Telmos let out a deep sigh as another report crossed his desk. The battle had commenced nearly halfway to the Spirit-Forest, and from the looks of these quick reports from the wind talkers, they were vastly outnumbered. He cursed under his breath, knowing that if the High King, and his warriors failed to defeat the demons and close the gate. The defense of Vul De Rah would come down to him alone. And the nearly two thousand warriors who had been trickling in from the surrounding villages and cities.

  “We must send half of our warriors to bolster the High King’s forces, your highness.” Demessa said, wincing as another contraction pulsed through her body.

  “I know.” Telmos huffed, looking side-long at his charge. “I’ve already sent word. They will be leaving within the hour.” He placed the report on the desk and folded his hands, leaning toward her. “Any more pain?”

  “Every few minutes now.” Demessa grunted. “The spirits have a cruel sense of humor indeed if I give birth while Reku is away.”

  Telmos closed his eyes, and squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I would most heartly agree with you, my dear. Considering there is a good chance we may need to evacuate the city, if word comes that they are defeated.”

  “It won’t come to that, your highness.” Demessa urged. “We have the strongest among us there, fighting them with all they have. And the spirit sent are with them as well.”

  “I admire your faith, Lady.” Telmos perked up as a knock at his door echoed through his study.

  “Princess Ambrosia, Highness.” The royal guard outside the door relayed.

  “Send her in.”

  Ambrosia entered the study, bowing slightly at the waist before speaking. “Highness, I’m sure you are reading the same reports we are.”

  “Of course, I am.” Telmos grumbled. “Though I doubt it is as grim as they are reporting.”

  Ambrosia scanned the room, her eyes resting briefly on Demessa before she turned back to Telmos. “Where is Queen Athica, highness? Was she not instructed to be with you at all times?”

  Telmos groaned as he sat back in his chair. “It would seem that Queen Athica is content to rely on the protection of her own guards.”

  “She denied you?” Ambrosia seemed shocked, “After the High King’s command?”

  “The High King is not here, and I can’t force her to do anything.” Telmos pointed at Demessa, who now had her head between her legs. “Besides, Lady Demessa here seems to be in labor.”

  Ambrosia’s eyes widened as she dashed toward the Rexunii noblewoman. “By the spirits, this child has timing! How are you feeling, Demessa?” she placed an uneasy hand on her head, while she turned toward Telmos. “And you haven’t called for the physicians!?”

  “She’s fine, Ambrosia.” Telmos chuckled. “Her water still has yet to flow; these are merely contractions. There still might be time before the child comes.”

  “Guards!” Ambrosia shouted; her voice filled with fury.

  Two Lokkadonian royal guards hurried through the door, nearly bumping into one another as they came to attention.

  “Find the midwives! And fetch the physicians! Lady Demessa is having her child!”

  “You’re overreacting, Ambrosia.” Telmos attempted to explain, but was sharply cut off with a deathly look from Ambrosia.

  “You have no idea what she is going through, Highness!” Ambrosia snapped. “We can risk no harm to the child, regardless of whether King Reku is here or not.”

  “Please!” Demessa barked, looking up, her face twisted in pain. “Please forgive my words, both of you, but for the love of all the spirits, please stop talking.”

  Telmos’ eyes wandered down to the couch where Demessa was sitting and saw that it was soaking wet. “My apologies, Lady Demessa. I thought we would have more time.” He sighed again, “Princess Ambrosia is correct. Let’s start the preparations.”

  Within several minutes, Demessa was moved to her personal quarters, where nearly a dozen midwives and the royal physician tended to her. It had been so long since he remembered Delmos, let alone Avria entering the world. But their mother never complained to him about it. She went about her day as though nothing had changed; then without ceremony or complaint, she had them. He closed his eyes, remembering her. My sweet Darvilla, he thought. Memories of his late wife flooding back to him in a torrent. He missed her terribly, though the same could not be said for his children. Avria didn’t even shed a tear upon hearing of her passing. She was a hard woman, but not without her loving moments.

