Shadows of Iraedes | NanoWrimo 2021

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GUIDED BY LIGHT

He'd managed to get away, he and two others, but he knew what happened to the rest of the followers who'd been with them. They were all dead. The three of them had slipped into the shadows while the swamp men ravaged their carriage.

"Where did those wild men come from?" Reahnon asked pulling herself over the large fallen tree they'd had to climb over.

"I believe, Sathoro forgive me, but that was no accident. The woman we were bringing to Iraedes? I don't believe she was possessed by a demon anymore. I fully believe she is a demon. One dressed in a lady's skin," he said.

"Sathoro please protect us," he heard Reahnon whisper quickly in the darkness.

"Soren, you don't really, do you?" Soren heard Graham ask.

"I truly do. And the only one who would have sent it, would be Ven himself," Soren said in a hushed whisper as if the very name of the evil god would bring him down itself.

The three of them quickly dropped to their knees and placed their foreheads in the dirt.

"Sathoro, please protect us. See us home safe and guide us with your light," the three of them said quietly.

"We need to capture that demon," Soren said, "and destroy it."

The other two nodded and the three of them got to their feet to hurry through the woods at a careful pace.

The three made it back to the walls as the sun was cresting the hills in the east. The streaks of sunlight stretched across the treetops. They sloshed through the last span of water in their way and crossed the grassy area to the gates.

There they stopped when they were finally in safe company. Two knights came up to them, immediately recognizing the white robes they wore.

"Are you survivors from the raider attack?" one knight asked.

"Yes?" Soren said confused. "How did you know about that?"

"There were two others who came a couple hours ago, stating a swamp raid attack and that they managed to get away."

"Where they other holy sankts?" Soren asked.

The second knight shook his head. "No. It was a man and a woman, and the woman was dressed like a noble's lady."

"She's a demon!" Soren exclaimed. "Where did she go?"

Both knights shared a guilty look.

The knight who spoke, the first knight, fumbled with his words. "She-she's inside the city."

"You didn't..." Soren whispered and then put the back of his hand against his eyes. "Sathoro, cast your light and show us the path so we may destroy the demon before it destroys us."

A small prayer, but he hoped the god of good and light would listen and show him the way.

Soren turned to Reahnon and Graham. "We're going to need some help, we'll need fellow brothers and sisters to help us catch the demon."

They nodded in agreement and followed Soren through the gates.

Soren turns to the two knights on duty before they leave the wall. "Tell every knight to be on the look out for that woman in the pink dress. She's not human. She tricked us into making us believe she was possessed, but she is not possessed. She is a demon herself."

The first knight nods to the other and bolts off without a verbal conversation. They knew what they needed to do. If the Thoro was going to send out its followers the knights would back them up and capture the demon. Neither one needed to be told what to do.

Soren, Reahnon, and Graham hurried through the streets waking for the morning. Soon there would be a Terium and they wanted the holy sankt leader to announce it to everyone. They wanted the whole kingdom out looking for the demon woman. They needed to destroy her before she got her claws into the innocent man she was traveling with, probably enslaving him to follow her. No man in their right mind would follow and listen to a demon.

As the sun climbed over the walls they hastened their pace to get to the Thoro before the light reached its front steps. When they did finally reach the holy building the light had made it all the way to the door. The people were already beginning to congregate to the Thoro and were entering its big doors. They hurried through having to weave around a few early strollers, side stepping and almost running into people. They raced down the big open hall and then finally into the main room where the holy sankt leader would be performing the morning prayer. They had only thirty minutes at best to explain everything and plan how he would address the people. This day would be one to remember. They would form a manhunt, going through the city, search everyone's homes, until they found the demon and the poor soul she'd possessed to follow her.

"Father!" Soren yelled and slammed his feet down the isle between the wood pews. His footsteps rang loudly as he covered the distance in quick seconds.

He stopped when he reached the holy sankt leader putting his hands to his knees as he caught his breath.

He took in great gasps of air as he, Reahnon and Graham explained what happened. While they told the night's events and what had led them to having run all the way back for morning prayer people filed into the large room taking their seats in the pews. For once there were no nobles sitting in the chairs on the left. He was surprised. They had been fooled like everyone else into believing the woman with ice blond hair to be a normal human, but she was a demon!

"Alright, brother Soren," the holy sankt leader said putting a hand on his shoulder. "It will be alright. Step aside so I may address all of our brothers and sisters here and tell them about this horrid creature."

"Thank you, father," Soren said addressing the holy sankt leader by his leader's title and stepped to the right of him and stood by a pillar. Reahnon and Graham moved to stand on either side of him as they waited for the holy sankt leader to silence the crowd of citizens.

"Brothers! Sisters! We have a duty to uphold when a call to action has been asked of us! A demon is amongst us, dressed in skin of us and wearing clothes of ours. We must find her, and destroy her!"

They're out to get her now! Comment and vote below if you're enjoying the story!