Chapter 9: Taken Hostage

May was startled to see Erik in such a place, with the demons. Nonetheless, it became clear to her how Aedain knew her real name - May had told it only to one person: Erik. The child must have revealed it to the monster, who had kidnapped him. May realized with horror that she brought all this mess on her herself the very day she saved the orphan from the villagers.

         Erik was staring at May with wide-opened eyes, disbelief flickering in them, as though he thought of the older girl as a hallucination. Tears began welling in his golden eyes as the boy jumped onto his feet, throwing the oversized cloak away and darted straight towards May.

         “May!” he exclaimed, trapping the girl’s legs in the embrace.

         The child clung onto her as though his life depended on it, the fingers digging into the silk of May’s dress. The girl heard a muffled sob and quickly returned the hug, pressing the kid closer to herself, stroking the blonde head in a calming gesture.

         “Everything will be all right,” May said quietly, trying to sound confident, but she didn’t believe it herself. Her words seemed to have the opposite effect on Erik than she desired – the boy began wailing as the emotional dam broke, exposing the child’s vulnerability. The girl kept patting the kid’s back, not knowing what to do.

         “Erik,” May began, trying to think of something comforting.

         “It’s my fault!” Erik cried, refusing to look the girl in the eye. Another sob shook his little body. “It’s because you met me!”

         May didn’t know what to answer. What Erik said was partially true, but the child couldn’t blame himself for the evil monsters kidnapping May. The girl lifted her gaze and met Aedain’s eyes. The demon was staring at the two of them, without a single emotion playing on his face – no compassion, no remorse, nothing. It was apparent for her that he had no human heart. The man glanced at the sobbing child.

         “Be silent, boy. Men never cry,” he said harshly, a hint of irritation showing in his voice. He furrowed his dark brows, the grimace on his face intimidating.

         Erik immediately fell silent, holding the sob in, along with his. May felt the child shiver slightly – he was clearly terrified of the demon. She perfectly understood why – she feared her captor too. May clutched the kid tighter, trying to encourage the boy a tiny bit and looked at Aedain, furrowing her brows.

         “What do you want from us?” she demanded with all the confidence she could muster.

         Aedain frowned, hearing her question. The blazing golden eyes looked at her hatefully.

         “Your tone is less than appropriate, human,” Aedain said quietly, the reprimand sounding like a death threat. He began strolling towards the pair. “I advise you to think twice before you belittle those, who are better than you.”

         May gritted the teeth, hearing the horribly arrogant statement, but bit her tongue – she didn’t want to say anything that would cost her and Erik’s lives. When Aedain finally stopped, he was standing a little too close, which made May feel uncomfortable. She motioned Erik to hide behind her, and she was acting like a human shield, protecting the child from the demon. He looked intimidating to May as she was relatively short compared with her peers; she had to tilt her head to look on his face. The top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulder. His cold gaze bored into her. She wanted to take a step back from him, but May knew better – it wouldn’t be clever to show weakness right now.

         “Woman,” he addressed her. May furrowed her brows slightly.

         “Woman”? I have a name, she thought angrily.

         “It’s May,” she said stubbornly, looking back at him with a little more courage. However, Aedain didn’t seem to be impressed by her confident attitude in the slightest. His face expression didn’t change a bit.

         “Your duty is to take care of boy’s well-being and attend to his needs. You will not disobey me; you will not attempt to escape, or I will kill you. If the boy dies, you perish as well. Do you understand?” Aedain demanded in a voice that allowed no defiance.

         May nodded slowly, not really knowing how she should respond to that. Did the demon just say that he wanted her to be the Erik’s babysitter? He kidnapped her for that? And murdered all those innocent people? Somehow she didn’t believe that it was his true agenda.

         “Boy,” Aedain shifted his attention from May to Erik, who was shivering like a leaf in the wind, hiding behind the girl. “If you continue to disobey me, this woman will die. And it will not be pretty; you have my word for that.”

         Both May and Erik stiffened at the demon’s words. The teenage girl was nearly shaking from fear because of the death threat. Now it became clearer – she was a hostage used to blackmail the child into doing whatever Aedain wanted from Erik. May stole a peek at the kid, who was staring at the tall demon with tears in his eyes, his pale lips trembling as he embraced May tighter. The silence was dragging on while Aedain glared at Erik apparently awaiting him to answer. Finally, the child spoke.

