Rhiannon watched Kael leave with a heavy heart. She didn’t like the idea of him going all alone with Martin. She knew he was eager to face the demons and free Esther. That might lead him to make hasty decisions, and that could be a total disaster.
She stood next to her father as he prepared the groups for the next attack and when all was said and done, people returned to their homes to get some rest and get prepared to leave as soon as the sunset in the horizon.
“I’m going for a walk. There are too many things rushing through my mind, and I know I won’t be able to rest,” Rhiannon told her father when he invited her to return home.
“Are you sure? We’ll be facing a tough battle in a few hours, and we have no idea when it will end,” he warned her, with a concerned frown.
She nodded. “I know, but staying in my room wondering about what’s going on outside will only stress me. A walk through the woods will help me relax, believe me,” she assured him.
“Very well. I’ll wait for you here in a few hours. Don’t be late.”
“I won’t.” She kissed his cheek and walked away.
She wandered through the woods for a while until she decided a cold bath in her favorite corner of the river was exactly what she needed. She used to go there whenever she didn’t have the time to go all the way up to the waterfall. Today was one of those moments. They only had a couple of hours before the sunset, and the last thing she wanted was to be late or for her father to leave without her.
Half an hour later she was jumping into the small pool formed by the river, relishing on the cold water. Few things made her feel better than that. She swam for a while, and she was about to leave the water when she heard a strange noise.
It sounded like a demon’s roar, but it was too early for that, the sun was still high in the sky, and it sounded as if he was alone. They never attacked alone.
Intrigued and a bit worried, she started swimming back to the shore, eager to take cover. She had nothing with her she could use to fight the demon.
Another shriek roared through the skies, this one a lot louder and clearer, letting her know he was getting closer. Desperate, she swam even faster, but she was unable to reach the shore.
She was grabbed by her shoulders, by the demon’s clutches and carried out of the water. Furious, she struggled as much as she could to free herself, but it was impossible. He had her tightly grasped and soon they were so high she would die if he ever let her go.
Thanking heaven she never entered the river completely naked, she hoped her petticoat would be completely dry by the time they arrived at the cave. She would feel a bit less vulnerable if she didn’t look as good as naked, with its wet, thin fabric glued to her skin.
Scolding herself for being so careless, she prayed Kael’s plans worked, or she would be in deep trouble.
The demon’s yowls were deafening, and she wished she could silence him forever.
A few hours later, they arrived at the cave Kael had described. Their arrival was cheered by the demons guarding the entrance, but the beast didn’t pay them much attention. Instead, he flew into the cave and only landed when the cave became too short for him to fly.
He landed her at the feet of two other demons that quickly grabbed her by her arms and dragged her deeper into the cave.
On her way in, saw the many chambers distributed along the pathway they were taking her through. They all looked like some sort of nurseries, and though she couldn’t see what inhabited those chambers, she finally knew why it had been impossible to vanquish the demons. They really bred faster than they could kill them. There were hundreds of what looked like cribs in each chamber.
She considered trying to free herself from the demons’ claws, but there were so many of them all, it would be futile. Even if she succeeded in escaping these two, she would be caught by the ones wandering around. Her only hope of escape resided in Kael and the other warriors. She just hoped she was able to survive until then.
They finally arrived at what looked like the main room and at the furthest wall, sitting on some sort of throne, a demon that appeared to be the ruler. This demon was bigger and stronger than the others, with powerful black horns and long, lethal claws. Unlike the rest of the demons, that didn’t seem more like mindless drones, this demon showed intelligence and cruelty in his red eyes.
A chill of dread ran down her spine, and she scolded herself once more for being so careless.
The demons holding her prisoner dragged her until they were standing in front of their leader.
One of the other demons in the room was mumbling frantically, signaling her, making her suspect he was one of the demons they had allowed to escape the last attack.
The leader was listening to him, with his eyes locked on her.
“Welcome to my humble lair, female,” he finally said, with a scornful tone, surprising her with his knowledge of her language. “My man was telling me you were an active participant in the destruction of men,” he added, this time with an ice-cold tone.
“I’m sure you didn’t expect us not to resist your attacks,” she said, with a mocking tone.
“Why not? You had been, for quite some time,” he pointed out.
“Too much time, if you ask me.”
“What changed? Why ruin such a lovely relationship?” he asked, mocking her and her people’s inaction.
“It had lasted way too long.”
“You can’t defeat me, it’s a waste of time,” he boasted.
“That remains to be seen,” she replied in a firm tone.
He let out a loud laugh. “I’ll have a lot of fun destroying your hopes and dreams, my precious toy,” he said, with a lustful look in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine.
“I’m a woman, not a damn toy,” Rhiannon grumbled.
He laughed again, jumping up from his throne and closing the distance between them. “You’re my toy now,” he assured her, as he tore her petticoat to shreds using his sharp claws, watching it puddle at her feet. It only took him a few moments to get her naked in front of him. “And I’ll have a lot of fun planting my eggs inside your warm womb,” he added, cupping her belly over her womb with his huge hand, slightly squeezing it.
“I rather die,” she spurted, pulling away from his disgusting touch.
“That can be arranged, but not before I have some fun taming you,” he said, clearly amused with her rebellion.
“You’ll regret this,” she threatened him.
“Your race isn’t strong enough to destroy me, so, your threat means nothing to me,” he said, running the tip of one of his claws down her cheek, and lower onto her neck until it reached her nipple, poking it hard enough to make it painful. “Accept your fate, it will be better for you,” he concluded, returning to his throne, barking a few orders to his men, his attention already turned into what another demon was telling him.
She had been forgotten, at least, for the moment. The demons holding her dragged her back to the hallway, and after a few moments walking deeper into the cave, they finally reached an iron door. It was the first door she had seen in the place, and the meaning of it wasn’t very reinsuring. He knew she would try to escape.
One of the demons opened the heavy door, and the other one pushed her inside, locking the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath, she looked around her, realizing the door was the only way out. They had locked her up in a small chamber, with only a dirty mattress on the ground and a torch lighting the area.
She would have been able to use the torch to fight the demons if it hadn’t been placed too high for her to reach. She had no way out.