The Shadow Queen (A Rider novel)

Chapter Four: Daemon Army

"They're..eating them." I whisper in horror.

We had touched down three miles outside the outermost of the houses, not wanting to risk being spotted.  Everyone waited there, ready to take off at a moment's notice, while one other rider and I walked on foot to get closer.  

"Be careful."  Kinjal warns me sternly, and I nod before walking as quietly as I can manage toward the villages.

The rider accompanying me is a middle aged man with cropped short hair, and he walks so quickly that I have to jog to keep up.

I am unable to spot Del, but what I do see makes my blood run cold.  The army that Del has managed to raise in such short time, is an army of Aitu.

"This is impossible." I hear the Rider that had accompanied me whisper, horrified.

An Aitu is an ancient folktale beast, one from our oldest legends.  It was a creature of shadow, it's true form constantly shrouded in a dark mist. They were remembered for their tendency after a victory to eat the conquered army, armor, bones and all, which in this case is the army of orcs that previously inhabited our kingdom. They would even eat their own dead, which is why seeing such a large number of them together is rather disturbing.  They should be trying to kill each other.

An Aitu's form billows and changes, much like a Balrog in their mannerisms, but with the head of a serpent and the body of a daemon horse. They stand at around the same height as the previous, but with long, poisonous spikes that jut from the middle of their necks straight upwards and to the sides, used for ramming into soldiers. Their vicious, whip of a tail is able to pierce through the thickest armor.

The eyes are what scare me the most, though.  Nothing in the legends said anything about their eyes.  The pupils are slitted, much like a snake, but the color is a bright scarlet, almost glowing.  It looks like their eyes are made of blood.  It's the one part of them that never shifts with the mist.  The eyes remain constant, watching everything with a beady stare.

"We should go back." I mouth, not daring to speak this close to the Aitu.

The man nods, and slowly, slowly we make our way back down the steep incline, being careful not to kick up anything with our feet.  Even the slightest of noises could give us away and mean death.

If possible, the walk back to the others seems to take longer than the stressful walk towards the danger, but it seems the wait was even harder for those forced to wait farther out.  Every one of the riders is pacing back and forth, and the dragons keep tossing their heads. Kili sits on Kinjal's back still, messing absentmindedly with the feathers on an arrow he holds in one hand.

Everyone's demeanor changes when they notice the two of us walking back to them, their expressions rapt.

"What did you see?" they ask urgently, looking to me for answers. 

There's a small sliver of hope still in their eyes, one that I was also foolishly holding onto before I saw what awaited us in the village.  I know that what I say next will crush it.

"She's a Shadow Queen." I say

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{P.S. Loving Kilian, Kildora, and Kiliandora for ship names! What's your favorite?}