing for it, no matter how much he didn’t want to believe it.
The blinding sight of the approaching army’s torches flooded unwelcome, orange, dancing light into his home.
There was only one way out now.
Marcii whimpered involuntarily in fear and Reaper pulled her closer to his chest, concealing her within his protective embrace as a parent protects a child.
And indeed he would continue to protect her, for as long as his enormous, demonic body drew breath.
Chapter Twenty
Swords and spears and arrows screamed through the air, whistling squealing echoes through the wide cave. Those shots that missed their target glanced off the stone walls and the ceiling and the floor, sparking as they struck against hard, impenetrable rock.
Not all missed, however.
Those that struck true threatened to bury deep into their huge, shifting target as the great demon surged menacingly forward.
Tyran’s men cried out in fear and anger and victory as they swarmed into the cave and attacked. Their burning torches lighted their treacherous path by flickering light. The orange glow revealed the enormous, looming demon heaving towards them from the hidden depths of its lair.
Had he been able to, Reaper would have roared and bellowed as Tyran’s army bore down upon him from the cave entrance. They barraged him with pitchforks and axes and all manner of weapons.
But his hide was thick and tough. He did nothing to resist their flurrying strikes. He couldn’t, for his arms remained wound protectively around Marcii, encompassing her completely.
Fortunately, the mere mortal weapons of Tyran’s men glanced off his body uselessly. All their efforts proved to be futile, for Reaper’s hide was too thick to be so easily breached and he was too committed to saving Marcii to back away.
The monstrous demon pushed forward, refusing to yield. His advance forced Tyran’s army back in sheer terror, for indeed, by the dancing orange light of their torches he was a dreadful fiend drawn straight from the depths of hell.
Once again, had Reaper been able to roar, he surely would have done, for it would undoubtedly have hastened his advance.
Marcii clung to him with her eyes squeezed tightly shut, gasping for her every breath as she listened to the sounds of shouting anger and screaming blades.
He came so close to the cave entrance, pushing Tyran’s army practically all the way up and out into the dense forest above, that he truly thought he would escape without serious injury.
The odd blade had caught a ruffle in his hide here and there, drawing a few touches of blood, but for the most part he was unharmed.
Sadly, it was not to last.
Thrown from his feet by Reaper’s relentless advance, the man with the scar spat angrily at the demon.
He refused to yield. He would not be forced to clamber back out into the forest after they had come so far.
Instead, standing his ground firmly, he faced Reaper head on.
He had come too far to back down now and he absolutely refused to be defeated.
As a last resort, having already lost his sword to the demon’s seemingly impenetrable hide, the man with the scar lunged forward from the floor and drove his flaming torch into Reaper’s massive thigh.
Once again, had he been able to, Reaper would surely have roared in agony. Buckling down to one knee, faltering, the flames swallowed his thick fur and ignited tenfold, scalding his skin beneath his hide.
“THE FIRE!!” The man with the scar roared triumphantly, bounding to his feet.
Tyran’s men looked on with renewed vigour.
“USE THE FIRE!!” He bellowed.
Immediately his followers set to work. Those who had scrabbled out into the forest leapt back down into the cave and barraged the demon with their flaming torches.
Reaper writhed this way and that, forced back by their relentless attacks. He cringed as the flames scorched his skin and sent hot steam billowing in all directions.
It was all that the poor monster could do to protect Marcii from the hungry flames. But the more he fought to protect her the more he burned, and the closer she came to suffering too, for his defences faltered more and more by the moment.
Soon he was on his knees, cradling Marcii’s body even still within his own, though his protection was growing weaker and weaker.
Every now and then, here and there, a chink in his armour became exposed, revealing Marcii to their attackers.
Her breath caught in her throat every time she saw them.
They looked so fierce, so angry.
How could they possibly hate her so much?
The third time Reaper’s arm dropped however, as he wavered more heavily than before, Marcii’s gaze fell upon only one person in the crowd of brutes baying for their blood. It was to her truly the only face that stood out from the rest.
Kaylm was black and blue and his eyes were terribly swollen. He stood amongst the throngs as they cheered and bellowed all around him, but he himself did not make a sound.
He was the only one without a look of sheer malice upon his face. Instead, his battered expression was fraught only with worry.
As he caught Marcii’s gaze his stricken eyes filled her heart with sorrow.
It lasted for but the briefest of moments however, for in an instant, filling the gap where Reaper’s arm had been only seconds ago, a bright, flaring, scalding torch thrust forward.
It blocked Marcii’s view and scorched her shoulder terribly.
She screamed as it burned her.
When Reaper heard Marcii’s cry of pain, as the flames finally cut through his defences and scalded her bare, flawless skin, the poor, loving demon exploded with fury.
He burst from his recoiling defence and roared with the might of an eruption, shaking the very walls surrounding them and deafening the army at his feet.
The cave itself shuddered at the terrifying sound and Reaper surged forward dreadfully, steaming from every burning limb as he cast his enemies from his path.
Tyran’s men were thrown this way and that like puppets as Reaper pummelled through them, casting them off against the walls and the ceiling with his powerful, sweeping steps.
His legs carried him forward with terrifying momentum, though he was hunched over even still.
Torches seared his body as he ran through Tyran’s army, but their steaming attacks were made more out of desperation than anything else, as the huge creature parted them like a volatile ocean of steel.
Reaper erupted from the mouth of the cave and out into the dense forest, throwing feeble men in every direction as he did so. Covering Marcii even still, his enormous arms cradled her gently as he glanced round at the scattered army, slowly picking itself up off the floor.
There were men in the forest in every direction for as far as he could see.
Without a moment to waste, knowing that at any second they would be upon him again, Reaper took off at a dead run through the trees.
Branches splintered in every direction as he ran and men continued to fly through the air in his wake.
He careered left and right and only just missed the thick tree trunks in his haste. Once even, unable to turn in time, he battered head on into a tree and smashed through it as if it were made from mere paper.
He felled the huge oak without ev
en breaking his stride, sending it soaring up into the air and then tumbling down with a terrifying, crashing sound like thunder that carried for miles all around.
Tyran’s army immediately took up pursuit, hunting both Reaper and Marcii down relentlessly through the thick forest.
They hoped that the trees blocking the demon’s path and the wounds that they had inflicted would slow the foul brute enough for them to catch it.
Through the pounding rain they hunted the pair.
They were so close they could practically taste the witch’s blood, and that of her demon.
Soon they would have them both.
Chapter Twenty-One
The rain grew thicker and heavier, thrashing Reaper as he cascaded through the dense trees, limping more and more with every step.
Though Marcii knew his pain was worsening, for she could feel him juddering as he ran, Reaper would not relent. He charged faster and faster, almost even blindly through the driving rain battering down through the thin canopy above.
“Reaper!” Marcii called, her voice barely reaching out from the protective cocoon he still had her sealed within. “Reaper please!” She urged.
Eventually, gradually, his huge chest heaving, Reaper slowed to a walk, but he did not stop.
He would not.
He glanced over his shoulder, fearing the worst.
But, for now at least, they seemed to be alone.
“Are you okay?” Marcii whispered, afraid to raise her voice too loud.
She ran her hand gently over one of Reaper’s burns and felt him cringe.
“Sorry.” She apologised, feeling foolish.
Her own shoulder seared agony through her skin; she couldn’t imagine the pain Reaper must be in.
She had to help him if she could.
“Let me down.” Marcii urged. “Let me look at your burns.”
But Reaper refused. Glancing down, he told her with his eyes that Tyran’s men were still close. There was too much danger for them to stop now.
Suddenly a voice cut through the darkness and startled them both.
