Page 38 of A Serenade To The Elf Queen
Air rushes out from my lungs the moment I set my eyes on the gigantic fiend rampaging through the camp. Pale scales cover its grotesque body, with a pair of jutting horns and two rows of serrated teeth.
The Aldarelf of Ironwood has created a protection spell around the most vulnerable of us. I enter the safety of the barrier immediately, catching my breath.
“What in Astraea’s name is that?” she asks, her face ashen with horror.
“The Ashmedai,” the human answers, panting from the run. I’m glad he was smart enough to follow us into the shield. He will not survive on his own out there.
Shards and splinters of wood fill the air as the demon tears through the camp like the harbinger of apocalypse and destruction. Rainer’s Grimsbane clash with the creature in a fury of blades. Despite their varying relentless attacks, none of the weapons are able to penetrate the monster’s scaled armor. The beast is like a rhinoceros with the agility of a rabbit.
I catch Ragnar at the center of the clearing.
“Stay inside! Get as far away from me as you can,” he warns, his eyes growing wide, turning more feral. His human skin sheds from his body, replaced by shining black fur and claws. I watch as the berserker morphs into a three-headed bear right before my eyes.
The Bödvar Bjadki.
Garrett joins him, going after the monster with the fierceness of a warrior from Kvatosh temple. His stiletto manages to cut through the Ashmedai’s abdomen, but the creature remains undeterred. My heart jumps to my throat when its claws strike him, swifter than a scorpion’s tail. The knight barely evades the lethal attack.
The Ashmedai is faster and stronger than all of them combined. This is pure madness. A creature powerful beyond reckoning.
Eamon is directing his men out of the shield to subdue the monster with magic.
“What are you doing?” Ctibor asks.
“Don’t you see that raw strength? I have direct order from the Aeonians to bring whatever power we can find,” the Aldarelf replies with a manic look on his face.
Is he insane?
They say the Valorians are soldiers of gods; to die for the Aeonians is their highest honor. But Eamon is throwing away their lives like they mean nothing.
Rainer mutters a curse underneath his breath. “You’re drawing its attention towards us.”
“This containment spell is granted by the Aeonians themselves,” Eamon says smugly. His smile shatters when the demon barrels through the barrier. Darkness envelopes me momentarily as the shield crumbles around us. My vision returns to the sight of people running. I barely have the time to calm the ringing in my ears when the creature lunges straight towards me.
Shade charges at the demon with both swords drawn to help. A cracking sound vibrates the air as the Ashmedai snaps its teeth on his body. I waste no time as I steal the Grimsbane’s fallen falchions. With a mighty heave, I dig them deep into the demon’s eye sockets.
“Elven bitch!” The monster hisses, blasting its foul-smelling breath at us.
It speaks…
The grating sound of that voice brings a new set of fears into my heart. I drape Shade’s arm over my shoulders to carry him with me. The Grimsbane doesn’t seem to care for the idea. “Leave me!”
I bite back the urge to scream as we limp our way into the dark forest. By the grace of the gods, we manage to outrun the menacing shadow of death on our tail. I drag Shade by the shoulders and hide with him in the bushes.
My hand trembles as I remove his hauberk carefully.
“Well, shit,” he curses, assessing the vicious cut on his abdomen.
I peer from the bushes to look at the Ashmedai. The demon’s forked tongue darts out between two rows of jagged teeth. “You can’t hide from me forever, elven whore!”
Beads of sweat gather over Shade’s temple, his breathing becoming labored. “You should go. I’m not going to make it.”
I ignore him and continue pressing down on his wound. It ceases bleeding, but the veins around the injury begin to darken. The Ashmedai’s bite has to be venomous. I try to patch it the best I can, but I am not as good as Lady Deirdre.
He makes another pained groan. “Listen, I have a poison capsule buried in my back tooth. If it gets too bad, I’ll just bite—”
“Don’t be stupid!” I snap at him.
“It’s better than being shredded to ribbons.” He sighs with a blank expression. This silly Grimsbane has the nerve to look bored while dying.
