Professor Riordan, what are you doing here?

The sounds of battle greet them as they reach Annfayn’s main gate. The gate remained shut with no guards in sight, and there were no signs of the gate being forced.

“Well, I’m a proud enough woman to admit when I’m wrong. We need to get inside,” Isolde said, swallowing her shame.

Aislinn rolled her eyes. She heard Isolde’s attempts at seducing Rowan and fought the urge to argue with her. The Danan princess held her hand up and called out a single ancient word. An ethereal sigil formed in front of her hand. The gates opened to her command and allowed them passage into the city. Their opening also signaled a group of demons to begin an invasion from outside.

A horde of demons approached the city gates. Humanoid demons similar to the soldiers led beasts that prowled like bears and lions. Rowan and Isolde dismounted and ran for the gate ahead of them. “We’ll hold them back while you start closing the gates!” Rowan instructed Aislinn.

Isolde held her axe high and whispered arcane words. The runes on her axe began to shimmer with a blue glow. She roared and slammed her axe blade into the ground, unleashing a mighty fissure that sent a few of the advancing demons flying backward.

She grabbed the back of Rowan’s clothes, gripping his cloak and the back of his tunic, and threw him high into the air. He swung his sword upward and cut a flying demon in half. Rowan landed with a thud. He expected some pain, but there was nothing. He stood up and dashed at a bear-type demon when it drew close. His instincts took over and saw him evade a devastating claw while stabbing his sword through the demon’s chest. Rowan swung the sword and cut the beast clean in half. He turned and ran while the demon’s remains vanished into smoke.

Rowan looked at himself and noticed a dim golden glow that faded as soon as he saw it. He heard the gates begin to close and followed Isolde into Annfayn. The gates slammed shut behind the three, preventing the demon horde from advancing into the city. The scene that played out before them made their efforts seem in vain.

Demons were appearing from dark rifts inside Annfayn. Danan soldiers took up positions and swarmed the demons as they appeared, but there seemed to be no end to the dark creatures. Rowan was immediately reminded of his city. The screams of terror, the flames that stole away familiar sights, it all made Rowan’s blood boil.

Aislinn took his hand as his knuckles turned white, gripping his sword. “Come, we need to make our way to Lughaidh Castle.” Her voice was gentle and understanding. She saw the anger in his eyes and hoped to temper his rage so he could think clearly.

“This way,” Isolde agreed, nodding her head towards the Danan royal castle.

Rowan took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll follow you. Lead the way,” he told Aislinn while sheathing his blade. She released his hand, and the three ran towards the castle. He desperately tried to ignore the cries and the smell of smoke. He felt like he was running away from danger a second time, avoiding demons as they laid waste to a city he had grown to enjoy.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a woman pull her daughter from behind while running from a large humanoid demon. Rowan felt his body burn as he saw a vision of his mother and sister in their place. He felt a spear fly into his hand. Without questioning its appearance, he threw the spear and impaled the monster through its head. The creature fell and disintegrated into black smoke while the mother and daughter escaped harm. She briefly looked toward her savior and thanked him with a smile. She didn’t seem to care that her savior was a human.

Aislinn held her bow in the air and chanted arcane words to summon bolts of lightning. She cleared the way for them down a road leading to the castle. They encountered a squadron of Danan soldiers fighting off demons as they continued to pour through dark rifts. Rowan noticed a soldier donned in more intricate armor issuing commands. “Hey! King Fionnbharr’s personal guard is fighting against demons and Leòideach soldiers near their encampment!”

The commander nodded in understanding and issued orders to his men. “Take a team and provide support at once! We must bring them back here as quickly as possible! Bring healers to tend their wounds!” He created a path for Princess Aislinn and her friends to pass the defensive line.

The sky darkened above. Rowan looked up and saw a massive flock of flying demons. Leather wings beat, and horrid shrieks threatened them. Rowan watched as the soldiers mobilized and held their hands up toward the sky. They all shouted a single word and launched a barrage of fireballs. A blazing arcane explosion cleared the airways and allowed them to safely reach the castle gates.

Aislinn continued running as she held her hand out to the gates. A brief chant and sigil opened the gates at her command. The three ran through the gates, and Aislinn slammed them shut behind her.

“Either Annfayn’s security is seriously lacking or your grandparents gave you skeleton keys to the place,” Rowan commented as they ran through the corridors.

Aislinn looked behind her and grinned. “I am heir to two kingdoms. I know how to open many doors.”

There were signs of battle inside the castle. Wounded soldiers were being cared for by skilled healers. “Where are the king and queen?” Aislinn asked a healer.

“The throne room. Your cousin returned to aid us in battle,” the kind woman replied as the healing rays from her hand stopped the blood from pouring out of a soldier’s chest.

A hulking demon stepped from a rift into the corridor. It strained to appear on such holy grounds. Isolde threw her great axe and sliced it in two as soon as it manifested. She ran to the audience chamber and grabbed her axe as she passed it.

Aislinn opened the audience chamber doors and watched another fight play out before them. The king and queen fought side-by-side against wraith-like demons. They had lean builds and wore tattered robes. These demons floated around at incredible speeds and released dark magic blasts against the monarchs.

A magic arrow fired by the princess was harmlessly deflected by a barrier. The wraith flew at Aislinn with a raised claw. Sorcha destroyed it before it could reach Aislinn. “Welcome back, darlings.” The queen greeted in a sweet voice. She wielded an ornate staff, a silver rod with a floating green orb atop it. Golden leaves billowed out on the top and bottom of her weapon.

The king raised his magic sword and crossed it with the queen’s staff. Their shared magic radiated outward and enraged the demons who sought to end them. A fast and agile Danan warrior in noble regalia leapt out and fended them off until the king and queen finished their spell.

“Professor?” Rowan recognized him. He fended off the demons as long as he could, but he was tossed aside by a wraith that attacked him from behind. The royal couple shouted magical words that Rowan couldn’t understand, which caused a pillar of light to erupt from their position.

The light quickly expanded outward and obliterated the demons. No demon in or around the castle was spared the king and queen’s divine light. The Danans who bore witness to the event were inspired to fight even harder to protect their home.

Rowan firmly held his sword and stalked toward the fallen Danan. “Professor Riordan, what are you doing here? What’s going on?!”