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“I don’t know.” She wrung her hands. “There’s no road out of the valley, and I don’t have a teleporting amulet.”
“I do.” I pulled it from my pocket and handed it to her. “But I don’t see how it helps, seeing as how we have to get past the demons to reach the dais. Everywhere else is affected by the block on teleportation.”
“That’s easy. We’ll go around. While they’re trying to break in through the front, we’ll go out the side and circle around to the dais,” she stated, stuffing the talisman into her pocket.
“Sounds dangerous.”
“So is staying here.”
Valid point.
“What about the other witches and the brownies? Shouldn’t we take them with us?”
“They’re already hiding, and we don’t have time to search them out. We can’t allow the demons to eliminate you.”
“You’re talking about sacrificing them.”
“This is the most feasible way to save them. If the demons realize you’re not in the castle, they’ll leave to hunt you.”
Not the most reassuring statement, still… What else could I do?
I heaved in a deep breath. “Lead the way.”
Boom. Another blast rocked the castle as I followed a fleet-footed Mizuki through an archway into a hall that led to a side of the castle I’d not yet seen. The reaper wing proved more utilitarian than the witchy one, with a sitting room with worn couches and chairs and a massive television hanging on a wall. It shouldn’t have surprised me to see gaming consoles strewn by some other screens. A pool table, foosball, and even a pinball machine finished off the very stereotypical male space.
We raced past into a shorter hall that ended in a door that opened to the outside. Mizuki stepped out without hesitation, but I suddenly stopped and trembled. I’d lose my false sense of security once I stepped out from these four walls. But if I stayed, the demons would find me. At least outside I stood a running chance, and if we could make it to the dais, we might very well escape.
If I survived, I really needed to start exercising more because I already knew I’d be a mouth-breathing, huffing mess before we hit the forest.
“Ready?” she asked.
“No. But let’s do it anyhow.” I stepped outside and immediately saw the ring of barren dirt. “How are we getting past the booby traps?”
“Very carefully. There’s actually a thin zigzag we can follow that won’t trigger anything, so follow my steps exactly.”
“Just like Indiana Jones,” I muttered, invoking one of my favorite male heroes. I eyed where her feet landed and ensured mine hit the exact same spot. It took only a few paces to see the line she followed, a subtle zigzag of darker brown that led us across the deadly ring of traps.
Once we cleared it, we ran. We headed for the slope, closer on this side than the front. We saw no demons, but I could hear the explosions in the distance as the demon wizard pummeled their way into the castle.
The sky darkened just as we hit the tree line. The lack of sunlight would mean Mizuki wouldn’t see the demons coming. But I could.
As we ducked into the forest, I almost sighed in relief. At least we were less exposed. Despite the stitch in my side, we didn’t slow down. I trusted Mizuki knew where to go because this city girl was lost the moment we entered the forest.
“Almost there,” Mizuki huffed.
Indeed, I could see the clearing up ahead and the stone dais. Escape was within reach.
So was disaster. As we exited the forest into the open space, Mizuki suddenly halted. “I see fog over there.” She pointed to the forest across from us.
I couldn’t see it, but if she did, it could only mean—
The demon came racing from the other side of the clearing, hunched over to use its hands for extra propulsion. Its mouth leered, the jagged teeth black and yellow, its eyes alight with violence. Guess they could see through the invisibility spell on our jackets.
The hideous creature ululated, a warning clarion that resulted in a reply. The fucker had told the others where to find us.
“We have to get to the stone.” Mizuki withdrew a mini knife from her pocket, and with a flick of her wrist, it expanded to be a full-sized, if slender, sword. She swung it ahead of her as she walked, blind to the demon about to launch itself at her.
She couldn’t die.
