Madeline

The panic in my mother's eyes triggers me to feel a worry so great I could barely stand. But nothing beats the expressions of the heir and her friends, frantic.

They'll be dead in the next 5 mins if we don't find a way to get out of here. 

Flashes of the horrors that might occur blaze through my head. I've got to get myself out of this panicked frenzy. It doesn't suit me at all.

Shook is what fills the entire room. It feels like a thick coat of fog hovering over our eyes, causing us to stumble and fall, not knowing what would hit us next.

Boom  

Another ball of magic hits us, causing the house to shake. The floorboards begin to break, and that's when it really hit me. We need to run and as fast as possible.

"Mother..the tunnels," yelling at the top of my lungs, she nods to me. Mother had tunnels built-in case there was such an attack. 

But we hadn't open them in years. I fear they might be as dangerous as the attackers themselves.

I guide everyone to the back, where I shift the chairs and tables, lunging the door open. Gwen lights a lantern and leads everyone in, and just as I'm about to enter, then there's a bang at the front of the house.

They must have gotten in. I hurry to close the door behind me, but then I remember 

Waykeyme! 

I scream for mother

"Waykeyme, I can't leave him there."

"You must; you won't survive alone."

Her words were true, but I must try. I looked at her and mouthed, I'm sorry.

Signaling her to go on, I run back to the mouth of the tunnel to try to rescue waykeyme.

The floorboards above me creaked. I could hear the troops above me running across.

They didn't stop, thank the gods. But I mustn't praise yet. I don't know if they've gotten to Waykeyme yet.

He is skilled but injured. I must get to him fast. I listen to see if any of the soldiers are there. I hear nothing, so they must have moved on. 

I raise the board slowly and emerge from the ground, making no sound. I slowly head towards the back stairs that lead toward waykeyme's room.

Strangely, the chairs and tables have been moved. Why hadn't they noticed?

Walking up, I can hear the laughter of one demon, and I can hear him mumbling, but I couldn't fully understand. All I heard was one word.

"Kill"

I can only assume he means killing waykeyme

The demon laughs so loudly, and he falls back a little.

Ragdore has different types of demons in his army, some harder to kill than others. This one shouldn't be too hard to kill. 

Pity...Ragdore didn't send his best men. His first mistake was underestimating us. 

That's something about him. He's cocky and arrogant. The very traits that will have him and his lapdogs killed.

I creep up behind the foul thing and give it a blow to the head. It hit the floor, but it wasn't enough to knock him out. 

He got back to his feet and chuckled, then charging at me with his sword. Though I try to dodge him, he nicks my leg. Causing me to stumble.

I fall over. The demon drops his sword and grabs my hair, bringing me closer to him, sniffing my hair and laughing. 

"I'll have no problem killing you to" he whispers in my ear.

And as he says that, he put his hand around my neck and begins to suffocate me. I feel every breath leaving my body.

I feel how every breath becomes shorter and shorter. Soon the light in my eyes dim this is it; this is my end. 

And with the last of my strength,

Slash.

I gut the knife on my side into his stomach deep, and the demon grunts in pain.

His hand tightens on my neck, and I quickly relieve myself of the position and then stabbing it again in the chest.

Waykeyme lays on the side, resting on a wall. Barely conscious, I run to him.

"We need to get out of here."

"Why did you come back for me? You could have died."

"You're my best friend; I couldn't leave you to die, now let's go."

He smiles and grunts in pain as I grab and hold him into a standing position. We walk to the end of the hall and down the backstairs the same way I entered before.

We reach the tunnel opening. No soldier is in sight, so I open up the tunnel, and we escape to meet with the other. 

I couldn't care to think why they wouldn't be here or at least in the house, but a part of me wants to know why.

Waykeyme was weak and slow. I carry him on my shoulder, but I'm too distracted by my fight with the demon to wallow on the pain of it.

I came face to face with death, and still, it couldn't have me.

"Thank the gods," I whisper to myself as I continue walking.