Ileus: The Dark Prince

As Haldir and Ileus walked in the demon's lair, Haldir covered his nose with his hands. The rotten stench of decay was strong. "How do they live amongst themselves?" he whispered only to earn an elbow in his chest from Ileus.

The two were walking closely, avoiding every pit of fire over which pots of stews were warming. The tents were mostly tattered and they used fallen logs and stumps to sit. Some demons were chiseling wood from the tip of the arrows or javelins while some were sharpening daggers against stones. It looked like a crude battle camp rather than an organized one. There were no horses to carry food or tent lodging supplies. When Ileus looked closely at the tents, they appeared to be made of loosely stitched hide. The whole place looked like it was working on meager money.

Two demons were talking amongst themselves. "It's been the entire day since I have seen Br'nt, Lar'ken and Jor'na. They left this afternoon and haven't returned."

The other one shrugged. He replied with irritation lacing his voice. "They were supposed to go and hunt meat for us, but they must have gone loitering around in the poppy fields. I had to go and hunt three deer for all of us!"

Were they talking about those he had killed already?

"Let them come back. I will ask Ur'ham to teach them a fine lesson!" grunted the first one.

They rounded a few battered tents, avoiding a demon who suddenly started sniffing the air as if he caught foreign smell. He was chipping an arrow and narrowed his eyes as he stilled.

Ileus and Haldir didn't stop. They continued to move as fast as possible and as quietly as they could. All at once, the demon threw the arrow in their direction. Ileus was ready. At first, he thought he would catch it, but he ducked, taking Haldir with him and the arrow whooshed past above them. Twigs beneath them crunched and a stray pitcher rolled away. The demon got up, his wings flared up and yellow eyes wide. His muscles bulged as he peeled his lips from his fangs and hissed, "Who is there?"

Afraid that this sudden flare would catch the attention of other demons, Ileus whispered a spell on the demon, "Creenn demoh." The demon slumped back on the stump he was sitting and closed his eyes. Ileus could see how much he was fighting the spell, but he couldn't. Soon, the demon lolled on the ground and started snoring. Ileus brushed his hands to remove all the grass and they moved ahead. The tent of the leader was in the last. It was secluded from the rest, which was odd.

The battered sides were fluttering. An earthen oil lamp burnt on the side. The leader, a large winged demon, was lying on a pallet, his arm thrown over his forehead.

The yellow slits of his eyes narrowed the moment he sniffed foreign scents and he jumped up to sit and scan his surroundings. Before he could get up, shadow and smoke burst in front of him and Ileus appeared in front of him.

"What the—" the demon lunged at him, his wings stretched out, but Ileus hurled his hand towards him. A powerful ripple of air slammed against the demon's chest sending him on the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. Ileus kept his spell in work, though it was taking too much of his energy.

"Who sent you?" Haldir hissed, as he came to stand beside him. "What is your name? And what is your mission?"

The demon scowled. "Prince Ileus and his dog, Haldir. You both have done a great favor to me by entering this place on your own. You will not be able to leave it though."

Ileus's golden gaze fell on the demon's wings. "From where I can see, you are at a terrible disadvantage." He heard rustling around them. He knew that others must have caught the whiff of the action. "So, answer Haldir and I will leave you."

"I will answer Haldir, but I won't leave you," he said and let out a deep throaty laughter.

Ileus tilted his head. "I don't know what to say. You are indeed very foolish. Is that how you have intimidated people around you?"

The smile on the demon's face vanished. "My name is Ur'ham."

Ileus stepped closer to him. "So, Ur'ham, from what I can see, you do not hold allegiance to Kar'den."

"Kar'den has sent us!" Ur'ham growled. "And he wants you dead! And he also wants Rolfe dead. Then that pretty little sister of yours is going to die with her mate!"

Ileus raised an eyebrow. "I am yet to see a more pathetic, sloppy threat," he said as if hovered in the air. Ileus could hear the growls and snarls and howls of his men. A 23:47

dismissing him. He heard growls and flapping of wings. The other demons were approaching near the tent. They must have sensed that something was wrong.

"Then be prepared to die, wizard!" Ur'ham shouted. "My men are coming to kill you! I know that you can't, you wouldn't harm us with your swords or daggers." Heavy footfalls of other demons sounded outside the tent. Ur'ham grinned. "And here comes your death."

"No, you are wrong," Ileus remarked with a poker face. "Because here comes death for all of you." He looked at Haldir and said, "Now!"

Haldir threw his hand in the air at the back of the tent. A white beam ripped the hide and formed a circle in the air with great speed. The circle buzzed and soon it grew larger. It was a portal. The Mozia and werewolves started pouring out of it and hovered in the air. Ileus could hear the growls and snarls and howls of his men. A large, furry brown wolf entered the tent and stood beside him. With his jaw opened big, the wolf stared at Ur'ham.

'Did he say anything?' asked Kaizan mentally to Ileus.

'No.'

When Ileus had sent Kaizan to gather the Mozias and werewolves, he had told him to keep his mind link open. And this was the reason. The Mozias and the werewolves outnumbered the demons. Ileus had instructed the Mozias to use their spells to burn the demons and not stab them.

As his men fought with the demons outside, Ileus growled. "Ur'ham, now listen to me. I know that Kar'den hasn't sent you. I give him more credit than this sloppy attack. You are a fucking rogue who decided to use Kar'den's name to attack us. Well, you did a big mistake. You shouldn't have used Kar'den's name. I am going to make sure that all your men out here get scorched to death, but I will not kill you. Reason? Kar'den will come after you. If my assessment about would have gone wrong, I would have marched my armies to Zor'gan. And then you would have taken advantage of the situation and probably done more damage that you could. As for Iona and Rolfe, did you fucking know that entering Galahar without permission is like a death warrant? Rolfe is a powerful demon. His magic spread in every nook and corner of Galahar. Not an insect can flap its wings without his permission!"