         “I…” he began, his voice weak. “I’ll help you. Just don’t hurt May. Please don’t hurt her.”

         Aedain smiled; the smile made May a shiver go down her spine. She saw that his eyes remained cold and merciless, like icebergs.

         “Very well. Good choice, boy. Now, move out,” he said with a sickening satisfaction in his voice, turned on his heel and started walking away.

         Aedain’s big bald companion stood up and followed him, the black winged stallion also started trotting behind his master. Erik took May’s hand and started dragging the her towards the demons, nonverbally showing her to hurry up.

         “May, we need to catch up to them. Come on!” the child urged her, nervousness in the honey-colored eyes.

         May followed him, not knowing exactly what to do. If she and Erik tried to escape now, the black-haired demon would kill her. May doubted that it was merely an empty threat; he seemed to be used to killing without a second thought. She couldn’t help but feel curious, why Aedain kidnapped Erik in the first place. It was clear, that the child was a far more important hostage than May. She wanted to ask Erik about that, but in the close presence of their captors, it would be stupid. For now, it would be best to do what the tall demon said and not to behave suspiciously. They’d run away in the night.

         As they were following their captors, May managed to take a good look at the demon, who happened to be the boss here. He was clad in fancy light crimson armor, which resembled those of Chinese warriors, over black clothes. The armor looked like it was a fine piece of craftsmanship – it looked both elegant and fearsome, not obscuring the demon’s movements. The armors and chain mail of the warriors May saw in the Thoen Stronghold, and Abrran’s men were paling in comparison, seeming to be too heavy and coarse. The black winding patterns adorned the black-painted steel of the cuirass and faulds. The plackart and the spaulders were plain, without any decorations. The man wore knee-high boots and vambraces of black leather. The handles of two swords stuck over his shoulders.

         Aedain’s big silent companion wore similar armor, but his was plain and of the shade of the navy blue.

         While she kept staring at the demons’ armored backs, May’s thoughts returned to the mysterious case of Erik. She glanced at the innocent-looking boy, who was walking by her side, holding her hand. What possibly could the violent and fearsome demon like Aedain want with a little child? May thought, that perhaps there was more to Erik than it appeared. Maybe the kid wasn’t who he said to be? May looked at Erik with suspicion. It didn’t escape her attention, that the child possessed one particular trait in common with Aedain and his bald companion – the unnaturally golden eyes. He could be a demon in disguise, couldn’t he?

         “Erik, you’re a human, right?” May asked the boy.

         The child paled instantly, as if reminded of something unpleasant, but then smiled forcibly and nodded.

         “Yes, of course,” Erik said unnaturally firmly like he was convincing himself that it was true.

         Before May could respond, loud, crude laughter resounded through the air, making both the girl and Erik cower in fear. May looked up and saw the source of the laughter heading their way – Aedain’s huge companion was approaching with a wide smile on his roughly-carved face. May gulped, as she looked up at his gigantic form – Aedain was tall, but this guy’s height was ridiculous; her head was somewhere around the level of his stomach.

         “That was a nice joke, kid,” he snorted eying Erik and May from above. “You’re a half-breed; any Laismaran can sense it.”

         Erik shook his head. Tears began welling into his eyes. However, the child’s reaction only fueled the man’s need to torment him. He bent down, so that he could be more or less on the eye-level with the sniveling Erik. He narrowed his eyes and then turned to his superior.

         “Hey, Aedain, remember that bastard from the Clan Iomaire, the one who was boasting how he raped the Guardian’s daughter? You know, the one you killed a year ago or so?” the bald demon called to Aedain.

         The long-haired man frowned, apparently irritated by the interruption in the journey.

         “Yes, Baltar, I do remember that weakling,” Aedain said patiently, folding his arms. “This boy is probably his bastard. Now get moving before I kill you.”

         The demon named Baltar grimaced like a scolded child. He let out an amused snort and reached down to ruffle Erik’s hair.

         May reacted right away and snatched the crying child out of his reach, defending it like a lioness protects her cub. The girl glared up at the bald brute.

         “Don’t you dare to lay a finger on him!” she spat angrily, pressing Erik to herself.

         Baltar’s face expressed surprise; clearly, he expected her rather to cry from fear, like most human women would do in her situation. But then wide smile returned to his face, as though he just found an opportunity to have fun.

         “Or what? You’re going to fight me?” he mocked May.

