stood up. She tried to gain control of herself, but her tears continued to flow. She shuddered when the demon grabbed her arm in its clawed hand, her flesh crawling where it touched her. It guided her back out to her carriage. She cried out and tried to avert her eyes as she saw the bodies of Costuas and Nataly, hacked and mangled. The Imp pulled her past them and pushed her into the carriage.
"Stay here, Princess. You would not like what will happen if I have to chase you down." The demon said, then left to go over to a group of half-men, slowly torturing a couple of wounded soldiers.
"You idiots, I need one of them alive!" The Imp yelled, striding over to them. It backhanded one of the half-men, the man's head seeming to cave in, body collapsing to the ground. It looked at the soldiers and selected the one that seemed the least injured, a young man not much older than Keria. The demon made a sharp gesture at the other soldier and a half-man killed him with the swing of his sword.
The Imp had the half-men put the selected soldier on a horse. Keria saw the demon say something to the terrorized young man, pointing to the carriage. The soldier nodded, then turned and raced away to the north, as fast as the horse would go.
The Imp was joined by three more demons and their followers. They had the half-men gather some horses to replace the dead ones on the carriage. While the half-men complied, the demon that captured her climbed back into the carriage. Shortly, the carriage was moving deeper into the Forest.
"Obey my commands and you will not be hurt. Disobey and I will give you to my followers as a plaything." The Imp said, sitting across from her, black eyes glittering. "Do you understand me, Princess?" Keria nodded fearfully.
"My father will pay you any ransom you ask." Keria said softly, hesitantly.
The demon laughed, cold and cruel. "I am sure he would, but what makes you think we want ransom, foolish girl?"
"Then why have I been taken, if not for ransom?" Keria asked, frightened to hear the answer.
"Simple, girl. You're bait." The demon said, smiling that frightening smile.
"Bait? Bait for who?" She whispered.
The demon only smiled wider.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
In the dim light of the candles, Keria was lying down on the stone bench in her windowless cell, trying to gather her courage, not knowing whether it was day or night. In the silence, she heard voices on the other side of the door, coming closer. A chill descended on her, her body shivering uncontrollably, and she knew that a demon was coming for her.
She had arrived the day before, after a three-day ride. She had tried to leave clues behind, circumspectly pulling off some beads from her dress and dropping them on the ground, terrified that she would be caught. Despite her fear, she had been treated correctly, despite the leering and comments of the half-men.
When she arrived, she had been placed in the care of female guards and taken to the cell. The guards were like the half-men, with that slightly crazed look, clearly under the influence of the demons. She had food brought for her. She was given a bucket of water to wash up and a plain woolen dress and sandals as a change of clothes.
After ensuring that no one could see her, she had stripped off her clothes, dirty and stained with blood, and used the water to quickly bathe. After her old clothes and bucket were taken away, she had no contact with anyone.
Steeling her resolve, reminding herself that she was a princess and needed to act like it, she stood as she heard the lock on her cell rattle. She watched as the guards came in, standing on either side of the door. The doorway seemed to darken, the candles fading, as a figure entered her cell, ducking its head.
She quivered with terror as it rose to its full height, standing nearly eight feet tall. It was dressed in a dark, belted robe, but she could tell that it was muscular, with broad shoulders. Its hands were large, ending with short, sharp-looking claws. Its face was surprising human-like, though hairless, with only its black eyes and pointed teeth standing out.
"You are indeed lovely, Princess; more than the reports had indicted." The figure said quietly, its deep voice echoing off the stone walls of her cell. "I am Creatos, the