Zephyr twisted, and the Spymaster's sword sunk between his arm and body, grazing the side of his ribs. She yanked her sword back, frowning when only a dribble of blood coated the side of her blade, then her eyes widened as she watched the Slinktail slowly appear like mist across water.
"How's that possible?" She breathed, her brows pinching together even more. "You're a Slinktail…"
Zephyr used the distraction to lunge, but she parried his attack skilfully. He feigned a stumble, drawing her closer until he swiftly twisted his body, bringing his blade up in a swift, unexpected arc.
The Spymaster deflected his strike just in time and used the momentum to kick his calf. The Slinktail tripped, and she fell with him, her sword raised for one final strike, the blade glinting as it lowered with them to the ground. Zephyr braced himself, aware that her move was too quick for him to deflect.
"Ooft."
The sword did not strike his body. Nor did pain follow.
Zephyr stared wide-eyed at the large Draegorth holding the redhead by the neck and shoulders, his hand taking up most of her upper body. He was the largest demon he'd seen so far. A steel collar was still around his neck, but the chain connecting to it dragged in the dirt.
Other Slinktails scurried past them and started attacking the spies that were returning to their masters' side. The Spymaster smacked the Draegorth's hand, and he flinched, releasing her. It was once she collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, that Zephyr noticed the dart sticking out of the demon's hand.
The Draegorth pulled it out and tossed the tiny weapon to the side, unaffected by the poison Zephyr could smell from where he was pushing off the ground to his feet. He took a step back as the Draegorth eyed him with his goat-like rectangular pupil eyes. But the goat demon paid no attention to Zephyr as the Spymaster raised her sword to it—deeming the Draegorth a bigger threat at that moment.
With one large swoop, the Draegorth swatted the Spymaster like she was a pesky fly buzzing around. She shot to the side and crashed hard into a tree. A whoosh of air escaped her chest as she crumbled to the ground like a heap of dirty-yet-not-dirty-enough-for-the-wash clothing that remained piled on a chair in a bedroom.
Zephyr stared at her form and back at the Draegorth. "Thanks." He meant it. The woman was annoying and taking too much of his time.
The Slinktails fought hard, but their skill was nought by the Spymaster's minions. Like a domino effect, they were slain, falling to the ground.
"Debt's been paid. Go." The goat demon grunted, pointing a crooked finger towards one of the spy's horses.
Zephyr never imagined a Draegorth or the Slinktails he helped would return the favour in their pursuit of escaping, yet here they were. He hopped onto the horse, grateful to them, and did not look back as the Slinktail's bodies began piling up. If not for dying here, they would die in slavery or possibly be tortured by the Enforcers and hunters.
At least they had a taste of freedom, and their death was much quicker now.
Zephyr galloped away, clutching at his side where the wound the Spymaster caused slowly began micro-tearing from the jostling sensation of riding a horse. It did not matter; the distance between him, the Spymaster, and the hunters was growing quickly. She would not remember him.
He looked exactly the same as other Slinktails besides not being as skinny.
Zephyr pulled on the reins to his horse as he approached the campsite his group had been staying at. It was abandoned as instructed by the Demon Lord. Zephyr hopped off the horse and strolled toward his tent, tsking when some of his stuff was left behind. He packed up the remainder of his belongings and threw his bag over his shoulder, returning to the horse.
The trotting sound of the horse's hooves was loud against the otherwise barren and silent night. Zephyr didn't have a clear direction on where to go, but he planned to figure it out once he was in the Dark Forest. Humans didn't dare go into such a place, especially in the middle of the night. The whispers, singing, and downright childish giggles were spooky, but he'd grown used to it.
The closer he got to the Dark Forest, the more his horse started to grow uneasy. Its ears swivelled back and forth, listening to the growing sounds echoing from the depths of the forest. They had yet to enter, and the horse was growing slower, snorting sharply and expelling air through its nostrils in short, forceful bursts.
The cold air revealed the cloud-like steam bursting from its nostrils. It began shifting from side to side, an anxious whinny escaping its throat. Zephyr knew what would happen next.
He started to get off, one leg already swinging off the creature until a cry in the distance freaked it out. The horse tossed its head back, rearing up on its hind legs causing Zephyr to fall awkwardly to the side, his foot caught in the stirrup as he slammed sideways onto the ground. The creature bolted from the area, dragging him with it until he managed to get his foot free, leaving him on the muddy ground, breathing heavily, pain shooting from his side.
The cries in the woods intensified. They weren't the usual haunting melancholy cries he'd become accustomed to. They sounded human.
That didn't deter Zephyr from venturing into the dense, nearly pitch-black forest. Eventually, his eyes adjusted, allowing him to navigate without tripping over the raised roots or the subtly shifting vines. Though the woods were unwelcoming to his kind, the trees recognised him and refrained from deliberately causing him to stumble.
Until the morning, Zephyr would use the blanket of darkness and the forest to conceal his whereabouts and move along. He would also figure out how to get in contact with Sorgaran. As he ventured further into the woods, there were the occasional giggles following him.
What did that elf, Naexi, call them? Pixies? The damned things put him on edge, especially when there was shouting, and now that he was getting closer to the middle of the forest, the sound of steel on steel, fighting, and grunts resounded in the eerie forest.
Zephyr turned to the right, in the opposite direction, ignoring whatever the noises were. It was common sense not to follow the sounds that could inflict further pain on his already injured body. Or possibly cause his death.
Naexi didn't want them there in the first place. The elves seemed to treat every life force as sacred, but the she-elf mentioned something about fae living in these woods and how they would happily kill any that trespassed. Naexi seemed to be of the same mindset.
Yes, staying apart from the fray was genius indeed.
Unfortunately, that didn't mean danger would stay away from him.