         The girl gritted her teeth, but said nothing; she knew better than provoke a mass of muscles who was over half meter taller than her. However, her lack of reaction encouraged Baltar.

         “Not so tough now? As expected from a lowly human,” he said, clearly insulting May.

         The girl felt her blood boiling in her veins. She was scared, but anger was stronger than fear at the moment.

         “A lowly human? That was supposed to be an insult? Try harder, you… you… monster!” she shouted at him against her better judgment, not being able to think of a better insult at the moment.

         Baltar clenched his fists, enraged, and May glared upwards at him with surprisingly much courage. As the stare contest continued, neither the huge demon nor the girl noticed Aedain standing at some distance from them, glaring at the pair with clearly murderous intentions in his eyes. Erik noticed his anger and tugged May’s sleeve, but the girl didn’t react.

         In a heartbeat, the black-haired demon appeared right in front of May, between her and Baltar, emitting an aura of rage. Without saying anything, Aedain fluently spun around, aiming a powerful kick accurately at the face of his comrade. May could have sworn that she heard the skull crack when Aedain’s foot made contact with the side of Baltar’s face. The huge warrior flew through the nearest tree like a rag doll, smashing through the trunk like it was made of cardboard.

         The girl yelped in surprise and fear; she was sure that Aedain just killed his companion. She tried to take a step back, but he grabbed May’s arm, the one he had bruised earlier, keeping her in place. She whimpered from pain as his grip tightened. He looked at her, anger in his eyes, and May immediately regretted drawing his attention to her.

         “I ordered to move out, and you disobeyed. Do you have a death wish, woman?” he asked calmly. May quickly shook her head. “Do not anger me anymore. I despise humans as yourself; pathetic, treacherous and weak beings you are.”

         He released her arm and stalked away. May wasn’t able to stop herself from shivering. Aedain scared the wits out of her. Panting, she looked toward the direction, Baltar flew. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the bald demon get up and join the group. May was sure he should have had his neck twisted or skull cracked. Apparently, these demons were tougher than she thought.

         She decided that she had to escape no matter what. May was under the impression that with her temper, it wouldn’t be long until Aedain was mad enough at her to murder her.

         She rushed after the demons with Erik at her side, keeping a safe distance between her and Meirch, who obviously didn’t like her – the demonic steed kept baring its teeth at her. Erik began asking about Leif, but May didn’t really pay any attention to the child. She kept looking in front of her and trying not to think about how horrible the situation she found herself in was. As if it wasn’t enough to be magically transported to the other world, she just had to get kidnapped by some demonic psychopath. Was there no limit to the bad luck?

        

         As the sun was setting, May began feeling exhausted. They were traveling for half of the day, and she was pretty sure she had horrible blisters on her feet. Her whole body was sore from falling from the horse, then off Meirch and from being dragged by Aedain. She winced as she moved a little with her wounded left arm. She was in quite a pitiful state right now. In the morning, she looked beautiful like a princess and now… her really expensive dress was torn and dirty, and the sleeve stained with her blood. Her long hair was a nuisance; it was so tangled that May wondered if she would manage to comb it. The princess’s attire wasn’t suitable for treks; it was unbearably heavy and moving in it was quite a challenge, not to mention breathing in the tight-lanced corset. May had to keep the hem of her dress lifted all the time not to trip and land face-flat on the ground.

         It was getting dark, but Aedain didn’t seem to have an intention of stopping for the night. He only made a brief pause in the marching to lift Erik onto Meirch’s back. The black-haired demon ordered the child to sleep and urged the rest of the group to keep moving, much to May’s despair.

         The girl didn’t notice a stone in the dark and tripped. She groaned as she landed on the ground. She struggled with her numerous layers of clothing to get up as Baltar looked over his shoulder, and much to May’s surprise, returned to haul her up by her collar and yank her up back onto her feet.

         “Thanks,” she muttered to him and rushed to catch up with Aedain and Meirch, limping a little, as her feet hurt. Baltar looked at her, crossing his arms on the chest.

         “If you can’t keep up, you should get on Meirch,” he said to May, his voice surprisingly devoid of hatred or any other mean intentions. The girl glanced toward the winged stallion and shivered inwardly, looking at Meirch’s furry clawed paws.

         “No way I’m getting on this thing,” she said and continued limping forward.

         Suddenly, Aedain stopped and looked at his big companion.

         “Baltar,” he addressed him. Baltar groaned in response. “Set a camp here.”

