the flank of his Hellhound. Just in front of Yeth, the
tunnel opened up into a much larger chamber, the space filled with
the Prince and the other huge Horned demon. On the far side of the
chamber were two other exits.
Sam saw the
Prince’s eyes widen suddenly when he registered his presence.
Clearly his glamor didn’t work at such close proximity. Sam saw
recognition there. Someone or something had already raised the
alarm, spreading the word and Sam’s description.
The Prince
stepped aside, allowing the Horned Demon more space in the chamber.
“Seize him!” he screamed, pointing in Sam’s direction.
Sam was about
to move and intercept the massive demon’s charge but Yeth moved
quicker than Sam thought possible for such a great creature. It
flashed in front of the Horned demon, which brought its mighty
stone mallet down just in time, smashing directly onto the flank of
the Hellhound. It may as well have hit a wall made of solid iron.
The mallet bounced off; Yeth simply ignored the attack and went for
the throat under the goat-like head. The huge jaws locked around
the neck of the other demon, puncturing straight through the thick,
corded muscle around the throat. The momentum carried both
creatures to the ground where the Hellhound managed to pin its foe
to the ground, intent on crushing the life out of it. The ground
shook under the bone-crushing impact.
Yeth’s body
ignited into flame and the Horned Demon bellowed in pain. It may
have been a demon, accustomed to the burning pits of Hell but
Hellhound flame was an altogether different heat. Sam could
withstand it but it seemed not many other demons could.
Sam stood
frozen to the spot, in awe of the conflict playing out in front of
him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his fellow prince
doing the same. A battle between a Hellhound and a Horned demon
couldn’t be something that happened every day and both were
mesmerized. Sam would’ve moved into action if that had been
required, but Yeth seemed to be on top of things and this Prince
seemed no threat as yet.
The Horned
demon wasn’t out of it yet. It had bulk and strength on its side.
It probably weighed twice as much as Yeth. Not only that, but it
had four arms. Ignoring the flames, it managed to get two of its
hands up, locking them around Yeth’s jaws. It started to lever them
open even as its other two hands encircled the Hellhound’s
throat.
Sam didn’t have
any doubts that Yeth would win. Not many demons could defeat a
Hellhound – especially a Greater one. Yeth was a juvenile, and
would fight for longer, but Sam just didn’t have time for this.
The other
Prince still hadn’t moved. Sam darted over to the two massive
struggling demons and drew his sword. Taking careful aim, he
plunged his sword straight through the eye of the Horned demon. It
had time to emit a single roar before it disappeared in a cloud of
ash. Sam looked over at the Prince. Their eyes locked for a moment
and then the Prince just disappeared. One second he was right in
front of Sam, the next he was gone.
Sam cast his
eyes around the chamber, desperately trying to figure out where the
creature had gone. He couldn’t sense him with his mind either. Two
options presented themselves. Either the prince was invisible,
still in the chamber and able to shroud his mind and presence so
effectively that even Sam couldn’t sense him, or – he was gone.
That implied some form of teleport ability. It seemed there was a
great deal he didn’t know about other demons.
If the demon
was still around, there was nothing he could do about it. He
shrugged, and then became aware that the Hellhound was on his feet,
staring directly at him. If Sam didn’t know better, the look might
have been interpreted as reproachful. Sam attempted a smile.
“Sorry,” he
said aloud. “We were running out of time. It’s not that I doubted
your abilities or anything.”
Yeth growled
low in his throat. He darted one more accusing look in
tunnel opened up into a much larger chamber, the space filled with
the Prince and the other huge Horned demon. On the far side of the
chamber were two other exits.
Sam saw the
Prince’s eyes widen suddenly when he registered his presence.
Clearly his glamor didn’t work at such close proximity. Sam saw
recognition there. Someone or something had already raised the
alarm, spreading the word and Sam’s description.
The Prince
stepped aside, allowing the Horned Demon more space in the chamber.
“Seize him!” he screamed, pointing in Sam’s direction.
Sam was about
to move and intercept the massive demon’s charge but Yeth moved
quicker than Sam thought possible for such a great creature. It
flashed in front of the Horned demon, which brought its mighty
stone mallet down just in time, smashing directly onto the flank of
the Hellhound. It may as well have hit a wall made of solid iron.
The mallet bounced off; Yeth simply ignored the attack and went for
the throat under the goat-like head. The huge jaws locked around
the neck of the other demon, puncturing straight through the thick,
corded muscle around the throat. The momentum carried both
creatures to the ground where the Hellhound managed to pin its foe
to the ground, intent on crushing the life out of it. The ground
shook under the bone-crushing impact.
Yeth’s body
ignited into flame and the Horned Demon bellowed in pain. It may
have been a demon, accustomed to the burning pits of Hell but
Hellhound flame was an altogether different heat. Sam could
withstand it but it seemed not many other demons could.
Sam stood
frozen to the spot, in awe of the conflict playing out in front of
him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his fellow prince
doing the same. A battle between a Hellhound and a Horned demon
couldn’t be something that happened every day and both were
mesmerized. Sam would’ve moved into action if that had been
required, but Yeth seemed to be on top of things and this Prince
seemed no threat as yet.
The Horned
demon wasn’t out of it yet. It had bulk and strength on its side.
It probably weighed twice as much as Yeth. Not only that, but it
had four arms. Ignoring the flames, it managed to get two of its
hands up, locking them around Yeth’s jaws. It started to lever them
open even as its other two hands encircled the Hellhound’s
throat.
Sam didn’t have
any doubts that Yeth would win. Not many demons could defeat a
Hellhound – especially a Greater one. Yeth was a juvenile, and
would fight for longer, but Sam just didn’t have time for this.
The other
Prince still hadn’t moved. Sam darted over to the two massive
struggling demons and drew his sword. Taking careful aim, he
plunged his sword straight through the eye of the Horned demon. It
had time to emit a single roar before it disappeared in a cloud of
ash. Sam looked over at the Prince. Their eyes locked for a moment
and then the Prince just disappeared. One second he was right in
front of Sam, the next he was gone.
Sam cast his
eyes around the chamber, desperately trying to figure out where the
creature had gone. He couldn’t sense him with his mind either. Two
options presented themselves. Either the prince was invisible,
still in the chamber and able to shroud his mind and presence so
effectively that even Sam couldn’t sense him, or – he was gone.
That implied some form of teleport ability. It seemed there was a
great deal he didn’t know about other demons.
If the demon
was still around, there was nothing he could do about it. He
shrugged, and then became aware that the Hellhound was on his feet,
staring directly at him. If Sam didn’t know better, the look might
have been interpreted as reproachful. Sam attempted a smile.
“Sorry,” he
said aloud. “We were running out of time. It’s not that I doubted
your abilities or anything.”
Yeth growled
low in his throat. He darted one more accusing look in
Similar Books
