Lesser Prince (Guardians of Gaeland Book 1)

by Jamie McFarlane

“So what was all that talk about the castle providing protection? Do you have any idea?” Amber asked.

  “No idea. I don’t think it matters though. It's just an empty old castle.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  ***

  Amber woke again with a start. This time it was Tig bending over her with his finger to his lips. “There's something out there. I can hear it,” he whispered in her ear. The movement had woken Filbert, whose ears dropped back. Tig worried that Filbert would give them away but clearly the little dragon sensed trouble.

  Tig moved over to wake Sam. The three of them pulled on their boots and cloaks, pushing their daggers into their belts. A voice from outside the tent called, “Are you going to hide in your tent all night?” The voice was similar to the demon that Amber had defeated two nights previously.

  Tig grabbed the oaken staff, imagining just how silly the gesture was. He had barely grazed the last one. He cringed as he remembered the fight. “Stay together,” he said quietly as he slowly exited the tent. Amber and Sam followed, daggers drawn.

  “Oh, there you are. I thought I was going to have to come in and get you,” the demon chided. Tig couldn't determine where it was.

  “Show yourself, unless you're afraid.” Tig tried a different approach. Unfortunately, he was shocked to see that instead of the demon they’d run into the previous night, there were two of them as well as a worg. The two demons were nearly identical save that one had a wide red stripe painted around its right bicep.

  “You gave us a workout, my little friends, covering the trail as you did. But nothing can hide from us for too long. Our little beastie here has quite the nose for tender little ones. And I believe Graemlzi has a score to settle with you. I had to step on his head to remove that little elf toothpick.”

  In his peripheral vision, Tig caught the sight of Filbert streaking out of the tent. He was glad Filbert chose to flee, this was unlikely to turn out very well. He ignored other movement behind him, focusing instead at the approaching demons.

  “Plento Trunda!”

  Tig felt and saw a watermelon sized ball of flame scorch past him and watched in astonishment as it exploded on the ground in front of the demons. Sam’s work, he surmised. Their reactions were instantaneous. Before the flaming ball had even made contact with the ground, the demons had jumped well clear of it.

  Before Tig had a chance to react, he felt the grasp of a hand and the familiar pull of Sam’s wind-walk. He was being pulled hard to the side, accelerating down the hill and into the forest.

  Tig instinctively looked back to where the demons had been. They had recovered and were already in pursuit. Instead of flying single file after them, however, they spread out and gained elevation. The chase was on.

  Sam dodged and weaved through the trees, using the vegetation to his advantage. He had succeeded in dragging one demon way off to the side and then lost him as they shifted directions, adding small but valuable space between them. Sam had lost track of the other demon. He hoped it was trailing behind. He pushed on, trying to extend the advantage of distance.

  It struck him that these small gains were being given to him by his pursuers. He sensed that instead of gaining an advantage, he might be getting herded. He tested his theory by pushing out of his expected path, allowing the trailing demons to gain a small bit of ground. They came up quickly, forcing him to turn back to his original bearing. His heart sank, they were being directed.

  Sam caught movement from above as something streaked down. The red banded demon flew almost straight down on their position. Contact would occur in mere seconds.

  He’d picked up on their plan too late. His only chance lay in a miscalculation on their part. Sam was already moving as quickly as he could. He braced for the impact, wondering what a demon would do to them.

  Impact was imminent. He closed his eyes and bore down, trying to coax more speed and felt nothing. That must be it. The demon had destroyed them and the pain had just not caught up. The familiar sense of the wind and trees passing through and around him convinced him that this indeed had not occurred.

  After a second or so, he re-opened his eyes and looked behind him. One of the pursuing demons was still giving chase, but the red banded demon lay sprawled out on the forest floor, stunned. He couldn’t imagine what had occurred.

