Another sword flew towards him, this one much closer than the last. Lephas held up his forearm to block the attack, hissing in pain as he took the impact and his bones reverberated painfully. He saw confusion flash across the knight's face as the sword jarred against metal and didn't slice through his flesh.
All the demons had built in metal plates beneath their armour. One very important piece ran along the length of their forearms and acted as a make-shift shield in an emergency.
Lephas struck out, pushing his forearm against the ambusher's attack whilst simultaneously driving an upper-cut with his sword. He squeezed his eyes shut as hot blood sprayed into his face.
“Lephas!” He heard Haros yell across to him.
Three more faeries charged forwards. It hadn't taken them long to realise Lephas was the demon carrying the princess. He was their target.
Haros leapt over a fallen body and released a small dagger into the air like a dart. It spun forward and landed in the hamstring of one of the charging knights.
The man fell down with a crash and Karn appeared from the snow storm like a ghoul to make short work of him. The mountain wolf's silver fur had turned to deep crimson, already saturated in blood.
The two remaining knights were upon him. Lephas ducked as one of the faeries swung a heavy mace in his direction. He charged forwards and barged the man off his feet.
The second faerie attempted to land a blow against the back of Lephas’ skull but Haros was quicker. His friend flew into the melee to defend him. Before the knight had managed to strike, his sword arm was separated from his body just below the elbow. The faerie fell to his knees with a scream, holding up the bloody stump.
The man didn't have much time to lament his condition. Haros flipped his sword expertly in his hand and sliced his throat on the back swing.
Taking full advantage of the commotion, Lephas lunged and drove his weapon forward. He pinned his first assailant to the ground with a sword through the chest.
“There are so many of them - fifteen or more!” Haros yelled and spat a mouthful of blood into the snow.
Lephas scanned through the massacre for Zelrus' soldiers. The youngest, the demon who'd made those lewd comments about Lori, lay motionless. His eyes were glassy and his skin was sallow. The demon’s bow lay snapped nearby.
Haros grabbed the commander's arm. “We're outnumbered! You need to get out of here! Both of you!”
“No, we can't–”
“Yes, you can! You need to get her back to Zelrus or all this is for nothing!” Haros turned to slash out viciously with his sword as yet another knight attacked.
Suddenly Lephas felt Lori's grip loosen around his neck. The girl dropped from his back to her feet and sprinted away into the melee.
He shouldn't have been surprised that she was running back to her people. He would have done the same thing if their positions were reversed, so why did he feel disappointment stinging at him?
“Watch out!”
Lephas was standing one second and then crashing painfully through the snow the next. His sword shot from his hand and he tumbled through the undergrowth.
Another horse. He hadn't seen it coming.
The commander gasped for breath. Pain speared his side and dark spots swam in front of his vision. He scrambled for his sword, but his stomach fell as he spotted it a few feet away – just out of reach.
The knight had dismounted the horse but was no longer looking at Lephas. The faerie walked to Lori, who had reappeared to stand between them fearlessly.
“Enough of this!” she yelled, hands on her hips. “Call them off! You've found me, I will come back with you willingly. There's no need for any more bloodshed here today.”
“Well, well, well...” The knight's smile was sinister. Lephas saw Lori's confidence falter and she stepped backwards warily.
Without hesitation the knight backhanded the princess across the face and the princess fell. She spat blood into the snow and her arms shook beneath her weight as she hurriedly attempted to get to her feet.
The faerie grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, craning her neck back painfully to look at him. The princess didn't react, just clenched her teeth. Blood dripped from a cut on her cheek.
Something wasn't right. Lephas fought to get to his knees but the deep snow sucked him in like quicksand. The knight had a malicious, but familiar, sparkle in his eyes. These men hadn't been sent to retrieve Lori... They had been sent tokillher.
“What is the meaning of this? Release me!” Lori snapped, clawing at the man's hold on her. “I command it!”
The knight laughed. “Ah, Princess. Your commands mean nothing here. You ran from him? Dared to defy him?”
