Chapter 34: Book 2 Chapter 12: Sneaking through

Joan double checked her supplies one more time. The sword that Searle had given her was now strapped across her back, the other at her hip. They’d only brought enough food for a few days and not much in the way of equipment to camp with, but they would have to make do. It wouldn’t be more than a few days at best, so they’d be fine. She hoped they’d be fine. By the gods she hoped they’d be fine.

The most disconcerting thing was how close all three of them had to try and squirm in under the shield to avoid detection. Searle could shield himself and others under the shield from the ward, but it required them to be close together. Worse, her own spell worked in the same manner, which was why the three of them were now huddled as close together as could be, every step awkward and unwieldy. Her feet already hurt from all the times she’d been stepped on and she suspected the others felt the same way.

But the important part was that they had made their way closer to the main camp, through the wards, without much difficulty. Now came the hard part. Joan reached out her hand and cast a quick, small spell. The darkness pulled up and enveloped the three of them, washing over them and making them appear as little more than a dark blob on the ground.

Unfortunately, it made travel even harder now as, while before they had been moving in the moonlight, now they had to travel entirely in darkness and couldn’t see any part of themselves. She cringed when she felt one of them kick her ankles, but kept her mouth shut. Step by step they made their way along the outer edges of the walls surrounding the camp.

Her heart nearly stopped and she quickly reached up, pushing against both of their chest and making them stop. In the darkness she could see someone standing there, almost invisible while they sat in the darkness on the wall, no torch illuminating them. She waited for some alarm to go off or even a shout, but there was nothing. She watched the figure for a few long moments before, finally, they turned and walked off.

Joan wondered for a moment if they were a night watch or an insomniac, but it didn’t really matter. She nudged them forward and occasionally glanced up. The shield still hovered overhead, blocking out the ward. So long as they all stayed within it, they’d be fine. She barely resisted the urge to cry out when someone stepped on her toes again. She never wanted to do this again.

The camp itself was very quiet, with only a few torches lit and a handful of sentries keeping an eye on the camp from what she could see. The most light seemed to be near the center of the camp, where the majority of the tents were stationed. The outer edges of the walls that they were traveling along seemed to be quite calm and still. She still didn’t let herself relax until they finally stepped out of the wards around the camp and were, finally, in the battlefield between the two camps. She let out a soft sigh of relief. “We’re clear. Searle, you can drop your shield,” Joan said softly.

“You sure?” Searle asked.

“For now. Conserve your magic,” Joan said before taking her own advice and letting her shadow spell crumble around her. She couldn’t help feeling annoyed at just how much of her magic was now gone. It had been one of the easiest spells she could cast, it didn’t even create anything. All it did was darken the areas around them to allow them to blend in with the darkness even better.

Yet even then it had cost her so much of her magic for such a short amount of time. Had they traveled somewhere brighter as opposed to the shadows of the wall, she doubted they would have made it at all. Worse, they were going through the demon camp soon and, even in the moonlight, she could see the massive monsters that awaited them. If the group was detected by the beasts they’d have no choice but to retreat back to the other camp.

Then she’d be dead or possibly worse. She tried to push that thought aside. She could maintain the spell. She would maintain the spell. Somehow.

“Joan, are you going to be able to maintain that spell a second time?” Bauteut asked.

Joan’s cheeks turned red when the other girl seemed to realize her issue without her speaking it. “It should be fine. I can do it.”

“How do you even know that spell?” Bauteut asked.

“Long story, don’t worry about it,” Joan said with a shake of her head. “Let’s just go. We still have a long way ahead of us.”

“But—”

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“Shhhh,” Joan whispered, lightly nudging the other girl. The healer sighed and went silent.

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The demon’s camp was a far different affair to the human’s. They didn’t have any walls to shield them, instead the camp was surrounded by pikes jutting out towards their enemies. Then again, walls would likely be an inconvenience when the demons had massive living war machines on their side. Now that she was up close to them, she could see one of the great demons in all its glory.

The one nearest where they had to enter had to be at least thirty feet tall, a four legged beast with claws that were bigger than she was. Its body was covered in thick scales and, while it was sleeping, every time its mouth opened to exhale, massive teeth like swords could be seen. The monster could have likely torn open houses like a bear would tear open a deer. She couldn’t imagine what it could do to her if it was awake and aware of their presence.

Unlike the human camp, though, she didn’t see anyone awake. The wards were smaller and there weren’t any torches to illuminate the way. Though she suspected that was more because they didn’t need them. She didn’t know if all demons could see in the dark, but she had heard that enough of them could that it really didn’t matter.

She glanced up at the shield overhead, just to be certain it was still there. They were still shielded, still protected. Still hidden. The darkness was enveloping them as well, but she wasn’t entirely certain that would be enough. She mentally cursed at her past lives for not trying to be more subtle and sneak up and around demons more often. Why had the Hero always had to charge in, sword swinging, no matter what he fought? Was he an idiot?

Yes, he was, she reminded herself. She still was. That was why he had failed over and over and over. Why she had failed again and again. She had to remember, no matter what, that she was going to keep messing up if she let herself forget.

Joan covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a light yelp when a boot kicked her right in the back of her ankle, the blow sending shockwaves of pain through her. Still, they continued on and slowly made their way across the camp.

Her initial assumptions seemed to be correct, at least. Small miracle though it was. The camp was incredibly quiet and, despite the three massive beasts, she only saw one sentry keeping watch. She suspected there were likely more, but the low numbers hopefully meant that a lot of their forces were being drawn off by the threat of the Changeling Patriarch.

When they finally stepped out from the last of the wards, she let out a sigh of relief and dropped her spell. “We’re out, we’re free,” Joan said with a light smile. She couldn’t believe it. They’d actually done it. Ugh, she felt like she was going to drop at any moment. She glanced back to the demon’s camp, now so far off that she could just barely make out some of the light.

Searle lowered his shield and, finally, they were able to move further apart from each other. She almost couldn’t believe it. It had been so easy, she--

Every instinct she had screamed at her. Her hand was halfway to the sword at her hip before she was even aware she was doing it and she only barely managed to draw the sword and interpose it between herself and the blade coming at her in time. Even then, the force of the blow sent her stumbling back into Searle.

They’d been found.