         May sighed with relief and just sat down where she was standing. She watched as Aedain lifted Erik from Meirch’s back, surprisingly gently, as though the child was a porcelain doll, and laid him carefully on the ground. He reached for his black cloak, which lay swung over the steed’s saddle, and covered sleeping Erik. May furrowed her brows, thinking that such considerate actions seemed to be out of character for the demon, who was a cold-blooded killer. Perhaps even such a cruel person as Aedain had some restraints when it came to mistreating children.

         Nevertheless, May thought that she would be dead soon if she stayed with those demons any longer. If Aedain didn’t kill her, those treks would. She made a decision: tonight she would escape.

         As the night went on, May was laying on the bare ground, her arm under her head. She pretended to be asleep and waited for a convenient moment to slip out of the camp. She opened her eyes slightly, not wanting to give out that she was awake, and took a look around the camp.

         The campfire was still burning, the flames dancing playfully and casting a little light on her kidnappers. Erik was soundly asleep and so was Baltar, snoring quite loudly. May squinted her eyes, trying to figure out if the steed called Meirch was sleeping as well. The beast was laying on the ground, its head tucked under one of the wings.

         All right, safe.

         Now the last one left. May turned her eyes to Aedain. He was sitting on the opposite side of the campfire, leaning his back against the tree; his eyes closed. The black-haired demon had his armor still on, and the two swords rested against his shoulder. His face was peaceful and May assumed that he was asleep. She wasn’t sure though.

         Well, there is only one way to find out, May thought and lifted herself off the ground slowly, not taking her eyes off the demon, waiting for any reaction. There was none, he was sitting still all the time. Taking it as a good sign, the girl slowly crawled towards sleeping Erik and began delicately shaking the child. However, the tired kid was sound asleep. May glanced nervously at Aedain. Seeing no signs of danger, she covered the boy’s mouth with one hand and pinched his cheek.

         Erik’s eyes fluttered open and May muffled the startled cry. She lifted her finger to her lips, gesturing the child to be quiet. The boy nodded, nervously looking around. Warily watching Aedain and the other two demons, May slowly stood up and pulled Erik up.

         Holding their hands, the two of them made their way to the forest, taking one step at a time, careful not to step on some twig, rustle with the fabric of the dresses or even breathe loudly, afraid to wake the demons up. May knew, that if Aedain caught her and the kid, they would be dead meat. She was nervously glancing back from time to time at the demons, checking for any signs of danger. When they finally reached the edge of forest, she started marching faster, not letting go off Erik’s hand.

         Neither of them uttered a word, they were still carefully looking under their feet and keeping quiet. May refrained herself from running until she was out of the demons’ hearing range.

         If May looked back now, she would see a pair of golden eyes opening to watch her and Erik warily.

         May found a path and followed it. Her escape didn’t go as smooth as she pictured it. Although it was full moon and stars were shining brightly, the trees cast a dark shadow. It was difficult for her to see where she was going and had to walk really slowly at avoid tripping and alarming anyone in the camp. The branches were catching on her long dress and hair.

         Erik kept tripping too, but was very brave for a kid and endured the hardships without a word of a complaint. The little boy was silent all the time, obediently following May. However, finally, he shared his doubts.

         “May, we should go back. They’ll catch us,” Erik whispered quietly, fear in his voice. May squeezed the child’s hand encouragingly.

         “Don’t worry. They won’t notice a thing until morning,” she whispered back, honestly hoping for her words to be true. She smiled to the kid and carried on fighting their way through the thick bushes.

         May cursed as her long silk sleeve got caught by a branch again. She struggled with a tree to free her sleeve and wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings.

         “What are you doing, woman?” She heard a cold voice right behind her.

         May felt all color leave her face and a shiver go down her spine. I’m so dead! She thought frantically, ripping her sleeve, as she pulled it in panic. Erik let out a surprised squeak and glued himself to May, clinging onto her like baby koala to its mother. May slowly turned around to see angry Aedain, standing not a few feet from her. How did he get here so fast? His face was calm, but May could see wrath in his eyes. She was sure he would kill her this time. May was so scared that she couldn’t think clearly.

         “Oh,” May uttered, desperately trying to figure out, what to do. Should she take Erik and run? She had no chance – Aedain had longer legs and would be only madder if he had to chase them. May tried to keep her head cool. “It's not what you think! We weren’t going to escape!”