  Demessa screamed, pulling him from his thoughts. Ambrosia was by her side, clasping her hands and speaking words of encouragement to her.

  “You are doing well, Demessa.” She said, her words comforting and gentle. “This will all be over soon. Before long, you will hold your baby in your arms.”

  “Spirits, this pain is unbearable.” Demessa hissed through gritted teeth. “If only Reku had stayed. He should be here for the birth of his child.”

  Ambrosia smiled, brushing her white hair from her sweat soaked forehead. “He is fighting for us as we speak. We must have faith in him, and do our duty.”

  Demessa nodded, taking deep breaths before letting out another guttural yell.

  “Keep talking to her!” The physician yelled, “That was an amazing push, my Lady. When you feel the pain begin to rise again, push with all your strength.”

  Demessa squeezed Ambrosia’s hand, as she strained through the pain.

  “There you go!” Ambrosia encouraged her. “Just like that! Think of Reku, and how proud he will be when he returns to see you and your baby. Hold onto that thought.”

  Demessa growled with determination after several more seconds, again straining with all her might.

  “Just a bit more, my Lady!” The physician said, “It’s coming out very fast!”

  Telmos froze as he felt a tremor under his feet. The room went silent, except for Demessa, who wailed in what he could only imagine was complete and utter agony. Another tremor came, stronger than the first, jolting him as he dashed toward the entrance. This can’t be happening! He thought, sliding the door open. He was about to shout a command to the guards outside when they heard a blood curdling scream further down the hall. They froze before the body of one of the midwives who had been running in and out of the room was slammed violently into the wall beside them.

  “To arms!” The guard captain shouted, as the midwives’ blood sprayed over them.

  Telmos’ heart began pounding in his chest, his denial of what was unfolding before him slowly giving way to the truth. A demon was here. He grabbed the hilt of his incisor at his waist and drew the blade in a fluid motion. Decades of practice and experience in battle, the only thing keeping his hands from fumbling his weapon. His eyes widened as a strange metal box turned the corner of the hallway. It was nearly the size of a stone carriage and looked as though it had been melted and damaged. Soon after, writhing tentacles, barbed with vicious claws and covered in blue blood, streamed past the box, pulling a massive upper torso that looked rotten and vile. It had two arms that dragged the hulking body through the hall that was far too narrow for it.

  The box was merely the creature’s head, and it reached its hands towards them, its fingers pale and grotesque, missing its fingernails as black blood and pus seeped from where they should have been.

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  “Defend the child!” Telmos shouted, raising his hand toward the hideous monster. He bellowed in defiance while unleashing a powerful blast of electricity. Holding nothing back in terms of his power. The palace had been built by the ancient Dae, and much like the Glade’s dome, was nearly indestructible. His power exploded against the being, the shockwave of the attack nearly knocking him off his feet at such a close proximity. Seconds after, his royal guards unleashed their own abilities, blades of wind and water crashing into the demon’s form, and bursts of fire and pillars of stone bathing it in a flurry of violence.

  Tentacles lashed out of the dust in the aftermath of their attacks, nearly catching several guards in the deadly strike before they nimbly dodged to the sides. These halls are too narrow to fight, he thought, cursing at their rotten luck. How did it get past the outer defenses!? How did it manage to break through the guards outside of the palace? We would have heard such a commotion. He grunted as a barbed tentacle struck the wall above his head. He ducked away, just as the massive body of the demon surged toward them. He looked up just as one if its massive hands caught a guard, crushing him in an instant and throwing him at his comrades. Blood trailed behind the body as it passed them and Telmos blasted it with another attack at point blank range.

  The demon seemed unbothered by the powerful attack, and merely struck at him in irritation. Telmos dodged the grasping hand, swinging a Dunamis enhanced blade directly at one of its fingers. The blade landed soundly against its skin, lodging deeply into the flesh, but not severing the digit as he intended. Black blood sprayed over him, its foul smell making him gag as he dashed away from it.

  “Again! Hit it with everything you have!” He yelled.

  More blasts of fire and wind rang against the demon’s metal head, but it ignored them, reaching then toward the door to Demessa’s chambers.

