Chapter 27
Zeth stood in the treeline, gazing at the moonlit town. The guard precinct was just barely in view. Next to him, the demon stood, its aura of fear not helping with his nerves.
He did, at least, have one piece of protection. Before they left the clearing, Zeth spent fifty minutes drawing up a Hellfire Ritual on a larger leaf he found that could fit the circle on it. With the reduced diameter requirements shrinking the circle down to just five inches, he just barely managed to squeeze it in on the surface of one after spending some time looking. He hadn’t yet sacrificed the blood to arm it, and hoped he wouldn’t have to, but gripping onto the piece of greenery offered him some slight security with the aura of fear sending a shiver through his very bones.
At least something like a leaf didn’t look too out of place in his hand, unlike a big wooden board with a ritual painted on it, or something. If someone saw him, they’d hopefully think nothing of it. Though, standing next to a demon out in the forest surrounding town certainly made it unlikely that anyone who saw him would interpret the situation positively.
It was with those thoughts running through his anxious mess of a head that Zeth tried his best to think of a solid plan. Busting into the building and trying to find their way to the basement while running from the guards sounded insanely risky, and sneaking through those tight hallways felt borderline impossible, too.
They’d been forced to take the long way to this side of town, circling all the way through the forest until the building was in sight, so quite a bit of time had passed already, bringing the moon high in the sky. That meant at least the streets were deserted, but that certainly didn’t mean the guard station was empty of defenders.
“I do not understand what is so hard about this,” the demon spat. “Simply say the words, ‘you are free to act as you see fit in order to bring the previously mentioned prisoners to me,’ and it will be done. Unless the guard station is fuller now than you saw before, or the military force of this measly settlement is more powerful than I imagine, I would be capable of simply walking through the front door and killing anyone who stands in my way.”
“I already said that isn’t an option,” Zeth whispered back. “Not only are there decent people in there who don’t deserve to die, but it would also draw needless attention to me. Ideally, they just think the thralls broke themselves out, or something. Or they had help from more of their own. They certainly do not need to know it was a demon.”
It groaned. “Your insistence on stealth and the sparing of your foes’ lives is endlessly vexing.”
“Well, unless you help me come up with an actual plan, you’re going to continue to be vexed. C’mon, you know your abilities. Are you really so incompetent that you have no way of getting in and out undetected?”