         The demon arched his eyebrow, expressing his doubt about the honesty of her words. May cleared her throat and made her best to sound confident.

         “I only wanted to bath. I was looking for some water; I took Erik for company,” she said quickly, thinking, that was a very poor excuse. “I really need it. The bath.”

         “In the middle of the night?” Aedain asked, clearly unconvinced to her stupid story. He looked slightly less pissed off, more like he was amused, in a sadistic way. May smiled faintly.

         “I didn’t want to wake you all up,” she answered, cursing in her mind, because it sounded just so dumb… she felt Erik cling to her more, as though the child wanted to melt into her side and disappear. May felt protective of the kid – the escape was her idea and didn’t want the boy to bear the consequences of the failed attempt.

         “I wasn’t Erik’s fault; it was entirely my idea,” May stated firmly.

         Aedain glared at her, and May fought her urge to turn on her heel and flee as fast as she could.

         “Return to the camp immediately.” The demon broke the uncomfortable silence at last, pointing his finger towards the campfire.

         Erik obediently let go off May’s dress and marched in the direction Aedain showed. May rushed after him.

         “You stay, woman.” The demon’s voice stopped her.

         She turned her head to look at him and saw the dangerous seriousness on his face. Erik also stared at him and then at May, unsure what to do. Aedain narrowed his eyes, impatience all over his face, as he made a hurrying gesture aimed at Erik. The child gulped and ran to the camp, leaving May behind.

         The girl wasn’t moving, feeling as though she was standing on a mine. She clenched her fists, trying to prevent her hands from shaking. She was terrified – what Aedain planned on doing with her? Whatever he had in mind May was absolutely afraid of it.

         “Follow me,” the demon said dryly once Erik made it to the camp, and started walking away.

         May hesitated for a moment and then rushed after him, thinking it would be foolish not to. They were walking in silence for a couple of minutes. May wondered, where the hell he was leading her. Her sense of direction wasn’t her strength, but she was pretty sure, that the camp in the opposite direction. May’s heart began pounding faster as she imagined why could he lead her into the deep, dark forest. He could murder her there, and Erik would never even hear her screams.

         “Aedain?” May spoke up, her voice shaking. The demon didn’t answer or show any other kind of response like slowing down, for instance.

         “Aedain!” May called louder, thinking that maybe he didn’t hear her the last time.

         “I am not deaf, woman,” he said eventually.

         “Where are taking me?” she asked, hoping to start a conversation and divert his attention from the gruesome plans, she suspected him to have for her.

         He didn’t answer her right away. May covered her eyes with her hand, as the bright moonlight blinded her. She lowered her arm and looked around. Aedain led her to a lakeshore. The light of stars reflected on the water. May opened her mouth in awe, impressed how beautifully the water sparkled. She looked up and gasped.

         The sky was very clear tonight, the little shining dots decorating it. The moon was full and seemed brighter than usual. However, there was another thing in the night sky that caught May’s eye – from eastern part of the sky emerged another moon, smaller than its companion, but was shedding more wonderful, bluish light.

         “Woman.” Aedain’s voice made her come back to reality and averted her attention from the two moons.

         May almost forgot, that he was standing beside her. She turned her head and looked at him. In the bright moonlight, he seemed even more inhuman as the pale light illuminated his unnaturally handsome face. His golden eyes were almost glowing in the dim light, as though there was some mysterious fire burning within their depths. The light breeze was gently playing with his long black hair, gathered in a loose ponytail in the back. Aedain narrowed his eyes at May, clearly demanding the answer right now.

         “Mhm?” May uttered, unsure and scared what did he want from her.

         He glared at her, becoming annoyed again.

         “Undress,” he said simply, his face unreadable.

         May opened her mouth agape, wondering if she heard what she thought she did. Exactly, what did he want from her? Then it clicked in the mind.

         How dare he!

         “What?” she exclaimed, protectively folding her arms across her chest as she took a step back away from him.

         “Hn.” Aedain averted his gaze; May could have sworn that she saw a flicker of bewilderment on his face when he realized what  he had actually said. However, his mask slipped only for a split second before he regained his usual hash and commanding façade. 

         “Go bathe.”

         May stood still in one place, processing what he said just now. She looked at the lake and then back at the black-haired demon. Did he lead her here only to let her bathe? That was kind of… nice of him, but she smelled a rat – it was suspicious that someone as cruel like Aedain was being nice. She’d rather expect him to beat her senseless for trying to escape from him or something like that. However, it was best to play along for now and not tempt him to kill her like the warriors in the morning.

