Shadow Bands

XXXII. Blood Moon Pt.2

Black smoke engulfed the skies over the tall buildings of Windermere, covering all but the beaming sun. The city was under siege, in terror of the ongoing demon attack. Some knights were struggling with the airborne demons, not to mention the creatures that were double their size. Knights scattered the streets, whether they had life or not.

The walls did nothing against the siege beasts; large holes showed it barely held a chance against their brute force. Two colossal monsters lay dead outside the wall—save for the one hanging over its attempt to break through the stacked stone—large spears sticking out of their corpses like quills.

Screams of the civilians were just as potent as the fires and smoke, harrowing down the streets and alleys. Blood had already stained the cobble flooring of the city, a mix of demon and human remains.

The entire city was a massacre.

Lyra and Kaelen had fought their way into the city, aiding in the knights fight to protect the civilians. Even though it was just the duo, their presence brought a sigh of relief to the knights left standing.

"We're glad you could make it. . ." a knight forced through his heaving chest. His scuffed armor showed he had seen battle before, but his face expressed that it never amounted to anything like this. He looked past them, expecting something. "Where's the rest of your company?"

"We were . . ." Lyra struggled to find the words, rolling her hands over one another, as if she were to reel in a word.

"We're a forward observations group," spouted Kaelen.

The knight gave them a puzzled look, confused at the amount of personnel that they would even call themselves a group.

"Well, to catch you up to speed, the demons began using the sewers to move through the city. They practically have a base of operations in that filth hole that we can't penetrate."

"You're not asking us to. . ."

"Oh heavens, no! They can have the sewers. Can't waste any more knights to go down there."

Lyra stepped forward to the knight and said. "Where are the civilians being led to evacuate?"

The knight pointed to a large building behind him just a few blocks away. The building exuded a small heavenly aura with its clean masonry of white and gold. "In that cathedral there. It's getting full, and I'm afraid that we won't be able to hold this position very long."

"We have a path here." She held her arm out at an angle, showing the way out of the city.

The knight only responded with a shake of his head. "See all of those bodies?" he pointed at the scattered remains of mostly humans down the street. "They're keen on trapping us within and picking us off if we try to escape."

"Thank you. We'll investigate further."

The knight bowed his head, then ran towards the cathedral. Lyra looked at Kaelen, watching his eyes scan the city. Rounding a corner several blocks down, Lyra spotted a circular plaza in disarray; produce was scattered across the floor, and goods such as jewelry, armor, and weapons lay rummaged. Multiple large triangular tarps covered the plaza, giving shade for those who unfortunately set up shop this day.

"Garrett." She called softly, hearing the screeches of flying demons coming from afar.

Nothing responded, but a gust of wind prompted Kaelen to reach for his twin blade. His eyes darted at the flipped stalls, watching the sway of all their tarps and drapes. "What are we doing here?"

"The boy has to be here, probably scared."

"We hadn't checked the cathedral; he could be there too."

She hadn't thought about it at the moment, but a sudden cry caught their attention. Their heads whipped to a stall that was completely upside down. Lyra motioned for Kaelen to ease himself as he unsheathed his weapon.