  ***

  Amber had a perfect view of what was about to happen. Just like driving livestock, these demons had driven Sam. The pursuing demon had worked them around so that its red-banded companion had a clear shot. She realized Sam had no idea what was happening and tried to communicate with him, but to no avail. Communication was difficult while they traveled under the wind-walk spell and Sam’s attention was elsewhere.

  The red-banded demon tucked its wings close to its body, claws stretched out in front, and homed in on them. She recognized what a perfect killing machine the demons really were. All wing, claw, muscle, and hate. They were terrifying and evil. Hope was lost.

  From the corner of her eye she caught the blur of a small round blue ball hurtling toward them. When the demon was no more than a foot from reaching Sam, the little blue ball impacted with the demon’s head, bending it at an impossible angle. The demon dropped like a stone.

  Filbert bounced off the demon and rolled onto the path, his feet splayed out from his sides. He jumped to his feet, pumped his silly little wings a few times and disappeared from sight.

  The demon crashed to the ground and its limp body bounced and rolled spastically, arms and legs throwing snow and turf into the air. It continued careening through the forest, smashing into trees and boulders alike. Finally, the demon’s body came to rest, its limbs twisted grotesquely.

  "One down," Amber thought.

  ***

  The odds had increased in their favor, but only by the slightest of margins. The advantage might not last long. Unbelievably, the twisted demon started moving before fading from Sam's sight.

  It was time for Plan B. Sam had intentionally plotted their path to take them close to Parnassus Castle. Tempra had suggested there might be respite there if they ran into trouble. He wasn’t sure how close they were, but he could feel a body of water nearby and knew the castle sat next to a lake. The real question was, who was at the castle, and how would they feel about helping with a demon problem?

  Their pursuer seemed satisfied to merely follow the fleeing party and no longer attempted to direct their travel. It was an odd sort of stalemate and Sam knew he'd eventually have to stop. Hopefully, this time they wouldn’t have a net tossed over them.

  When the lake finally came into view, he could feel the moisture in the air and the change in the breezes. He hadn’t realized how much a body of water affected its surroundings.

  Just like back home, Castle Parnassus was surrounded by a great stone wall. Unfortunately, in this case, there was no open gate and no evidence of elves who might defend them. He thought about his options and realized that he couldn’t fly up and over the walls. They’d made it this close, but if he couldn’t find a way in, they wouldn't be getting any help from the castle.

  He guided the party to the wall, their pursuer having fallen back a few hundred yards. He needed to find an entrance. Maybe it was like holy ground to zombies in the movies, maybe the demons would vaporize when they entered the grounds.

  The only thing Sam could think to do was circle the property and hope for a way in. He pulled Tig and Amber around toward the lake. As he approached the corner of the property, Sam sensed water in his path. The wind-walk worked just fine over water, so he turned the corner and continued. Water lapped against this side of the wall, their wake disturbing the calm surface. Finally, about halfway along the wall, Sam found a way in.

  Unlike the gate at Helicon in West Virginia, this entrance was a deep alcove that extended back into the castle’s wall. Sam knew right away this was what he’d been looking for because the cavernous area just screamed ‘defensible.’ The space was roughly the size of a small
home. Every surface was smooth stone block or icy black water. The ceiling was peaked and dropping from the center was a beautiful bronze chandelier. The stone walls were solid and flat except for rows of unlit bronze sconces that sat high above the surface of the lake. Wide stone treads spanned the entire rear wall, rising up out of the lapping water to allow boats a dry landing. Two massive wooden doors with iron strapping stood closed at the back, forbidding entry.

  Sam released the wind-walk spell as soon as he hit the first dry step. “Open the gate!” Sam yelled to Tig.

  Tig ran over to the twin doors that provided entrance to the castle grounds and pushed at them with all he had. “I can’t. They’re locked!” He frantically hammered his balled fists at the doors, trying to find a weakness or alert anyone who might be inside. Behind him somewhere, Tig heard what he’d been expecting; a scrape of claws on the stone floor and the sound of wings against the air. He didn’t turn, but continued his frantic inspection.