         “Oh, thank you. I will,” she said, accepting his 'kindness' and waiting for him to leave. After all, she desperately needed the bath. Aedain, however, stood still, not taking his eyes off her.

         “Are you going to stand here?” May asked, a little irritated. “I need some privacy.”

         Aedain sent her his cold glare, walked over to a large stone nearby and sat on it, his back to the lake. May was staring at him, not believing, that he wasn’t going anywhere. How the hell was she supposed to take a bath with HIM sitting here? She stalked toward him, rested her hands on her hips and cleared her throat.

         “I think we have a misunderstanding about the meaning of the word ‘privacy’,” she said angrily. The demon looked her in the eye, sending her his intimidating icy glare.

         “Woman,” he said quietly. “Go clean yourself.”

         Somehow his calm voice scared her more than when he would be yelling at her. Considering the previous events, arguing with him would end painfully for her. May sighed, defeated.

         “All right,” she said. “But don’t peek!”

         Aedain didn’t respond; he averted his gaze from her and fixed it on the nearby trees. May made her way towards the lakeshore. When she reached it, she leaned over the still surface of the water and looked at herself, reflected in it. She looked terribly with the face smeared with dirt, tangled hair and torn clothing.

         She carefully took the silk slippers off, and dipped her tired and blistered feet into the cold water. She shot a nervous glance at Aedain who was still sitting with his back to her. Embarrassed by his presence, she quickly got rid of her clothing and dove under the cool water.

         May emerged slowly, keeping only her head above the water level and checked for any signs of peeking. She decided that Aedain was apparently no pervert. May quickly rubbed her skin, wincing from pain as her hands slid over the hand-shaped bruise on her shoulder.

         The water was freezing, so May jumped out of the lake as quickly as she could, keeping her eye on her captor the whole time. She put on the petticoat which looked like a summer dress and examined the rest of her royal gown, discovering that it wasn’t salvageable – the  wide, torn skirt was not the best attire for hiking.

         The girl was so busy with sorting and folding her clothes that she didn’t notice Aedain rising from his place and soundlessly making his way toward her. She didn’t even sense his presence when he was standing right behind her.

         “If you ever try to escape from me, I will track you down and kill you,” he spoke, startling May and causing her to shriek, as her heart nearly stopped.

         May whirled around, clutching one of the folded skirts in front of her, as though it was a shield, protecting her from the demon. She looked up to see the hateful expression on his face as he stared her down. He surprised her that much, that words refused to leave her throat. It took some time until she could utter a response.

         “I… I didn’t mean to…” she tried lying again, but the demon interrupted her.

         “Do you take me for fool, you idiotic human?” Aedain asked slowly, a dangerous flicker in his eyes.

         May quickly shook her head. The demon smirked maliciously, enjoying to see her terrified of him. Cherishing every second of her fear, he leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear.

         “You do not know much about my kind, do you?” he asked rhetorically. “The main difference between you and me is that you are weak, like a mouse in front of an eagle. You will not run away at night, for I never sleep soundly like you humans do. If you somehow escape, I will track you down without any problem, even after days. Once I get you, you will beg me to have mercy and end your life quickly. Remember, your life holds no meaning for me. Actually, I would very much enjoy watching you slowly bleed to death.”

         May began shivering at the threat, still feeling Aedain’s breath on her ear. The demon straightened his back and smiled triumphantly, seeing that he nearly scared the girl to death. Watching  her tremble must have been a pure pleasure for him.

         May gathered her courage and looked up at his face, refusing to grant him any more amusement.

         “If you want to kill me so badly, why I’m still alive?” she demanded the answer in the most confident tone she could muster.

         Aedain frowned, discontented that his prey wasn’t entirely intimidated. He turned around and slowly made his way through the forest, seemingly ignoring May’s question. She followed him, too scared to make him wait. She wanted to tell him to slow down, but she thought it was best not to say anything, that could make him want to strangle her.

         “You must keep the child alive and healthy until the eclipse,” suddenly, the demon replied.

         May furrowed her bows.

         Eclipse? What so special about it? – she wondered.

         “What will happen to us after this eclipse?” she kept questioning the demon.

