There, in the dark shadow of a pine tree, stood Raxx. The demon's large, black leathery wings folded back in on themselves.
“I didn't realise the princess was still in your charge, I would have never—” Raxx began, cut off as Lephas strode towards him.
“Corporeal. Now.” Lephas ordered and Raxx reluctantly obeyed. The shadow demon had barely solidified before the commander had sucker punched him in the mouth. He hissed but took the hit, daubing his lip with his tongue.
“That's for stealing my charge out from under me and making me run the length of this fucking place looking for her,” Lephas snapped, ire melting instantly from his face as he pulled his friend into a brief embrace. Raxx hugged him back roughly. “But it's so good to see you.”
“You too, Commander.” The shadow demon grinnedback at him.
“How did you find us?” Lephas asked, automatically draping his arm over Lori's shoulders as she tucked in beside him. He felt his body sag with relief, just feeling her presence beside him once again.
Raxx ran his black eyes over them curiously. As usual, the demon's face gave nothing away. Lephas fought the urge to explain himself. Though he felt awkward showing Lori affection in front of one of his men, he couldn't bring himself to regret it either. He supposed they were all going to find out about his wild forest romance at some point. He might as well start with Raxx.
“The same way I find anyone, Sir,” the shadow demon replied mysteriously. “One of Zelrus' men made it back to Banesteppe and told us you'd been ambushed. The king went to meet with Cirro without us.”
Lephas almost felt Lori's eyes burning holes in him curiously. He would fill her in on that later.
“Oriel and I came to search for you,” Raxx continued. “Although I do believe the prince has decided to run a personal errand instead.”
“Typical,” Lephas sighed with a shake of his head.
His heart swelled. He had no words for how relieved he was to be stood chatting with one of his team mates again.
“I happened upon your charge by chance,” Raxx explained, casting his dark eyes across at Lori. “I spotted her in the woods alone and decided to strike. I thought she'd be able to tell me of your whereabouts.”
The puzzle pieces finally began to fall into place. Lephas had been correct in his assumption; nothing, other than majick, could make a person disappear into thin air. The shadow demon had plucked his faerie right out from the snow, without a trace.
“You couldn't have brought her back before I spent all morning hunting for her!”
“I tried.” Raxx cast an eye across the two faeries in front of him.
Lori looked up at him with large, apologetic eyes. “Sorry Lephas. I was so worried about Faye. We spent a bit of time catching up before leaving to find you.”
“And I'm afraid I'm almost as useless as my sister at hiking through the snow, so it’s taken us a while,” Faye chipped in with a smile.
“Hey! I'm getting better, aren't I, Lephas?” Lori scowled.
He laughed. “A little.”
“I can’t believe you’ve both been out here all this time. You must be exhausted.” Faye's face softened.
“It's been a really tough few days.” Lori nodded, resting her head against Lephas's body.
“Then there's no time to waste.” The sun sprite looked to Raxx. “We must take them back to our camp.”
The demon nodded in agreement. “A good plan. Come on.”
The shadow demon's body flickered as he melded back into the shadows. As he began to walk ahead through the snow, no footprints followed.
Lephas automatically took Lori's hand in his own as they trailed behind. He glanced across at Faye, catching the girl watching them curiously.
“So, how lost are we then?” he called out to Raxx.
“We're only two days travel from the main road. You've done well to get this far,” the demon replied. “I would have been here sooner but when we first heard of the ambush, I followed your tracks and stopped to bury the men.”
Lephas nodded quietly. He was glad. In the back of his mind he had already begun planning to call back to the site to do just that.
“I lost you for a bit after that.” Raxx shrugged. “I didn't pick up any trace of you until last night.”
