We rode along the river all the way to the borders of Torolf, but there had been no sign of any plagued.
The air was strange though, heavy almost.
I expected to see storm clouds on the horizon, but the sky was clear and bright blue.
“You sure we’re in the right place?” Craig asked Tristan.
“They said near hear.” His eyes flared gold as he sniffed the air and growled. “Something’s been here… this way.”
He dismounted and slunk into the trees, his three guards quick to follow, leaving Craig and I to catch up.
We stayed low, as the scent of burning hit my nose suddenly.
I bit back a curse, and ahead of me, I heard Craig mutter.
There were definitely plagued here. The question was, how many.
We crept deeper into the trees until Tristan held up his hand stopping us. Voices sounded close by, and we crawled through the underbrush to the edge of a hill, covered by bushes, and stared down at the makeshift camp.
There were tents for at least thirty or forty, but I only counted six plagued demons. They were talking quietly amongst each other.
No sign of Cassius was there, but my ears perked up when someone said, “Allis.”
Craig nudged my arm and pointed. Tracks led out of the camp, headed east.
East toward the castle where Kate was.
I couldn’t tell how old the tracks were. We needed to know when they left and how many, but before I could even ask Tristan if we should attack, he let out a fierce howl, and I watched as his massive, black wolf ripped through his clothes and took off down the slope.
His guards followed close behind, their howls joining with their king’s. Craig charged in next, and I dove straight for one of the plagued trying to escape the camp. I grappled with him, hitting him in the face with the hilt of my dagger before I spun him around and wrapped an arm around his throat to hold him. We needed at least one alive, and from the way Tristan and his guards were attacking, and Craig had already decapitated one, this one would do.
When the fight was over, Tristan and his guards shifted back, hurrying toward me and my prisoner. “How many are you?” he demanded with a growl.
The plagued in my grip shook his head, but I dug the tip of my dagger into his neck.
“Answer, now, or your death will be nice and slow,” I warned.
“Forty,” he muttered. “And Allis.”
“Why so few?” Tristan asked. “Answer me!”
“They want her back!” he yelled. “They came for the Vindicar.”
“Why?” I asked as panic filled me that just wasn’t my own.
He gulped, but I dug the dagger in deeper, drawing blood.
“To kill her! Cassius wants her back, so he can kill her in front of you! Make you all suffer!”
I wasn’t sure if it was my anger, or Craig’s that made me plunge that dagger the rest of the way into the plagued demon’s throat.
He sputtered as I let him fall to the ground dead. Kate was in trouble.
The tracks leaving the camp weren’t very fresh, and we were an hour away, if not more.
None of us said a word as we sprinted back through the trees to our horses, praying we’d get there in time.