  “Too bad,” a sarcastic voice chided. “Did someone forget the key?” Impossible! It was their red-banded foe.

  Amber and Sam backed up next to Tig with daggers drawn. Amber whispered frantically, “Do you see a key?”

  Tig whispered back hoarsely, “No, I don’t see a key hole either.”

  Standing akimbo and grinning with malice, the demon’s low voice reverberated menacingly in the alcove. “Your Faerie Dragon won’t save you this time. But, I do give credit where it’s due. In all my years, I would never have imagined such an attack felling me. What has this world come to? I have become complacent, I fear.” It sounded almost sincere.

  “To honor your accomplishment, we’ll eat you one at a time so the rest of you can enjoy the experience with us,” the other demon snickered as it landed on the steps.

  Understanding hit Sam and he turned to Tig who was still frantically trying to find a way through the massive gates. He exclaimed to Tig, “You are the key. Ask it! Now!”

  “Noooo!” the demon who’d been talking, screamed. His mighty wings instantly unfolded and his claws dug in to the stone floor, propelling him forward toward Tig.

  Tig uttered, “Please open.” The demon collided with Tig, smashing him into the door that was slowly opening.

  A Suitable Defense

  Tig heard the scream echo off the walls as the door jerked and started to give way. Its speed was so achingly slow that Tig almost screamed back in frustration. Instead, knowing impact was imminent, he turned to the side, slouched down and brought his arms up to protect his head. He heard the sound of the demon’s claws sink into the mighty timbers of the door above his head and then felt its knees slam into his side. Wood splinters showered down on him and once again the demon howled, although this time in pain.

  A moment later, the other demon charged toward Sam and Amber. Amber was no longer surprised when the world slowed around her. The demon’s attack arrested, she had plenty of time to duck beneath its slashing claws and push her dagger up into its exposed underbelly. The dagger felt like it weighed five times what it normally would, but found its target just the same.

  The demon’s eyes lit with a humorous twinkle. Surely, this tiny child couldn’t hope to defend herself against his power? Its attitude didn’t change even after Amber’s form blurred and it felt the prick of her knife. She’d gotten a lucky strike, but this demon had fought faster opponents many times before. It shifted directions in an instant, performing a barrel roll over the top of Amber’s head and away from the gate. She didn’t see the demon as it circled back to slam her body, propelling her through the barely open doors and rolling with her into the courtyard beyond. Amber hadn’t had time to move herself out of the path of the demon and then found she couldn’t escape the tangle they’d become. Her head struck the door on the way through and her world turned black as she sank into unconsciousness.

  Sam hadn’t seen the second demon charge. He’d turned to see Tig getting crushed into the door and hoped to find an opening to use his dagger. Beside him, he felt Amber careen through the door. He was stunned, everything was happening too fast.

  Once again a small blue ball came hurtling down toward the party, only this time the demon’s reflexes were too fast. It must have caught a glimpse of Filbert and shifted slightly, momentarily forgoing its attack on Tig to move out of the little dragon’s way. Filbert flew past the doorway and found himself skidding up a snowy hill leading from the gate to the castle.

  Tig yelled frantically, “Sam, where’s the help?”

  Sam saw his advantage. He followed the demon and Amber through the door and lunged, thrusting his dagger into its thigh. The demon bellowed in pain, its great wings pulling it back toward the gate. Sam turned to Amber, her limp body lying in the snow.

  Tig used Filbert’s distraction to his advantage. “Plento Swanum,” he screamed and the gust of wind pushed the demon back. Tig held his dagger in front of him and sidestepped to position himself between Sam and Amber and the two demons.

  The bellowing stopped as the demon that had attacked Amber finally extricated the dagger from its thigh. Dark blood oozed over its knee, dripping on the ground. Tig recognized the smell.

  Tig glanced at the castle, just up the hill only forty yards away. They'd gotten so close, but there was no way they'd get there. The demons were between them and the entrance. He searched the castle, hoping for a sign of life. Nothing moved and it appeared to be abandoned. The demon was saying something, but Tig blocked it out.

