Elan’s control was shattered and she screamed, fists clenched and arms shaking as she dropped to her knees and then slumped in place, unmoving.
*****
Kaern had turned east, heading inland a short distance from the prisoner camp. The trail he was following split there, but the heavier grouping had moved inland while a lighter contingent continued along the coast, so he opted to follow the larger group. He pushed his speed a little more now, trusting in his own abilities more than he did in that of a girl he only knew slightly, augmentation armor or not.
He hoped she’d be okay at the camp, but it was by far the least dangerous option available to them at the time. He knew that somewhere up ahead, a demonic lord general was waiting along with his personal guard.
Those wouldn’t be Ninth Circle. Seventh at a minimum, quite possibly lower depending on the general in question. It wasn’t unknown for a particularly intelligent lord general to be guarded by much more powerful, though stupider, demons of the lowest circles.
Even with a blade in his hand, there were things Kaern would prefer not to face, and the personal guard of a lord general was definitely among those. Facing that sort of foe with a slip of a girl at your side who’d not been truly proven…well, that was another level of foolishness.
The terrain was getting rougher as they moved inland, climbing into lowland hills, but the lusher foliage was fading quickly and falling into scrubland that hugged the riverbanks and didn’t reach far beyond. He had to work now to stay hidden as best as he could while maintaining speed. He could hear the distinctive garbling of upper circle demons ahead of him and knew that he was on the right track.
Simone must have gotten to the river if the general believes that she’s taken her group inland. Unfortunately, if he’s right, then he’s likely got her walking into an ambush.
The only positive was that he was fairly certain that whatever trap had been set had not yet been tripped.
The lack of screaming made that much clear, if nothing else.
*****
Simone trudged through a shallow pool, shooting looks over her shoulder for any sign of their pursuers, but so far they’d been lucky. It seemed they were outpacing the demons, which was more than she’d hoped for.
If they could get far enough into the badlands, it would be possible to hide among the rocks and caves that made up much of the landscape. Move by night, evade the demons while they were searching, and rest by day when the sun was too hot even for humans.
She didn’t know for sure if she really believed they could do that, but it was a hope if nothing else.
Faint hope, but hope.
They were moving slower than she’d like, but Simone knew she couldn’t push them much harder. Too many people in the group were simply incapable of the speed she wanted them to maintain.
The terrain was rising up around them now and making her nervous. She hadn’t realized how much it would change and how quickly. It had been a long time since she’d traveled this far out, and she had never needed to go inland when she had.
It was too late now to reconsider, however, so she kept the people moving.
They were coming around a bend in the river when she realized they’d walked into a trap. It was nothing obvious, not at first, but Simone had long since learned not to ignore that itch on the back of her neck. Bad things came when she did, though this time, she supposed, bad things were coming anyway.
She grabbed the closest guardsman, pulling him in to her. “We’re being watched. Spread the word, get ready for a fight.”
She just didn’t know yet whether it was best to push through or try to retreat. Which direction was the trap arrayed in?
The guard gave her a frightened look, but nodded and quickly moved off to spread the word. Simone set her hand on the blade hilt resting at her hip. She didn’t expect they would be able to get so close as to make drawing the blade immediately a requirement, but it felt comforting all the same.
The feeling continued to get stronger as they moved, until she was almost jumping at the slightest noise. Before the group was all around the bend, Simone lifted a hand and called a halt. She nodded to the guards, and those with bows and crossbows notched their weapons as they scanned the rising terrain around them.
Simone cursed her foolishness. Coming up the river had put them into a trap, but without water, where would they be?
“Fall back,” she ordered softly. “Keep watch downriver for a flanking force, but fall back all the same.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The guardsmen nodded as they started to push people the other direction.
Worried murmurs were starting to build, but Simone ignored them. They all had cause for worry, but feeding that concern would do none of them any good.
“There!” one of the guardsmen shouted, pointing.
Simone looked up and to the north, where a large formation of the demons had shown themselves. They looked like the sun was doing them no favors but, unfortunately, not like it was crippling them. She supposed that the enemy must have fielded its stronger forces for this task. And perhaps she should be flattered by that.
She was just angry.
“Archers,” she ordered, “fire as they enter your range.”
*****
The trap would have been set in another few moments, but the leader of the humans had sniffed it out.
Frustrating, but not a particularly large problem. It just meant that cleaning this up would take that much longer. He had already been out in the sun this long, he could endure the discomfort a little while longer.
“Signal the rear guard to close the trap,” he ordered.
That would keep them from running, but he’d lose more of the rear guard than he intended, as they would be forced to take the brunt of the humans’ ire before the rest of his forces could get into position, but that was what they were for, he supposed.
“Everyone else, close from the front and sides.”
*****
Kaern paused at the crest of a hill one over from where the demon general’s forces were positioned. He checked their positions as quickly as he could, then looked down to the river as the human column paused and then began to reverse.
Smart girl, Simone.
He didn’t know if she’d seen the demons yet, but she obviously knew something was up. It wouldn’t get her out of the trap, but it would keep it from closing on her with the most force. If he could just distract one of the pincers, that might be enough for them to get clear.
Maybe.
Probably not.
What the fuck, let’s go for it.
He got to his feet and began to run down the hill, keeping low but really giving up most attempts at stealth in exchange for speed.
Demons were doing the same, obviously focused on the human column below them, and that meant that they weren’t looking for him. Hell, if they spotted him, Kaern expected that he might pass for one of the demons’ own numbers at first. He could work with those odds.
He angled his run to intersect with the demons just as they reached the upper banks of the river and surged right into the lead element from their blindside. He went low as he hit the first demon, shoulder under and up to send the thing flipping through the air before Kaern brought his blade into play.
It was noisy, messy, and spectacular as he cut through the lead element before they could even think to defend themselves.
Enough so that most of the eyes of the soon-to-be battlefield turned to look at the unexpected slaughter with surprise.
Kaern stood steady, planting his blade in the ground ahead of him as he looked up the hill to where the lord general was staring down at him.
“I called you out, Lord General,” he yelled mockingly, “but it seems you didn’t hear me. We have business, you and I!”