The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 51

This could very well be the last time he will ever be with his wife and daughter for a long time. He wanted to take the time to be with his family before he leaves them to be kept safe. Making sure that Lucy and Lagertha are protected has always been Julius's primitive goal as a father and husband. Lagertha still saw him as a good man and a loving person to those he knew for as long as he can remember. Julius became more prepared than ever to fight the night creatures and survive the future laid before him.

Meanwhile, Harald and Erica were standing before the rampart of the palace and saw the clouds changing color. The clouds became black, and the moon was on its way to shine above the darkened sky. This hinted out that a significant threat will be upon the people, and the time of defending Loftain has finally arrived.

Then Harald looked at Erica and said to her, "There is a prophecy which states that a similar event like this would occur. A day that comes when the night creatures are prepared to sharpen their blades and take the last remaining city of Midland for themselves. They will come to make us slaves and have us build a kingdom to bring their one true king upon this world. Such a time as this has been stated ever since they first arrived. I must inform Balvu about this. You go somewhere in the palace and hide."

"But what about Julius? What shall we do since he has not been seen? What happens if what they say is true and that he is siding with the demons?" Erica asked.

"I know him. He has a fighting spirit. And he has power beyond measure. The time of questioning him will come at another time. If he comes back, I'll be the one who will need him. After all, he is the one I have left besides you and Brant."

Erica understood some things Harald was saying to her, but she is still a bit concerned about him and Julius. She did not know if even her husband will be turned and be Julius's servant; of course, that will never happen between Harald and Julius. Then, she turned around and walk out of the room as he prepared himself for the intense battle waiting to occur. Meanwhile, Julius was leaving the house through the front door, and his wife and daughter followed him from behind. They knew that he would be gone for quite a long time, but he will always return home and see what his family is up to.

He turned around and saw them standing behind him and were trying to watch him leave. It was a pretty rare thing for them to do because they were told that he might or might not be back. This entire thing Julius has been doing is a life or death situation in his nature as he fought against the night creatures. Then, he walks back towards Lucy and Lagertha to speak with them one last time before he leaves them. He already had his sword on his back with his armor and cloak, and he was more than prepared for the nights ahead for him.

Then Julius spoke with them, saying, "Remember what I said to you both. If I don't return, take everything you have and leave this place. You must not go to Loftain. You must go to the mountains and wait for me there. But I promise I'll always come back for you. I'll always be true to that promise and never break it."

"I won't let you down," Lagertha said.

"Come back to us, my love," Lucy said. Then, her husband walks over to her and places his hand on her cheek; he keeps it there to let her know how much he loves her.

Of all the people on the earth, none were as charming, loving, and caring as his wife. He then walks to Lagertha and gets on one knee to have her eyes contact his eyes. Julius raises his arms to receive a hug from his daughter before he leaves to be with the earl. Lagertha walks up to him and hugs him so he does not keep them up forever. He felt so much better in his mind and felt satisfied that his daughter hugged him back.

A few seconds later, he releases himself from Lagertha's grasp and stands up to move again. Since the clouds were getting much darker, the time of Julius being with his family is getting much shorter than expected. He wanted to be with his family so he can share much more needed information before he moves around. But he noticed that his time was up, and he needed to go and not waste any more time.

"I must go now. Farewell," Julius said. Then, he slowly turns around and starts walking away from his home as his wife and daughter did not take a single step towards him.

It was during that time that Julius was getting close to breaking down over the fact that he might never return to his family. This may have been the last time he has ever got to say goodbye to them because of how much strength the demons have been getting. It has been so long ever since they raided a city in Midland, but it seems like they have been preparing for this night. It appeared as if they needed to get the strength necessary to finish what they started. Julius did not care what would happen to the demons and their fate; they still needed to pay the price.

Julius continued walking on the dark road, which led to the entrance of the city, but it would be locked in and prevent him from setting foot there. It seemed as if even the earl's men had received the message of the demons being ready to set foot in Midland's border and take what's left of it. Julius walks into the forest and finds a secret way into the earl's chamber without being spotted. He was doing the same thing that Lagertha did when she had important things to tell Brant; he had different reasons to go to Loftain in a secretive way. Mephiles was thinking of a solution to help his master out, and he had no time to waste on telling him his idea.

"Must you go into the forest just to go meet up with your brother? Is your way to the palace much reasonable?" Mephiles asked.

"I have no other choice. I have no other reason but to do it my way," Julius answered.

"I could take you there. I could take us both to a place where nobody will even notice. Not even the guards and knights will see you."

"Yeah, right? The knights of Midland have eyes like a fox and can hear anything at ten yards. Trust me, I have trained many men to be in onslaughts."

"Oh, that's impressive. I had no idea you people had such techniques in life. I thought of you all to be trained wisely with the sword."

"That's why the knights are not so easy to defeat. I made sure that they are all trained to be experts at slaying demons. Even if I dominate all the demon kings, humans will always defeat them. The armor of these knights is as thick as a stone, so you must have much better, stronger, and sharper swords to stick them into their chests, which is why we have thrived for many years against your kind. You once sacrificed yourself to protect your kind, but now you go against them."

Mephiles could tell that Julius knew so much about him and his history, and he understood that the man listened to everything he told him. But he insisted that the demon slayer looked to his idea of getting into the palace without having the guards see him.

"But tell me, what's this plan of yours?" Julius asked.

"I could teleport us both towards the rampart leading to his bedroom. We should both get there in one piece without having them notice us," Mephiles said.

"You mean like the last time? That time when I said we should go home, and I was already there in a split second?"

"Of course. Now just be still and relax. I'll be the one to get us there. Your friends won't even know you are inside the earl's room."

"Fine. Just get us there before even more guards get above the walls!"

Then, Mephiles teleports Julius to the rampart of the palace, and he notices the windows were already opened. He walks inside the bedroom to find Harald as the evening sun goes down.