  “Stop it!” He shouted in desperation. Pouring all of his strength into his next attack. The demon bucked from the impact as his surge of electricity hit it directly on the side of its head. It turned the box toward him, and a sudden and unimaginable fear plunged his heart into despair. This… is impossible… he thought, feeling the helplessness of his efforts against such a powerful foe. How can we defeat such a vile creature?

  As though reading his thoughts, the demon wordlessly turned back to the door and slammed its arm through it with a savage strike. There were screams of terror from within as it brought its hands to the door frame, ripping it apart to make way for its massive form. Telmos shook his head, attempting to cast the fear aside, and pointed his blade at the creature once again. “No!” He bellowed as he dashed towards it with blinding speed and power. A tentacle attempted to stop him, but merely slammed into the floor behind him as he plunged his blade deep into the demon’s chest, and unleashed a burst of electricity directly into its body. He felt the massive fingers of its hand grasp at him, and attempted to dash away, but his leg was caught, and immediately crushed. He screamed in agony as he felt the bones and muscles of his leg crumble under the immense strength of its squeeze.

  Then with a violent thrash, he found himself colliding against the wall of the inside of the room. His body screamed in pain as he slumped against the wall, blood streaming down his face, and struggled with all his might just to stay conscious.

  His royal guards engaged then, slashing and blasting it with their power.

  “Get the child out!” He heard Ambrosia’s voice yell. She dashed into the fray, using her own Dunamis against it. Blades of water shot from her hands, splashing against the demon’s torso, leaving deep gouges that seeped black blood that flowed down with the water.

  “We can’t get past it!” He heard another voice yell, as it was quickly cut off by a swipe of the demon’s tentacle.

  Telmos watched in helpless horror as his guards were slaughtered, one by one by the creature. Being eviscerated by the barbed tentacles, crushed, and torn limb from limb by its massive hands.

  “Get the—” Ambrosia’s words were cut off as a tentacle struck her legs, severing one of them from her body. She screamed as she scrambled to escape, before the demon batted her aside, silencing her in an instant as she slammed into the stone wall.

  “Get back!” He heard Demessa scream. Holding a blade against the creature as it towered over her; its metal head pressed against the ceiling.

  “Run…” Telmos croaked, scanning the room as darkness again began to claw at the edges of his vision. “Take the—” Telmos’ words caught in his throat as he saw a bundle cradled in her left arm. The baby… he thought. The weight of his failure now pummeling him. No…

  “You can’t take him!” She screamed, tears streaming from her eyes. “This is the son of King Reku! A Spirit-Sent! A blessing to this world. You will not have him, you foul creature!”

  The demon didn’t move as it stared down at her, seeming to bask in her terror and desperation. She held the child to her face as she kissed him, sobs escaping her. “My son…” She cried. Before placing it on the bed behind her. The child began to cry as she did so, and the demon shifted to strike.

  Its hand swept toward her and the bed with overwhelming strength. But Demessa unleashed a burst of fire that blasted its strike to the side. The midwives and physician, who were cowering at the side of the room tried to scramble past it to escape, but were savagely torn asunder by the lashing tentacles of the demon. Nothing was escaping this room alive it would seem. Again, it struck, this time with both of its hands and several tentacles. Demessa exploded her Dunamis outward again, knocking its arms away from her, but was struck in the side by a tentacle, that caught her on one of its barbs.

  She screamed as she was slammed into the wall, and abruptly went silent. It turned toward the bed, where the child lay, its cries echoing in the room and the demon raised its hand to strike.

  Telmos strained with all his strength to intervene, feeling every broken bone and ruptured organ as he did so. He flooded his body with his Dunamis to keep himself awake and raged at the demon. Suddenly, there was a burst of fire that slammed into the demon’s back, and to his amazement, it let out a hollow scream of pain from beneath the surface of the metal box. It squirmed as it turned to see this new threat, but was struck again and scrambled to escape the fire. Its hand swung toward the bed in a desperate attempt to kill the child, but Telmos, fueled with his Dunamis and rage, dashed in, scooping the baby in his arms, seconds before the bed shattered into pieces.

