Kael took Joshua’s hand in his, and they all walked to the bakery. A few minutes later, Rhiannon had a small feast laid out for them on one of the small tables her father kept at the bakery.
“Do you think this will work?” Rhiannon asked, still a bit worried.
“It’s our best shot. Otherwise, we’ll never get rid of them,” he assured her. “They reminded me of those insects we saw in the woods, remember? I believe you called them bees,” he said, thoughtful.
She frowned. “In what aspect?”
“They act very differently when they are in the cave, much more organized, as if they followed a specific order in everything they did. When I scanned the cave, I noticed there are many chambers scattered inside the cave, like that little piece of hive you showed me,” he explained.
“They could have a similar social organization. That would certainly make things a lot easier for us, especially if they depend on a queen or a king for their survival, just like the bees. Killing her or him would be the end of the colony.”
“Yes, that certainly would be great. I wasn’t able to detect anything that would make me think that, but I can tell most of the humans are kept in the same place,” he added.
“That should make our jobs easier,” Peter said, with a heavy sigh.
“Yes. If we’re able to reach the women before the demons think of using them as shields, we’ll have half the war won,” Kael agreed.
“When do you want to attack?” Rhiannon asked, finishing her cup of coffee.
“We all need some rest after tonight’s battle, so we should plan our attack and send people home to spend the night resting. Walking, it will take us several hours to reach the demons’ cave, so we should leave tomorrow tonight, as soon as possible, to get there early in the morning.”
“That could be dangerous,” Gwendolyn said, with a frown.
“Not really. I can detect the demons’ presence before they detect us so we would be able to hide. Attacking them before we reach the cave would be a very bad idea.”
“You have a point there. They would know we’re after them,” Peter agreed.
“Yes, and it would tire the men.” Kael nodded.
A few minutes later, Jonas came calling for them. The villagers were already assembled at the square.
Rhiannon hadn’t had much faith in the recruits, but she had been mistaken. She could see amongst the crowd waiting for them outside people from the surrounding villages. They all had lost people at the hands of the demons, and they all wanted a chance at getting back at them.
Pleased, Kael joined them, and after the first murmurs of surprise, people turned their attention to his words rather than his appearance.
“I’m happy to see this many people here. This will give us a better chance at vanquishing the demons, once and for all,” he said, with a wide smile. He proceeded to explain his plans, and people cheered for his plan. “For this to be a success, we need two groups, one smaller, with our best warriors with the sword and the bow and arrow.”
The crowd murmured their consent.
“You’ll use swords this time?” Jonas asked, intrigued.
“I have no idea how high these caves are, but I’m sure we won’t be able to use arrows in some places. We’ll need the swords,” Kael explained.
“Where are the caves, exactly?” one of the men asked.
Rhiannon didn’t know him, so she guessed he lived on one of the other villages.
“I believe they are about eight hours away from here walking, going east. There’s a big river next to it,” he replied, trying to be as accurate as possible. “The entrance is quite big.”
“I know that cave, I’m sure of it,” the man replied. “You’re right about it. It has some high parts, but others will barely allow you to walk standing.”
“How well do you know this place?” Kael asked the man.
“Very well. I haven’t been there in years, but I spent most of my childhood exploring it.”
“Is there another way in?” Kael asked, interested.
“Yes, there is, but I doubt the demons have found it. They don’t seem to like water any more than they like fire and you have to swim to use this way in.”
“Please, explain.”
“The river you mention has a small waterfall, not far from the cave’s entrance. Behind the waterfall, there’s a cave and an underground stream that formed a few small pools that lead you into the cave. In some parts, you need to swim under the water to reach the other side,” the man explained.
“Where does this lead inside the main cave?” Kael asked, even more interested. If they could use that entrance, it would be fantastic.
“To a small chamber at the back of the cave.”
Kael nodded as a new plan started to form in his mind. “Would you agree to fly there with me?” he asked the man.
“How?”
“I would carry you with some sort of harness. This would take us a lot faster to the cave, and we would be able to explore your entrance and see if we could use it to surprise the demons,” Kael explained.
The man nodded, clearly not very sure of it, but willing to do what it took to help. “Alright, I guess I can do that.”
