Iris couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. Her thoughts were filled not only with worry about her family, but as well as the Night Critters Ricci mentioned earlier. According to the faerie, Night Critters were able to ambush the other darklings because of their lack of 'presence'. Many had died not knowing that it was the Night Critters that attacked them.
The moon was high and the murmuring voices finally ceased, letting Iris know that the rest of the maidens had gone to sleep. She glanced at the woods that their party recently left, her senses trying to see if it could pick up something usual, but there was none. She couldn't hear anything but crickets and an occasional hoot of the owls, the crackling of the fire and the gentle breeze that was trying to soothe her.
She touched the dagger she hid on her boots. The same one that Aiden handed to her earlier. Iris wasn't sure if the demon was being foolish for giving her a blade or was it curious to see what she would do if she was given one. Were they testing her to see if she was going to escape and return to Calaren Town? She wondered.
Ahead of them was nothing but an open land that led to the mountain range that was in sight. There were few trees and boulders scattered around, but it wouldn't be sufficient if they were attacked in an open area. Ricci surmised that if no problem arises during their trip, they should arrive in Asnar by the next day.
Everything seemed fine until a caw of a crow drew her attention to the tree where it was perched on. Iris pulled out the dagger and unsheathed it as soon as she saw its red eyes. There was no way that it was a normal crow like the ones that can be found in the Kingdom of Dravial, because juvenile crows were known to have chestnut brown eyes while the adult ones had pure white eyes.
Red was never an option, unless it was a darkling. The dagger swiftly left her hand and a loud squawk was heard when the blade pierced the bird's chest as it fell to the ground.
Suddenly, her sense picked up something disturbing ahead of them. Iris sprang on her feet, head turning towards the mountain range they were about to enter. She had sensed something like this before, but not this much.
"Lady Iris? Is something the matter?" Ricci eyed her with curiosity, following her eyesight but she saw nothing.
"What's going on?"
It seemed that the faerie wasn't the only one who noticed Iris's restlessness as Amelia and Chrysanthe stood up and looked at her with a mix of confusion and worry on their faces.
"Something's coming. No—" Iris immediately corrected herself. "There's a lot of them."
"How many?" A voice questioned her.
Iris stiffened and turned back only to see that Lord Kieran and three of his men were looking at her. Her cheeks burned for no reason and her heart beat faster as she avoided his gaze.
"I… I'm not sure." She admitted. "I sensed the same presence a couple of times when I was still in Calaren Town, but not this much."
It was pointless for her to pretend that she didn't have magic, not when she used it to heal the very same demon lord that was now standing in front of her. She bit her inner cheek, trying hard to stay composed and calm in front of him.
This man was sinfully beautiful up close, Iris had no doubt about it now. His moonlit silvery hair hung loosely past his shoulders like a waterfall and she was itching to reach out to test if it was as smooth as she thought it would be. Her eyes then lowered to the sharp jaw and high cheekbones that gave him a cold, menacing look.
Iris forced the thought away from her mind, forcing her to focus on the matter at hand.
Lord Kieran said nothing and stared at her blankly.
"You are a magus, right?" Yuri rubbed his chin as he gave her a head to toe look. "Even maguses in Asnar aren't able to sense the presence of the Night Critters, so how could you?"
"It doesn't matter." Callum pushed the bridge of his spectacles and looked at Iris. He covered his left eye with one hand, leaving his right eye flashing red.
"She's telling the truth. There's a horde of Night Critters coming down from the mountain at an abnormally fast speed." He said.
"Which means that they are being led by someone." Aiden said with a hum. "You think they're waiting for us to enter the mountain range to ambush us?"
"It's possible if there's a high Night Critter leading them." Yuri shrugged.
When Iris furrowed her brows and looked at Ricci, the faerie glanced at her lord before answering.
"Not all Night Critters are mindless." She started to explain. "We've encountered some that could hold a conversation with us, but they were lacking empathy or sense of identity. The clear evidence that they are Night Critters are their ashen white skin and the black blood that ooze from their body."
"Then what do we do?" Iris asked, her whole body shaking upon realizing how this could end if they weren't able to stop the Night Critters from advancing.
"If we don't stop them now, they might reach Calaren Town before dawn breaks and kill everyone there." She added, aware that her magic was starting to respond from the threat of drawing near them.
Her best friends and Ricci looked at her in surprise. Even the three demon generals looked at her with amusement.
"Human, you know that your life is at stake, but you worry about what you left in your hometown?" Callum couldn't help, but ask.
However, even before Iris could answer him, a chilling wail broke through the silence of the night.