Chapter 37, for revenge

(Kellar)

Kellar balled his fists and kicked the earth, cradling his arm as he stared at the tree line and the smoke rising into the air. Corpses scatter the road, blood and body parts scattered like litter on the streets. His plans so carefully set up had both succeeded and failed horribly. Kellar gagged. The crisp scent of burned flesh filled his nose.

Anger welled in his chest, flooding his being as he stared at all the soldiers he could not save. Dozens lay dead or dying, bathed in the light of the burning wagons as they moaned or cried for help. In what could have only been fifteen minutes, the Darvan war party, and the demon, rushed in, ravaging his forces and retreated.

Kellar's only solace was that he had dealt a heavy blow to the Darvan forces. Over half of the damned monsters lay in pools of blood or smoking, cut into several large chunks. Turning to a nearby soldier that was still on his feet, Kellar order, " Take some soldiers who are able and grant the enemy a quick death."

"Yes, sir," saluted the soldier, his face hardening at the brutal task before him.

Kellar caught movement out of the corner of his eye, so he turned toward the large, bloody, and burned figure approaching.

" Lytheria must bless you herself." said Kellar glancing over her still smoking armour. The woman's armour smoked, blood leaking from several long gashes on her arms, legs and chest plate. Katherine's neck and face were a bright red, as though burned horribly by the sunlight.

Kellar reached into his purse and retrieved a silver coin, tossing it to the woman. Despite her many injuries, the woman deftly caught the coin, putting it in her mostly blackened pocket.

" I told you, you couldn't kick that demon's ass. I should have bet you a gold instead. The damn thing is far craftier than I thought it would be." Said Katherine.

"Over there! That one is still alive!" shouted a distant figure.

He heard a shout as the civilians of the column rushed forward to help the injured. They bandaged the wounded and piled the dead. The soldiers, who could not walk on their own, were loaded into the mostly undamaged wagon. After two weeks of fleeing, the army didn't have the healing supplies necessary to properly treat most of the wounded. Come to think on it, there was only one amongst the human soldiers in the battle who was uninjured.

It was that woman, Carley. If it wasn't for her, then Kellar would be laying in a pool of his own blood with the rest of his fallen soldiers. Kellar winced as he unconsciously clenched his mutilated right fist. His two missing fingers felt like they were burning. Kellar scowled. He couldn't even get a healer mage to reattach the appendages.

" How is your hand" asked Katherine, glancing down at the bloody bandages wrapped tightly around his hand.

"I will live... That little demon bastard ate my fingers. I swear he did that only because I killed that small Darva he was with." Said Kellar, feeling woozy.

" We set the trap, and the demon fell for it. What will we do now?" Asked Carley, striding cautiously over.

She gripped her bloody short sword in one hand, and a metal rimmed buckler in the other. Her hair was messy, clinging to the side of her head from the blood that had sprayed her face. Kellar swallowed. Even drenched in enemy blood and sweat, Carley still made his heart race. She caught him staring and wiped her face with her shirt sleeve, doing nothing but spreading the blood to the rest of her face.

" I don't know, the demon will not be so easy to deceive a second time." Replied Kellar, swaying and reaching his shaky left hand for his water skin. The cool water burned as it slid down his parched throat, making Kellar cough.

" I'm sorry, it's my fault it got away. When it changed its appearance to the form of the white puppy, it caught me off guard." Said Carley, slouching and looking away in shame.

" Yes, it was your fault. If not for your weakness we would have killed the demon." Said Kellar, his words coming out much too harshly. Kellar winced as she blanched, scowling at him.

" It's not my fault the Darvan warrior carried the demon away." Retorted Carley.

"The cost was heavy, but when we get to the city, I am confident we can set a trap for the demon."Said Kellar thinking of the church and its forbidden knowledge.

" How do you know the demon will come? If he is smart, he will stay with the Darvan army." Asked Carley, a frown gracing her face.

" Revenge, the look on the demon's face promised murder." Replied Kellar confidently. To Kellar's shame, he was all too familiar with that look of hatred.

" How will you trap the demon? He has escaped our efforts at least five times already." said Katherine

Kellar shook his head, refusing to say. There was a ritual he knew of in the forbidden library of the church. If he could convince that blasted priest to help him, Kellar could get rid of the demon once and for all.

" Once we reach the city of Wyndham, we will leave the army in the command of General Durlan, and ride to the Capitol. In just a couple days we can Let's just say it might be slightly illegal to use. " Said Kellar vaguely.

"Only slightly?" Asked Katherine, raising one singed eyebrow.

"It's might be a blood ritual." Mumbled Kellar.

" Oh! That is much worse than I thought. Kellar you could be tortured and executed for such a thing." Whisper Katherine in shock.

" If I don't resort to such things we will never catch the demon." Said Kellar, shifting nervously.

" Have you ever used a ritual before? And how do you know the priest will let you look at the restricted section in the church?" Asked Katherine.

"Lord Noah is the consort to the bishop. He owes me a big favor. With his influence, I might get access to the restricted area. And no i have not used a blood ritual before. They can't be as dangerous as they say. Just trust me Katherine, I wouldn't be doing it if I thought there were another way." Reply Kellar turning his remaining focus to the injured and dead.

" I don't like it either, but the demon needs to be stopped." said Carley, staring at the carnage on the roadside.

" Well, it is a good thing you two are coming. I need some meat shields while I create the ritual." said Kellar forcing a pained smile. They moved on to the city, where Kellar hoped General Garlin could crush the Darvan advance.