Kael turned to look at the rest of the people. “We need you to form the groups. Gather the best warriors in the group to penetrate the cave and make sure they all know how to swim in case this entrance is useful,” he asked. “The other group will wait for the sign before they enter the cave through the main entrance.”
“What sign?”
“The minute the demons discover our presence inside the cave, there will be commotion amongst the demons guarding the entrance. That will be your sign to act,” he explained. “As for the other group, I want you to wait for me at the waterfall. We’ll decide the best way to get in once you get there.”
“When shall we leave?” Rhiannon asked, not sure she liked the idea of traveling through the woods, during the night without Kael.
“Since I won’t be with you, perhaps it would be safer if you leave as soon as the sun comes out in the sky,” he replied, in a stern tone.
“Nonsense. After today’s defeat, the demons won’t attack tonight. We’ll be safe,” Peter assured, and the rest of the people assembled agreed with him. “The sooner we destroy the demons, the sooner we’ll be able to free those poor women and live in peace.”
“Even so, they aren’t exactly predictable,” Kael protested, still not convinced.
“Don’t worry about us,” Peter told him. “We’ll be just fine. Take Martin to the cave and find the better way to get inside the cave. We’ll meet you tomorrow in the morning.”
“Very well. Just be careful and don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“We won’t.”
“I’ll leave you in charge, Peter. Take them safely to our meeting point,” he stated, in a firm tone.
Rhiannon’s father nodded, and Kael turned to look at Rhiannon. “Can I convince you to stay here with your grandmother?” he asked, with a slight frown.
“No, you know I won’t stay here,” she replied, with a smile. “But I promise I’ll be careful, and I’ll see you at the waterfall, at dawn.”
He kissed her forehead. “Don’t let them hurt you, please.”
“Hey, it takes more than a disgusting demon to hurt me,” she teased.
He kissed her again. “Just be careful anyway.”
“I will be.”
He nodded. “Now, can you get me a sheet or something for me to make a harness for my passenger?” he asked her with a smile.
After a few experiments, he finally flew away, carrying his passenger hanging from a harness, tied to his shoulders, back, and waist. The man was evidently scared, but he didn’t utter a word. He wanted to help, no matter what.
It took them a few hours to reach the waterfall. They didn’t find any demons near it, so Martin was probably right assuming the demons hadn’t found the entrance.
“This way,” the man guided him through the waterfall. Like he had mentioned, Kael was able to see the stream and the pool.
“How many of these pools are there before we reach the cave’s chamber?”
“If I’m not mistaken, just two. We’ll have to follow the stream for a while though, between the pools.”
“Let’s go, then. Let’s keep as silent as possible. We have no idea how much these demons can hear, so we better not take any chances,” he suggested.
“Right. I’ll touch you if I need to call your attention to something,” Martin agreed.
“Perfect.”
They entered the cold water, and a few minutes later they were swimming underneath the stone wall that divided the pool. The place should have been very dark, but the rocks had some sort of tiny crystals in it that reflected the light creating a special glow that allowed them to see where they were going.
They only had to swim a few seconds underneath the water before they came out on the other side and soon they were following the stream towards the next pool that would lead them into the cave.
“I’ll go alone until we’re sure it’s safe,” he whispered in Martin’s ear. He was sure he was able to hold his breath a lot longer than Martin, and he didn’t want to surface on the other side of the pool until he was sure it was safe.
The other man nodded and took a seat on a rock to wait for Kael’s return.
As silently as possible, he entered the pool and swam across the water and underneath the stone wall through the opening. This one was a bit longer and narrower than the one on the first pool, but it was still quite easy to get to the other side.
As planned, he didn’t surface immediately, not until he was sure he was alone in the chamber. Coming out of the water, he pulled out his scanner and checked the whole area.
According to his scanner, this chamber wasn’t that far from where most of the women were imprisoned. He could also detect a lot of action in a chamber not far from it. Most of the demons were scattered throughout the caves, but there was a massive concentration of them in the chamber where he could detect a lot of action.
He guessed it was some sort of primary room and probably where the demons’ leader spent his time.
Pleased with the information he gathered, he went back to find Martin, and a few minutes later they were back at the empty chamber. They wanted to investigate a bit more before they headed back to the waterfall to wait for the rest of the group.