Kareem

Kareem did his best to hide his footsteps, walking with extreme care and caution. But the demon who stood by the horses had sharper ears than his comrades.

"Who goes there?" he called out, peering into the darkness.

Kareem was thankful they hadn't bothered carrying torches with them as they hunted for him. If they did, he would have been caught in an instant. He concluded they were either overconfident or underestimating Kareem. Either way, he was going to prove them wrong.

"Zagan, you fool," Kareem mustered the best commanding voice he could while hoping no other demon was around to hear him and fish him out.

"Oh, took you long enough," Verin sighed. "Standing here was starting to feel tiring. Have you found the mage?"

"Not yet," Kareem replied, walking towards Verin. The darkness did well to conceal his appearance. As soon as he got close enough, he would only have seconds to execute his plan.

He heard the demon grumble under his breath, cursing after every word. "So why are you back here?"

Kareem froze, his mind pulling up a blank. Gritting his teeth, he hissed. "Do I need a reason?" he growled.

"Ah, my bad," Verin apologized. Kareem's heart jumped with relief. So Zagan was a cruel commander to his subordinates and they treated him with respect out of their fear.

"Your bad?" Kareem questioned. "In fact, why don't you head out and search with the others."

"But-"

"It'd be best if you didn't question me, Verin."

Grumbling once more, Kareem heard Verin move, turning around to grab something from his horse. This was his chance. Lunging forward, he swung his sword in a violent arc at the unsuspecting demon's head. Verin didn't have his helmet on, be it just luck or grace from above. That was what the demon had turned to pick up. Unfortunately, Kareem had attacked him at his vulnerable moment, the dull blade cleaving off his poor head. Without a moment to waste, Kareem grabbed the body before it dropped to the ground. Ignoring the blood gushing down from the fountain on his opened neck, he unclasped the straps on the dead demon's armor.

While taking off the armor, he tried to figure out what he would do with the body. Kareem had intended on wearing Verin's armor and impersonating him, but there were too many flaws in that plan. One was that he had no idea what the demon's personality was like other than that he was a grumbling fool. Instead of pointlessly risking his life, he was going to steal one horse and kill the others. They probably had more horses, but at least Kareem would slow them down a bit.

Taking off the breastplate and the gauntlets on either hand, Kareem went to work on the bottom half, doing his best to remain as silent as possible. He was thankful to have chainmail on, so he didn't need to remove the bloodstained one on the demon. Cursing silently, Kareem remembered demons had a keen sense of smell. The metallic smell of the blood was still fresh in his nose, but it was only a matter of time before the other demons picked it up and came to see what the source was.

Kareem got the boots and leggings off in under a minute, his hands trembling from both fear and exhilaration. Armor was bound to weigh him down, but it would help him disguise himself as one of them even if it was for a little while. Slipping on the bloodstained armor, Kareem cursed again, realizing he should have tried cleaning off the blood. But with the limited time he was constrained to, he would have to do that when he was away from the ruins.

"Done," he muttered, letting out a sigh of relief.

Grabbing the dead demon's sword, a black sword as long as his dull blade, he hauled himself onto the horse Verin had turned to before he was decapitated. The creature snorted and stamped its hooves, probably noticing the weight difference in its new rider, but that was as much as it did. Kareem was lucky so far. The demons usually trained their horses to the point that they would throw any unknown rider off their back. Thankfully, this one didn't share the same loyalty as the rest did. Kareem rubbed its neck and sliced off the rope Verin had used to keep them in place.

"Come on boy," he said, grabbing its reins and tugging it slightly.

The horse neighed and transitioned into a gallop, speeding up immediately. Kareem turned back to the other horses, who had begun snorting and neighing. He could already hear the shouts of a demon, possibly Zagan, and it would only be a matter of time before they climbed on their horses and continued the hunt. Kareem wasn't fond of killing animals out of cold blood, but he didn't see any other option.

Clenching his fist, he lifted his right arm and pointed it at the horses. His fist ignited the more he clenched it, the flame growing bigger by the second. Of course, the fire couldn't burn Kareem, as he was the one generating it. All he felt was a gentle warmth and pity for the horses he was targetting. Punching forward, Kareem released a stream of flames. It rocketed towards the horses like a bullet, slamming into the nearest one and engulfing it instantly. Tilting his arm slightly to the side, he hit another horse, burning it as well. Now, the fire had spread to the rest, slowly creeping around them as they struggled with their ropes. Kareem would have loved to leave it there, but he was sure Zagan and the others would be able to save at least one.

"Fuck!" he growled, swinging his arm wildly, spreading his flames to the other horses and covering them up. When he was sure he couldn't clearly see a tail hair from the horses, he unclenched his fist, ceasing the barrage of flames.

"MAGE!" Zagan yelled, bursting out from the gate with the other demons.

The demon glanced at the horses and ran past them, an ugly snarl on his face. Smirking, Kareem turned back around and grabbed the reins on the horse. Urging it forward, he shot away from the ruins, escaping in the blink of an eye. The last thing he heard from Zagan were curses and promises of a painful and grievous death.

Kareem waited till he was sure the ruins were out of sight before he stopped and looked back. As he had expected, there was nothing behind him but overgrown weed and patches of dead grass blackened from either fire from traveling demons or a mage with his aura battling an unknown opponent. He had no hope of finding another group of Riders, as they always avoided leaving a trace of their presence wherever they go. At times like this, he wished Riders weren't so well disciplined and strict with their rules.

When he left the ruins, Kareem had guided the horse south, hoping he'd close in on the gates of Verdack City. Since Zagan and his subordinates had pursued them, Kareem had made a mental note of where he was headed. If he hadn't it would have been impossible to head back to the city. But with the city still ages away, he was worried he'd run into yet another group of bloodthirsty demons. Taking the reins of the horse again, he urged it forward once more.

Making camp was out of the question, even as dark and far away as he was. If he had heard right, and he was sure he had, the demons were planning an attack on Verdack, and he was worried the City wasn't strong enough to defend from a surprise attack from the full force of the demon horde.

At the very least, he hoped he ran into Rheta of the Amazons. If he barged into the castle, demanding to see the king, he was sure he'd get beaten to death, no matter what was about to happen. It was a matter of urgency and Kareem lacked the patience to wait for an audience with the king. Judging from how fast the horse was moving and how far he had fled from the demons, he guessed the city was about two days away at best. He had to get there quickly, or else he'd end up as the last resident of Verdack.

"Come on," he muttered, his body streamlined as the wind whipped through his hair. "The city must not fall."