The three of us followed the tunnel back up to the cellar. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed while we were underground but it felt like we’d been gone a long time. We reached the ground floor to find daylight shining through the windows. Judging by intensity of the light, only one of the suns was up. Which meant it was around dawn or an hour or two later.

I sighed. Our time below had been exhausting enough, now we had to do battle with Lord Sarinknell? I was going to be pissed if I didn’t get a long rest once this was all over. Surely I deserved one. I wonder if I could get paid leave. Or, y’know, paid at all. That’d be nice. Did subjects get paid in the feudal system? I wasn’t sure. And that was assuming there was a system like that there.

As we crept through the halls, Tagath bringing up the rear, we heard the sound of battle from outside. Who was fighting outside? Had the Tertiums already come this far? I turned to Elmidath to ask what we should be but she looked as lost as I felt. There probably weren’t many decisions to be made at this stage anyway, not until we had a better idea of what was happening.

I told the other two to wait and peered out the window. Armoured Primis soldiers fought against the bestial Tertiums. I recognised several of Lord Sarinknell’s troops but they were supported by others I’d never seen before. The Primis refused to give ground but their formation was collapsing in the face of the Tertiums’ superior size and numbers.

A Primis soldier dropped, a javelin protruding from their chest. A weapon? None of the Tertiums I’d seen used weapons. Looking beyond the score or so of invaders I saw a pair of more humanoid figures. One held a bundle of the long javelins while the other was raising one of the weapons to throw.

Were they the ones leading the Tertiums? They didn’t seem to be giving orders, but it was possible they were controlling them telepathically. Despite his men being cut down, I saw no sign of Lord Sarinknell. Had he already fled? It looked like only a matter of time before his forces were overrun. In a way that was good for us, but I doubted the Tertiums being the enemy of our enemy would earn us any mercy from them. If Lord Sarinknell didn’t show himself soon, he was either fleeing or already one of the casualties.

Seeing no immediate threats to us, I brought Elmidath over to get her opinion. Her eyes darted across the battlefield as she took it all in. Once she’d gotten an idea of the situation she moved away from the window. “I think we should hunt down my uncle. I’m sure he’s still here.”

“What about the Tertiums?”

“We can deal with them later, this is probably the best opportunity we’re ever going to get. We can’t afford to waste it.”

That didn’t do much to sell me on the idea of sabotaging our defences during a battle, but she was probably right that this would be our best opportunity. “Fine. Any idea where he might be?”

“Probably somewhere on the upper levels. There’s no need for him to go out to meet the Tertiums personally. If I know him, he’s likely preparing something to turn the tides of the battle.”

I glanced back out the window. Whatever he was planning on doing, he’d have to do it soon. The Primis were on their last legs, looking like they might crumple any moment now. How was he planning to avoid killing his own men? Surely he’d need a large-scale attack to have much impact on the battle at this stage.

I shook my head at my own foolishness. A Demon Lord wouldn’t care about something like that, not when his life and holdings were at stake. As we headed for the stairs upward, Tagath excused himself. “I think you two can handle things from here, I’d rather not get caught up in the battle if it’s all the same to you.”

I turned to look back at him. “I thought you were going to help us.”

“Well, yes, but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be when there’s a battle raging. It’s not really my field of expertise.”

Elmidath kept walking and said, “We’ll handle the fighting, you just render whatever aid you’re capable of.” We went up the stairs two at a time while Tagath struggled to keep up behind us. Near the landing of the top floor, we heard a loud whoomph followed by screaming and the crackling of fire. It seemed Lord Sarinknell had done whatever he’d been planning. Hopefully it wouldn’t burn down the manor. That would make things a lot more difficult for the both of us. “If this place caught fire, you wouldn’t be able to put it out, right?”

“Yes, but it shouldn’t come to that.” There was slight tremor of doubt in Elmidath’s voice.

“And if it does?”

“Then we’ll flee into the tunnels again. We should be safe down there.”

Well, at least she had some kind of plan if things went wrong. It was better than nothing. We were passing through the halls when someone called out. “Hey.”

I froze for half a second before turning with my sword at the ready. It was Korzan, beckoning from a doorway. I relaxed, partially. Was she actually on our side? She was in full armour, a sword at her hip. “Why aren’t you out there fighting?”

“I figured there was no point risking my life for Lord Sarinknell when I’d already agreed to follow his niece. May as well wait up here and see what happens.”

Elmidath narrowed her eyes. “Who is this?” I wasn’t sure if she was jealous or just irritated I hadn’t told her about them.

“Did he not mention me? I’m Korzan.” She pointed at me. “He offered to let me join your cause and I accepted.”

I coughed. “Things have been really hectic lately, I didn’t get a chance to mention it.”

“Fine.” Elmidath swept her hand in a dismissive motion. “If she’s willing to fight for me then I have no issue with that. Do you know where my uncle is right now?”

“I think he’s in his room, or around there.”

It was helpful to know where he was but we still had to face him. Without the talismans he’d attached he wouldn’t be able to kill us off on a whim but if we gave him half a chance he’d still incinerate us. “What now? Assuming he is in his room, how are we going to kill him?”

“We’ll use Korzan as a distraction and take him by surprise.”

