The Vampire & Her Witch-Chapter 744: Captive Knights (Part Two)

"You have that option," Heila said curtly when Sir Rain declared that he wouldn’t touch Ollie’s cooking. "And in three or four days, when you’re too weak to stand and lying in your own filth because of it, we’ll still send a nursemaid to care for you because Lady Ashlynn hasn’t commanded your death."

"Until she does," Heila said, "you’re our guest and you’ll be treated like one," she finished, closing the door and leaving the knights alone before any of them could respond to her.

For a moment, silence hung awkwardly in the air as everyone stared at the door as if they were listening to the sounds of Heila’s cloven hooves on the stone floors and waiting for the sounds of her presence to fade away before any of them spoke.

"I’m sorry, my lord," Carwyn said, turning back to Hugo Hanrahan and lowering his head. "I failed you and your father. The demons took my autumn tithe and everything else we were planning to bring to market, and they killed or captured all of my soldiers. As your vassal, I’ve failed in my duties," he said formally, lowering himself to one knee. "You can punish me as you see fit."

"None, none of that," Hugo said awkwardly as he rushed over to the young knight and helped him to stand. "We’re all prisoners here. Do you think we would have fared any better if we fought back? These demons and witches... they’re just, just too terrifying."

"Did you at least manage to take a few of them with you?" Sir Rain said from the sofa. "Baron Hanrahan might forgive you if you took a few trophies before you were captured."

"Just one," Carwynn admitted, shaking his shame when he thought about how poorly he’d performed in the battle. "I’m sure Sir Rain felled many more than I did before my lords were taken prisoner."

"Not at all," Hugo said with a slight smile as he watched his frequent tormentor squirm in discomfort. "The only time his sword drew blood was when Lady Ashlynn used it to execute a traitor. The first demon he saw, Sir Rain fainted dead away."

"Demon Witch!" Rain shouted, jumping to his feet as his face turned a brilliant shade of red. "Not just any demon, a claw demon and a witch. And what else was I supposed to do? She climbed into the carriage with us!"

The instant Rain started shouting, Sir Carwyn moved to place himself between Sir Hugo and the crimson-faced Sir Rain, his hand dropping instinctively to his waist before his mind caught up and he remembered that he’d lost his weapons when he was taken prisoner.

Still, even if Sir Rain was the son of Baron Aleese, he wasn’t about to let the man berate his lord’s son like this without taking a stand.

"All right, all right," Hugo said in hurried, placating tones. "Sir Carwyn, it’s fine. Sir Rain and I are old friends, you don’t need to be bothered by his hot words. Instead, I’d like to hear what happened to you and your men," he said, guiding the young knight to the room’s dining table and gesturing for him to take a seat. freewёbnoνel-com

"I’m trying to understand what’s happening, but I’m still missing a lot of information," Hugo explained as he took his own seat. "Can you help me to fill in the blanks?"

"Of course," Carwyn said. "It happened when we were a few hours away from my village..." he began, before slowly recounting the story of what had happened, including his strange duel with the serpentine demon-knight that Lady Heila referred to as Captain Barsali.

Throughout the entire explanation, Hugo sat patiently, asking questions to clarify and taking copious mental notes to understand what had happened to his father’s vassal. By the end, what he’d heard deeply concerned him.

"Have you ever heard of anything like this, Sir Rain? Or seen it at the southern border?" Hugo asked. "Demons wearing armor like knights... if they’re learning from us, and learning to fight like we do," he said, allowing his voice to trail off as soon as the implications were clear.

One of the greatest advantages the Kingdom of Gaal enjoyed in the fight against demons was its ability to field superior numbers, tightly coordinated under the command of heavily armored knights. While casualties among common soldiers might grow to stomach-churning numbers, the strength of a knight’s armor and his superior position atop a mount with the ability to dash across the battlefield to convey orders or reinforce allies were all critical to the success of the kingdom’s forces.

Now, if the demons were starting to fight like humans, with heavily armored knights of their own, combined with the power of a human witch and her coven... Perhaps more than just the Lothian March was in danger, and nothing short of the Church launching a Crusade could save the kingdom.

"I’ve never seen anything like a knight among the horse demons," Rain said, frowning at the way Hugo was acting like he was somehow suddenly in command. Just because the only other prisoner was one of Baron Hanrahan’s vassals, the balance of power between them had shifted subtly, and Rain didn’t like it one bit. "But these serpent demons can’t ride horses. So what if they’re heavily armored? Ride them down with lances and be done with it."

"That’s a good way to lose a horse, Sir Rain," Carwyn countered. "Even though this ’Captain Barsali’ didn’t have feet or pike to set in the ground when I charged, I might as well have been charging directly onto the point of a pike, and for all it wore heavy armor, it moved with the speed of a snake. Truthfully, I’ve never heard of a demon so terrifying."

"So what are we supposed to do about it, Young Lord Hugo?" Rain jeered from the sofa, emphasizing the Steward’s title. "Do we fight our way free of this mess? Become spies and try to escape like that Darragh fellow? Or give up, and wait out whatever it is the demons and witches have in mind for the march?"

"Because one way or another," Rain said, folding his arms over his chest. "When this is all over, Lord Owain will call us to count for whatever we’ve done. And I for one don’t intend to place my neck in a hangman’s noose at the end of all this!"

"Right now, we wait," Hugo said, refusing to rise to Sir Rain’s bait. "Sir Ollie has treated us well so far. Let’s find out what he has in mind when he comes to make a meal. I don’t know about you, Sir Carwyn," he added, turning away from the belligerent Sir Rain to face the other knight. "But I think better on a full stomach, and I don’t intend to make any decisions until I know more than I do now."

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