Chapter 11: Two day countdown to the Demons Dance.

Lena flew over the carnage left by the strange rock creatures. She couldn't see the boy anywhere, so she flew down the road that the strangers had come into the woods on. She figured that the boy was probably trying to get back home. Of course she knew that the chances of him making it to his home were slim even with normal conditions within their world. However it would be impossible when the demons came. Humans no longer believed in demons. They had short lifespans and as such they believed that the stories of demons were nothing more than to frighten them into behaving.

It had been almost a thousand years since the last invasion. In two days time, the hoards would once again feast on the blood of countless races. Lena shivered as she remembered the last battle she had with the demons. This made her more determined to save the boy. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him riding down the road. She flew ahead of him a ways, shifted into her humanoid form and waited on the road for either the horse or the boy to see her. She was betting the horse would smell her well before it saw her.

Jacob was tired and scared. Thankfully, riding without a saddle in the dark was taking most of his concentration. He figured the horse started slowing down because the road was not in the best condition and it did not want to harm itself. When the horse stopped completely and refused to move any further, Jacob was about to climb down when a woman's voice reached his ears. 

" I understand your fear young man, however I suggest staying within the safety of the forest for at least a month's time."

Jacob tensed on the horse and tried to find the source of the voice. It was the darkest night that he had ever seen in his short life. He was beginning to think his eyes had been permanently damaged from the mages spell. While he was trying to find the person speaking, the horse started making typical horse noises and stomped a hoof. He heard another horse answer his, which came from in front of him. He just sighed and was about to ask questions when he was suddenly attacked by vines and pinned to the back of the horse he was riding.

" I apologize for my rudeness, however I just don't have the time to answer the questions on your mind. I will allow you to strike me later, if you still desire too." After stating her peace, Lena grabbed the horses reins and led it through the forest. As for Jacob, he cursed his inability to stop himself from being kidnapped a second time. ' I was just freed and now I am a bloody prisoner again.' He brooded until sleep claimed him.

Palace 

King Leo was looking at a map of his kingdom. For over a year he had been secretly moving people from small villages into the closest fortifications near their villages. He knew the lords would figure out something was going on sooner or later and today one had actually brought up an abandoned village.  The lord was of course blaming the barbarians at their southern borders for his decreased tithe to the kingdom. 

Leo had said nothing during the debates of the lords, he wasn't like the rest of the race. He knew the demons were coming and when. He had actually planned on moving his family to a safer location within the mountain ranges of the dwarven lands, however he could not do that right now because someone within his courts had ruined his reputation among the dwarven kingdom. 

He had moved the armies to protect the fortifications around the kingdom and also made sure there were plenty of resources to keep the people alive for the duration of the demon attack. They only had to hold out a month. After that, the demons would be gone. The lords and ladies of the court were all fools as far as Leo was concerned. How many of their cities could hold of the hoards? Of course he had tried to warn them and had been mocked for it. 

They thought he was mad and perhaps in some ways he was. He was still in this bloody palace with his family. He was still trying to save as many lives as he could despite the mocking voices of the court. As for the mess with the dwarves, well he had finally tracked down where the dwarven families were hidden. The only question in his mind was whether he could get out before the attack of the demons. The dwarves within his lands were all in the capital city right now. He could just tell them and have them handle it, however would they have the time?  

King Leo grumbled to himself. Things had been much easier when he was a child living in the dwarven mountains. He often missed the simplicity of dwarven culture. You always knew where you stood with a dwarf. Was it sad that he hated his so-called court? They liked to pretend they know and understand everything in the world as well as pretend that they were the masters of it all. It reminded him of peacocks proudly flaunting their feathers while a tiger was ready to gobble them up. 

He hit his fist on the table and cursed. Why was he wasting time thinking thoughts that would not help him? " Call all the dwarves here. It is time to save their families."

" As you wish my lord." A servant bowed and went to complete the task. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the kingdom, another man laughed into his mirror within his mansion. The king and his family were lucky to survive the attack on the palace, however will he be able to survive the dwarves who were preparing to attack the kingdom. He had planned it well. The king would fall in the coming battle with the dwarves. As for the queen and the children, well he had great plans for all of them. Soon it will all be his. He gave no thought about the demons that the king once spoke of.