“Eh?” We both reacted at the same time. Though understandably she sounded more distraught than I did. As it was her life that was at risk, I let her have the floor.

“How am I supposed to distract him?”

Elmidath shrugged. “I don’t know, make something up about the battle that you need to tell him. You’re going to need to show some initiative if you’re going to be one of my followers.”

Korzan looked to me for support but I refused to meet her eyes. I wasn’t getting involved if I could avoid it, she was on her own. It’s not like I had any real insight to share, anyway. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, leave it to me. What will you two do while he’s distracted?”

Elmidath’s nose twitched in annoyance. “What business is it of yours?”

“I’m part of this, aren’t I? And knowing what you’re planning will let me do my part easier.”

The Demon Lord looked her up and down, probably trying to decide if she could be trusted. “I suppose. There’s not much to work with at this stage and we don’t have much time; so the plan is simple. You’ll get him to open the door and then distract him so he doesn’t see us enter, then while he’s distracted, we’ll take him by surprise. Any questions?”

Korzan blanched, I doubted she was fond of her part of the plan. But neither of us said anything and we followed Elmidath to the corridor outside her uncle’s room. We ducked into an adjacent room while Korzan went ahead. Glancing back at us, she walked up to the door and knocked. Three ringing blows against the thick iron echoed across the floor before Lord Sarinknell shouted from the other side. “Who is it?” He sounded rattled and out of breath.

“It’s Korzan,” came the reply, “I’m just checking that you’re alright.”

“Korzan?” His voice was full of derision. “Stop wasting time. Why aren’t you outside defending the manor?”

“I uh...” She stopped to look back at us, fumbling to come up with a suitable excuse. Elmidath gestured for her to get on with it while all I could do was stare back and extend my sympathy. I was just glad it was her out there not me. I didn’t feel great about dragging her into this only to throw her to the wolves but hey, what’re you going to do? There was more than enough on my plate as it was, she’d have to figure out this one on her own.

Besides, this would make for a good test of her usefulness as an ally. If she couldn’t think for herself in situations like this, she might be more of a liability than an asset in the long run, anyway. Korzan turned back to the door. “I know I shouldn’t leave my post but I have important information that you need to hear. We’re under attack by more than just the Tertium.”

“What?”

“There’s another force invading from underneath the manor as we speak.” I was impressed by Korzan’s quick thinking, it was a nice touch to add a little truth to her words. Assuming she wasn’t planning on betraying us. I didn’t think it was too likely, but the loyalty of demons seemed fickle at best. Who was to say she wouldn’t just sell us out to Lord Sarinknell now that she had the perfect chance?

The door opened and she went inside, her back, unsurprisingly, revealing nothing of her intentions. All that was left now was to wait and see. Now that they were both inside the room and no longer shouting, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

I tapped Elmidath on the shoulder and asked, in a whisper, if it was time to go. She nodded and we crept forward toward the open door. Only for it to slam closed behind Korzan with the click of a lock. It was only now that I realized Elmidath’s simplistic plan had overlooked something crucial. I looked back at her over my shoulder. “What now?”

While Elmidath was thinking, Tagath stepped forward. “I can get the door open, if you’ll just give me a moment.”

We moved back to give him space, and Elmidath said, “Go ahead then.”

Opening a pouch on his belt, he withdrew a crystalline vial and carefully poured the contents around where the door’s lock would be. The liquid quickly dissolved the metal and Tagath retreated to give us space.

I nodded to Elmidath and eased the door open, gripping my sword in my freehand. Lord Sarinknell was facing away, while Korzan was talking rapidly and pointing at something outside the window. Unsure of how long she could hold his attention, I decided to go for it immediately. Waiting would only make things more dangerous for us.

I gestured for Elmidath to follow me and lifted my sword. It wasn’t exactly the best weapon for this sort of close quarters fighting, but it would do. I crossed the distance in a few strides, trying to be as quiet as possible. But either he heard me, or something about Korzan’s manner gave me away, and Lord Sarinknell turned.

Swirls of flame appeared around him before he’d even ascertained the nature of the threat. Not a surprising reaction given the current situation. For all he knew we could be assassins working for the demon currently assaulting his manor. Not that it made much difference either way who we were working for, we were still after his life.

Aiming to cut him down before he could reduce us to cinders, I swung the instant I was in range. But, probably owing to my own inexperience, I misjudged the distance. My blade struck home, but only the tip and at an awkward angle. It tore his clothing and skin but it was far from debilitating.

The flames grew and rushed toward me as he drew back and saw who was attacking him. There was no trace of surprise in his features, only cold fury. I could tell at a glance that the flames would reach me before I could recover and attempt another swing. Not wanting to give up despite having no chance, I still tried to bring my sword back in line for another attack.

A narrow jet of blood, with a pointed head, shot past me. Low to the ground, it bypassed the flame entirely and impaled Lord Sarinknell’s leg. He staggered and the flames went wide.

They still passed across my shoulders and chest as I stepped in, searing my flesh but it was nothing compared to last time. It was still damn painful but not enough to stop my second stroke. This time I struck true, cutting deep into his chest. Lord Sarinknell dropped to the floor at my feet, his fires winking out of existence around him as he collapsed.