         “After it I will have no purpose in keeping you anymore,” he explained, giving May a tiny piece of hope which he shattered almost immediately. “In keeping you alive, that is.”

         May felt her legs stiffen, and she had to use all her willpower to keep them moving. So that was what the demon planned to do her – he wanted to murder eventually. She had to take Erik and run away before then; it was a matter of life and death. However, the next time she would have only one shot, so she’d have to act on a plan and with a good one at that. Until she came up with something ingenious, she had to keep a low profile. The risk of getting caught turned out to be higher than she thought.

         When she and the demon reached the camp, Aedain sat down and leaned against the tree. May folded her spare clothes, trying to ignore that the demon kept staring at her. She lay on the ground on the opposite side of the campfire, her back toward the fire. She put the clothes under her head and wrapped them around sleeping Erik. She pulled the child nearer to herself for the warmth and closed her eyes. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep right away.

         The bright light of the stars was reflecting in crystal clear waters of Loc Shanann; Aedain didn’t know the name of the lake in humans’ tongue. The moons were dancing around each other like inseparable lovers. Aedain’s gaze lingered for a while on a red star which appeared on the horizon and was making its way across the night sky, before he focused the dancing flames of the campfire.

         His thoughts occupied by his goal, which was almost at hand. With the Guardian and the Key in his grasp, Aedain was close to obtaining the unimaginable power, the ultimate tool to fulfill his destiny and wash off the shame lingering on the name of the Ruanaidh clan.

         Aedain watched the flames dancing, the sparks flying high to the sky. He furrowed his brows, his fingers tracing the surface of the decorative sheaths of the twin blades – Sholais and Dorreach, the family heirloom, reforged countless times. They were fine blades, saw many battles, slain armies of foes, but witnessed the greatest defeats as well. Aedain’s honorable ancestor Kaegan wielded them during the memorable battle at An Thalain; his grandfather fought many battles with humans, but not once winning a decisive one. Aedain’s father never pointed the tip of the blade at a human – and that was what lost him. All those who were before Aedain failed.

         That was the reason Aedain was carrying them with himself – because those swords constantly reminded him of the defeat. They were silent testimony of weakness which Aedain intended to turn into his strength.

         “Mhm…” The demon shifted his gaze away from the fire at the source of the sound.

         “No…” the Guardian of the Key moaned, thrashing in his sleep.

         The boy began sweating; the blonde locks glued to his wet cheeks. The eyeballs were moving rapidly under the lids as Erik was experiencing some terrifying dream. He clutched the fabric of the black cloak desperately, like drowning people try to grab anything to save their lives. Then he gasped, sitting upright. He had the eyes wide-opened and was drawing a series of shallow panicked breaths. His heart was beating fast, as though it wanted to escape the ribcage.

         Aedain watched the boy with a certain dose of interest. The boy seemed to suffer from nightmares.

         Erik whimpered, covering his face with his little hands. The child muffled the panting, trying to contain the panic attack.

         “You do need to be afraid of what appears in your dreams,” Aedain spoke suddenly, causing Erik to gasp and pull up the covers made of the cloak.

         He stayed still for a longer while, cautiously eying the golden-eyed demon. When he saw, that Aedain wasn’t going to move and wasn’t threatening to harm him, he relaxed a little.

         “They are scary and did terrible things to my family,” the boy said quietly, unsure whether replying Aedain was a good idea. “How could I not be afraid of them?”

         “No matter how they are I am far worse. If they want to get you, first they will have to get past me,” the demon retorted, confidence resounding in his voice.

         Erik blinked. And then he smiled faintly at Aedain, showing his appreciation for dispersing the fears of the night. The child dived back under the covers, trying to fall asleep anew.

         After minutes of shifting and rolling from side to side, he sat back up and looked around. Everyone was asleep apart from Aedain, who was observing the flames of the campfire.

         “I can’t sleep,” Erik complained, feeling bold for speaking to the fearsome demon so casually.

         Aedain lifted his eyes from the campfire.

         “Then do not,” he said and returned to staring into the flames.

         Erik bit his lower lip, considering something. After a short debate with himself, he gathered the cloak, he used to cover himself with, and marched towards Aedain. He sat next to the demon and wrapped himself in the warm fabric. The black-haired man was ignoring him for quite a while, enduring the persistent staring of the pair of honey-colored eyes. However, even Aedain gave in to Erik eventually.

         “What do you want?” he snapped rudely, the tone of his voice dry and hostile.