  He cried as his ruined leg and broken body screamed in pain at his exertion, but fled to the corner of the room, determined to protect the innocent child in his arms. He felt a flash of heat as another blast of fire flowed over the demon, and it screamed in agony while its rotten flesh bubbled and popped under the power. Telmos’ eyes darted toward the source of the attack, and was amazed to see a human woman, with blond hair and crystal blue eyes, locked with hatred on her target. She let out a scream that rattled his ears, followed by an attack that put her previous ones to shame.

  The heat of the flames was so intense, that Telmos had to shield himself and the child with his Dunamis. But to his amazement, the demon’s wailing ceased, and when the flames subsided, all that remained was a charred and lifeless corpse.

  Silence followed as the woman, Lauren, he remembered her name was, ran to him with tears in her eyes. “Are you ok!?” She cried, “Is the baby alive!?”

  Telmos looked down at the form in his arms, and saw two large brown eyes, staring up at him. His heart dropped as he turned to where Demessa had been struck and struggled to stand. “His mother!” He croaked. “She’s over there!”

  Lauren turned to where he had pointed, and ran to an unmoving form on the floor of the room. She knelt over Demessa, and pressed her hands against her body. Telmos strained, again flooding his body with his Dunamis, numbing the immense pain, and limped across the room to where Demessa lay.

  “Come on!” Lauren shouted, clearly trying to use her power to heal her, but began to cry. “I’m so sorry... I didn’t get here in time… I’m so sorry…” She said through sobs. “Please forgive me…”

  Telmos slumped down beside her; tears filling his eyes as he looked down at Demessa’s lifeless body. “Spirits… I tried to protect them both.”

  “Highness!” A guard yelled, dashing through the ruined doorway. “There is another demon! On the other side of the palace!”

  Telmos turned toward him, his eyes bulging in fear. “Athica…” He whispered, “We must save the other one!” He looked at Lauren in desperation. “Please, hurry! You’re the only one who can stop it!”

  ~

  Athica whimpered in fear as she heard the screams and cries of her personal guard being slaughtered within the palace. She had run from the creature when it arrived, narrowly escaping its wrath, but it had followed her, and now, cornered her within the throne room, where she now hid. She had heard there was a secret escape route within the room, but to her dismay, hadn’t been able to find it in time. She held her hands against her belly, feeling the life of her child inside thrum with power. “I’m sorry, little one.” She whispered through shaky breaths. “I’m sorry…”

  The doors to the throne room burst open with a spray of blood as the last of her guard was thrown to the floor below, nearly cut in half.

  The demon hissed in satisfaction as it crouched to enter, its body one of a naked woman, with its skin stretched and torn and spikes that looked like many legs jutting from its back. Its head swiveled around the room, then focused on her hiding place behind the king’s throne, and her heart sank as its melted eyes seemed to focus on hers. The head itself was skinless, but the ruined muscles of its face still expressed the smile it gave upon seeing her.

  It strode forward with purpose, but stopped suddenly and turned back toward the broken doors. A warrior stood at the entrance; a Dae, who’s eyes were locked with the monsters. It hissed as he stepped forward, drawing his blade and pointing it toward the demon. Athica studied the man for several moments, then recognized him. It was Reku’s personal guard, Captain Malak.

  “I’ve never face one of your kind before.” He said, his voice cold and stoic. “In all my years of life, I’ve always wondered what strength you might possess, to strike fear into so many.”

  Athica leaned forward, the crippling fear she felt keeping the strength from her legs. She focused on Malak, the hopelessness of her situation on full display. She wept, cursing herself for her weakness. He would surely be slaughtered, she thought. Just like the rest of them. Then she blinked in surprise as his eyes began to glow a brilliant white, causing the demon to growl in response.

  What? She thought, her fear morphing into confusion as she beheld the sudden change.

  “Now, let us see how strong you really are.” Malak declared, before dashing toward the demon with blinding speed.