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She said, “I’m supposed to be an ambassador now. That entitles me to hear news that clearly impacts Ryleigh, given Morgan came directly to our meeting place with his report.”
The general appeared confused by her statement. He asked, “Ambassador?”
“I’ll explain later,” Davian said. “Continue with your update.”
Morgan did as requested. “The renegades have split up and I calculate they’ll be outside village borders within a da
y. Two at the most. The tracks they’re leaving are scattered and intermittent, indicating they’re still vanishing when deemed necessary, to throw us off their trail. But they will finally, fully materialize.” His tone turned gruff as he added, “When they do, I anticipate they’ll have surrounded this entire human settlement.”
Jade’s pulse hitched. “Toran and I can’t defend the village against a hundred and fifty demons.”
Davian nodded at her. “Thank you for acknowledging that.” As though he’d feared she’d be foolish enough to try to battle a rogue army.
Then again… If it was her only choice…
She asked, “What do you want us to do?”
“Stay out of it.” Morgan was the one to respond. “You’re minus a slayer, and even if you wanted to be a stand-in, which I know Davian would never permit, you—”
“I’m more than a stand-in,” she bristled. Tugging on the sleeve of her sweater, she showed him her bracelet. “The king signed the papers last night.”
Morgan’s shocked gaze flashed to Davian.
The king raised a hand. “Again… I’ll explain later. The fact she’s a registered slayer has no bearing on the current state of affairs. This isn’t a fight to include the villagers’ or the slayers’ involvement. It’s between my militia and the fire wraith’s.”
Regardless, her panic ratcheted.
Davian continued, saying to Morgan, “Recall your patrols and have them come upon the perimeter of the village slowly, so as to thwart a retreat by the invaders.”
“Certainly.”
“I’ll assemble another reserve to barricade the border and advance on the renegades, pushing them outward to your army—toward the castle if necessary, but effectively away from Ryleigh. The slayers will stay within town limits. This isn’t their fight,” he repeated as his gaze slid to Jade.
“Hold on,” she interjected in a conspiratorial tone, so her new constituency didn’t hear her, particularly the trepidation in her voice—or the erratic beating of her heart over this most recent imminent peril. “I can’t just agree to you surrounding the village with your forces. You’re talking about two demon armies right outside our borders, encompassing us. No human is going to be accepting of that, including me.”
Davian’s jaw set. “You question my intentions?”
“Of course not.” Though dread mixed with her panic. “But put yourself in our position.”
The word our made his broad shoulders bunch. He clearly heard the humans’ position instead.
She rushed on. “What I’m saying is, you’re caging us within the township.” A sense of claustrophobia seized her, but helplessness turned out to be a greater fear. “Come on, Davian. I can’t tell these people they’ll be the centerpiece in a demon-demon war. I don’t care that your militia is bigger and more powerful. Even I feel threatened by being closed in.”
“You?” he demanded in a voice that held disbelief—and an edge of betrayal. “You would doubt me?”
“It’s not a reasonable scenario. I—”
He turned sharply and stalked off. Jade’s distress increased tenfold. Yet a thought sprang to her mind, and without second-guessing the obscure notion, she said, “Wait. I know how to ensure the villagers’ safety—and bolster their confidence—so you can deploy your forces.”
She returned to the melee in the meeting room. “We’re facing a very precarious situation,” she declared, speaking loud enough to her friends and neighbors that a hush fell over the crowd. “But be assured, the impending danger does not come from the castle above us.”
Curious and confused gazes stared back at her.
Jade said, “The fire wraith that attacked me twice leads a band of demons that are coming this way. The king and his general will do everything possible to keep the renegades from breaching our forest. But they have to create a barrier around our village with their demons in order to do it—in order to protect us.”
Malcolm Carter, the blacksmith, shouted, “It’s a trick!”
This caused an outbreak of unrest from the men and terror-filled shrieks from the women and children.