         Erik didn’t seem to be discouraged, as he stuck out his  feet from under the cloak and brought them closer to the fire.

         “When I couldn’t fall asleep, my mother would always tell me a story,” he said and looked at Aedain expectantly. The demon ignored him, but he took his silence rather for encouragement. “Do you know any stories?”

         Aedain turned his head towards the little boy, who nestled himself by his side and made foolish requests. He glared at him; the innocent eyes stared back at him with some fear, but also hope. Even in a demonic heart there could be an ounce of pity for the boy. How despaired must she be to turn to Aedain, seeking comfort?

         “I know many,” Aedain answered.

         Erik’s eyes brightened.

         “Really?” He seemed to be excited. “I like the stories with dragons the best!”

         “Dragons?” Aedain repeated.

         The little boy nodded.

         “Yes, the ones, where brave people slay evil dragons,” he added.

         Aedain’s gaze turned to a glare.

         “And I know only the ones where brave dragons slay evil humans,” he retorted, shattering Erik’s hopes for hearing a story of a dragon tonight.

         The child stared at him with his eyes wide-opened, a hint of disappointment in them. Aedain looked back into the flames.

         “I will tell you a tale of a kind king. Decades ago, a king lived in a castle among the mountaintops. He was revered by his allies and feared by the enemies, for the king was the greatest warrior of his times. No one could best him in the fight. No one could match his strength; his skill was the unrivaled in the whole Kal Laismarr. Despite all his power, the king had a gentle heart; he defended the weak, he never let the wicked sow the seed of injustice. He forged a truce between his people and the humans inhabiting the northern regions of Kal Laismarr, stopping the bloodshed between the two races. One day, he received a message, saying that one of his former allies, a man called Zhawn, rebelled against the king and began slaughtering innocent villagers, not sparing even children. Those people didn’t belong to his race, but he defended everyone, who was in a need of aid.”

         Aedain paused. Erik trembled with excitement, listening to the tale. The demon glanced at him and continued.

         “The king gathered his army, took his young son with him and said farewell to the queen, leaving to battle with Zhawn’s forces. The enemy was numerous, as many opposed to the king’s ways. However, the kinsmen of the attacked villagers offered to help, and he accepted, glad to have gathered both races under one banner. The memorable battle began; the two armies clashed while the king fought Zhawn on a secluded mountaintop with his son as a witness of his fight. The duel was fierce. It lasted from the sunset until the sky began graying on the east. When wounded Zhawn lowered his guard for a split second, the king’s righteous rage hit him, burning his body until the blackened flesh began falling from the bone and Zhawn writhed in agony. Upon this moment, when the defeated enemy was on his knees, on the brink of death, the king said to him…” Aedain stopped speaking.

         He lifted his gaze at the stars, sadness creeping onto his usually stoic face.

         “He said: ‘No one can escape fate.’”

         Erik sighed.

         “The king returned home to his queen and lived happily ever after, didn’t he?” he made sure.

         Aedain smiled bitterly.

         “When the dawn came something happened, something that the king did not take into account – once he returned to his victorious army, consisting of the joined forces of two kin, to celebrate the victory… he was stabbed in his back. Then another blows followed; the ones who murdered the king were not the followers of wicked Zhawn, but the people he thought to be friends, the very same ones, whose lives he saved many times. He was kind to them, and yet they repaid him with betrayal. That is how the tale of the kind king ends.”

         Erik hid his bare feet back under the covers, looking gloomy.

         “It’s a sad story,” he said, laying down and curling into a ball. “I think, that I preferred my mother’s stories.”

         For a while, both were sitting in silence, when Erik decided to share his doubts with Aedain.

         “You said that only the king, king’s son and bad Zhawn were on that mountain, when the king killed Zhawn,” he said slowly, as though he was solving a puzzle. He looked at Aedain with suspicion. “So how do you know, what exactly the king told Zhawn before he died?”

         Aedain’s face remained stoic like a mask, but Erik noticed the demon’s jaw stiffen as he clenched his teeth.

         “I witnessed it with my own eyes. I was there, when my father delivered a fatal blow to Zhawn. I was there when the humans stabbed him in his back.”

         “You’re the king’s son,” Erik stated, surprised.

         Aedain watched as the child slowly drifted off into the land of slumber.

         “I know you were awake all the time, woman,” he said, his eyes never leaving the dancing flames.