The giant abomination crested the hill and stomped towards Steven. Steven cried out for Ted to save him.
Ted couldn’t move.
The massive demon clutched the metal spear jutting out of Steven’s thigh and wrenched it free. With little interest, he casually rammed the spike into the back of the man’s skull as he tried to crawl away. It came out of Steven’s eye socket and pinned him to the ground again.
Then the creature turned its attention to Ted, and the open sally port behind him. Ted realised the threat marching towards him, yet he found himself unable to move a muscle. As numb as he may have become to the demons in this world, he had seen nothing so appallingly evil as this creature coming towards him.
I’m sorry Chloe. I can’t do this anymore. Wait for me, please. I’m coming.
The vile creature roared, and a foul-smelling wind picked up.
“Wake the hell up, Ted.” Hannah shouted in his ear as she wrapped her arms around his waist and yanked him backwards through the sally port. He stumbled backwards, still frozen, and could do nothing but watch as Hannah frantically slammed the gate closed just as the creature made it up to the walls. She dropped the thick steel bar across it barely in time, then reinforced it with several lengths of timber.
Ted felt his fingers move, and then more of his body came to life. Whatever soul-freezing terror had got hold of him began to fade away. He could no longer see that vile abomination, but only a single stone wall kept it at bay. He blinked a few times, then looked at Hannah. They shared a moment of mutual, ‘oh fuck!’
“This is really happening, isn’t it?” she said, face whiter than he’d ever seen it.
He nodded. “This might be the day we die. You ready?”
Hannah limped towards him, her ankle still sore. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Me too. Good luck.”
“Aye. Lead the way, pet.”
“Follow me, luv.”
They got to work.
43
DR KAMIYO
Kamiyo’s heart lifted to see Ted and Frank waving from atop the wall. Part of him had feared returning to a castle overrun with demons, the bodies of his friends hanging from the walls. But they were alive and well.
Then there had been a hysterical yell, and Ted disappeared from view. Frank remained but was now waving a hand at them to hurry.
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Philip, heading towards the lower gatehouse as the yelling continued. Ahead, all along the inclined approach, wooden stakes had been driven into the ground. It also appeared that someone had dug a small ditch. It meant heading up the hill would be perilous.
“Should we go around to the sally port?” asked Kamiyo, raising his poker and looking around. “I don’t want to end up impaled in a ditch.”
Philip shook his head. “We need to get inside and find out what’s happening. Just watch your step.”
Aymun placed a hand on Kamiyo’s shoulder. “Look at your toes as you walk. It is the same way one navigates a minefield.”
Kamiyo didn’t even want to know how Aymun knew that, so he sighed and walked on. He navigated the first spike and instantly felt relief. Ted had arranged the stakes to prevent an army marching up the hill en masse, but as an individual, he could pass between them more easily than he’d anticipated.
Frank remained on the front walls as they climbed the hill, but then disappeared, hopefully to raise the portcullis.
“Shit!” Philip slipped and had to put a hand out.
Aymun hurried to gather the man back to his feet. “Go slow, my brother.”
The portcullis raised and Kamiyo felt his heart lift. Then he heard distant screaming and feared the relief would be short-lived. It sounded like a man wailing. Kamiyo wanted to hurry, but the ground was muddy. One bad slip could put him on a spike.
Aymun and Philip were right behind him, and he waited for them to catch up. They were using one another to steady themselves, so it seemed like a good idea to stay together. He reached out to help Philip, but his hand froze in mid-air when he spotted something farther down the hill.
Movement.
It took a moment to register, but then Kamiyo’s blood turned to ice in his veins. “Aymun, Philip. Run!”
Both men looked back to see what he was on about, and by the time they spotted the hunched-over demon loping up the hill behind them, a dozen more had burst forth from the tree line.
Kamiyo grabbed Philip and pulled him along. Aymun moved with them, until the three men moved in a clambering conga line, holding each other up while trying not to impale themselves on stakes.
The demons spilled through the lower gatehouse and clumped together, approaching fast.
“Where did they come from?” Philip cried.
“They must have been in the forest.” Kamiyo scrambled on all fours, trying to keep his laden backpack from tipping him sideways. He dug his poker into the mud to keep himself anchored. “We must have just missed them.”
“Words later,” said Aymun. “We must hurry.”
“No shit!” said Kamiyo.
They moved as quickly as they could, but it was perilous every step of the way. The stakes increased in number, assembled in loose walls now. Kamiyo had to pass through the gaps first, then pull the other men through after him.
The demons pursuing them shrieked and cackled.
Philip lost his cool and threw himself into a gap while Aymun was in the middle of passing through it. The collision unsteadied both men, and while Aymun fell forwards, Philip fell back. The weight of his backpack took over and dragged him down the slope. He let out a scream as he tumbled and rolled.
Aymun clambered up beside Kamiyo, then turned around. “We must go back.”
“No, get inside.”
“We cannot abandon our brother.”
“I’ll go!” Kamiyo shoved his backpack at Aymun and slid himself back through the gap before the man could argue. He was the one who had failed Philip’s son. He would be the one to go back and save him.
Philip
