Ileus strained his ears to listen to the familiar sound of growls or howls, but to his utter shock, he heard heavy footfalls of… hooves. He gathered his spears and ran twenty yards away from Kaizan to sit at the corner of the thick parapet. Through the crenelle, he watched the movement as he strained his ears further to hear the sound. There were horses out there. 

Icy chills of dread made the hair at the back of his neck rise and it skittered down his spine. He lifted his head to look towards Kaizan and knew that even he was feeling the same. 

'Do you want me to go and find out?' Kaizan asked mentally as he tried to pierce his vision through the dense fog. 

'No stay here,' Ileus replied. He couldn't help feeling terrible. His wife Anastasia was lying on a fur pelt in the room beneath, sleeping peacefully… finally. And here out of nowhere, trouble found him again. Was there not a moment of peace in his life? He prayed to all the deities and his ancestors for a boring day in his life. He badly needed boredom. 

His chest rose and fell heavily with every breath. He swallowed his saliva down and followed Kaizan's gaze. The clomp of hooves was very near and as he stared, all of a sudden five horsemen emerged from the fog. They ran towards the fortress and came to a stop, drawing their swords. The dread seeped into his bones as shock blasted through him. Against the faded shadows of the evening, these men looked deadly and they had… horns. 

Demons. 

Walking nightmares in flesh.

These were what Anastasia was talking about in the battle. She had pointed out to Etaya that she was the reincarnation of Etayalar Aramaer. And somehow Ileus knew that these five demons were the same that Anastasia mentioned.

Shock overwhelmed his senses as bile rose in his throat. His wife was sleeping in the room, oblivious of what was happening on the outside… and he… he intended to keep the situation in the same way, even if it meant that he would have to give up his life. At this moment he couldn't help feeling miserable. 

'Gods!' Kaizan stifled a gasp. 'Are these from Galahar?' 

Ileus didn't reply. They were from Galahar. 

A flash of lightning bolted across the skies, filling the entire place with white light. Even though the rain was pounding over the stone of the roof, the jungle around them had become deathly quiet. Ileus held a spear in one hand and sword in the other and crept to the nearest crenelle to get a better view of the demons. Their horns, which were curled behind their heads, straightened up, as if in defense. Suddenly, the Ileus thought that the fire inside the room where Anastasia was sleeping would be like a beacon to them. His insides roiled as he let out a shaky breath. 

Silence became deeper as he waited, drenched to his skin. He angled his spear and sword in an attacking position. 'When I say, you attack, okay?' he communicated to Kaizan. 

Kaizan nodded and also crept to the nearest crenelle for a better position. The demons were lurking out there, watching the fortress intensely.

'The demons are in collusion with you,' Anastasia had said. The Galahar army wanted Anastasia and Adrianna dead in order to rule the Lore. Ileus had never thought that he would ever come to see them. He had to kill all of them until the threat looming over his wife cleared. These demons were like walking nightmares. 

Silence was interrupted by the thunder that growled above them ominously. 

Suddenly one of the riders darted towards the fortress meandering his way through the trees over moss covered earth. But the slope was too steep and the rider was doing everything possible so that his horse didn't slip. The snow and leaves and twigs crunched beneath as the horse ran faster and faster, desperate to find a flatter ground to stop. Ileus had to take advantage of the situation. He was sure that the rider had seen the room that was glowing in this darkness, where his wife was sleeping. 

'Now!' he almost shouted through their mental link. 

Kaizan cocked his elbow back and threw the spear towards the rider. He fell to the ground with a roar as the spear caught in his chest. Before Ileus could throw his spear, arrows flew in their direction. 

"Fuck!" he grated. They had to crouch and hide behind the parapet. Many landed on the roof. Ileus took one of them and was surprised at the way they were crafted. They had double jagged iron tips, which if lodged in the body, would not come out without pulling a decent amount of flesh from the body. 

When the arrows stopped, Ileus stood up and sent three spears in the direction of the demons. He was so fast that before another volley of arrows, he was already ducking down in his place. He knew that he was out of time. He looked at Kaizan and smiled. A smile that didn't reach his eyes. Kaizan's throat choked. 'It is going to be okay.' 

'I know,' he replied, even though he knew that it was only going to get worse. 

'Let me go to deal with them, Ileus. And while I tackle them, take Anastasia out of here. They cannot have Anastasia. If they catch hold of her, I know what they will do to her.' An arrow shot through the air. It grazed his shoulder as it landed on the cracked stones. He stifled an agonizing pain as he pressed his hand over the wound in his flesh. 

'No Kaizan,' Ileus replied. He couldn't throw his friend into death while he escaped. 'I will get all of us out of here.' 

A knot formed in Kaizan's stomach. 'This is going to get dangerous. We don't know how many  are there. You have to—' 

'No!' he retorted. 'There is no other option.' 

'Sometimes you are too stubborn for your own good, Aly!' Kaizan snapped. 'Anastasia's baby matters. Please listen to me and get out of here, while I trick these bastards into thinking that they are facing a large number of people!' 

'There is no argument over this. We are in a better position than them. Let us together fight them and then escape at the right opportunity,' Ileus replied mulishly. Then after a moment he added, 'I am sorry—about not protecting you and Anastasia.' He closed his eyes and all he could think of was Anastasia. He sent a tendril of thought to her, 'I love you… more than I can bear… You are my everything. You are the reason why this earth turns on its axis. You are what roses are composed of. Gods help me, but I can't live with you. I need you too much… I just need you… If I don't live, you have to… you have to give birth to our baby…' 

Ileus took a deep breath and then after giving a knowing glance to Kaizan, he raced down to the entrance of the fortress to pull the portcullis down even though it was rusted and jammed. 

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