  One of the castle’s more prominent features was the various sculpted beasts woven into the architectural design. The figures were easy to overlook if you just gave the building a cursory look, but right now they drew Tig’s attention. Realization struck as the eyes of one of the lion-shaped sentries that stood on either side of the entryway winked at him.

  The demons were advancing again, in no particular hurry. Quietly, as if to himself, he returned the stony stare of the sentry and pled, “Help us, please.”

  Without hesitation, the two massive felines roared as they pulled away from their foundations, a thin layer of stone and decades of dust exploding from their bodies. In tandem, they shook their great heads with mouths open, directing their ferocious roar toward Tig and the demons. Great stone muscles rippled as they sprung forward, mighty claws digging into the frozen soil.

  The entire façade of the castle came alive. Objects of every size started to move. Even the carved stone birds responded to his plea as they peeled away from the castle and dove toward the ground, gaining speed.

  Twin gargoyles that had been kneeling on the roof, jumped from atop their perches, bellowing disapproval, great stone swords now held over their heads as they hurtled toward the earth. An army of gnomes of various sizes and colors, but none taller than a tea pot, slid down the balustrades and raced through the grass, chattering like squirrels.

  The demons had been too focused on their attack to catch the initial awakening, but the roars and explosions froze them in their tracks. They looked up to see the graceful granite lions loping toward them and the horizon alive with movement. Tig felt the ground tremble at the impact of the massive gargoyles landing on the frozen ground and running to join the battle with swords raised.

  A volley of needle-sized arrows flew through the air. Tig traced those back to a line of gnomes standing atop the hill, reloading spoon-sized longbows. He grinned at their bravado. They were grim-faced and determined, one of them having taken up command, directing the campaign with military efficiency.

  The demons were quick to recognize the change in advantage and forgot about Tig and Sam. They catapulted into the air with great leaps, leathery wings straining against the air to provide as much lift as possible. Retreating, it looked as if their intent was to fly up over the stone wall instead of bothering with the gate.

  A stone bird dive-bombed one of the demons. The bird’s wings were folded back into its body, shaping it into a missile. The demon howled upon impact but deflected the bird, which then crashed into the
stone wall, shattering like pottery.

  The great stone lions finally reached Tig, Sam and Amber, but instead of chasing the demons, they stopped, taking a defensive position flanking the kids. The gargoyles followed closely behind, the ground shaking as they ran. Made completely of stone, their faces were impassive as they pursued the demons, eyes unblinking, focus unswerving.

  The demons dodged most of the diving birds, but took numerous hits from gnome arrows which were so small they were hard to see. So far, they had fended off the attack with only superficial wounds. Their unbelievable agility and rapid retreat had served them well. The relentless attacks were interrupting flight, but the demons had no doubt they would prevail against the animals sacrificing themselves to the fight.

  They finally reached the top of the wall at the same time the lead gargoyle reached the bottom. The gargoyles launched themselves up onto the rampart, leaving deep ruts in the ground.

  The red-banded demon cleared the wall and flew out over the lake. The other, only a half-step behind, found that the massive gargoyle had clamped one great hand around its trailing leg. The demon’s flight abruptly stopped as the gargoyle gave no ground. The demon spun around, claws extended, ready to tear into its attacker. The great stone sword wielded by the second gargoyle cleaved the demon in two, sending its torso tumbling down into the icy waters of the lake.

  Neither the gargoyles nor the birds continued to give chase. The gargoyles hunched down on the outer edge of the rampart, staring off in the direction the remaining demon had last been seen.

  Amber’s eyes fluttered open as Tig pulled her limbs around to help make her more comfortable. “What’s going on?” she asked weakly, her eyes resting on the stone lions. “Did that statue just move?”

  Gnome Again

  “I thought we were goners!” Sam exclaimed, ignoring Amber’s confusion. “Can you believe the size of those things?”